Warner Archive: "Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series" on Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Randy Korstick]

Ah... then I will go ahead with this. The burned DVDs I have from them play on my Oppo but do not play on my Denon DVD player. That is why I was concerned. Apparently burned discs may not play on all equipment.

Burned discs do not play on DVD-Recorders and on most PC drives but should play fine on any regular player. I have played them on at least 6 different players and never had a problem.

 

[Gary Seven]

Ok... ordered.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Initial impression - amazed at how pristine it looks. More thoughts later.

 

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

I checked out the preview clip Warner Archive hosted on its YouTube channel, and the complete intro title with the Jonny Quest title graphic is intact. This is also followed by the announcer saying "Brought to you by..." but cuts off before he says anything like "P.F. Flyers shoes."

~Ben

 

[Doug Wallen]

"Pursuit of the Po-Ho" is intact. No political correctness in Race's pronouncement.

 

[likewow]

Thanks for confirming there are restored elements. Can't wait to watch all of the episodes this way!

 

[ScottRE]

I checked out the preview clip Warner Archive hosted on its YouTube channel, and the complete intro title with the Jonny Quest title graphic is intact. This is also followed by the announcer saying "Brought to you by..." but cuts off before he says anything like "P.F. Flyers shoes."

~Ben

That sounds perfect!

 

[BobO'Link]

Mine is out for delivery! I absolutely know what I'm going to be watching tonight!

 

[borisfw]

My recorders play burned discs fine. Never had an issue .

 

[Scott511]

Yep, mine too. Both of my Panasonic DVD recorders play burned discs.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Mine is out for delivery! I absolutely know what I'm going to be watching tonight!

You're gonna love it. Enjoy!

 

[Randy Korstick]

My recorders play burned discs fine. Never had an issue .

Some do and some don't same as PC drives but all DVD Players should play them unless they are really old and in need of a firmware update.

 

[BobO'Link]

You're gonna love it. Enjoy!

That, I already know as Jonny Quest is my all-time-favorite animated TV show.

I watched the first 4 episodes last night. Wowie! It looks absolutely amazing! No jaggies, clean, sharp, bumpers intact, no dialog missing. Audio is clear with no noise. Wow!

It's a nice, standard, 3 disc BR case and episode titles are listed on the discs.

The menu art is nice and very much in keeping with the series. No animations - static - like it should be.

I have *one* quibble with the release and it has *nothing* to do with the show itself. It's the audio on the menu system. They chose to loop the theme song. I love that theme and it, like the show, is a all-time-favorite (I've been humming it since I placed the order almost a week back) - but not on infinite loop and not the way they've presented it. It's just a bit louder than the episodes (not much but enough to be noticeable, especially late at night when it's quiet) and it *almost* but not quite completes before they fade it out to start it again. It needed *two seconds* to fully complete! *Two seconds!*

So... that's absolutely not a deal breaker, just a disappointment.

I'll likely finish disc 1 tonight (it has 9 episodes).

 

[BobO'Link]

Another couple of episodes down and another couple of observations.

The image is rock steady. I've noticed only minor damage to the film - mostly a speck or three every so often that's generally unobtrusive unless you're looking for them is about it. Most of those appear to be dust bits on the cells themselves so are part of the original image. I'd say most of the image "issues" I've seen so far can be traced to the original cells. Things I absolutely would not want to be "cleaned up."

After the closing credits finish it fades to black and then goes back to the menu. No "modern" HB animation/music (the "El Kabong! stinger) on this one! What a welcome omission!

And they've included SDH. The original audio mix is well done with the voices clear and well above music and sound effects so it's not truly needed but it's still a welcome inclusion! Modern "sound technicians" could take some lessons on how to properly mix voice with music and effects from this series.

**EDIT**
It also looks like the end credits are all correct! I found a site which has 16mm captures of the original credits. So far, they've matched the episodes I've checked 100%.

And there are chapter stops at the commercial breaks. So far it looks like 6 chapters per episode with 4 stops (after the opening credits and 3 more with the last right before the end credits).

 

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

Another couple of episodes down and another couple of observations.

The image is rock steady. I've noticed only minor damage to the film - mostly a speck or three every so often that's generally unobtrusive unless you're looking for them is about it. Most of those appear to be dust bits on the cells themselves so are part of the original image. I'd say most of the image "issues" I've seen so far can be traced to the original cells. Things I absolutely would not want to be "cleaned up."

After the closing credits finish it fades to black and then goes back to the menu. No "modern" HB animation/music (the "El Kabong! stinger) on this one! What a welcome omission!

