"Jellystone!" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

[JMTV]

I heard you guys raving about Jellystone lately, but can I ask you a question: should I give Jellystone a fair chance?

I remember watching the first 10 episodes back when it first came out, and I was very disappointed with it. I mean, I wanted to like it. I wanted to like so badly, but it just didn’t click with me.

I’m not sure if the show is gotten better or not since I never seen the rest of show after the first 10 episodes I watched back in 2021, but let me know. Should I give Jellystone a fair chance? What episodes should I recommend?

 

[Pooky]

I've pretty much ignored this since sampling some of the first season (or "batch" or whatever). It had some good qualities and I respect how deep it's willing to go into the HB catalogue, but I just don't care for the way it looks, nor does the ultra-frenetic humour go well for me with the HB characters and ultimately I just didn't find it that funny.

But I have seen what I assume are teenagers or certainly young adults doing deep dives into Hanna-Barbera history after becoming fans of this show, and I think that's pretty cool.

 

[Goldstar!]

I heard you guys raving about Jellystone lately, but can I ask you a question: should I give Jellystone a fair chance?

I remember watching the first 10 episodes back when it first came out, and I was very disappointed with it. I mean, I wanted to like it. I wanted to like so badly, but it just didn’t click with me.

I’m not sure if the show is gotten better or not since I never seen the rest of show after the first 10 episodes I watched back in 2021, but let me know. Should I give Jellystone a fair chance? What episodes should I recommend?

If Jellystone hasn't pulled you in by now, I don't think you need to bother. I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everyone. For me, I have to admit that a certain degree of nostalgia is a factor, since I grew up watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Plus, I enjoyed the first couple of seasons of Chowder, the style of which is very evident on J!.

I know that a lot of people don't care for the character designs, and that's understandable, but myself, I was able to watch Wabbit/New Looney Tunes with little concern for the art. As long as the characters are recognizable, that wasn't a deal breaker for me. Jellystone isn't perfect by any means, but I'm enough of a H-B geek to get what I want from it.

 

[Silverstar]

Also just stings still that George Lowe will probably never voice act again. I’ll watch nonetheless but it’ll be a bummer.

Agreed. George Lowe's Space Ghost would've been epic on this show.

 

[[classic swim]]

This I will very happily eat crow on.

George hasn’t been heard from in the public eye in over a year since his health scare. Most didn’t know until months after the fact that something was wrong, and all most could hope for was that he got better from his surgery.

No disrespect to Paul F Tompkins or whatever, but he just wasn’t the one. No substitutes accepted.

 

[Goldstar!]

It's been years since we saw Space Ghost in something kid-friendly.

Space Ghost had a non-speaking cameo appearance in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Based on images that showed up online,

Spoiler

it seems they're using the kids from Goober and the Ghost Chasers. But there might be more than one mystery solving team in the episode.

A bit lame. Perhaps the higher-ups at WB told C.H. Greenblatt that he couldn't use the Scooby gang. Much like how initially, Mr. Greenblatt wanted to use Jeannie and Babu for Jellystone, but the studio told him they were off-limits, so he went with Shazzan instead. Of course, there's still a chance that Mystery Inc, could turn up. We'll just have to see.

In any case, learning that George Lowe and Andy Merrill will be returning as Space Ghost and Brak puts a smile on my face.

 

[prpis]

yes, George and Andy will be reprising, but according to Andy, I think they'll have some one new voice Zorak and Moltar? Hope it goes over well....

The novelty of this show has worn off on me to the point where I’m not as excited for the Space Ghost episode as I should be.

Also just stings still that George Lowe will probably never voice act again. I’ll watch nonetheless but it’ll be a bummer.

Edit: ok i saw your later post, I see the tweet. But yes....I am more concerned for Zorak and Moltar's new voices. Clay was a huge influence on me, so I hope they do justice with his characters.

 

[[classic swim]]

I am more concerned for Zorak and Moltar's new voices. Clay was a huge influence on me, so I hope they do justice with his characters.

Few of the HB characters on Jellystone can be mute, and that’s what I’d want for Zorak & Moltar.

They already look funny just by design, and I know they could do good gags just with Moltar being mute.

 

[RoyalRubble]

New episodes premiere today!

Jellystone - Season "3A"
Debut - February 22, 2024 (on Max)

Comments?

 

[[classic swim]]

[Space Con]

** “SPACE GHOST CON... ‘97!” **


I knew I had to watch this one first before any other episode to see just how they did.


Suddenly, the only thing that matters to me about this show would be two voiceover icons having a victory lap. On a very show they undeniably helped influence through the body of their work.


Mr. Beefy steals it. He steals it because he’s still breathing. He steals it because the past year onward has been hell without Unky George around to lighten things up.



I can’t express enough as well how good this is for Merrill also. Mainly because he fought tooth and nail for Brak to return in the first place.

Andy pitched more Brak to [as] just awhile ago, only for it to go no where. Personal crafted puppets and all.

When the Cartoon Planet revival came and went several years back, Andy had to choose between whether he wanted to work with George on it, or whether he wanted to work with Clay. Restraints wouldn’t allow both. Andy chose Clay.



