Judy's Birthday Surprise

"Judy's Birthday Surprise" is the fourth episode of The Jetsons season two, and the twenty-eighth overall. It aired on September 19, 1985 in syndicated markets that featured The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera programming blocks. It was written by Mark Young, and directed by Art Davis, Oscar Dufau, Carl Urbano, Rudy Zamora, Alan Zaslove, and Gordon Hunt.

Judy realizes there's more to popularity when she thinks everyone forgot her birthday.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#clear"| Astro
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Janet Waldo
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Nick Nova
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Andy Andromeda
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Curly Quasar
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| George Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Cosmo Spacely
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A (or indistinguishable)
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Elroy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Daws Butler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| News reporter
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jane Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Penny Singleton
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Torpedo Tucker
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Jet Screamer
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mickey Meteorite
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Rosie
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jean Vander Pyl
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Orbitty
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Saturn slugs
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Henry Orbit
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Torpedo Tucker
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Jet Screamer
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mickey Meteorite
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Rosie
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jean Vander Pyl
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Orbitty
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Saturn slugs
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Henry Orbit
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Saturn slugs
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Henry Orbit
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Henry Orbit
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Henry Orbit

Locations

 * Earth
 * United States
 * Orbit City
 * Sky Pad Apartments
 * Jetson residence
 * Orbit High School

Objects

 * Di-Di (voiced by Selma Diamond)
 * Memo Minder
 * Chutes
 * Visaphone
 * Plutonian Poetry Vol. 1

Vehicles

 * Flying cars

Music
The score was composed and conducted by Hoyt Curtin.

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: September 19, 1985 in syndication

Behind the scenes

 * The episode tries to fill out time by beginning the episode with Astro chasing a cat, and another scene with George being woken up by his talking alarm.
 * This episode attempts to deal with the popularity of Judy, which was always implied in the first season.
 * Even though Orbit High School had appeared in the opening theme song, it hadn't appeared in a single appeared in season one.
 * Andy Andromeda is the first African American in the series.
 * This episode reveals one source of power for space cars is fuel pellets.
 * Judy mentions a pancake tablet, which replaces real food in this episode.
 * Judy is a Libra.
 * Judy reveals her limerick interest.

Errors

 * Even though Judy has her own car in this episode, in later episodes, she talks about wanting her own.
 * Orbit High looks nothing like it does in the opening theme song.
 * Having Spacely at Judy's birthday party seems highly improbable. To add to that, he's only in one shot, and when he says happy birthday, it's simply his mouth moving along with the family saying it. This suggests that it was an addition by the animator(s), instead of a script direction.
 * The boy at the right of Astro, when he pops at the cake, doesn't have lips.

Everlasting influence

 * Flashbacks to this episode are shown in "The Century's Best."

Home availability

 * In the United States:
 * June 2, 2009: Warner Home Video releases The Jetsons: Season 2, Volume 1 on DVD.
 * October 13, 2020: Warner Home Video releases The Jetsons: The Complete Series (Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection edition) on DVD.
 * June 21, 2022: Warner Home Video releases The Jetsons: The Complete Series on DVD.