"Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show - The Complete Series" DVD Talkback

[Kolbar]

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/graphics/news3/SuperFriendsLegendary.jpg

When sinister forces like Darkseid, Lex Luther, Brainiac and Mr. Mxyzptlk scheme to dominate the galaxy, it's up to the Super Friends to show them the light! Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Superman and new hero Firestorm risk it all to defeat evil and preserve peace throughout the cosmos. Featuring the voices of Adam West as Batman and Casey Kasem as Robin, this sensational TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera showcases favorite DC Comics heroes in adventures that meld galactic dangers, insidious villains and larger-than-life predicaments in a must-own two-disc collector's compilation!

Special Features

"Evolution: New Heroes, Viler Villains, and Ethnic Additions" - How Super Friends Prefigured the Era of Cultural Diversity in Animation
"The Super Powers Collection" - The Effect of the Toy Industry on the Super Friends
Expert Commentaries on 5 Key EpisodesComments?

[Tobias]

The good news: They managed to keep the openings intact, complete with the previews of the episode.

The bad news: They literally did split the shows up to make it look like 16 episodes. So, after 'Bride of Darkseid, Part 1' it goes back to the episode menu.

There are commentaries on five episodes:

- No Honor Among Thieves
- The Wrath of Brainiac
- The Mask of Mystery
- Case of the Dreadful Dolls
- The Royal Ruse

I would have liked commentary on 'Bride of Darkseid'

[Mister Intensity]

How were the commentaries, any interesting tidbits?

Mister Intensity

[Kolbar]

How were the commentaries, any interesting tidbits?

Mister IntensityEach one features DC Comics writer and historian Mark Waid as well as the respective writer for that episode. All of them were good although I was a bit pissed at John Semper during his for his continuous bashing of Hanna-Barbera's budgetary constraints. Mark Waid is always cheerful and really seems to know a lot of Superfriends and DC Comics history.

The Wrath of Brainiac - Glen Leopold and Mark Waid
No Honor Among Thieves - John Semper and Mark Waid
The Mask of Mystery - Glen Leopold and Mark Waid
The Case of the Dreadful Dolls - Rich Fogel and Mark Waid
The Royal Ruse - Rich Fogel and Mark Waid

[Mister Intensity]

Sounds like the extras for this set are much better than the extras for the two previous Superfriends set, although that wouldn't take much.

Mister Intensity

[Robin2099]

Man they should of got Geof Johns back so him and Waid could do commentary together like on the first release. Oh well I have it on order from deepdiscount since it's $23.99 everywhere around me.

[Tobias]

It was interesting to hear about some of the things that almost made it into the show, like how Batman and Robin were originally written into 'No Honor Among Thieves' before someone realized that a powerless Batman and Robin... are still Batman and Robin.

[Mister Intensity]

Man they should of got Geof Johns back so him and Waid could do commentary together like on the first release. Oh well I have it on order from deepdiscount since it's $23.99 everywhere around me.

I didn't think that Johns added that much to the Challenge commentary. It seemed like Waid knew what he was talking about while Johns agreed with him. Besides, I rather learn more about the show in the commentary rather than hear a bunch of guys who had nothing to do with the show make smarky remarks; I could do that myself.

I'm curious, what five segments would you have commentary for?

Mister Intensity

[Tobias]

I'd have commentary for:

- Bride of Darkseid Pts 1 & 2
- Mxylplk & The Magic Lamp
- The Wrath of Brainiac (which we got anyway)
- A Reflection in Crime (hopefully having them touch on why Flash and Aquaman weren't written in the season despite being in the opening)

[DarkLantern]

It was interesting to hear about some of the things that almost made it into the show, like how Batman and Robin were originally written into 'No Honor Among Thieves' before someone realized that a powerless Batman and Robin... are still Batman and Robin.

Too bad they didn't think of that when they wrote "Revenge on Gorilla City," "Invasion of the Gleeks," or other episodes which imply that Batman and Robin are useless without their utility belts.

