The Mystery of the Lizard Men

"The Mystery of the Lizard Men" is the first episode of Jonny Quest season one. It aired on October 2, 1964 on ABC. It was written by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna, Alex Lovy, and series creator, Doug Wildey (credited as Douglas Wildey), and produced and directed by Hanna and Barbera, the founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Ships are vanishing in the Sargasso Sea, which is chalked up to mysterious lizard-like men and red flashing lights, leading Dr. Quest and his family to investigate.

Memorable quotes
Race: Well, that's one down, forty to go.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Captain
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Helmsman
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Miguel
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Madrina
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Nestor Paiva
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Skipper
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Doug Young
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Junior
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Corvin
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Doug Young
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Roberts
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Mrs. Quest
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Pilot
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Jonny Quest
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Tim Matthieson
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Bandit
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Race Bannon
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Mike Road
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dr. Benton Quest
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Christopher Columbus
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Man #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Nestor Paiva
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Man #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Doug Young
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Men chief
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lookout
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gunner
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dr. Benton Quest
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| John Stephenson
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Christopher Columbus
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Man #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Nestor Paiva
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Man #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Doug Young
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lizard Men chief
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lookout
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gunner
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Vic Perrin
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lookout
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gunner
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gunner
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable

Organizations

 * Intelligence One

Locations

 * Earth
 * Atlantic Ocean
 * Sargasso Sea
 * United States
 * Florida
 * Palm Key
 * Quest Compound
 * France (indirectly)
 * French Riveria (mentioned)
 * The Moon (mentioned)

Objects

 * Sargasso weed
 * File 0-37
 * UNICE

Vehicles

 * F-Tralina
 * Hydrofoil
 * Lizard Men's submarine
 * Man to the Moon rocket

Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, who was credited as musical director.

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: October 2, 1964 on ABC

Behind the scenes

 * The agency that Race works for isn't named until "Riddle of the Gold."
 * The bad guys are described as looking like frogs and lizards. They're never explicitly referred to as Lizard Men.
 * In real life, the first Moon landing didn't occur until July 20, 1969.
 * Although Wildey is credited as Douglas for being a writer, he's credited as Doug for being the supervising art director and layout artist.

Errors

 * In close-ups of Dr. Quest being on the boat, his raincoat is replaced with his lab coat.
 * When Jonny spots the frogman he knocked out with the air vent grille, Jonny's sclerae are flesh.
 * At the end of the episode, when Race tries to recall what they were doing before the mission, the back of Dr. Quest is shown and he's wearing his raincoat even though at this point, he had gone back to his lab coat.

Everlasting influence

 * Lizard Men pop up throughout the 2000s TV series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, sometimes even being named.
 * The episode is lampooned in The Venture Bros. episode "Ghosts of the Sargasso".

Marketing and promotion
In September 1964, a month before the episode's premiere, Gold Key Comics published an adaptation. It was called Issue #1, although it remained the only one.

Home availability

 * In the United States:
 * August 15, 2006: Warner Home Video releases Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season on DVD.
 * June 6, 2017: Warner Home Video releases Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season (Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection edition) on DVD.
 * June 11, 2019: Warner Archive Collection releases Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series on Blu-ray Disc.