Don't take this the wrong way....You're reviewing it as an adult. I whatch it when it aired, I think I was like 12...Watching your cartoons come to life it was the best thing I ever saw... Those where difrent times, we where more inocent and simple than the kids today. There was no computers, playstations, cable, satelite dish or CGI or THX etc etc....Was good ol' fashin T.V....Those where the days....I thank you.
Yeah I agree, the host of this review was hard to connect with. All those scenes as cringe worthy as he describes it, wasn’t all that bad especially if you a sincere appreciation for the time period and other shows with the same comedy or production value. I think the show looked awesome for its time
Best, most accurate superhero costumes ever. Hawkman, Huntress and Black Canary really looked the part. And it was great to see West (who was very fit) and Ward (who was starting to get fat) back in action one last time.
"Legends of the Superheroes" is how I first discovered RUclips in 2007. I was feeling nostalgic about this show and Googled it to see if there was any info about it on Wikipedia or something. Lo and behold, one of the first hits was the full episode on this thing I'd never heard of before called "RUclips" My reaction: "This RUclips is the greatest thing ever!"
Didn't see this when it first aired. Found it for sale on DVD at a Wizard World Convention in Arlington TX, like 15 years ago. Loved it, and have rewatched it many many times. I know it's silly and dated but I grew up in the 70's and this spoke to my inner kid.
Then watch Batman or Wonder Woman, both of which are readily available and far superior. Stop pretending like a bad variety show masquerading as superheroes was even remotely good.
@@jamiebraswell5520 Get over yourself. A lot of the shows of the '70s were very kitsch, it was, in fact, the ERA of variety shows. Who are you to tell someone what they should feel nostalgic for instead?!?
I was 9 when this aired. I thought it was the coolest thing ever!! Thinking it was a new series, I was heartbroken come week three and there were no new episodes. I still thought it was so awesome seeing all my favorite super heroes, in live action on the TV!! But as I got older, this show slowly became a dust covered memory, put away in a child's mental attic. But many MANY years later, thanks to the internet and IMDb, I found out IT WAS ACTUALLY REAL!! I remember telling my then girlfriend about it and how much it meant to me when I was a kid. Imagine my surprise, when that Christmas, there was a copy (all be it a bootleg one) under the Christmas tree!! I put it in the DVD player...yes it was cheesy, yes it was cringe worthy, but for about two hours, I was 9 years old again and had to choke back some tears. Not too long ago, I found out that it's available on Amazon, so I picked up the actual release that includes behind the scene footage!! Much like KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (Also from Hanna-Barbara.), as bad as they are, they couldn't mean more to me!! They'll both have a very special place in my heart. :)
I feel the same way about this as I do about those "The Brady Bunch Comedy Hour" shows. It was great to watch as a little kid and in spite of their flaws , which are more glaring now in hindsight , it remains fun & pleasant nostalgia for those who saw it way back when as a kid.
@@travislangley7395 I wouldn't say far worse. At least they didn't spend 10's of million of dollars on this. Also I can laugh at this because it is so bad .
You made avery good point here!! So would have the original Batman TV Series. Both shows had an appeal for kids, not adults who probably wanted to see more mature material.
I was 10 or 11 when these specials aired and remember them fondly. They're cheesy as hell but if you were a young child at the time they were basically a cool live action version of the concurrent Superfriends cartoon. I also like to think of them as being canon with Batman '66 due to West and Ward being involved
I watched these live with great anticipation! I was 8 and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I remembered it fondly and always hoped for a rerun but had to wait until I was in my young 20s before finding a bootleg vhs. Upon watching it again...I was at a loss for words.
I don't. That was the same week as that Captain America movie where kids all over America were yelling at him to get off the damned motorcycle. I mean he had to be on it for 20 minutes of the movie. It was a bad couple of weeks for superheroes. If I remember right, I turned away from the show pretty quickly. (40 year old memories)
I loved BOTH specials as a kid! You can't review something as an adult 40 years later and talk about how bad it was. I remember it was great to see Adam West & Burt Ward back again! Remember this: What you think is great now...40 years from now the generation of 2060 will make fun of it.
I used to think I wanted a bigger budget ,more serious superhero. Well now we get them every couple of months and I have had enough. I have started to appreciate the older silly shows I watched as a kid. After all a hero that goes around wearing tights and a mask is pretty silly .
