Character Spotlight: George Jetson, Part Two

I like the lower left and right expressions - George has seen strange things and he says, ’Nope!’ to them. 

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                            4. INSPIRATION

Taking into account the fans that write for the show, the number is really small compared to other Hanna-Barbera properties like Scooby-Doo or the Powerpuff Girls. So there isn't really much to talk about what inspired me to write George the way I do. However, there is one fanfiction that did spark up my George muse because of how the author wrote the man not as a caricature, but a character - someone with fears, hopes, regrets, love in his heart, and an explanation on why he’s so fearful and anxious. The fanfic itself is… er… well, it’s not my favorite, to say it really nicely, so I will not link to it. But there are good ideas that the author has come up with for the Jetson world and I do have to thank them - if it hadn't been for their fanfiction, I wouldn't have the muse for him! 

Everything else came from my own observations about George when rewatching the episodes, specials and movie. Including the 2017 Jetsons/WWE crossover. 

Um, I should note that I’m not a big fan of the latter, but I do like that it gave George a chance to show how courageous he can be when nobody else will. I also took a look at other media, like comic books and video games. The older comic books for some reason turned the guy into a bit of a well-meaning jerk. They even made him semi-hostile to Rosie. I don’t know why they did that, but it’s really out of character for the man. The later ones aren’t as bad and do keep him consistent with his personality in-universe. The video games, however, really put him in the spotlight on all of the things he can do and his innate skills. It’s not all that surprising because it is a thing with video games to take a character and turn them into a proactive one, but it is nice to see George spread his wings further with what he can do in whatever situation he’s put in. And it’s good to see the games kind of keep in canon with his personality with the cartoon. 

Besides the fanfiction I brought up before, I think the most inspiration I obtained on how to write George is from the 1980s seasons and the film. For the record, the ‘80s seasons aren’t generally as well liked as the singular 1960s season. While the latter is certainly in praise of kudos for what it was trying to do (and for introducing the show in the first place), the former shouldn’t go without praise - George’s personality, or at least the collection of traits that are consistent throughout the series, is explored further, as I have highlighted in the first post. And without the ‘80s seasons, I think the show overall would have been forgotten by those who grew up watching the show between the 1980s and 2000s, especially when in the latter time, the Jetsons aired through reruns on Cartoon Network. 

The film doesn’t do anything too radically different in terms of big changes to his person, but if you look closely in certain scenes, you might find that there is something deeper going on with George than we may have thought, and it’s because of those scenes that I write him the way I do.I won’t spoil all of what I’m talking about if you haven’t seen the film, but I will state this fact about one particular moment: if you observe George’s behavior and tone of voice, you might pick up on some strong emotions he’s been holding back over the years.

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5. FUTURE PLANS

There are some stories that I do have in mind for him, so here is what I have in store for Mr. J. 

One story that's been on my mind a lot recently happens to be set in motion after a certain climatic event spanning a few universes or two will occur. A few characters will meet him and his family, and change their lives for the better. I’ll keep it short and vague because that would be revealing too much and I don’t want to give spoilers lol. 

I also have a hankering for a Jetsons/MLP crossover with the Mane Seven (I'm counting Spike) meeting the Jetson crew. The only rough idea I had in mind for this crossover would be that the Friendship Map would send them all to Orbit City to solve a friendship problem, which would occur among the Jetsons. I'm not entirely positive on when this crossover would take place, though, so that idea might be changed. 

I had an idea for an Astro Boy/Jetsons crossover too, but I have no plot on how that would go. Although, I did think about Astro Boy and Dr. Elefun heading to Orbit City for some kind of special event, like a world’s fair-type of event, and through a series of misadventures, they meet the Jetsons. 

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6. HEADCANONS

Some of these are for jollies while others are made up to explain certain aspects of his life. 

*He's a fan of Charles Dickens. He references the man's books a few times on the show in the second season. There's even a Christmas episode centered around 'A Christmas Carol' in which George is placed in a Bob Cratchit role and he references the Christmas spirits and Scrooge (with Spacely as the role.) I feel he could relate to some of the characters from Dickens' books. 

*His grandfather Montague raised him like George was his own son. In the show, George mentioned his mother, but he never brought up his dad. I take it that something happened to his dad when George was a small lad (in my universe the guy just up and left one day) and that got Montague to step up and help raise George. Montague is a sweet guy and it’s clear in their relationship that they’re both very close. I also made up this headcanon to partially explain why he’s so determined to be there for his kids: he doesn’t want them to go through what he did. 

