Hot on the heels of the Scooby-Doo / Flintstones crossover, set to appear in November’s SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 (read the news HERE), will be a Scooby-Doo / Jetsons meeting, to follow in January 2015’s SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8.
HERE’S A LINK, provided by our good friend Dan Cunningham
(…does the great stuff ever stop coming from this guy?!).
Given the phenomenal track record of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, and
its writer Sholly Fisch, noted HERE and HERE, I’m expecting great things from
both issues.
I’m already predicting that Orbit City’s “Space-Age Spectre”
might very well turn out to be UNIBLAB, carrying a grudge over the ruination of
both his executive and military careers.
And, with a writer as astute in the ways of Hanna-Barbera, DC Comics,
and Warner Bros. in general as Sholly Fisch, my prediction might very well be
realized!
Even if Uniblab fails to make the cut – and it turns out to
be one (or both?) of the two versions of “Knuckles Nuclear”, or sumpthin’ – I’m
still expecting Sholly Fisch to give us the “Scooby-Doo meets (and speaks with)
Astro” moment!
As far back as 1970, I said that Scooby-Doo, Muttley, and
Astro should be able to hold a conversation, given their “Don Messick-onian
linguistic roots”.
Now, the question is, will the Scooby-Doo of SCOOBY-DOO
TEAM-UP # 8 be the “Traditional Scooby-Doo” of SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU (as
voiced by Don Messick), or “More Recent Scooby-Doo” of SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY
INCORPORATED (as voiced by Frank Welker), who was practically speaking “the
king’s English” – with a few “Rrr’s” thrown in to acknowledge his roots, by the
end of that series.
If it’s the latter, Scooby might find Astro a bit too
primitive or pedestrian for his tastes.
No matter, I KNOW the moment is coming, and I can’t wait for
it, regardless of how it goes.
How many other Hanna-Barbera “families” will Scoob and the
Gang drop in on, in future issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP? Where’s Huddles? The Roman Holidays? Wait ‘Till Your Father Gets Home? The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan?
How about the J. Evil Scientist Family?
 |
| "This shouldn't happen to a DOG... Great Dane, even! Much less a cultured lion like yours truly!" |
Could Scooby and friends be "home for the Holidays"?
…Only time will tell.
Me, I still want FREAKAZOID!
Let’s hear your thoughts…
17 comments:
As long as it's the "original" Jetsons, I'll be happy. Those later episodes got a little off book with things like personifying George's computer RUDI, or treating Elroy like a genius when the whole point of his knowing stuff like calculus was that that's something all elementary kids learn in the future.
Maybe Jane turns into a villain wearing her Miss Western Hemisphere as her costume?
Or someone will be trying to ruin Spacely Sprockets thereby making George lose his job and lose his spirit, and is revealed to be J.P. Gottrockets who has a change of heart and wants his beloved Tralfaz/Astro back?
Or even better the villain ends up being Cogswell who in reality is his assistant Harlen in disguise wishing to wreak revenge on both his boss and Spacely after all those years of dealing with both of them? He wouldn't even need a rubber mask to do it because they probably have 10 minute plastic surgery available on every street corner. (Who needs "morning masks"?)
Or Uniblab wrecks Spacely Sprockets and the bad guy is Rosie's boyfriend Mac who is secretly jealous of Uni's great intelligence so he reprogrammed him?
(Gee, all my scenarios really have it in for ol' Spacely!)
Then there are the four words that strike terror in all hearts: Orbitty meets Scrappy Doo.
*shudder*
All of those possibilities are pure Jetson-Gems, JoeC!
I especially like the “Harlen-one”. That trumps even UNIBLAB (and two versions of Knuckles Nuclear) for depth of character knowledge and audacity.
“Orbitty meets Scrappy Doo”???? …Oooba-Dooba!
On, UNIBLAB, and it’s something I never noticed until illustrating this post…
In “civilian life”, he was painted bluish-purple, and his later military-self was repainted in drab army (or, “Space Guard”) colors. Yet, his “office filing cabinet” body remained the same, save for the squared-off extreme lower section which housed his wheels. (Some equivalent of “army boots”, perhaps?) I guess the file drawers that once held bills and invoices now hold military secrets!
Sure, I only had Black and White TV for the first six years that THE JETSONS aired, but you'd think I would have caught that later on, particularly in the DVD era.
I would love to see Scooby and the Mystery Machine crew pay a visit to Hoagy's Alley. Maybe the whole mystery could be a con game perpetrated by guess who?
