Why was Rosey the Robot never seen that much on "The Jetsons" (1962-1963)?

[George3000]

Okay, at this very moment, I've just got through watching "The Space Car" (1962), where I've noticed at the beginning, George Jetson is serving breakfast to Elroy, I'm mean isn't that Rosey's job. Like, wasn't she the star focus of the show's very first episode ("Rosey the Robot")? The only appeareance in the 1962-63 season aside from her cameo in the original closing credits was "Rosey's Boyfriend" (which introduced Henry's robotic assistant Mac).

In "Rosey the Robot" (pilot eipsode), Jane declares that she's tired of doing housework all the time, so she hires Rosey as their new maid, on the day George invites Mr. Spacely into the Sky Pad Apartments for dinner. A later episode's main plot from this same season ("Dude Planet") contradicts the premise of the earlier story. However, when the series was given new life in the 1980s, Rosey was seen more often as the family housemaid. (On a very side note , I'm now watching an episode, "Rip-off Rosey" (1985), one of the the more episodes for the later seasons which featured her more prominently.)

But, my main question is: Why was Rosey the Robot not seen as much in all of the original series' 24 stories?

[Blackstar]

The Jetsons was mainly about the family (George, Jane, Judy and Elroy and to a lesser extent, Astro). Rosie was basically a futuristic take on the wise cracking maid character that was prevalent on such early domestic sitcoms such as Beulah or Hazel, only made as a robot to fit into The Jetsons' futuristic format (I never understood why a housewife would need to have a maid anyway). Rosie was never meant to be more than a supporting player on the show. What were you expecting? Bender?

[Lavenderpaw]

The Jetsons was mainly about the family (George, Jane, Judy and Elroy and to a lesser extent, Astro). Rosie was basically a futuristic take on the wise cracking maid character that was prevalent on such early domestic sitcoms such as Beulah or Hazel, only made as a robot to fit into The Jetsons' futuristic format (I never understood why a housewife would need to have a maid anyway). Rosie was never meant to be more than a supporting player on the show. What were you expecting? Bender?

Bender would have turned Rosie's world upside down. :p

I dunno, maybe the whole 'robots shouldn't interfere in human affairs or else they might learn to much and turn on us' scenario.

[Lucho]

Rosie was never meant to be more than a supporting player on the show. What were you expecting? Bender?
I dunno, maybe the whole 'robots shouldn't interfere in human affairs or else they might learn to much and turn on us' scenario.

Wasn't that Uniblab :cool:

[aalong64]

The Jetsons was mainly about the family (George, Jane, Judy and Elroy and to a lesser extent, Astro). Rosie was basically a futuristic take on the wise cracking maid character that was prevalent on such early domestic sitcoms such as Beulah or Hazel, only made as a robot to fit into The Jetsons' futuristic format (I never understood why a housewife would need to have a maid anyway). Rosie was never meant to be more than a supporting player on the show. What were you expecting? Bender?
I think the point the OP is trying to make isn't that she should've been the star of multiple episodes, but rather that in retrospect it feels like she was in most episodes as a supporting character, and it's surprising to go back and find out that she was actually only in a couple.

At least, that's the impression I got, and that's pretty much how I feel, too. I never would have guessed that she was only in two episodes. In my memories of when Teletoon used to show the original series, I remembered her as being a pretty commonplace part of it. I wonder why that is? I guess she was just a memorable character, combined with the fact that her introductory episode made it seem like she was going to be there all the time.

[Lucho]

...it's surprising to go back and find out that she was actually only in a couple.

At least, that's the impression I got, and that's pretty much how I feel, too. I never would have guessed that she was only in two episodes. In my memories of when Teletoon used to show the original series, I remembered her as being a pretty commonplace part of it. I wonder why that is?


Maybe because she was in the closing credits of every episode - when George gets home she's the first to greet him at the door.