*I brought up last time that I was going to elaborate on a headcanon about why George stays with Spacely Sprockets out of fear instead of just leaving to go do something else, so here’s why I think that is: I think besides the fact that it’s all he knows how to do job-wise, he’s built up a wall of frustration with Spacely over the years. He has the skills and potential to do something great for the company. But even though his boss wants and needs him there despite his boss saying otherwise, George is never really given a chance to grow and it’s because of this that he has a strong desire to prove himself. But I think it’s hard for him to see that in spite of all he does for the company, it’s not leading him anywhere (well except perhaps a short round of working as a vice president). Spacely is incredibly stubborn and greedy with his gains and letting any of his employees share? Well, only if he’s bribed or sees a good reason to share (and it can happen but rarely). 

Heck, there was one comic I read where George was promoted to Vice President of the company, and he even makes a comment, wondering how long the role would last. He’s aware of how this game is getting old and I can picture him getting so fed up with the constant back and forth that he just wants to leave so that he doesn’t have to put up with Spacely. But again, he can’t because he’s afraid of the unknown and doesn’t know if he’ll make it in another line of work. 

Although… there was one interesting moment in an episode where Cogswell and George have a conversation that’s longer than five seconds and Cogswell actually tempts George into leaving Spacely Sprockets. The same line of work and yet again, George is scared to leave Spacely Sprockets. He’s made a home for himself despite all of the wacky things that happen at the company, and leaving it all behind? Change is something that I can’t see George embracing right away. 

For me, I plan on fixing this bit and writing him building up his courage to leave the company for good and work someplace where he can not only grow in his skills, but also give him a new confidence of trying new things he wouldn’t have tried in the past. I mean, in the crossover special where the Jetsons meet the Flintstones, George managed to become Mr. Slate’s partner in the company through his own skills and confidence, and he even stood up for himself when it got to be too much, to which I say, good job George! 

* He doesn't eat bananas because of the textures. In 

the show, it’s stated he doesn’t eat them, but it was never 

clear if it was because he specifically dislikes them or not. I’m

including this in to explain why he doesn’t eat them and flesh

out more of what he likes or dislikes. 

*When he was young, he was a good student. Maybe not an all As student like his son, but he was no slouch. And as he grew older, he excelled in subjects like technology and math, but he also became a star baseball player. It’s been shown

he could throw a mean pitch in baseball. And he could probably through a powerful punch too if he was furious enough, thanks to his days as a star pitcher.  

*Sometime ago, DC Comics did their own take on Hanna-Barbera properties by either crossing them over with some of their characters or writing alternate takes on them. By alternative, I mean more along the lines of ’serious business’ comics. A majority of them were ridiculous. However, there was one idea I did like from the Jetsons comic and I thought that it would be neat if: George somehow obtained a psychic link. He would not gain powers of any kind, but he would be able to talk with certain individuals who possess telepathic abilities. I don’t know how this will be accomplished yet. 

*He seems to enjoy stories starring vampires and cowboys. In the Halloween episode, he told a scary story with vampires in it and in another episode, he was reading about heroes from the American West. He even stated he had a relative who lived during that time period. Don’t know how well the latter bit of information will play up considering the universe I’m welding with canons that are set in a sci-fi/western location, but it is worth noting that George likes to read up on past heroes. Plus it’s a nice contradiction to put together - vampires and cowboys. 

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7. PERSONAL

*George is my favorite character on the whole show. It’s kind of hard to explain why, but there is something endearing to him. In some cases, George reminds me of Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH – he’s not a quipping hero (although he does get in some pretty sharp remarks), but an anxious dad who gets involved in these crazy situations but bravely pushes forward anyway. I think that makes him relatable; when he goes through trials and all the rough stuff, you want to see him succeed because of how much he’s putting on the line and how he’s trying to stay strong through it all. In these days, I think that’s more prized than ever - the underdog rising up to the occasion and surprising others even when the finish line seems so far. 

*I love the voicework that Mr. O’Hanlon, his voice actor, did for George. But I actually prefer his later work compared to the ‘60s season. Why? Well, it makes George stand out as a meek fellow vs. Fred’s booming voice that indicates that Fred is a larger-than-life kind of guy. 

*As a new feature for these posts, I’ll be adding in songs I think fit the characters. In George’s case, here are some songs for him: "Love without End, Amen" by George Strait, "Young at Heart" by Jimmy Durante, and "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. 

Whoo! I’m so happy with how this character analysis for George turned out. I hope you all enjoyed my ramblings about Mr. J! 

Wanderer out!