List of The Jetsons characters

The following is a list of major characters in The Jetsons. The Jetsons is an animated television comedy produced by Hanna-Barbera and first broadcast in prime-time on ABC as part of the 1962–63 United States network television schedule. Additional episodes were produced from 1985 to 1987, with the same cast of characters.

The Jetsons family

George Jetson

Main article: George Jetson

George J. Jetson[1] is a fictional character and the 40-year-old head of the Jetson family. He is the husband of Jane Jetson and the father of teenage daughter Judy and elementary school aged son Elroy.

George resides with his family in the Skypad Apartments[2] in Orbit City, in a future with the trappings of science fantasy depictions of American life in the future, such as robot servants, flying saucer-like cars, and moving sidewalks. All the apartment buildings are set on giant poles, resembling Seattle's Space Needle; the ground is almost never seen, though in Jetsons: The Movie, it is suggested that the earth is extremely polluted, thus everyone lives in the sky.

When George was a kid he had to fly through ten miles of asteroid storms to go to Orbit High School, where he was the star pitcher of its Spaceball team. Mostly in high school, he was labeled as an outsider and a geek in Orbit High School. George is now an employee at Spacely's Space Sprockets, a manufacturer of "sprockets" and other high tech equipment. His job title is "digital index operator."[3] His boss is Cosmo G. Spacely, noted for being short in both height and temper; Spacely usually treats his employees (particularly George) in a rather tyrannical fashion. George's job primarily requires him to repeatedly push a single button (or on occasion a series of buttons) on a computer (named RUDI {Short for: Referential Universal Digital Indexer} in the 1980s series of Jetsons episodes). Once, George complained of his heavy work load; having to push a button for one hour, one day of the week! Often, Mr. Spacely will fire George in a fit of anger, only to hire him back by the end of the same episode.

Physically, George is a rather slim man of average height with short red hair and a cartoonishly large nose. His personality is that of a well-meaning, caring father, but he is often befuddled and stressed out by the problems of both his work and family lives. As The Jetsons was partially based on the comic strip Blondie, George himself was probably based on that strip's lead character, Dagwood Bumstead. His wife Jane is voiced by Penny Singleton who played the movie version of Blondie in the 1930s to 1950s.[4]

George's most famous catchphrase is "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!" seen at the end credits of the 1960s Jetsons episodes, but is also known for frequently uttering the phrase "Hooba-dooba-dooba!" to express wonder or astonishment (probably inspired by Fred Flintstone's similar-sounding "Yabba Dabba Doo!!").

George O'Hanlon was the voice actor who did George's voice in both the sixties and eighties versions of the cartoon series; O'Hanlon was known for his portrayal of everyman characters in film and television. O'Hanlon once said of his character: "George Jetson is an average man. He has trouble with his boss, he has problems with his kids, and so on. The only difference is that he lives in the next century."[5] O'Hanlon last did the voice for George Jetson in Jetsons: The Movie, which was released posthumously.

The current voice of George Jetson is Jeff Bergman, who voiced George (and also Mr. Spacely) in some parts of the movie after O'Hanlon's death, and also voiced George in The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera as well as for the cameo in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Shaggy Busted" and Spümcø's two Jetsons cartoons: Father & Son Day and The Best Son.

In the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Back to the Present", George was voiced by Wally Wingert. In the episode, the Jetsons return to the past to sue the planet for causing global warming also in a cameo appearance on The Powerpuff Girls.

George Jetson also appears at the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and formerly Universal Studios Florida as a meetable character seen in 1996 video called "Kids for Character".

He also appears on Kanye West's music video "Heartless". He is also seen along with his family, Rosie, and Mr. Spacely in a MetLife commercial that aired in 2012.

The inspiration for George's name sake is believed to be a tribute to the prolific Danish designer, Georg Jensen, who defined modern design in the early and mid twentieth century.

Jane Jetson

Jane Jetson: age 33 (self-reported in the first episode), is George's wife, mother of their two children, and a homemaker. Because she is so much younger than George she would have been only 17 at the time of Judy's birth. Jane is obsessed with fashion and new gadgetry. Her favorite store is Mooning Dales. She is also a dutiful wife who always tries to make life as pleasant as possible for her family. Although she is usually pleasant natured, she is quite protective of her family and she can be angered whenever they are threatened. She is also unafraid to stand up to Mr. Spacely, especially when he antagonizes her family and her husband.

Outside of the home, she is a member of the Galaxy Women Historical Society and is a fan of Leonardo de Venus and Picasso Pia. Although this wife of the future has both a robot maid and automated apartment appliances, even pushing buttons for housework gets to be too much for her and she has to take a vacation ("Dude Planet"). She has terrible driving skills, turning her driving instructor, a gangster and her husband into nervous wrecks ("Jane's Driving Lesson").