Say, did anybody comment on the irony that, ever since Adam West took over the role, Batman and Robin stopped using the really campy bat-gadgets on the show?

DL

[Toddman]

How were the commentaries, any interesting tidbits?

Mister Intensity


Yeah. After listening to the commentary for "The Royal Ruse", somebody needs to ask Mark Waid what the heck a "half-son" is.

I know what a "half-brother" and "half-sister" are, but I'm pretty sure when you're a dad, you're a dad 100% all the way.



T:pddman

[Tobias]

I like how Mark Waid poked fun at El Dorado in 'The Case of the Dreadful Dolls'. And he pointed out Flash and Aquaman only appearing in the opening, but never WHY they didn't appear in any actual episodes. I wanted to know why Flash didn't show up when the Superfriends were fighting Mirror Master.

[Helena Wayne]

I like how Mark Waid poked fun at El Dorado in 'The Case of the Dreadful Dolls'. And he pointed out Flash and Aquaman only appearing in the opening, but never WHY they didn't appear in any actual episodes. I wanted to know why Flash didn't show up when the Superfriends were fighting Mirror Master.

Well, it *could* be that with the then current developments for both characters (The Flash was planned to be killed in the Crisis since his title was being cancelled, while Aquaman was debuting in a 4 issue mini-series in a blue, and in my opinion most preferred, costume), Hanna Barbera and DC were aware of these upcoming changes and didn't want what was occurring in the current day cartoons to contradict that. I know many more changes came about, like Wonder Woman being killed and then having a revamp, but that might have been decided until after the cartoons were produced.

This is just speculation on my part, mind you. I find it curious that the timing of how the show evolved and eventually disappeared seemed to parallel the major changes DC was making during Crisis, changes that, in part, were made ahead of time (giving the animators time to plan) and some which were made as the project went along.

So it *might* explain how the Flash was omitted while the Mirror Master wasn't. I suspect Mirror Master's demise in Crisis wasn't planned back in 1983/84 but was shoe-horned probably at the last minute.

Again, this is just speculation on my part...


Ed

[DarkKnight]

i'm really enjoying this set so far. it really kind of reminds me of Challenge but in smaller doses, i guess because of all the ethnical characters. i think the superfriends are fun to watch no matter what anyways tho..

[STARTOUNZ]

I've haven't gotten the DVD set yet, but I've seen the episode list and other than the "Bride of Darkseid" 2-parter, they're completely out of sequence from when they originally aired as well as how they're paired on Boomerang. And at least a couple of titles are incorrect although they might have been the working titles before the official titles that were seen:


1 - The Bride Of Darkseid (Part I)
2 - The Bride Of Darkseid (Part II)
3 - The Case Of The Dreadful Dolls
4 - The Case Of The Shrinking Super Friends
5 - The Curator
6 - Darkseid's Golden Trap (Part I)
7 - Darkseid's Golden Trap (Part II)
8 - The Island Of The Dinasoids
9 - The Mask Of Mystery
10 - Mr. Mxyzptlk And The Magic Lamp
11 - No Honor Among Super-Thieves (draft title)
12 - Reflections In Crime
13 - The Royal Ruse
14 - Super Brat (draft title)
15 - The Wrath Of Brainiac
16 - The Village Of Lost Souls

They should be more in order like this:

The Bride of Darkseid Pts. I & II
The Wrath of Brainiac/Reflections in Crime
The Case of the Dreadful Dolls/The Royal Ruse
The Case of the Shrinking SuperFriends/The Mask of Mystery
No Honor Among Thieves (TV title)/Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp
The Village of Lost Souls/The Curator
The Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxyzptlk (TV title for Super Brat)
Darkseid's Golden Trap Pts. I & II


It's strange that this set doesn't have the episodes in the correct order considering the Challenge and SF 1978 were. But I guess since these series were primarily half-hour episodes, they had no choice but to have them in the correct order. Since LSPS are mainly 10-minute shorts, they could get away with mixing up the order.

