The Young Astronauts (partially found unaired animated series; 1986): Difference between revisions
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|imagecaption=Drawn ad from a magazine: this is the only confirmed visual evidence remaining to this day. | |imagecaption=Drawn ad from a magazine: this is the only confirmed visual evidence remaining to this day. | ||
|status=<span style="color: | |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> | ||
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'''''The Young Astronauts''''' was an animated series originally meant to air on Saturday mornings on CBS in February 1986. | |||
'''The Young Astronauts''' was an animated series originally meant to air on Saturday mornings on CBS in February 1986. | |||
==Premise== | ==Premise== | ||
The | ''The Young Astronauts'' cartoon series focused on the space exploration and astral-adventures of the Hampton family. Wife and mother, Kelly Hampton, is the captain of the spaceship Courageous. Co-piloting at her side is husband Jason Hampton. Along with their three children; Wendy, Rick (both teenagers), their youngest Mikey (with his cat Rascal and a robotic maintenance sidekick named Retro), paint a realistic picture of having to survive the harshness of space in the 21st century. The adventure starts when Mikey's cat (Rascal) stows upon a cargo rover destined for Mars. The unmanned vessel takes off with Mikey and Rascal in stow. Wendy and Rick then sneak off in a second craft with the intent to save the two before their oxygen runs out. Parents Kelly and Jason follow suit in the Courageous, thus beginning their adventures in the vastness of space begins. | ||
The focus of the series was to market the real Young Astronauts space program to children, by getting them more interested in learning about space exploration and the related science involved. Each episode of the cartoon would have concluded with a live-action, educational segment called "Astro Minute" which focused on real astronauts briefly teaching children about space-related science and facts. | |||
==Cancellation== | ==Cancellation== | ||
It's believed that the series was cancelled by CBS after a single airing of the pilot episode was shown. Supposedly, it aired on Saturday morning January 25th, 1986. This was just three days before the NASA Challenger shuttle explosion tragedy that happened shortly after launch on January 28th, 1986. While it hasn't been confirmed whether or not the pilot actually made it to air, what has been confirmed is that the Challenger disaster was the real reasoning behind the death of the series. Due to the space exploration theme of the cartoon, CBS pulled the show as to not wanting to be viewed as a television network that was profiting from a devastating tragedy. The Young Astronauts cartoon was simply a victim of circumstance and bad timing. | |||
With no Saturday morning cartoon or the planned 6-issue Star Comics series finding its way into American households, along with production disagreements and lost investments, a lengthy legal battle was fought between partnering companies (Marvel Comics and The Young Astronauts Council). A court battle not seeing resolve until August of 1990 in Marvel Comics favor. | |||
Despite the show being cancelled, the Astro Minute segments did air as interstitials after reruns of the 1980 TV show “Richie Rich” from January 11 to August 30, 1986. | |||
==Findings== | ==Findings== | ||
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Considering that other sources claim to have seen the lone aired episode (and provided the loose description of the young boy accidentally sent into space - fitting the character in the drawn ad), it is possible that at least this episode could have been recorded on VHS by someone. | Considering that other sources claim to have seen the lone aired episode (and provided the loose description of the young boy accidentally sent into space - fitting the character in the drawn ad), it is possible that at least this episode could have been recorded on VHS by someone. | ||
An animation cel attributed to ''The Young Astronauts'' has resurfaced among a private collector's gallery; the character looks like an astronaut, and at least fits in the theme of the cartoon. | |||
If it does indeed come from this animated series, then it would be confirmed that animation was done by Toei Animation as it did with other Marvel productions at the time (many western cartoons, especially serialized TV ones, were animated in Japan during the 1980s). | If it does indeed come from this animated series, then it would be confirmed that animation was done by Toei Animation as it did with other Marvel productions at the time (many western cartoons, especially serialized TV ones, were animated in Japan during the 1980s). | ||
