AN AMAZING PIECE OF QUEST HONORING THE ORIGINAL

Greetings from Palm Key my fellow Quest fans,

Thanks for all the great comments and sharing since last I posted the MONSTER IN THE MONASTERY blog.

This may have to be just a quick one. My job is sending me away for several months and I will not be able to make any Quest entries until I return sometime in December, or even later.

But before I disappear for a while, several of you have alerted me to the coolest piece of Quest to hit the internets in a long, long time --and that is Roger Evan's incredible stop motion version of the Main Title of Jonny Quest.

Race Bannon lets go a round of fire in Roger Evan's kickass animated re-do of the Quest opening.

This man painstakingly recreated each shot from the Main Title of the original 1963 sequence that started off each Quest episode.

It is terrific to see so many of these images recreated in 3D (or is it 2D?) and to seem them play to Hoyt Curtin's rollicking Main Title music.

Here are a few of the frames that Roger posted on his website where the process of creating this magnificent piece of animation is chronicled.

Roger's terrific recreation of Race swinging into some Lizard Men who have attacked Jonny.

And if you haven't seen it, here is the link to where you can see the finished sequence in all it's glory:

http://vimeo.com/28278839

And don't forget to visit the links on that page to Roger's extensive chronicle of how this amazing piece of animation came to be. It is truly fascinating and a must-see for all classic Quest fans.

Roger is considering petitioning Warner Bros. (the current copyright holder to most of the Hanna-Barbera properties) to perhaps trying a feature in this style.

Amazing! The villians from Fraudulent Volcano, in their hover crafts. Seeing this shot come to life in more than one dimension is a real thrill.

I have to admit, it sounds a whole world better than a live-action version of JONNY QUEST where Zac Effron and The Rock play Race and Jonny in what sounds more like a live-action version of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and not the classic Quest that Doug Wildey, William Hanna and Joe Barbera brought to us in the 1960s.

A laser test in the Sargasso sea comes to vibrant life thanks to Roger and Co.'s terrific recreation of this classic Quest shot.

Though my sources in the industry (given what they are) tell me that project has been shelved -- another victim of the economic conservatism that the studios are all adhering to these days. Most have cut their production slates by more than half for any given year now.

It didn't help that Warner Bros. lost millions with Speed Racer, The Watchmen and a handful of other very expensive vintage cartoon and/or comic book big screen incarnations.

For me, I think Jonny Quest dodged a bullet when Warners shelved its current version of Quest for the big screen.

OTHER QUEST BITS

Check out this little piece of vintage Quest heaven: A black and white promo for the premiere of The Addams Family series, whose debut was sponsoring (in part) the original broadcast of the Quest episode "Terror Island".

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/sagd0a


And I am not sure which of you asked for a particular piece of Hoyt's Quest music, but I think I found it and have uploaded it. I don't believe any previous blog has included this cue, so Curtin fans out there might want to download and add it to there collection as well.

It has been renamed, in lieu of whatever number the cue was labelled, as "The Ting Chase".

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/fzk5uo

QUEST ART

As always I want to share some Quest art gathered (and sometimes shared with me on rare delightful occasion) from around the web.

Not sure what the implications are here. Is Race caught being the world's worst babysitter?

Hadji brings the brewskis in this wild take on the partying Quests

Fantastic rendering of Benton and his bazooka from the Turu the Terrible episode.

There are some wonderful artists out their in the vast cyber world, who do Quest artwork, something I love to share on this blog.

Artist Erin Morris who has done some wonderful Quest work that I have posted, even runs a Quest art group on line. An art group that has graciously given me permission to share their work here in this blog.

And I will be sharing a lot of that work in the blogs to come. Here is a sample:

Race and Dr. Quest have some sort of a domestic squabble apparently in this wonderfully stylized take on the boys. This scene must be from one of those rare lost or never aired episodes ;-).

And this terrific Terry and the Pirates style take on some classic Quest villians and fem fatales.

And if you want to check out Erin's Quest art group yourself, check out the always dazzling Deviant Art website, and more specifically for Quest stuff, this link to the Quest group:

http://jonnyquestclub.deviantart.com/

FINALLY

As a parting gift before I vanish until possibly the new year, I get a lot of requests to please send people the entire Quest documentary complete.

So in response to several inquires as of late (you can contact me through the email address provided in my profile for this blog) I have uploaded the entire doc again -- all two hours, twenty-one minutes and forty-nine seconds of it.

But I have tried something different yet again, since Sendspace has now become a service that allows the uploading of larger files. I have uploaded the entire documentary in one big 857 mg file.

I don't know how long it would take to download the file -- it's a big one -- and I guess a lot of it would depend on your internet connection etc. But here is the link:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/nosgv5

It is my hope that in this very accessible and downloadable format, all of you who have had trouble in the past, trying to download pieces and joining them etc - can finally see the full project in one simple download.

