MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY SATURDAY MORNING

As my Christmas gift (or Holiday gift if the concept of Christmas does not apply in your configuration) to everyone, lurker and subscriber alike, who enjoys this blog, December's entry I decided will be the closest thing to a time machine that I can create here.

"Set the Way Back Machine, Sherman, to 1967" Mr. Peabody might of told his boy Sherman, if he was trying to help contribute to this December blog entry. Because we are going back to a typical Saturday from that year.

We are going to our living rooms more than forty years ago, getting a bowl of cereal and in PJs still warm from bed, sitting down to tune into CBS and 1966-67 Saturday Morning Cartoon Line up.

With the help of YouTube, Boomerang, Cartoon Network and even some old VHS tapes, I have attempted to reconstruct a Saturday morning on CBS, back when I was a wee lad -- and anxiously looked forward to all the action -- but especially JONNY QUEST, already a favorite from three years earlier during it's primetime debut in 1964.

Saturday mornings on CBS, you had to wait till right after lunch at 12:30 for the Quest party's adventures. And if you were anything like me, you just hoped and prayed it would be a monster episode or a robot spider.

I would like to point out that we are using a lot of clips here from cartoons of the 60's -- and most are available on Warner Home Video, and other distributors, some even on iTunes.

So consider these as advertisements for you to go get more of them through paying channels, if the spirit moves you. All of the files I have posted are in m4v format -- which is supposed to be cross-platform.

I play them on my Quicktime Player or my faithful VLC Player - which I heartily recommend whether you are on a Mac (as I am) or PC.

As we go down the line-up, some of you may not recognize some of these shows, or if you saw them on Boomerang or Cartoon Network, wondered where they came from, or what their origin was.

Well, with the exception of THE ROAD RUNNER SHOW and THE ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST -- the creation of these cartoons were for broadcast on Saturday Mornings on CBS!

Don't forget: links are provided for each show for you to download much higher quality versions of these Main Titles, and in some cases some episodes. Enjoy!

CAPTAIN KANGAROO

8:00 to 9:00 am Well, the sun is up and so are we. We started the morning with the Captain. By the time I was nine or ten, and Saturday Mornings had started to become filled with action cartoons, the Captain, I recall was something patiently waited through, for the real fun to begin.

I was over the "kid stuff" -- who wouldn't be at the old age of ten?

But who from my generation, could forget the Captain, Mr. Greenjeans, Mr. Moose -- and all those ping pong balls?

FRANKENSTEIN JR. and THE IMPOSSIBLES

9:00 to 9:30 am The stroke of nine brought us our first Hanna-Barbera toon of the morning. A sort of spoof of both superheroes -- and of rock bands. While this cartoon made its debut a year earlier, it returned for the 67 season, though it is unclear if these were repeats or new episodes.

Back in the day (this day anyway) the guys at Hanna-Barbera often took monsters and made them kid friendly, starting here with FRANKENSTEIN. (Maybe taking a page from MILTON THE MONSTER - if Milton predates FRANKY Jr.)


I was surprised to learn that while they made 36 seven minute episodes of THE IMPOSSIBLES, and 18 FRANKENSTEIN JR. episodes (also seven minutes each). To make up the half hour, there were two IMPOSSIBLES episodes, with a Franky Jr. cartoon in the middle.

The Jonny Quest connections to FRANKENSTIEN JR. are many, starting with of course with the generous use of Hoyt Curtin's Quest music. But the voice talents are a Jonny Quest roll call.

Buzz's dad, Professor Conroy is John Stephenson (The original Dr. Benton Quest) and in the episode posted below, the narrator is none other than Vic Perrin (Dr. Zin and also of OUTER LIMITS fame)

Artist Bill Wray's totally cool take on Franky Jr., The Impossibles and what looks like Secret Squirrel trying to keep ahead of the stampede.

If you'd like to download an entire episode of FRANKENSTIEN JR. to watch, I have posted the following:

Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles Main Title (as seen above):

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/1qqvbd

An episode of FRANKENSTIEN JR. entitled THE SPYDER MAN:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/ew222b

And an episode of THE IMPOSSIBLES "The Wretched Dr. Stretch" :

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/7i816x

THE HERCULOIDS

9:30 to 10:00 am Well the corn flakes are soggy by now -- but who cares? The good stuff starts now! The action stuff. And at the starting gate at 9:30 was THE HERCULOIDS. A family of humans (or at least humanoids) and their mighty arsenal of creatures that make up the family pets, as they protect their planet from constant invaders and foes.

