My Favorite Super-hero Television Series

#1

Batman (1966)

#2

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

#3

Smallville

#4

The Greatest American Hero

My 10 Favorite Episodes of The Greatest American Hero by Season

Notes on favorite episodes

#1

“The Greatest American Hero” (0x01)

• The pilot for The Greatest American Hero aired on March 18, 1981. I have always wondered, since the pilot itself & many subsequent episodes make clear that the super-suit’s powers work even when Ralph is wearing his normal clothes over it & since Ralph dislikes the costume, why Ralph does not simply wear the red suit under his civilian clothes all the time.

• On watching the pilot, the viewer can certainly understand why Warner Brothers brought a lawsuit against the network. The pilot contains multiple references to both Superman & Lois Lane.

• The Greatest American Hero’s theme song, “Believe It or Not” sung by Joey Scarbury, peaked at #2 in August, 1981 & spent a total of 18 weeks in the Billboard Top 40.

#2

“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys ” (1x05)

• “The Feminum Mystique” originally aired on 6 & 8 November, 1976 & guest stars Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family), Debra Winger (An Officer & a Gentlemen), & John Saxon (Enter the Dragon).

---

#5

The Flash

My Three Favorite Episodes of The Flash by Season

Notes on favorite episodes

#1

“The Flash” (0x01)

• Barry Allen’s longtime girlfriend & eventual wife, Iris West, appeared in the pilot—played by Paula Marshall [Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)]—but did not appear in any subsequent episodes. In the comics, Iris is the aunt of the Flash’s Silver Age sidekick & Teen Titan, Kid Flash (Wally West). Upon Barry’s demise, Wally assumes the mantle of the Flash.

• Robert Hooks portrays Central City Chief of Police Arthur Cooper. Hooks played Admiral Morrow (“Starfleet Commander”) in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

• “The Flash” aired on September 20, 1990, just a year after Batman was released at theaters, & many influences are apparent, the overall dark tone & Danny Elfman score being just two. In this pilot, Barry Allen has an older brother (which the comic book Barry never did), named Jay. (I believe the name of Jay Allen is an homage to Jay Garrick, the original, Golden Age Flash of the comics.) And Jay is killed by the villain of the piece, which gives Barry a very Batman-esque revenge motivation, very unlike the comic book Flash. (Jay Allen was portrayed by Tim Thomerson, who played Gene/Jean on the 1977-1978 SF spoof series Quark.)
• At one point in this pilot, the villains make use of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). 13 years later, discussions of IEDs & VBIEDs would become commonplace on CNN segments on the Iraq War (OIF).

#2

“Ghost in the Machine” (1x08)

• “Ghost in the Machine” was the eighth episode of The Flash & originally aired on December 13, 1990. “Ghost in the Machine” guest stars Jason Bernard (“Divorce Venusian Style” episode of The Greatest American Hero, Blue Thunder, All of Me, While You Were Sleeping, & Liar Liar) & Anthony Starke (License to Kill) as a super-hero & super-villain from the 1950s who involve the Flash in their feud. Bernard, as Nightshade (a Batman/Sandman-esque hero), would return in The Flash episode “Deadly Nightshade.”

---

#6

Wonder Woman

My 10 Favorite Wonder Woman Episodes by Season

Notes on favorite episodes

#1

“The New, Original Wonder Woman” (0x01)

• The Wonder Woman pilot, which aired November 7, 1975 on ABC, stars Lynda Carter & Lyle Waggoner & guest stars Cloris Leachman & Red Buttons.

• The Wonder Woman production team chose to set the series in 1942 during World War II. While this was an interesting choice, working well in the initial season, & corresponds to the characters’ origins, nothing about Wonder Woman makes her an inherently WWII super-hero. In other words, continually placing her & her origins during the 1940s is like doing the same with Superman & Batman, both of whom actually first appeared during the Great Depression & a few years later became embroiled in Allied war efforts as well.

