Jay Jay the Jet Plane

Jay Jay's debut model (1994) as seen on the pilot episode: Jay Jay's First Flight.

In late 1994, a short live-action series was produced at AMS Production Company in Dallas, Texas, with real model plane characters, and handcrafted human characters; they had the same personalities as in the later series. This original series was narrated similarly to the first eleven seasons of Thomas & Friends or Theodore Tugboat.[2] Three videos were released: Jay Jay's First Flight in December 1994, Old Oscar Leads the Parade in February 1995, and Tracy's Handy Hideout in October 1996. This original series was narrated by and features the voices of John William Galt. These three were known as the "pilot series".

On November 2, 1998, the CGI-animated/live-action series premiered on The Learning Channel as part of the Ready Set Learn block. Debi Derryberry took on the role of Jay Jay after Bergman's death in 1999, with no new characters voiced by her. The show was close captioned by the National Captioning Institute with the old close caption credit logo when seen on the Learning Channel back then. The Learning Channel pulled the series on March 14, 2000. On June 11, 2001, all episodes began broadcasting on PBS Kids; the end credits changed, and additional episodes were created from 2001–2005. VHS and DVD editions were released by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment through 2003 as part of their "Columbia TriStar Family Fun" collection. Additional distribution was added with Tommy Nelson, the children's division of book publisher Thomas Nelson, although the series is not overtly "Christian". Voice actress Mary Kay Bergman provided the original voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin Evan. After her death, Debi Derryberry and Donna Cherry replaced her.

In 2005, new episodes were produced featuring additional characters, including the red Latina plane Lina. Each episode begins featuring a Jay Jay's Mysteries segment in which Jay Jay and Lina explore such things that may be mysteries to the intended age group, such as how planes fly, and how the five senses are used. The mysteries segment is followed by a story that comes from the original episodes of the series, so in effect, the new series repackages previously broadcast content, Broadcast Television on the Smile of a Child.

The series was produced by Modern Cartoons in Oxnard, California, United States. Unlike Thomas & Friends, this series used a variety of animation techniques:[3]

• The backgrounds were miniature sets (usually built on two 4 by 8 feet (1,200 mm × 2,400 mm) sheets of plywood).
• The humans, including Brenda Blue, are live action people and shot in front of a greenscreen.
• The planes were computer models created in Maya and a proprietary software.
• The movement of the planes was recorded by playing out the scene with wood models equipped with magnetic position sensors. The planes had a switch to aid landing and taxiing, due to some minor fluctuations in the magnetic positioning data.
• The planes' faces and lip synching were done by face tracking, a technique where reflective spots are put on a voice actor's face. The voice track is digitally recorded along with the spot data. Then the face is rendered using a form of parametric animation.
• Head movement and other effects were done by joysticks.

The complex mathematical and CGI issues were solved by Frank Ford Little, PhD.

A number of proprietary software systems were used:

• Data/audio recording and smoothing were done on a Windows machine.
• Daily cuts were done on "Compaq Alpha" computers running a 64-bit version of Windows NT 4.0.

The planes and ground vehicles are CGI characters, while the humans are live-action actors.

Relationship words for the airplane characters refer to being in loco parentis for purposes of upbringing, and education, not to biological parenthood. The story says that (some of) the airplane characters were made in factories.

Some of the stories describe characters as doing actions off-screen that would need foldaway arms (e.g. Big Jake digging holes), but those arms are never seen on-screen.

• Tarrytown is in a hilly area with enough rain to keep the land green, and frost and snow sometimes in the winter; forested mountains and a desert are nearby.
• Tarrytown Airport is where Jay Jay and his friends live, and Brenda Blue works. It is also run by a small firm called E.Z. Airlines.
  • Main Hangar
  • Kids' Hangar
  • Revvin' Evan's Firehouse
  • Herky's Hangar
  • Observation Tower
  • Old Oscar's Barn
• Tarrytown National Park
• Smiling Meadow
• Sandy Landing has a waterfront area.
• Pangabula Island
• Tarrytown Quarry
• Sunshine Desert
• Tippy Toppy Peak
• Frosty Pines
• Whistlin' Pines
• Echo Canyon
• Cherry Tree Lake
• Crystal Cave
• Lightning Bug Lake
• Michael O'Tarry School
• Andy's Donut Shop
• Farmer Dale's Ranch

Sometimes, the planes taxi on the town streets.

Common Sense Media gave the series a four out of five stars, saying, "Parents need to know that this series offers young fans life lessons such as valuing friends, overcoming shyness, and learning to like yourself. Kids will enjoy the often funny antics of 6-year-old Jay Jay and his friends. Don't be surprised if you catch your preschooler singing along with the show's simple songs."[4]

• Jay Jay the Jet Plane at IMDb