Season 1

The promotional image for season 1

**Season 1** is the first season of the PBS Kids series, *Ready Jet Go!*. The season premiered on February 15, 2016 and ended on February 6, 2018.

## Premise

Earth science and astronomy take center stage in this animated series from PBS Kids. Two neighborhood kids -- Sean and Sydney -- befriend the new kid on the block, Jet Propulsion, who just happens to be an alien from planet Bortron 7. Together they explore the solar system and how it affects the planet, while also learning about friendship and teamwork. The series features live-action interstitials with astronomer Dr. Amy Mainzer.

## Plot

The Propulsions are the new family in the small Washington town of Boxwood Terrace. They may seem like an average family, but they're secretly aliens from the planet Bortron 7, and have been sent to write stories about Earth for an intergalactic travel guide.

Jet Propulsion, their son, makes friends with three of the kids on Earth: the imaginative and kind Sydney, the neurotic Sean, and the curious Mindy. Together, they go on a lot of wacky adventures, whether it be in space, like competing in a 'space race', counting the moons of Jupiter, or going on a mission to save a Mars rover, or on Earth, like constructing a treehouse, cooking dinner using the Scientific Method, or baking space-themed desserts.

Along the way, the kids visit the JPL-like Deep Space Array to learn science from Sean's mother, Dr. Rafferty, and her co-worker Dr. Bergs. Also in the neighborhood of Boxwood Terrace is Mitchell, a wannabe-detective loner kid who regularly spies on Jet.

## Cast

### **Main Characters**

* Jet Propulsion, the star of the show and an alien from Bortron 7. He is the leader of his group, and is eager to learn about Earth, although his tendencies to act before he thinks get him into some scrapes every now and then. He must keep his alien identity a secret or else he could become a celebrity.
* Sean Rafferty, one of Jet's best friends. He is a big fan of science, and prefers to do things the old-fashioned way. He often gets dragged into space against his will by the other characters, and more often than not, serves as the voice of reason.
* Sydney Skelley, another one of Jet's best friends. She is a science-fiction geek and adores the *Commander Cressida* franchise. She's an ambitious go-getter and has a very kind personality. Her tendencies to think on the creative side instead of on the logical side often clash with Sean's ideals, but otherwise they get along fine.
* Mindy Melendez, another one of Jet's best friends. She is 5 Mindy Turns Five which means she can go into space with the other kids yet. She is very curious about science and her questions are often what moves the episodes along. She can also be quite sassy and has no problem with pointing out the shortcomings of others.
* Sunspot Propulsion, Jet's Bortronian pet, and a kind of dog-bunny-raccoon-cat-kangaroo hybrid. He is very helpful, loyal to the other kids, and can pull objects out of thin air. He often serves as a deus ex machina and plays many instruments.
* Celery Propulsion, Jet's mother. She often takes the kids into outer space, and is always happy to do so. She is very knowledgable about space.
* Carrot Propulsion, Jet's father. He prefers to stay home instead of go to space, although he does go into space from time to time. He has a tendency to cook weird foods. He can be quite silly, but he sometimes provides good advice for the kids.
* Face 9000, a computer. He can be summoned at any time, and is always happy to answer the kids' science questions. Towards the end of the first half of the season, he gets an upgrade.

### **Recurring Characters**

* Dr. Rafferty, Sean's mother. She is one of the smartest scientists at the Deep Space Array, and is also very knowledgable in regards to science.
* Dr. Bergs, Dr. Rafferty's co-worker, and another scientist at the DSA. He has a love of caffeine and pastries, but often provides useful information for the kids.
* Jet 2, Jet's robot clone who has been used for a number of functions.
* Beep and Boop, twin rover sisters. Beep lives at the DSA, while Boop lives on Mars.
* Mitchell Peterson, the other kid who lives in the main cul-de-sac. He is often seen spying on the other kids, and wants to find out if the Propulsions are aliens. He has a tendency to act rudely, but it's only to hide his insecurities about being a loner. Eventually, the other kids accept him as their friend.
* Cody, Mitchell's mutt and accomplice.
* Mr. Peterson, Mitchell's father. He is often the judge/referee of competitions around Boxwood Terrace, and is the self-appointed safety officer for the neighborhood. He has a tendency to act snobbishly, and often clashes with Carrot.
* Dr. Melendez, Mindy's overprotective mother, who is seen, but often heard calling to her. She is Dr. Rafferty and Bergs' boss.
* Uncle Zucchini, Jet's uncle. He is Celery's brother, and can be dimwitted at times. He is a Bortronian garbageman.
* Moonbeam, Uncle Zucchini's pet, and Sunspot's counterpart.

