Did the Jetsons "jump the shark in the 80s?

[Warrior Kitana]

The Jetsons first aired for one season in the 60s, but ran in syndication nearly two decades afterwards. The Jetsons experienced a revival in the 80s and according to several fans of the show, this was when the series "jumped the shark". In the 80s revival, a new character orbitty was introduced as the Jetson's new pet. Many people say that the Jetsons lost its edge in the 80s and many of them didn't care much for the episodes. What do you think?

[Style]

Well, I'm pretty sure that '60's Jetsons didn't have much of an edge to begin with. Except for my theory that George Jetson was a deeply repressed man who resented his family and his wife and was becoming dangerously unstable.

[JCorey3rd]

I caught an 80s Jetsons episode on the Boomerang Indemand channel. It was horrible. There was something cute about the 1962 series - a strange look into the future.

[Wanted]

In the 80s revival, a new character orbitty was introduced as the Jetson's new pet.Wasn't Orbitty featured in the original episodes' titles (before the episode began [forgot what they were called]), but never in the episodes? Something tells me they planned to have him there from the beginning.

[Jave]

Wasn't Orbitty featured in the original episodes' titles (before the episode began [forgot what they were called]), but never in the episodes? Something tells me they planned to have him there from the beginning.60s Jetsons didn't have title screens when they originally aired. They were added when the 80s series premiered so it would look consistent.

[RAINMAN]

Well, I'm pretty sure that '60's Jetsons didn't have much of an edge to begin with. Except for my theory that George Jetson was a deeply repressed man who resented his family and his wife and was becoming dangerously unstable.


I thougth his boss Mr. spacely was the one driving him crazy all the time. He would fire him for any reason what so ever.:sweat:

[Arkangel]

The original Jetsons was great because it was a 1950s' version of the future where the world resembled the 1950s in every way, except for the advancements in technology. It was also better written, even though that's not saying much.

[Wanted]

60s Jetsons didn't have title screens when they originally aired. They were added when the 80s series premiered so it would look consistent.Oh. I never knew that; thanks.

[John Pannozzi]

The 80s Jetsons were cool, IMHO as John "Ren and Stimpy" Kricfalusi and David "Cow & Chicken" Feiss worked on 'em.

[Mightor]

i didn't mind Orbitty so much. actually, i liked him when i was a kid. but then, i also kind of liked Scrappy Doo. as an adult, i like the 60s show better. but, they did the one thing i always hoped they'd do when i was a kid. the Flintstones meet the Jetsons. that was great. prolly isn't so great now that i'm older. but when you're a kid, crossovers are something.

[Zri USA]

The 80's Jetsons were above the original in many aspects, several current talents got their break, as many did on others shows at that point, as a result, the jokes were more refined

People who say Orbite caused it to jump are absolutley full of it, new characters don't cause any series to "Jump", a show loses it's quality purly on the writing, some would argue The Jestons also "jumped" when they met The Flintstones, even at seven years old, I detested the crossovers.

[Eric Brown]

Now here's an interesting subject. The 60's and 80's Jetsons. I watched the 60's Jetsons from the premier episode. It was typical H-B fair of the time and I really liked it. The 1985/1987 episodes were really a step down. Even though I was pleased to hear that the original voice cast was back, the animation quality was poor (even though long time MGM/H-B animator Ed Love had done some sequences) the stories were juvenile, as was the backround music. I did save a few acceptable 80's episodes to tape (including John K's "High Tech Wreck") just for comparitive purposes. The other thing that REALLY 'bugged" me was when they mixed the original 60's episodes in with the new ones. They trimmed 3 minutes from the originals (for additional commercial time) and that material was not restored until the Jetsons First Season DVD was released. I knew the material was missing each time I watched one of the trimmed originals. That trimmed material was not seen for 20 years. CN did occassionally show a restored one before the DVD was released. The Jetson Movie was another dissapointment. Even though the general visual quality was good, the story/writing was bad. It was the first time, in many years, that Bill and Joe had collaberated on a project. After Universal insisted on putting Tiffany into the project, Joe said that he "basicly washed his hands of the whole project". The Apollo character was totally unneccesary. Just as a footnote, The H-B 50th anniversary special did contain a segment on the making of the "upcoming " Jetson Movie. There, I've had my say. Thank you.

[Mr.E]

The only good part of the Jetsons ,60's or 80's, was the George and Spacely interaction, everyone else in the show was just weak,giving a little excepion to Rosie the robot .

[STARTOUNZ]

I pretty much enjoyed the 80's episodes since the Jetsons finally got new life. The quality of the animation was better even though it varied at times since certain episodes were done by different companies overseas. At least with the "new" episodes we got to see more alien characters, each family member getting more episodes centered on them, and Astro and Rosie were finally seen together. I liked The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones as we got to hear the legendary voice actors do their most famous roles onscreen together. I'd say the "Jump the Shark" moment was Jetsons: The Movie since it looked like yet another environmental themed story that began to dominate the media add the fact Judy was voiced by Tiffany (BIG MISTAKE!!!). And it was the last time Mel Blanc and George O'Hanlon got to voice their characters, with Daws Butler having already passed, so it was certain at this point the Jetsons would never be the same again. :(