Adam West. Burt Ward. Frank Gorshin.... and they still messed it up!!!! First of all, they had a laugh track! Several times, they played to the camera. Too many villains and heroes at one time, whereas Batman should have been the main focus. Getto Man would never have been allowed to be in the show today. I watched this when it first aired and my heart was broken (I was 16). I was hoping this would bring back the Batman show. I realized watching it, that it would not. Good Solomon Grundy though. Looked just like the comic book character.
I was reading a Batman from 1979 with drug dealers and gunfires... then I watched this. So the comic "for kids" was more adult than this show "for kids"? They really didnt understand comic books back in the days.
I was 11 when these aired and I was psyched. I just happened to turn the channel and found the first episode. Hawkman ( hot) and Black Canary's costumes weren't bad.
Yeah, they weren't the best shows, but I didn't think the costumes were that bad--they were pretty close to the comic book costumes. And I thought it was interesting which characters they chose. Hawkman? The Huntress? The Weather Wizard? Mordru? These are not characters that most people would think of when thinking of superheroes and villains. In 1979, I would have been 14, and a year into my comic book collecting phase, and I was excited to see such 2nd-tier characters in live action, even if the shows were kind of silly.
I read that Adam West did not enjoyed doing this special at all. There was talk at the time of a Batman reboot of some sort, which unfortunately, lead to this project. I do remember seeing this at the age of 10. I actually enjoyed it back then.
I was a huge comic book fan as a kid in the 70's and I hated about 90% of super hero stuff I saw on screen. For some reason, in the 70's, Hollywood thought that everything "superhero" had to be campy as hell! While superhero comic books had some humor in them, they were never as stupid as all the stuff we saw on screen. I couldn't watch this kind of garbage and I was only 10 years old at the time. It ruined superheroes for me.
When I was young I was very excited to them as live action characters. It would’ve been great if they had one season at least. But it sure was fun to watch.
But even with that, it was horrible. I think of the various holiday shows showing the vast the quality differences. Let me give you an example. Have you seen the Paul Lynde Halloween Special? It was the silliest show ever created with Witchipoo, Margaret Hamilton, Roz (Pinky Tuscadero) Kelly, Kiss and Billy Barty. It should be the worst show ever created, but somehow it is wonderful. Now, we go to the Star Wars Holiday special. Same type of diverse cast. Even more singers, a fairly decent budget and it is an unwatchable total nightmare. It's running on continuous loop in Hell. The variety shows would range from Carol Burnett to Pink Lady and Jeff. So the format isn't what killed it.
wow...for some reason, I always thought this was some weird dream I had as a child...and just couldn't forget it. now I know...It was really real..and I really watched this. cheesy...but I like it.
It's crazy because I vividly remember this show, yet it felt exactly the same way you described it - like a figment of your imagination. As an 8 year old kid who was a heavy Superfriends fan at that time, I knew this show was real because I instantly knew all the characters on it and was tripping on them having Shazam in the place of Superman. A child's memory is something..
Clearly this production was (tongue in cheek), by design. So to pick apart plot failings, and bad special effects of a 70's TV show seems a bit silly. I don't believe the writers were trying to make a classic, and lets face it, the source material is comic books. People just didn't take superheroes as seriously in the 70's as they do now..
Stupid comment. People took Superman very seriously, so this crap flew in the face of everyone who knew that comic book superheroes deserved more than this crap offered. Hell, even the 60's Batman had far superior writing, even if it was campy. Your comment is just down right stupid.
But this is bad by even Saturday morning TV standards. The simple truth is that even by the standards of the time, this is terrible. As mentioned, this is the era of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk. And kids had live action TV shows on Saturday mornings. By all standards of 70's tv, this show was bad.
This is the same Batman and Robin that appear in the 1966 Batman series. By logic, that means all of the other superheroes on the show are cannon and in the same universe?
Yes, I remember watching this as a child. I'll admit by today's standards it's a bit cheezy and campy... but back then, everyone at school were raving about it. I thought it was great!
@george scott When you mention that the castaways meet the Harlem Globetrotters, the looks you get.... If you don't remember, that's because they had two specials.
No wonder woman or Superman… Somehow I think Linda and Christopher weren’t exactly shedding tears that copyright stood in the way of them joining the cast.
