The Jetsons

The Jetsons
Genre	Animated Comic science fiction Sitcom
Directed by	William Hanna (1962–63) Joseph Barbera (1962–63) Ray Patterson (Supervising, 1985–87) Arthur Davis (1985–87) Oscar Dufau (1985–87) Carl Urbano (1985) Rudy Zamora (1985) Alan Zaslove (1985) Paul Sommer (1987) Charlie Downs (1987)
Voices of	George O'Hanlon Penny Singleton Janet Waldo Daws Butler Mel Blanc Don Messick Jean Vander Pyl Howard Morris
Theme music composer	Hoyt Curtin
Composer(s)	Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	75 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna (1985–87) Joseph Barbera (1985–87) William L. Hendricks (1962-87) Herbert Klynn (1985–87)
Producer(s)	William Hanna (1962–63) Joseph Barbera (1962–63) Bob Hathcock (1985) Berny Wolf (1987) Jeff Hall (1987)
Running time	22–30 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions Screen Gems (1962-63) (Season 1)
Distributor	Worldvision Enterprises (1985-87) (Seasons 2-3) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (current)
Release
Original network	ABC (first season, 1962–1963)[1] Syndication (second and third seasons, 1985–1987)
Audio format	Mono
Original release	Original series: September 23, 1962 – March 17, 1963 Revival series: September 16, 1985 – November 12, 1987

The Jetsons is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in primetime from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, then later in syndication, with new episodes in 1985 to 1987 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera block. It was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones.^[2]

George O'Hanlon provided the voice of George Jetson

While the Flintstones live in a world with machines powered by birds and dinosaurs, the Jetsons live in a futuristic utopia of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions;^[3][4] The original series comprised 24 episodes and aired on Sunday nights on ABC beginning September 23, 1962, with primetime reruns continuing through September 22, 1963. It debuted as the first program broadcast in color on ABC-TV.^[5] (Only a handful of ABC-TV stations were capable of broadcasting in color in the early 1960s.) In contrast, The Flintstones, while always produced in color, was broadcast in black-and-white for its first two seasons.^[6]

Following its primetime run, the show aired on Saturday mornings for decades, starting on ABC for the 1963–64 season and then on CBS and NBC.^[7] New episodes were produced for syndication from 1985 to 1987. No further specials or episodes of the show were produced after 1989 due to the deaths of stars George O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc. The 1990 film Jetsons: The Movie serves as the series finale to the television show.

Premise

The Jetsons are a family residing in Orbit City.^[8][9] The city's architecture is rendered in the Googie style, and all homes and businesses are raised high above the ground on adjustable columns. George Jetson lives with his family in the Skypad Apartments: his wife Jane is a homemaker, their teenage daughter Judy attends Orbit High School, and their early-childhood son Elroy attends Little Dipper School. Housekeeping is seen to by a robot maid, Rosie, which handles chores not otherwise rendered trivial by the home's numerous push-button Space Age-envisioned conveniences. The family has a dog named Astro, that talks with an initial consonant mutation in which every word begins with an "R", as if speaking with a growl.

George Jetson's workweek is typical of his era: an hour a day, two days a week.^[10] His boss is Cosmo Spacely, the bombastic owner of Spacely Space Sprockets. Spacely has a competitor, Mr. Cogswell, owner of the rival company Cogswell Cogs (sometimes known as Cogswell's Cosmic Cogs). Jetson commutes to work in an aerocar that resembles a flying saucer with a transparent bubble top. Daily life is leisurely, assisted by numerous labor-saving devices, which occasionally break down with humorous results. Despite this, everyone complains of exhausting hard labor and difficulties living with the remaining inconveniences.

Penny Singleton was the voice of Jane Jetson

Characters

The Jetson family (clockwise from upper left) — Rosie (robot), George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, and Astro the dog.

