Friday night, I watched the premiere of George of the Jungle on The Cartoon Network and have been mulling ever since a bitter tirade about the new version of the 1967-8 wonder that was reported to have been the only Jay Ward production ever to lose money.

There was never a need for a live-action version, and I never made an effort to view it -- so the 1997 version (at more than an hour and a half, which seems a bit overlong for the concept) may have been wonderful. Leonard Maltin says, "Fraser and Mann are immensely likable," but adds, "Why couldn't they come up with at least a few funny lines for the Ape named Ape?" The Jan. 18 debut on The Cartoon Network didn't display as much familiarity with the concept as Leonard clearly showed. In fact, it seemed as though at least the producers and scripters knew no more of George of the Jungle than the opening song -- and, moreover, didn't quite understand that. (Apparently, they took the footage and lyric of "Fella and Ursula stay in step" to mean that George hung around with two young women who were identical in appearance, rather than the correct meaning: George didn't fully realize that Ursula [though apparently his wife] was female -- or what that might mean. So he frequently referred to her as "Fella." Fella and Ursula were one and the same. The Cartoon Network version has Ursula -- and another young woman, Magnolia, who looks very different from Ursula.)

The art on the new version is lovely, but the inventiveness of the original has (at least as far as the initial episodes are concerned) been discarded. And, of course, there's no sign of the "Tom Slick" or "Super Chicken" features that accompanied George originally. All of which, I suppose, is simply another tribute to the genius of the Jay Ward ensemble.

However, all my gripes aside, here's the great news: George of the Jungle: The Complete Original Series is scheduled to go on sale Feb. 12. The two-disc DVD set will list for $19.95 and provide 6 hours, 14 minutes of joy for fans of a 40-year-old entertainment that strikes me as pretty doggoned timeless. Several years ago, there were a few pre-records on VHS that were inexplicably released at SLP speed (guaranteeing bad fidelity), and my grandchildren have been stuck with those until now.

Are the original cartoons good? I recall videotaping one of the shows years ago and showing it to a neighbor's son who was about 5 years old. He laughed so hard at the "Super Chicken" episode that his face turned red, tears rolled down his cheeks, and he grew short of breath. Not every moment of every episode provided that pinnacle of entertainment, but each of the three features of every show had its merits that rewarded multiple viewings by young and old.

Jeff Lenburg's The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons provides the following list of features:

George of the Jungle (Bill Scott voicing George, June Foray voicing Ursula, Paul Frees voicing Ape):
The Sultan's Pearl, Malady Lingers On, The Gorilla God, Oo-oo Bird, Monkey Business, Desperate Showers, Little Siccors, Next Time the Train, The Trouble I Seed, Big Flop at the Big Top, Rescue in My Business, Dr. Spritzer I Presume, Chi Chi Dog, Treasure of Sierra Madre, Man of All Hunting Seasons, and Forest Prime Evil.

Super Chicken (Bill Scott voicing Super Chicken, Paul Frees voicing Fred):
The Zipper, One of Our States Is Missing, The Oyster, Wild Ralph Hiccup, The Elephant Spreeder, Rotten Hood, Easter Bunny, The Geezer, The Noodle, Rag Dolly, Merlin Brando, Fatman, Briggs Bad Wolf, The Laundry Man, The Muscle, and Dr. Gizmo.

Tom Slick (Bill Scott voicing Tom, June Foray voicing Marigold and Gertie):
The Big Race, Monster Rally, Show What, Send Me a Sub, I Was Railroaded, Cup-Cup Race, Balloon Race, Dranko the Dragster, Overstocked, Sneaky Sheik, Indian-Apples 500, Double Cross Country Race, Cheap Skate Derby, Irish Cheap Skate, Bad Year Blimp, and Swamp Buggy Race.

Such quotes from these shows as, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it," entered family parlance, and we were the better for it. The show was a gem. Enjoy its facets Feb. 12. In the meantime, here's one of the VHS images.