Hey there, fellow Quest-ites!!!
Glad so many of you found the new twenty part download easy and accessible. The whole doc is long, isn't it? But if you're a classic Quest nut, there's nothing like it.
I said if, when I checked back, there were people asking to see the deleted scenes, that I would post them here. Since there was interest, and the authors of the documentary have said it would be okay, I have a couple for you:
The first one is a a brief addition to the Mike Road/Race Bannon chapter, talking about voice acting. This tiny clip (about a minute long) was cut for time, though personally, I don't see what the harm would have been in including it.
You can download this Mike Road/Race extended sequence as a Quicktime movie at this Sendspace address:http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/hyql4w
You can also view it on YouTube, right here on the blog:
The other sequence I have for you is a ten minute show-stopper that was originally supposed to end the documentary -- reminding us all of the reason we all fell in love with this show -- it was so damned action-packed and exciting!
A montage of a lot of the action from many of the episodes was edited together and then rescored with some of Hoyt Curtin's most memorable action cues.
But since the end title sequence (which itself runs seven minutes or so) did some of the same thing, a very difficult decision was made by the authors of the piece and this section was cut, allowing the end titles to act as the program's finale.
The authors tell me that this was one of the most time consuming sections of the documentary to put together, because the clips that are edited together here,had to have their sound FX, voices and music -- removed, or it would have sounded like a bloody mess with all the different bits of music cutting in and out of each other.
So all the sound had to be stripped off so that other music could be added to make it flow like one, ongoing sequence.
That meant that after skinning off the FX tracks, and adding different action music -- they needed to go back in and recreate every gunshot, yeti howl, splash, crash and explosion so the sequence still had power and velocity.They said they occasionally snuck in a line or two of dialog when they could separate it from the original music track, but I guess putting this sequence together was the most time consuming and difficult part of the documentary's production.
The filmmakers were troubled that this entire sequence had to be lifted or basically cut for time, when the doc started to go over two and a half hours. But they are happy that the sequence can at least be seen and appreciated by fellow Quest fans.You can download this sequence as a Quicktime movie at this Sendspace address:
http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/3ijm93
I have also posted it on my YouTube page. You can watch it here:
Of course the deleted segment I was most anxious to see (and still haven't) I can't offer to you, yet. It is the chapter with the above title. The authors are looking to see if some incarnation of the funniest and most provocative deleted sequence still exists. Keep checking back here, because I will post it if it shows up.QUESTions and ANSWERS
Let me answer a few questions that I get asked a lot either here (you can contact me through the email address in my profile on this blog) or I get asked a lot on YouTube:
I can't put you in touch with the filmmakers of the doc. Yes, I do know them, and we have become friends. But they do not want their identities revealed in the same way they don't want to see their documentary sold or exploited to make money.
There really isn't a mystery about it, and the people who have emailed me and told me they think they know who the creator of the doc is -- have all been mistaken.There is no obvious choice here, in fact the creators I don't think have ever made a documentary film before or since. They are not in the entertainment field, but did get someone to narrate the documentary who is. And was also a big Quest fan growing up.
I can tell you, with their permission, that it was created as a 50th birthday present. You heard that right, it was created (and took well over a year's time) as a very special birthday gift for someone turning fifty.
The doc was screened one time only at that birthday celebration, and when I saw it, I thought it was a shame it would never be shared with the world and all the classic Quest fans this shows has gathered over fifty years time.When I got permission to post it on YouTube -- I had no idea just how loved, and international this show's appeal was. It was overwhelming. And the responses, most of which I share with the actual creators of the doc, are pretty great.
Some of you have written in about inaccuracies in the doc about dates or names. There are some bloopers and mistakes to be sure. The creators used the internet as one of their sources for dates and times. But they also used extensive interviews with Doug Wildey and others to report on the actual making of the show.
The two details they wanted to correct but couldn't before the film had to be finalized was the date for the production of TOP CAT (it was either a year earlier or later than the doc states) and that Magilla Gorilla was actually sponsored by toy company Ideal and not Hasbro as the doc states.