The magic of Alex Toth (rhymes with 'both') really starts to emerge here -- and Alex might well turn out to be the true author of our Hanna-Barbera action cartoon memories, as we will see in show after show.

His incredible designs are responsible for most of the memorable cavalcade of sci-fi and action stars at old HB. And I will devote an entire blog to him, when the time comes when my Alex Toth experts have contributed enough that I feel like the blog could do him justice.

ALEX TOTH

Again, THE HERCULOIDS borrows much of Hoyt Curtin's action cues from Quest, (however the Herculoids theme and underscore were not written by Hoyt) and Zandor, the head of the family is voiced by none other our own Race Bannon -- Mike Road.

If you want a copy of the opening above (narrated by Mike Road) download it here:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/ea7bx3

If you want to see a full episode, THE MUTOIDS, download it here:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/jui4d1

SHAZZAN

10:00 to 10:30 am It's time to put our magic rings together and summon our giant genie: SHAZZAN! Another Alex Toth creation for Hanna-Barbera.

Busy character actor Barney Phillips (below) is the big booming voice of the genie Shazzan.
Don Messick clearly does the voice of Kabooie, the flying camel, as you will soon find out if you play the episode included here -- the camel's utterings are 100 percent SCOOBY DOO.


To download a version of the Main Title as seen above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/b361dg


To download a full episode "The Lord of the Shadows" :

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/vk8uow

SPACE GHOST

10:30 - 11:00 am Probably the most recognizable and popular of all of Alex Toth's superhero creations for Hanna-Barbera's Saturday Mornings, is SPACE GHOST.

Voiced by Laugh-In's GARY OWENS, Space Ghost roams the galaxy in an amazingly cool ship, with a couple of young siblings, JAN and JACE, and their monkey mascot BLIP.

The series features the voice of post-Quest and now pubescent Tim Matheson as JACE. Sounds like he's pushing the testosterone a bit in his performance as JACE -- maybe to sound more heroic, or in an attempt to sound less like Jonny.

While tons and tons of Quest cues are used again in this series, the rousing main theme, was not by Hoyt Curtin. In fact, it's darn hard to find out who wrote what for SPACE GHOST or any of the other rousing adventure themes that graced THE HERCULOIDS, MIGHTY MIGHTOR etc.

The music supervisor credited at the end of these action toons is TED NICHOLS. If Hoyt's "Musical Supervision" Title should have more accurately been "Music Composed and Conducted by" -- then should we assume that Ted Nichols is the composer of THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR, SPACE GHOST and MOBY DICK? THE HERCULOIDS?

Can anyone shed some light on this subject for us?

Anyone know? Someone had taken over for Hoyt Curtin by then as "Music Supervisor" who I am assuming was the composer of the music.

Hoyt started with Bill and Joe at the beginning of the partnership in 1957 with RUFF and READY and continued through the JETSONS, TOP CAT, JONNY QUEST and the FLINTSTONES .

But Hoyt seems to have been absent from Hanna-Barbera during the superhero craze of mid 60s animation -- though you'd never know it since the niney-plus action cues he wrote for Quest would be used in every action series HB produced right up into 1968 for their live action series THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN.

I remember watching that show -- for the express purpose of waiting for a Quest cue. Seriously, that's the kind of Quest-ite (read Quest nerd) I was, even back in 1968 at the age of ten.

A rare model sheet for SPACE GHOST - sans mask. So here's what SPACE GHOST looks like when he's not wearing that cool cowl. Alex Toth, as brilliant an artist who ever lived, clearly wanted the animators who would draw SPACE GHOST, to think of him as a man first and a cowled (face mostly hidden) superhero second.

SPACE GHOST followed the Hanna-Barbera action template of three seven minute cartoons to make up the half hour. Bracketing they called it, since for instance for The Space Ghost show, you saw two Space Ghost cartoons bracketing one episode of DINO BOY in THE LOST VALLEY.



Mike Road provided the voice of UGH, or is it UG, the caveman -- and each episode is almost wall to wall Quest cues. In fact in the episode provided here, for the "lizard hounds", it looks like Ashida's dragons from JONNY QUEST were simply traced over.

There is something about the simplicity of the Dino Boy show that I like. It's mostly action, Quest music and dinosaurs -- what boy could ask for anything more?

