39 replies to this topic

[zencat]

So what are our thoughts, ideas, feelings about Jonny Quest? I only vaguely recall the show myself. Do we have any Quest fans here? If so, what's essential to the Quest universe? What turns (or turned) you on or off to Quest? Is there anything that quintessential "Questian"?

[Safari Suit]

I'm afraid to say I found it rather dull when it played on Cartoon Network back when I was about six/seven. My memories are of drawn-out plots and minimalist animation. I might actually appreciate it more if I saw it now, although given that it was made at the time Hannah-Barbera started churning out middling (at best) cartoons maybe not. About ten years ago there was an updated show called "The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest". At the time I thought that was okay.

Sorry that your first response is somewhat negative.

Edited by Safari Suit, 10 May 2007 - 06:42 PM.

[Mister Asterix]

[mra]Love Jonny Quest. I still watch the show. 1960s version, of course. 1980s version. No thanks. 1990s version, the second season is worth a watch.

You can still watch

[David_M]

Jonny Quest rules!

Speaking as someone who grew up in the early 70s, when parents' groups had all the violence chopped even out of harmless old Looney Tunes (lest suburban youngsters be inspired to actually blow up their playmates with real dynamite) and made the SuperFriends about as action-oriented as a knitting group, it was really, really exciting to see re-runs of Jonny Quest where people got shot, stabbed, poisoned, you name it on a regular basis. When, in one episode, Race Bannon drove a bulldozer through an enemy camp, using the scoop to deflect their bullets while he mowed them down with a machine gun, I knew I had a new hero. Hey, if you're going to do an action/adventure cartoon, you can't go halfway.

What's quintessentially Questian? I'd have to say travel to exotic locales, a lot of groovy 60s-style hardware and vehicles (like Dr Quest's VTOL jet) and nefarious villains. In other words, a lot of the same things that were so integral to classic Bond.

Spies, mummies, dinosaurs, invisible monsters...Jonny had it all. Plus he didn't have to go to school as he was tutored by the resident 007 stand-in Race Bannon (as a kid I always wondered if Jonny didn't secretly wish Race was his dad instead of that comparatively staid egghead Benton Quest).

And come on, any boy in the audience who doesn't get goosebumps from that theme song must be missing a chromosome!

Oh, and I guess Doug Wildey's designs were essential, too. Or maybe just the 60s vibe. Because when they brought a redesigned Jonny back in the 90s, it didn't work at all.

[Mister Asterix]

Oh, and I guess Doug Wildey's designs were essential, too. Or maybe just the 60s vibe. Because when they brought a redesigned Jonny back in the 90s, it didn't work at all.

[mra]And it missed Tim Matheson

[doublenoughtspy]

I loved Jonny Quest.

I can't believe no one has mentioned his dog, Bandit!

Bandit rules!

In re-watching the episodes, I had forgotten how much he was used - not only for comic relief, but to spot the bad guys a mile off as well.

The Jonny Maxim's:

1) Cool tech, but it's not a "wow factor", it's just there
2) Haji must do something mystic or refer to Indian culture/customs/folklore.
3) Dr Quest = brains, Race = brawn, but both are cool.
4) Bandit does something goofy, but in doing so he finds the secret room/evil clone/hologram projector.

[zencat]

Great stuff, guys. Very helpful. Thanks. I'll have to watch those '60s episodes.

[Mister Asterix]

[mra]By the way, the best Jonny Quest website I

[Atomic Agent]

Great show. Great artwork. Probably my favourite animated series of all time, along with Batman The Animated Series. I think you can get the 1st Season DVD for pretty cheap now. Well worth whatever the cost.

cheers

[zencat]

[quote name='Mister Asterix' post='737198' date='10 May 2007 - 12:28'][mra]By the way, the best Jonny Quest website I

[erniecureo]

From the forum...

Zencat, if you don't like Jonny Quest I'll eat my shoulder holster. I remember watching it in the late 60s and early 70s in re-runs, and will still make time to see it if I notice it on the schedule somewhere...It was the ultimate show for a pre-adolescent boy (mentally, I still qualify). And the best thing? The bad guys got whacked! None of this namby-pamby, politically-correct incarceration crap!

And finally, check out the sets...a huge debt is owed to Ken Adam.

Favorite episodes:

Shadow of the Condor (WWI airplanes and Giant Condors...what could be cooler?)

The Devil's Tower (MORE WWI airplanes, and the best bad-guy death!)

