Carmine Infantino
Bob Kane
Carl Urbano
Bill Getty (sound director)
Don Jurwich (recording director)
Richard Olson (sound director)
Series Summary
Episode Length of the new SUPER FRIENDS: 30 minutes
Episode Length of THE CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER FRIENDS: 30 minutes
The year 1978 was a great year for the Super Friends if not the best year. SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE was a smash hit at the box office and the live action WONDER WOMAN TV show with Lynda Carter was airing its third and final season on CBS Friday nights. And there were toys and merchandise galore of not only Superman and Wonder Woman, but also Batman, Robin, Aquaman and Shazam. That year, Hanna-Barbera animated what is considered among fans to be the all time best version of the SuperFriends ever.
Notes
- It would run on the ABC Network from September 9, 1978, to December 23, 1978.
- Most of the SuperFriends voice over cast returned for this hour with the exception of Norman Alden. Norman was interviewed on the Aquaman Shrine blogspot and stated that he was let go and succeeded by Bill Callaway as the new voice of Aquaman. Callaway would stay with the series and the voice over role of Aquaman throughout all future incarnations of the SuperFriends.
- Other than its initial airing in 1978, the epiosode: The Incredible Space Circus has never been syndicated in America. It is now available on DVD through Amazon.
- The other networks served up some SuperHero competition (this hour still ruled the airwaves):
- NBC offered up the Godzilla Power Hour and Jana of the Jungle and Marvel Comics first family was back on with the New Fantastic Four by DePatie Freleng.
- Over at CBS, Filmation served up Tarzan and the Super 7,[1] a 2 hour variety show consisting of 6 cartoons and one live show. One of the features was the 1977 Batman cartoons still in reruns for all the Batman fans.
This time around viewers were treated to two separate incarnations / segments of the Super Friends the new SuperFriends (which include the Wonder Twins) and the Challenge of the Super Friends:
- 9:00 am – new SuperFriends
- 9:30 am – Challenge of the Super Friends
new SuperFriends
1st Incarnation / Segment
In addition to making the 16 episode Challenge of the Super Friends series, Hanna-Barbera also animated 16 episodes featuring the established core group of the Super Friends to run alongside the Challenge episodes. The core group of this new SuperFriends series were the original five heroes who made up the team and their Exxorian trainees, Zan and Jayna and their monkey Gleek. These episodes actually aired first before the Challenge episodes to serve as a warm up to the headliner. This new SuperFriends series is unlike the episodes from the previous series in 1977. It is less interested in delivering a moral message like the 2 previous series. It is more cosmic and sci-fi minded, journeying into space to battle villains on other worlds as well as on Earth. Plus, there are plenty of mutations and mind control for our heroes to endure and deal with in this season. It would appear that some of these episodes may have taken cues from Star Wars and SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE.
In Syndication,[2] these episodes were shown using the opening credits of The All-New Super Friends Hour along with the close from the Challenge series. Therefore, it is often mistakenly believed that it was not part of this season.
Challenge of the Super Friends
2nd Incarnation / Segment
Challenge of the Super Friends was a 16 episode series that came the closest to the comic books. Not only did Challenge have the Justice League of America, it was the first official Super Friends series to feature DC Super Villains from the comics. And this series had 13 of them together as an alliance called the Legion of Doom. Superman foes like Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Toyman, and Bizarro, and Batman foes like the Riddler and Scarecrow. The Legion of Doom dwelled in a murky swamp and launched their attacks for global conquest from a sinister looking, swamp-based, mechanical, flying headquarters, called the Hall of Doom (which resembled Darth Vader’s helmet) as a suitable contrast with the Super Friends' gleaming Hall of Justice. Every week, the Legion schemed to either get rid of or destroy the Super Friends so they can conquer the world. The Super Friends themselves consisted of 11 Justice League heroes. No teen tagalongs or pet comic reliefs in this show (as did the previous versions of the Super Friends and this shows running-companion, the new SuperFriends).
The show also featured the newly invented multicultural heroes, from The All-New Super Friends Hour, like Apache Chief, Samurai, Black Vulcan and El Dorado.
This hour became so popular, that an extra 30 minutes of reruns from The All-New Super Friends Hour was added in 1979 extending the show to 90 minutes.
Intro and Cast
thumb|300px|right|Intro to the 'Challenge of the Superfriends'
- Narrator – voiced by William Woodson (1977-1978)
Super Friends Cast
- Superman – voiced by Danny Dark (1978)
- Batman – voiced by Olan Soule (1978)
- Robin – voiced by Casey Kasem (1978)
- Aquaman – voiced by Bill Calloway (1978)
- Wonder Woman – voiced by Shannon Farnon (1978)
- Hawkman – voiced by Jack Angel (1978)
- Green Lantern – voiced by Michael Rye (1978)
- Black Vulcan – voiced by Buster Jones (1978)
- Samurai - voiced by Jack Angel (1978)
- Apache Chief - voiced by Michael Rye (1978)
Legion of Doom Cast
- Lex Luthor – voiced by Stan Jones (1978)
- Brainiac - voiced by Ted Cassidy (1978)
- Black Manta – voiced by Ted Cassidy (1978)
- Sinestro – voiced by Vic Perrin (1978)
- Cheetah – voiced by Marlene Aragon (1978)
- Gorilla Grodd – voiced by Stanley Ralph Ross (1978)
- Captain Cold – voiced by Dick Ryal (1978)
- Scarecrow – voiced by Don Messick (1978)
- Toyman – voiced by Frank Welker (1978)
- Solomon Grundy – voiced by Jimmy Weldon (1978)
- The Riddler – voiced by Michael Bell (1978)
- Giganta – voiced by Ruth Forman (1978)
- Bizarro - voiced by Bill Calloway (1978)
DVD / Media info
This DVD series is available through Amazon –Challenge of the Super Friends, Volumes 1-2 (DVD - 2005).
- Volume One are episodes from The Challenge of the SuperFriends
- Volume Two are episodes from the new Superfriends
Episode List:
The first segment during this season, the story focus was not on the Legion of Doom, it was on the main five members of the SuperFriends and the Wonder Twins.
The second segment focused on the SuperFriends and 13 DC Super Villains from the comics.
| Season 1 (1973) Season 2 (1977) Season 3 (1978) Season 4 (1979) Season 5, 1980 Shorts Season 6, 1981 Shorts Season 7, 1983 Shorts Season 8 (1984) Season 9 (1985) | |
| Previous Series: The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977) |
Next Series: The World’s Greatest Super Friends (1979) |
References
- ↑ The series: Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ran on CBS from 1976-1984
- ↑ by LBS Communications