Jonny Quest DVD Audio Deficiencies

DVD Audio Deficiencies

By Craig Fuqua
(c) 2004

Fans of the classic "Jonny Quest" series (ABC, 1964-65) were disappointed to find out that several lines of dialog had been censored from the May 11, 2004, Warner DVD set.
We're presenting them so our readers can hear what they're missing and judge for themselves whether the edits were appropriate for a home video release for a 2004 audience.

Pursuit of the Po-Ho
	In this episode, Race swims up to the Po-Ho village and delivers a warning to the Indians that includes the insults, "ignorant savages" and "heathen monkeys." Those phrases have been deleted from the DVD's English and Spanish audio tracks, but not from the subtitles. The splash sound effect when Race pops out of the water is also gone, but it's been missing from Turner station broadcasts since 2000 (and maybe earlier). The section as it was originally heard: PoHoUneditedSection.mp3 (595K MP3, 25 seconds) For some reason, the episode title card is silent on both "Pursuit of the Po-Ho" and "The Curse of Anubis." That's not how those stories were first heard, so the flaw must be in the prints. Listen to the distinctive title card underscore here: PoHoMissingTitleCardMusic.mp3 (166K MP3, 7 seconds)
Here are the individual elements in a DVD-compatible WAV-format (for best results, save them to your hard drive): PoHoMissingTitleCardMusic.wav (1.3 meg, 7 seconds, corresponding to 1:31.061 to 1:38.095 in the full English audio track) PoHoMissingSplash.wav (541K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:01.794 to 16:04.676) PoHoMissingIgnorantSavages.wav (608K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:17.439 to 16:20.676) PoHoMissingHeathenMonkeys.wav (523K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:22.752 to 16:25.538)

Pursuit of the Po-Ho

In this episode, Race swims up to the Po-Ho village and delivers a warning to the Indians that includes the insults, "ignorant savages" and "heathen monkeys." Those phrases have been deleted from the DVD's English and Spanish audio tracks, but not from the subtitles.
The splash sound effect when Race pops out of the water is also gone, but it's been missing from Turner station broadcasts since 2000 (and maybe earlier).
The section as it was originally heard:
PoHoUneditedSection.mp3
(595K MP3, 25 seconds)
For some reason, the episode title card is silent on both "Pursuit of the Po-Ho" and "The Curse of Anubis." That's not how those stories were first heard, so the flaw must be in the prints. Listen to the distinctive title card underscore here:
PoHoMissingTitleCardMusic.mp3
(166K MP3, 7 seconds)

Here are the individual elements in a DVD-compatible WAV-format (for best results, save them to your hard drive):
PoHoMissingTitleCardMusic.wav
(1.3 meg, 7 seconds, corresponding to 1:31.061 to 1:38.095 in the full English audio track)
PoHoMissingSplash.wav
(541K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:01.794 to 16:04.676)
PoHoMissingIgnorantSavages.wav
(608K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:17.439 to 16:20.676)
PoHoMissingHeathenMonkeys.wav
(523K, 3 seconds, corresponding to 16:22.752 to 16:25.538)

Monster in the Monastery
	In this episode, the leader of the Yeti-disguised bad guys shoots at Jonny from a stone staircase. Jonny fires arrows to burst oil bags above him, causing the leader to fall down the steps and plummet off the mountain to his death. The DVD is missing Jonny's joke as the man rolls toward him, "Uh-oh. Here comes the Oriental Express." The line has also been taken out of the subtitles. The section as it was originally heard: MonasteryMissingOrientalExpress.mp3 (271K MP3, 11 seconds) The DVD also immortalizes a puzzling insert into this story that also appears in the early 1990s VHS release of this title. On these versions, right before the Yeti leader unmasks himself, we hear a Bandit growl, an unidentified sound effect, and Jonny says, "Quiet, boy." This didn't exist on the original broadcast. The insertion also pushes Hadji's line, "Hey, what's he doing?" back several seconds, resulting in his lip moving but no sound coming out. This is what you hear on the DVD and VHS: MonasteryExtraDialog.mp3 (206K MP3, 8 seconds) Here's the original version: MonasteryComparisonToExtraDialog.mp3 (194K MP3, 8 seconds) Both clips start with Hadji's line, "Carrying a lamp?," and end with the sound of the Yeti removing his mask.
Here are the individual elements in a DVD-compatible WAV-format (for best results, save them to your hard drive): MonasteryMissingOrientalExpress.wav (2.1 meg, 11.5 seconds, corresponding to 16:38.534 to 16:50.025 in the full English audio track) MonasteryMinusExtraDialog.wav (1.3 meg, 7 seconds, corresponding to 10:27.041 to 10:34.115)

Monster in the Monastery

Hadji's lips move but his line isn't heard for several more seconds

In this episode, the leader of the Yeti-disguised bad guys shoots at Jonny from a stone staircase. Jonny fires arrows to burst oil bags above him, causing the leader to fall down the steps and plummet off the mountain to his death. The DVD is missing Jonny's joke as the man rolls toward him, "Uh-oh. Here comes the Oriental Express." The line has also been taken out of the subtitles.
The section as it was originally heard:
MonasteryMissingOrientalExpress.mp3
(271K MP3, 11 seconds)
The DVD also immortalizes a puzzling insert into this story that also appears in the early 1990s VHS release of this title. On these versions, right before the Yeti leader unmasks himself, we hear a Bandit growl, an unidentified sound effect, and Jonny says, "Quiet, boy." This didn't exist on the original broadcast. The insertion also pushes Hadji's line, "Hey, what's he doing?" back several seconds, resulting in his lip moving but no sound coming out.
This is what you hear on the DVD and VHS:
MonasteryExtraDialog.mp3
(206K MP3, 8 seconds)
Here's the original version:
MonasteryComparisonToExtraDialog.mp3
(194K MP3, 8 seconds)
Both clips start with Hadji's line, "Carrying a lamp?," and end with the sound of the Yeti removing his mask.

Here are the individual elements in a DVD-compatible WAV-format (for best results, save them to your hard drive):
MonasteryMissingOrientalExpress.wav
(2.1 meg, 11.5 seconds, corresponding to 16:38.534 to 16:50.025 in the full English audio track)
MonasteryMinusExtraDialog.wav
(1.3 meg, 7 seconds, corresponding to 10:27.041 to 10:34.115)

Note: If you listen to the DVD where the dialog has been removed and compare it to the unedited version here, you'll notice that the music and sound effects are unaffected by the edits. This means that either the original music/effects tracks for these episodes has survived the past 40 years or that the censors were able to reproduce the background audio from other sources.
It's clear from listening to the Spanish versions that separate background audio tracks were created for translation purposes.

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