Jonny Quest "Pursuit of the Po-Ho" #1.4 (1964) (TV)

What's wrong with calling someone a "heathen monkey"?, 2 December 2008

In "Pursuit of the Po-Ho", Dr. Quest receives an urgent message that a friend of his has been kidnapped by a group of natives known as the Po-Ho. But almost as soon as Dr. Quest and the rest of the family arrive in the jungle, Dr. Quest is also kidnapped. It's up to Race and the boys to save Dr. Quest and his friend. But how? Maybe they can trick the natives into believing that Race is the water god, Aquesio.

Until I sat down to write this, I never realized "Pursuit of the Po-Ho" was such a controversial episode. I think it's a real shame that Warner Bros. appears to have fallen in line with the thought police and edited their DVD release to eliminate the names Race calls the natives. I think calling the Po-Ho "savages" and "heathen monkeys" is pretty mild considering they've kidnapped and plan to kill (and most likely eat) Dr. Quest. I would have thought he would have done far worse than that. Besides that, I grew up watching this episode unedited. I don't think I've suffered any long lasting negative effects of the experience. It seems to me that people are just too sensitive today.

As for the episode itself, it's a good one. Lots of tension – well, at least as much tension as you can drum-up in a 22 minute cartoon. The Po-Ho are very effective and there's a real sense of danger every time they make an on-screen appearance. When I was younger, they absolutely terrified me. Evan at that age, I understood what they were about to do to Dr. Quest. And the sight of Race covered in berry juice, yelling at the Po-Ho – that's awesome. Finally, one thing I noticed while re-watching this episode is that the show should have been called Race Bannon – not Jonny Quest. More often than not, Race is the real star.

8/10