Jonny Quest

This was the high point of my Saturday cartoon watching as a kid. As long as I got to see Jonny Quest the rest of my viewing didn't matter. Jonny ruled then. JQ had everything. There was action, adventure, spies, bad guys, monster (both giant and smaller), mad scientists, rockets, planes, boats, tanks, army guys, submarines, espionage, intrigue and more. Hard to believe but all of this was packed into only a half an hour. Every saturday you got to see Jonny, Dr. Quest, Race Bannon, Hadji and Bandit save our country and/or the world. They went on adventures you could only dream about. This was the coolest cartoon on in it's day. Was there a better opening to a show. The instrumental opening was great. It let you know how much action was about to come your way. The only other opening I could remember like this was Bugs Bunny and the Flintstones and they had lyrics. Of all the cartoons on when I was a kid this one was the one that I made sure I watched. There hasn't been a cartoon like it since that could come close. Maybe Scooby-Doo, at least he had monsters, or bad guys posing as such to deal with. Even that doesn't match up to Jonny Quest. My parents would even sit down and watch it too. It was that entertaining. JQ had excellant stories to go with the action. For those who haven't seen it, the best five episodes are The Lizard Men, pilot episode, Dr. Sins Robot Spy, The Curse of Anubis, Turu the Terrible and the Invisible Monster. Jonny Quest was the best damn cartoon ever and remains so. JQ rules.

This was the coolest show ever! You had top notch designs from Doug Wildey and Alex Toth, great voices from the likes of Don Messick and Tim "Otter" Matheson, great stories and kick-a** music. People actually died in this show! (unlike 80's fare, like GI Joe, where they always parachuted to safety, or everyone misses with lasers). Despite being tagged as violent, the show illustrated that violence had consequences. You learned that if you fire a gun, people die, or at least get hurt.

What's not to love about a show with dinosaurs, WWI airplanes, robot spiders, lizard men, Dr Zin, invisible monsters, mummies, and secret armies? You got jet packs, lasers, submarines, hovercraft, hydrofoils, vstol jets, and other cool rides. You have evil villains like Dr Zin, Ivar, Dr Karim, Ashida and his dragons, and a host of foreign spies. Throw in exotic locales and you can't lose.

Yeah, it wasn't the most PC of shows (take that you heathen monkeys, indeed) but it was still pretty entertaining; and, Hadji was always portrayed as an intelligent and equal character. Sure, Dr Quest and Race Bannon sure seemed to avoid women (except Jezebel Jade) but, you know, they were positive role models.

By the way, if you ever wondered what happened to Jonny's mother, check out the excellent Comico comic book from the 80's. It was an outstanding story that will bring tears to your eyes, and add a wrinkle to Dr Zin.

I was 6-7 years old when Jonny Quest came out and I loved the show (still do!)- and yes, I am a female! The artwork employed was incredible for its time and every show had tidbits of scientific or technological info that fed hungry young minds. No, I didn't grow up wanting to be a mad scientist! And no, I didn't grow up with any violent tendencies from watching Jonny use judo or anything- compared to cartoons today the violence in Jonny Quest is pretty mild (nothing graphic)! The cartoons are exciting and interesting...and who doesn't love Bandit???? He's better than Scooby Doo! I was so happy to see the boxed set of first season episodes in the store. I bought it right away to watch with my husband (also a Jonny Quest fan) and 14-year old daughter (who remembers the new Jonny Quest from the 1990's). Although the cartoons are somewhat dated they are still fun to watch. The locales are exotic, the action and adventure thrilling! All Jonny Quest fans will love this boxed set and treasure it for the nostalgic memories it will evoke of that 1960's era when science and technology were at the gateway of the future (outer space travel, moon landings, robotics...)! Jonny Quest was, to the children of 1964-65, a visionary glimpse into the future. Today it is a nostalgic visit to the much more innocent past.

I remember watching JONNY QUEST when it first came on TV - in the Prime Time hours no less! As a kid I didn't quite realize how different from other cartoons this piece of greatness was. Now as an adult (although still a kid at heart), I understand what made it different and great. Firstly, it was a show about kids - Jonny and Hadji (and Hadji was from another country!) - where the adults treated the boys as Kids and not Babies. They went all over the world for their adventures, and "gosh!" I was learning about other countries and cultures, and I didn't even know it! And the science (although somewhat archaic now) was ahead of its time. Of course, that was only to be expected, coming from the genius of the great scientist, Dr. Benton Quest! And the artwork from Hanna-Barbera gave credit to it all. The locations were gorgeous and accurate as possible. The foreign peoples looked as they should, not just WASPs with slanted eyes. And the hardware was as sleek and shiny as the science could make it. After all these years, the show stands the test of time. I still thoroughly enjoy watching it, and I'm thrilled that the complete set of episodes is coming to DVD in May of this year. If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance! Take the time - it is supremely well worth it!

If you grew up in the '60's and early '70's, as I did, "Jonny Quest" was in many ways THE ultimate animated adventure show. And it's only gotten better over the years. The plotting and animation were certainly the most sophisticated Hanna-Barbera ever did. And the voice casting was perfect, as well. Sorry, fellow Cherry Hill-ite J.D. Roth, but, for me, Jonny will always be the young Tim Mathieson. Ditto Mike Road as Race Bannon and John Stephenson (earlier) and Don Messick (later) as Dr. Benton Quest. And Hoyt Curtin's jazzy score was just the icing on the cake.

With the so-called "Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" being such a pale imitation of the original, it's so good to see the original back on a series of four excellent DVDs. A later generation deserves a chance to enjoy the real thing, and nostalgic grown-ups deserve a chance to remember.