Doug Widley 1964 animated series "Jonny Quest," animated by Hanna-Barbera, only lasted 26 episodes, but for Gen-Xers, it may seem like a lot more. Thanks to a series of sweet, sweet syndication deals, along with the clever remixing and repackaging of the company's 1960s and 1970s shows, Hanna-Barbera cartoons remained in reruns for decades, allowing new generations to grow up watching "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?," "The Flintstones," and, uh, "Jabberjaw." For kids of the 1980s, not a Saturday slipped past without several Hanna-Barbera shows making their way into our eyeballs, often entirely by accident.

"Jonny Quest" always seemed to make its way into my generation's cartoon rotation, and many viewers my age became very fond of the show's chintzy, stilted animation, thick-lines drawing style, and stock "laser" sound effects. The premise was the stuff of boy's adventure novels: Jonny Quest (Tim Matheson) was an 11-year-old wunderkind who was skilled in martial arts, weapon use, and scuba-diving. He was the son of Dr. Benton Quest (Don Messick), a freelance scientist who often took jobs for the U.S. government investigating unusual acts of high-tech malfeasance.

Jonny's mother, meanwhile, had died and his live-in guardian was Race Bannon (Mike Road). There's nothing to indicate Dr. Quest and Road were boyfriends, though. Joining the adventures was Jonny's 11-year-old brother Hadji (Danny Bravo) and his pet dog Bandit (also Messick). The Quest family lives and operates out of Florida. Their arch nemesis, Dr. Zin, was voiced by Vic Perrin, perhaps best known as the narrator for the opening to "The Outer Limits."

"Jonny Quest" debuted in September 1964, and ran on a weekly basis until March 1965 when it was canceled. The series did well with critics and even fetched pretty high ratings. Hanna-Barbera ultimately pulled the plug on the series because, well, it was just too expensive to make.