During the 1960s, animated sitcom, The Jetsons beamed its way onto television screens to present an imaginative look at the future. The TV show, which focused on a family and their day-to-day lives, was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and was similar in tone to The Flintstones.
But what do you know about The Jetsons?
Well, no matter if you are a life-long fan, or you are an absolute newbie, I have plenty of information to send your way. This post contains over 20 frequently asked questions about The Jetsons, so strap yourself in and get comfortable, as we make a jump in time!
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Frequently asked questions about The Jetsons
When did The Jetsons first appear on television?
The Jetsons made its debut on 23rd September 1962 with the episode, Rosey the Robot (aka Rosie the Robot).
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How many episodes of The Jetsons were produced?
The show ran for a total of 75 episodes. Across those 75 episodes, the cartoon told the adventures of the space age family, and also found time to spoof a number of well-known properties, including Alice in Wonderland (Elroy in Wonderland) and A Christmas Carol (A Jetson Christmas Carol).
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How many seasons of The Jetsons were there?
The Jetsons ran for three seasons in total, with 24 episodes in Season One, 41 episodes in Season Two, and ten in Season Three.
Season One aired on ABC in 1962, while Seasons Two and Three aired in syndication in 1985 and 1987 respectively.
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Wait a minute – the show aired in the 1960s and the 1980s?! Why was there a huge gap between the broadcast of Season One and the broadcast of Season Two/Three?
The reason for the 22-year gap between Season One and Season Two of The Jetsons is because the show was initially a one-season cartoon.
After ending its original run between 1962/63 The Jetsons was pretty much done and dusted. However, when Hanna-Barbera started to work on The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera – a programming block which featured a mix of old and new cartoons – the production company revived The Jetsons for two new seasons, to become part of this block.
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Who wrote The Jetsons?
The Jetsons was written by a team of different writers, including Barry E. Blitzer, Mark Young, Harvey Bullock and Alex Lovy. Perhaps the most notable name amongst the writing team was Tony Benedict, who received a writing credit on all 24 episodes of the show’s first season.
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Who are the cast of The Jetsons?
The core cast of The Jetsons is as follows:
- George Jetson – George O’Hanlon
- Jane Jetson – Penny Singleton
- Judy Jetson – Janet Waldo
- Elroy Jetson – Daws Butler
- Rosie – Jean Vander Pyl
- Astro – Don Messick
- Orbitty – Frank Welker
- Cosmo Spacely – Mel Blanc
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Hang on, did Rosey get a name change?
During the first season of The Jetsons, the family’s robot maid was named Rosey, with an ‘ey’ at the end of her name. For the second season, Rosey’s name was altered to Rosie with an ‘ie’, which is now the default spelling of the character’s name.
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Did the core cast of The Jetsons remain the same across all three seasons?
Despite the significant time gap between the production of the three seasons, the core cast of characters/actors (George, Jane, Judy etc) remained throughout. Other actors have voiced Jetsons characters over the years, but this is largely for spin-offs.
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How is The Jetsons connected to Looney Tunes?
Mel Blanc voiced the role of Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons. Throughout his career, Blanc voiced many, many famous cartoon characters, but most notably he provided the voices of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in Warner Bros.’ iconic Looney Tunes shorts.
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What is The Jetsons’ connection to Wacky Races and Scooby-Doo?
Don Messick provided the voice of the Jetson’s dog, Astro in The Jetsons. Messick also provided the voices of Muttley in Wacky Races and Scooby-Doo in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?.
Frank Welker, the voice of Orbitty in The Jetsons also provides a Scooby-Doo connection, as Welker voiced Fred on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?.
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What were the lyrics to The Jetsons theme tune – I remember it being pretty snappy!
The lyrics to The Jetsons theme tune, while pretty iconic, was also pretty short. The lyrics are as follows:
“Meet George Jetson,
“His boy Elroy,
“Daughter Judy,
“Jane, his wife.”
Yep, that’s it!
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Who provided the music for The Jetsons?
Hoyt Curtin composed the music and theme tune to The Jetsons. Curtin worked on most of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons of yesteryear, including Top Cat, The Flintstones, and Jonny Quest.
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Where did George Jetson work?
George Jetson worked for Spacely Space Sprockets Inc.
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What was the name of George’s work computer?
George’s computer was called R.U.D.I. The acronym stood for Referential Universal Digital Indexer.
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What was the name of Judy Jetson’s digital diary?
Judy Jetson’s digital diary was called DiDi. Actress Selma Diamond voiced DiDi in the series.
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What was the final episode of The Jetsons called?
The final episode of The Jetsons was called Spacely for a Day. The episode aired on November 12th 1987.
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Did The Flintstones cameo in The Jetsons?
In terms of their respective settings (the Stone Age and the Space Age), The Flintstones and The Jetsons were millions of years apart, making a crossover problematic. However, this didn’t stop the show from making a quick nod to The Flintstones in the episode, The Jetsons Christmas Carol, in which Fred and Wilma can be seen very briefly on a movie screen.
A proper Jetsons/Flintstones crossover did take place in 1987, but this was outside of the show and in the form of a movie (see below).
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Are there any Jetsons movies?
To date, The Jetsons have headlined four movies: The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987), Rockin’ with Judy Jetson (1988), Jetsons: The Movie (1990), and The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! (2017).
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones and Rockin’ with Judy Jetson were produced as television movies, while Jetsons: The Movie was released theatrically as a finale to the television series. The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! was released direct-to-video, as a crossover with WWE Wrestling.
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I have memories of The Jetsons featuring in a show with the likes of Augie Doggie, Dick Dastardly, Yogi Bear, and Hong Kong Phooey – am I just remembering this wrong?!
In 1989, to celebrate 50 years of Hanna-Barbera, TNT aired a television special called Hanna-Barbera’s 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration. This special included various H-B characters, including The Jetsons, and included a sneak-peak at the then forthcoming film, Jetsons: The Movie.
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Did The Jetsons ever feature in a comic?
The Jetsons have been the stars of multiple comics, dating all the way back to 1963. Over the years, the characters have featured in books from multiple publishers including Gold Key Comics, Charlton Comics, Archie Comics, Harvey Comics, Marvel Comics, and most recently, DC Comics – which is owned by Warner Bros. (who also own Hanna-Barbera).
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And finally, is The Jetsons available on home video?
The Jetsons has been released in its entirety on Region 1 DVD. Episodes of the show have also been released digitally and on Blu-ray.
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If you’re a fan of The Jetsons the entire DVD collection is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US. As noted above, the set is Region 1 only, so make sure you have a Region 1 player, or a multi-region player if attempting to watch the discs outside of the US.
The eight-disc set includes all 75 episodes and is part of the Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about The Jetsons – I hope it answered all of your questions. For more cartoon content, be sure to take a look at the recommended reads below.
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One Response to The Jetsons: Over 20 questions and answers
Thanks for remembering our most beloved (and hen-pecked) husband of the future. Terrific memories watching those cartoons as a kid!
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