Jetsons Questions and Answers with Joe Barbera

 I'm not through discussing the 1980s Jetsons revival just yet. I figured it was only right to cap off this "trilogy" of posts by going back to the beginning of the 1985 Jetsons episodes—or, the first time audiences were made aware of the episodes being made, at least.

Below is a Q&A session featuring Joe Barbera that appeared in newspapers throughout December 1984. Inside, readers got their first idea of what the new episodes would feature, and what would be retained from the original series.

'Jetsons' Creator Joseph Barbera

     "Meet George Jetson...Jane, his wife...daughter Judy...their boy, Elroy." So began the theme song of "The Jetsons," one of the most beloved TV cartoons. The show, which ran from 1962-63, portrayed the Jetson family, an average 21st-century clan, who lived in the Sky Pad Apartments and were waited on hand and foot by Rosie, their robot maid.

    "The Jetsons" were created by Joseph Barbera, 73, who, with his partner William Hanna, also developed such animated characters as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstones gang. Although "The Jetsons" aired for only one year, the original 24 episodes are still running in syndication. Forty-one new episodes are now being produced for broadcast in the fall of 1985. Here, Barbera discusses cartoons—both then and now.

    Q: Why were "The Jetsons" created?
    A. After the success of "The Flintstones," which portrayed families living in the Stone Age, the next logical step was to develop a family of the future. "The Flintstones" aired for six years, but "The Jetsons" only lasted a year. The problem was that it was positioned at 7:30 on Sunday nights against "Dennis the Menace" and "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," two other family-oriented programs, and the three shows split the time period evenly. But even though "The Jetsons" was on only one season, it has been airing in reruns ever since.

    Q. Why are "The Jetsons" coming back now?
    A. One reason is a new element in the industry: Syndicated packages of animation that air five days a week. "The Jetsons" were seen as a good candidate for this kind of package by both our own company and by the syndicator. The other reason is that "The Jetsons," after all these years, really have developed a cult following—even though we only made 24 half-hour shows. The product holds up well.

    Q. What will the new shows be like?
    A. We're moving forward another 20 years...projecting new inventions, new gadgets, and new ways of living in the future. We have to think up new gadgets because if you look back at the originals, many things we projected in 1962 have now become commonplace, things like computers, robots, and automated food dispensers.

    Q. Will there be any new characters?
    A. We're introducing one new character. He's called Orbitty, and he's charming and lovable. But the rest is a secret. By the way, we're not going to change the theme song-that's too much a part of the show.

    Q. Will George still be working for Spacely Sprockets?
    A. Of course. In one new episode, because of a goof-up, he's sent to another branch of the company, which is located in the equivalent of outer space's Outer Mongolia. Cosmo Spacely (his boss) tells him you can be friends with the people who live there. George says the only trouble is that the people there are invisible.

    Q. Will Jane be working? The idea of a woman who's just a housewife may not be as acceptable today as it was in 1962.
    A. I think we should try that—at least for one story.

    Q. "The Jetsons" originally aired as a prime-time cartoon. Would that concept work today?
    A. Probably not. There's a built-in resistance from the networks to cartoons in prime time, but I'm patient that they will come back—especially when you look at what's on prime time now.