Difference between revisions of "Features"

Revision as of 23:25, 27 May 2007

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest was extraordinary. It was a series plagued by developmental setbacks and troubled executions. Real Adventures spent three years in development hell as several studios produced unusable material. Its handling, appearance, and mythology was split down the middle when a new season and incarnation were made. Questworld may have already been outdated by the time of its airing, and sometimes hindered the presentation and pacing of plots. The huge merchandising and commercialization campaign failed to bring the show back for a third season, and it fell short of its projected goal of sixty five episodes. The shows that were aired were done so in a very short time, squandering premiere ratings, and the season two finale was shown out of order. Ultimately, reruns disappeared in short time after the conclusion of Real Adventures, relegating the show to the genre of 1990s Turner has-beens in the twilight of Hanna-Barbera before the Cartoon Cartoons explosion. But despite these shortcomings, the statement stands: Real Adventures was extraordinary.

Stop and reflect on what Real Adventures was among its contemporaries in the modern age of animation. For the adult demographic, programs such as The Simpsons and South Park have attracted acclaim. For young adults, Adult Swim was a runaway success, perhaps predated by edgy shows such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Beavis and Butthead, and Ren & Stimpy. Young teens and children in general were given the rise of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, which offered several original, critically-praised, and genuinely humorous works. Like later teen dramas, these primarily focused on lighthearted and easy to follow themes set in simple, stylistically distinct universes. One can ask, where would Reading Rainbow and Captain Planet belong in this milieu, being education shows? These strike one as being reserved for public television or special programs, and not intended to grip public audiences at large. Intelligent shows for young teens, such as Batman: The Animated Series, featured appealing action and well-written dramatic scripts.

But what if there were a hybrid; something that aimed to combine the action and appeal of dramatic shows with the educational value, intelligence, and clout of learning series? A program that could ensnare the imagination like Indiana Jones through tantalizing adventure, but go farther in provoking the mind with archaeological and other academic subjects? This was the aim of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, and it was a lofty one, if not very tough to reach. The key to this new Quest enterprise lay in its name -- these were to be "real" adventures. The aspirations of its developers were made clear in a promotional video and the writer's bible for the show. The settings were not fantasy worlds, but involved "hitherto unexplained phenomena, the paranormal, legends and folklore of today's world." The video touted "epic levels of storytelling, never before seen in a cartoon." Above all, it declared that Real Adventures would depict "real stories that real kids can believe in." Writer Glenn Leopold made the rule that "plausibility is a keynote" in the show's writing, and that this concept of real world involvement and possibility combined with a new standard for action, animation, and heart would usher in "the next evolution in kids' programming."

Villainy in The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest was, as written by Glenn Leopold, intended to transcend "monsters of the week" and manifest in true antagonists. Aside from Zin, these antagonists would cross swords with Quest because of ideological differences rather than simple melodramatic opposition. Quest's illumination came to be challenged by three terrible potentates. Ezekiel Rage exemplifies the dangers and madness of religion, seeking to effect the apocalypse and establish oblivion upon the earth according to his dogmatically deranged will. Jeremiah Surd is the bane of Questworld, a manifestation of the menace poised by those who exploit the pitfalls and breaches possible in a world perpetually connected by the web of cyberspace. And Dr. Zin, grown far from his roots in the character Fu Manchu, represents the ethical antithesis of Dr. Quest -- whereas the latter undertakes ventures to learn, discover, and share with the world appropriately, Zin would harness the legends and scientific wonders of the world to achieve immediate and drastic ends. The remaining villains are all governed by venal ambition or desire, essences which subvert Quest's struggle to know, share with, and uplift humanity. The battles fought are often ones of overarching ideals, and can be combated with the gang's resourcefulness or physical fitness. After all, Surd, Rage, and Zin could never remain standing after a good left jab from Race!