Tag: DC Comics

Categories
Season 1 Super Friends

The Power Pirate

Super FriendsPower failures wreak havoc around the world, and Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and superheroes-in-training Marvin and Wendy (and their faithful pet Wonder Dog) gather at the Hall of Justice to try to keep on top of all of the incidents. Everything from electrical power to steam power is likely to fail, and nearly everywhere any of the Justice League members go, the dapper Sir Cedric Cedric of Scotland Yard is already on the case, investigating the power problems for himself. Or is he? Is his presence at almost every incident a mere coincidence…and is he even who he claims to be?

story by Fred Freiberger, Bernie Kahn, Ken Rotcop, Art Weiss, Willie Gilbert, Henry Sharp, and Marshall Williams
Super Friendsdirected by Charles A. Nicholas
music by Hoyt Curtin

Cast: Sherry Alberoni (Wendy), Norman Alden (Aquaman), Danny Dark (Superman), Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman), Casey Kasem (Robin), Ted Knight (Narrator), Olan Soule (Batman), John Stephenson (Sir Cedric Cedric / Alien), Frank Welker (Marvin / Wonder Dog)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Super Friends

Too Hot To Handle

Super FriendsRising temperatures wreak havoc around the world, and Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and superheroes-in-training Marvin and Wendy (and their faithful pet Wonder Dog) gather at the Hall of Justice to try to keep on top of all of unfolding ecological disasters. They deal with everything from melting glaciers and rising sea levels to farmland becoming parched desert, and nearly everywhere any of the Justice League members go, a mysterious figure dressed for cold weather is witnessed. Is his presence at almost every incident a mere coincidence? And if the astronomer at the Gotham City Observatory is correct about Earth plummeting out of its orbit and closer to the sun…can any of the members of the Justice League do anything to put Earth back in its place?

story by Fred Freiberger, Bernie Kahn, Ken Rotcop, Art Weiss, Willie Gilbert, Henry Sharp, and Marshall Williams
directed by Charles A. Nicholas
Super Friendsmusic by Hoyt Curtin

Cast: Sherry Alberoni (Wendy), Norman Alden (Aquaman), Danny Dark (Superman), Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman), Casey Kasem (Robin / Prof. Von Noalot), Ted Knight (The Flash / Narrator), Olan Soule (Batman), John Stephenson (Kobar / Lupis / Dolphin 1 / Dolphin 2), Frank Welker (Marvin / Wonder Dog)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Super Friends

The Mysterious Moles

Super FriendsWhen Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog find evidence that entire rocks and trees are somehow moving during a bike ride through nature, they report their findings to the Super Friends, who are somewhat more concerned with a recent wave of thefts of large industrial air conditioning units. But are the two events connected? A house near where Wendy and Marvin were is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Mole, who don’t welcome the attention of the Super Friends…mainly because they’ve found a path to an entire underground world full of walking rocks and trees – and diamonds worth a fortune. But the caves are hot – hence the stolen air conditioners. When the Super Friends try to confront the Moles, the ensuing battle depends on whose commands the rocks and trees obey.

story by Fred Freiberger, Bernie Kahn, Ken Rotcop, Art Weiss, Willie Gilbert, Dick Robbins, Henry Sharp, and Marshall Williams
Super Friendsdirected by Charles A. Nichols
music by Hoyt Curtin

Cast: Sherry Alberoni (Wendy / Mrs. Mole), Norman Alden (Aquaman), Danny Dark (Superman), Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman), Casey Kasem (Robin), Ted Knight (Narrator), Olan Soule (Batman), John Stephenson (Mr. Mole), Frank Welker (Marvin / Wonder Dog)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Shazam!

The Joy Riders

Shazam!Young Billy Batson has been given a special power by the immortals: by speaking the word “Shazam!”, he can transform into Captain Marvel. But this is a last resort, as Billy himself is meant to be learning from both the immortals and Mentor as they travel across the country.

