Rein-toon-ation: Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space (1972)

One of the greatest mysteries of Saturday morning television in my youth is why CBS & Hanna-Barbera decided to take another chance on Josie & the Pussycats. While the 1970 series might've spiked sales of the Archie comic book it was based on, they could've been better served ordering more episodes and keep the band on Earth, especially considering the cross-over appearance on The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Instead, some genius decided to use the band to parody Irwin Allen's popular 60's sci-fi hit, Lost in Space. Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space was the 2nd H-B series produced in Australia (Funky Phantom, which bowed a year earlier on ABC, has the distinction of being the first), but the quality of the animation, as you'll see in the intro, took quite a hit.

This intro was used only in the opener:

Edit, 3/15/24: The "B" intro is back.

Seeing as how their team-up with Scooby & Mystery Inc. aired concurrently with this series when it was in an all-rerun cycle during the 2nd season, you wonder about the continuity between the shows. As the comics prove, of course, the band finally came home, but left their alien mascot, Bleep, behind on some remote planet.

Rating: C.