[Still HowardFein]

Yes, I always thought Rosie's general absence after her episodelong introduction was strange too. (Heck, even Cogswell's flunky Harlan appeared in three original episodes to Rosie's two.) She was prominently featured in JETSON merchandise: comic books, coloring books, etc. during the 20+ year gap between series.

It's similar to the Flintstone's pet saber-tooth tiger, whose cathode exposure was mostly limited to putting Fred out of the house during the closing credits- and a brief bit it the Season 5 episode Pebbles' Birthday Party. Yet 'Baby Puss' seemed to show up a lot in series-based Little Golden Books.

[Tobias]

I think nobody noticed how few episodes Rosie was in until Cartoon Network/Boomerang split up the seasons. Instead of running S1 with S2/S3 right after, now they're going the Scooby Doo route and treating them like different series.

[Brainatra]

Bender would have turned Rosie's world upside down.


I'm sure Mac (Rosie's boyfriend) would do the same thing to Bender if he layed a metallic hand on her. ;-)

-B.

[Steve Carras]

Well, she certainly appeared in the original 1962 gang credits! [Astro AND Rosie were separetly introduced. At LEAST there WAS no "Sargent Bilko Snorkasaurus" factor with the intros of either!:p: think: Dino on tbhe FLinstones being "introduced" as a Phil Silvers/Bilko [Jerry Mann] dino AND THE Dino appearing at once.. BTW an episode I've mentioned before of the 1985 version, "Instant Replay", a percursor of Adam Sandler's 2006 boxoffice hit "Click", both based on "It's a Wonderful Life" and neither with the holiday theme, with the "click-device" some stranger makes to travel through the time to improve one's life, ignores the fact that Astro AND the wife and kids PREDATE Rosie since George, elimiating his old college rival Bunky Binston, who's about to [gulp] woo Jane, whom he kissed at her and George Jetson's marriage, "flashes back" to a time when now only George And Rosie are there, EVEN thoiugh Rosie didn't appear till AFTER they got married..]

[STARTOUNZ]

BTW an episode I've mentioned before of the 1985 version, "Instant Replay", a percursor of Adam Sandler's 2006 box office hit "Click", both based on "It's a Wonderful Life" and neither with the holiday theme, with the "click-device" some stranger makes to travel through the time to improve one's life, ignores the fact that Astro AND the wife and kids PREDATE Rosie since George, eliminating his old college rival Bunky Binston, who's about to [gulp] woo Jane, whom he kissed at her and George Jetson's marriage, "flashes back" to a time when now only George And Rosie are there, EVEN though Rosie didn't appear till AFTER they got married..]

That wasn't really a flashback episode. The device allowed George to make whatever changes he wanted to "improve" his life. But by inadvertently erasing his wedding day, George was not married to Jane, who ended up with Bunky anyway. Of course Judy and Elroy did not exist in the alternate timeline. Astro wasn't there since there was no Elroy to bring him into the family. But it was strange though that Rosie would be with George since it was Jane who had selected her in the pilot episode. The only way George could set things right was to give the device back to its inventor, who had then used it to prevent their meeting in the first place.

[Fibber Fox]

But, my main question is: Why was Rosey the Robot not seen as much in all of the original series' 24 stories?

Blackstar hit it. She's an incidental character. She's not supposed to be on every show.

Besides, it would have cost Joe Barbera money to bring in Jean Vander Pyl to record lines.

You can probably go back and find all kinds of characters people thought were in shows a lot more than they were because of the impression they made through constant viewing in reruns.

F. Fox
http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com

[Still HowardFein]

[QUOTE=Fibber Fox;3306133]Besides, it would have cost Joe Barbera money to bring in Jean Vander Pyl to record lines.
[QUOTE]
And yet, Jean VanderPyl was used in several other JETSON episodes, primarily as Mrs. Spacely.So it just could be that after Rosie's presumably huge impact in the series pilot, the producers and writers just couldn't find sufficient material for her- except to interact with fellow robot Mac. Apparently Henry, Spacely and Cogswell were easier to write for. The latter two certainly provided enough conflict.