• George Jetson: age 40,^[11] is the main character and protagonist of the series. He is a loving family man who always seems to make the wrong decisions. He works at Spacely's Sprockets turning the Referential Universal Digital Indexer (R.U.D.I.) on and off. He is married to Jane and together they have two kids, Judy and Elroy.
• Jane Jetson: claims age 33, but has a 40-year old husband and a 16-year old daughter. ^[12]Jane is George's wife, mother of their two children, and a homemaker (although it is Rosie who does most of the work). Jane is obsessed with fashion and new gadgetry. Her favorite store is Mooning Dales. She is a dutiful wife who always tries to make life as pleasant as possible for her family. Outside of the home, she is a member of the Galaxy Women Historical Society and is a fan of Leonardo de Venus and Picasso Pia.
• Judy Jetson: age 16,^[13] is the elder child in the Jetson family. A student at Orbit High School, she is a stereotypical teenage girl whose interests include clothes, hanging out with boys, and revealing secrets to her digital diary.
• Elroy Jetson: age 6½,^[14] is the younger of the two children in the Jetson family. He is highly intelligent and an expert in all space sciences. A mild-mannered and good child, Elroy attends Little Dipper School, where he studies space history, astrophysics, and star geometry. Elroy loves his dog Astro and is always there to support him when George loses his patience with the family pet.
• Rosie: Rosie is the Jetsons' household robot. She's an outdated model, but the Jetsons love her and would never trade her for a newer model. Rosie does all the housework and some of the parenting. She is a strong authoritarian and occasionally dispenses pills to the family. Excluding a scene from the closing credits, Rosie appears in only two episodes of the original 1960s show, but makes many appearances on the 1980s show.
• Astro: Astro is the Jetsons' family dog. Prior to being a Jetson, his name was Tralfaz and he belonged to the fabulously rich Mr. J.P. Gottrockets. Astro is one of George's best friends (next to his work computer, R.U.D.I.) as well as Elroy's best buddy. He is able to speak in a rough sounding English resembling dog barks and growls, a manner of speaking which voice actor Don Messick would later reuse for the role of Scooby-Doo.
• Orbitty: is an alien with spring-like legs who was the second pet of the Jetson family. He has the ability to express his emotions by changing color. This character was introduced in the 1980s version of the series, but didn't appear for the third season (except for one cameo) or any of the movies.
• Cosmo Spacely: is George's boss and owner of Spacely Space Sprockets. His company was founded in Newfoundland in 1937, where it continued to prosper until massive surface pollution necessitated a move to the elevated platforms seen in the series. He is a small man with thinning black hair and a bad temper, and is the main antagonist of the series. Spacely always comes up with ideas to bring in more business, but they backfire. George, whom Spacely has known since childhood,^[15] gets blamed for most things that go wrong. A series' running gag involves his kicking George out of his office shouting, "Jetson! You're fired!"; however, Spacely would give George his job back in the end of the episode, and if he was very happy with George, promote him to vice-president of the company. Mr. Spacely is sometimes helped out by Uniblab, the company's robot assistant.
• Spencer Cogswell: is Spacely's big competitor. He owns Cogswell Cogs company and causes a lot of trouble for Spacely and George. To a lesser extent Cogswell is another of the series' antagonists. He and Spacely are always finding ways to bring each other's businesses down. Cogswell has often tried to steal Spacely's ideas and make them his own to gain an advantage (only for it to backfire on both bosses). He's also not above firing his employees when any little thing goes wrong. Mr. Cogswell's first name, "Spencer", is revealed in the 1980s version of The Jetsons. Cogswell slightly resembles Mr. Slate of The Flintstones.
• R.U.D.I.: is George's work computer and one of his best friends, next to his dog, Astro. His name is an acronym for Referential Universal Differential Indexer. He has a human personality and is a member of the Society for Preventing Cruelty to Humans. In the episode "Family Fallout" (originally aired September 22, 1985), the Jetsons win a TV game show after George Jetson correctly states what the initials "R.U.D.I." stand for.
• Henry Orbit: is the Jetsons' apartment's building superintendent. He is always helpful and always in a good mood. He built a robot named Mac who has a crush on Rosie.

