The Mystery of the Lizard Men

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The Mystery of the Lizard Men
Lizard Men sneak up on Jonny.png
Network ABC
Premiere date September 18, 1964
Starring Tim Matthieson
John Stephenson
Mike Road
Don Messick
Nestor Paiva
Doug Young
Vic Perrin
Music composed by Hoyt Curtin
Writer(s) Joseph Barbera
William Hanna
Doug Wildey
Alex Lovy
Director(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Animation director(s) Charles A. Nichols
Episode navigation
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Title card
JQ 101 title card.png

"The Mystery of the Lizard Men" is the first episode of Jonny Quest season one. It aired on September 18, 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 William Hanna and Joseph 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.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

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

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
Captain John Stephenson
Helmsman Unavailable
Miguel Vic Perrin
Madrina Nestor Paiva
Skipper Doug Young
Junior Vic Perrin
Corvin Doug Young
Roberts Vic Perrin
Jonny's mother
Pilot Unavailable
Jonny Quest Tim Matthieson
Bandit Don Messick
Race Bannon Mike Road
Doctor Benton Quest John Stephenson
Christopher Columbus
Lizard Man #1 Nestor Paiva
Lizard Man #2 Doug Young
Lizard Men chief Vic Perrin
Lookout Don Messick
Gunner Unavailable


Organizations

Locations

Objects

  • Sargasso weed
  • File 0-37
  • UNICE

Vehicles

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

Production

Development

Filming

Music

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

Release

Dates are in order of release:

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.

Legacy

In popular culture

Main article: List of pop culture references to Jonny Quest
  • In the Recess episode "The Coolest Heatwave Ever," Gus revealed that he and his lieutenant father saved the world's economy after they captured DeSilvo while skiing in the Alps. They were also chased by DeSilvo's henchmen referred to as "frogmen."
  • 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.

Critical reception

In other languages

Language Name Meaning

Home availability

References