So here again is the entire documentary as one large Quicktime movie file that you can download and play -- I recommend you play it on your free but terrific VLC Media player.

As I say readers and lurkers, this may well be the last entry I can make this year. In the meantime, please keep sharing artwork with me and other tidbits you may have on Quest, and when next I can, I will share them on the blog.

And if you download the doc, and choose to share it or burn to DVD and send it to friends, or whatever you chose to do with it, please remember a very simple request from the programs creators:

Again, I am not the author of this documentary, though many folks mistake me for the creators. They are in actuality, two gents and die-hard classic Quest fans who have asked to remain anonymous, but allowed me to post their work, first on YouTube (which censors several chapters that have clips from other TV shows in them) and then finally here in this blog.

It was created for a one-time screening at a 50th birthday party, if you can believe that. The documentary took over a year to research and create, so it was one hell of a birthday gift -- and is another testament to just how loved and memorable this show was and is to so many of us from that generation.

The only request they have about sharing the doc with other Quest fans, is that while they want it shared, they want no one, under any circumstances to copy it and then sell it to other parties.

They are offering it not only for the delight of other Quest fans like themselves, but in the spirit that generosity and sharing changes the complexion of the world, deed by little deed.



Best always,

Chris

The Monster in your Monastery

Hello fellow Quest fans! Greetings from Palm Key. Just have time to throw up a quick blog entry I'm afraid. My day job has me taxed and timeless.

A reminder: any of the artwork, frame grabs, any graphic on this blog can be enjoyed in a larger size simply by double clicking on it. (At least on my Mac this is what happens) The art can then be dragged onto your desktop for your own collection (If your computer is lucky enough to work like my Mac does, anyway)

Osom's henchman from the yeti epsiode of Quest. This looks like the amazing design work of Alex Toth to me. Anybody know for sure?

Since the response to the Quest blog where we discovered and shared all the music cues from THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode, and clearly so many of you, as I have, enjoy collecting and listening to the wonderful sounds Hoyt Curtin supplied for Jonny and his adventures, I decided to pick another episode and see what cues we could collect for it.

The episode where I was able to find and clean up most of its music cues, was the penultimate Quest episode MONSTER IN THE MONASTERY. This is is the episode which pitted Jonny and Hadji against a gang of political terrorists dressed as yetis to overthrow ruler Raj Guru.

I was asked last time to post the episode as well as the cues, so they could be played and compared, so first off, here is episode 25: MONSTER IN THE MONASTERY.

Download at this link, but remember, the DVD release from Warner Bros. Home Video offers infinitely better picture and sound quality:

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/oz05n0

Again there are well over twenty cues used in part and in full in this, one of the most action packed of the twenty-six episodes. I have tried to locate all of these cues in their pristine form here, but had to settle for twenty-two.

Here they are in chronological order as they appeared in the episode, but again, some are repeated throughout the twenty-five minutes. I have tried to indicate where, so you won't need to download the same cue twice.

Just click the link below each description to download the cue.

CUE 1 MAIN TITLE and MIKE ROAD VOICE OVER This is the same Main Title we posted when we did the mummy episode because it includes Mike Road's voice over on behalf of the show's sponsor.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/tj81x3

CUE 2 THE CRY OF THE YETI As thunder and lightning rages, the villagers of small village in Nepal hear strange animal howls from the high stone walls of an ancient monastery. One town crier announces "It is the cry of the yeti" and the villagers close their doors and take their pets indoors.

Meanwhile, the high priest of the village, Raj Guru is informed that the storm has driven the yeti out of the high mountains and the people of the town are frightened. A classic piece of Quest music that showcases Hoyt Curtin's great talent for creating a pungent musical foreboding.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/xspo4u

CUE 3 FLYING OVER THE PALACE The following morning, in the light of day, the Quests in yet another version of their jet (not the Dragonfly) talk about Raj Guru who they are planning to surprise with a visit.

The jet flies over the old palace and Benton refers to it by name -- one I can't begin to try and spell here.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/n70rvk

CUE 4 THE FIRST YETI ATTACK The Quest's jet lands and Raj Guru explains to them that they have come at a bad time. This frame grab below of the landing is another great example of the incredible artwork Quest featured from some of the best graphic illustrators of that time.