Billy and Mentor take note of a group of boys who are starting down a dangerous path, “harmlessly” borrowing cars for joyrides. One of the boys, Chuck, is less enthusiastic about joining his friends; he knows they’re doing something wrong. But when the peer pressure mounts, Chuck gives in and joins them, finding himself in enough trouble that it may take Captain Marvel to save them.

written by Len Janson & Chuck Menville
directed by Hollingsworth Morse
music by Horta-Mahana

Shazam!Cast: Michael Gray (Billy Batson), Les Tremayne (Mentor), Jackson Bostwick (Captain Marvel), Kerry MacLane (Chuck Wagner), Barry Miller (Mike), Ty Henderson (Kyle), Lee Joe Casey (Rich)

Notes: Ty Henderson would be cast as a series regular on a later Filmation live-action series, Space Academy. This is not the first filmed adaptation of Captain Marvel; the first was a 1941 theatrical serial released during the character’s WWII heyday, at a time when Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel comic book was routinely outselling Superman, published by rival National Comics (later to change names to Shazam!DC Comics). But that was also the year that National Comics sued Fawcett for copyright infrignement, a suit that was initially decided in Fawcett’s favor, but a 1951 appeal gave National Comics the upper hand. The two companies settled out of court, with Fawcett backing out of the comics business altogether. DC Comics licensed and revived Captain Marvel – quite probably for the sheer perversity of keeping a character named Captain Marvel out of the hands of its new rival, Marvel Comics – in 1972, keeping the character alive through what is now widely regarded as the Silver Age of comics. In 1980, DC put enough money on the table for Fawcett to hand over all rights to Captain Marvel and its other comics to DC in perpetuity.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Shazam!

The Brothers

Shazam!Danny Martin and his blind younger brother Chad are on a nature hike when Chad grows tired of Danny’s over-protective attitude. Chad runs away, ending up in the middle of the highway, where Billy and Mentor nearly hit him. Quickly discovering that Chad is blind (despite the boy’s best efforts not to tell them), they wait for Danny to catch up. Billy tries to coach Chad on making better use of his senses of sound and smell to help him, but Danny is still overprotective – until he’s bitten by a rattlesnake and needs Chad (with an assist from Captain Marvel) to find help.

Shazam!written by Len Janson & Chuck Menville
directed by Hollingsworth Morse
music by Horta-Mahana

Cast: Michael Gray (Billy Batson), Les Tremayne (Mentor), Jackson Bostwick (Captain Marvel), Lance Kerwin (Chad Martin), Steve Tanner (Danny Martin)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 1 Shazam!

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Shazam!Lynn is upset that her favorite horse, Becket, is scheduled to be put down because he’s been deemed dangerous by a rancher who blames Becket for injuring him. Mentor and Billy arrive on the scene and introduce Lynn to the idea of a peaceful protest to delay Becket’s “execution”. When the local sheriff – who also happens to be Lynn’s father – points out that the protest is within the law and on public property, the rancher decides that a demonstration of how dangerous Becket is will change everyone’s minds. Captain Marvel has to save the horse’s life.

written by Marianne Mosner
directed by Arthur H. Nadel
music by Horta-Mahana

Shazam!Cast: Michael Gray (Billy Batson), Les Tremayne (Mentor), Jackson Bostwick (Captain Marvel), Pamelyn Ferdin (Lynn Colby), William Sargent (Sheriff Colby), John Karlen (Nick)

Notes:Another future Space Academy cast member puts in a guest appearance; Pamelyn Ferdin would become one of the later Filmation show’s leads.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Movies

Superman: The Movie

  • By Dave
  • December 10, 1978

Superman: The MovieThe planet Krypton is dying, but only one man, Jor-El, is willing to recognize that truth. To save his infant son Kal-El from the impending disaster, Jor-El sends him to Earth, where he is found and adopted by Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. The boy, now named Clark, grows up in Smallville, hiding his amazing powers from the world…until his destiny calls him, and he moves to Metropolis, gets a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and befriends Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. More importantly, he takes to the skies as Superman, defender of truth, justice and the American way – a role that inevitably puts him at odds with the criminal genius Lex Luthor, who has a grand scheme to make a killing in the real estate market…

screenplay by Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton
additional script material by Norman Enfield
story by Mario Puzo
based on the Superman comics created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
directed by Richard Donner
music by John Williams