Actually no, All three appeared in the telemovies "Return To The Batcave: The Misadventures Of Adam And Burt". Frank Gorshin appeared with Julie Newmar. Gorshin looked really ill as he was dying from cancer at the time.
I LOVED this when it came out, because of Adam West and Burt Ward. Yes, the "Robin who does flips" IS Burt Ward, Adam West's sidekick from the show. If you watch the special ffeatures DVD you would know that Burt was an all star at tumbling and other gymnastic sklls
The people who didn't like this show probably didn't like the "Batman" TV series or "The Monster Squad!" I enjoyed both of them and both of these specials for the campy, fun-filled comedy shows that they were! The fact that up and coming comedians appeared in them should have tipped the viewers off that this was done "just for laffs!" Lighten up, superhero fans!
As one person pointed out they didn't really take superheroes that seriously back then, comics at that time were still thought to be for kids and this was probably their main audience. The fact they even adapted them at all is something of a miracle especially for live action. And the technology back then was also quite limited so of course the graphics and effects would seem especially cheesy by today's standards, you should have seen what Marvel was pumping out at the time. They gave Captain America a plastic see through shield that was part of his bike. Terrible jokes aside they probably had fun making this. And is also kinda the template of what not to do when making a movie or special. In fact they still weren't taken seriously until at least about the 90s, and no one other than Batman or Superman were considered a bankable franchise. James Cameron tried to make a Spider-Man movie in the 90s that never got off the ground along with several others. We're fortunate with what we have, and you know they had to start somewhere when they made
For many years, I had vague memories of the "Roast" - specifically, when Sinestro blasts Green Lantern (as shown around 8:00 or so). And for years, I thought I had imagined something so hokey. It wasn't until a few years ago that I stumbled across references to it on the Internet. Overjoyed that my memory was not playing tricks on me, I watched it! And regretted every second of it.
It was really meant more as a spoof in the vein of the 60s Batman TV series, not something to be taken seriously. And remember, back then superhero TV shows were still primarily aimed at kids and not adults.
I was 11 when this came on, and I was pretty excited to see it, but came away disappointed. It made me laugh at a few bits, but I wanted it taken more seriously. I would have been fine with some humor, but more action, effects and stunts would have been nice.
Yes these 2 Primetime Specials of "Challenge." and"Legends."are maybe as we could say ridiculous in the tradition of The 1960s Batman TV show with camp.
I saw this when I aired and later found it on VHS (that's before DVD's for those who are too young to know). I was still young enough to enjoy this, it just happens to be in the same theme as Adam West's Batman and was never meant to be dark and without humor like today's DC movies. To be honest, give me this rather than the junk DC puts out, with the exception of Aquaman.
OMG dr. Sivana looks amazing and so real, like a comicbook character really coming to life. Don't take wrong i love mark strong as dr. Sivana he did an amazing job, but he obviously was inspired by new 52 and seeing pre crisis dr sivana in live action is amazing
To me ledgends of the superheros especially the roast is hilarious. I don't care if the show bombed, it is funny and interesting especially seeing adam west and Burt ward reprised their roles again from the 1966 Batman. I hated when RUclips don't have a full episodes of it and it's broken down. I'm trying to find it on DVD. Were all entitled to our own opinions but I'd like the show.
The guy showing batman and robin that car is named Jeff. I can't remember his last name but he was on a tv show named pink lady and Jeff. It was him and a Japanese singing duo of ladies that barely spoke English. Between that show and this mess you can see why no one remembers him.
What was very sad was that the cast contained many very intelligent and funny people who either just accepted the paycheck without input or greatly underestimated their audience
John, it's good to see you returning to reviews of comics-to-film stuff again. Please keep it up! I actually saw these as a kid when they first aired on a 13" B&W. The only thing that really stuck with me about them were the heroes I'd never heard of, particularly Black Canary, Huntress and Green Lantern. The first two never appeared on Superfriends, and Green Lantern was only in a handful of episodes.
I remember watching this when was a kid. and for years, now and then, I'd think about it and try to find some info on it. And now, I find this! Awesome childhood flash back.
If they would have just played it straight it would have been okay. But they took the lazy way out and got every has-been over-the-hill Vaudeville Catskills reject to participate and wouldn't attempt to pay to have Superman or Wonder Woman in it, so ... yeah, predictable results. Why try when you can just play it for a goof? Looks like a failed cash grab to me. And Project UFO was pretty weird too ... Dragnet except the investigate UFO sightings. Like X-Files but without the appealing protagonists. And every episode ended with the agents explaining away how the UFO was fake or a mistake - then there was a stinger where it turned out the UFO was real!