Recurring characters

• Montague Jetson, George Jetson's kindly but eccentric grandfather, who constantly annoys the cop every time he meets him—Howard Morris
• Mrs. Stella Spacely, Cosmo Spacely's overbearing and snobbish wife and Arthur Spacely's mother—Jean Vander Pyl
• Arthur Spacely, Mr. Spacely's son—Dick Beals
• Uniblab, George's mortal enemy—an obnoxious robot who was also his supervisor at work. Appeared in two 1960s episodes, "Uniblab", where he becomes George's supervisor, and "G.I. Jetson", where he becomes the Sergeant of George's platoon. ("Cost the government millions ... enough for two officers' clubs," said General McMissile, nicknamed "Old Blast Off"); and a 1980s episode. His name is a pun of UNIVAC;- Don Messick.
• DiDi, Judy's digital diary—Selma Diamond in the 1980s TV series and by Brenda Vaccaro in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.
• Miss Galaxy, secretary at Spacely Sprockets—Jean Vander Pyl

Voice cast

• George Jetson – George O'Hanlon
• Jane Jetson – Penny Singleton
• Elroy Jetson – Daws Butler^[16]
• Judy Jetson – Janet Waldo
• Astro the Space Mutt/RUDI/Uniblab/Mac – Don Messick
• Rosie/Mrs. Spacely/Miss Galaxy – Jean Vander Pyl
• Cosmo Spacely – Mel Blanc
• Spencer Cogswell – Daws Butler
• Henry Orbit – Daws Butler (Howard Morris in a few early Season 1 episodes)
• Orbitty – Frank Welker
• DiDi – Selma Diamond and Brenda Vaccaro after Diamond's death

In later productions, Jeff Bergman has voiced George, Elroy, and Mr. Spacely. Bergman completed voice work as George and Spacely for Jetsons: The Movie (1990) after George O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc died during production. Controversially, Janet Waldo was replaced—after recording all of her dialogue—by then-popular singer Tiffany for Jetsons: The Movie. Lori Frazier has provided the voice of Jane Jetson in television commercials for Radio Shack.

Production

The first season for the series was produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, When the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio closed in May 1961, several of its animators, including Gerry Chiniquy and Ken Harris, also joined Hanna-Barbera to work on the first season.

Morey Amsterdam and Pat Carroll controversy

In 1963, Morey Amsterdam and Pat Carroll filed a $12,000 suit each, against Hanna-Barbera for breach of contract.^[17][18] Both claimed they had been cast and signed to the roles of George Jetson and Jane Jetson respectively. Their contracts stipulated they would be paid US$500 an episode with a guarantee of 24 episodes' work (a full season). However, they recorded only one episode, after which they were replaced.^[17] Several sources claimed the change had occurred as a result of sponsor conflict between Amsterdam's commitment to The Dick Van Dyke Show and Carroll's to Make Room for Daddy.^[19][20] The case had been closed by early 1965.^[21] In a 2013 interview, Pat Carroll indicated that the court had ruled in favor of Hanna-Barbera.^[17]

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	24	September 23, 1962	March 17, 1963
	2	41	September 16, 1985	December 13, 1985
	3	10	October 19, 1987	November 12, 1987

The show's original run consisted of 24 episodes that first aired on ABC from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, and, as was standard practice at the time, contained a laugh track.