< | According to an online comment, an anonymous user claimed they discovered that someone who worked on ''The Young Astronauts'' series uploaded several of the "Astro Minute" segments to YouTube in 2013, but were shortly removed from the site. After much searching, that user finally located one of the segments on Vimeo called ''Astro Minute: Zero Gravity''. Several sources describe it as being produced by Marvel Productions. The Vimeo uploads were however later deleted without any backups. | ||
< | |||
Two other animation cels resurfaced on The Allspark forums, reportedly from the show. | |||
On December 30, 2021, Youtube user [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXebKZz5vnVD_k8ObIuSsSA mejo kallamthanam] uploaded an "Astro Minute" segment called "Mars" sourced from a Richie Rich broadcast. | |||
On October 23, 2023, Youtube user [https://www.youtube.com/@simonletch9315 Simon Letch] uploaded the audio of an unaired episode, seemingly the fourth, originally recorded on 10th October 1985. This led to some of the voice cast for the series being identified. | |||
==Voice cast== | |||
*Commander Hampton: ''(unidentified)'' | |||
*Rick Hampton: Townsend Coleman | |||
*Wendy Hampton: Nancy Cartwright | |||
*Mikey Hampton: Stephen Dorff | |||
*Retro: ''(unidentified)'' | |||
*Mr. Flynn: Charlie Adler | |||
*Sam Turrell: James Avery | |||
*The Starseeker: ''(unidentified)'' | |||
==Gallery== | |||
{{Video|perrow =1 | |||
|service1 =youtube | |||
|id1 =HH9SRI_aJiI | |||
|description1 =Ghost Ship episode dialogue | |||
}} | |||
{{Video|perrow =1 | |||
|service1 =youtube | |||
|id1 =cMJYBDTnVcc | |||
|description1 =Astro Minute: Mars | |||
}} | |||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="275px"> | |||
File:Hulk_hogan_cbs.jpg|Full page ad from 1985, announcing the new animated shows that would begin airing that fall (featuring Mikey and his robot Retro). | |||
File:Young astronaut cel.jpg|An animation cel possibly coming from ''The Young Astronauts'' of character Rick Hampton. | |||
File:Young astronauts a.jpg|Another animation cel possibly from the series. | |||
File:Young astronauts b.jpg|Another possible animation cel. | |||
File:Rudy-nebres-young-astronauts-original-sci-fi-comic_1_3ef17051b671183e809912011e9f9071.jpg|Original hand-drawn art by Rudy Nebres for the cancelled six-issue Marvel comic series based on the cartoon. Featured is Rick Hampton holding younger brother Mikey. Following behind is their sister Wendy guiding their maintenance robot Retro. | |||
</gallery> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
*http://futurewarstories.blogspot.com/2019/04/fws-topics-what-happened-to-1986-young.html | |||
*https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1254708 | |||
*http://www.retroist.com/2010/07/09/the-young-astronauts/ | *http://www.retroist.com/2010/07/09/the-young-astronauts/ | ||
*https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/165641-Young-Astronauts | *https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/165641-Young-Astronauts | ||
*http://www.80scartoons.net/toons/youngastronauts.html | *http://www.80scartoons.net/toons/youngastronauts.html | ||
*[http://www.fourcolorpromises.com/2011/09/cbc-saturday-morning-cartoons-1985.html | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120107070852/http://www.fourcolorpromises.com/2011/09/cbc-saturday-morning-cartoons-1985.html Blog post talking about the cartoons in the ad, and an anonymous blogger's testimony about the one episode airing.] | ||
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/25/arts/why-saturday-morning-is-one-big-cartoon-ghetto.html | *[http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/25/arts/why-saturday-morning-is-one-big-cartoon-ghetto.html NYT article describes the show.] | ||
*[http://kett.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_info.asp?ItemID=118676 Source of the cel.] | *[http://kett.rubberslug.com/gallery/inv_info.asp?ItemID=118676 Source of the cel.] | ||
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20030106085836/www.toei-anim.co.jp/oldies/collabo2.html Toei listed as animating one episode of the series for Marvel.] | |||
*[https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rudy-nebres-young-astronauts-original-sci-fi-comic Original artwork for scrapped Marvel comic book by Rudy Nebres.] | |||
*[https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/160903-sunbow-productions-and-marvel-productions-script-archive/page-2 Forum talking about old Marvel shows, including cels allegedly from this cartoon] | |||
[[Category:Lost animation|Young Astronauts]] | [[Category:Lost animation|Young Astronauts]] | ||
[[Category:Lost TV|Young Astronauts]] | [[Category:Lost TV|Young Astronauts]] | ||
[[Category:Partially found media|Young Astronauts]] |
Latest revision as of 17:34, 26 November 2023
Drawn ad from a magazine: this is the only confirmed visual evidence remaining to this day.
Status: Partially Found
The Young Astronauts was an animated series originally meant to air on Saturday mornings on CBS in February 1986.