If you would like to download the SPACE GHOST Main Title as seen above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/d93dat

And if you would like to have a complete seven-minute episode of SPACE GHOST, here is "The Heat Thing", which if memory serves me correctly, was the first Space Ghost episode ever shown:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/4daal1

To download the DINO BOY intro:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/cehg5v

And to download a DINO BOY episode "The Terrible Chase" :

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/edf2o9

Again, you can buy a lot of these terrific series on DVD now, and SPACE GHOST AND DINO BOY is one of them. They are on Warner Home DVD. And I recommend them. It's so great to see these shows restored and looking handsome.

MOBY DICK and the MIGHTY MIGHTOR

11:00 - 11:30 am Two of the strangest HB concepts, but the people there new what boys liked: and one of them was clearly dinosaurs. "How about a super-hero who lives in dinosaur days?" I can hear the pitch session going when THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR was first suggested.

Alex Toth again shows his incredible eye and design skills, evidenced above by the simple but powerful lines that make up the hero of this stone-age adventure show.

The mighty voice of Mightor was actor Paul Stewart. (CITIZEN KANE, TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH to name just a few of this prolific actor's credits) Mightor had a bit of a British or Welsh accent, I noticed. Every prehistoric hero should have an element of class while they're wrestling T-Rexes.

Here is the backstory intro for MOBY DICK:



Below is a cool end title to MOBY DICK and MIGHTY MIGHTOR. It reminds me how many times as kids we must've seen the words PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY WILLIAM HANNA and JOSEPH BARBERA.

Though I am certain that the output was so great at that point, they probably directed very few if ANY of the shows they took directing credit on. It would have been humanly impossible. Maybe "directing" in TV animation, meant something different back then.

I do know the mere sight of those names in the end title of any cartoon, even THE FLINSTONES or THE JETSONS made my heart skip a joyous beat when I was a youngster.

Oh heck, what am I playing coy for? Those names still do the same thing to me today! Here is the end title to MOBY DICK and THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR:



If you want to download Moby Dick and The Mighty Mightor Main Title (and intro to Mighty Mightor) as shown above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/bwllg0

If you would like to see an episode of THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR, here is "The Tree Pygmies":

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/m1n52d

For the backstory and intro to MOBY DICK as seen above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/jly38s


For a full episode of MOBY DICK "The Crab Creatures":

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/qalg7i

And if you would like to download the end titles for the show as seen above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/vmck7c

THE SUPERMAN/AQUAMAN HOUR OF ADVENTURE

11:30 -12:30 pm The next hour was full of superheroes not from the Hanna-Barbera stable, but Marvel Comics and Filmmation, fleshed out by lots of Superman cartoons that were recycled from an earlier Saturday morning Superman cartoon that ran a half hour.

The entire Justice League of America was featured in this hour, but I can't recall if the hour showcased short episodes of all of these heroes. I want to say there was always a couple of Aqua man segments and then some Superman segments within the hour and then one of the Justice League.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Great piece of trivia for these Superman cartoons -- the voice of Superman here is Bud Collier, who did the voice of Superman on the radio for years and years. This was the voice of Superman our parents grew up with.

To download the series Main Title as seen above:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/blmddg

And to see an entire Superman cartoon "The Neolithic Nightmare" :

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/eczstq

JONNY QUEST

12:30 - 1:00 pm Continuing its journey from prime time to an indelible and long running slot on Saturday mornings (first on CBS and then on NBC) Here comes JONNY QUEST -- finally! Right around lunch time.

There is an intrinsic tribute to the creators of this show here, namely Quest never felt too old, too dated or anything not to be repeated or be included in a Saturday cartoon line up -- it was just too cool. Read: too well done.

In fact, even with all the other adventure shows on every Saturday morning, on different planets and a menagerie of monsters, I was always the most excited and anticipated with the greatest verve, whatever Jonny Quest episode would play that Saturday. (Secretly always hoping for the one with the abominable snowman -- it seemed to play so rarely)

How many times can one kid see those twenty-six episodes?

The main title above may not have been the main title CBS ran in '67, but I can't seem to find that one anywhere. It was perhaps trimmed for gunplay -- not sure. Anyone who does know what the titles looked like back then -- please chime in.