In 1984, Hanna-Barbera began producing new episodes specifically for syndication; by September 1985, the 24 episodes from the first season were combined with 41 new episodes and began airing in morning or late afternoon time slots in 80 U.S. media markets, including the 30 largest.^[22] The 41 new episodes were produced at a cost of $300,000 each, and featured all of the voice actors from the 1962–1963 show.^[22] During 1987, 10 additional "season 3" episodes were also made available for syndication.^[23]

Broadcast history

Following its primetime cancellation, ABC placed reruns of The Jetsons on its Saturday morning schedule for the 1963–1964 season. The program would spend the next two decades on Saturday mornings, with subsequent runs on CBS (1964–65 and 1969–71) and NBC (1965–67; 1971–76; 1979–81 and 1982–83). Beginning in the late 1960s, The Jetsons also began airing simultaneously in syndication. Along with fellow Hanna-Barbera production Jonny Quest and Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes shorts, The Jetsons is one of the few series to have aired on each of the Big Three television networks in the United States.

Theme song

The series' theme song, by composer Hoyt Curtin, became a pop hit in 1986.^[24]

Science fiction themes

Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman considers that the series shares its main science fiction theme with Funderful Suburbia (1962), a Modern Madcaps animated short. Both feature white people involved in space colonization. However there is a key difference in the nature of the colonization. In Funderful Suburbia, the white people colonize outer space in order to escape the problems of planet Earth. The Jetsons live in an era where space colonization is already established. Life in outer space is depicted as a fact of life, while the reasons behind humanity's take over of outer space are never explained. ^[25]

Lehman argues that the series offers no explanation for its science fiction premise and does not directly satirize the social problems of any era. The futuristic setting is combined with standard sitcom elements, which serve as the series' main focus. ^[25]

Reception

After the announcement of the fall 1962 network television schedule Time magazine characterized The Jetsons as one of several new situation comedies (along with The Beverly Hillbillies, I'm Dickens... He's Fenster, and Our Man Higgins) that was "stretching further than ever for their situations";^[9] after all the season's new shows had premiered—a season "responding to Minow's exhortations"—the magazine called the series "silly and unpretentious, corny and clever, now and then quite funny."^[26]

Thirty years later, Time said: "In an age of working mothers, single parents and gay matrimony, George Jetson and his clan already seem quaint even to the baby boomers who grew up with them."^[27] Conversely, Jeffrey Tucker of the Ludwig von Mises Institute has argued that "The whole scene—which anticipated so much of the technology we have today but, strangely, not email or texting—reflected the ethos of time: a love of progress and a vision of a future that stayed on course ... The Jetsons' world is our world: explosive technological advances, entrenched bourgeois culture, a culture of enterprise that is very fond of the good life."^[28]

Differences between versions

Added characters:

• In the first episode of the 1980s episodes, an alien named Orbitty joined the family after Elroy discovered him on a field trip to an asteroid. Orbitty speaks in his own garbled dialect, has coil springs for legs, and changes colors according to his mood.
• Various appliances appear in the 1980s episodes such as Memo-Minder and Di-Di, Judy's diary, which is shaped like a giant pair of wax lips.

Other differences include the following:

• The original 1960s episodes are distinguished by 1960s design motifs, music, and references (similar to The Flintstones and other Hanna-Barbera shows of that period). The 1980s version had a custom soundtrack with new sound-effects created by synthesizer.
• Whereas the 1960s stories were basically 1950s sitcom plots in a futuristic setting, the 1980s stories delved into fantastic, sci-fi cartoon territory.
• The 1960s version was more adult oriented than the 1980s version, which was aimed at younger viewers.
• The 1980s opening credits contain a re-recorded version of the original Jetsons theme song, which features the use of synthesized drums and synth lead tracks typical of 1980s music.
• The 1960s closing credits were similar to the closing credits scenes from The Flintstones, which feature the family getting ready for bed as well as a disaster with their pets. In The Jetsons, George is walking Astro on a treadmill, Astro chases a cat, and then both animals jumping off after the treadmill malfunctions leaving Jetson running for his life. The 1980s version had to accommodate a larger production staff, including dozens of voice actors, and this closing credits segment was replaced with static multicolored backgrounds with pictures of The Jetsons arranged next to numerous credits. The 1960s episodes were rereleased with the redesigned closing segment (containing fewer production staff credits than the 1980s episodes, but has more names than the original closing scene which left several people uncredited) but are usually seen rebroadcast with their original credits segment.
• The 1960s episodes do not contain title cards. When the 1980s episodes were made, title cards were also made for the 1960s episodes, which explains the appearance of Orbitty in the title cards of the 1960s episodes. (Orbitty also appears in the 1980s closing credits, which style was also used for the 1960s episodes.)
• Many of the 1980s episodes were colored and composited using computer animation technology including digital ink and paint, rather than the more traditional ink and paint on cels.
• The backgrounds in the 1980s version contain vivid colors, and are more detailed than the 1960s version.
• While the 1960s episodes referenced rockets and other "space age" theme devices, reflective of the real-life American space program which fascinated the United States, the 1980s episodes leaned more towards how computers would influence life in the future.
• In the 1980s version, Rosie the Robot appears more often than in the 1960s (when she only appeared in two episodes). Astro is also featured more prominently.
• The original spelling of Rosie's name is "Rosey", as featured in the 1962 premiere "Rosey the Robot". Her spelling was modified to "Rosie", as featured in the 1985 episode "Rosie Come Home".
• Instead of the buttons, knobs, dials, and switches in the 1960s version, the 1980s version uses flat buttons and brightly lit consoles.
• The 1960s episodes were fitted with a laugh track (as was The Flintstones); the 1980s episodes were not.

Specials and film adaptations

Television films

• The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)
• Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988)

Television specials

• Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989)

Theatrical releases

• Jetsons: The Movie (1990)

Direct-to-video films

• Untitled Jetsons & WWE film (2017)^[29]

Planned film

Paramount Pictures first tried to film a live-action version of The Jetsons in 1985, which was to be executive produced by Gary Nardino, but failed to do so.^[30] In the late 1980s Universal Studios purchased the film rights for The Flintstones and The Jetsons from Hanna-Barbera Productions. The result was Jetsons: The Movie, which was released in 1990. In November 2001, screenwriting duo Paul Foley and Dan Forman were brought onboard to revise a screenplay, with Rob Minkoff attached as director and Denise Di Novi as producer.^[31]

On March 18, 2003, it was announced that the script was again being reworked,^[32] with Adam Shankman entering negotiations to direct and co-write the film.^[33] In June 2004, with Shankman still onboard as director, Di Novi confirmed that the latest draft was penned by Sam Harper.^[34] By May 2006, the project was re-launched with Adam F. Goldberg confirmed as the new screenwriter, and Donald De Line was added as producer alongside Di Novi.^[35]

In May 2007, director Robert Rodriguez entered talks with Universal Studios and Warner Bros. to film a CGI film adaptation of The Jetsons for a potential 2009 theatrical release, having at the time discussed directing a film adaptation of Land of the Lost with Universal. Rodriguez was uncertain which project he would pursue next, though the latest script draft for The Jetsons by Goldberg was further along in development.^[36]

In January 2012, recording artist Kanye West was mistakenly reported as creative director over the project, though West clarified on social media that "I was just discussing becoming the creative director for the Jetson [sic] movie and someone on the call yelled out.. you should do a Jetsons tour!"^[37] Longtime producer Denise Di Novi denied the confirmed involvement stating negotiations with West via conference call was merely "preliminary and exploratory and introductory".^[38] In February 2012, Warner Bros. hired Van Robichaux and Evan Susser to rewrite the script.^[39][40]

On January 23, 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. planned a new animated Jetsons feature film, with Matt Lieberman to provide the screenplay.^[41][42]

Further appearances

Hanna-Barbera related

• The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (ride), Elroy Jetson is kidnapped by Dick Dastardly (from Wacky Races and Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines) and it is up to ride guests to save him. (1991)
• Space Stars, Astro appeared in the segment "Astro and the Space Mutts"
• A 1974 proposal would have created a sequel series to The Jetsons, set roughly ten years after the original series. CBS rejected the proposal and it was retooled into Partridge Family 2200 A.D.^[43]