### **Minor Characters**

* Spinach, Celery's cousin who was heard talking to her in *Sunspot and the Great Red Spot*
* Zerk, Jet's cousin, who is heard talking to Jet over the wristphone in two episodes. Is a cheater and a braggart.
* Dr. Skelley, Sydney's mother, introduced in the season 1 finale. She is a robotics engineer, and a fan of *Commander Cressida* franchise.
* Face 9001, Face's younger brother. He resembles Face, but he is orange. He likes to be cocky and argue with his brother. Only appeared in *A Kid's Guide to Mars*.
* Lillian, Mindy's friend. She likes to play with dolls and is a girly girl. She appeared in *The Grandest Canyon*, and makes two cameos afterwards.

## Songs

1. Takeoff!
2. Solar System Song
3. Three-Part Bortronian Meal
4. The Scientific Method
5. Try Again
6. How Come the Moon Has Craters?
7. Commander Cressida Theme Song
8. Let's Fly Our Little Saucer to the Moon
9. Night of a Bazillion Stars
10. My Name is Mindy
11. Beep's a Rovin' Superstar!
12. The Milky Way
13. What Goes Up
14. Real Bortronian Deal
15. Programming Ditty
16. So Many Moons
17. Which Moon is Best?
18. Intergalactic Travel Writers
19. Venus!
20. Tiny Blue Dot
21. Bortronian is What I Am!
22. My Name is Jet
23. Bortronian is What I Am! (Weather!)
24. Dear Little Frozen Pluto
25. A Star is Born
26. Lone Star!
27. I'm Not Afraid of New Ideas
28. A Scientific Town
29. Lone Star! (Reprise)
30. Neptune Kind of Day
31. Earthday Birthday
32. You're Never Too Big For a Lullaby
33. Dear Santa, From Little Billy
34. Mindy's Toy-Building Ditty
35. Solar System Saucer-Sleigh
36. The Spirit of Christmas

## Trivia

* The first episodes of the season were released on the PBS Kids website and app as a sneak peek in January of 2016.
* How Come the Moon Has Craters, Backyard Moon Base, How Come the Moon Changes Shape?, and Night of a Bazillion Stars were broadcasted together as a one-hour premiere event on February 15, 2016, although A Kid's Guide to Mars / Jet 2 was the show's official "premiere" as a standalone episode.
* Many episodes of the show were aired out of production order. For example, the ninth episode was the first episode to premiere, and not the actual first episode.
* The first 7 aired episodes are in the show's first volume on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
* The next episodes that aired in February and March of 2016 are in the show's second volume on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
* The episodes that premiered in both April and August of 2016 are in the show's third volume on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
* The episodes that premiered in June of 2017, as well as Total Eclipse of the Sunspot / Sean's Year in Space, are in the show's fourth volume on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
* 3/4 of the episodes that premiered in December 2016, Sean's Neptune Tune / Earthday Birthday, and Castaway Carrot / Jet Can't Sleep are available in the show's fifth volume.
* Jet's First Halloween is available in a volume with Halloween-themed episodes of other PBS Kids Shows.
* Not a Sound / Mindy in Space, Holidays in Boxwood Terrace, From Pluto With Love / A Star is Born, and A Hammer and a Feather / Commander Mom are available in the show's sixth volume, along with the first aired episode of season 2, *Mindy Turns Five*.
* Diggin' Earth and Mindy's Mystery are the only episodes of season 1 that are not available to watch on any digital service.
* On Amazon, the first two volumes are available to watch with Prime, but the other four volumes require you to subscribe to PBS Kids on Amazon.
* 29 episodes aired in 2016, 9 episodes premiered in 2017, and 2 episodes premiered in 2018.
* According to a podcast with the executive producer of the show, Dete Meserve, production of the show started in August of 2014 and ended in January of 2016. PBS picked it up in May of 2015.
* 17 of the first 20 songs are on the Solar System Songs soundtrack album alongside the theme song, and 3 instrumental songs.
* Jet and Sunspot were the only characters to appear in every episode.
* The first 15 episodes (minus Jet 2, Visit to Mom's Office, Sunspot's Night Out, and A Visit to the Planetarium) were animated by Hot and Sour Animation and FX, Inc. Starting with Solar System Bake-Off!, the rest of the season is animated by Digitales Studios. second season is animated by Giant Wheel Productions, Studio Vsync, Enchanting Studio Limited, and Visual Gate Studios.
* Whereas most dubs of this season dubbed all the segments, the Finnish and Norwegian dubs only dubbed the first 52 episodes.
	+ The Cantonese dub began with second season and completely skipped dubbing **first season**.