BobbyUK
On the BBC Saturday mornings during the 1980s, kids were regularly treated to Peter Maddock's cartoons ('The Family Ness' being the forerunner). The episodes were usually 5 minutes long, the animation variable and the humour was pretty light-hearted. Jimbo and the Jet Set was no exception...The cartoon is introduced at the design department of the airport where the crew are creating a new jumbo jet for London airport. The problem being there is a mix-up of measurements during the planning process and they make it a lot smaller than planned. Due to it's smaller size, the plane is affectionately named Jimbo and is still considered useful.Jimbo is reluctantly taken to London airport by The Chief Controller where Jimbo completes odd jobs ranging from saving an astronaut, helping explorers find valuable artifacts to flying over to Australia and picking up cargo. When Jimbo is not on duty he hangs around with his main friends Tommy Tow-Truck and Amanda Baggage. Jimbo's methods of completing tasks are either unorthodox or usually go against The Chief's wishes so, in most of the episodes, the Chief is in a constant state of anxiety, often shouting; "I want words with you Jimbooooo!!!"The cartoon's artwork and animation is best described as cheap and cheerful and I don't believe it is better or worse than any of Peter Maddock's other stuff and I don't believe the cartoon is pretending to be anything more than it is. The artwork is simple but recognisable(often 'sound' words would come out of nowhere and lines signalling motion were evident, perhaps because Maddocks is primarily a comic strip artist?). The animation was actually quite acceptable but often jerky and wooden, using less frames per animation if it could be got away with - yet again the question of style comes into play.I think the cartoon mainly falters because there is a narrow scope within it's format. One Chief, one slightly useful small plane and a few supporting characters along the way. Jimbo is only considered useful for small roles but the cartoon makes you believe the fictional London Airport is a one plane operation and Jimbo is fully relied upon.Another negative point is the show's theme tune which is horrendous. I can see where the creators were going with it but the ascending pitch really grates, especially as you only get a four minute break between the intro and the ending (the end tune changed for the Christmas episode 'Jinglebells Jimbo')There is at least one episode I recommend called 'The Controller's Apprentice' about The Chief hiring his nephew that ends with disastrous results.Peter Hawkins is very versatile as he creates most of the male voices in the cartoon, capturing the exasperated essence of The Chief effortlessly. Susan Sheridan adds a certain playful nuance to Jimbo complete with welcome dirty chuckle.All in all, you can do far worse things than watch five minutes of Jimbo and the Jet Set though it may depend on whether you would be watching it for nostalgia or it's artistic merit. Nostalgia covers up a multitude of imperfections and therefore Jimbo is definitely worth a look for sentimental reasons and reminiscing over wasted youth but if you are a first time flier watching it for anything more than it is you may get jet-lag.
andynortonuk
Peter Maddocks is one of those people who are often associated for his work in television animation from a particular era. So for anyone growing up with Penny Crayon, The Family Ness, and Jimbo and the Jet Set during the 1980s will understand his impact in British television animation. So, from what I have seen from Jimbo and The Jet Set, this is probably one of Maddocks' weakest series for the small screen.With the formulaic approach to the narrative, with the exception of the origins-of-the-main-character episode, having Jimbo doing a command from the Chief only varies the storyline. From going into space, or to the jungles of Africa, the spectrum of such adventures can sometimes be tiresome, especially when watching over a dozen episodes on a DVD. The animation is common for most TV animation, focusing mainly on the lip sync of the character, while the character remains static, or does a particular action, like flying. It is unusual to note the traditional pencil animation on such aspects as the waves for the ocean, while basic cell animation is used for most of the character animation.The vocal talents here are the main highlight of the series, with Peter Hawkins providing his trademark vocal range on numerous characters, while Susan Sheridan gets the job of doing Jimbo, and any other women characters appear occasionally throughout the series. I find this tragic, or sexist depending on your observation of the amount of female characters present, typecasting for Sheridan. But this didn't stop her from becoming renowned for such voice work in Noddy, and the Animal Shelf.I can probably recommend this series to fans of Hawkins' and Sheridan's voice work, despite the fact that their vocal talents being used in more successful and more popular series, such as Captain Pugwash and Disney's The Black Cauldron. Kids may enjoyed the antics once in a while, but I won't be surprised if kids will be hooked with such simple story lines, with the voice acting masking such basic animation. I suppose if all things Peter Maddocks is your cup of tea, you might as well give it a shot, because I think you will find Maddocks' humour present from the comic strip presented here, but you may find it not that impressive. So for the series with Maddocks with his Jet Set, you may find it a bumpy ride with episodes becoming a tad formulaic.
