Don Messick Movies

Jonny accompanies his dad, Dr. Quest, to the mountains India, where several sheepherders have succumbed to a mysterious illness. The bad guys responsible for this epidemic -- caused by a deadly nerve gas -- subsequently target the Quests for extinction, leading to a pulse-pounding climax wherein Dr. Quest's new Ultra High Frequency Sonic Amplifier is deployed to save the day. As an added bonus, the story of how Hadji became part of the Quest team is told by way of flashbacks. Written by future movie-of-the-week stalwart Jo Anna Lee, "Calcutta Adventure" was originally scheduled to air on October 16, 1964, but was moved forward to October 30. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While the Flintstones and the Rubbles vacation in Rockapulco, Fred decides to don an elaborate mustache and pose as a "local." As a result, he ends up being the unwitting accomplice of a pair of jewel thieves. Ultimately, however, Fred becomes a hero...except in his own home town of Bedrock. Beginning with this episode, Janet Waldo takes over from Verna Felton in the role of Fred's mother-in-law Mrs. Slaghoople. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Upset about the "men only" policy at their husbands' fraternal lodge, Wilma and Betty disguise themselves as males and "crash" the lodge headquarters. The first thing they discover is that Fred and Barney aren't up to anything duplicitious or sneaky. The second thing the girls discover is the reason why there aren't any female members of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes: the initiation ceremony is a killer! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fred thinks he's made a brilliant deal when he arranges for himself, his family and the Rubbles to take a nice, quiet camping trip in Shangri-La-De-Da Valley. What Fred doesn't know is that his camp reservation coincides with a huge, international gathering of the Cave Scouts--and before long the "peaceful" family vacation becomes a cacophony of chaos. The highlight of this episode finds Fred leading the Cave Scouts in a rousing multilingual rendition of "Old MacDonald"--and if you look very closely, you'll catch a glimpse of The Flintstones' first-ever African American characters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This time, the Quest team is forced to make an emergency landing high in the Andes mountains of South America. Here, our heroes find themselves at the mercy of Baron Heinrich Von Froelich, a former German fighter pilot. The Baron intends to kill everyone, but not before engaging Jonny Quest's bodyguard, Race Bannon, in a duel-to-the-death aerial dogfight. Originally telecast on November 20, 1964, "Shadow of the Condor" boasts some excellent background art, and better-than-average animation in the climactic air battle -- where the thrill quotient is intensified by the timely arrival of the titular condor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Master villain Dr. Zin makes his first Jonny Quest appearance in "The Robot Spy" (it would have been his second appearance, had the episode titled "Riddle of the Gold" not been held back from release until later in the season). The titular creation is used by Zin to extract information about the new para-power ray gun developed by Jonny's father, Dr. Benton Quest. Naturally, once this information is obtained, the Quest party is expendable -- but the heroes aren't about to be knocked off that easily. "Robot Spy" was first seen on November 6, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Zoologist Dr. Ashida, an old friend and colleague of Dr. Benton Quest, has been conducting experiments on the lizards of a remote island. Alas, Ashida has gone a bit off his trolley, and has developed a herd of deadly dragons. The final scenes, in which the Quest team squares off against the slithery monsters, boasts some of Hanna-Barbera's finest animation and detail work of the 1960s. "Dragons of Ashida" was originally telecast on December 18, 1964, holding its own even opposite a rebroadcast of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young girl named Denise Lor is targeted for terror when she falls under a deadly voodoo spell. The cause of it all is a seemingly harmless doll, which the villains need to complete their diabolical ceremonies. The Quest team comes a-riding to the rescue, though before long they may need rescuing themselves from a gang of blowgun-wielding baddies. Henry Corden, future voice of Fred Flintstone, is heard as Philipe Lor, the father of the unfortunate heroine. "The Dreadful Doll" made its network broadcast debut on December 4, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The fourth of Hanna-Barbera's prime time network series, Jonny Quest was also the company's most expensive and ambitious project to date. Eschewing the cartoony comedy of their earlier Flintstones, Top Cat, and Jetsons, Hanna-Barbera served up a blood-and-thunder adventure yarn reminiscent of the best pulp-fiction and Saturday-serial offerings of yore. Jonny Quest was the young, tousel-haired son of widowed research scientist Dr. Benton Quest, whose work required him to journey all over the world. Accompanying Quest on these expeditions were son Jonny; the boy's muscular tutor-bodyguard, Roger "Race" Bannon; his mystical East Indian friend, Hadji; and his pet bulldog, Bandit. Designed and developed by comic artist Doug Wildey, the series offered an exhausting array of perils and antagonists: mutated giant lizards, hideous sea monsters, powerful death rays, atomic-powered volcanoes, slavering ex-Nazis, and master criminals bearing names like "Dr. Zin". Though the animation left much to be desired, the characters, background design, and musical accompaniment (by Hoyt Curtin) was all first-rate throughout. Fourteen-year-old Tim Mathieson (who as Tim Matheson enjoyed a lengthy adult career on such TV series as The West Wing) provided the voice of Jonny, while the other cast members included Mike Road as Race, John Stephenson as Dr. Quest, Danny Bravo as Hadji, and Don Messick as Bandit (Messick took over from Stephenson as Dr. Quest after the first eight episodes). After its inital ABC prime time run, which began September 18, 1964, and ended September 9, 1965, Jonny Quest was rerun on Saturday-morning television -- over all three major networks -- from 1970 through 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In typical intramural Hanna-Barbera fashion, this Flinstones episode is a reworking of an earlier cartoon starring Yogi Bear. A flying saucer lands in Bedrock in preparation of a full-scale invasion of earth. To infiltrate the planet, the aliens create ten replicas of a "typical" earthman--namely, Fred Flintstone. These ten troublesome androids wander around the town shouting "Yabba dabba doo" and wreaking all sorts of comic havoc--for which, of course, the real Fred must bear the brunt of the blame! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fred inherits a house from his late millionaire uncle, J. Giggles Flintstone. There's only one condition: Fred must spend a night in the house, which is rumored to be haunted. Not surprisingly, the Flintstones and the Rubbles are kept awake all night by a wide variety of scary and spooky occurrences. . .and then there's the matter of Uncle Giggles' creepy-looking servants. Of course, the episode's biggest surprise is reserved for the end--as is a fitting comeuppance for the person behind all that so-called paranormal phenomena. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dr. Benton Quest is summoned to the Southeast Asian country of Quetong by the local police commissioner. It seems that four of the commissioner's best men have disappeared without a trace while investigating the mysterious deaths of thousands of fish. In their own efforts to get to the bottom of things, the Quests stumble upon a secret missile base, hidden in a treacherous swamp. The last of the "original" Jonny Quest episodes to be produced -- though not the last one shown in prime time on ABC -- "The Quetong Missile Mystery" was originally broadcast on February 11, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Daws Butler provides the voice once again for the wacky titular bear. Between bouts of wit with Ranger Smith, Yogi juggles a little romance with Cindy Bear. Because of her fondness for Yogi, Cindy finds herself the victim of an evil circus impresario. He has her performing dangerous feats on a high wire while his demented pooch looks on with mad laughter. It is up to Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo to save her. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi