Space Ghost (segments)
- This article is about to the TV series. For the character, see Space Ghost (character). For other uses, see Space Ghost.
| Space Ghost | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Created by | Alex Toth |
| Network | CBS NBC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Original release | September 10, 1966—September 16, 1967; September 12—November 21, 1981 |
| Starring | Gary Owens Ginny Tyler Tim Matthieson Alexandra Stoddart Steve Spears Don Messick Frank Welker |
| Producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera Art Scott |
| Music composed by | Ted Nichols Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | Walter Black Bill Hamilton |
| Director(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Animation director(s) | Charles A. Nichols |
| Series navigation | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
Space Ghost is a series of scifi-fantasy/action adventure segments of Space Ghost & Dino Boy, produced by Hanna-Barbera (H-B) for CBS' Saturday morning children's programming. It ran from 1966 to 1967, airing 20 episodes that spanned one season. In 1981, it was revived for a second season with a further 22 episodes as segments of Space Stars on NBC.
A space law enforcement officer with a superhero-like name and uniform called Space Ghost battles supervillains across the galaxy. In his quest to uphold the law, he is joined by cadet fraternal twins, Jan and Jace, and their pet monkey pet, Blip.
In the final few episodes of the original series, Space Ghost had crossovers with several other H-B series, including Moby Dick, Mighty Mightor, The Herculoids, and Shazzan.
The entire original series has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and the entire revival has been released on DVD.
Production
Development
The working title was The Space Ghosts, with art by Alex Toth and Tony Sgroi. The pitch involved two pieces of art, the first of which was a maskless man and two blond kids wearing blue and white space uniforms, and then the second piece was them in space suits and purple and white masks.
Casting
Music
For the first season, the music was composed by Ted Nichols, who was credited as musical director. Then in the second season, it was Hoyt Curtin, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte.
Episodes
Space Ghost & Dino Boy
Space Stars
| Title | Number | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| "Microworld" / "Planet of the Space Monkeys" | 2x01 | September 12, 1981 |
| "The Starfly" / "The Antimatter Man" | 2x02 | September 19, 1981 |
| "City in Space" / "The Toymaker" | 2x03 | September 26, 1981 |
| "Nomads" / "The Space Dragons" | 2x04 | October 3, 1981 |
| "Eclipse Woman" / "Attack of the Space Sharks" | 2x05 | October 10, 1981 |
| "Time Chase" / "The Haunted Space Station" | 2x06 | October 17, 1981 |
| "Time of the Giants" / "The Buccaneer" | 2x07 | October 24, 1981 |
| "Space Spectre" / "The Big Freeze" | 2x08 | October 31, 1981 |
| "Devilship" / "The Deadly Comet" | 2x09 | November 7, 1981 |
| "Spacecube of Doom" / "The Time Master" | 2x10 | November 14, 1981 |
| "Web of the Wizard" / "The Shadow People" | 2x11 | November 21, 1981 |
Cast
- Gary Owens (credited as Gary Owen in season 1) as Space Ghost
- Ginny Tyler (season 1) and Alexandra Stoddart (season 2) as Jan
- Tim Matthieson (season 1) and Steve Spears (season 2) as Jace
- Don Messick (season 1) and Frank Welker (season 2) as Blip
Legacy
Between 1976 to 1977, following poor ratings of the live-action series Land of the Lost, NBC replaced the show with reruns of Space Ghost and Frankestein Jr. segments, in an half-hour block known as The Space Ghost/Frankenstein Jr. Show.[1]
From 1994 to 2008, Williams Street produced an irreverent spin-off titled Space Ghost Coast to Coast for Cartoon Network (and later Adult Swim), where the titular character had retired and became a goofy talk show host. It also spawned its own spin-offs, Cartoon Planet and The Brak Show.
In 2005, DC Comics reimagined the cartoon in a limited series called Space Ghost, and again in 2016, with Future Quest and Future Quest Presents.
In 2011, "The Bold Beginnings!" episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold had an opening segment called "The Space Safari," in the style of the original series, with Gary Owens reprising the role of Space Ghost for the final time.
In popular culture
- In the Weekend Update sketch in the Saturday Night Live episode "Miranda Richardson/Soul Asylum," Rob Schneider contests the FFC's ruling that cartoons aren't educational because a cartoon such as Space Ghost taught him that ghosts are real.
- In The Fairly OddParents TV movie Channel Chasers, Timmy, Cosmo, and Wanda are sent into a parody of Space Ghost called Space Spectre. Space Spectre is nowhere to be seen, aside from his face being used as a logo on the Phantom Cruiser-type spaceship and Timmy, Wanda, and Cosmo's uniforms. Timmy, Wanda, and Cosmo are parodies of Space Ghost's sidekicks, Jace, Jan, and Blip, respectively. Timmy calls his armband a ghost gauntlet.
