"Challenge of the SuperFriends" (1978) TV series

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Writers:

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Justice League of America battles the plots of the supervillian team, the Legion of Doom.

Plot Keywords:

DC Comics | Superhero Team | Superhero | Justice League | Black Vulcan

Cast

Jack Angel	...	Hawkman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Marlene Aragon	...	Cheetah (16 episodes, 1978)
Lewis Bailey		(16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Bell	...	The Riddler / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
William Callaway	...	Aquaman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Ted Cassidy	...	Black Manta / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Melanie Chartoff		(16 episodes, 1978)
Henry Corden		(16 episodes, 1978)
Danny Dark	...	Superman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Al Fann		(16 episodes, 1978)
Shannon Farnon	...	Wonder Woman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Ruth Forman	...	Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Hastings		(16 episodes, 1978)
Bob Holt		(16 episodes, 1978)
Buster Jones	...	Black Vulcan / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Stan Jones	...	Lex Luthor / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Casey Kasem	...	Robin / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Don Messick	...	Scarecrow / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Vic Perrin	...	Sinestro (16 episodes, 1978)
Renny Roker		(16 episodes, 1978)
Stanley Ralph Ross	...	Gorilla Grodd / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Dick Ryal	...	Captain Cold / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Michael Rye	...	Green Lantern / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Olan Soule	...	Batman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Jimmy Weldon	...	Solomon Grundy (16 episodes, 1978)
Frank Welker	...	Toyman / ... (16 episodes, 1978)
Louise Williams	...	Young Giganta (16 episodes, 1978)
William Woodson	...	Narrator / ... (16 episodes, 1978)

Runtime:

30 min (16 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-Y7

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

Alex Toth had submitted a different roster for the Legion of Doom that included villains from the rogues galleries of both Batman and Captain Marvel, assuming the latter would be in the show. In the original proposal the Legion Of Doom consisted of: Dr. Sivanna, Abra-Kadabra, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Gorilla Grodd, Heatwave, The Joker, Mr. Atom, Oggar, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Sinestro, and Beautia Sivanna (the Dr's daughter). Filmation Associates held the rights to Captain Marvel and related characters (featured in "Shazam!" (1974)) and most of the Batman villains were being used on "The New Adventures of Batman" (1977) (although HB and Filmation shared rights to Batman and Robin), so the group had to be retooled. The Captain Marvel villains were dropped and the Batman villains replaced, as were most of the Flash villains.

Goofs:

Continuity: In "Trial of the Super Friends", Black Manta and Bizarro are in two places at once. They appear at the trial in the Hall of Doom, while at the same time, they're at the government base stealing the "liquid light".

Quotes:

[title sequence]
Series Narrator: Banded together from remote galaxies are thirteen of the most sinister villains of all time, The Legion of Doom, dedicated to a single objective: the conquest of the universe. Only one group dares to challenge this intergalactic threat: The SuperFriends! The Justice League of America versus The Legion of Doom! This is the Challenge of the SuperFriends!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Toyz in the Hood (#1.5)" (2005)

Best Version of the Super Friends

I agree with all previous comments that this was the ultimate of all versions of the Super Friends. I remember watching this particular show when I was 12 years old. The basic plot of each episode involved the Legion of Doom shown at the beginning of each episode in their headquarters nestled in the murky swamp hatching some diabolical, evil plan to rid themselves of the Super Friends and gain control of the world. Their plans would always be thwarted by the Super Friends, but, just when it appeared that the Super Friends would capture the Legion of Doom in the end, the evildoers would always manage to escape until next week's installment when they would again devise another nefarious scheme.

My only complaint is that I never understood why there were only 11 Super Friends to combat 13 members of the Legion of Doom when there were other Justice League members such as Hawkgirl, Atom, El Dorado and Rima the Jungle Woman, among others, who could have been added to the show. I just think it would have been better to have had an equal number on each team of good and evil.

For a time in 1979, the episodes containing the Legion of Doom were shown with 2 half-hour shows featuring the principal Justice League (Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman & Robin, and featuring the Wonder Twins & Gleek) bringing the total time of the Super Friends show to a full 90 minutes.

For all you fans of this series, two VHS videos have been released in 2003. (Most likely they can be found in DVD format. I just found the videos today at my local Hollywood Video store.) Each video contains 4 full episodes.

The first is called "Challenge of the Super Friends: Attack of the Legion of Doom." It contains the following 4 episodes to which I will add a brief synopsis for each. In "Wanted: Ten Super Friends" the LOD uses mind control over the SF to make them steal gold, antiques and other riches; the SF turn themselves in to the authorities, but it is a trap set by the LOD to eliminate the SF and gain control of the world. In "Invasion of the Fearians" the LOD makes a pact with three-headed aliens from Venus, who plan to colonize the planet Earth and then destroy the SF so that the LOD can gain world dominion. In "The World's Deadliest Game" the LOD lead Wonder Woman, Hawkman and Black Vulcan through a black hole in space and onto a strange, desolate planet where Toyman terrorizes them in several "games" (pinball, dollhouse, etc.) while the other SF race to find them in time before the black hole closes permanently. In "The Time Trap" the LOD lead several of the SF into different time periods in order to steal riches and frame the SF for the crimes so that they will be caught and remain stuck in time and, therefore, cease to be a threat to the LOD in the furture.

The second is called "Challenge of the Super Friends: United They Stand." Following are the 4 featured episodes. In "Trial of the Super Friends" the LOD charges the SF with crimes of fighting injustice and evil; the LOD then finds them guilty and proceeds to punish them. In "Monolith of Evil" Solomon Grundy leads the other members of the LOD to the center of the Earth to the power source that made him evil so that they can gain new and more powerful sources of evil to use in their latest scheme against the SF. In "The Giants of Doom" Sinestro and Captain Cold lead the rest of the LOD around the world to collect vital elements needed to make a formula that will transform them into giants in order to conquer the SF and rule the universe. In "Secret Origins of the Super Friends" the LOD travels back in time to change the course of historical events so that Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern never became Super Friends and it's up to the other SF to go back in time to undo the damage done by the LOD.

These are great! Watching these episodes again was like reliving a part of my youth... it seemed like Saturday morning all over again. I hope they release all of the episodes, because there are others that I remember that were not included on these tapes. If you can, check them out!

As a general comment, I wish the Cartoon Network would feature this show more prominently again. I don't think it is on the schedule anymore, but I am not positive. (If it is, I cannot find it.) This channel seems to make a lot of new shows (and airs each new show at least 5 times per day) and completely ignores old favorites, except for Scooby Doo, which is also a great show (but I am referring only to the orginial shows from 1969 & 1970 and NOT the Scrappy or Scooby Dumb or "guest star" mysteries). The same thing has happened with the Game Show Network. The people in charge of these cable stations are missing the point... viewers want to see the shows that they remember and grew up watching. Fortunately for viewers like me, there is a channel that does understand this basic philosphy... TV Land!