@Will N That's interesting, when you read an issue Isabella did in which he has Black Lightning deal with a copycat who steals for a woman called ANNAH BARBRA, it sounds more like HB and not DC was ripping him off, or at least he thought that without actually being true.
This show wasn't meant for today's audience. It must have been like viewing the avengers back then. Watching it with yesterday's lens, the magic still remains.
This isn't bad. I've seen 10xWorse, where the powers & characters were totally disrespected: Hasbro giving characters (like Spider-Man) vehicles, Unnecessary costume changes (such the TV Daredevil's where only the horns remain), Video games were everyone has the same powers, etc.
This was before it's time. Thematically in this day and age being updated with its modern day technology everyone would be supportive of this, especially if you see it as they are playing today at the theaters. Because everything that are Marvel, DC are all older than 60 to 70 years old. We all can agree when you see this from a kids perspective you enjoy action packed heroes. Superheroes are for all ages.
Scarlett Cyclone is the same guy who played The Admiral on Get Smart a few times. The joke with him there was he was very very old. Now Playing Podcast led me here with their review. Nice to get some good pictures of this stinker.
He was played by William Schallert who I remember from "The Patty Duke Show!" Sadly we lost him in 2016 at the age of 93! He was still working until 2014 when he appeared in an episode of "2 Broke Girls!"
@@dhenderson1810 Yes, he was Admiral Hargreaves. I remember an episode where they did a send up of "This is your Life" where they stated that CONTROL started as a family business called "Hargreaves and Sons - Spies." I thought that was hilarious when I saw it.
I was 13 when this aired, I personally Loved these shows. For a child they were fun and at the time very advanced on the special effects. From an adults persepctive of course they are silly and a bit stupid, they were not aimed at the Adults though. All of it was meant for the children. The reason for the low ratings, in part, was the lack of advertisements. I only saw like 2 for these shows in the preceding weeks. That was an oversight I think to the shows doing better than they did.
Best this is previewed here before buying it at a comic book store! #Superhero leotards and spandex solving the campy crimes of super-villainy, Hanna-Barbera style, save your money 💵 in my opinion.
Wow, I don't know how this one slipped by me in '79. I was definitely part of the demographic. Me thinks I'm better off for missing it. Pity I didn't also miss Marvel's '70s attempts at Captain America and Spiderman. Ooof. So bad. So very bad.
Great commentary and historical details. I remember watching both of these when I was 7. Of course, I didn't realize how awful they were at the time and was disappointed that they didn't make more. Now I know why.
The OG superhero dreamteam. People this was before the marvel comedic universe was a glimmer in Kevin Feiges eye. Who said DC doesn't know how to be light hearted or that their movies are too dark. Proof positive they can go toe to toe with marvel when it comes to campiness.
Truly awful. Almost everything was wrong. Black Canary's power was a destructive sonic sound?!? This brought back some childhood nightmares. I LOVED batman as a six year old ,only to see it reduced to this dreck when I was 19. I would rather listen to an auto-tuned queef, than this monstrosity!
I watched this as a kid, and loved it. Got to see Batman and Robin again. To me it was like a live action Super Friends, which was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon at the time.
Ocelotl Chimalpahin sounds like sjw bitching to me. Also life would be pretty boring if we had to put every type of person on a pedistal never to be made fun of like the ultra left wants.
![Diggy Graves - Red Vineyard [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Ro085T0mnQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Don't take this the wrong way....You're reviewing it as an adult. I whatch it when it aired, I think I was like 12...Watching your cartoons come to life it was the best thing I ever saw... Those where difrent times, we where more inocent and simple than the kids today. There was no computers, playstations, cable, satelite dish or CGI or THX etc etc....Was good ol' fashin T.V....Those where the days....I thank you.
Exactly. The Country was not as critical
Your comment was very perceptive
Agreed!
zacarias tercero same!
Yeah I agree, the host of this review was hard to connect with. All those scenes as cringe worthy as he describes it, wasn’t all that bad especially if you a sincere appreciation for the time period and other shows with the same comedy or production value. I think the show looked awesome for its time
Best, most accurate superhero costumes ever. Hawkman, Huntress and Black Canary really looked the part. And it was great to see West (who was very fit) and Ward (who was starting to get fat) back in action one last time.
