Best and Worst Super Hero Shows

[The Voice of Reason]

Worst
Captain Nice
Electra Woman and Dyna (sp)Girl
Isis
Smallville
Superboy (circa 1980s)
The Green Hornet
Batman
Shazam

Best
The Adventures of Superman (First two seasons in Black & White)
Lois & Clark ( First season only)
Wonder Woman
The Greatest American Hero

I didn't rate The Flash only because it was on just one season.

 

[Braves2005]

Best:

Six Million Dollar Man
Bionic Woman (the original with Lindsay Wagner)
Wonder Woman
Knight Rider (the original)
Adventures Of Superman
The Incredible Hulk
Greatest American Hero
Batman (the original with Adam West)

Worst:

Bionic Woman (the 2007-2008 version)
Lois And Clark
Knight Rider (the new version)

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Good, bad or indifferent, both Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice were unique
in that they followed each other on the air*, although on different networks,
were second season replacements, and began and ended their runs on the
same dates.

January 9, 1967 to August 28, 1967.
Mr. Terrific--CBS, Monday at 8/7 Central.
Captain Nice--NBC, Monday at 8:30/7:30 Central.

*: Not necessarily so in the Mountain time zone.

 

[azumanga]

Good, bad or indifferent, both Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice were unique
in that they followed each other on the air, although on different networks,
were second season replacements, and began and ended their runs on the
same dates.

Furthermore, both shows had the same premise -- a young man, still living with his parents, achieves super powers by taking a special pill. Both also wear costumes designed by their mothers.

 

[WMC2006]

Worst
Isis
Shazam

As cheesy as those two shows were, I watched them every Saturday and loved them. I put them in the BEST category along with:

-Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter)
-Batman (Adam West/Burt Ward)
-Greatest American Hero (along with the theme song)
-Underdog
-Six Million Dollar Man
-Bionic Woman
-everyone in the Justice League of America
-And I can't recall if they had their own show (cartoon) or were part of someone else's show but who could ever forget The Wonder Twins ("Form of a giant wave." "Shape of an old lady with a bad eye condition.")

 

[azumanga]

-And I can't recall if they had their own show (cartoon) or were part of someone else's show but who could ever forget The Wonder Twins ("Form of a giant wave." "Shape of an old lady with a bad eye condition.")

They were members of the "Superfriends" in the late-1970s.

 

[landtuna]

The original Batman (60's TV version) seemed much more a parody or comedy than a "super hero" show. The original comic book series of the 30's and 40's was totally different.

That said, I put super hero shows into the same box as horror/slasher movies and flush 'em all.

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

The Best:

Space Ghost
The Herculoids
Birdman
Samson and Goliath
2 Batman series (1960s live action sitcom and 1990s animated drama)
Dynomutt, Dog Wonder ("no problem, BF...")
Heroes (largely because of the Asian guy - no thanks to the cheerslut with the tramp stamp on her back)

The Worst:

Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor
Superfriends (it started to get good in 1985 - way too late)
Shazam! (live action Filmation series)
Shazzan! (animated Hanna-Barbera series)
The Secrets Of Isis
The Six Million Dollar Man

 

[kirkiefan]

Best (and most blissfully campy):

The Adventures of Superman
Batman
Batfink (animated cartoon produced by Hal Seger,producer of "Milton The Monster" in response to the popularity of the Batman series)
Ultraman (SHEW-WATTZ!!!)
Fantastic Four (H-B animated series)
Spider Man (Filmation animated series)
Wonder Woman
Lois and Clark


Worst (and just plain stupid):

The Greatest American Hero (loved the theme song by Joey Scarbury though)
Ghostbusters (the animated series produced by Filmation...not (The Real)Ghostbusters)
The Mighty Hercules (animated series)
The A Team
Transformers (nothing more than a half hour commercial by Hasbro)
Dragon Ball Z (Curly Larry and Moe vs. monsters on steroids...nyuk,nyuk,nyrk.....pwwwwaaaaahhhh!)
The Three Robonic Stooges (H-B animated series...the original stooges would have turned in their graves after being abhorred by three dysfunctional C-3POs)

 

[TexasTom]

Spider Man (Filmation animated series)

Not sure what you're referring to here -- is this the series from the early eighties? The original Spider-Man cartoons from the sixties were not a Filmation production.

 

[azumanga]

Spider Man (Filmation animated series)

Not sure what you're referring to here -- is this the series from the early eighties? The original Spider-Man cartoons from the sixties were not a Filmation production.

As I recalled, Steve Bakshi produced the 1960s version, while Marvel Productions (the former DePatie-Freleng) produced the 1980s version.

 

[ixnay]

Kirkiefan, TMH aired on a Toronto station as recently as October 1987, as I discovered while channel surfing one morning while on vacation there that month. I remember thinking, "Yes, it's comforting to know that somewhere in North Amer. someone still airs 'The Mighty Hercules'!"

In the '70s Herk aired on now-dark WKBS-48 Phila. (COL Burlington, NJ). In that era I actually heard grade school kids sing the theme* with the line "with the strength of ten... Ty-D-Bol men... ) ;D. FWIW.

*Sung on the show by a pre-pre-pre "I Can See Clearly Now" Johnny Nash (unless it was a different guy by that name, which I doubt. )

ixnay

 

[TexasTom]

Spider Man (Filmation animated series)

Not sure what you're referring to here -- is this the series from the early eighties? The original Spider-Man cartoons from the sixties were not a Filmation production.

