It's a tale as old as time. A show's getting long in the tooth, so what do they do to breathe new life into it? Add a new character, obviously! While it's been done time and time again, Hanna-Barbera may have been the masters of this tactic. When Scooby-Doo needed new blood, along came Scrappy. The Flintstones cast grew more and more with each new season. And when The Jetsons came back in 1985, a new member was added to the family. That was the alien Orbitty.
Orbitty's story starts with none other than Joe Barbera. When the decision was made to bring the show back, Barbera felt a new character was needed to pique kids' interest. It's a strange idea, considering the entire reason the show returned was that the original episodes remained popular. However, this is Joe Barbera we're talking about. Barbera saw the success of Steven Spielberg's E.T., and urged the crew to create a similar character. You can tell E.T.'s design definitely had an impact on Orbitty's, as both characters have a pretty similar head shape. Like many of the HB characters, Orbitty was designed by Iwao Takamoto. Frank Welker, a Hanna-Barbera regular and a master vocal artist, portrayed the character.
As you can imagine, adding a new character to such an iconic cast wasn't the most well-received idea. Many on the show disliked Orbitty and pushed back against Barbera's request. Their pleas ultimately fell on deaf ears, but they still found ways to make their displeasure known. The writers on the show often wrote in scenes where Orbitty was roughed up. The artists, including a young John K., were more than happy to bring these moments to life. Check out this drawing for an episode John did, featuring Astro using the little alien as a handkerchief.
Orbitty made his debut to audiences in the first episode of the 1980s Jetsons series, "Elroy Meets Orbitty". Part E.T., part mood ring, and part spring, he became a major part of the 1985 episodes. Alongside the show, Orbitty had a major presence in Jetsons merchandise released around this time. He was turned into a plush doll, a night light, and even appeared with the rest of the family in a Jetsons board game (seen below). Clearly, the Hanna-Barbera bigwigs had high hopes for Orbitty. Did the gamble pay off?
Your mileage may vary, but if you ask me, I'd say "no". While I'm sure Orbitty had his fans both then and now, it's clear that most feel about the character the same way the crew did. Many saw him as an unnecessary addition, a character who existed only to sell toys. Others were turned away by his personality, design, and voice. He never truly felt like he "fit" the Jetsons family and world. It didn't help that he was characterized as little more than another Astro. For as much flak as Scrappy-Doo gets, you can't deny he was different from the other characters. Practically everything Orbitty offered was done better with Astro in the original episodes.
If the fan reaction to Orbitty wasn't enough of a sign that people didn't latch on to the character, take a quick look at the 1987 episodes. Of the ten episodes produced, Orbitty only appeared in one. Orbitty was also MIA in the two Jetsons TV movies, as well as the 1990 feature film. If the character landed with audiences, surely he'd have stuck around for those, wouldn't you think?
In the end, Orbitty left The Jetsons as quickly as he entered. He's had a couple of cameos in shows like Harvey Birdman and Jellystone!, but little else. Really, Orbitty was just too generic to have much of either a fanbase or an angry mob. Referring to Scrappy once again, as disliked as he is, he had a genuine personality. The same goes for someone like the Great Gazoo. Can anyone genuinely tell me what Orbitty's personality was supposed to be? He was arguably the most transparent attempt Hanna-Barbera ever made at a new character in an old property, and his legacy (or lack thereof) is proof of that.
But now, I open the floor to you. Do I have any secret Orbitty stans among my readers? Or if you did dislike him, was it for the reasons I mentioned, or something entirely different?
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