[Tobias]

The DVD has them in this order:

- Bride of Darkseid Pt 1/Pt 2
- Wrath of Brainiac/Reflections in Crime
- No Honor Among Superthieves/Mr Mxzlptlk & The Magic Lamp
- The Case of the Shrinking Superfriends/The Mask of Mystery
- Darkseid's Golden Trap Pt 1/Pt 2
- Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxzlptlk
- The Case of the Dreadful Dolls/The Royal Ruse
- The Village of Lost Souls/The Curator

[DarkLantern]

And that is almost the original airing order on ABC TV on Saturday mornings in 1984 (at 6.00 am, no less).

The "Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxzlptlk" episode first premeired later the same morning (at a 10 am "special preview airing") as "The Case of the Shrinking Superfriends/The Mask of Mystery" on September 29, 1984. These episodes then aired again in the show's original 6 am slot the week after "The Village of Lost Souls/The Curator"

(Interestingly, the "preview intros" for the "Island of the Dinosoids" and "Village of Lost Souls" were erroneously switched in all of their ABC airings -- I trust the DVD corrected them?)

So here are the episodes in order of original airing:The Bride of Darkseid Part I & II (September 8, 1984)The Wrath of Brainiac/Reflections In Crime (September 15, 1984)No Honor Among Thieves/Mr. Mxyzptlk and the Magic Lamp (September 22, 1984)Case of the Shrinking Superfriends/The Mask of Mystery (September 29, 1984-6 am)
Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxyzptlk (September 29, 1984-10 am)Darkseid's Golden Trap Part I & II (October 6, 1984)Case of the Dreadful Dolls/The Royal Ruse (October 13, 1984)
Village of the Lost Souls/The Curator (October 20, 1984)

We were also treated to some "classic" SF episodes in this time slot before they re-ran the Legendary ones. Namely the 1983 shorts "Mxyzptlk's Revenge/Roller Coaster/Once Upon a Poltergeist" and "Krypton Syndrome/Invasion of the Space Dolls/Terror On the Titanic" (marking the first time these episodes aired in the US), as well as the 1979 episode "Universe of Evil" (the full version -- not the edited version aired in weekday syndication).

Too much info, I know...

DL

[A.Magik]

There seems to be an opening for October 21, 1984. I have a 1984 VHS of Saturday Morning Cartoons which had an hour of Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, the 1st half being a World's Greatest Superfriends episode (The Camelon one with Supes as the Black Knight) followed by S:tLSPS' "The Shrinking Superfriends/Mask of Mystery "episode. I can assume the latter episode was repeated shortly after its 6am premiere, maybe on that missing date?

And if anyone is interested, the contents of said tape are CBS Transformers/ABC Superfriends/CBS Muppet Babies/ABC Turbo Teen and Dragon's Lair/NBC Alvin and the Chipmunks/ABC Scooby Funnies/NBC Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends/ABC Afternoon Special

A.Magik

[Caswin]

Based on all the discussion about episode order... apart from introducing Darkseid in the first episode (the only episode I've seen at all recently), is there any particular order to the episodes chronologically?

[STARTOUNZ]

The DVD has them in this order:

- Bride of Darkseid Pt 1/Pt 2
- Wrath of Brainiac/Reflections in Crime
- No Honor Among Superthieves/Mr Mxzlptlk & The Magic Lamp
- The Case of the Shrinking Superfriends/The Mask of Mystery
- Darkseid's Golden Trap Pt 1/Pt 2
- Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxzlptlk
- The Case of the Dreadful Dolls/The Royal Ruse
- The Village of Lost Souls/The Curator

This definitely looks more like the correct order. I figured my order would be more accurate than the episode listing that was provided in the DVD preview articles.


The "Island of the Dinosoids/Uncle Mxzlptlk" episode first premeired later the same morning (at a 10 am "special preview airing") as "The Case of the Shrinking Superfriends/The Mask of Mystery" on September 29, 1984. These episodes then aired again in the show's original 6 am slot the week after "The Village of Lost Souls/The Curator"

(Interestingly, the "preview intros" for the "Island of the Dinosoids" and "Village of Lost Souls" were erroneously switched in all of their ABC airings -- I trust the DVD corrected them?)