They did months of fact checking they said, but in two and a half hours, there will always be little bloopers here and there. The filmmakers were committed to making the show about Doug Wildey's version of how the show got made -- since they saw him as the true creator of the series.
Though Joe Barbera and William Hanna told him in no uncertain terms that he would not be credited with the creation of the show. As the doc points out -- they gave Doug the tile of "Based on an idea created by Doug Wildey" in the end title. Though some episodes list him as supervising art director and others don't list him at all.
Sadly, the Jonny Quest DVD boxset, uses the same end title sequence for every episode (a time/money saving endeavor that sadly falsifies the credits for all but a few of the twenty six episodes) -- and even more regretably, the end title they chose is one where Doug Wildey isn't listed at all.As if he had nothing to do with his own series.
THAT GREAT HOYT CURTIN MUSIC
Another often asked question is where can people get the music for Jonny Quest because there are so many terrific cues used in the doc, from the show, that aren't availible anywhere.The authors of the piece were supplied with every cue ever written for Jonny Quest, and this was one of the reasons why they thought they could take a crack at making an extensive documentary about this unique show. That Hoyt's incredible music could drive the program and keep it moving -- even if it went over two hours.
The authors cannot share the music with anyone. They have been asked repeatedly to do so. Many bootlegs exists with a good number of the Quest cues, but sadly, not to the extent of the full score.Hoyt's music for Quest which was used endlessly on Herculoids, Dino Boy, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Mighty Mightor, Fantastic Four and Space Ghost (and many, many more Hanna-Barbera ventures) have made it the music we all grew up with -- whenever animation was from Hanna-Barbera and action driven.
I cannot supply anyone with the complete set of music cues for Quest, as much as I would like to. The filmmakers tell me it is so much music it just fits onto three CDs.Someone did ask me if I knew of any sheet music that had the theme from Jonny Quest on it. There I could be of help. In an out-of-print music book called The Hanna-Barbera Song Book, there is a piano score for the Main Theme of Jonny Quest.
Though I cannot imagine how this score would sound on just a piano or guitar, here is the sheet music from that book, for Quest fans who would like to see what all those notes look like that give us that explosive Quest feel.
If anyone can actually play this, please do, record it and then send it to me so I can post it here on the blog. I would love to hear how the Main Title for Jonny Quest was translated for piano or guitar.
The sheet music can be downloaded at this link:
http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/wkkz2y
OTHER STUFF
Always interested in Quest merchandising, I saw this picture of a Quest T shirt, but have never seen one like it. It has the original Quest logo and more importantly -- the original Quest artwork of Jonny inside the 'Q'. There are logo shirts like these on Ebay, but the Quest head is rather crude and not the original Jonny head:
If anyone knows where this shirt came from or if you know someone who could make them, please let us know here!In doing my internet scan for all things Palm Key, I ran across some stuff that I will share with you here. Remember, any image on this blog can be enlarged to its full size, simply by double clicking on it. Then just drag it to your desktop.
The desktop below is a companion piece to the desktop at the top of the blog:
And a fantastic take on a Quest Villian from the SKULL and DOUBLE CROSSBONES episode. Wish I knew who the artist was and if they have done others:
And some iPhone screens for the Quest-minded:
And here are some fantastic pieces of Quest Fan Art I collect. I don't know who these artists are, but they each have a fantastic take on the Quest party and I never get tired of looking at different works of Quest stuff.
Here are just some of the stunning and random bits of Quest art I found recently (Doug Wildey would be so proud!) :
A dynamite commissioned piece, creating a Jonny Quest comic book cover:
I really enjoy other artists takes on the Quest characters. It's great to see them stylized:
Variation on a theme: This one was called "Tommy Quest and Rascal":
If you have Fan Art you want to share, please email it to me, and I can put it up on the blog! It would be great if we could get a little community going here of cool Quest stuff and fans.
Until next time I can check in, this is Chris from Palm Key,
Be well friends.