Or how about if Scooby and the gang were to visit Jellystone Park? Hey, hey, hey!
Since Shaggy, Scooby, and Yogi all like to mooch for goodies, they could team up for the ultimate tourist trap! Maybe pit Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Ranger Smith against Scooby, Shaggy, and Yogi? The whole ordeal could be a test of conscience and loyalties for Boo-Boo, who would of course be caught smack in the middle! (Daphne and Cindy could exchange fashion tips, and maybe aid and abet one another in getting their respective guys to act more romantic!)
Seems like the possibilities are endless.
Joe and JoeC:
Zoinks! All of these ideas make fine scenarios for the storyline in Scooby-Doo Team-Up #8... I'll take them all across several issues, especially if Mr. Fisch sticks with elements we saw in the original 1962 series!
Boy, you know you've found a truly a wonderful place online where potential new story material centered on Mr. Harlen and J.P. Gottrockets can be exchanged!
The Jetsons treatment will be well worth the cover price if Scooby-Doo Team-Up #7 is any indicator. Despite what was probably a last-minute cover treatment, the Scooby-Doo/Flintstones story shows a LOT of love for both sets of characters. You can absolutely hear the voices of Alan Reed and Jean Vander Pyl as you read Fred and Wilma's dialogue, and there are quite a few nice surprises in the book.
Should Mr. Spielberg give his permission (of which he's been flexible about lately) a Scooby-Doo/Freakazoid! team-up is the kind of odd issue that would require a second and third printing.
Lord, with all the I.P. that Warner Brothers holds the rights to, I hope this book never ends! My original Top Cat team-up proposal is waiting.
Ya know, I wonder how it would go if Mystery, Inc. time-hops again (just a wee bit) to Hollywood, CA and meet up with a caricatured Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera? Could there have been scary activities at 3400 Cahuenga Blvd. besides the next Saturday morning pitch to CBS executives?
- Dan
Dan:
Did you really just say “…Mr. Fisch sticks”?
If so, you are hereby awarded today’s “Joe-Prize” (…so named in tribute to Stan Lee’s “No-Prize”) for the finest in punny-humor. I still have my hair, so I can’t very well call it a “Baldy Award”, can I?
And, if you can merit a Pun-Award from the guy who titled a “coffee scamming story” “A Game of One-Cupmanship”, you’re doing something right!
“Boy, you know you've found a truly a wonderful place online where potential new story material centered on Mr. Harlen and J.P. Gottrockets can be exchanged!”
Thank you, so much! I like this to be a place like no other, where a particular group of wonderful interests converge. The dedicated group of regulars who stop by here, and enjoy those interests, make me feel that I’ve succeeded.
If you’ve already enjoyed SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7, then I know good things are in store for me, when I pick it up this coming Saturday. Anyone wanna place bets on a coming Blog post?
Meeting Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera would be inspired genius! Imagine the Scooby-Gang being present at their “conceptual birth”, at the H-B Studio in the late ‘60s! That would even be more of a slippery slope than the (I still won’t spoil it!) conclusion to the recent TV series SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED.
Maybe that legendary meeting at Hanna-Barbera, that resulted in the creation of SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU?, went SOMETHING LIKE THIS!
Scarecrow:
Adding Dan’s input to yours, that’s two unsolicited votes for Top Cat! DC Comics, take note!
At the outset of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP, I would have tended to doubt this could happen but, now with this week’s SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 (The Flintstones) and the coming SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 8 (The Jetsons), I think the door has been opened to the Scooby-Gang appearing with some of the more “cartoony” type characters of animation – and I hope that becomes a difficult door to shut!
I really like the Yogi Bear crossover idea and, in particular, the way you laid it out.
And, if not, there could be more conventional mysteries revolving around costumed villains posing as “The Bear from Outer Space”, “The Giant Magnumis-Rex Bee”!
Yogi DID make an unexpected and bizarre “Blink and You Miss It” cameo in a rather important episode of SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED. There’s always that. I should post on it, someday.
One Top Cat question that I’ve wondered about for some time… Was “Hoagy's Alley” ever mentioned in an actual episode of TOP CAT? I don’t remember that, if it was. And, if not, where did it come from? I can’t recall noting that name before the Extra Features of the TOP CAT DVD set of 10 years ago.