The 'Q' Missile Mystery (Coolest bad-guy uniforms)

Pursuit of the Po-Ho (Best line ever--Bannon says, "When I come back, I'll take this village apart stick by stick!")

The Robot Spy (Creepy robot gave me nightmares for years)

Buy the set. You'll dig 'em.

[Professor Dent]

I loved this show & still catch it from time to time on the Boomerang Channel. Great website, Mr. A. The production artwork sketches were fun to check out.

[zencat]

I have the DVD set in hand. Looks like I'm gonna be in Jonny Questing all weekend.

[Hotwinds]

It was a great show and I remember watching it at prime time in the evening with my dad.
He was impressed that whenever they fired a rifle they showed recoil.

I should get the DVD some day that contains all the classic episodes.

They are not uncut however.

They have taken out a few racial things that might cause a fuss today but were ok back then. Something about calling natives "heathen monkeys" or something.

So what are our thoughts, ideas, feelings about Jonny Quest? I only vaguely recall the show myself. Do we have any Quest fans here? If so, what's essential to the Quest universe? What turns (or turned) you on or off to Quest? Is there anything that quintessential "Questian"?

[Turn]

Jonny Quest rules!

Speaking as someone who grew up in the early 70s, when parents' groups had all the violence chopped even out of harmless old Looney Tunes (lest suburban youngsters be inspired to actually blow up their playmates with real dynamite) and made the SuperFriends about as action-oriented as a knitting group, it was really, really exciting to see re-runs of Jonny Quest where people got shot, stabbed, poisoned, you name it on a regular basis. When, in one episode, Race Bannon drove a bulldozer through an enemy camp, using the scoop to deflect their bullets while he mowed them down with a machine gun, I knew I had a new hero. Hey, if you're going to do an action/adventure cartoon, you can't go halfway.

What's quintessentially Questian? I'd have to say travel to exotic locales, a lot of groovy 60s-style hardware and vehicles (like Dr Quest's VTOL jet) and nefarious villains. In other words, a lot of the same things that were so integral to classic Bond.

Spies, mummies, dinosaurs, invisible monsters...Jonny had it all. Plus he didn't have to go to school as he was tutored by the resident 007 stand-in Race Bannon (as a kid I always wondered if Jonny didn't secretly wish Race was his dad instead of that comparatively staid egghead Benton Quest).

And come on, any boy in the audience who doesn't get goosebumps from that theme song must be missing a chromosome!

Oh, and I guess Doug Wildey's designs were essential, too. Or maybe just the 60s vibe. Because when they brought a redesigned Jonny back in the 90s, it didn't work at all.

Well said. Sounds like we had similar experiences growing up.

What's great about Jonny Quest is it's the perfect vision of what a young boy's dream of being an action hero was like -- getting to travel the world with your best friend on adventures, being protected by your own bodyguard. Nothing held back in the way of excitement or the treatment of violence. It was also daring that they didn't refer to Jonny's mom, who I can only guess is deceased.

They tried to revive the show in the late '80s or early '90s and the sappieness factor set in as they suddenly gave Race a daughter or something like that.

[David_M]

They tried to revive the show in the late '80s or early '90s and the sappieness factor set in as they suddenly gave Race a daughter or something like that.

Yeah, what was her name, Jasmine or something? She was supposed to be his daughter (out of wedlock, naturally) with Jade. Back in the 60s that might have been risque, but by the 90s it made for a pretty standard American family. All it really did was take the "zing" out of Race and Jade's on-again, off-again sex life, merely hinted at (but steamily so) back on the original show.

Race is one guy who would not handle domestication well.

Heh, just remembered...I was such a big fan of Race Bannon as a kid that I even got excited when a commercial came on for STP oil additives...because they were voiced by Mike Road! Never has the word "viscosity" sounded so cool! LOL

[Mister Asterix]

...It was also daring that they didn't refer to Jonny's mom, who I can only guess is deceased...

[mra]Jonny

[doublenoughtspy]

I've just gotten word that Gulshan Grover has been tapped to play Hadji.

[Yellow Pinky]

Jonny Quest was a rite of passage for young boys growing up in the US in the 60s and 70s. It was my absolute favorite show and I was religious about watching it.

Interesting to note that it is still the only animated television series deliberately aimed at children in which death is not only a real plot element, but in which villains actually meet their demise in painful ways right on screen for your viewing pleasure. There is a contsant sense of genuine life peril in virtually every episode of the original series.