It's doubtful a Saturday morning lineup back then would have first-run episodes starting at 6AM. Would it have been your local station pre-empting it from the previous week as a result of a major news report?

As for the latter, it looks like those previews were corrected since the ones for those particular episodes air correctly on Boomerang. The one preview that wasn't corrected though was for "The Village of Lost Souls" as prior to that episode, it shows preview clips from "No Honor Among Thieves". I'll see what happens when I get the DVD set.

[Mister Intensity]

I just bought my set today and watched the Special Features. They did provide some insight into what it was like to make a Saturday Morning Cartoon in the early 80's. Mark Waid was an entertaining interviewer, although as the resident comic book expert I was disappointed in some of his commentary, particularly in The Case of the Dreadful Dolls. Like many people know, it was originally a Toyman story but Mark Waid should have immediately picked up on the reason why the Toyman wasn't used, since the Superfriends version of Toyman was dead for many years at the time the show aired (he was already dead when Challenge aired too but that was a relatively more recent death as opposed to many years later). Other than that there was some insight to the making of cartoons in the md-80's. The first featurette was excellent and I hope the featurette in The Super Powers Team set is just as good. Too bad it doesn't seem like there's going to be any commentary for that set (I hope I'm wrong about that one). Imagine commentary for The Fear or The Death of Superman.

Mister Intensity

[Bones Justice]

Like many people know, it was originally a Toyman story but Mark Waid should have immediately picked up on the reason why the Toyman wasn't used, since the Superfriends version of Toyman was dead for many years at the time the show aired

Excuse my ignorance on the subject but...Toyman died on SuperFriends? I'm not disagreeing with you or anything. I doubt I've seen all of SuperFriends even. I just am surprised that anyone died on a show like that.

[Kolbar]

Excuse my ignorance on the subject but...Toyman died on SuperFriends? I'm not disagreeing with you or anything. I doubt I've seen all of SuperFriends even. I just am surprised that anyone died on a show like that.No, he means that the Toyman version from the comics had been dead for some time and they weren't allowed to use him because it would confuse viewers, or something. Kind of why they didn't let Justice League Unlimited use the likes of Blue Beetle and Firestorm.

[DarkLantern]

There seems to be an opening for October 21, 1984.
A.Magik

Oops. I mistyped, "Village of the Lost Souls/The Curator" premiered on October 20, 1984. (I fixed my original post.)

I have a 1984 VHS of Saturday Morning Cartoons which had an hour of Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, the 1st half being a World's Greatest Superfriends episode (The Camelon one with Supes as the Black Knight) followed by S:tLSPS' "The Shrinking Superfriends/Mask of Mystery "episode.
A.Magik

I do recall that they bumped the Legendary show to 6.30 and placed a "World's Greatest Superfriends" episode at 6 -- that sudden shift made me miss a Legendary rerun episode "Darkseid's Golden Trap" when I tried to timer record it (yes, they had VCRs back then -- they popped up like a toaster... back when I used to walk to school, uphill, both ways, in the snow...). Oh, and I missed that episode the first time around because I didn't yet purchase a VCR and the show was on at 6am...


And if anyone is interested, the contents of said tape are CBS Transformers/ABC Superfriends/CBS Muppet Babies/ABC Turbo Teen and Dragon's Lair/NBC Alvin and the Chipmunks/ABC Scooby Funnies/NBC Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends/ABC Afternoon Special

A.Magik

Oh my gawd... TurboTeen?! Don't get me started...


It's doubtful a Saturday morning lineup back then would have first-run episodes starting at 6AM. Would it have been your local station pre-empting it from the previous week as a result of a major news report?


Oh, they did. Back then, the only time you watched new cartoons was on Saturday morning, are there were only a handful of channels that would air them (mainly ABC, CBS, NBC -- PBS and TBS had news and movies). So their schedules were packed with toons and kid's programming from 6am-11.30am (at least Mountain and Central time, it may have been 7am to 12.30 Pacific and Eastern... yes, I was a midwest country bumpkin in my "youth").

