THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1977)

On this day in 1977, CBS aired Kenneth Johnson's first Incredible Hulk television movie, which led to a five year, 82 episode weekly series. My thirteen year-old mind was blown... and I've never been quite right since.

Batgirl "Equal Pay" PSA (1973)

I was deeply saddened to read of the passing of actress/dancer Yvonne Craig earlier this week. The delightful Ms. Craig was the Space: 1970 "Space Babe" in June of 2011, earning her place in that august assembly for her portrayal of mad Orion slave girl Marta in the Star Trek episode, "Whom Gods Destroy." But she was best known as the caped and cowled Batgirl on the 1966 television incarnation of Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward.

While Batman was definitely a 1960s show, and beyond the purview of this blog, I'm slipping this video in on a technicality. In 1973, she and Burt Ward reprised their roles as Gotham City defenders for a Public Service Announcement regarding the Equal Pay Act. Adam West declined to participate, so Dick Gautier (who played the robot "Hymie" on Get Smart), donned the cape and mimicked West's trademark deadpan delivery. The PSA aired well into the decade, and I remember seeing it once as a kid, late at night, and wondering why Batman seemed different.

Anyway, it's a nice showcase for Craig's charm - I love her graceful little spin toward the ticking time bomb. She's already missed.

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERHEROES (1979) TV Guide Ad

In January of 1979, Adam West and Burt Ward returned to the television roles that they had made famous in 1966 - DC Comics super-heroes Batman & Robin - for a prime time comedy special - The Challenge Of The Superheroes! This live-action NBC "event," produced by Hanna-Barbara Productions (producers of the Saturday morning animated series, Super Friends, for ABC), pitted eight DC heroes against seven super villains, and was the first (and in some cases, only) live-action appearances of many of them.

Aside from West and Ward, the cast included Garrett Craig as Captain Marvel, Howard Murphy as the Green Lantern, Bill Nuckols as Hawkman, Barbara Joyce as The Huntress, Rod Haase as The Flash, Alfie Wise as The Atom, Danuta Rylko Soderman as the Black Canary, and William Schallert as "Scarlet Cyclone/Retired Man." Superman was unavailble to the producers as he was currently headlining his own theatrical film series. Likewise, Wonder Woman was not included as she was starring in her own series for rival network CBS at the time.

This special was followed soon thereafter with a parody of the Dean Martin Roasts, called (logically enough) The Superhero Roast, and featured the same cast. Collectively, these two programs are known as The Legends Of The Superheroes, and for decades, were popular bootleg videos at comic book conventions. These days, they're legally available on MOD DVD from Warner Archive.

A Birthday Wonder!

On behalf of starstruck Star Kids everywhere, Space: 1970 offers many very happy birthday wishes to the era's most amazing Amazon - the ever-youthful Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) of The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman!

CAPTAIN AMERICA (1979)

As it is Independence Day here in the United States, I figured it was time to finally post something here at Space: 1970 about the two 1979 Captain America TV movies, starring Reb Brown (Yor) as the star-spangled avenger.  Fortunately, I had this missive from loyal Star Kid Jason Shepherd in my e-mailbox, and I thought it would serve nicely, so:

Attached are some pictures from the 1979 CBS Captain America movies. Since Space:1970 has started covering TV superheroes of the era, I figured you might want these.

These movies represent a unique frustration for me.  Captain America has always been my favorite superhero, and I realize how lucky Cap fans were to see these movies, but... it stings that they're not very good.  Clearly they were less inspired by the comics and more by the then-contemporary Six Million Dollar Man series, including giving Cap an Oscar Goldman-like boss and a unique sound effect when he used his super-strength.

If Captain America had made the transition from TV movies to TV series, would it have been very good?  I like to think it could have become a decent series.  Reb Brown would have had a chance to stretch his acting chops a bit, grow into the role.  They would have to settle on a format that allowed for more action -- more fights, less motorcycle-riding (a weak point of the TV movies!)  While they likely wouldn't have been able to do TV versions of Cap's classic Rogue's Gallery, hopefully they would have invented some decent foes for Cap instead of run-of-the-mill crooks and spies.

