The Space Kidettes (1966)

Created by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

The Space Kidettes is an American Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, originally airing on NBC during the 1966-67 season. Set in outer space, the series followed the adventures of a group of child astronauts, who have acquired a treasure map and have to keep it away from their nemesis, a man named Skyhook and his sidekick Static. Originally airing for one season on NBC as a half-hour program and sponsored by General Mills, The Space Kidettes episodes were later edited down to ten-minute episodes and paired with other General Mills-sponsored shows such as Tennessee Tuxedo and Go Go Gophers to form a full half-hour for syndication; edited reruns of cartoons from another NBC Hanna-Barbera program, Samson & Goliath to form the syndication package The Space Kidettes and Young Samson. The original master elements for both programs were lost, leaving the syndicated edits as the only extant broadcast quality versions.