Looking at a Quest episode -- or even the main title -- and you will be reminded that the animation or artwork in Saturday morning shows don't resemble THE FLINSTONES, THE JETSONS or JONNY QUEST, for quality. Remember, those were all primetime animation shows -- and boasted some of the biggest per episode budgets in television history at the time.

A Saturday morning show, like SPACE GHOST or any of the others, probably had half that budget -- or even less for these half hour shows, so you're going to see even less animation and creatures and monsters and things that were simple in design as to enable the animators to work faster.


To download the traditional JONNY QUEST Main Title:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/p7ob6f

To download the full episode THE INVISIBLE MONSTER from Jonny Quest:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/go0mrb

THE LONE RANGER

1:00 to 1:30 Late runner in the afternoon -- if it wasn't bumped by a golf tournament or other sports program, was this atmostpheric animated take on the West's most famous hero.

If memory serves -- and it may not -- The Lone Ranger animated series of 1980 was voiced by William Conrad (you might remember him from the TV show JAKE AND THE FAT MAN) whose wonderful voice graced many, many classic radio shows (including THE LONE RANGER) if I am not mistaken -- as well as lending his voice talents to a myriad of Jay Ward's wonderful and zany cartoons. Including BULLWINKLE and gang.

These LONE RANGER toons had a style and look to them that I remember quite well, because the art was so unique. The Lone Ranger again became an animated series in 1980, and there was even a Lone Ranger cartoon made in the 1930s, made for theaters. Back when theaters offered you an A picture, a B picture, news reels and a cartoon.

No I'm not that old -- I just remember hearing of that strange time in America, when the movie house was king, somewhere after radio and before TV.

To download a copy of the Main Title as seen above (sorry about the sound, couldn't find a better version) :

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/36mcpq

THE ROAD RUNNER SHOW

1:30 -2:00 pm To top off the morning, the giant library of Warner Bros. cartoons, specifically the Road Runner cartoons -- many of them Chuck Jones classics -- ended the Saturday with a half hour of Warner Brothers brilliance.

A year or two later, the Warner library would expand to the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour, (see below) but back in 67 it was just MEEP-MEEP and look out ACME supply company.

Well that's our CBS Cartoon Line up. In fact, below see the Check-list featured in various comic books the summer of '67, just to make sure you wouldn't miss any of the CBS shows.


Many of the toons, say Herculoids, Space Ghost and a handful of others, actually made their Saturday debut, a year earlier in 1966, and then were either rerun in the 67 season or had new episodes created.

Also, if some of your favorite Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning memories are absent here, remember that this was only the CBS line up for 1967.

Over at ABC that year Hanna-Barbera's version of Marvel Comics' FANTASTIC FOUR made its debut.

While over at NBC in '67, Saturday morning saw the debut of Hanna-Barbera's BIRDMAN and THE GALAXY TRIO.

If that wasn't enough, the boys also produced the series SAMSON and GOLIATH for syndication, with the great and all powerful father of JONNY QUEST, Doug Wildey at the design helm again, and voicing young Samson -- who else, but again Tim Matheson.

Wow! Can you say Hanna-Barbera was THE major producer of TV adventure animation?

A BIG AND BUSY YEAR FOR BILL AND JOE

In the non-action universe, '67 also saw Hanna-Barbera produce the syndicated ABBOTT and COSTELLO cartoons. Where Bud Abbott did his own voice.

As well as an Emmy-winning hour special which they produced with Gene Kelly (who starred and also directed) The show was part live-action, part animated. It was a telling of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.

Bill and Joe had worked with Gene Kelly at MGM, when the boys, then in MGM's animation unit, produced a very cool sequence where Gene Kelly danced with one half of the TOM AND JERRY team -- an animated Jerry the Mouse.

It was for one of MGM's big musicals. (An Oscar was bestowed upon Hanna and Barbera for their work on that film)

'67 was also the year that YOGI and FRIENDS entered syndication, where the roll call of Hanna-Barbera's animal stables were set loose on local stations.

In closing, I maintain that at the forefront of the superhero craze of these Saturday toons is of JONNY QUEST -- two short years after QUEST's solo season on ABC primetime, 1966 came along -- and look out: the superheroes started bursting out of the Hanna-Barbera studios.

I think it's safe to say that '66-'67 were the true years of adventure animation on Saturdays.