I kinda felt sorry for shows that were relegated to the 6-7am time slot, like Superfriends, Popeye... I think Godzilla ended up there in later seasons... It seemed like the hour for shows the networks didn't have faith in (even though, back then, most kids you had to drag out of bed at 7 on school days seemed to be bright and chipper at 6 am on Saturday morning). I felt better when the Super Powers Team aired the following year in a 9.30 time slot.

DL

[Mister Intensity]

Different markets aired the shows at different times. There were some markets that started airing their shows at 6.

Mister Intensity

[Tobias]

Here we got shows from 7 to noon until daylight savings time kicked in, at which point the shows aired from 8 to 1 during through late fall/winter. In the hour before, we'd get syndicated cartoons/shows on some channels. I remember the ABC affiliate had Captain Planet when it premiered at 6:30, while NBC aired Peggy & The Vantastics and Time for Timothy. The WB afiiliate (long before WB came into being) had DIC's G.I. Joe, Darkstalkers, Creepy Crawlers, Mighty Max, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and others for it's lineup.

But getting back on topic, the only times ABC would air shows pre-7 am was when shows were held over from pre-emptions the previous week.

[A.J]

Does this set comes with spanish dubs or subs? :confused:

[batsy2]

i am planning on getting this set because i'm going to collect every dc comics cartoon ever made on dvd i have so far :

batman the animated series volume 1-4
superman the animated series volumes 1 and 2
batman beyond season 1
justice league season 1
justice league unlimited season 2
teen titans seasons 1 and 2
the batman season 1-3
the batman vs dracula

this dvd shall be an excellent edition to my dc collection:D

[Caswin]

Okay, I'll ask one more time and I'm done.Based on all the discussion about episode order... apart from introducing Darkseid in the first episode (the only episode I've seen at all recently), is there any particular order to the episodes chronologically?Anyone know? Please?

[Mister Intensity]

Here's some answers to some of the questions.

The only language on this disc is English. Other than the first episode all the episodes can be seen in any order. Continuity wasn't a big factor in early-80's Saturday Morning Cartoons. It was rare to even get any type of introductory episode at all. Before that season, Superfriends never had any type of introductory episode, any new members just appeared as if they have already been members for awhile. I do believe, though I don't know for sure, that the episodes on the DVD is production order rather than air date order.

I'll have some comments about the show itself after watching a few more episodes.

Mister Intensity

[Caswin]

Before that season, Superfriends never had any type of introductory episode, any new members just appeared as if they have already been members for awhile.Not quite, actually - Challenge of the Superfriends' first episode had the Legion of Doom making a dramatic one-by-one introduction to the audience.

*Continues to hold out for Galactic Guardians*

[Tobias]

*Continues to hold out for Galactic Guardians*

October 31st. It's being advertised as *10* episodes.

[Mister Intensity]

Not quite, actually - Challenge of the Superfriends' first episode had the Legion of Doom making a dramatic one-by-one introduction to the audience.

*Continues to hold out for Galactic Guardians*

They did say it was the first meeting of the Legion of Doom which was later contradicted by Superfriends Rest in Peace and History of Doom, which implied that the Legion been around for a couple of years (of course you could just place the Challenge episodes inbetween the other episodes).

Mister Intensity

[Caswin]

They did say it was the first meeting of the Legion of Doom which was later contradicted by Superfriends Rest in Peace and History of Doom, which implied that the Legion been around for a couple of years (of course you could just place the Challenge episodes inbetween the other episodes).*Watches the clip over on Seanbaby's page*

Huh. Well, that certainly is implied, especially when he mentions "our first act of villainy". Maybe that was the most recent incarnation of the Legion? It's not like the Superfriends had a very stable roster.

Or maybe trying to make sense of that show can only lead to madness. I was personally surprised to learn, recently, how well "History of Doom" fit as a series finale (although "The Final Challenge", "Superfriends Rest in Peace" and arguably "Doomsday" all seem made to fit the bill) - an apocalyptic final battle, a clip show, a look into the teams' pasts and a great final line. Guess the writers were putting in some kind of effort after all.
October 31st. It's being advertised as *10* episodes.Well... it had ten episodes, didn't it?