• The series introduced a few changes to the character of Wonder Woman, such as her spinning transformation from Diana Prince, as well as her dependence on her belt for super-human strength.
• The Queen of the Amazons & Diana’s mother was portrayed by three different actresses during the course of the series. The character is never referred to as Queen Hippolyta, which is of course her name from the comics & Greek myth.

#2

“The Feminum Mystique” (2x02 & 2x03)

• “The Feminum Mystique” originally aired on November 6 & 8, 1976 & guest stars Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family), Debra Winger (An Officer & a Gentlemen), & John Saxon (Enter the Dragon & “The Return of Bigfoot”).

• “The Feminum Mystique” centers on a Nazi plot to invade Paradise Island & mine the bulletproof metal feminum to be used in the construction of planes, tanks, & ships. It is noteworthy that this plot was launched before any German studies on the metal had been conducted to determine its suitability for the proposed use.
• “The Feminum Mystique” is the only episode of Wonder Woman to show her transforming from Wonder Woman into Diana. No explosion or thunderclap accompanies this change.

• The title of “The Feminum Mystique” is a play on the title of the 1963 Betty Friedan book, The Feminine Mystique.
• In “The Feminum Mystique,” Debra Winger—in an early role—portrays Diana’s little sister, Drusilla, who later becomes the costumed crimefighter, Wonder Girl. The Wonder Girl of the comics is variously either a younger version of Diana herself or an orphaned American girl (Donna Troy) taken to Paradise Island to be raised by the Amazons.

#3

“Judgment from Outer Space” (2x07 & 2x08)

• “Judgment from Outer Space” originally aired on January 15 & 17, 1977 & guest stars Tim O’Conner (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) & Scott Hylands.
• “Judgment from Outer Space” was written by Stephen Kandel (who also wrote screenplays for one episode of The Amazing Spider-Man, one episode of Charlie’s Angels, two episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, two episodes of Man from Atlantis, three episodes of Switch, one episode of The Bionic Woman, two episodes of Star Trek: TAS, five episodes of Mission: Impossible, five episodes of It Takes a Thief, two episodes of The Wild, Wild West, two episodes of Ironside, seven episodes of I Spy, the two episodes of Star Trek: TOS featuring Harcourt Fenton Mudd, five episodes of Batman, 14 episodes of Sea Hunt, 17 episodes of MacGyver, & three more episodes of Wonder Woman, including the two-part sequel to “Judgment from Outer Space,” “Mind-Stealers from Outer Space”).
• “Judgment from Outer Space” was directed by Alan Crosland (who directed 16 episodes of Wonder Woman in all, in addition to one episode of Tarzan & five episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, including “The Secret of Bigfoot”).

• “Judgment from Outer Space” marks the third appearance of Wonder Woman’s cape. Ironically, in the cape’s first appearance, it was worn by Fausta Grables (Lynda Day George) while impersonating the Amazing Amazon. However, Fausta did not combine the cape with a skirt as Diana did in the cape’s next two appearances on the show.
• Fairly early in the second installment of this two-part episode, Major Trevor flies to the United Kingdom to coordinate a clandestine, undercover entrance into Nazi Germany. Steve is to travel with a military officer/agent familiar with the route. This officer identifies himself as Welsh & takes offense when Steve praises his plan as exemplifying “British efficiency.” This is a silly inaccuracy. Not only is Wales part of the geographic area of Great Britain, it is physically located on the island of Britain. So in what sense is Wales not British? If Steve had said “English efficiency,” this reaction would make more sense.

• In early 1977, when “Judgment from Outer Space” aired, the public’s taste for aliens & SF seemed to be reaching a crescendo. Two of the multi-part The Six Million Dollar Man episodes featuring Sasquatch & aliens had aired in 1976 to wide acclaim. Star Trek fandom was at an all-time high. One could almost sense the impending SF explosion that would be fully realized with the May, 1977—just four months away at the initial airing of “Judgment from Outer Space”—release of Star Wars.