Superman: The MovieCast: Christopher Reeve (Superman), Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Ned Beatty (Otis), Jackie Cooper (Perry White), Glenn Ford (Jonathan Kent), Trevor Howard (First Elder), Jack O’Halloran (Non), Valerie Perrine (Eve Teschmacher), Maria Schell (Vond-Ah), Terence Stamp (General Zod), Phyllis Thaxter (Ma Kent), Susannah York (Lara), Jeff East (Young Clark Kent), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), Sarah Douglas (Ursa), Harry Andrews (2nd Elder), Vass Anderson (3rd Elder), John Hollis (4th Elder), James Garbutt (5th Elder), Michael Gover (6th Elder), David Neal (7th Elder), William Russell (8th Elder), Penelope Lee (9th Elder), John Stuart (10th Elder), Alan Cullen (11th Elder), Lee Quigley (Baby Kal-El), Aaron Smolinski (Baby Clark Kent), Diane Sherry (Lana Lang), Jeff Atcheson (Coach), Brad Flock (Football Player), David Petrou (Team Manager), Billy J. Mitchell (1st Editor), Robert Henderson (2nd Editor), Larry Lamb (1st Reporter), James Brockington (2nd Reporter), John Cassady (3rd Reporter), John F. Parker (4th Reporter), Antony Scott (5th Reporter), Ray Evans (6th Reporter), Sue Shifrin (7th Reporter), Miquel Brown (8th Reporter), Vincent Marzello (1st Copy Boy), Benjamin Feitelson (2nd Copy Boy), Lise Hilboldt (1st Secretary), Leueen Willoughby (Perry’s Secretary), Jill Ingham (Perry’s Secretary), Pieter Stuyck (Window Cleaner), Rex Reed (Himself), Weston Gavin (Mugger), Steve Kahan (Officer 1), Ray Hassett (Officer 2), Randy Jurgensen (Officer 3), Matt Russo (News Vendor), Colin Skeaping (Pilot), Bo Rucker (Pimp), Paul Avery (TV Cameraman), David Baxt (Burglar), George Harris II (Patrolman Mooney), Michael Harrigan (1st Hood), John Cording (2nd Hood), Raymond Thompson (3rd Hood), Oz Clarke (4th Hood), Rex Everhart (Desk Sergeant), Jayne Tottman (Little Girl), Frank Lazarus (Air Force One Pilot), Brian Protheroe (Co-Pilot), Lawrence Trimble (1st Crewman), Robert Whelan (2nd Crewman), David Calder (3rd Crewman), Norwich Duff (Newscaster), Keith Alexander (Newscaster), Michael Ensign (Newscaster), Larry Hagman (Major), Paul Tuerpe (Sergeant Hayley), Graham McPherson (Lieutenant), David Yorston (Petty Officer), Robert O’Neill (Admiral), Robert MacLeod (General), John Ratzenberger (1st Controller), Alan Tilvern (2nd Controller), Phil Brown (State Senator), Bill Bailey (2nd Senator), Burnell Tucker (Agent), Chief Tug Smith (Indian Chief), Norman Warwick (Superchief Driver), Chuck Julian (Assistant), Colin Etherington (Power Company Driver), Mark Wynter (Mate), Roy Stevens (Warden)

LogBook entry and review by Dave Thomer

Categories
Batman Movies Movies (Christopher Nolan)

Batman Begins

Batman BeginsYoung billionaire Bruce Wayne, traumatized by the murder of his parents, wanders the world attempting to find some purpose to his life. After being directed to the mountaintop retreat of Ra’s Al Ghul, Wayne seems to find some peace with his past. But Wayne is unable to join Ra’s Al Ghul in his quest to topple civilization and he, instead, tears down Al Ghul’s retreat and returns to his home in Gotham City to become its protector. He takes on the mantle of Batman and aligns himself with Jim Gordon, one of the few uncorrupted officers on the Gotham Police Force. But just as he begins to do some good, Ra’s Al Ghul comes back into his life, questioning whether he has chosen the right side for which to fight…

screenplay by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer
story by David S. Goyer (Batman created by Bob Kane)
directed by Christopher Nolan
music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer

Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred), Liam Neeson (Ducard), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), Cillian Murphy (Dr. Jonathan Crane), Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone), Rutger Hauer (Earle), Ken Watanabe (Ra’s Al Ghul), Mark Boone Junior (Flass), Linus Roache (Thomas Wayne), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Larry Holden (Finch), Gerard Murphy (Judge Faden), Colin McFarlane (Loeb), Sara Stewart (Martha Wayne), Gus Lewis (Bruce Wayne – age 8 ), Richard Brake (Joe Chill), Rade Serbedzija (Homeless Man), Emma Lockhart (Rachel Dawes – age 8 )

LogBook entry and review by Philip R. Frey

Categories
Season 1 Supergirl

Supergirl (pilot)

SupergirlIn the dying days of the planet Krypton, young Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth to protect her younger cousin, Kal-El. When debris from Krypton’s destruction knocks Kara’s escape pod off-course, a detour through the Phantom Zone means that she doesn’t reach Earth until after Kal-El has reached maturity (and become known to the world as Superman). Her upbringing is entrusted to the Danvers family, where she has a normal life, an older sister…and eventually grows up in a very human way, not using her powers at all, holding down a dead-end job at the National City Tribune, being ordinary.