While the Quests chat with Raj Guru, one of the snowmen attacks a villager and throws him from a cliff. This cue features Hoyt's big "monster brass", that is also used for the episode's frightening and monstrous conclusion.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/6xkqmk

CUE 5 RAINING ROCKS Up in the monastery, the yeti use catapults to bombard the village with boulders. The Quest's believe it is just an avalanche. This cue of extreme danger, is one of the Hoyt's most used cues everywhere in the Hanna-Barbera universe.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/q0tt4y

CUE 6 A RESTFUL PLACE Race and the doctor walk to the village, reflecting on how quiet the village has been in past visits. Unaware they under the watchful eye of another yeti. This Curtin cue features a piano part. This cue was often used in much less creepy scenes in other episodes.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/23gs1p

CUE 7 YETI AT THE WINDOW As the boys dress for the festival and Jonny gets the lowdown from Hadji about yetis, Bandit catches one peeking in the window.


This cue, one of the most eerie Hoyt composed for the series, is another testament to how gifted the man was for picking a sounds and orchestrating them.

There is an instrument in this cue, a strange kind of ethereal moan, that I have no clue as to what it might be. Something along the lines of a Zither or some other instrument popular back in the 60's?

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/q2fihz

The yeti tracks seen by Jonny and Hadji when Bandit disappears chasing a yeti up the hills toward the old palace.

CUE 8 BANDIT CHASES A YETI Here is one of the classic Quest chase cues. This one is used twice in this episode. Once for Bandit chasing a yeti into the old palace and again in the third act for the boys being chased and shot at by a horde of gun wielding snow creatures.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/5rlibo

CUE 9 YETI WITH A LAMP Jonny and Hadji prowl the old monastery looking for Bandit and witness a strange sight: yetis walking around the place holding lanterns.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/l6t697

CUE 10 A YETI CONVENTION Lots of quietly trembling strings in this cue where the yetis yank off their fake yeti heads and turn out to be thugs.

"It looks like a yeti convention", Hadji quips. And the classic "He looks better with the head on," that Hadji quips as well -- the most Hadji jokes in any one episode I believe.

Osom is the leader of the fake yetis (voiced by our own Race Bannon, actor MIKE ROAD) and we learn they are disguised terrorists with orders are to destroy Raj Guru.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/r94clz

CUE 11: GUNS FOR THE ABOMINABLE Osom opens a cabinet filled with guns and proceeds to arm his fellow yeti soldiers.

Meanwhile, Bandit and the boys watch from a balcony trying to suppress a sneeze. This familiar and danger filled cue, which escalates into a flurry of chaotic and horrific Hoyt Curtin brass, was originally used for the mummy episode where Anubis is walking.

It became the go-to cue of the series, whenever something bad was approaching and approaching fast. One of my all time favorites.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/r6l3r6

CUE 12 THE YETI ARMY ATTACKS Another Hoyt Curtin chase cue. This episode used several. A sneeze from the boys brings the yetis with guns blazing as the kids dash through the dark halls of the monastery.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/tuv751

Times have changed a bit since 1963, when boys could be fired at and dodge bullets as if it were simply a part of their adolesence. Today the grimmer reality of our times would probably take all the adventure out of it.


CUE 13 HIDING IN A HAY CART The boys take refuge in a cart of hay while the yeti army discusses what is to be done when they are found. Again, a repressed sneeze, this time of Bandit's -- adds to the tension and the comic relief. This another piano cue, was used more memorably in the werewolf episode of the series.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/uylt1s

CUE 14 FLAMING PROJECTILES Another classic Hoyt Curtin danger cue. Lots of wailing brass. The yeti army continues their attack on the village by firing flaming projectiles. Race, the doctor and Raj Guru see the fireballs are coming from the old palace -- and realize this is not the work of yetis.

To demonstrate how the music is used throughout a single show, I have left out the next three cues because they are cues we have already heard in this episode. FLAMING PROJECTILES cue is repeated again as the boys are targeted in the monastery.

And the danger cue called RAINING ROCKS is repeated again for Jonny making a yeti slip and slide

-- and plummet to his death.

In this Photoshop blending of several frames together you can see the layout for Osom's untimely death. This is also the shot on the censored DVD release where they removed Jonny's line: "Here comes the Oriental Express".

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/x868nt

CUE 15 BANDIT IN HIS SITES Bandit is exposed and runs from one bullet shattered pottery piece to the next in this strange sequence -- just when he runs out of places to hide, the boys save him. Only the tail of this cue is used in the episode but I post here in its entirety.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/0pyyhg

CUE 16 FIRE BOMBED ON THE ROPEWAY Raj Guru, Race and Benton are firebombed as they ride a jeep over the ropeway. Another one of those Hoyt Curtin cues that make you wonder why he wasn't scoring for the big screen.

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

CUE 17 A BOULDER BOUNCES BACK One of the rocks, this one hurled by what must be the strongest of the fake yetis --


Hits the jeep and flies back -- only in a cartoon universe -- to clobber its sender.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/fy48w7

CUE 18 HIDING FROM THE YETIS Another cue where the boys and Bandit continue a deadly game of cat and mouse in the old monastery, with the army of fake but heavily armed yetis.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/tsa1qq

CUE 19 RIDING THE GONG In the action finale of the episode, Jonny and Hadji cut down a giant temple gong and ride it like a flying saucer.