[Tobias]

Well... it had ten episodes, didn't it?

It had 8 episodes, but two of those were comprised of two 10 minute stories.

[DarkLantern]

Okay, I'll ask one more time and I'm done.

Originally Posted by Caswin http://forums.toonzone.net/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?p=2620418#post2620418)
Based on all the discussion about episode order... apart from introducing Darkseid in the first episode (the only episode I've seen at all recently), is there any particular order to the episodes chronologically?



Anyone know? Please?

Apart from the first episode, which introduces both Darkseid and Firestorm, BTW, the other episodes can pretty much go in any order, as there wasn't too much continuity established in the stories.

Same with the Super Powers Team. After the first episode that introduces Cyborg (and watch for the cameo of Sarah Simms), the other episodes could pretty much fall in any order.

I've usually used airdates to determine the "chronological" order of these shows, though I have a feeling the DVDs used production numbers.

DL

[Brainatra]

Skipping back a few to elaborate, the original comics' Toyman was Winslow Schott (sp?), who dressed up like an old-fashioned toymaker. In the early 70's a storyline had him leave the villain business and a new Toyman taking his place---this one lasted until the late 70s, when he was killed off by the original Toyman (who returned to active crime). It was presumably this "new" Toyman period that the Superfriends writers got their version of Toyman from...

[Antiyonder]

Skipping back a few to elaborate, the original comics' Toyman was Winslow Schott (sp?), who dressed up like an old-fashioned toymaker. In the early 70's a storyline had him leave the villain business and a new Toyman taking his place---this one lasted until the late 70s, when he was killed off by the original Toyman (who returned to active crime). It was presumably this "new" Toyman period that the Superfriends writers got their version of Toyman from...

From what I heard, COTS's Toyman was added to the show as a stand in for the Joker (who was already used for the Filmation Cartoon). Was his mentallity similar to either of the Toymen?

[Mister Intensity]

Apart from the first episode, which introduces both Darkseid and Firestorm, BTW, the other episodes can pretty much go in any order, as there wasn't too much continuity established in the stories.

Same with the Super Powers Team. After the first episode that introduces Cyborg (and watch for the cameo of Sarah Simms), the other episodes could pretty much fall in any order.

I've usually used airdates to determine the "chronological" order of these shows, though I have a feeling the DVDs used production numbers.

DL

If The Death of Superman is the last episode on The Super Powers Team DVD instead of Escape from Space City then it is an improvement.

Mister Intensity

[SF4Ever]

I've recently purchased Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show on DVD. Although there are only 8 half-hours of the show, there are 16 stories, including a pair of 2-parters. Aquaman, however, is missing from this 1984-85 series, but happens to be in the intro. Olan Soule, who was Batman for 11 years, took the role of Professor Martin Stein(he and Ron Raymond are Firestorm) as Adam West succeeded him as Batman(he's also Batman in Filmation's 1977 incarnation The New Adventures of Batman). I though the team-ups of the villains was quite interesting, especially as they couldn't co-exist in their diabolical plottings(and subsequent failures), namely either Darkseid and Braniac or Darkseid and Lex Luthor. Also intersting to see is very clever planning from the Superfriends in outsmarting the villains, especially when Eldorado holographically disguised Batman as Superman to trick Darkseid into thinking he exposed the Man of Steel to gold kryptonite, which would've permanently robbed Superman of his powers, but in reality, once the kryptonite dissolved, Eldorado lifted the disguise from Batman and Superman was safe. Now, since they're still selling Challenge of the Superfriends on DVD, I need to buy that, then if Warner Brothers can release the original Superfriends(1973), The All-New Superfriends(1977), The World's Greatest Superfriends(1979), The Superfriends shorts(1980, 1981 & 1983) and Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians(1985) on DVD and not necessarily in that order, I'll buy them, one set at a time. The Superfriends is a true classic cartoon with something for everyone, but most importantly, mainstream adventure.