Eventually the action shows would be traded in for slighter, more comedic fare like WACKY RACES, THE PERILS OF PENELOPE PITSTOP, THE SMURFS and SCOOBY DOO. And I can understand why I lost interest in Saturdays eventually -- much of it was because I had my own car, my own hormones and my interests started to go elsewhere.

But even now as I start to see silver hair in my sideburns, I have never lost interest in the original JONNY QUEST.

Well, that's it for this Holiday blog. Hope it brings back some pleasant memories of the stuff that got poured into our little brains back in those hazy 60s.

Blogs planned in the new year, time permitting as always, are blogs on HOYT CURTIN, DOUG WILDEY, ALEX TOTH and other Quest luminaries. I encourage you all again to chime in, contribute, do whatever you like to add to the accuracy, longevity and fun this blog is meant to be.

It is in effect, some kind of time machine, I realized putting this particular entry together. Because to pay homage to JONNY QUEST you really do have to go back to 1964 (probably in production in the year 1963 for a '64 broadcast) and see what you can find about the origin and process that created this terrific show.

If you celebrate the Holidays, I hope they are happy ones for you -- and that the new year will be filled with promise and good things.

For now, so long from the Island of Misfit Toys -- er I mean Palm Key -- and here's hoping Santa and his Reindeer have the airspace they need when they make their swoop over Palm Key - heaven forbid, the Para Power Ray Gun is out for a test -- its only meant to disable flying objects but not affect the living, so I guess Rudolph would survive.

My stocking is ready and waiting for lost of vintage Hanna-Barbera goodies! Happy Holidays to all around the world!

Chris

COLORING BOOKS, CURTIN AND CRAZY QUEST RYTHMS

Chris here, back again after an absence that is just way too long. And thanks so much for the encouragement and thanks from you folks.

Some of the Quest treasures I have found in my quest for Quest on the interweb, this time led me to THE JONNY QUEST COLORING BOOK. It was published twice and the first edition states 1965 as it's date of copyright and had this cover:

The coloring book was clearly THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode with everything in it except, sadly, The Mummy. Why leave out the fantastic mummy from a Quest coloring adventure if you're going to publish one?

But it did contain lots of great Quest art based entirely on Doug Wildey's designs and what looks like recreations of layouts from the actual episode. The artist credited for the drawings in the book is named JASON ART. And he handled Race, Benton and the boys masterfully -- though interestingly enough: Bandit looks the least like himself in this incarnation.

Larger and more portly and with a different structure to his face and body. He was drawn to look more like a real bulldog I think. But Jason Art's talent for drawing the great and assured lines that Doug Wildey's characters were known for, is evident in this coloring book.

One of the many two-page layouts in the coloring book

I remember getting the second edition of this coloring book when I was a lad. It's first publication, was a year after the show debuted in 1964. I am certain the second edition came out later than 1965, and was probably in connection with the show's syndication when it joined the CBS Saturday Morning Line up.

Some of the changes are striking though, in the coloring book art. And you'd probably need a time machine to take you back to the mid 1960s to ever completely understand why the coloring book was so different from the episode it was clearly representing.

Starting with the omission of The Mummy itself, and all acts of "action" or maybe it's the violence they wanted to pull back on.

No guns are fired, only pointed, and even the scorpion that threatens Bandit, is merely lassoed (not destroyed) by Race's bullwhip in the coloring book version. Also, Dr. Kareem's thugs have been changed from Egyptians with turbans, to guys who look more like Dr. Quest and Dr. Kareem. In fact, they have been cleansed of their ethnicity.

Maybe the most striking bit of censorship -- I mean, I get that coloring books were aimed at little kids, so a blood-and-guts version of Jonny Quest from Whitman wouldn't have happened anyway. Not in 1965. But come on:
Race, who is sunning on a blanket on the beach at Palm Key -- has been drawn for the coloring book, fully-clothed?
In the actual episode he was of course in swimtrunks:


Also, in the coloring book, when he captures the boys after their sneak attack -- Jonny has also been drawn fully clothed. And Hadji (spelled incorrectly in the coloring book as Haji) doesn't even get close to Race.
Now I don't need to see naked people wherever I look, but on a beach, I think swimsuits are permissible. So it does set a mind to wondering what the thought process was here for the coloring book people, since the boys with Race from the actual episode looked like this:

I mean did Catholic nuns create the Jonny Quest coloring book? Were bathing suits on a beach, taboo in the 1965 world of crayons? Is this a question of prudery? (If that's a word)

Is it just me, or is there all kinds of phobias going on in this coloring book? I mean come on, violence I can understand, racial stereotypes as bad guys in a coloring book, I guess I could see that -- but the boys and Race had to be fully clothed on the beach? No swimsuits?

