Jet Jungle is the name of an early seventies scifi adventure hero, who appeared in a hit radio play: "The incredible adventures of the most amazing man of our time" broadcast on South Africa's Springbok Radio as well as a Sunday comic of the same name. The main character Jet Jungle was created by the advertising agency of the sponsors, Jungle Oats and Black Cat Peanut Butter in 1972. The advertising agency developed the script for the first series on Springbok Radio. Jeff Shapiro was the first actor to voice 'Jet Jungle' in the first year with Diane Wilson as 'Samatha "Sam" Muller' and Victor Melleney as 'Professor Giuseppe "Spaghetti" Villetti'. Brian O'Shaughnessy became the lead writer and created all episodes from the second year onwards. He also took over the role of voicing 'Jet Jungle' for the duration of the show on Springbok Radio. It is known to be one of the longest running radio shows created for the youth at the time (1972-1985).
Synopsis
Jet Jungle appeared with his black leopard Jupiter, red-headed lady friend Samantha Muller (Diane Wilson, Diane Appleby, Erica Rogers) and scientist and faithful friend Prof. Giuseppe "Spaghetti" Villetti (Victor Melleney, Gordon Mulholland). The team would routinely fly off from their island headquarters, Orion's Peak, in a Vertijet at the behest of their government liaison "the Minister", to battle criminal masterminds and the occasional extraterrestrial menace.
Presentation
The show was broadcast every weekday late in the afternoon on South Africa's radio service, Springbok Radio from 1972 continuing until the station's close, with the last episode broadcast on December 30, 1985. It was also broadcast on Radio Rhodesia in Rhodesia (the present day Zimbabwe). It is not known how many of the episodes were actually recorded, or how many of them were rebroadcast, since so little of the Springbok Radio archive exists. There appear to be parts of scripts, sound bytes and several mixed episode recordings from different storylines available, and a number of archivists have attempted to preserve the work.
Sponsorship
The enormously successful show, sponsored by Black Cat Peanut Butter and Jungle Oats was used to promote these South African products. Jet Jungle attributed his enormous powers of persuasion to the use of special ingredients, and his mastery of time, caused as a result of exposure to the Star Master, a mysterious entity. They appeared in several episodes similar in vein to the Project Farstar episodes.
Tie-ins
The long-running show had a children's fan club with regular newsletters featuring a one-page black-and-white comic strip serial, which was syndicated in various publications such as Personality. A short-lived full colour Sunday newspaper comic strip followed. A Jet Jungle action figure was produced by Mego Corporation in the 1970s and "rediscovered" by the Mego Museum in 2005.
For the Silver Jubilee in 1975, Springbok Radio produced a once-off one-hour comedy show titled 'The Great Gong Robbery' which featured (inter alia) a parody of Jet Jungle, who ultimately solves the mystery and exposes Jupiter as the thief.
Characters
Jet Jungle In advertising images, Jet Jungle was portrayed as a muscular man in his prime with a full head of neatly cropped white hair wearing a jet-black superhero body suit with boots leaving only his hands and face exposed. Jupiter, Jet's black leopard, who fearlessly fights evil. Jupiter was referred to as a 'black leopard' by the show's characters, rather than a panther. Samantha Muller Red haired lady, initially portrayed as wearing a green one-piece short sleeved legless jumpsuit and green boots. Prof. Giuseppe "Spaghetti" Valetti, the slim bespectacled middle-aged Professor had wavy black greying hair and mustache and was always smartly attired in a white Italian suit and bow tie. Dr Ket, American space expert. The Star Master a time-lord of the fourth dimension The Minister variously, a good guy and bad guy. Jet's contact in a cloak and dagger government department with links to international intelligence agencies. Zack, an 8-year-old boy
Audio history
In 2009, Radio Researchers uncovered several episodes of this program. These are twenty episodes of a storyline entitled 'Project Farstar'.
The Jet Jungle theme tune is probably the most striking and distinguishing feature of the series, aside from the all-in-one black suit, vertijet and black leopard.
Words to the Theme tune are: When your world is in trouble / and you need a fighting friend / who will come on the double and keep fighting to the end /Get Jet! Get Jet! / Jet Jungle is the man to get! Jet Jungle. Jet Jungle Jet Jungle is the man to get! / Get Jet!