Terror Island (24 Feb. 1965)

While in Hong Kong, Dr. Quest is kidnapped by Dr. Chu, a mad scientist enlarging spiders and lizards to gigantic proportions. He needs Dr. Quest's assistance in keeping the harmful bacteria... See full summary »

Directors:

Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Writers:

Alan Dinehart (teleplay), Herbert Finn (teleplay),

Stars:

Mike Road, Tim Matheson, Don Messick

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Mike Road	...	Roger T. 'Race' Bannon (voice)
Tim Matheson	...	Jonny Quest (voice) (as Tim Matthieson)
Don Messick	...	Dr. Benton C. Quest / Bandit (voice)
Danny Bravo	...	Hadji (voice)
Cathy Lewis	...	Jade / Photographer / Kallum, Jade's servant (voice)
Will Kuluva	...	Dr. Chu Sing Ling (voice) (as Will Kaluva)
Sam Edwards	...	Guard 1 / Informant / Guard 3 (voice)

Storyline

While in Hong Kong, Dr. Quest is kidnapped by Dr. Chu, a mad scientist enlarging spiders and lizards to gigantic proportions. He needs Dr. Quest's assistance in keeping the harmful bacteria used, from draining into the nearby bay, possibly creating more monsters outside the laboratory. Race turns to his beautiful girlfriend, Jade, for help as she has connections in the city, and is the most likely to be able to find Dr. Quest.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1965 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jade appears for the second time in the series. She would not appear again until the Jonny Quest spin-offs of the 1980s.

User Reviews

Giant bugs run amuck

Jonny, Hadji, and Race are desperate to find Dr. Quest after he's been kidnapped. Dr. Quest has been taken to the secret lab of Dr. Chu Sing Ling – a scientist working on a secret formula that turns insects into giants. Dr. Ling wants Quest's assistance. Naturally, Dr. Quest refuses and faces the prospect of being fed to one of Dr. Ling's creations. Will the rest of the gang arrive in time to save Dr. Quest?

While Terror Island is reasonably fun and feels something like an homage to the 1950s era giant bug movies I love so much, for whatever reason, I don't care for this episode as much as some others. Sure, I enjoyed the rampaging giant bug action, but I have a couple of problems with Terror Island. First, this may sound silly when talking about Jonny Quest, but Terror Island lacks the "real" feeling I enjoy in other episodes. This one is sci-fi all the way - with an emphasis on the fi part. I can go along with all the spy stuff, the robots, and even the prehistoric creatures you usually find in Jonny Quest, but this episode pushes credibility too far. (Please remember, when I use words like "real" or "credibility", I'm using them in the context of the Jonny Quest world – not the world you and I live in.)

My second problem is with Dr. Ling's rather sketchy plan. I'm not sure he ever says why he's trying to create an army of giant insects – he just is. Even the most deranged of the Jonny Quest baddies has some sort of explanation for what they're up to. Again, it takes away from the realism (relatively speaking once again).

In the end, despite the problems I have with the episode, this is still Jonny Quest and its still fun. I'll give Terror Island a 6/10.