And they've included SDH. The original audio mix is well done with the voices clear and well above music and sound effects so it's not truly needed but it's still a welcome inclusion! Modern "sound technicians" could take some lessons on how to properly mix voice with music and effects from this series.

**EDIT**
It also looks like the end credits are all correct! I found a site which has 16mm captures of the original credits. So far, they've matched the episodes I've checked 100%.

Yes, the person who runs the site you mentioned put very hard work into that for us Quest fans!

~Ben

 

[BobO'Link]

Something that annoyed me as a kid (well... even now but not as much) was these scenes from the closing credits which never appeared in any episode. At one point I thought maybe I'd missed an episode or overlooked them when watching. After a few cycles of Saturday morning reruns I came to the conclusion they were only in the end credits. I *really* wanted to see that episode as it looked super cool with the hovercraft and them just barely avoiding that angry tribe!
(Images from the same site I linked above)

 

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

Something that annoyed me as a kid (well... even now but not as much) was these scenes from the closing credits which never appeared in any episode. At one point I thought maybe I'd missed an episode or overlooked them when watching. After a few cycles of Saturday morning reruns I came to the conclusion they were only in the end credits. I *really* wanted to see that episode as it looked super cool with the hovercraft and them just barely avoiding that angry tribe!
(Images from the same site I linked above)

I think those scenes were likely intended for something else entirely...

As to the opening credits, I think it was on the first four episodes (when John Stephenson did the voice of Dr. Quest, instead of Don Messick) that we see "A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION" and then "Starring" above Jonny Quest's opening billing. When Turner/WB upgraded the prints in 1995, they did a hybrid version, using the first version up to the Hanna-Barbera credit, and then the second version from that point forward; this unique version was used on the 1996 VHS releases and more recent reruns of the series on Cartoon Network/Boomerang.

~Ben

 

[dpippel]

They were intended for something else entirely. Here's some pertinent info from the Classic Jonny Quest website:

8) What about that scene in the closing credits showing African tribesman chucking spears at some people in a hovercraft as they enter their jet plane?

This question is frequently accompanied by a statement such as "I'm sure I saw the episode with that scene in it a long time ago, but haven't seen it in any of the recent re-runs." As unsatisfying as the following may be, it is, as far as I am able to determine, correct. The scenes were NOT part of any released Jonny Quest episode. They were definitely (mentioned by several rather unimpeachable sources including Joe Barbera and Doug Wildey) from the short film produced as part of the proposal of a "Jack Armstrong" animated series. When this project fell through because Hanna-Barbera were unable to come to terms with the Jack Armstrong people, the concept of a boy and his world-wide adventures was changed and grew into what would become Jonny Quest.

I have no explanation for the apparently strong recollection of seeing these scenes in an episode by a number of fans, unless it was possibly scenes from Pursuit of the Po-Ho; or maybe even A Small Matter of Pygmies that over the years has merged with the familiar ending credits.

9) Was that "Jack Armstrong" film ever broadcast?

If it had been, this could explain the memories reported by fans, but to my knowledge, it was not ever seen outside those involved in the Jack Armstrong project. Since it was part of a failed project, it seems rather unlikely that any part of it would have been shown to the public, especially since there would have been copyright issues involved requiring approval from the owners of the Jack Armstrong characters. The scenes shown in the closing JQ credits, which were apparently generic enough to be usable without a lot of legal hassles, are apparently the only surviving remnants of this film.

More info here:

http://www.classicjq.com/info/JQFAQ.aspx#show.7

 

[BobO'Link]

I think those scenes were likely intended for something else entirely...

As to the opening credits, I think it was on the first four episodes (when John Stephenson did the voice of Dr. Quest, instead of Don Messick) that we see "A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION" and then "Starring" above Jonny Quest's opening billing. When Turner/WB upgraded the prints in 1995, they did a hybrid version, using the first version up to the Hanna-Barbera credit, and then the second version afterward; this unique version was used on the 1996 VHS releases and more recent reruns of the series on Cartoon Network/Boomerang.

~Ben

What I've read is those scenes were from a project predating Jonny Quest where it was all about Jack Armstrong, boy explorer. They did a short film to showcase how they saw things but could never come to terms with the rights holders so it was scrapped. It then changed into Jonny Quest with a similar theme and feel but they couldn't use that original footage. The bits that were usable got picked for the closing credits.

And yes, there were 2 different open credit sequences for the original series. It's essentially the wording. Turner created a 3rd that combined parts of those two. They've been restored to the originals on the BR.

**EDIT**
And... Doug beat me to it. I'd read about that long before I knew about that site dedicated to Jonny Quest.

 

[B-ROLL]

If you are interested in animation and specifically Hanna-Barbera
I highly recommend this book