Video of the Week: The Jabberjaw Dinnerware Collection

It goes without saying that the Hanna-Barbera characters and merchandise are like a match made in heaven. If it exists, you can get it with the mugs of Fred Flintstone, Scooby-Doo, or Yogi Bear slapped onto it. But one character who wasn't as lucky was Jabberjaw. He'll get a t-shirt and a Funko Pop, but if you're craving something more, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

But if you specifically want a set of Jabberjaw plates, well, you're still out of luck. That didn't stop Cartoon Network UK from making a parody ad for such a set, which you can check out below. This aired around 1998, and interestingly features the voice of Tom Baker, best known to audiences in the U.K. and elsewhere as the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. The "commercial" is very well put together, and if you look at the comments, you'll find plenty were disappointed to find out this was merely a joke. I won't lie, I'd buy a set if they made these. Are you listening, Warner Bros. Consumer Products?

Before They Were Cartoons: Early Sketches of Atom Ant, Jabberjaw, and More!

Concept art really is a fascinating thing. Who doesn't want to see what their favorite characters almost looked like? Not so long ago, I looked at some rough early designs for The Jetsons and Quick Draw McGraw, and I'm back with more! First off is this piece for Huckleberry Hound. As you can see, the Huckleberry sketch really emphasized the "Hound" aspect of his character, which was toned down in his final design. It was also drawn by Ed Benedict, who designed many a Hanna-Barbera character.

Here's an earlier take on Atom Ant, though compared to others, he's not too dissimilar from how he looked in the final product. It's mostly his colors that are different.

Next is this Jerry Eisenberg piece for Dastardly and Muttley, or as it was almost called, Stop That Pigeon! If you're wondering why the main character looks so different from Dastardly, that was because the Hanna-Barbera folk weren't actually sure if they could use him or Muttley for the series, due to its nature as a coproduction with Heatter-Quigley.

The last one for today is this concept art of Jabberjaw. I think this was done by Eisenberg as well, but I cannot say for certain. While I think most others prefer the final designs to the concept versions of every character thus far, I must say, I dig this version of the character way more than the actual version. It's got far more character, and feels right at home alongside the likes of, say, Yogi Bear. Of course, this is Jabberjaw we're talking about, so I guess it wasn't that big of a loss that we didn't see this version.