DVD : The New Adventures of Superman - (DC Comics Classic Collection)

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- This is a job...FOR SUPERMAN!
Let's get one thing straight: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was a monster hit for the out of the gate Filmation and CBS TV.
Thanks to TNAOS and Hanna-Barbera's SPACE GHOST AND DINO BOY Saturday mornings became super-hero heaven (and ratings gold).

Was the Filmation animation a touch "austere"? Yes. Did I then, or now care? No. The show does now what it did in 1966: intertain me.

Filmation was small but they sure made what they had count. Hiring Jackson Beck for the narrations (he made every episode exciting), Joan Alexander as Lois Lane, and John Marion for music was smart (in my heart Marion's Superman music is just as good as John Williams'). Getting Bud Collyer to voice Superman was fate, luck, genius, and a blessing.

I didn't know at the time that Mr. Collyer had "a little" experience with The Man of Steel. All I knew was he made Superman sound great (and made the Clark Kent secret identity thing believable). To this day I get a chill when I hear Mr. Collyer's Clark Kent say: "This is a job...FOR SUPERMAN"! And John Marion's background music during the costume change helped to make it cooler.

The show was (and still is) exciting. It's a damn same THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY cartoons were not included (they were a reason why the show was a hit). Do us a favor Warner Bros? Settle it. The fans do not deserve this.

My only gripe is on the special feature. The featurette "Superman in '66" was ok but not enough time was spent discussing the show itself. The bulk of it talks alot about the Silver Age (where Superman reigned supreme). The best stuff comes from interviews with President of Warner Brothers Animation Sander Schwartz, DC Comics publisher Paul Levitz, Filmation co-founder Lou Scheimer, Filmation artist and historian Michael Swanigan, and actor Mark Hamill, a comic book/animation fan who proves he knows his stuff.

The coolest interview material comes from Filmation's Scheimer and historian Swanigan. There's a great story Scheimer shares about how Filmation bluffed DC into thinking they were a larger studio than they actually were in order to secure the right to do the cartoon. Waid on the other hand was given more screen time than he deserved and brings very little to the table. They should have interviewed series director Hal Sutherland (like they did for the STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES dvd)instead.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN will make a excellent addition to all Superman fans (and fans of classic super-hero animation)dvd shelves. The look and sound are pristine and damn cool to look at.
Filmation & Warner Bros...ya did good. Thank you.
(Now hurry up with the remaining episodes and be sure to include ALL the bumpers, trailers, and promos. Skimp nothing)

That's it. But let me sent a very special thanks to: Norm Prescott and Lou Schemer, John Marion, Jackson Beck, Joan Alexander, Hal Sutherland, and of course Bud Collyer.
Thank you for showing to me FIRST how incredibly cool Superman is (and always will be).
And thanks to Warner Bros for the dvd reminder.

Rating:

- Like a comic book come to life
Although I grew up watching (reruns of) the George Reeves t.v. series, I was always disappointed that they never included any comic-book villains. Filmation's terrific animated show, despite its flaws, definitely delivered on the comic-book action. AND those wonderful super-villains!

Each episode moves at a brisk pace (they're only about 6 minutes apiece), and contains enough colorful action to satifsy die-hard comic book fans. Plots involving alien invaders, giant chimps, etc. may seem "cheesy" to more jaded viewers of today, but the series was very much in-line with what was happening in the Superman comics of the era.

Fans of the seventies's "Challenge of the Superfriends" will probably like these, but they may seem pretty dated to folks whose primarily knowledge of the character comes from "Smallville" (I'm not knocking that show...I like it quite a bit, actually). The only real downside to "The New Adventures of Superman" is that the animation is a bit limited. But if you've seen ANY Filmation series, you know about what to expect.

I hope Super-fans will support this release so we can see the rest of the Filmation DC Comics shows from the sixites.