Jane appears, with Wilma Flintstone and Velma Dinkley, in a commercial for Dove shampoo. She even appears on Kanye West's music video "Heartless". In one episode of Animaniacs, a female space alien resembling Jane appears twice; once as a receptionist, and then again when a male alien trapped on a treadmill calls out the famous catchphrase "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!" where she comes to his aid.

She was included in Yahoo!'s Top 10 TV Moms from Six Decades of Television.[6]

Judy Jetson

Judy Jetson

Judy Jetson is the 15-year-old daughter of George and Jane Jetson who acts just like a normal teenage girl only with more futuristic tastes.

Despite Judy still keeping modern-day "teenage girl" likes and dislikes, such as seemingly never-ending conversations on the telephone and shopping for futuristic outfits, she does not live exactly like a modern teenager, obviously because of the time the show takes place, because she enjoys taking advantage of the many gadgets at her grasp because of the technology (like controllable zero-gravity switches made for accomplishing popular dance moves of the show's time or for other uses). She also gives a summary of how her day went including her problems to a floating robotic diary, appropriately named, "DiDi" (voiced by Brenda Vaccaro).

Judy is also very fond of a futuristic rock singer named "Jet Screamer", whom George at first despised until Judy won a date with the heartthrob singer in a contest in which girls who wanted to win a date with Jet Screamer were to write songs, and the writer of the winning song would win the date. Judy won because George replaced her original song with her younger brother Elroy's secret code. George came along to try to stop the date but failed and wound up as the drummer for the song and soon took a liking for Jet Screamer and his music.

Judy is depicted wearing a deep pinkish-purple, futuristic outfit and, like a few other Hanna-Barbara cartoon characters (such as Bamm-Bamm Rubble from The Flintstones and some background characters in various cartoons) has white hair that is colored to resemble platinum blonde or bleached blonde hair, which she wears in a ponytail on top of her head. She attends Orbit High School, which her father had also attended.

Judy was voiced by Janet Waldo in all appearances except Jetsons the Movie. After she finished recording her lines for the movie, Waldo's voice track was erased and rerecorded by pop singer Tiffany.[7][8] Judy went unvoiced in her appearance in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, due to the fact a voice actress could not be secured for her (Waldo by this point was in her 90s and retired from voice acting).

Elroy Jetson

Elroy Jetson: age 6 and a half (self-reported in the first episode) to 8 or 9 years old, is the younger of the two children in the Jetson family. He is highly intelligent and an expert in all space sciences. Elroy attends Little Dipper School where he studies space history, astrophysics and star geometry. He is a mild mannered and good child. Elroy was voiced by Daws Butler until his death in 1988; for the movie Patric Zimmerman took over. Throughout the years Zimmerman continued to voice Elroy, with the exception of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Tom Kenny voiced Elroy there.

Jetson family household

Astro

Astro is a canine character on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The Jetsons. He was designed by Iwao Takamoto, and originally voiced by Don Messick. In the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Back to the Present", Astro was voiced by Wally Wingert. Astro, despite being clumsy and dim-witted, was very loyal (to a fault) to the Jetsons. He was more advanced than present-day dogs, in that he had a rudimentary grasp of the English language, albeit with r's in many places they shouldn't be, or replacing other letters. For example, "I love you, George" would be "I ruv roo, Reorge". Astro is very loyal to the Jetson family and especially loyal to George and Elroy. This is similar to Scooby-Doo in the cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!; which was also voiced by Messick (of the two voices, Astro's was slightly higher and raspier than Scooby's).[9]

History

Astro's appearance as a galactic police dog from Astro and the Space Mutts. (1981)

Astro was introduced in the season one episode, "The Coming of Astro". When Jane, Judy, and Elroy proposed keeping him to George, he was against it, claiming an apartment is no place for a dog. In an effort to make his family happy, he gets an electronic dog, 'Lectronimo. Through mishaps, 'Lectronimo fails to catch a burglar whom Astro inadvertently stops. The family gives 'Lectronimo to the police and keeps Astro. In episode 15, millionaire J.P. Gottrockets shows up and claims to be Astro's former owner, saying the dog's original name was "Tralfaz". Seeing how much Elroy and Astro have bonded with each other, Gottrockets gives Astro to the Jetsons. Astro makes five cameo appearances as a portrait in the music video for the 2008 Kanye West song "Heartless", which takes place in West's actual apartment den. Astro was also in 11 episodes of a 1981 spin-off called Astro and the Space Mutts.

Rosie

Rosie the maid is a humanoid robot fictional character in The Jetsons animated television series of the 1960s.[10] She is the title family's maid and housekeeper. Jean Vander Pyl provided the voice for Rosie. Rosie is depicted as wearing a frilly apron, and was often seen using a separate vacuum cleaner. Her torso is mounted atop a single leg and she rolls about on a set of caster wheels. She frequently calls George Jetson "Mr. J".