Other projects

• The Jetsons: Father & Son Day (Spümcø, Macromedia Flash)
• The Jetsons: The Best Son (Spümcø, Macromedia Flash)
• Some characters appeared in commercials for Electrasol and Tums.
• In the late 1990s, George, Jane, and Astro appeared in Christmas Radio Shack commercials.
• In 2003, New Zealand ISP Xtra used The Jetsons as part of an advertising campaign with George Jetson promoting the benefits of broadband Internet. The advert ended with George saying, "Broadband is the way, but some people will never get used to progress", and an image of Fred Flintstone using a stone shaped computer with a real mouse.^[44]
• The Jetsons have appeared three times in Family Guy.
• The Jetsons were seen in a Cartoon Network Rap in 1995.
• The Jetsons characters were in a parody of I, Robot done on Robot Chicken where Rosie is accused of murdering George.
• The Jetsons can be seen in the background in the "MetLife" commercial "Everyone" in 2012.
• The Jetsons appear in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, in the season two episode "Back to the Present."

Comics

• The Jetsons #1–36 (Gold Key Comics, January 1963 – October 1970)
• March of Comics #276 (1965), #330 (1969), #348
• The Jetsons #1–20 (Charlton Comics, November 1970 – December 1973); 100-page no-number issue
• Spotlight #3 (Marvel Comics, 197x)
• The Jetsons #1–5 (Harvey Comics, September 1992 – November 1993); Big Book #1–3, Giant Size #1–3
• The Jetsons #1–17 (Archie Comics, September 1995 – August 1996)
• The Flintstones and the Jetsons #1–21 (DC Comics, August 1997 – April 1999)

Video games

• The Jetsons' Ways with Words (Intellivision, 1984)
• The Jetsons: George Jetson and the Legend of Robotopia (Amiga, 1990)
• The Jetsons: By George, in Trouble Again (DOS, 1990)
• The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper! (NES, 1992)
• The Jetsons: Robot Panic (Game Boy, 1992)
• The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates (Super NES, 1994)
• Jetsons: The Computer Game (Amiga, 1992)
• The Jetsons: Mealtime Malfunction (Apple, 1993)
• The Jetsons' Space Race (part of "Hanna-Barbera’s Cartoon Carnival") (CD-i, 1993)
• Flintstones Jetsons Time Warp (CD-i, 1994)

Home video releases

On June 28, 1990, Hanna-Barbera released six episodes from the show on home video. Warner Home Video released season 1 on DVD in Region 1 on May 11, 2004; upon its release, James Poniewozik wrote it's "as much about New Frontier 1962 as about the distant future. Its ditzy slapstick is like the peanut-butter-and-jelly mix Goober Grape—if you didn't love it as a kid, you're not going to acquire the taste as an adult—and the pop-culture gags ... have not aged well. But the animation is still a classic of gee-whiz atomic-age modernism."^[45]

The review of the DVD release from Entertainment Weekly said the show "trots through surprisingly dated sitcom plots about blustery bosses, bad lady drivers, and Elvis Presleyesque teen idols, all greeted with laugh tracks" but points out "it's the appeal of the retro-prescient gadgets (recliner massagers, big-screen TVs, two-way monitors) that still carries the show."^[46] Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 4 on July 5, 2006.^[47] Season Two, Volume 1 was released on DVD almost three years later, on June 2, 2009 for Region 1.^[48]

On November 8, 2011, Warner Archive released The Jetsons: Season 2, Volume 2 on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.^[49] Warner Archive followed up by releasing Season 3 in the same way on May 13, 2014.^[50]

DVD Name	Ep #	Release date
Season 1	24	October 15, 2004
Season 2, Volume 1	21	June 2, 2009
Season 2, Volume 2	20	November 8, 2011
Season 3	10	May 13, 2014