“Orbit City” may or may not have been mentioned by name in the “Original” JETSONS series, but at least Judy was dropped off at “Orbit High School” in the opening credits, and it certainly became grafted on to the series by the ‘80s revival. So these things do happen. Even “Mouseton”, the now-accepted standard for the comics’ Mickey Mouse’s home city, didn’t come along until the MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES comic book title of 1990-1991. I’m just not recalling where “Hoagy's Alley” came from.
…Maybe Scooby-Doo can clear up this mystery, when they "Team-Up".
In the TC episode "Naked Town," the alley is referred to as Hoagy's Alley.
It may or may not be mentioned elsewhere in the series, which I am presently re-watching, but that one is a definite.
Orbit City, I believe, was a post-original series designation. But if that is the name of where the Jetsons live (and I prefer it to Futura, which is the name given in the "First Family on the Moon" album), then does that mean one of Henry Orbit's ancestors founded the city? If Henry comes from such a distinguished family, how did he end up as superintendent at the Sky Pad Apartments? That might make an interesting mystery for Scooby and the gang to explore.
Scarecrow:
Ah! I just didn’t recall that. I’ll have to go back and check that out. Thanks for the clarification!
“Orbit City” WAS a “new series” designation, but, like “Mouseton”, it works. So, I keep it as cannon.
Maybe Henry was the disinherited “black sheep” of the Oribt family, and had to take a job!
Henry Orbit ... Orbitty...
...could Orbitty he his illegitimate child, left abandoned in space?
Oh wait, he didn't have a name when they found him. Never mind!
I'm glad you mentioned the Flintstones' dialog and character treatment ringing true. A big problem I had with the comics and the later Flintstones TV specials (as I mentioned about with the 1980s Jetsons) is writers getting that wrong. In the comics it felt like Fred was constantly belittling Barney, and on TV Wilma was just a scold with little personality, much less her own storylines.
JoeC:
I finally got my copy of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7, Saturday afternoon (November 08, 2014), and does it ever live up to the hype! ...All I can say is: Bring on # 8!
And, a total and personal aside, Saturday afternoon is just the PERFECT TIME to get and read new comics. To me, there’s just no other time of the week that quite equals it. Oh, but I might have already said that HERE!
Giving credit where it’s due, it was Dan Cunningham who first cited the dialogue’s authenticity. And he was right! The dialogue rings ABSOLUTELY true! Sholly Fisch is THAT good a writer! Why, I even “heard” Don Messick speaking as the short scientist, and Hal Smith as the villain! Look at the characters - so expertly designed by H-B hand Scott Jeralds, read the dialogue - ditto by Fisch, and… it just happens!
Indeed, if there are any shortcomings to this at all, it’s that Betty comes across as “the Gerry Johnson Betty” (No jokes, JoeC! I KNOW what you’re thinking!) and not the “Bea Benaderet Betty”… but, she IS written that way, (presumably) because it’s The Flintstones of 1964-1966, and not 1960-1963 that appear in this book. So, Sholly Fisch is right-on, once again!
To all of you, be back on Monday morning (November 10, 2014) for my detailed look at the Flintstones story in SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7! I’ve got about a dozen scans, and scads of comments on all the great stuff found therein – all the while deftly (at least I HOPE) refraining from spoiling the plot!
Be there for it, and share your thoughts on what just might be my favorite comic book of 2014!
Couldn't find it in a store, had to order it online (along with the first 6 issues--I am such a completist!).
In response to joecab's comment that in the later TV specials Wilma was "just a scold"--check out my favorite Hallowe'en viewing--"The Flintstones meet Rockula and Frankenstone". Wilma plays a major role in the story (in an era when "The New Fred and Barney Show" had more or less relegated Wilma and Betty to cameos). When Count Rockula mistakes Wilma for his own bride, she has to do a lot of clever thinking and psychological maneuvering to persuade him against the idea of "making her a widow" so she can become Rockula's bride for real. From the moment she takes center stage, it's Wilma's ingenuity that saves the day--over and over again. She does resort to the "scold" routine at the very end, but she is just playing a role to make a point. In this story she is warm-hearted and loving toward Fred, even when he is not giving credit where it's due. The occasions in the Flintstones canon where Wilma takes such a strong leadership role are few and far between, but this special is definitely one of her finest moments.
(Another favorite moment is "Pensate Amore" from "The Man Called Flintstone--a bit of rare comedy/fantasy romance between Fred and Wilma.)
Looking forward to this new comics incarnation, and hoping it will lead to more. Can't wait to see the review on TIAH, and a few days afterward to get my issue in the mail.
