Jet Jungle
Encyclopedia
Jet Jungle is the name of a mid-sixties scifi adventure superhero, who appeared in a hit radio play: "The incredible adventures of the most amazing man of our time" broadcast on South Africa's Springbok Radio
as well as a Sunday comic of the same name. The main character Jet Jungle (created and voiced by Brian O'Shaughnessy).
). The team would routinely fly off from their island headquarters, Orion's Peak, in a Vertijet at the behest of their government liaison "the Minister", to battle criminal masterminds and the occasional extraterrestrial menace.
(the present day Zimbabwe
). It is not known how many of the episodes were actually recorded, or how many of them were rebroadcast, since so little of the Springbok Radio archive exists. There appear to be screenplays and sound bytes available, and a number of archivists have attempted to preserve the work.
was apparently produced by Mego Corporation
in the 1970s and "rediscovered" by the Mego Museum in 2005.
The Jet Jungle theme tune is probably the most striking and distinguishing feature of the series, aside from the all-in-one black suit, vertijet and panther.
Words to the Theme tune are: When your world is in trouble / and you need a fighting friend / who will come on the double and keep fighting to the end /Get Jet! Get Jet! / Jet Jungle is the man to get! Jet Jungle. Jet Jungle Jet Jungle is the man to get! / Get Jet!
Since television broadcasts only came to South Africa in 1976, the country had followed the Apollo moon missions on radio. The series thus fed the popular imagination about outer-space and children's delight in hearing what would become a virtual retelling of the saga in the form of a fairy-tale. Africa's participation in the event, which sent Jet Jungle and Jupiter as far out as Andromeda, told of things to come. In Project Far Star, Prof Spaghetti voices his concern about defeating the forces of Einsteinian space-time, "going out young and coming back old".
Voices heard on the radio programme include Hal Orlandini, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Diane Appleby
There is only one boxed example of the Jet Jungle figure known to exist in the World today. Since its discovery in 2005, this sole example was reputed to have exchanged hands privately at the staggering price of $20,000 us. A price record for a single Mego figure.
The Jet Jungle Mego figure, a complete boxed edition still with its original packaging, sold for $5,713.98 after 11 bids, on eBay in 2009.
A $15 "Limited Edition 8 inch figure of only 500 produced" was released by TJ Toys sometime after the winning bid. The figure was bagged not boxed.
In 1971, Martin Abrams began purchasing the license rights to popular movies, comic books and television shows for Mego Corp., a toy manufacturing company. Mego produced a variety of dolls in the 1970’s and 1980’s until the company went bankrupt in 1983, whereupon the rights to produce the Jet Jungle figurine would ostensibly have reverted to its creator.
The first Jet Jungle Mego figure to appear on the internet was in 2003 on Megocentral.com. Laurie Halbritter, the then owner of Megocentral.com, purchased one on an auction from Italy. Photos were sent to various collectors but the identity of the figure was not
confirmed until the boxed one surfaced in 2005. http://www.megocentral.com/vault3.html
fame immediately springs to mind, there are other superhero scifi adventure characters which litter the universe in which Jet Jungle was created. The Green Hornet
for instance is a radio superhero from the 1930s who like Jet, had no superhero powers to speak of, but relied on a raygun and a technology called "Black Beauty".
Springbok Radio
Springbok Radio was a South African radio station that operated from 1950 to 1985.-History:On 1 May 1950, the first commercial radio station in South Africa, Springbok Radio took to the airwaves broadcasting in both English and Afrikaans...
as well as a Sunday comic of the same name. The main character Jet Jungle (created and voiced by Brian O'Shaughnessy).
Synopsis
Jet Jungle appeared with his black panther Jupiter, red-head girlfriend Samantha Muller (Diane Appleby) and scientist and faithful friend Prof. Giuseppe "Spaghetti" Valetti (Gordon MulhollandGordon Mulholland
Gordon Mulholland was a British actor best known for his performances in the TV soap opera The Villagers and the movie Jock of the Bushveld.- External links :*...
). The team would routinely fly off from their island headquarters, Orion's Peak, in a Vertijet at the behest of their government liaison "the Minister", to battle criminal masterminds and the occasional extraterrestrial menace.
Presentation
The show was broadcast every weekday at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon on South Africa's English radio service from February 1965 until the station's close in 1985, as well as Radio Rhodesia under the then minority white regime of Ian Smith's RhodesiaRhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(the present day Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
). It is not known how many of the episodes were actually recorded, or how many of them were rebroadcast, since so little of the Springbok Radio archive exists. There appear to be screenplays and sound bytes available, and a number of archivists have attempted to preserve the work.
