The Jetsons 50th Anniversary

It's hard to believe it's been 50 years since the cartoon future world of the Jetsons premiered on September 23, 1962. And fittingly, it came two years after the Flintstones first appeared. Both shows appeal to our sense of time and space, though each maintains a firmly contemporary sensibility. Basically, each show is about twentieth century family life but with the trappings of the paleolithic and futuristic environments. The initial run of the Jetsons only had 24 episodes and it was not until much later in 1985 that new episodes were produced. Very odd considering the tremendous interest in space and the future during the 60's. Smithsonian Magazine online publishes a blog called Paleofuture which recently explored the effect of the Jetsons on our lives and why the show matters to so many. The show had it all from flying cars to video phones, robot maids to meals in a pill. It was a benign future and one which we could all look forward to without fear. Techcrunch recently lamented the lack of flying cars in our present day and notes that we are at the halfway point from the date the Jetsons premiered and the future date the show depicted (2062). We should be zipping around in flying cars any day now - EEP OPP ORK  AH-AH!