Me again: I don't think I actually saw the two Captain America TV movies when they originally aired, although I did eventually pick up a VHS copy of Captain America II: Death Too Soon in the 90s, and I own the double feature DVD now. But I do remember that my friends who had seen them were very upset about the costume changes and revamped origin story. When I watched the two telefilms on DVD a while back, I personally found it difficult to get too worked up about either change (although the costume in the first movie was really bad!).

Yeah, they're silly movies and deviate substantially from Marvel Comics lore and legend, but they're entertainingly silly, and that's enough for me.

WONDER WOMAN (1974) DVD Review

For fans of comic book superheroine Wonder Woman, there's pretty much only one live-action Amazon Princess, and that's the statuesque, raven-tressed Lynda Carter, who played the role on television between 1975 and 1979.

But before Carter inherited the golden tiara and star-spangled swimsuit, blonde ex-tennis star Cathy Lee Crosby portrayed a very different incarnation of the character in a failed 1974 TV pilot film. That unsuccessful attempt, simply called Wonder Woman, aired as a TV movie and showed up occasionally in syndication during the 70s and 80s, but never garnered a home video release until just recently, as a Warner Archive manufactured-on-demand DVD.

Diana Prince (Crosby) is secretary to U.S. government spymaster Steve Trevor (Kaz Garas). But she is also - secretly - super agent Wonder Woman, an Amazon princess from the mysterious, females only, Paradise Island. When top secret books containing lists of American undercover agents are stolen from several U.S. embassies, Wonder Woman goes into action, tracking the mastermind responsible, a suave International criminal named Abner Smith (Ricardo Montalban, Khan of Star Trek II).

In the course of her mission, she comes into conflict with Smith's skeevy henchman Calvin (Andrew Prine) and a renegade Amazon named Ahnjayla (sexy brunette Anitra Ford). Can WW, in her star-spangled track suit, retrieve the secrets before they can be auctioned off to America's enemies?

Written and developed by John D.F. Black (Star Trek - TOS, Shaft) and directed by TV veteran Vincent McEveety, this Wonder Woman appears to be inspired by a then-recent run in the comics where the heroine had lost her powers and costume, and was portrayed as a Diana Rigg-inspired adventurer. The familiar, red, white & blue cleavage-baring costume, magic lasso and tiara are nowhere to be seen, although the famous bullet-deflecting bracelets do appear, tricked out with a variety of superspy gadgets.

The pace of the film is relatively brisk, but the script is far too talky and coincidence-riddled, and the resolution of the case is an anticlimactic fizzle. The action - what little there is - is underwhelming as well, with the anticipated battle between WW and her Amazon "sister" ultimately consisting of a lethargic, poorly-choreographed stick fight between obvious stunt doubles.

Despite its commercial & creative failure, the movie has long been desired by comic book buffs and superhero movie completists (and I count myself as both). The burned-to-order DVD from Warner Archive features a very bright and colorful transfer from a reasonably clean print, presented in its original 4x3 television aspect ratio. Audio is a clear Dolby Digital Mono. There are no extras or bonus features provided.

The Cathy Lee Crosby Wonder Woman is an amusing 70s genre curio, of interest really only to diehard fans of the character and the genre. That said, those fans should be quite satisfied with Warner Archive's disc.

BUY:  Wonder Woman TV Movie Pilot (1974)

70's Sci-Fi Topps Trading Card Flyers

I collected a lot of Topps bubblegum cards back in the 1970's. I had tons of Star Wars cards (blue, red, yellow and green series) almost all of the Galactica cards (and still have most of them), and a small stack of Buck Rogers cards. I didn't collect the Superman or Hulk cards, but I seem to remember buying some Star Trek - TMP sets.

