Partridge Family 2200 A.D.

Production

In the early 1970s, Hanna-Barbera was working on a new Jetsons spin-off where Elroy would be a teenager and Judy would work as a reporter. CBS executive Fred Silverman rejected that idea and instead ordered an animated version of The Partridge Family, which had already popped up as recurring characters on the studio's show Goober and the Ghost Chasers. The result was a Saturday-morning cartoon that inexplicably moved the family from their original 1970s setting into a futuristic, Jetsons-style world set in the year 2200 A.D. In this version, the Partridges are galaxy-famous and far more successful than in the live-action series, where they were just starting out. They also manage themselves, with manager Ruben Kincaid appearing only rarely. Danny now has a robotic dog named Orbit, while Keith and Laurie travel with two non-musical friends: Marion, a two-toned green-and-blue Martian who can fly, and Veenie, a purple-haired Venusian who speaks with a buzzing vocal tic. Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough, and Brian Forster reprised their live-action roles. Susan Dey voiced Laurie for just two episodes before Sherry Alberoni took over; Alberoni had previously voiced Alexandra on Josie and the Pussycats. Chuck McLenan handled both speaking and singing for Keith Partridge instead of David Cassidy, Joan Gerber voiced Shirley Partridge in place of Shirley Jones, and John Stephenson played Reuben Kincaid in the few episodes featuring the character. Micky Dolenz of The Monkees had one of his first voice-over gigs with several recurring roles. The show produced sixteen half-hour episodes, airing on CBS Saturday mornings from September 7, 1974 to March 8, 1975. When reruns were syndicated in 1977–78 as part of Fred Flintstone and Friends, the series was retitled The Partridge Family in Outer Space. Like many Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the era, it featured a studio-created laugh track. Because of its connection to the live-action Partridge Family, this animated spin-off is one of two Hanna-Barbera series fully owned by Sony Pictures Television (through its predecessor Screen Gems), the other being the animated Jeannie. The copyrights now belong to CPT Holdings.