Best most accurate superhero costumes ever!!!??? Are off your men's or smoking crack?
Plus, despite how they were played, the villains looked perfect.
So we'll never get a comicbook accurated black canary on modern day, so sad.
I will take bert ward with a dad bod any day
Hawkman is JACKED
Makes me wonder who played him because Arnold Schwarzenegger was pretty big at the time.. but this guy that played hot man was HUGE.
Today we have Jackman!
@@mtrich8113 imdb says it was Bill Nuckols
If you thought this was crazy, you should've seen that Japanese live-action version of Spider Man!
Change Leopardon !!!!
"I Am An Emissary From Hell !"
"Legends of the Superheroes" is how I first discovered RUclips in 2007. I was feeling nostalgic about this show and Googled it to see if there was any info about it on Wikipedia or something. Lo and behold, one of the first hits was the full episode on this thing I'd never heard of before called "RUclips"
My reaction: "This RUclips is the greatest thing ever!"
Interesting
Didn't see this when it first aired. Found it for sale on DVD at a Wizard World Convention in Arlington TX, like 15 years ago. Loved it, and have rewatched it many many times. I know it's silly and dated but I grew up in the 70's and this spoke to my inner kid.
Then watch Batman or Wonder Woman, both of which are readily available and far superior. Stop pretending like a bad variety show masquerading as superheroes was even remotely good.
@@jamiebraswell5520 Get over yourself. A lot of the shows of the '70s were very kitsch, it was, in fact, the ERA of variety shows. Who are you to tell someone what they should feel nostalgic for instead?!?
@@jamiebraswell5520 Do not speak again....
It spoke to your inner kid and told him to do drugs.
Lots and lots of drugs.
I saw this on TV back in '79. I was 8. I loved it. I didn't matter if it was lame. I loved seeing superheroes.
I was 7 and I barely remember watching this when it aired. Thanks for the memories.
I remember this show but as a 10 year old comic book GEEK I would watch ANYTHING with super heroes in it.
Compared to all the other, better shows on at the time, it was rough to watch.
Me too! As a kid, quality didn't matter. Anything with live action super heroes was a must-watch.
I was 9 when this aired. I thought it was the coolest thing ever!! Thinking it was a new series, I was heartbroken come week three and there were no new episodes.
I still thought it was so awesome seeing all my favorite super heroes, in live action on the TV!! But as I got older, this show slowly became a dust covered memory, put away in a child's mental attic. But many MANY years later, thanks to the internet and IMDb, I found out IT WAS ACTUALLY REAL!! I remember telling my then girlfriend about it and how much it meant to me when I was a kid. Imagine my surprise, when that Christmas, there was a copy (all be it a bootleg one) under the Christmas tree!! I put it in the DVD player...yes it was cheesy, yes it was cringe worthy, but for about two hours, I was 9 years old again and had to choke back some tears. Not too long ago, I found out that it's available on Amazon, so I picked up the actual release that includes behind the scene footage!!
Much like KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park (Also from Hanna-Barbara.), as bad as they are, they couldn't mean more to me!! They'll both have a very special place in my heart. :)
I feel the same way about this as I do about those "The Brady Bunch Comedy Hour" shows. It was great to watch as a little kid and in spite of their flaws , which are more glaring now in hindsight , it remains fun & pleasant nostalgia for those who saw it way back when as a kid.
Worse than the Joel Schumacher Batman films? Not possible.
Oh, yes, I am afraid it is very possible. This was far worse.
@@travislangley7395 I wouldn't say far worse. At least they didn't spend 10's of million of dollars on this. Also I can laugh at this because it is so bad .
Wow Adam West was still in shape though. I think it would have done better on Saturday morning.
You made avery good point here!! So would have the original Batman TV Series. Both shows had an appeal for kids, not adults who probably wanted to see more mature material.
Yeah, since the Shazam/Isis hour was on then, it would've fit right in. Maybe even get Electra Woman and Dyna Girl to guest star.
Say what you want that black canary was smokin!
