While Space Ghost roamed the stars over on CBS, Hanna-Barbera served another space themed series to NBC, this one with a comic bent. Space Kiddettes starred a group of school-age children who were forever on the run from the pirate, Capt. Skyhook, because one of the kids was carrying a concealed treasure map.
Unfortunately, the intro to the series is not available, but Muttley16 found a long missing commercial bumper that hasn't seen the light of day since the series ended its NBC run:
During the late 70's and early 80's, reruns of Space Kiddettes were included in an odd package that also included repeats of shows from the Jay Ward &/or Total Television libraries. The same fate befell another H-B series that aired on NBC the next year----the previously reviewed Young Samson & Goliath.
I have had an idea about rebooting the Kiddettes, taking a more serious tack, and playing it like something out of the Star Trek franchise, with the kids a little older, wiser, and more resourceful. By the same token, Skyhook would also be rebooted as a far nastier villain. Warner Bros., though, is content keeping this show under lock & key, and not even considering any ideas. Their loss, as usual.
Rating: C.
3 comments:
Watching Space Kiddettes on Boomerang right now.
I always get the feeling this show was conceived only so the folks at HB could get more use out of the Jetsons' backgrounds and SFX!
Like some of HB's other fantastic action properties ("Dino Boy" & "Moby Dick") I keep thinking we'd see an episode in which we see the kids were actually from the neighborhood and were spending the afternoon playing out a fantasy of being out in space outsmarting pirates.
Considering some of those same backgrounds were used on Space Ghost and other action series, I seriously doubt that theory has any depth to it.
If they wanted to do a Walter Mitty type fantasy series with these kids, that would've been a better idea, but that was too deep for the audience of 1966.
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