September 23, 1962…’The Jetsons’ Debuts As First Color For ABC
September 23, 1962…’The Jetsons’ Debuts As First Color For ABC
This video clip is quite good as Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera reminisce about the show.
Here’s a little known fact…at the time ABC did not have any color equipment, but NBC did, and that’s how ‘The Jetsons’ got on the air. Each week, ABC took a 35 and 16MM copy (master and safety) to NBC Burbank on Sunday afternoons. NBC would rack both and play them simultaneously (in case the film broke) down two AT&T lines to ABC New York for the east coast and do the same four hours later when the fed the signal to ABC Hollywood.
‘The Flintstones’ was produced in color and preceded this show by two years, but those first couple of years were broadcast in black and white. Even if they had been broadcast in color, most ABC affiliates were not equipped to handle color yet and only about 30% of the ABC stations were able to broadcast ‘The Jetsons’ in color.
I think ABC’s first color ability came in 1963 when they installed an RCA color film chain in Hollywood at the Prospect lot. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oDaHRbIDH8
A short documentary featuring the history of the Jetsons with rare commentary clips from Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. This documentary is from the excellent J…
Strangely, in a twist, one of the stories out there reports that the first episode of Star Trek was fed two days prior to the official premiere for Canadian audiences, and by NBC over ABC’s network lines into Canada.
I have the 16mm safety copy (or a damned good print of it) of the pilot of Jonny Quest, and it’s in black and white. Any idea when that show was first aired in color?
This was a really nice BTS … Press kit…presentation … history…
I have the DVD set where that came from. But seeing this post means that the “Epp! Op! Ork! Aa-aa!” earworm won’t leave me today.