Test Pilot

"Test Pilot" is the fifteenth episode of The Jetsons season one. It aired on December 30, 1962 on ABC. It was written by Harvey Bullock and R.S. Allen, and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the creators of the show and the co-founders of Hanna-Barbera Productions.

After George thinks he doesn't have long to live, he volunteers to test out a prototype jacket that's supposed to be indestructible.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#clear"| George Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jane Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Penny Singleton
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| George's mother
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Elroy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Daws Butler
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Janet Waldo
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Astro
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Cosmo Spacely
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Mel Blanc
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Robot secretary
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Professor Lunar
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Daws Butler
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Mr. Cogswell
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Daws Butler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Doctor Ken Radius
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Announcer
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| British newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| French newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Mel Blanc
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Russian newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Doctor Ken Radius
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Announcer
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| British newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| French newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Mel Blanc
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Russian newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| French newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Mel Blanc
 * style="background-color:#d2d2dff"| Russian newscaster
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| George O'Hanlon

Organizations

 * Spacely Space Sprockets
 * Cogswell Cogs
 * Daily Orbit
 * BBC
 * TV Francaise

Locations

 * United States
 * Orbit City
 * Skypad Apartments
 * Spacely Space Sprockets factory
 * Cogswell Cogs factory
 * England
 * London
 * BBC TV studio
 * France
 * Paris
 * TV Francaise studio
 * Eiffel Tower
 * Russia

Objects

 * Breakfast pill
 * Spacely Life Jacket
 * Cogswell indestructible jacket
 * Peekaboo Prober
 * Daily Orbit newspaper

Vehicles

 * Flying cars

Aftermath
When The Jetsons originally aired, no title cards were present. They were only added when the series was revived in the 1980s, and the original episodes were given title cards for consistency. Notably, they all include Orbitty, who wasn't in the original series.

Behind the scenes

 * The first season didn't have title cards when it originally aired. The title card comes from when the series was revived in the 1980's for a second season.
 * Spacely gives his middle initial as "C."
 * The BBC is a real-life TV studio in Britain.
 * George is 40-years-old.

Errors

 * The Fooder-Aca-Cycle that serves real food has been replaced by a dial-up machine that serves pill supplements.
 * Spacely says "Cogswell Cogs," but the sign reads "Cogswell's Cogs."
 * Usually, newspapers are shown through TV screens, not physically printed.
 * Spacely Space Rockets went out of business at the end of the episode, but by the next episode, George and Spacely are already back at work.

Home availability

 * Warner Home Video released this episode was onto DVD in the United States for the first time on May 11, 2004, as part of The Jetsons: The Complete First Season. They released it on May 23, 2017, and then again in The Jetsons: The Complete Series on October 13, 2020.
 * The Warner Archive Collection released the episode onto Blu-ray Disc for the first time, as part of The Jetsons: The Compete Original Series, on September 10, 2019.