Legacy

• Boomerang aired the show from April 1, 2000 to April 6, 2014, and the series returned to Boomerang on July 2, 2016. Cartoon Network aired the show from 1992 to 2004 and returned the series October 2012. Also, some of the 1980s episodes were available for viewing on In2TV prior to its shutdown; these episodes were later moved to the online version of Kids' WB. Also the first two seasons of The Jetsons are available to download on Sony's PlayStation Network, Apple's iTunes Store and at the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Kids' WB website eventually shut down in 2015, however, the Kids' WB episodes can still be streamed, thanks to much of the website being preserved by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
• Forbes magazine valued Spacely Sprockets at $1.3 billion, on its "The 25 Largest Fictional Companies" list.^[51]
• The original cartoon series had several futuristic devices that did not exist at the time but subsequently have not only been invented but are in common usage: a flatscreen 3D television, newspaper on a tablet computer-like screen, a computer virus, video chat, a tanning bed, home treadmill and more^[52]
• In January 2009, IGN listed The Jetsons as the 46th best animated television series.^[1]
• The music video for the Kanye West song "Heartless" features George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, Astro, and Rosie done as portraits. This footage is based on Kanye West's actual apartment decor, which includes large portraits of the Jetsons in the den.
• The Jetsons episodes have been available for viewing on Comcast's video on demand service under the kids category, then under the Kids WB subcategory.

See also

• List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera
• List of Hanna-Barbera characters
• Design for Dreaming
• Googie architecture