Scarecrow:
You absolutely cannot go wrong with ANY and ALL the issues of SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP! Can SO MANY of my 2014 Blog posts be wrong? Do let us know what you think, once you read them. I have a feeling your comments will sound very much like my own!
I’ll let you and JoeCab… uh, “club” it out over the characterization of Wilma, particularly as I’ve not seen much of the later Flintstone product. Though, I HAVE made note of your higher regard for some of it. And, no doubt whatsoever on “The Man Called Flintstone”.
Wilma and Betty certainly haven’t been put to good (or any) use in those ubiquitous cereal commercials. Alas.
And, be warned. Wilma DOES “scold” in SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7, but, I feel, with good reason – and they do end happily, if I can say that without spoiling anything. Besides, if more classic bits than you can shake a stick (chuck a rock?) at are included, why not the scolding bit?
I TRULY try to not spoil any of the plot, while playing up all the wonderful character bits found therein. So, I hope the post will only whet your appetite for the actual book.
...And, another great thing is, you don't have to read 'em in order, so read # 7 first! Then, enjoy the rest!
Whew! I'm glad to see I was wrong on my "scold" comment! From the specials I saw, that's how she came off (like the Christmas Carol one) but I hadn't seen the one you mentioned. Now only if Betty had more to do ... even as a kid one of my favorite episodes was "Old Lady Betty" not just because of the sheer novelty of having Betty star and carry an episode herself, and that's the only time that's ever happened.
Ah, but remember, JoeC, the “Betty” of which you speak so fondly was the “Bea Benaderet Betty”, who was alive, vital, and brimming with joie de vivre! A spirit constantly in evidence by her trademark giggle.
Then, there was the dark event that no one in Bedrock ever speaks of, where certain citizens were abducted and replaced by look-alike “Rock-Pod People”, including poor Betty Rubble. The “Gerry Johnson Betty”, devoid of any and all personality, existed in her place thereafter!
An offshoot of these grizzly, and possibly extra-terrestrial experiments, were the many different versions of “Joe Rockhead”! …Maybe the switch in Barney’s voice early on was a sort of “beachhead” for these fiendish activities.
…Brrrr!
Seriously, I guess there wasn’t time, or room enough, for SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP # 7 to address that. Though, I’d hoped that, if Seth MacFarlane’s Flintstones had become a reality, it would have been dealt with there.
Ha, I like your take! :) But that's the problem with Betty: after Bea Benaderet left the show, she never had a memorable voice performance, so it was just easier to make a semi-generic character even more so. Everyone else in the regular cast was distinctive enough that even after their original performers died they still got good use.
Although I absolutely never accepted Henry Corden doing Fred. I assume he got the job because he was already doing Fred's singing voice. Really, Fred would never approve of "Loudmouth" Loudrock doing his voice. :P After Corden died I was afraid that his Fred was so firmly established in the modern age that his replacement would take after him, but thankfully it's not been the case. Jeff Bergman does a great job taking after Alan Reed IMO.
JoeC:
I never really thought Betty was “generic” until the changeover from Bea Benaderet to Gerry Johnson. Before that, she seemed a vital a part of the cast as anyone, save Fred.
I suppose, by the time they added Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, Hoppy, and certainly Gazoo, there was less for Betty to do, with plots no longer focused strictly on two adult couples and their little deceptions and foibles. As a result, Betty became more generic of necessity.
Regardless of the reason, the voice certainly paralleled the character’s trajectory.
I eventually “accepted” Henry Corden as Fred but, oddly, I never got “used” to him. At Hanna-Barbera, far more than any other studio except Warner Bros., the VOICES were a very large part of what made the characters iconic. And the shift from Reed to Corden was certainly one of the first “Iconic voice shifts” that I can recall.
But Henry Corden went on to play Fred longer than did Alan Reed, and that’s why I came to “accept” him, even if something always sounded “off”. Close, perhaps even very close, but still “off” enough to always notice.
I think those '80s post-Daws Butler Yogi Bear cartoons were even worse in that regard.
I have a CD, that I’ve only listened to twice in the more than ten years that I’ve had it, that is hosted by Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone and is a sort of presentation of the classic Hanna-Barbera sound effects, and how they are used in various situations. It’s called “Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Sound FX”, was released in 1994 – and, believe it or not, has the late Earl Kress giving voice to Hokey Wolf, Quick Draw McGraw, and other Daws Butler characters.
I think Henry Corden carried that off rather well as Fred.
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