This ends when she learns that a flight taking her sister to Geneva is about to crash. She brings the plane down safely, but in doing so exposes herself to the scrutiny of the public as well as secret organizations. One of them, a cabal of Kryptonian criminals banished to the Phantom Zone, followed her pod to Earth, a planet of weak beings they intend to subjugate. Kara is an obstacle to their plans and is marked for death.

But Kara is even more disturbed to find that another organization, tracking aliens and those with extraordinary powers, includes her older sister, Alex, among its ranks. This organization is aware of, and closely monitors, the Kryptonian criminals, but believes Kara will prove ineffective in stopping them. She is urged to go back into hiding, to retreat into ordinary human life.

But it’s too late for that. Cat Grant, publisher of the Tribune, has taken the few blurry photos of Kara from the airplane rescue and has attached a name to National City’s new hero: Supergirl. With some advice from James (formerly Jimmy) Olsen, an old friend of her cousin’s, Kara must now navigate the already-complicated life of a twenty-four year old woman…and a secret life as a superhero.

Get this season on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by Ali Adler
story by Greg Berlanti & Ali Adler & Andrew Kreisberg
directed by Glen Winter
music by Blake Neely

SupergirlCast: Melissa Benoist (Kara / Supergirl), Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen), Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers) Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott), David Harewood (Hank Henshaw), Calista Flockhart (Cat Grant), Dean Cain (Jeremiah Danvers), Laura Benanti (Alura / Astra), Helen Slater (Eliza Danvers), Owain Yeoman (Vartox), Faran Tahir (Commander), Ben Begley (Tobey), Robert Gant (Zor-El), Derek Mio (Hayashi), Maline Weissman (young Kara Zor-El), Jordan Mazarati (young Alex Danvers), Briana Venskus (Agent Vasquez), Chriss Anglin (Pilot), Rick Garcia (Himself), Nick Jaine (Another Staffer), Kinna McInroe (Waitress), Leyna Nguyen (Herself), Paul Stuart (Yale), Julien Yuen (Terrified Teen)

SupergirlNotes: Kara’s parents are portrayed by actors with significantly super roles of their own. Helen Slater played Supergirl in the character’s sole big-screen adventure in 1984, while Dean Cain played Superman himself, almost as a side-note to the role of Clark Kent, in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman. Supergirl was developed for TV by the dynamic duo of Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, who brought Arrow and The Flash to CBS’ sister network, the CW; it was felt that Supergirl was enough of a high-profile character to add her to the CBS schedule rather than the CW. Supergirl proved popular on CBS, winning the series a full-season pickup, though she would eventually migrate to the CW for her second season.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Batman Movies (Adam West)

Return Of The Caped Crusaders

BatmanThe Riddler, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Joker hijack Gotham’s most-watched TV variety show simply to signal their latest crime wave. Batman and Robin follow leads and pursue the criminals, but Catwoman thinks she knows how to sway Batman to their side, using a potent chemical concoction that will do away with Batman’s urge to do good. The chemical doesn’t work until after Batman has rounded up the quartet of criminals, but when its effects do kick in, Batman suddenly installs himself as the ruler of Gotham City, relieving the police of their duties and allowing anarchy to reign. Alfred is fired, and Aunt Harriet is sent away in tears. Robin is about to go it alone against his mentor when he decides to enlist Catwoman’s reluctant help instead. But how can Robin fight the man who taught him everything he knows about fighting crime?

written by Michael Jelenic & James Tucker
directed by Rick Morales
music by Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion and Lolita Ritmanis / Batman theme by Neal Hefti

BatmanCast: Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Jeff Bergman (Announcer / Joker), Sirena Irwin (Miranda Moore), Thomas Lennon (Chief O’Hara), William Salyers (The Penguin), Lynne Marie Stewart (Aunt Harriet), Jim Ward (Commissioner Gordon), Steven Weber (Alfred), Wally Wingert (The Riddler)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green