MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

[Christopher]

More Superman tonight. "No Holds Barred" wasn't bad, allowing for a rather stereotyped "noble Eastern mystic" character played by a white actor. Not to mention that he was yet another example of the strange American tendency back in the '40s through the '60s or so to confuse Muslims and Hindus. Ram was portrayed as a "swami," which is a Hindu ascetic, and yet he was portrayed as believing in djinni, a bit of Muslim folklore. (See also Jonny Quest's Hadji, a stereotypical turbaned Hindu whose name is a Muslim honorific for one who's made the pilgrimage to Mecca.)

"The Deserted Village" was ultra-creepy, very effective stuff. Those shots of eerie the hazmat-suited figure trudging through clouds of poison gas and smashing windows were the most comic-booky thing I've seen so far in this show, and I mean that as a compliment. For once they get a villain with a really bizarre, dangerous, and visually interesting MO, complete with a full-body costume and mask, rather than just petty gangsters wearing suits and shooting guns. Too bad the payoff didn't work as well as the setup. Superman arrived just a minute or two after Clark supposedly went off to get the cores tested, yet he already knew the results. That should've been a dead giveaway to Lois that Clark was Superman -- except it doesn't work anyway, since it would've taken more than a few seconds for Superman to contact an expert and wait for them to test the samples.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Saw a Superman promo earlier tonight on Me-TV that asked a question I've always wondered about.

[From the series intro]
"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"

[Announcer]
What are they yelling about birds and planes for? They're pretty common!

 

[Christopher]

What are they yelling about birds and planes for? They're pretty common!

Yeah, I've wondered that myself. Why do they sound so excited? If they were like, "What? It's just a bird, or a plane," and the other guy/gal went "No, it's Superman!" then it would make sense. But instead they all sound equally amazed, and that's weird.

Of course, the real reason is that it was written for radio in order to convey in words that Superman was someone who could fly.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

The Classic TV channel MeTV has a line-up of Superhero and sci-fi shows that they show every Saturday evening. They include:
The Adventures of Superman (50's George Reeve series)
Batman (60's Adam West series)
Wonder Woman (70's Linda Carter series)
Star Trek TOS (Remastered)
Svengoolie (movies)
Lost in Space
The only things on there I haven't watched are TOS, since I watch it without commercials on Netflix, and Svengoolie.
I've tried a few episodes of LiS, but that is just to cheesy for me.
I have really enjoyed the three DC show though.
Anyone else watching this stuff?

One of the few things I don't get is MeTV but I caught Svengoolie at my parents and it seemed like classic horror host shenanigans. It was some Hammer vampire film and wasn't too bad. I'd probably watch Superman and Wonder Woman sometimes if I had it.

Lost In Space I liked as a kid but it has not aged so well.

I wish that I could get this channel with my antennas (I have one that can be placed against the window and one that can sit on the floor [it's a TERK]) but so far, I haven't been able to (and I live in an area that's supposed to pick up these channels quite well.) I suppose I'll have to get a outdoor antenna.

Agreed with the comments about Lost In Space-all I care about is the 1998 movie, which gave the characters more dimension and made having Dr. Smith be there make sense.

Wonder Woman hasn't aged well for me, at all: I'd like to see a TV show based on the current New 52 comic book.

 

[JD]

DC announced at NYCC that they are going to be doing a Wonder Woman '77 digital series, based on the Linda Carter series, to go along with the Batman '66 series based on the Adam West series they've already been doing. They even said they might do a crossover.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I got the first volume of Batman 66 and it wasn't as good as I hoped.

 

[Christopher]

Now if only Marvel would do Incredible Hulk '78 and Spider-Man '77.

 

[Greg Cox]

Doctor Strange '78 is probably a long shot, right?

But I could see DC maybe doing Superman '78, based on the Christopher Reeve movies.

 

[Christopher]

Doctor Strange '78 is probably a long shot, right?

About on a par with Captain America '79.

But I could see DC maybe doing Superman '78, based on the Christopher Reeve movies.

Hmm, yeah, that could happen.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Seems like Superman '55 would fit their pattern better.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ I was about to say. George Reeves, Adam West, and Lynda Carter.

Although I read the first volume of Batman 66 and it wasn't as good as I hoped.

 

[Christopher]

Seems like Superman '55 would fit their pattern better.

That might be cool. But what I'd really like is a comic based on the original radio series (which the Reeves TV series was initially a continuation/remake of). A lot of the radio stories were the same kind of gangster-fighting stories the TV show did, but it also had some crazy sci-fi storylines and some effective supervillains like the Atom Man, Der Teufel, and the Laugher (who was like Lex Luthor, the Joker, and the Kingpin rolled into one, at least in his first storyline, though he was handled badly thereafter).

 

[Greg Cox]

Seems like Superman '55 would fit their pattern better.

But would you have to publish the comic in black-and-white?

 

[Christopher]

^Wasn't it only in B&W in its first season?

 

[Shaka Zulu]

DC announced at NYCC that they are going to be doing a Wonder Woman '77 digital series, based on the Linda Carter series, to go along with the Batman '66 series based on the Adam West series they've already been doing. They even said they might do a crossover.

I got the first volume of Batman 66 and it wasn't as good as I hoped.

So basically, DC's catering to Bob & June Baby Boom and their kids, Gertie and Gary Gex-X, instead of seeing if they can get more people of color to buy the New 52 books. Fascinating.

 

[Christopher]

^I think that the digital comics are overseen by a separate editorial division of DC located on the West Coast, while the New 52 is overseen by an editorial division on the East Coast. So they're basically two separate programs. Which may be why the digital comics are getting so much more critical acclaim than the New 52.

 

[The Old Mixer]

That might be cool. But what I'd really like is a comic based on the original radio series (which the Reeves TV series was initially a continuation/remake of).

Guess that would be Superman '44.

But would you have to publish the comic in black-and-white?

I was thinking of that...but if we continued with that logic, Christopher's radio-based series would be blank panels with nothing but word balloons, captions, and sound effects...!

[John Byrne did it in Alpha Flight...beat you to it!]

 

[Christopher]

That might be cool. But what I'd really like is a comic based on the original radio series (which the Reeves TV series was initially a continuation/remake of).

Guess that would be Superman '44.

'40, actually. Or '42 for the second series, which started with a new origin story but then pretty much picked up where the previous one had left off.

But would you have to publish the comic in black-and-white?

I was thinking of that...but if we continued with that logic, Christopher's radio-based series would be blank panels with nothing but word balloons, captions, and sound effects...!

Well, I was thinking in terms of the storylines, characters, and continuity, of course. As I said, there were villains and storylines in the radio show that were never adapted to the comics or the screen. For instance, did you know that for the last few years of the radio series, Perry White was mayor of Metropolis? (While remaining editor of the Planet, which seems like a massive conflict of interest.)

 

[The Old Mixer]

^I was going with the apparent pattern of using years with the same two last digits...the Wonder Woman TV series didn't start in 1977, either.

 

[Christopher]

...the Wonder Woman TV series didn't start in 1977, either.

Well, the 1975 pilot and the 1976-7 first season were set in 1942, but in 1977 the show was moved to CBS and revamped to take place in the present day. So I figure that by calling it Wonder Woman '77, they're indicating that it's a continuation of the "modern" CBS version of the series rather than the WWII-era ABC version. (And it blows my mind to realize that we today are now farther away in time from that "modern" 1977 setting than the WWII-set first season was! Great Hera, I'm old.)