The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Suck it, Orbitty.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 30, 2019

A short-lived but successful twist on their hit animated sitcom The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons aired for just one season on ABC as that station's first show broadcast in color. The overhauled setting traded in dinosaurs and cave-like homes for sleek, futuristic buildings and space-age technology, with a caveat that all this new gadgetry was hardly a solution to all of life's problems. Yet for all their cosmetic differences, both shows explored the similar territory of a typical 1960s nuclear family sitcom while throwing in a few progressive elements for good measure. The Jetsons went on auto-pilot after its final episode aired in March of 1963, building a steady audience via reruns as part of major network Saturday morning blocks, but earned new life in the 1980s when a total of 51 new episodes were produced for syndication. But that's all in the future, pun intended: for now, Warner Archive Collection's outstanding three-disc Blu-ray collection of The Jetsons celebrates the series' initial 1962-63 run with a sparkling new restoration.

If you're like me and grew up watching The Jetsons during the 1980s -- during which time all the episodes, both old and new, aired simultaneously -- there's a chance you might not even have noticed a difference. Truth be told, there's not much that separates the 1960s and 1980s iterations: almost every voice actor is identical, as are the fundamental character designs and feather-light plot elements. These 1960s episodes differ in their more era-specific appearance and higher-quality animation, often pairing then-modern design cues with a naturally more sleek, futuristic style. Not surprisingly, we also meet certain supporting characters for the first time: the Jetsons' robotic maid appears in the very first episode ("Rosey the Robot") and their faithful pup debuts just three episodes later ("The Coming of Astro"), while rival business owner Mr. Cogswell shows up soon after ("The Flying Suit") and similarly minor character R.U.D.I. gets a one-and-done appearance in "The Good Little Scouts". Save for these introductions and several others, though, The Jetsons is hardly serialized: like most sitcoms, the stories often resolve themselves inside a half-hour.

These 24 episodes are fairly consistent for a show just finding its legs; very few stand out as genuine classics, but likewise there aren't any flat-out awful episodes either. Some are infamous for their extra-cheese factor, such as "A Date with Jet Screamer" (you know, the one with that song), but the least impressive ones are often those where The Jetsons' futuristic setting doesn't factor into the story much. "Jetsons' Night Out", for example, focuses on George trying to get out of a PTA meeting for the big game, while "The Space Car" find George and Jane mixed up with a bank robber who shares their taste in vehicles. "Elroy's Mob" (unfortunately, the last episode of this original run) isn't much better, as Elroy and Astro decide to run away after a report card mix-up. Still, for every just okay episode there's as many standouts: Jane's foray into a beauty pageant ("Miss Solar System"), that one time the Jetsons' pooch is claimed by a wealthy tycoon ("Millionaire Astro"), and a peaceful ride that turns dangerous ("Jane's Driving Lesson"). While even the best of these episodes aren't exactly groundbreaking in the storytelling department -- even within the narrow boundaries of a sitcom, animated or not -- at the very least they're just good, clean, lightweight fun.

In truth, the forward-thinking atmosphere of The Jetsons is its real strength, especially in hindsight. One unexpected side-effect of those once-outrageous ideas: the advent of Roombas, huge flat-screen TVs, video chat, and even dog treadmills in recent decades actually makes its far-reaching tech more accessible to modern audiences. It's important to note, however, that said technology isn't always trouble-free: these gadgets occasionally doesn't work as expected (a plot point of the very first episode, "Rosey the Robot"), and thus are not always presented as a substitute for doing certain things the old-fashioned way. Overall, The Jetsons was a progressive sitcom for its time and that sentiment also continues to work in its favor. A few stray elements slightly contradict that notion: Jane's "homemaker" status, some of the music and fashion, etc., but these are few and far between. For the most part, this original iteration of The Jetsons doesn't feel too far removed from a series produced post-2000 and, in many ways, more timeless than the 1980s version. Now, could someone get to work on that four-seater spaceship that transforms into a suitcase?

For a complete list of episodes, please see the final three screenshots of this review.