Only in animation could this fly -- no pun intended, but it does make a memorable escape vehicle as more bullets rip past them.

And they knock down a yeti firing at them on the way ...

Of course another of Hoyt's wonderful chase cues underscores the escape. This episode may contain more of the Quest chase cues than any that comes to memory.

At the end of this cue, as the boys get out of rifle range, a much larger, much whiter yeti creeps up to one of the firing yetis and yanks him off his feet -- setting up the unnerving payoff that is to come at the end of this one of a kind episode.


http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/tl6cbl

CUE 20 RETURN TO THE MONASTERY The boys' gong ride ends at the jeep containing dad, Race and Raj Guru. "Greetings from Spaceship Number Three..." Jonny quips.

Part of the allure of Jonny Quest watching it as a kid - was his fearlessness and his ability to tough-guy talk, even at eleven or twelve, in the face of danger. No doubt Doug Wildey's influence - Jonny was cocky and fearless.

They all trek up the mountain as Hadji shows Dr. Quest one of the fake yeti skins.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/089xep

CUE 21: A TERRIBLE JUSTICE This cue is also tagged the yeti takes revenge. You have heard it earlier in the episode several times scoring the snow beasts attacks. I repeat it here in order to end on that chilling note where the Quest party and Raj Guru, see all the fake yetis have been wiped out by as Benton says, "some tremendous force".

"A terrible justice has been done here," says Raj Guru, as all look high on a mountain ledge to see a real abominable snowman, an actual yeti, screaming in victory.

The last moments of it walking back into the snowy mist really gave you chills when you were a kid at the end of this, maybe the best ending of any Quest adventure.

This cue was already used twice in the episode, so you don't need to download it again if you downloaded the cue THE FIRST YETI ATTACK. I include here again under a different name for the sake of chronology.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/bhz66s

CUE 22 END TITLE and DANCING SCREEN GEMS STICKS Those end titles (some shots borrowed from the Jack Armstrong pilot episode) and that great Hoyt Curtin music takes us out and back to regular TV for another week.

And as a blog contributor informed us in the comments section of one of the entries, this "Dancing Sticks" music was composed by Frank DeVol, a popular composer of his time. He also had an onscreen persona, using his real name, as he was the musical conductor on the series FERNWOOD TONIGHT that starred Martin Mull.

http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/vhws04

Again, I couldn't locate all the bits and pieces of score used in this episode, but there are the majority of them. Also, the names of the cues have been created by me, to better describe how they were used in the episode.

The actual Quest library of cues, were rarely named anything and were mostly identified by numers only. Though a couple of times cues got names like "Agitated Motion" or "Bad Guys" or one quiet cue that is called "Nothing's Happening..."

ON ANOTHER NOTE

Many of you have contacted me through the email address given on this blog and asked me about not just Quest music and how to get it, (which I can rarely be of help on) but also the scores from SPACE GHOST, THE MIGHTY MIGHTOR, THE HERCULOIDS -- all of the great action scores that came along after Hoyt had turned over the Hanna-Barbera music baton to musical director Ted Nichols.

I do not have any of that music (short of the SPACE GHOST Main Title that was released in the Hanna-Barbera Pik-a-nick Basket, but if anyone does know how to get that music, or can share it, you would make a lot of people who read this blog very happy.

QUEST STUFF FROM THE WEB

I will end this blog with a gathering of things sent to me and that I have found myself on the world-wide-internets that are of Quest interest. Please send me things you find or may have as well.

A very funny take on grown-up Jonny from Cartoon Network's THE VENTURE BROTHERS show. If you haven't seen this cartoon, based almost entirely on those first twenty-six Quest episodes, you are really missing out.

Some really funny Quest cartoons by this talented fellow. I have seen a couple more and if I can find them I will share them.

Someone sent me this Jonny Quest look-alike riding a camel ala THE CURSE OF ANUBIS episode. Jonny seems to have matured a bit - but seeing a live action image of this classic Quest moment does bring one to a pause.

This book came up when a search for Jonny Quest was made. Anyone have it or can tell us about it?

Fantastic piece of fan art. This person really captures the great Quest feel of the original. Anyone know who it is? Great work!

How about this magnificent rendering of Turu the Terrible from the website Deviant Art, where lots of Quest fans create fabulous Quest stuff. Would love to frame and hang this one -- great work!

How about this great take on the boys and Bandit? So much great talent out there!

More next time my friends -- would love some contributions, input anything to share with others and make this blog more of a community. I do appreciate all the requests for the Hoyt Curtin score for Quest, but again, I do not have access to that large library.

Best until we meet again,

Chris