The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Review
“The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series” zips to Blu-ray.
It’s hard to believe the original run of Hanna-Barbera’s “The Jetsons” on ABC Primetime only lasted 24 episodes from 1962-1963 considering how much of a pop culture fixture the animated series has become. Alas, that is the truth. The series, as I’m sure everyone knows, revolves around the titular family comprised of George (the father/husband), Jane (wife/mother) and their two children Elroy and Judy. While much of the series involves George’s bumbling adventures, there’s a whole host of plots about the sassy maid Rosey the robot, a pop star, car shopping, the family dog Astro, scout troop trip, George’s temperamental boss Mr. Spacely, a flying suit, Elroy on TV, George’s grandpa, George’s work life, a shrunken George, a beauty pageant, Cogswell, and Jane’s taxing duties.
It seems so simple now, but back in the 60’s, “The Jetsons” was a clever family sitcom with a futuristic twist. Not only did the sitcom tackle everyday problems like work and traffic, but it also presented a unique vision of the future. Sure, some things are dated and the corny laugh-track filled jokes aren’t always the best, but nowadays it’s fascinating to compare the things that came true (3D TV, robotics, machine dependency) and the things that still haven’t happened yet (flying cars and jetpacks immediately come to mind).
I couldn’t end this review without talking about the sounds. From the iconic theme song that perfectly sets up the show to the sound FX which still come to mind in such a vivid fashion, the sound is truly an iconic part of the series.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.33:1 1080p. How does it look? While a tad fuzzy, this hi-def upgrade is easily the best available home video release due to the super sharp colors.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? Expect a clean and satisfactory 2.0 track.
Extras:
* Commentary by the late Janet Waldo (who voiced Judy) on episode 1, 2. The commentary is sometimes sparse but she is passionate when she does talk.
* “The Jetsons: The Family of the Future”- An archival featurette about the series
* “Space Age Gadgets”- A featurette about the tech/gadgets in the show.
* “Rosey the Robotic Maid Tribute”- The title says it all
* “Nuclear Family Album”- Character profiles
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Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
After scratching my increasingly large itch lately to revisit favourite TV shows from my childhood, it’s great to finally have the 1960s first season of ‘The Jetsons.’ on blu ray. Which I didn’t even realize I wanted until I saw it was out!
I just hope that Warner Bros hurry up and release the 1985 and 1987 second and third seasons on blu ray soon too. And while they’re at it, I hope they release the movie ‘The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones.’ on blu ray as well! That’ll scratch the minor itch that I have to get a little bit of ‘The Flintstones.’ on blu ray, since I was a fan of that as a kid too – just not as much as I was of ‘The Jetsons.’.
And finally; given that the recent ‘The Banana Splits.’ movie turned out to be such a gargantuan travesty that has been so thoroughly reviled online by fans of the original TV series, maybe that’ll persuade the home entertainment rights of that show to release it on blu ray too. Now that we’ve been given what no one ever wanted, why not please give us what we should have been given in the first place!
It’s unclear what the future holds for WB archival releases as there are rumors circulating that they may largely be exiting the home entertainment space aside from new releases. That would be a real shame as titles like those you listed would be great to see.
Hi nicklyons1,
Oh dear, I hope the rumours are untrue but if they are true, then I guess it wouldn’t be surprising given the rise of, and evident increasing reliance on streaming services.
I don’t know why more people don’t take notice of the fact that a physical medium often (if not always) offers better and more reliable quality than streaming. I guess these days convenience trumps quality.
I already have an annoyingly incomplete ‘Archer.’ blu ray collection – and that show is still in production!
It makes absolutely no sense to me, at least not from a customer satisfaction point of view anyway, why a company would stop releasing blu ray season sets when it’s already started putting them out!
Still; if I have to settle for watching seasons 2 and 3 of ‘The Jetsons.’ on Amazon Prime Video (which has truly awful image quality) or at least watching them on DVD (which has different but not necessarily better image quality – although of course the quality of a DVD doesn’t depend on bandwidth), then I guess it’s better than nothing.
Please let me know if you hear anything definitive about the future of ‘The Jetsons.’ on blu ray.
I think the more distressing thing is that so many shows and films aren’t available on streaming and perhaps never will be. Physical media is often the only place to find many titles. Will let you know if I hear anything.
Great. Thanks Nick.