Premise
The Young Astronauts cartoon series focused on the space exploration and astral-adventures of the Hampton family. Wife and mother, Kelly Hampton, is the captain of the spaceship Courageous. Co-piloting at her side is husband Jason Hampton. Along with their three children; Wendy, Rick (both teenagers), their youngest Mikey (with his cat Rascal and a robotic maintenance sidekick named Retro), paint a realistic picture of having to survive the harshness of space in the 21st century. The adventure starts when Mikey's cat (Rascal) stows upon a cargo rover destined for Mars. The unmanned vessel takes off with Mikey and Rascal in stow. Wendy and Rick then sneak off in a second craft with the intent to save the two before their oxygen runs out. Parents Kelly and Jason follow suit in the Courageous, thus beginning their adventures in the vastness of space begins.
The focus of the series was to market the real Young Astronauts space program to children, by getting them more interested in learning about space exploration and the related science involved. Each episode of the cartoon would have concluded with a live-action, educational segment called "Astro Minute" which focused on real astronauts briefly teaching children about space-related science and facts.
Cancellation
It's believed that the series was cancelled by CBS after a single airing of the pilot episode was shown. Supposedly, it aired on Saturday morning January 25th, 1986. This was just three days before the NASA Challenger shuttle explosion tragedy that happened shortly after launch on January 28th, 1986. While it hasn't been confirmed whether or not the pilot actually made it to air, what has been confirmed is that the Challenger disaster was the real reasoning behind the death of the series. Due to the space exploration theme of the cartoon, CBS pulled the show as to not wanting to be viewed as a television network that was profiting from a devastating tragedy. The Young Astronauts cartoon was simply a victim of circumstance and bad timing.
With no Saturday morning cartoon or the planned 6-issue Star Comics series finding its way into American households, along with production disagreements and lost investments, a lengthy legal battle was fought between partnering companies (Marvel Comics and The Young Astronauts Council). A court battle not seeing resolve until August of 1990 in Marvel Comics favor.
Despite the show being cancelled, the Astro Minute segments did air as interstitials after reruns of the 1980 TV show “Richie Rich” from January 11 to August 30, 1986.
Findings
According to an anonymous commenter on a blog, the pilot episode was actually shown on January 26th, 1986 on CBS, two days before the Challenger tragedy. The anonymous commenter claims that they worked on the series at Marvel Productions and there were a total of 13 episodes made, with only the first one that aired.
Considering that other sources claim to have seen the lone aired episode (and provided the loose description of the young boy accidentally sent into space - fitting the character in the drawn ad), it is possible that at least this episode could have been recorded on VHS by someone.
An animation cel attributed to The Young Astronauts has resurfaced among a private collector's gallery; the character looks like an astronaut, and at least fits in the theme of the cartoon.
If it does indeed come from this animated series, then it would be confirmed that animation was done by Toei Animation as it did with other Marvel productions at the time (many western cartoons, especially serialized TV ones, were animated in Japan during the 1980s).
According to an online comment, an anonymous user claimed they discovered that someone who worked on The Young Astronauts series uploaded several of the "Astro Minute" segments to YouTube in 2013, but were shortly removed from the site. After much searching, that user finally located one of the segments on Vimeo called Astro Minute: Zero Gravity. Several sources describe it as being produced by Marvel Productions. The Vimeo uploads were however later deleted without any backups.
Two other animation cels resurfaced on The Allspark forums, reportedly from the show.
On December 30, 2021, Youtube user mejo kallamthanam uploaded an "Astro Minute" segment called "Mars" sourced from a Richie Rich broadcast.
On October 23, 2023, Youtube user Simon Letch uploaded the audio of an unaired episode, seemingly the fourth, originally recorded on 10th October 1985. This led to some of the voice cast for the series being identified.
Voice cast
- Commander Hampton: (unidentified)
- Rick Hampton: Townsend Coleman
- Wendy Hampton: Nancy Cartwright
- Mikey Hampton: Stephen Dorff
- Retro: (unidentified)
- Mr. Flynn: Charlie Adler
- Sam Turrell: James Avery
- The Starseeker: (unidentified)
Gallery
References
- http://futurewarstories.blogspot.com/2019/04/fws-topics-what-happened-to-1986-young.html
- https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1254708
- http://www.retroist.com/2010/07/09/the-young-astronauts/
- https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/165641-Young-Astronauts
- http://www.80scartoons.net/toons/youngastronauts.html
- Blog post talking about the cartoons in the ad, and an anonymous blogger's testimony about the one episode airing.
- NYT article describes the show.
- Source of the cel.
- Toei listed as animating one episode of the series for Marvel.
- Original artwork for scrapped Marvel comic book by Rudy Nebres.
- Forum talking about old Marvel shows, including cels allegedly from this cartoon