One should never try to play God. One should leave all things of nature alone and let them evolve for themselves. Any attempt to speed up this process to bend them to their own control will result in a catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions...and it can cause a lot of trouble. It's too bad Elroy Jetson didn't consider this when he set to work on his latest invention: Evolutia. An apparatus that will advance one's mind and body ahead to any set point in history. Oh, would he ace that science test at school tomorrow or what?! All he needed was a dumb, gullible guinea pig to test it out on, but Judy and Rosie said no, so Elroy had to use a plant. Turning it into that thing from Little Shop of Horrors proves his invention to be a success. Unfortunately, Astro just happens to get in the way of the experiment, the apparatus helmet accidentally lands on his head, Elroy accidentally stumbles into his machine, Evolutia sends a few shock-waves Astro's way then self destructs. Astro appears to be no worse for the wear, and then George comes home. Mr. Spacely happens to call him in the middle of a badmouthing session to tell him of an overly complicated problem with a machine that makes sprocket cookies...don't think I'd want to eat one of those. Spacely lays out the problem in scientific jargon and expects George to help him solve it. A helpful suggestion is given out of nowhere and, though the speaker sounded nothing like Elroy, everybody still gets mad at him for interfering. No, it wasn't the boy genius, it was the family's new dog genius! Astro's IQ has been well advanced to 4,273 points. Jumpin' Jupiter! He's got a swelled up head, which is a side effect of brain enlargement. He does what most newly-created super geniuses do: shows off his super smarts by solving every math equation in the book and giving Rosie an uber tune-up. How much would you pay? George takes Astro to Spacely's to solve the problem, and the mutt has no problem making his master look like a fool in front of his boss, by refusing to reveal himself. Astro's reasoning being that a pea-brain like Spacely could not comprehend a genius dog. He fixes the problem easily, Mr. Spacely promises a raise and a fairly decent promotion...except he's suddenly become allergic to dogs and orders Astro out of the building. With his dog genius gone, George recreates the previous problem with the assembly line, and is, of course, fired. Yeah, that hasn't gotten old yet.
Well, George may be down on his luck, but Astro had never been higher. Solving a Rubix's cube in seconds. He and George are then introduced to the world's first unbeatable chess computer, which George actually dethrones thanks to Astro's advice. For the third round, he bet it all: his apartment, small bank account, his George Jetson suit, this one was for all the marbles...and wouldn't you know the salesman makes Astro go outside. He tries to help George through the window, but naturally he's spotted and taken away by the dog catcher, and surprise, surprise, George loses...everything. All is not lost, however. A conveniently placed ad for a $1,000,000 jackpot on Brain Busters shines a light of hope, and they coax Astro, having escaped from the pound, to be a contestant. Or rather, George be the contestant and Astro give him the answers. They manage to get up to $750,000 before the effects of Evolutia miraculously wear off and Astro is back to his old, dumb self again. Another poorly placed wager costs them their winnings and they go home empty handed. But in the end, it all worked out. Spacely's sprocket cookies proved to be a hit with dogs, so he hires George to run the cookie division and buys his apartment back for him so all is well.
I personally didn't find this episode to be that enjoyable. It's not as bad as some others they've made, but this one just felt really shallow and very dry. The story is standard and it's predictable, nothing exciting really happens. Also, since when is Mr. Spacely allergic to dogs? He was just fine around Astro in "Astro's Top Secret." Plus, doesn't he have a dog of his own? Seen in "Elroy's TV Show" and "Astro's Big Moment." I realize continuity was not first on H-B's list and creative license is often essential, but geez, takes notes or something. Anyway, "ASTROnomical IQ" is by no means an astronomical episode. It's not funny. It's not clever. It's horribly written, like they just didn't care. It sucks. Better luck next time.
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