Jonny Quest "Calcutta Adventure" #1.7 (1964) (TV)

Hadji's story and Jesse White, 8 December 2008

Through a flashback, "Calcutta Adventure" tells the story of how Hadji came to live with the Quest family. In this episode, Dr. Quest is in India lecturing at a local university. However, he has another, more dangerous purpose for being in India. He's looking for a secret nerve gas factory. When a young Indian named Hadji saves Dr. Quest's life, the Quests ask Hadji if he'll be their guide. The group heads for the mountains as the attempts on Dr. Quest's life continue. He's eventually taken prisoner in the secret nerve gas factory and, in exciting fashion, must be rescued by Race – with some help from an enterprising man named Pasha Peddler.

Overall, this is a solid episode. But then again, any episode that includes Hadji's back-story and how he came to live with the Quests is going to be worth watching. "Calcutta Adventure" features a lot of good action and creepy bad guys. The underground lair is also a nice touch. As for Pasha Peddler, he's easily one of the best ancillary characters in the first seven episodes. He's kind of like the Mr. Haney of India. It doesn't hurt that he was voiced by legendary character actor Jesse White. That voice is unmistakable – regardless of how un-Indian it might sound.

7/10