Remember The Jetsons?

The family living in a futuristic world with rocket cars, robot maids and pets, and dispensers catering to their every need. Despite being a cartoon for kids, it captured the zeitgeist of the time, as America’s space programmes really ramped up when the USSR put up their Soyuz satellite in 1957.

The programme first aired on US TV in 1962 and was set 100 years in the future, which would’ve made it 2062 – a mere 38 years away now – but how close are we to that particular vision of the future?

While we can put a tick in the box for robot vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers (although I suspect only a relatively small percentage of the overall population have invested), not on offer yet is a Rosie robot wielding a feather duster and keeping our homes dust free, nor one who cleans bathrooms, mops floors, does the laundry, or cleans the oven.

It’s true that many a production line is manned by robots instead of humans, and of course something a children’s programme like The Jetsons didn’t consider, is what would happen to those who the robots replaced. Would all be able to re-train or find other workplace opportunities, or would there be a need to accept that a move towards universal basic income has become a practical reality?

Self-driving vehicles are being trialled, and it is possible that in 38 years they will become genuinely available, let alone widely used. But despite acknowledging that we humans are fallible, I’ve yet to be convinced that we should trust the making of life-and-death decisions on our behalf to AI.

I acknowledge that the combination of ready meals and microwaves could put a small tick in the box of automated food provision, but as good food and drink are one of life’s great pleasures, how many would give them up entirely in favour of ping food, or even worse, just swallowing a pill?

And finally, the cost of space travel would appear to demonstrate that rocket cars are more pipe dream than probability – at least within the next 38 years…

Even though ‘The Jetsons’ was only ever intended to be purely light entertainment, did you think we’d be closer to that type of life than the one we have now?

© Debs Carey, 2024

24 thoughts on “Remember The Jetsons?”

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  2. Me too Tater, me too! That said, all that wizzing around now looks scary – although in fact, probably no worse that some of our existing motorways/freeaways 🙂

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  3. What a fun thing to think about. Interestingly, the writers thought of a lot of futuristic gadgets, but not the fact that smart phones (even of watch size) would collide with our social and mental wellbeing.

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  4. It was fun 🙂

    But sadly, too true Jane on the negative side of phone use and social media. I’ve just ordered a (non-fiction) book on that very subject in fact.

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  6. Gosh yes, I’d forgotten about them Autumn. Spot on. Oddly, I haven’t had one yet, although I did do an email consultations with photos of my spots when I got shingles during lockdown. I suspect I’ve been fortunate in that although my doctor’s surgery does offer them, I’ve always been given a f2f without even asking specifically. Maybe it’s because I’m old and they presume incompetence with technology 😉

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  7. Even though ‘The Jetsons’ was only ever intended to be purely light entertainment, did you think we’d be closer to that type of life than the one we have now?

    YES! And such a bummer that we aren’t.

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  8. I have one today, but they can be a pain–some use Zoom and some have their own health portals where the video doesn’t work or only specific browsers do. Some want you to download entire apps!

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  10. I didn’t watch the Jetsons. I think I was too old.

    There was a futuristic cartoon movie, the name of which I’ve forgotten, in which people ride around on little vehicles and talk to each other on a screen, even though the other person was riding along right next to them. That was close to reality.

    Military robots of sorts have been making fast progress during the Ukraine War. They have unmanned tanks operated remotely. And, of course, there are all kinds of drones, even remotely operated boats with the ability to sink Russian ships. Sad that new inventions often develop during war time.

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  11. I wanted very much a robot maid and a flying car. More than anything, I wanted teleportation. And why not?

    So many things from star trek and other television shows have made it into reality. Communicators, cell phones, microwaves. I’m sure that “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot” is going to happen any minute.

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  12. Believe it or not, I didn’t really watch The Jetsons growing up. I don’t remember why. I think it just wasn’t on at a time when I was normally home.

    I have to admit, this is not at all what I thought the 21st Century would be like. With A.I., I was expecting Commander Data or Johnny 5. Instead, we got MidJourney and ChatGPT. We did at least get cheaper space launches (still very expensive, but not nearly as expensive as they used to be). But we also got the billionaire space race, which just depresses me every time I heard about it.

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  14. Yes Autumn, it’s having to add so many different video apps which is the pain. Whenever I think I’ve got the full set, someone manages to spring a new one on me 😦

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  16. Nicki, I think I caught up with the Jetsons when my younger brother & sister were watching while we were in Nigeria. That cartoon you mention sounds interesting, but I don’t think I saw it.

    You make a good point about the remote controlled weaponry being seen in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, that tends to be the case with technological developments – they’re generally part of a push for power by one country over another.

    Like

  17. Zazzy, “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot” is one of my favourite line – and I’ve always had a bit of a thing for Jean-Luc Picard 😀

    I wanted the flying car back then, but now I really want the robot maid! Teleportation sounds like it good be fun, but then you read some of the Harry Potter stuff and splinting, and I know I’d end up being that clumsy!

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  18. James, I’m totally with you – we were offered so many wonderful images of what could be, but have ended up with disappointing knockoffs instead.

    The billionaire space race is such a despicable ego trip – what they could do for the betterment of the world with that money instead makes me weep.

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  22. The show always aired before dinner, and my sisters and I always sang the theme song (“Jane… his wife!“). The actual episodes are actually a blur to me now unfortunately. It kind of reminds me of the very beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the appearance of a Howard Johnson’s up in one of the administrative space stations. I remember my parents laughing uncontrollably at that, the joke at the time being that there was a Howard Johnson’s everywhere. 😆 – Marty

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  24. I’d completely forgotten the theme song… you know I’m going to consult Google now, don’t you?!
    The Howard Johnson is a joke which would’ve whizzed right past me at the time, but I love the humour now! 😀

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