Anyway, here, courtesy of Star Kid (and Dark Shadows aficionado) Cousin Barnabas (of the Collinsport Historical Society), are a selection of colorful promotional flyers produced by Topps to interest retailers in carrying their various Space: 1970-era photo cards. Enjoy!

March's Space Babes: Deidre Hall & Judy Strangis

March's Space Babes are Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis as Electra Woman & Dyna Girl - two of the Seventies sexiest Saturday Morning superheroines! A sort of distaff take on Batman & Robin (by way of the campy 1966 television series), Electra Woman & and her teen sidekick, Dyna Girl, battled a bevy of colorful super villains every weekend with the help of their assistant Frank (Norman Alden) and the sophisticated, ray-projecting, "electra-comps" they wore on their wrists.

Part of Sid & Marty Krofft's 1976 anthology series, Krofft Supershow, the microbudgeted adventures of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl featured tiny sets, cheap video effects, ridiculously over-the-top performances, and an awesome theme song. Electra Woman was played by the lovely Deidre Hall, an iconic soap opera actress best known for her 40+ year run on Days Of Our Lives. Born in 1947, the actress worked as a model and in commercials before landing the Electra Woman role and - right around the same time - her part on Days Of Our Lives.

Cute teen sidekick Dyna Girl was portrayed by the pouty Judy Strangis, who was only a couple years younger than her co-star. She had been a regular on the television series Room 222, and was a popular TV guest actress during the early 70s. But, according to the IMDb, she had an unfortunate experience with a stalker and retired from "face" acting; she has been doing almost exclusively voice-over work ever since.

There were only 16 episodes of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl produced, but I remember watching it every Saturday. Back then, I didn't notice the cheapness of the production, all I cared about was seeing the two pretty young women in their colorful costumes shooting laser beams from their clunky wrist communicator/computers.

I even have an Electra Woman action figure on a shelf in my office....

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF WONDER WOMAN (1977) TV Spot

Here's a 1977 CBS television preview for the revamped, "updated" version of the Lynda Carter superheroine series, The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman. Unless I'm very much mistaken, though (and the way I'm feeling today, it's possible I am), most - or at least many - of those clips are from the previous, World War II-set, ABC incarnation of the show!

THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1978) TV Guide Cover

I might as well go on record here: The Incredible Hulk is my favorite of the comic-based television series/specials of the 1970s. Oh, I loved Wonder Woman, Isis, and Shazam!, and even the Spider-Man and Captain America shows, but The Incredible Hulk was (in my opinion) the best of them all.

As developed by Kenneth Johnson (one of the more genre-savvy producers of the era), Hulk was a science fiction show first, with storylines designed to appeal to both adolescent and adult audiences. The format was borrowed from The Fugitive (and a few dozen other shows), but the characterization and pseudo-science of Banner's transformation gave the show a distinct identity, and it ended up running longer than any of the other "superhero" shows, garnering strong ratings for much of its run.

Veteran television actor Bill Bixby was a compelling, sympathetic lead, bringing remarkable humanity to his role and always taking it seriously... without ever being grim. Lou Ferrigno's Hulk was a monster in the vein of the Universal Monster films of the 30s and 40s, a misunderstood and persecuted brute that, even through the rage, retained a spark of humanity and compassion.

Comic book purists may bitch and complain about the Hulk's scaled down strength, or the changing of Banner's first name, but frankly, that's all irrelevant bullshit. Comic book fans - moreso than most - should understand and forgive different interpretations of their favorite characters, and if they can't, they should rationalize and accept that the TV Hulk simply existed in a parallel universe from his four color cousin.

The changes wrought on The Incredible Hulk to make it sustainable as a prime time 70s television series were all sound and well-considered, and I believe resulted in a genuinely "classic" TV series.

Friday Night is Super Hero Night on CBS!

Ah, Friday nights on CBS in 1978 were fantastic fun for Star Kids, with back-to-back episodes of The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman, starring the stunning Lynda Carter, and The Incredible Hulk, with Bill Bixby and the titanic Lou Ferrigno! Two hours of prime time, live action comic book hero adventure.... and, apparently, lots of "evil scientists!" Those were the days, indeed!