References

1. "Top 100 animated series". IGN. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
2. CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
3. "Jetsons: The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. May 11, 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
4. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/automating-hard-or-hardly-automating-george-jetson-and-the-manual-labor-of-tomorrow-20694353/?no-ist
5. O'Reilly, Terry (May 24, 1014). "21st Century Brands". Under the Influence. Season 3. Episode 21. Transcript of the original source. Event occurs at time 3:15. CBC Radio One. Retrieved June 7, 2014. The program was ahead of its time in more ways than one, as it was the first television series to be broadcast in colour on the ABC network, at a time when only 3% of the public had colour television sets.
6. "Jetsons, The — Season 2, Volume 1 Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
7. Alex McNeil (1980). Total Television. Penguin Books.
8. "The Jetsons: Did you Know...?". Gemstone Publishing. May 16, 2003. Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
9. "Television: The Coming Season". Time. July 27, 1962. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved 2010-11-21. The producers of The Flintstones have a new family called The Jetsons, who live one century in the future.
10. Episode "The Vacation", original airdate November 7, 1985
11. Episode 14, "Test Pilot", at 21:17 (after being told that he should live to be 150) "Please Mr. Spacely, don't launch those missiles! I've got 110 good years ahead of me!
12. Episode 1, "Rosey the Robot", at 2:28: "Don't be smart. You know I'm only 33
13. Episode 1, "Rosey the Robot", at 2:49: Jane Jetson: "If I was only 15 again. In fact, if I was only 32-22-32 again."
14. Episode 1, "Rosey the Robot", at 22:09: "Boy, if I wasn't 6½, I'd...I'd cry."
15. Season 2, Episode 23, "A Jetson Christmas Carol"
16. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055683/
17. Kliph Nesteroff (2013-10-26). "Classic Television Showbiz: An Interview with Pat Carroll – Part Two". Classicshowbiz.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
18. Yowp (2010-01-27). "Yowp: Meet George Jetson — The Other One". Yowpyowp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
19. The Evening Sentinel, June 1, 1962, Morey Amsterdam and Pat Carroll have been forced off as "voice" stars of ABC’s new animated "The Jetsons" cartoon series. Too many sponsor conflicts, what with Morey being a regular on the Dick Van Dyke Show and Pat likewise on the Danny Thomas Show.
20. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19641214&id=VwhPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UgEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7330,3979925
21. TV Firm Sued By Two, Oxnard Press-Courier, January 25, 1965
22. Yockel, Michael (September 10, 1985). "Fresh Episodes Ending The Jetsons Suspended Animation". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
23. Koch, David, ed. "The Jetsons TV Episode Guide". The Big Cartoon Database. p. 4. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
24. Wharton, David (August 28, 1986). "'Jetsons' Revival Brings Limelight to Composer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
25. Lehman (2007), p. 25-26
26. "Television: The New Season". Time. October 12, 1962. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
27. "The Nuclear Family Goes Boom!". Time. October 15, 1992. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
28. Tucker, Jeffrey (2011-03-29). "Pushing Buttons Like the Jetsons". LewRockwell.com.
29. "Jetsons WWE (2017)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
30. "Paramount's Future- from 1985". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
31. Dunkley, Cathy (November 27, 2001). "'Jetsons' finds rewrite pair". Variety. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
32. Dunkley, Cathy; Brodesser, Claude (March 18, 2003). "Shankman ready to meet 'Jetsons'". Variety. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
33. Kit, Zorianna (March 19, 2003). "Shankman in pilot chair for live 'Jetsons'." (Fee required). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 9, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
34. Stax (7 June 2004). "The Jetsons Update!". IGN. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
35. McClintock, Pamela (May 2, 2006). "'Jetsons' relaunched". Variety. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
36. Borys Kit (2007-05-09). "Future or past for Rodriguez?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
37. Dobbins, Amanda (January 5, 2012). "What We Learned From Kanye's Tremendous Late-Night Twitter Rant". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
38. Carlson, Eric (January 6, 2012). "Kanye West Is Not 'Creative Director' of Jetsons Movie, Says Producer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
39. Eisenberg, Eric (February 7, 2012). "Live-Action Jetsons Movie Still In The Works, New Writer Hired". CinemaBlend.com. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
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44. "Xtra Jetstream Commercial".
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48. "The Jetsons DVD news: Box Art & Extras for The Jetsons — Season 2, Volume 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
49. "The Jetsons – Tomorrow Sees Warner Archive's Release of 'Season 2, Volume 2'".
50. "The Jetsons DVD news: Announcement for The Jetsons – Season 3". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
51. Noer, Michael; Ewalt, David M. (December 10, 2007). "In Pictures: The 25 Largest Fictional Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
52. O'Reilly, Terry (May 24, 1014). "21st Century Brands". Under the Influence. Season 3. Episode 21. Transcript of the original source. Event occurs at time 2:07. CBC Radio One. Retrieved June 7, 2014. The series had lots of interesting futuristic devices that marveled us back in the 60s. In episode one, we see wife Jane doing exercises in front of a flatscreen "3D" television. In another episode, we see George Jetson reading the newspaper on a screen. Can anyone say tablet? In another, Boss Spacely tells George to fix something called a "computer virus." Everyone on the show uses video chat, foreshadowing Skype and Face Time. There is a robot vacuum cleaner, foretelling the 2002 arrival of the iRobot Roomba vacuum. There was also a tanning bed used in an episode, a product that wasn't introduced to North America until 1979. And while flying space cars that have yet to land in our lives, the Jetsons show had moving sidewalks like we now have in airports, treadmills that didn't hit the consumer market until 1969, and they had a repairman who had a piece of technology called... Mac.

Sources

• Lehman, Christopher P. (2007), "The Cartoons of 1961-1962", American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary in Films and Television Programs, 1961-1973, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0786451425

Further reading

• Michael Mallory (1998). Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. published by Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc.; distributed by Publishers Group West. ISBN 0-88363-108-3.

External links

• The Jetsons at the Internet Movie Database
• The Jetsons at TV.com
• The Jetsons at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Jetsons at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Jetson's Movie
• The Cartoon Scrapbook – Profile on The Jetsons.