Rosie was an old demonstrator model hired by the Jetson family from U-Rent a Maid. The series' first episode, "Rosie the Robot", gives her model number as XB-500. In the episode "Rosie's Boyfriend," we learn she has a boyfriend, the robot Mac, a helper for Henry Orbit.

She was spoofed in the Futurama movie Bender's Game, with a robot that looked like her saying "Everything must be clean. Very clean. That's why the dog had to die. He was a dirty dog. Also that boy Elroy. Dirty. Dirty."[11] She was voiced by Tress MacNeille in this parody.

Orbitty

Orbitty: is the 2nd pet of the Jetson family. Orbitty is an alien with spring-like legs. He has the ability to express his emotions by changing color. He is also excellent in fixing and repairing things. This character was introduced in the 1980s version of the series but didn't appear in the third season (aside from one cameo) or any of the movies that came after it.

George Jetson's workplace

Mr. Spacely

Cosmo G. Spacely is George's boss, originally voiced by Mel Blanc. Frank Welker voiced a teenage version of Mr. Spacely in the Jetsons Christmas Carol and Jeff Bergman voiced Spacely in some scenes in Jetsons: The Movie after Blanc's death, as Blanc died during the production of Jetsons: The Movie. This means the character has the distinction of being the last character to be voiced by legendary voice actor Blanc.

Spacely is president and owner of 'Spacely Space Sprockets', where George Jetson works. He frequently yells at George for perceived poor work performance. A typical videophone call from Spacely starts with him yelling "JETSON!!!" He attempts to fire George for the slightest offense (his bombastic "YOU'RE FIRED!!" has since been copied by Vince McMahon and by Hank Azaria as Mr. Costington in The Simpsons) , though Spacely gives George his job back at the end of the episode or the beginning of the next episode. Spacely also often finds excuses to get involved in George's personal life. Spacely's wife is Mrs. Stella Spacely (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl).

Mr. Cogswell

Mr. Cogswell (voiced by Daws Butler): early 50's, is Spacely's big competitor. He owns Cogswell's Cosmic Cogs company and causes a lot of trouble for Spacely and George. To a lesser extent, Cogswell is another of the series' antagonists. He and Spacely are always finding ways to bring each other's businesses down. Cogswell has often tried to steal Spacely's ideas and make them his own to gain an advantage (only for it to backfire on both bosses). Just like Spacely, he is also cheap and greedy and not above firing his employees when any little thing goes wrong. Mr. Cogswell's first name of "Spencer" is revealed in the 1980s version of The Jetsons. He bears something of a resemblance to Mr. Flintstone's boss, Mr. Slate.

R.U.D.I.

R.U.D.I.: is George's work computer as well as his best friend. His name is an acronym for Referential Universal Digital Indexer. He has a human personality and is a member of the Society Preventing Cruelty to Humans.

In the episode "Family Fallout" the Jetsons are up against the Spacelys on a game show. The last question to come up was "what does R.U.D.I. stand for?" George's response was Referential Universal Differential Indexer – this was accepted by the game show host as the correct answer, even though earlier episodes had it as Digital instead of Differential.

Henry Orbit

Henry is the apartment janitor of the Skypad Apartments. He has an assistant robot M.A.C.C. who is also dating Rosie the Jetson's housekeeper robot.

References

  1. ↑ "Jetsons, The (1962) – TV Series – Season 1, Episode 2". Database of Movie Dialogs. BelaZebra. Retrieved 2010-11-14. What's your name, speedy? George J. Jetson. George Jetson, eh? Well, Georgie, let's see what we got here.
  2. ↑ "Jetsons, The (1962)". Database of Movie Dialogs. BelaZebra. Retrieved 2010-11-14. Car 88 calling in. What's up, Sarge? Investigate complaint of trouble over at the Skypad Apartments. Right, Sarge. I'm on my way.
  3. ↑ Holt, Patrick D. (July 2009). The Information Society in Science Fiction (PDF) (Master of Science in Library Science thesis). School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 52. Retrieved 2010-11-14. Although George Jetson does commute to work as a “darn good digital index operator” (a job that apparently involves push the buttons that start and stop the procedure), the rest of the Dyson/Bel Geddes vision is complete – to no avail. Just about everything is automated, but no one seems aware that life is easier...
  4. ↑ Penny Singleton
  5. ↑ "George O'Hanlon; Father's voice on Jetsons". Los Angeles Times. February 14, 1989.
  6. ↑ Adair, Aly (February 27, 2009). "Top 10 Favorite TV Moms". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ "For Some Readers, Tiffany Is No Jetson". The Los Angeles Times. July 15, 1990. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
  8. ↑ Eder, Bruce "Janet Waldo" (Allmovie biography)
  9. ↑ CD liner notes: Saturday Mornings: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
  10. ↑ "Jetsons Hold Onto Their Space as Our Favorite Flying Family". Miami Herald. May 19, 1989.
  11. ↑ "Rosie the Robot Maid - The Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki". Theinfosphere.org. 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-06-05.

Further reading

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