[Caswin]

If The Death of Superman is the last episode on The Super Powers Team DVD instead of Escape from Space City then it is an improvement.I agree on this one. Between sketchy memories of it as a kid and having seen a garbled version of its ending on Youtube, it really does look every inch a series finale.

[Helena Wayne]

Mark Waid should have immediately picked up on the reason why the Toyman wasn't used, since the Superfriends version of Toyman was dead for many years at the time the show aired (he was already dead when Challenge aired too but that was a relatively more recent death as opposed to many years later).

Mister Intensity

I wonder if this is why they never used the Cheetah after Challenge (other than when the Legion of Doom reunites in "The Revenge of Doom"). She was one of the highlights in the Legion but by the time the new seasons aired, Priscilla Rich, who was the version of The Cheetah that was used in Challenge, was long dead and buried and was replaced by her niece, Debbie Domaine. It's too bad, for I would've loved to have seen some eps where she really let loose...


Ed

[Tobias]

You know what I just noticed? Wonder Woman never truly got a real focus episode until the final season. Of the big 4 (Supes, Bats, Aquaman and WW), Wonder Woman never really got any true focus outside of 'Secret Origins of the Superfriends', and even then she had to share the spolight with Superman and Green Lantern.

[Helena Wayne]

You know what I just noticed? Wonder Woman never truly got a real focus episode until the final season.

Yes, this is really surprising, especially given how popular her live action TV Show, starring Lynda Carter, was. But the cartoons seemed to be based more on the comics and her title was always in a state of disarray, especially during that time. She did have some good stories, but she was constantly re-invented and the one thing her title lacked was consistency. In fact, the only thing consistent about the title was inconsistency.

I suppose the cartoons didn't know which vision to base it from. Still, I would've loved an ep where she faces off of The Cheetah.


Ed

[Mister Intensity]

Yes, this is really surprising, especially given how popular her live action TV Show, starring Lynda Carter, was. But the cartoons seemed to be based more on the comics and her title was always in a state of disarray, especially during that time. She did have some good stories, but she was constantly re-invented and the one thing her title lacked was consistency. In fact, the only thing consistent about the title was inconsistency.

I suppose the cartoons didn't know which vision to base it from. Still, I would've loved an ep where she faces off of The Cheetah.


Ed

Wonder Woman is a hard character for a lot of people to write. Out of all the Superfriends, including Aquaman, her powers were the hardest for the writers to get a handle of. While Wonder Woman was used as a dasmel in distress too often in the Super Powers Show season, at least she exhibited her super human strength somewhat regularly that season.

I finished watching the DVD and I'll write some comments about the DVD some point this week.

Mister Intensity

[Silverstar]

Wonder Woman is a hard character for a lot of people to write. Out of all the Superfriends, including Aquaman, her powers were the hardest for the writers to get a handle of. While Wonder Woman was used as a damsel in distress too often in the Super Powers Show season, at least she exhibited her super human strength somewhat regularly that season.

Agreed. One thing that bugged about WW's portrayal in the Super Friends series prior to Super Powers was how they never showed Diana using her super strength; It's bad enough that Wonder Woman never flew on Super Friends (though I think chronologically, that was before she could fly), she relied way too much on that dang rope of hers. Her every other sentence was "I'll (fill in the blank) with my magic lasso!". I think Wondy displayed her strength once in Challenge, during the explanation of her origins in "Secret Origins of the Super Friends".

And yes, the writers did overdo Darkseid's being hot for Wonder Woman, but I'll give a nod to the Super Powers Team episodes, since they at least bothered to remember that Wonder Woman actually has powers. They could have at least had one other regular female Super Friend on the team, but that's been a beef of mine ever since Challenge. (And Jayna was at least still present on The Legendary Super Powers Show.)

[Tobias]

Rima and Hawkgirl were in a few of the SF shorts during the All New Superfriends Hour, but I don't think they had any more than 2 or 3 appearanances apiece.