I mentioned admiring Jellystone’s Zorak/Moltar drawings, and I just remember C. Martin Croker would sometimes do sketches of those characters purely for kicks and out of his own passion.

Part of my Atlanta vacation was spent visiting that man’s grave, and I haven’t regretted it since.

Those characters will always be *his* characters. They were his the moment he put more love and thought into them than anyone else ever could.



I’ll never be apologetic in expressing how C2C alumni always deserved better. The main thing they all have is this particular legacy. Which isn’t rewarded, nor celebrated enough.


Jellystone’s covered bases previously left untapped for quite some time. Giving even the slightest acknowledgement of inspiration, and how they truly got here - makes this the most significant ep of the series to date.

And that’s something I won’t back down from.

 

[Daikun]

*checks Max*

So, um... This is season 3A?!?
Max is showing 17 episodes. That's unusually long for a (supposed) partial season. Are we sure it's not the whole thing?

 

[Goldstar!]

*checks Max*

So, um... This is season 3A?!?
Max is showing 17 episodes. That's unusually long for a (supposed) partial season. Are we sure it's not the whole thing?

I heard that WB ordered an additional 20 episodes. Last time, there were 10 episodes, but each "episode" was only 10 minutes long, which would make that "season" of eps 5 half hours total. Who knows how Max is categorizing these shows?

 

[PinkieLopBun]

*checks Max*

So, um... This is season 3A?!?
Max is showing 17 episodes. That's unusually long for a (supposed) partial season. Are we sure it's not the whole thing?

It's a bigger drop than I expected, but it's not all of it. There's going to be an episode with Cartoon Network characters and it wasn't anywhere in this batch, so there's definitely still more.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

I've only seen the first few episodes of the show, this is mainly due to a lack of having Max though.

But what I did see of it, I loved it immediately. I will always give praise to anything that can make me like Augie Doggy.

I was also completely on board with the gender swapping of certain characters. Girls love seeing themselves on TV too, y'know. Previous to this show, there just wasn't a lot of that.

 

[prpis]

I’ve now watched the episodes showcasing Dick Dastardly and the SG characters. Spoilers ahead.

I’m glad DD and the Really Rottens got their rewards and won for once with no consequences while the jellystones lost fully. Pure karma. And DD leaves with a trophy. How fitting.

And SG oh how clashing it was to hear George’s aged voice after I’ve binged a bunch of SG clips just today. I can’t believe it’s been 30 years. What an episode to say goodbye with. I grew up with SGC2C and Cartoon Planet. The shows gave me a huge mark on my character and humor. To hear the aged voices of my heroes is jarring bc it feels like I’m closer to saying goodbye. I wish Clay was still here to give that final goodbye. But George and Andy were as great as ever. Even Brak just mentioning cartoon planet, an indirect mention of The Brak Show and towards his popularity was something that’s been missing for years. It’s deserved.

I wish a little bit more was done with Zorak and Moltar. Moltars voice was quite on point but Zoraks sounded a lot like Clay’s first attempts at the character. Very stilted. But having Zorak rather hit himself than stand the destructoray was a great call back to him being blasted constantly. But I would’ve loved a call back to Clay or his contributions. It would’ve been as big as Andy or George’s presence. But Clay is gone so this is what we got. Im glad at least we got this goodbye. To see them altogether like this and praising the true stars of the show, the villains, was great. It really shows how much contribution the show had on the network. All of them, a huge impact on the show, the culture of CN and [AS], on the history of animation and their passion for their characters and roles.

I wish this was the jellystone we could’ve gotten for season 1 and 2 in a way. There is more to laugh at and the characters actually act like HB characters. In one of the episodes there is even a cameo from a CN character in the Elect raspberry episode I won’t spoil here but it’s so worth it!!!

So I’m glad this show came back and gave us this. Down to even zorak rubbing his own hands. I hope the next batch keeps it up. Goodbye my heroes.

 

[Silverstar]

And SG oh how clashing it was to hear George’s aged voice after I’ve binged a bunch of SG clips just today. I can’t believe it’s been 30 years. What an episode to say goodbye with. I grew up with SGC2C and Cartoon Planet. The shows gave me a huge mark on my character and humor. To hear the aged voices of my heroes is jarring bc it feels like I’m closer to saying goodbye. I wish Clay was still here to give that final goodbye. But George and Andy were as great as ever. Even Brak just mentioning cartoon planet, an indirect mention of The Brak Show and towards his popularity was something that’s been missing for years. It’s deserved.

I wish a little bit more was done with Zorak and Moltar. Moltars voice was quite on point but Zoraks sounded a lot like Clay’s first attempts at the character. Very stilted. But having Zorak rather hit himself than stand the destructoray was a great call back to him being blasted constantly. But I would’ve loved a call back to Clay or his contributions. It would’ve been as big as Andy or George’s presence. But Clay is gone so this is what we got. Im glad at least we got this goodbye. To see them altogether like this and praising the true stars of the show, the villains, was great. It really shows how much contribution the show had on the network. All of them, a huge impact on the show, the culture of CN and [AS], on the history of animation and their passion for their characters and roles.

