''Partridge Family 2200 A.D.'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

Saturday-morning animated series and a spin-off of the 1970–1974 ABC live-action

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...

'' produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

and Columbia Pictures Television and broadcast on CBS from September 7 to December 21, 1974, though, it would air in reruns until March 8, 1975. The band performed one of their pop hits in each episode.

Production

While in pre-production,

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

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. CBS, under the leadership of Fred Silverman, discarded the idea and decided to make an animated version of ''

'' instead. The Partridge Family had already been recurring characters on a previous Hanna-Barbera production, '' Goober and the Ghost Chasers''. In this new iteration of the series, The Partridge Family is—without any explanation—living in a Jetsons-like futuristic environment in 2200 A.D. The family's "galaxy-famous" musical act is notably more successful than in the live-action show, and they appear to manage themselves: the character of Ruben Kincaid is not a regular. Danny has a robotic dog named Orbit, and Keith and Laurie have two good friends that travel with the family (though they are not part of the musical act): Marion, a two-toned green and blue Martian who can fly, and Veenie, a purple-haired Venusian with a distinct buzzing vocal tic. Danny Bonaduce, Suzanne Crough, and Brian Forster voiced their respective characters from the live action series. Susan Dey provided Laurie's voice for only two episodes before she was replaced by former Mouseketeer Sherry Alberoni, who had voiced Alexandra for Hanna-Barbera's ''Josie and the Pussycats''. Chuck McLenan served as both the speaking and singing voice of Keith Partridge instead of David Cassidy; Joan Gerber voiced Shirley Partridge in place of

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma! (film), Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel (fi ...

, while John Stephenson took over the role of Reuben Kincaid from Dave Madden in the few episodes in which he appears.

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

, a member of a previous made-for-television band

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

, had various recurring roles in the series, one of his first voice-over roles. 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 1977–78, it was retitled ''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 series contained a laugh track created by the studio. 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 Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President ...

that are owned outright by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

(whose predecessor,

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

, produced the live-action series); '' Jeannie'' (an animated spin-off of ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...

'') is the other (the copyrights to both animated series are currently held by CPT Holdings).

Cast

* Sherry Alberoni as Laurie Partridge * Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge * Suzanne Crough as Tracy Partridge * Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge (in 2 episodes) *

as Wonderful Wayne, Spotless Sam * Brian Forster as Chris Partridge * Joan Gerber as Shirley Partridge, Energetic Emma * Chuck McLenan as Keith Partridge, Zappy Zak * Julie McWhirter as Marion Moonglow * Hal Smith as Texx * John Stephenson as Reuben Kincaid * Lennie Weinrib as Jolly Joe * Frank Welker as Orbit, Veenie Chuck McLenan also was the singing voice for musical numbers.

Episodes

Home media

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.

References

External links

*
''Partridge Family: 2200 A.D.''
at the

Big Cartoon DataBase The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) was an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows, and cartoon shorts. The BCDB project began in 1997 as a list of Disney animated f ...