A revised word about laughter: as with Warner Bros.' DVD edition, one episode ("A Date with Jet Screamer") does not include the original laugh track. All of the others make use of The Jetsons' original magnetic soundtracks...but in this case, history has claimed the original elements, so a later syndicated audio track (with the laughs removed) was used instead. This doesn't bother me as a non-fan of laugh tracks in general -- especially during animated productions, as it makes absolutely no logical sense -- but I felt it necessary to pass along to die-hard fans. An earlier version of this review implied that more than one episode did not include the original laugh track, but that was incorrect.

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original tube TV-friendly 1.33:1 aspect ratio, The Jetsons looks as visually impressive as you'd expect for a Warner Archive Collection release. The rich, film-like 1080p transfer is sourced from a recent 2K scan and does a great job supporting the show's colorful aesthetic, highlighting the 1960s-inspired interiors and smooth linework. Film grain is robust without feeling intrusive, adding an attractive layer of texture to the otherwise simple character designs and backgrounds. Most importantly, typical problems like banding and compression artifacts are virtually absent from start to finish, thanks to the high bit rate afforded by giving these 24 episodes plenty of breathing room on three dual-layered discs. Although the image is largely free of wear and tear, I spotted very occasional hints of dirt, debris, and vertical scratches, but these are few and far between. Overall, it's clear that a lot of clean-up was done here.

One note about the potential presence of other damage: imperfections in the cel paint can regularly be spotted on certain characters, especially in close ups...but these imperfactions are not only part of the source material, they're a big part of hand-drawn animation's charm and I applaud WAC for not attempting to "correct" them.

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Less revelatory but still impressive is the show's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio, which repurposes The Jetsons' one-channel source material with no discernible problems. Dialogue, music, and background effects are given almost equal priority and everything's very easy to follow; although depth is rarely achieved, what's here does the job nicely for a sitcom fast approaching its 60th birthday. No obvious defects or sync issues could be heard along the way.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during all 24 episodes...but not the bonus features, unfortunately. These are formatted very nicely and not in all caps like most recent Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays.

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series is a three-disc set packaged in a standard keepcase with an overlapping hinge. No episode list or other inserts have been included, although they're at least named on the discs themselves. A few DVD-era extras are sprinkled throughout; they don't go into much detail but are still nice to have.

• Audio Commentaries - Janet Waldo, the voice of Judy Jetson, speaks during the first two episodes "Rosey The Robot" and "A Date with Jet Screamer". These start off slowly with lots of on-screen narration but Waldo seems extremely grateful for her role on the show -- she has an infectiously sweet energy and covers a decent amount of ground including her early career, the initial audition, stories from "the set" (so to speak), her co-stars, the series' 1985 revival and legacy, space-age technology, meeting fans in real life, and more.

• The Jetsons: The Family of the Future (8:43) - A fluffy but enjoyable retrospective piece with behind-the-scenes clips and footage featuring William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and Janet Waldo. If nothing else, the muddy-looking show clips will really make you appreciate all the work that went into this new restoration.

• Space Age Gadgets (4:51) - This like-minded mini-featurette offers a quick overview of the neat gadgets dreamed up for the show, even more of which have become commonplace during the past decade.

• Rosey the Robotic Maid Tribute (3:34) - A short appreciation of the Jetsons' sassy servant.

• Nuclear Family Album (2:41) - A self-playing series of text biographies for George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, and Astro with short video highlights. (I guess Rosey already got that whole tribute all to herself.)

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Although initially doomed to stand in the shadow of its more popular cousin The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons has outlasted its short original run and still remains an enjoyable, prescient slice of classic situation comedy. Some of these 24 episodes undoubtedly have more long-term value than others, but the 1962-63 season as a whole is quality stuff -- there's still a lot to enjoy here, whether you grew up with these episodes or their 1980s counterparts. Either way, Warner Archive Collection's new Blu-ray set is an outstanding effort and a real crowd-pleaser, thanks in no small part to its excellent 1080p transfers that showcase the series' colorful visuals in bold detail. Sure, the DVD-era bonus features are a little lackluster, but at least they're here if you're looking. Overall, this surprisingly low-priced collection is highly recommended to fans and will hopefully keep Warner Archive's classic animation titles rolling.