Must-see TV shows are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale.
Title: The Jetsons
Date: 1962-1987
Vitals: The Jetson family lives in a somewhat utopian (and groovy-looking) future, in which robots do all the scut-work. In spite of all these advances, George Jetson is constantly in danger of losing his crappy job.
Famous names: George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Janet Waldo, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, Don Messick
Crunchy goodness: 2
Spinoffs/Sequels/Copycats: The show’s first season aired in 1962-1963, and its second and third seasons were made in 1985-1987. There were also three animated TV shows, including The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones and Jetsons: The Movie. Robert “Spy Kids” Rodriguez is reportedly in talks to direct a live-action Jetsons.
Stunt casting: Don Messick, who played Astro the dog, also played Scooby Doo and Muttley with a similar “ruh-roh” vocalization.
Design breakthrough: The Jetsons’ future city has come to exemplify a kind of retro-futurist architecture, with pin-cushion shaped houses high up on stilts and space-needle-esque buildings. When design critics want to refer in passing to a super-stylized flying-car vision of future urban life, they use The Jetsons as shorthand for a whole style.