I guess "Jonny Quest and The Mystery of the Coloring Book", including the unforgiveable omission of the mummy, will never be solved. And it is a mystery -- since in the same coloring book, Hadji (the always naked) barely has a doilie over his willy!
Oh, one friend did suggest, that if prudery wasn't the reason, then it was probably that when you put Jonny and Race in clothes on the beach, you would need to use more colors as in more crayons, because there would be more to color. And many different colors needed.

Was he suggesting that coloring books were basically invented to push crayons? Never really thought of it that way.

Was there even a flesh colored crayon in the smaller boxes from Crayola? I don't remember being privy to the vast 64 colors box. I think the flesh color was called Peach. Anyone else remember or care to chime in on the differences presented in the color book?

The snazzier and more action-oriented cover for the second edition or re-release of the coloring book.

You can find out for yourself if you want. Just check the back page of this terrific scan of THE ENTIRE COLORING BOOK (well almost the entire book -- only a few of the 100 some pages are absent) If you feel like coloring or just feel nostalgic -- you can download the coloring book here:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/tvuoz3

THE SOUNDS OF ANUBIS

Since this blog entry has inadvertently focused on THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode, (the third episode broadcast when the show premiered in 1964) and so many of you have written to me about the music cues I have been able to find and post, I thought I would try something here, that I don't think has ever been done.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to listen, to all the music cues from THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode, in the order of their appearance and with no dialog or sound effects?

We would basically need just the music tracks, without sound effects or dialog. Well, as luck would have it, a lot of folks read this blog, and what do you know? There are some old mixes floating around out there (now almost forty years old) from certain episodes and THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode happens to be one of them.

There are around thirty different music tracks used throughout the twenty five minutes and twenty-two seconds of the mummy episode.

That's the good news -- the bad news is, the music track was in very bad shape. The sound quality was not good and the music of course had been edited to picture. As in chopped up by the music editor to fit the action. Some cues were only seconds long and just brief clips from longer cues.

Not the best situation for listening to what our favorite maestro Hoyt Curtin wrote for Jonny and his adventures.

The magical, powerful musical voice of JONNY QUEST, Hoyt Curtin.

So I went to my now good friends who created the Quest documentary. (They were presented with the entire Quest library of cues for the production of their underground Quest doc) And asked if I could replace the bad or damaged cues with the matching and much more pristine cues they had from the episode.

Since some of the cues in the Anubis episode have already been featured in the Hanna-Barbera Pik-a-Nic Basket CD Collection, and various bootleg CDs availible on ebay, the guys gave their okay.

Understandably, when they were given the music to put on their doc, they promised not to release it, bootlegged or otherwise --since it is not in the public domain. And these guys have kept their promise. But they also love this blog -- and above all, are two of the biggest classic Quest fans of all time.

So, long story even longer: Here are almost all the cues, and in the order they appear in THE CURSE OF ANUBIS. Some are repeated in the playlist because they are repeated in the episode (The Mummy walking music for instance)

Now, most of the Quest cues (over a hundred and ninety of them!!!) simply have numbers and not names. So I named the cues for you to fit the action.

Dr. Kareen, the villain of the episode. I love that he is smoking in this scene. Look at the amazing lines and detail in his face, clothes and his surroundings. Vintage, high quality Quest!

I know it's a lot of downloading from Sendspace -- but like the documentary -- if you're a die hard Quest fan, this is a rare event. And it is truly great listening.

We've heard these cues over and over again in all the Quest episodes, and of course into eternity in other Hanna-Barbera action shows - but hearing them pristine and without editing, that incredible sound Hoyt Curtin created -- well listening to this music, even the scary stuff, always makes me smile.

The cool thing here, is that even if only a few moments of the cue were used in THE CURSE OF ANUBIS -- I have posted you the entire cue, as originally written.
You will have to download them individually, (sorry, it's the only way I know how to do this) but here is a description of each if you don't want to download them all:

1 - MAIN TITLE and ART CARD (Yes there was a sting for the "CURSE OF ANUBIS" art card, though the DVD release leaves it silent for some reason. And you're going to hear how the sponsor was worked into the Main Title.

