The Jetsons (TV series)


 * This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see The Jetsons (disambiguation).

The Jetsons is an animated TV sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera (H-B). It originally aired on ABC in prime-time between 1962 and 1963, then in syndicated markets between 1985 to 1987.

It was the Space-Age counterpart to The Flintstones, who lived in the Stone-Age, where life was assisted by dinosaurs and birds, where as The Jetsons lived in a far-off future utopia, with robots and other fantastical gadgets eased everyday lives. The humour of it, though, was that they still found life difficult.

The series is largely about middle-class George Jetson and the everyday (and sometimes over the top) problems his boss, Cosmo Spacely, gives him, despite his usual and rather mundane routine of pushing a button to get Spacely's factory working. He also deals with family life, having to fulfill the needs and expectations of wife and children. He also has to deal with an overly loving pet dog and snappy robot maid. The first season tried to reach an adult audience with its prime-time slot, while the 80s "reboot" attempted to appear more to the younger generation with a more casual time slot during the day, with more focus on gadgets and aliens (although it never strayed too far from its original premise).

Aside from the 80s revival of new episodes, two TV movies were made, including The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones and Rockin' with Judy Jetson, with a seemingly final appearance in the theatrical Jetsons: The Movie, released by Universal Pictures in 1990. Twenty-seven years later in 2017 (with Hanna-Barbera having been absorbed into Time Warner in the late 1990's), Warner Bros. Animation produced the direct-to-video film, The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania.

Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, who also composed and arranged the theme song, with lyrics written by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna. The lyrics consist of four verses:

Meet George Jetson, His boy, Elroy, Daughter, Judy, Jane, his wife

Cast

 * George O'Hanlon as George Jetson
 * Penny Singleton as Jane Jetson
 * Daws Butler as Elroy Jetson
 * Janet Waldo as Judy Jetson