Rating:

- Pure Superman
This is a totally retro superman cartoon. It's not as well animated as the theatrical Flesher cartoons. Also the plots are a bit outlandish (ie aliens and wizards). But it is fun to watch.

Rating:

- Finally, The Best Has Been Released!!
It's about time they released these classic cartoons. The current cartoons are worthless. The New Adventures of Superman was my favorite growing up. The simple plots along with the music made these the classics that they are. I'm sure they will release the remaining episodes as well as Superboy,Aquaman,and the Justice League. I taped these cartoons off of Boomerang a few years ago. They were ok except for the commercials and the fact small portions were omitted from the shows. I also bought the Super Powers VHS from Amazon. Release all of these fine shows from the vault--they have been collecting dust long enough!!!

Rating:

- Filmation's New Adventures of Superman - Season One!
"Superman! Rocketed to Earth as an infant when the distant planet Krypton exploded. And who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet fights a neverending battle for truth, justice and freedom with super-powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals!"

That's how announcer Jackson Beck opened this classic show from 1966. The opening scene showing Superman smashing meteorites to the show's very '60s jazz main title theme still looks cool.

Following the '40s Fleischer Superman (made for theaters) and the '50s Adventures of Superman (first done as a movie then a TV series), Filmation's New Adventures of Superman (1966) was the first Superman done specifically for television. Paid a sum of $36,000 per completed half-hour by CBS (who struck a deal with DC Comics to create the show), Superman also was the then-little studio's first major TV deal.

The legacy of the more revered Fleischer Superman shorts was not lost on Filmation. "The Fleischers did, as far as I'm concerned, the definitive one. So much so that we actually managed to hire some of them to work for us," producer Lou Scheimer said.

In additon to comics faithful character designs, and effective yet limited [compared to today] animation, The New Adventures of Superman also featured the voices of Fleischer Superman's Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander (alternating with Julie Bennett) as the animated Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

As a result, the series was a breakout hit. So much so Filmation was given a bonus and a 2nd season where the show expanded to "The Superman Aquaman Hour of Adventure" adding heroes Green Lantern, Hawkman, Flash, the Atom, Teen Titans, and Justice League to the lineup.

Due to the ongoing Siegel/DC/Time Warner battle for Superboy copyrights, the Superboy episodes originally sandwiched between the Superman episodes are not included in this set. Despite this, I still recommend the set solely on the strength of the thirty-six 6 min. Superman eps that are included.

The New Adventures of Superman is a 2-disc set featuring all 36 Superman episodes from the show's first season; Full Frame (1.33:1) video; Dolby Surround Stereo English audio; Closed caption; plus the following Special Feature: "Superman in '66" - Featurette explores how the '60s era influenced the character of Superman and led to his Filmation debut on this groundbreaking show.

Episodes:
1. The Force Phantom
2. Mermen Of Emor
3. The Prehistoric Pterodactyls
4. Merlin's Magic Marbles
5. The Threat of the Thrutans
6. The Wicked Warlock
7. The Chimp Who Made It Big
8. The Deadly Icebergs
9. Robot of Riga
10. The Invisible Raiders
11. Neolithic Nightmare
12. The Return of Brainiac
13. The Magnetic Monster
14. The Toys of Doom
15. The Iron Eater
16. The Ape Army of the Amazon
17. The Fire Phantom
18. The Deadly Dish
19. Insect Raiders
20. Return of Warlock
21. The Abominable Ice-Man
22. The Men from A.P.E.
23. The Tree Man of Arbora
24. The Image Maker
25. Superman's Double Trouble
26. The Deadly Super-Doll
27. Lava Men
28. Luthor Strikes Again
29. Mission to Planet Peril
30. The Pernicious Parasite
31. The Two Faces of Superman
32. The Imp-Practical Joker
33. Superman Meets Brainiac
34. Seeds of Disaster
35. The Malevolent Mummy
36. The Bird-Men From Lost Valley

Highly Recommended!

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