It sounded like Jim Conroy (Huck and Captain Caveman) as Zorak; I couldn't place Moltar, but he was almost a dead ringer for Clay. EDIT: Moltar was voiced by Bernardo de Paula. I loved the Galaxy Trio shoutout. George sounded noticeably older, but it's been 30 years; he hasn't lost his comic timing, though. It was genuinely good to hear him again.

@Goldstar! and I binged all 17 episodes last night; I'm still putting my thoughts together; I'll give my full opinion on this crop when I'm ready.

 

[Daikun]

Well, I finally got to watch season 3A today. I didn't have time the last few days due to my work schedule.

Man, I feel bad for George Lowe. Time has not been kind to his voice--he sounded really phlegmy. This may sound blasphemous, but do you think a replacement would have been better? The poor guy sounded like he was struggling to get his lines out. Was it fair to drag him out of retirement for this?

Anyway, I like that they kept his characterization close to his Coast to Coast counterpart; his surreal, deranged mind fits in better with the wacky world of Jellystone! than his 60s iteration. It was great hearing Andy as Brak again and he was the real standout in the episode, and Moltar and Zorak's VAs did an excellent job as stand-ins for Clay.

 

[ToonDude03]

Man, I feel bad for George Lowe. Time has not been kind to his voice--he sounded really phlegmy. This may sound blasphemous, but do you think a replacement would have been better? The poor guy sounded like he was struggling to get his lines out. Was it fair to drag him out of retirement for this?

Yeah, I kinda felt the same way too. I mean, as cool as it was to hear George Lowe as Space Ghost again, you can tell that the years have caught up to him. Paul F. Tompkins (who voices Magilla Gorilla on this show) DID voice Space Ghost in a Season 2 cameo, so maybe they could’ve used him. But hey, it’s all a matter of opinion!

 

[Goldstar!]

It seems as though C.H. Greeblatt and his team are trying to cram in as many cameos as possible this season. How many adults even remember that H-B produced a kid's cartoon about Moby Dick, let alone remember the character of Tubb from that Moby Dick cartoon? No sign of Moby himself (though Moby did appear briefly in last season's "The Sea Monster of Jellystone"), Tom or Scooby the seal, but I'm blown away that the series referenced the Moby Dick cartoon in any way, shape or form.

It was only a matter of time before we got a Laff-A-Lympics homage on Jellystone. I figured that would come sooner or later. We finally see Jellystone's take on Dick Dastardly and Muttley, and I have no complaints about the villainous characters actually being villains. This was a much better choice than turning the Banana Splits into generic criminals. I might not have minded that so much if the Splits had at least acted like their normal selves, but I've complained enough about that already. The Banana Splits haven't even appeared so for this season. I liked the joke where Yogi suggests changing the Jellystone team's name to the Yogi Yahooeys but no one else is on board with that. When I heard that Jellystone's rival town was New Bedrock, I expected to see characters from The Flintstones, but this wasn't the case here. However, we did get another quasi appearance of The Flintstones in "Mummy Knows Best" where we see skeletons of Fred and Wilma.

For the people who've been waiting to see Hong Kong Phooey on Jellystone, you got your wish, sort of. He makes a quasi-appearance in "Collection Protection" in pseudo anime series being watched by the kids on a VHS. Speaking of quasi-appearances

Spoiler

Mystery, Inc. makes a brief cameo in "Frankenhooky". They even got Frank Welker to voice Freddy, Matthew Lillard to voice Shaggy and Kate Miccuchi to voice Velma. Clue Club is also referenced for the second time on the show.

"Lotions 11". Why are the episodes that focus on Top Cat and his alley cat gang consistently good? We only got one this time around, but it didn't disappoint. As usual, the characters all play off one another perfectly. Warner Bros. should at least consider making a new Top Cat series with these versions of the characters.

And now, to address the elephant in the room. Namely, the episode "Space Con": I was good to have gotten a Space Ghost" Coast to Coast/Cartoon Planet reunion, of sorts, with Andy Merril voicing Brak and Goerge Lowe returning as Space Ghost. Sadly, Clay Kroker is no longer alive to voice Zorak and Moltar, but the substitute voice actors did a good job, especially Moltar, who sounded almost exactly like Clay. I'm so glad that WB got replacement VAs for Zorak and Moltar instead of having the 2 of them just stand there ant soeak. Brak even mentions Cartoon Planet in the episode. Hearing George Lowe voice Space Ghost again was bittersweet. While it was great to hear his voice again, he sounded old and not perfectly healthy. This made me both happy and sad at the same time.

Overall, this was enjoyable for me. I have a feeling that this is probably the last season of Jellystone, but 3 seasons is a good run.

 

[wiley207]

"Frankenhooky" was a fun episode, since I really enjoy Scooby-Doo parodies and when those 1970s Scooby-Doo clones get poked fun at,

Spoiler

even though it turned out to be all just a dream Yogi and Boo Boo were having. Plus, I think I'd do a much better job impersonating Scooby-Doo than that cottonball jar did!

Warner Bros. Animation sure knows how to have fun with the rubber mask device, and this was no exception.