As I recalled, Steve Bakshi produced the 1960s version, while Marvel Productions (the former DePatie-Freleng) produced the 1980s version.

Sort of -- Ralph (not Steve) Bakshi produced the second and third seasons of the sixties version, but the first season was produced by a Canadian company, Grantray-Lawrence Productions. Bakshi took over after Grantray-Lawrence went bankrupt.

 

[ixnay]

Spider Man (Filmation animated series)

Not sure what you're referring to here -- is this the series from the early eighties? The original Spider-Man cartoons from the sixties were not a Filmation production.

As I recalled, Steve Bakshi produced the 1960s version, while Marvel Productions (the former DePatie-Freleng) produced the 1980s version.

Sort of -- Ralph (not Steve) Bakshi produced the second and third seasons of the sixties version, but the first season was produced by a Canadian company, Grantray-Lawrence Productions. Bakshi took over after Grantray-Lawrence went bankrupt.

IIRC the Grantray-Lawrence/Bakshi version of Spidey (my favorite animated version) ran in first run on ABC Saturday mornings, as did, and in the same era as, the Hanna-Barbera version of Fantastic Four. I watched both as a 7 year old on WFIL-6 Philadelphia (before it became WPVI). It was the first time I'd heard of the Four, the webslinger, or Marvel Comics.

Later, the G-L/Bakshi version turned up in reruns on WPHL-17 Phila.

Thanks TexasTom, for reminding me of G-L, hand in producing Spidey. I'd forgotten about them, as I'd always associated that version of S-M with Bakshi. WPHL's airings included the G-L and Bakshi credits in the appropriate seasons.

ixnay

 

[nightfly61]

Best:
6 Million $ Man
Bionic Woman
Wonder Woman
Greatest American Hero
Captain Caveman
Lois & Clark
Dyno Mutt & Blue Falcon
Shazam!
KIT on Knight Rider
Underdog
Hercules the Legendary Journeys
Batman(Adam & Burt)
Xena
G-Force
Inspector Gadget(cartoon only)




Worst:
Hulk(any & all of them)
Kung Fu
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :
ThunderCats
Power Rangers

 

[azumanga]

Worst:
Kung Fu

In my opinion, "Kung Fu" was a martial arts program set in the American West. And Caine, despite having various moves to repel villians, had no super powers. Therefore, I wouldn't even considered "Kung Fu" to be in the same league as Superman or Spiderman.

 

[nightfly61]

Worst:
Kung Fu

In my opinion, "Kung Fu" was a martial arts program set in the American West. And Caine, despite having various moves to repel villians, had no super powers. Therefore, I wouldn't even considered "Kung Fu" to be in the same league as Superman or Spiderman.

fine then...
Honk Kong Phooey
...more worst:
Hancock
Aqua Man
Superboy
any Heroes :

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Spider Man (Filmation animated series)

Not sure what you're referring to here -- is this the series from the early eighties? The original Spider-Man cartoons from the sixties were not a Filmation production.

I can see one reason why Texas Tom would refer to Spider-Man as being by Filmation: Spidey's background music was by the late Ray Ellis (who just passed within the last year), who hopped over to Filmation when GrantRay-Lawrence went belly up. GrantRay-Lawrence was headed by Grant Simmons, who went to Friz Freleng during his last short years; Ray Patterson, who wound up at H-B working all the way up from Gulliver animator to animation VP in the late 80s; and Robert Lawrence, who passed on this decade. While Bakshi kept most of the Ellis music cues (IIRC, Ellis was credited all 3 years of Spidey), he brought Winston Sharples over from Paramount's ashes to work the 68-70 Spidey episodes. As for Ellis, he was rarely credited under his own name at Filmation during his 15 years there before hopping over to game show producer Reg Grundy in '83 (Sale Of The Century and Scrabble). Ellis usually was credited as Yvette Blais - Ellis' wife - and Jeff Michael - Filmation producer Norm Prescott's sons - as for Prescott, he was a Boston DJ at 'BZ back in the day, but of course that's old news to everyone at radio-info.com.

 

[ixnay]

After leaving Paramount but before joining Bakshi, didn't Win Sharples write scores for Hal Seeger's toons (Milton the Monster, Fearless Fly, etc.)? I Wikied before posting this but Sharples doesn't leave ANY trail there.

ixnay

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

After leaving Paramount but before joining Bakshi, didn't Win Sharples write scores for Hal Seeger's toons (Milton the Monster, Fearless Fly, etc.)? I Wikied before posting this but Sharples doesn't leave ANY trail there.

ixnay

Yes. Actually Sharples stayed at Paramount until the bitter end (1967) but did lots of bg (background) music for various shows on the side during the early to mid 1960s, including "Milton," "Batfink" (also by Hal Seeger), "Underdog," "Tennessee Tuxedo" (old Para stock bg music 1st yr, original bg music from 64 on), "King Leonardo" (all Total Television - named after sponsor General Mills' cereal), "The Marvel Superheroes" in 66 (much of which showed up on Spidey from 68-70) and "The Mighty Hercules," which was punctuated with the obvious Para sfx previously heard on Popeye, Casper, etc. - just listen to the theme song on You Tube, and you'll know what I mean.