Mr. Rogers Meets THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1978)

Children's television host/personality Fred Rogers (and Mr. McFeely!) of the long-running PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, visits the set of CBS' popular The Incredible Hulk series in these vintage clips, probably from 1979/80. Both stars Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno (in full Hulk mode) take time to discuss Hollywood "make believe" with the soft-spoken, sweater-clad visitor. Together, they run just under twenty minutes (although there's some overlap).

I had several people (including my wife) forward these to me in the last day or so - I'm guessing some blog much more popular than this one must have showcased these vids recently....

News: Cathy Lee Crosby WONDER WOMAN (1974) Coming To DVD... Next Week

Not too long ago, I wrote about the 1974 Wonder Woman television movie/pilot that starred Cathy Lee Crosby as DC Comics' star-spangled Amazon princess from Paradise Island. At the time I actually mentioned that I thought it would make a good candidate for DVD release by Warner Brothers' manufacture-on-demand Warner Archive Collection.

Well, apparently, someone was listening.

On December 11th, Warner Archive will be releasing Wonder Woman on burned-to-order disc:

Before Lynda Carter took the heroine back to World War 2 for her “New, Original” incarnation in 1975, statuesque tennis pro-turned-performer Cathy Lee Crosby swung the magic lasso in a very different TV incarnation of Wonder Woman. As developed by scribe John D.F. Black (Star Trek), and seemingly influenced by her recent turn as a mod, cat-suited crime-fighter in the pages of her DC Comics home, this Amazon Princess was more superspy than superhero. Still, many of the expected wondrous elements from bracelets and lassos to Paradise Island and invisible jets all make an appearance, albeit with a sleek, seventies espionage super-action refit. Three years before taking up residence on Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalban (Star Trek II: The wrath Of Khan) plays laconic lothario Abner Smith, who lurks at the top of the conspiracy to make off with ultra-secret code books – leading Agent Prince to discover an Amazon sister-in-exile (Anitra Ford).

Although not a 70s show, fans of superhero television may be interested to know that Warner Archive will be releasing the second season of the 80s syndicated Superboy series on the same day. (I happen to be a fan of that show, so I'm excited by this news, as well.)

Neither title appears to be available at the Warner Archive site as yet, but I'm sure they'll be listed shortly. Needless to say, I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy as soon as I can, and when I do, I'll post a full review here on the site.

DR. STRANGE (1978) TV Movie

One of the more creatively successful attempts by CBS to adapt Marvel Comics characters to television was the Philip DeGuerre TV pilot, Dr. Strange, starring Peter Hooten as Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme. While comics fans nitpicked the change in costume and some story details, I thought it was a pretty fair translation of the four-color source material with some surprisingly elaborate special effects sequences (including a creepy, stop-motion demon). Stan Lee was reportedly pretty pleased with it, and comics artist Frank Brunner contributed designs for the project (including that revised costume).

Sure, the whole thing - especially Hooten's mustache - is terribly dated when viewed with modern eyes, but for a 70's TV production it was pretty well done.

Admittedly, Hooten was fairly unmemorable in the lead, but I liked the casting of Jessica Walter (as Morgana LeFay), Clyde Kusatsu as Dr. Strange's Asian manservant, and Anne-Marie Martin (The Shape Of Things To Come) as his apprentice, Clea.

Although produced as a pilot film, CBS aired it as TV movie, and passed on a Dr. Strange series. The movie is not on DVD, but was released on VHS tape in the 1980s.

SHAZAM! (1974) DVD Review

During the Golden Age of comic books, Superman's greatest adversary wasn't Lex Luthor or any of his other colorful rogues gallery, but competing caped crimefighter Captain Marvel, whose four-color mags frequently outsold those of the Man of Steel. By 1974, though, both heroes were owned by DC Comics, and while Superman was on track for silver screen glory a few years later, the World's Mightiest Mortal became a Saturday morning TV star with Filmation's live-action Shazam!, which aired every weekend on CBS.