The parallels to 007 are abundant throughout most of the original episodes, yet it consistently maintained its own unique flavor. Never cared for either of the follow-up series though.

[erniecureo]

I have the DVD set in hand. Looks like I'm gonna be in Jonny Questing all weekend.

Let us know what you think on Monday!

[delfloria]

John,

You won't regret your weekend.

[Napoleon Solo]

The Johnny Quest DVD set also has a nice documentary on the last disk. Among those interviewed is Alex Ross, a popular comic book artist, and several modern-day WB cartoon creative people who discuss the effect JQ had on them.

One problem with the episodes: they only use two end titles over and over, rather than the actual end titles that went with each episode. Cheaper for restoration I suppose.

There's a site has links to the actual end titles for each episode done from a 16mm print. They exclude the "Produced and Directed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera" credits because they're on every episodes. The writing credits definitely are different from episode to episode. But when I tried to put a link I got a notice that the administrator wouldn't let me post the link. Try "Jonny Quest End Titles" in Google.

[Stuart]

Don't forget giant robot spiders!

Gawdalmighty I love JQ. What a great show for a boy to grow up with.

[Forward Look]

After Jonny Quest, does anyone remember Clutch Cargo?

Edited by Forward Look, 13 May 2007 - 06:28 AM.

[Safari Suit]

After Jonny Quest, does anyone remember Clutch Cargo?

Cartoon people with human mouths, yes?

[zencat]

I'm having a great time watching these. Haven't made it through all 26 episodes yet, but I'm a fan. Also found this online. Click and grove.

Jonny Quest theme

[Gobi-1]

Groovin.

Has there been any discussion in Hollywood about a bigscreen adaptation? I hadn't read anything.

[Mister Asterix]

Groovin.

Has there been any discussion in Hollywood about a bigscreen adaptation? I hadn't read anything.

It would be cool.

I’d go with:

Michael T. Weiss as Race (although he’s getting a bit rough looking of late)


Roy Scheider as Dr Quest (though a bit old)


Brian Suchey as Jonny (purely on looks)
http://www.imdb.com/...iid_1273163.jpg

[Gabe Vieira]

I actually really loved Johnny Quest. It was an awesome show. And think that it would be a really good movie if they could do it right. I even wrote up a short summary of how I would do a Jonhhy Quest movie.

The story is that it would be an origin movie of how Race became Benton's partner. The idea is that unlike other origin movies where half the movie is the origin, then the second half is when the plot takes off (Like Batman Begins, and most superhero movies), Benton and Quest don't meet till the very end. It would be like a hyperlink movie, like Traffic or Babel.

Part of the movie would be Race's story, which is very reality based, Tom Clancy-esqe, where he is an FBI undercover agent in South America chasing a shadowy terrorist cell, while trying to stay connected with his daughter that he hasn't seen for over ten years, Jesse.

The other part is Benton in India, researching something like ancient mystical ruins, or something along thise lines. In the movie, Benton's working for a X-Files like branch of the FBI. Never got the exact details down. Anyways, Hadji's father invites Benton to come to India to look at the ruins, and Benton brings along Johnny, who I turned into a 19-year-old Harvard freshman. I just couldn't see a 11-year-old boy running around a movie like this. Anyways, Benton's story is very much like Indiana Jones. Hadji's father is eventually murdered, and Benton takes in Hadji.

And of course, the villian, named Gross, is in the middle of the two. As each story progresses, more about Groos is revealed, and Benton and Race's story comes together in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead. Turns out that Gross was once Benton's partner, but was corrupt and the FBI sent Benton and a team to kill Gross, and they tought he died but survived and learned of a mythical power in Hindu religion. It all would be revealed in flashback sequences throughout the movie, most at the beginning, but obviously, names and certian plot points wouldn't be revealed at the beginning of the movie. It's kinds like throwing the audience right into the film and they don't realize what they're watching until later when everything is revealed.

The overall idea, is sicence (Race's story) vs. faith (Benton's story), and at what time in your life do have have to put aside your beliefs, whatever they may be, and open your mind. And of course at the end of the movie, Race is assigned to protect Benton from now on.

Now, I have a tendancy to come with terrible updates of classic shows and movies, but thoughts?

Oh yeah, Tom Jane as Race and Gil Grissom himself as Benton.

[Odd Job]

Does anybody know if Jonny Quest is available on Region 4 DVD (Australia and South Pacific). I have tried searching the net with no joy. Any help much appreciated as this thread has got me wanting to see Jonny Quest for the first time in many years