Download here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/sn746k


2 - THE TEMPLE OF ANUBIS (A fanfare of trumpets announce the fabled Ruins of Khiva in Egypt)

Download at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/lml80n

3 - EGYPTIAN SKULLDUGGERY (The statue of Anubis is stolen. And an ancient sarcophagus creeps open to reveal the mummified remains of Anubis)


Download at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/3gm37u

4 - THE MUMMY WALKS

A famous piece of Quest monster music, used in many episodes, but something tells me, it was originally written for this episode and specifically for the mummy's walk. While it is used in the first episode aired, the pilot (MYSTERY OF THE LIZARD MEN) a variation of it is also used in the Main Title for the mummy's appearance, suggesting it was always and initially intended for Anubis walking.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/10ypgd

5 - THE BOYS SNEAK UP ON RACE (Kids don't try this at home)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/2ys125

6 - TRAVELING TO EGYPT (Music to underscore one of the few times the Quests take a commercial airliner to an exotic location. Usually they fly themselves in their private jet The Dragonfly)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/gl7l4k

7 - A DESPICABLE ACT (Doctor Kareem builds a strong case for the theory that outsiders have stolen the statue of Anubis from its temple. Hoyt's classic bad guy brass here accompanies the sinister doctor's rant)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/4wkxru

8 - JONNY'S FIRST CAMEL RIDE -- Jonny's first attempt at one of his lifelong dreams: to ride a camel. This jaunty Hoyt Curtin cue was usually reserved for the final and happy conclusion of a Quest adventure, but here it works equally well.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/6olglu

9 - BANDIT INTERFERES (A cue Hoyt wrote for The Jetsons but was used often for Bandit's antics, this cue is used only briefly for the camel turning and snapping at Bandit. Causing the dog to hop in the water with his recently dunked master.)


Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/mxcebw

10 - COMMITTED BY OUTSIDERS -- At a desert campfire, Kareem discusses the stolen statue. The conversation is interrupted by an appearance of the mummy on a moonlit hill, but that brief startling bit of a cue, is an excerpt from the above cue EGYPTIAN SKULLDUGGERY, and so is not repeated here.

Download at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/iyyvjk

11 - A CRUEL COUNTRY -- More evocative mood music -- and at perfect pitch for the Quests arriving at the hotel and discussing Egypt. When Race finds a bullwhip hanging on the wall, he comments what a cruel looking thing it is. "It's a cruel country, Race," the doctor says, "at least by our standards."

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/djqjju

12 - SCORPION ATTACK -- Race rescues Bandit from a deadly scorpion, long before Indiana Jones ever picked up a bullwhip.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/0mtr1i

13 - INTO THE CATACOMBS -- The sinister doctor Kareem takes Benton and Race into the tomb. Again, the high quality of the score sets the mood as they descend. Another example of just how big a part of Quest, Hoyt Curtin was -- and along with Doug Wildey, one of the major reasons it was so unforgettable.

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/f6676r

14 - POISONOUS SNAKES -- The sinister Dr. Kareem releases deadly snakes to keep Quest and Bannon trapped in the tomb.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/qdqmdk

15 - EGYPTIAN STREET PLAY (Jonny, Hadji and Bandit play on an Egyptian street. Hoyt's incredible knack for finding the musical sound of a locale is perfectly illustrated here with a terrific and elegant flute that says "Middle East" in about four seconds flat)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/4ojh3x

16 - PEEK A BOO (Hadji shows how he can magically duck in and out of large jugs. This cue was used often for the lighter side of Quest. Usually the boys or Bandit giving us a little comedy relief)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/ni2peq

17 - DUCKING BAD GUYS (The essence of Doug's cool Quest sound here. The boys overhear their kidnappers and see a convenient motor scooter as their way out.)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/nhmhja

18 - THE SCOOTER CHASE (Jonny and Hadji hop on a scooter and are chased by Kareem's thugs. One of the all time great Quest action cues. Just a dynamite piece of shattering brass that ends with the famous Jonny Quest spring. You'll know it when you hear it. I'm guessing this cue was originally composed for the speedboat chase in the pilot episode)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/3hmhxm

19 - THROUGH THE TENTS (Jonny takes the scooter on a detour. A surprisingly mild and cool selection by the music editor for the second leg of the chase. You've heard this great track countless times, usually underscoring the Quest's globetrotting)