The opening narration explained the premise: "Chosen from among all others by the immortal elders - Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury - Billy Batson and his mentor travel the highways and byways of the land on a never ending mission: to right wrongs, to develop understanding, and to seek justice for all! In time of dire need, young Billy has been granted the power by the immortals to summon awesome forces at the utterance of a single word! SHAZAM!"

The series ran for three seasons - a significant run for 70s Saturday morning kidvid - accumulating a total of 28 half-hour episodes. Teenage Billy Batson was portrayed by the shaggy-haired Michael Gray, while veteran Hollywood character actor, radio star and cartoon voice artist Les Tremayne was his elderly traveling companion, Mentor. For the first 17 episodes, Billy's super-powered alter ego Captain Marvel was portrayed by the athletic and earnest Jackson Bostwick. Unfortunately (reportedly due to a misunderstanding), he was fired a few episodes into the second season and replaced by stocky John Davey. Both men did creditable work as the soft-spoken superhuman, but as a kid watching the show, I never quite accepted Davey in the role. Bostwick was the "real" Captain Marvel for this 10 year-old.

Most stories started with Billy & Mentor having a picnic on the beach or driving down some Southern California back road when the Elders would telepathically contact Billy and give him some cryptic advice. Fortunately, that advice would begin to make sense once Billy & Mentor encountered the troubled teen of the week. After putting said kid back on the righteous path - which usually involved a last minute super-heroic feat by the good Captain - Billy & Mentor would hit the road again in their custom RV... until the following week.

The show was simplistic, non-violent, moralistic and cheap-looking, with special effects hardly more advanced than those used on the 1950's The Adventures Of Superman television series, but the writing was often pretty serious, and surprisingly, not sugar-coated. In a few episodes, Captain Marvel even battled real criminals like drug dealers, who were exploiting kids for their own purposes.

Production values were pretty minimal. Shot as cheaply as possible on 16mm film and almost entirely outdoors in natural light, the show certainly doesn't look very impressive. But the acting was solid, with the weekly casts filled out by lots of familiar TV actors of the era. Notable guest stars include Danny Bonaduce, Space Academy's Pamelyn Ferdin & Ty Henderson, Lance Kerwin, Butch Patrick, and Jackie Earle Haley. TV's Batman, Adam West, provided the voice of Hercules.

Because Shazam! shared the same network, studio and timeslot as The Secrets Of Isis, the lovely JoAnna Cameron made appearances as the superheroine Isis in three episodes, as well. (And the noble Captain returned the favor, guesting on an episode or two of Isis the same season.)

The new 3-disc, Manufactured-On-Demand Shazam! - The Complete Live Action Series from Warner Archive includes all 28 episodes, presented in their original 4x3, 1.33:1 "standard" TV aspect ratio. Picture quality is generally pretty good for a nearly 40 year-old, low-budget show shot on cheap film stock. Given the source material, the image is grainy and overall a bit soft, with occasionally faded colors. Some episodes look better than others, but there is no significant print damage or other distracting age-related artifacts. Audio is a serviceable Dolby Digital Mono.

The only "bonus feature" is the option to play all episodes with the original 30 second "morals" re-instated into the episodes. These short segments appeared at the end of the episodes and featured Captain Marvel or Billy talking directly to the camera and bluntly explaining the ethical lesson the episode dramatized. As these segments were removed after the original airings, Warner Archive has had to hunt down the footage from various sources (including old videotapes), so picture quality on these is often pretty poor. Still, I'm grateful that they went to the effort and expense to include them, for completion's sake.

If you grew up with the show, there's no denying the nostalgic appeal. The effects and production values may be "cheesy" by today's standards - and the moralistic stories may lack subtlety - but they're highly entertaining. Warner Archive has done a very decent job putting this set together, and if you're a fan of the show, it's definitely worth picking up. Highly recommended.

Buy it now from Amazon:  Shazam! The Complete Live-Action Series