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The Jetsons
Created as a follow-up to the Hanna Barbera Studio's wildly successful prehistoric romp The Flintstones, The Jetsons rocketed onto the primetime TV scene on ABC in 1962. Comic books and plenty of merchandise soon followed. The show was set 100 years in to the future of that date, in the then-distant year 2062. And while The Flintstones took The Honeymooners and gave it Stone Age appeal, The Jetsons was a Space Age twist on Blondie. Audiences immediately fell in love with the gangly but lovable family man George, his pert and pretty wife Jane, his genius of a son Elroy, his bubbly and boy-crazy daughter Judy and the rest of the intergalactic gang. They also fell in love with the array of gadgets and gizmos that were created for the characters' use - wacky, futuristic gadgets and gizmos that were nothing short of creatively brilliant. From telephones that allowed the speakers to see each other's faces to glass-domed flying cars that could fold up into briefcases, The Jetsons had it made with modern conveniences. They also had plenty of adventure with Rosie the jokester robot maid, Astro the loyal hound, and plenty of assorted friends and neighbors. Despite the flack George regularly got from his boss, Cosmo Spacely of Spacely Sprockets, he had an enviable life that involved three-day work weeks, vacations to Venus and a family that adored him. The show was eventually moved from primetime to Saturday morning, where reruns of the original 24 episodes were broadcast all through the rest of the '60s and '70s. Then. The '80s saw a Jetsons revival - with new episodes, a new family member (a furry, white, antennaed creature named Orbitty) and a whole new generation of fans. 1987 saw a Hanna Barbera lovers dream come true with The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, a fantastic special featuring the best of the two worlds, and 1990 saw the release of their first feature-length cartoon. And today, you can still see them in all their futuristic glory on Cartoon Network. JET-SON!
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