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/fxz5o2

20 - THE BOYS FIGHT BACK (Cat and mouse in an empty building. Classic Curtin finish with lots of attacking brass)

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/j1gugq

21 - GOAT ATTACK -- (The title says it all. A little Abbott and Costello thrown into the chase sequence. Though is it just me, or did Jonny and Hadji watch two men fall to their deaths at the end of this cue and then just carry on as if nothing happened? Oh well, that's life with the Quests, I guess. You've seen a lot at twelve.)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/fjqih9

22 - NO SPEAK EGYPTIAN (The boys scooter past Kareem into the tomb. This is one of the most bombastic and staccato cues Hoyt ever wrote for the show. I can't imagine how red the tuba and trombone players' faces must have been after this one. The brass riffs are relentless and terrific)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/ubiosh

23 - ANUBIS IS FOLLOWING (The Mummy walks again. You've already got this cue if you downloaded Cue 4 The Mummy Walks. I added it again because it is repeated here for the finale. The voice on the slate for this cue is either Hoyt himself or his music editor)

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/kojvdp

24 - ANUBIS REVENGE (Kareem can't stop the curse of Anubis. Cues like this one make me wonder what kept Hoyt Curtin from breaking into movies and scoring for the big screen. He might have easily been another John Williams)

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/cjw6oa

25 - A LIGHT FROM ABOVE -- (A small cave in shows the way out. This is an excellent example of Hoyt's versatility. This is a delicate, atmospheric cue that really sets a mood. Though only a few seconds were used here, it was played extensively to set the mood for the eerie plateau in THE DEVIL'S TOWER episode)

Download it at: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/hz3tb0

26 - A HERD OF CAMELS (The Quests escape into a herd of camels. You can feel the gloom of the mummy drift away with this classic Curtin cue used in many episodes, usually for travelogue stuff. It is so sparkling and uplifting. The orchestration and execution, (by some of the best musicians working in Hollywood in the early 60s) is really terrific.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/xa5dus

27 - JONNY GETS HIS CAMEL RIDE -- This is another repeated cue. If you downloaded PEEK-A-BOO, Cue 16, you already have this music. I added it again here to keep a semblance of the order of the music and how it was sequenced (and sometimes repeated) in the episode.


Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/hx2s36

28 - END TITLE -- Hoyt's jazzy End Title and as a special treat it ends with the original Screen Gems "Dancing Sticks" logo music. This is what all we old-timers heard after that last blast of trumpets at the end of each Quest.

Download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/z137co

IN CLOSING

The above tunes and coloring book links are good for at least a month. Hope you all check in soon enough to take advantage of them. Also, the cool stuff on this blog, it's all here because people have written and shared their Quest stuff with me, making it possible for me to share it with you.

No one is creating this blog for money or profit. And no, I don't work for Sendspace or anything. This blog is here because, I, like many others, are still captivated by that great show -- whenever it entered our lives.

Whatever you may think you have, of interest, of quality, or not -- I encourage you to share it. If you have Quest stuff, from fan fiction to memorabilia, to stuff used for actual Quest episodes, I hope you will share it with the Quest community that is gradually growing here.

Thanks for all the comments and input too. You can reach me through the email address in my Blog profile.

And that goes for all the Chinese, Japanese and Korean comments too. Thank you. I sure wish I could respond, but even the auto-translators aren't always a lot of help when trying to translate your comments into English.

As a last little gift to all the Quest-ites who keep checking in, lurkers included, here is a very large and long piece of art done for the Quest Documentary, that includes the larger part of the cartoon work Hoyt Curtin did in his remarkable career in animation.

It only flashes by in a second in the doc (with Jonny Quest flying over it) but here is the full scale, large file of the graphic. You can double click it to download it a full size. (As is true for any of the graphics on this blogsite)



I have some very special ideas for future blogs, based on one comment that finding a new blog here on a Saturday morning was like waking up on a Saturday when we were kids and slurping a bowl of cereal in front of the TV.

I'm just waiting for a little more material to come in (I wish this was my day job, but sadly, it's not) And when I have what I need, more goodies to come.

So, until next time, so long from Palm Key -- and the little house behind the cabanas and of course the Underwater Sea Prober.

Tell your friends if they are Classic Quest aficionados, about the blog. The more the merrier and the more people we have checking in, the more cool Quest stuff might be shared with us!

Be well, and much warmth,

Chris