Swamp Thing 

The adventures of a man-turned-muck monster. Swamp Thing was once a man named Alec Holland, but after being caught on fire, doused with strange chemicals, and dumped into the Louisiana ... See full summary »

Stars:

Mark Lindsay Chapman, Dick Durock, Scott Garrison

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Mark Lindsay Chapman	...	Dr. Anton Arcane 72 episodes, 1990-1993
Dick Durock	...	Swamp Thing 72 episodes, 1990-1993
Scott Garrison	...	Will Kipp 60 episodes, 1990-1993
Kevin Quigley	...	Graham / ... 37 episodes, 1990-1993
Carrell Myers	...	Tressa Kipp 35 episodes, 1990-1993

Storyline

The adventures of a man-turned-muck monster. Swamp Thing was once a man named Alec Holland, but after being caught on fire, doused with strange chemicals, and dumped into the Louisiana swamps by the evil Dr. Anton Arcane, Alec's body mutated. No longer is he human, or even an animal. His body is made from the muck and plants of the swamp. He's super strong and can make plants do his bidding. Good thing he's on our side...

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Plot Keywords:

swamp thing character | based on comic book | vertigo comics | dc comics | character name as series title | 

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Taglines:

Too intelligent to be captured. Too powerful to be destroyed.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

For the first thirteen episodes, second unit scenes were shot on location in actual Florida swamps. However to both save on costs of transporting cast, crew and equipment, and to have more control over filming conditions a swamp set was built at Universal Studios' property. It was included on the Production Studios Tour until after the series ended.

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Quotes

Swamp Thing: The swamp is my world. It is who I am. It is what I am. I was once a man. I know the evil men do. Do not bring your evil here, I warn you. Beware the wrath of... Swamp Thing!

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Connections

Referenced in VH-1 Where Are They Now?: Superheroes (1999)

User Reviews

So close, yet so far...

I enjoyed the first SWAMP THING film for what it was, and despise the second for what it was. I had read the comics for many years but didn't know what to expect of a weekly show that would have a small budget. Looking back, I feel the series succeeded as often as it failed.

The best episodes were those that focused on Swamp Thing (or 'Alec' as he was referred to by the people who knew him). The series started out on shaky footing, and had Swampy act out of character. In the first episode he turns a bad guy into a tree until the writers establish that he would never take a human life. Any episode that had him turn back human was well done.

Most of the episodes made him a Rod Serling of the swamp, taking a back seat to the action. A lot of these weren't too bad, but the bad ones were terrible. These boiled down to two plots: bad guys hide out in the swamp, only to have to face their crimes in a nightmare-ish way, or people with problems wander in the swamp, to become better by facing their fears. The best of these was when Ray Wise (Dr. Holland from the original movie) guest starred as someone who might be an alien and almost kills Swamp Thing.

In my opinion far too many episodes chronicled Arcane's (Swamp Thing's enemy) foul adventures. I realize that there is a fan base of women (and some men) who found the character/actor too sexy for words and wanted even less of Swamp Thing in each episode. Be that as it may, I feel the series as a whole suffered for it, and that will keep people from rediscovering it.

The series lacked truly dramatic episodes, the ones that would get the media's attention (like how 'The Best of Both Worlds' episodes of Star Trek:TNG did). There wasn't a single two-part episode throughout the run, which would've allowed the writers to develop a deeper story. Plotlines were never adequately ended, such as the disappearance of Tressa's son.

In the face of all these detriments, I enjoyed the show (and have almost every episode on tape; doubtful there will be a DVD release). Although it could have been so much more, it was certainly better than many other shows or movies based on comic books.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Swamp Thing

Filming Locations:

Gatorland - 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBK Productions, Batfilm Productions, DIC Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (72 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1