While in pre-production,
Hanna-Barbera 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
The Partridge Family 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, while
John Stephenson took over the role of Reuben Kincaid from
Dave Madden in the few episodes in which he appears.
Micky Dolenz, a member of a previous made-for-television band
The Monkees, 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 with
The Partridge Family, the animated spin-off is one of two Hanna-Barbera series (since the 1967 sale to
Taft Broadcasting) owned outright by
Sony Pictures Television (whose predecessor,
Screen Gems, produced the live-action series);
Jeannie (an animated
I Dream of Jeannie spin-off) being the other, with the copyrights to both animated series now owned by CPT Holdings. ==Cast==