Challenge could have added Hawkgirl, Atom, Rima, Plastic Man, or Green Arrow and made the roster even with the Legion of Doom's (13 against 13).

[Mister Intensity]

I enjoyed watching the DVD. While The Legendary Super Powers Show wasn't perfect, it was an entertaining way to spend a few hours. In some ways it holds up and in others it doesn't.

The plots are tighter than the plots of previous season. You get the sense that the writers at least wanted to have what's going on make sense within the context of the Superfriends rather than anything goes as long as it gets to the end of the story. There's at least somewhat of a consistancy to the powers of the characters, most of the time. For instance, there's more emphasis on the athleticism of Batman and Robin rather than their Batgadgets; with their Bat arsenal usually limited to Batropes and nothing more exotic than an Exploding Batarang. The most exotic Bat device to appear was an antigravity belt that was in definitely in the experimental stages. Another example is the depiction of Wonder Woman's superhuman strength. Although it could have been better utilized, at least it is clear that she is strong, rather than being a "woman with a magic lasso." Overall, you know exactly what powers each Superfriend has and how those powers function and they are often used effectively.

I also enjoyed the use of humor. It didn't try to be a straight action-adventure series with comic relief provided by bumbling teenage sidekicks and their goofy pet. Some of the situations the heroes got into weren't too serious and were a nice break from the overly serious to the point of parody, "we have to save the world," attitude that dominated earlier incarnations.

Of course, like earlier incarnations, the show does get overly repetitive when watching several episodes in one sitting. The formula is the bad guy unveils his latest plan to destroy the Superfriends; the villain wants up trapping the various Superfriends in the episode; the villain places the Superfriends in a trap; one Superfriend usually finds a way to rescue the others from the trap; the Superfriends foils the villain. While there some deviations that's usually the plot for each episode. A big reason for this structure is because there were major limitations on how to depict violence so instead of having a big battle the villain has a big trap.

Interestingly, this season is less "Superman-centric" than previous seasons, however, the Superfriend that usually saves the day is one of the minority Superfriends, Black Vulcan, Samuari, Apache Chief, and El Dorado. One of those Superfriends have at least two episodes where they save the day, at the cost of the other heroes, with the exception of Black Vulcan who didn't even have one episode and when he did appear he is on the sidelines. It's interesting that for all the focus on these heroes, the one Black hero did not get his spotlight. Also, the lineup of the team was Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, the Wonder Twins, Firestorm, and the aforementioned minority heroes. Despite being part of the first wave of the Super Powers figures, Aquaman, Flash and Hawkman did not appear at all and Green Lantern had a very small cameo. The toyline didn't have much influence on the show, it had a bigger influence on the following season but I'll talk about that when I review The Super Powers Team DVD.

Those are my main thoughts on the series. I have more to say but I may save that for later.

Mister Intensity

[DarkLantern]

I think Wondy displayed her strength once in Challenge, during the explanation of her origins in "Secret Origins of the Super Friends".


And here are a few other rare moments:

"The Power Pirate": pushes a huge bolder to plug a leaking dam (after getting knocked on her back during her first attempt...)

"Gulliver's Gigantic Goof": stops two runaway trains from colliding using her bare hands (granted that you ignore that weird "hand-waving" effect, she also used her rarely seen power of speed to overtake one of said trains); also restrains the relatively gigantic Gulliver (at least long enough to summon her jet).

"Will the World Collide?": various acts of strength are noted since Superman is weakened by an approaching "Kryptonite planet" (yeah, I'm scratching my head on that one too) to do them himself. You even hear Shannon Farnon utter the phrase, "This is a job for Wonder Woman."

"The Monster of Dr. Droid": briefly restrains the android monster (until it breaks a gas main that knocks her out).

"Cable Car Rescue": Wonder Woman tears a slab of rock off the side of a cliff (using her bare hands and a line later echoed by Susan Eisenberg in the Justice League pilot), lifts it to shield herself and the Atom from a rockslide, then positions it to be an "escape ramp" for the people trapped in the cable car.

There may be more, but those are the ones at the top of my head.

DL