Partridge Family 2200 A.D.

Partridge Family 2200 A.D.
Also known as The Partridge Family in Outer Space
Genre Animation
Directed by Charles A. Nichols
Voices of Joan Gerber
Danny Bonaduce
Sherry Alberoni
Chuck McLendon
Suzanne Crough
Brian Forster
John Stephenson
Susan Dey (2 episodes)
Frank Welker
Country of origin USA
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 16
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run September 7, 1974 – March 8, 1975
Chronology
Preceded by Goober and the Ghost Chasers
Related shows The Partridge Family

Partridge Family 2200 A.D. is an animated television series based on The Partridge Family created by Hanna-Barbera.

Production

While in pre-production, Hanna-Barbera originally proposed an updated version of The Jetsons, in which Elroy would be a teenager and Judy would have a steady job as an ace reporter. (See, for instance, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, which was a similarly updated version of The Flintstones.) CBS, under the leadership of Fred Silverman, discarded the idea and decided to make an animated edition of The Partridge Family instead. The Partridge Family had already been recurring characters on a previous Hanna-Barbera production, Goober and the Ghost Chasers.

This series saw the family propelled 225 years into the future, with no explanation as to why or how. The series featured new characters Veenie (Keith's Venusian friend) and Marion (Laurie's Martian friend). Danny had a pet robot dog named Orbit. The group's matriarch was now Connie Partridge (the name originally used for the live-action series' 1969 pilot) and voiced by Joan Gerber. (During a February 2, 2008 New York radio interview with Mark Simone on WABC's Saturday Night Oldies show, Shirley Jones, who played mother Shirley Partridge on the live-action series, apparently was never even told of the show's existence and had no recollection of any animated version of the series ever being produced.)

In addition to Jones's absence, David Cassidy (Keith Partridge) and Dave Madden (manager Reuben Kincaid) did not voice their animated counterparts; both parts were recast. Susan Dey provided Laurie's voice for only two episodes before she was replaced by former Mouseketeer Sherry Alberoni. Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough and Brian Forster voiced their respective characters from the live action series.

Sixteen half-hour episodes were produced for Partridge Family 2200 A.D., which lasted half a season on CBS Saturday morning (September 7, 1974 - March 8, 1975); in 1977, it was re-titled The Partridge Family in Outer Space when episodes were serialized on the syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends. Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained an inferior laugh track created by the studio.

In October 2005, two restored episodes of Partridge Family 2200 A.D., "My Son, The Spaceball Star" and "Car Trouble", were included as bonuses on The Partridge Family: The Complete First Season DVD set.

Due to its ties to The Partridge Family, Partridge Family 2200 A.D. is one of only two Hanna-Barbera produced series since H-B's 1967 sale to Taft Broadcasting that are owned outright by Sony Pictures Television (whose predecessor, Screen Gems, produced the live-action show); Jeannie (an animated spin-off of I Dream of Jeannie) is the other (the copyrights to both animated series are currently held by SPT).

Episodes

Title Production
Code
Original airdate
PF-1 "Danny, The Invisible Man" 77-2 September 7, 1974
PF-2 "If This is Texas — It Must Be Doomsday" 77-4 September 14, 1974
PF-3 "The Incredible Shrinking Keith" 77-3 September 21, 1974
PF-4 "Cousin Sunspot" 77-5 September 28, 1974
PF-5 "The Wax Museum" 77-7 October 5, 1974
PF-6 "The Dog Catcher" 77-6 October 12, 1974
PF-7 "Cupcake Caper" 77-11 October 19, 1974
PF-8 "Laurie's Computer Date" 77-8 October 26, 1974
PF-9 "Movie Madness" 77-9 November 2, 1974
PF-10 "The Pink Letter" 77-10 November 9, 1974
PF-11 "Orbit the Genius" 77-12 November 16, 1974
PF-12 "The Switch" 77-13 November 23, 1974
PF-13 "My Son, The Spaceball Star" 77-1 November 30, 1974
PF-14 "Car Trouble" 77-14 December 7, 1974
PF-15 "The Roobits" 77-15 December 14, 1974
PF-16 "Let's All Stick Together" 77-16 December 21, 1974

Voices

Chuck McLendon also was the singing voice for The Partridge Family musical numbers.

See also

External links