"The Fantastic Four" (1978) TV series

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Creator:

Stan Lee

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The adventures of Marvel Comics' greatest superhero team.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Superhero | Marvel Comics | Fantastic Four | Superhero Team

Cast

Mike Road	...	Mr. Fantastic / ... (13 episodes, 1978)
Ginny Tyler	...	Sue Richards / ... (13 episodes, 1978)
Ted Cassidy	...	Ben Grimm / ... (13 episodes, 1978)
Frank Welker	...	H.E.R.B.I.E. (13 episodes, 1978)

Also Known As:

"The Fabulous Fantastic Four" (UK) (video box title)
"The New Fantastic Four" (USA) (promotional title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Marvel Productions

Trivia:

It has been very widely reported that the character of H.E.R.B.I.E the robot was created because of concerns that The Human Torch might lead children to set themselves afire. Comics creator John Byrne did a story on the concept while writer/artist of the Fantastic Four comic book in the early 1980s, and Doug Wildey claimed to have been part of the decision when interviewed for "Amazing Heroes" comics fan magazine (however, as a longtime Hanna-Barbera contributor, he would have worked on THEIR version, which DID feature The Torch). The actual catalyst for Herbie's creation was the simple fact that the TV rights to The Human Torch had already been optioned as part of the development deal between Marvel Comics, Universal Studios and CBS-TV, which resulted in prime-time, live-action versions of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Dr. Strange. The character was just not legally available for use in these cartoons. A live-action Torch proved an unfeasible project given the limits of the budget and special effects technology of the day, and never reached production. One other character also optioned under that deal was The Sub-Mariner, abandoned because _"Man from Atlantis, The" (1977)_ was felt to have been too similar.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During an episode featuring the villain Magneto, the character's voice changes completely between lines of dialog. This happens several times in the episode.

Quotes:

[opening narration]
Narrator: It was the world's strangest accident. While testing a new rocket ship, our heroes were bombarded by mysterious cosmic rays from outer space. Though they crash-landed safely, the strange and powerful rays had changed each one of them. Transforming their leader...

Movie Connections:

Version of "Fantastic Four" (2006)

The series that gave us "Herbie the robot" (ugh)

This Saturday-morning adaptation of the Marvel Comics title was done at a time when parental fears of violence on TV were at their worst. As such, the Human Torch does not appear in it. Parents were afraid their kids would like the Human Torch so much, they might try to light themselves on fire. Or something. Of course, without the Human Torch, they would only be the "Fantastic Three," so the writers had to invent a new character to fill in for him. And whom did they invent to replace the Human Torch? Why none other than H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot, a robot so annoyingly cute that you want to throw your bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs cereal at the TV every time he appears. The animation was on par with that of the animated Star Trek TV series -- in other words, it stank. And worst of all, I can't recall a single episode in which Doctor Doom made an appearance. What good are the Fantastic Four without Doctor Doom? That's like having an entire Silver Surfer TV series without Galactus, or a John Travolta movie without Scientology.