Sponsorship
The enormously successful show, sponsored by Black Cat Peanut Butter and Jungle Oats was used to promote these South African products, hence the characters close association with Jungle Oats which gave him extra strength and stamina, and Peanut Butter. Like Popeye, Jet Jungle attributed his enormous powers of persuasion to the use of special ingredients, and his mastery of time, caused as a result of exposure to the Star Master, a mysterious entity. They appeared in several episodes similar in vein to the Project Farstar episodes.Tie-ins
The long-running show had a children's fan club with regular newsletters featuring a one page black and white comic strip serial, which was syndicated in various publications such as Personality. A short lived full colour Sunday newspaper comic strip followed. A Jet Jungle action figureAction figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
was apparently produced by Mego Corporation
Mego Corporation
The Mego Corporation was a toy company that dominated the action figure toy market during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation was founded in the early 1950s by David Abrams and was mostly known prior to 1971 as a producer of dime store toys.-Golden age:...
in the 1970s and "rediscovered" by the Mego Museum in 2005.
Characters
- Jet Jungle In advertising images, Jet Jungle was portrayed as a muscular man in his prime with a full head of neatly cropped white hair wearing a jet black superhero body suit with boots leaving only his hands and face exposed.
- Jupiter, Jet's black panther, who fearlessly fights evil.
- Samantha Muller Red haired always wore a green one-piece short sleeved legless jumpsuit and green boots.
- Prof. Giuseppe "Spaghetti" Valetti, the slim bespectacled middle-aged Professor had wavy black greying hair and mustache was always smartly attired in a white Italian suit and bow tie.
- Dr Kit, American space expert.
- The Star Master a time-lord of the fourth dimension
- Minister variously, a good guy and bad guy. Jet's contact in a cloak and dagger government department with links to international intelligence agencies.
- Zack, an 8-year-old boy
Audio History
In 2009, Radio Researchers from Earth uncovered several episodes of this program. They are twenty episodes of a storyline entitled 'Project Farstar'.The Jet Jungle theme tune is probably the most striking and distinguishing feature of the series, aside from the all-in-one black suit, vertijet and panther.
Words to the Theme tune are: When your world is in trouble / and you need a fighting friend / who will come on the double and keep fighting to the end /Get Jet! Get Jet! / Jet Jungle is the man to get! Jet Jungle. Jet Jungle Jet Jungle is the man to get! / Get Jet!
Since television broadcasts only came to South Africa in 1976, the country had followed the Apollo moon missions on radio. The series thus fed the popular imagination about outer-space and children's delight in hearing what would become a virtual retelling of the saga in the form of a fairy-tale. Africa's participation in the event, which sent Jet Jungle and Jupiter as far out as Andromeda, told of things to come. In Project Far Star, Prof Spaghetti voices his concern about defeating the forces of Einsteinian space-time, "going out young and coming back old".
Voices heard on the radio programme include Hal Orlandini, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Diane Appleby
Comic history
There is only one digital image of the weekly b&w comic available online.Other examples may be viewed in any one of South Africa's legal deposit libraries.Merchandise
Besides the action figure produced by Mego and now recreated by loyal fans, listeners and readers could purchase the "Jet Jungle Bicycle" from OK Bazaars, a South African home furnisher. A fan-club image posted online in a Mego forum shows a boy riding an orange chopper.There is only one boxed example of the Jet Jungle figure known to exist in the World today. Since its discovery in 2005, this sole example was reputed to have exchanged hands privately at the staggering price of $20,000 us. A price record for a single Mego figure.
The Jet Jungle Mego figure, a complete boxed edition still with its original packaging, sold for $5,713.98 after 11 bids, on eBay in 2009.
A $15 "Limited Edition 8 inch figure of only 500 produced" was released by TJ Toys sometime after the winning bid. The figure was bagged not boxed.
In 1971, Martin Abrams began purchasing the license rights to popular movies, comic books and television shows for Mego Corp., a toy manufacturing company. Mego produced a variety of dolls in the 1970’s and 1980’s until the company went bankrupt in 1983, whereupon the rights to produce the Jet Jungle figurine would ostensibly have reverted to its creator.
The first Jet Jungle Mego figure to appear on the internet was in 2003 on Megocentral.com. Laurie Halbritter, the then owner of Megocentral.com, purchased one on an auction from Italy. Photos were sent to various collectors but the identity of the figure was not
confirmed until the boxed one surfaced in 2005. http://www.megocentral.com/vault3.html
Influences
While the Hanna & Barbara character Race Bannon of Jonny QuestJonny Quest
Jonny Quest is a media franchise that revolves around a boy named Jonny Quest who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964-65 television series and has come to include two subsequent television series, two television films, and a video game.-1964–1965...
fame immediately springs to mind, there are other superhero scifi adventure characters which litter the universe in which Jet Jungle was created. The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
for instance is a radio superhero from the 1930s who like Jet, had no superhero powers to speak of, but relied on a raygun and a technology called "Black Beauty".
External links
- Jet Jungle action figure at the Mego Museum
- Diane Appleby Link to the voice of Sam
- Springbok Radio Sound files including the Jet Jungle Theme!
- Project Farstar 20 Episodes
- Old Time Radio Researchers Website
- Jet Jungle Myspace Page, appears to be run by the Mego Museum
- Jet Jungle Facebook Page, a fan site.
- A fan remembers Jet Jungle