Mystery of the Lizard Men.

Hey kids (of all ages), it's Saturday Morning Cartoon time again!

After spending a decade and a half making the classic TOM & JERRY theatrical cartoons for MGM, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera launched their own studio, which would become the nine-hundred pound gorilla of TV animation, with mostly funny animal type 'toons like HUCKLEBERRY HOUND and YOGI BEAR. Even when they went into prime-time sitcoms featuring human characters like the FLINTSTONES and the JETSONS, they kept the humor broad and the style very cartoonish.

This changed when they considered a rare foray into licensed characters with a proposed JACK ARMSTRONG (radio) series. The deal fell apart, but Hanna-Barbera made the show anyway, with their own characters. This would be an action-packed adventure with sci-fi elements, using more realistic character designs. It set the stage in that regard for SPACE GHOST, HERCULOIDS, and even SCOOBY-DOO.

Writing was unusually deep for HB, with characters being well-balanced. Genius scientist Benton Quest wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch or fire a gun when the situation called for it. Badass man of action Race Bannon had a genuine interest in the scientific wonders his assignment exposed him to. Eleven year-old Jonny was adventurous enough to drive the plots, and sufficiently competent to handle the situations he got himself into. His adoptive brother Hadji (absent in this pilot episode) plays the 'conscience' to Jonny, but manages not to be a wet blanket about it. Even Bandit the bullpup provides comic relief while still being useful enough to justify keeping around.

The twenty-six episode season ran on ABC prime time in '64-'65. It was well-received, but too expensive for renewal. It was recycled into Saturday Mornings on CBS in '67. A sort-of second season was made in the '80s to fold into the syndication package. Then there were TV movies and a big re-imagining (with the characters aged-up a bit) in the '90s.

The characters have appeared in various other shows, including the great VENTURE BROS., which started out as essentially a parody, but has had the originals (or the Venture world's version of them) appear in supporting roles as well.

So here from 1964 is the first episode of JONNY QUEST.

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