Yes, much more than the one in Birds of Prey.
you could still do that on tv back then
you could even smoke on the airplane
I was 10 or 11 when these specials aired and remember them fondly. They're cheesy as hell but if you were a young child at the time they were basically a cool live action version of the concurrent Superfriends cartoon. I also like to think of them as being canon with Batman '66 due to West and Ward being involved
I watched these live with great anticipation! I was 8 and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I remembered it fondly and always hoped for a rerun but had to wait until I was in my young 20s before finding a bootleg vhs. Upon watching it again...I was at a loss for words.
I watched it back then. It was bad, but back then we took what we could get. I remember it fondly.
I don't. That was the same week as that Captain America movie where kids all over America were yelling at him to get off the damned motorcycle. I mean he had to be on it for 20 minutes of the movie. It was a bad couple of weeks for superheroes. If I remember right, I turned away from the show pretty quickly. (40 year old memories)
I loved BOTH specials as a kid! You can't review something as an adult 40 years later and talk about how bad it was. I remember it was great to see Adam West & Burt Ward back again! Remember this: What you think is great now...40 years from now the generation of 2060 will make fun of it.
I kinda like it, too. My favorite were the new characters they made.
I used to think I wanted a bigger budget ,more serious superhero. Well now we get them every couple of months and I have had enough. I have started to appreciate the older silly shows I watched as a kid. After all a hero that goes around wearing tights and a mask is pretty silly .
Hawkman's mom is Pat Carroll who is best known for playing Ursula in the Little Mermaid!
Adam West. Burt Ward. Frank Gorshin.... and they still messed it up!!!! First of all, they had a laugh track! Several times, they played to the camera. Too many villains and heroes at one time, whereas Batman should have been the main focus. Getto Man would never have been allowed to be in the show today. I watched this when it first aired and my heart was broken (I was 16). I was hoping this would bring back the Batman show. I realized watching it, that it would not. Good Solomon Grundy though. Looked just like the comic book character.
That Grundy beat the HELL out of what they did on Gotham. And I thought all the costumes looked pretty darn good!
@@danebarrett237 if those times those costumes did look good for what they were.
I was reading a Batman from 1979 with drug dealers and gunfires... then I watched this. So the comic "for kids" was more adult than this show "for kids"? They really didnt understand comic books back in the days.
Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams did a great job with Batman. Thanks to them Batman became a badass hero.
I was 11 when these aired and I was psyched. I just happened to turn the channel and found the first episode. Hawkman ( hot) and Black Canary's costumes weren't bad.
Yeah, they weren't the best shows, but I didn't think the costumes were that bad--they were pretty close to the comic book costumes. And I thought it was interesting which characters they chose. Hawkman? The Huntress? The Weather Wizard? Mordru? These are not characters that most people would think of when thinking of superheroes and villains. In 1979, I would have been 14, and a year into my comic book collecting phase, and I was excited to see such 2nd-tier characters in live action, even if the shows were kind of silly.
I read that Adam West did not enjoyed doing this special at all. There was talk at the time of a Batman reboot of some sort, which unfortunately, lead to this project. I do remember seeing this at the age of 10. I actually enjoyed it back then.
Hawkman is seriously ripped!
Wasn't he? I guess they couldn't find Arnie at the time.Oh yeah, he was doing Hercules goes to New York and the Lucille Ball show.
I was a huge comic book fan as a kid in the 70's and I hated about 90% of super hero stuff I saw on screen. For some reason, in the 70's, Hollywood thought that everything "superhero" had to be campy as hell! While superhero comic books had some humor in them, they were never as stupid as all the stuff we saw on screen. I couldn't watch this kind of garbage and I was only 10 years old at the time. It ruined superheroes for me.
When I was young I was very excited to them as live action characters. It would’ve been great if they had one season at least. But it sure was fun to watch.
Keep in mind that the 70s was full of Variety shows. This was one of those.
But even with that, it was horrible. I think of the various holiday shows showing the vast the quality differences. Let me give you an example. Have you seen the Paul Lynde Halloween Special? It was the silliest show ever created with Witchipoo, Margaret Hamilton, Roz (Pinky Tuscadero) Kelly, Kiss and Billy Barty. It should be the worst show ever created, but somehow it is wonderful. Now, we go to the Star Wars Holiday special. Same type of diverse cast. Even more singers, a fairly decent budget and it is an unwatchable total nightmare. It's running on continuous loop in Hell. The variety shows would range from Carol Burnett to Pink Lady and Jeff. So the format isn't what killed it.
@@vapoet At least the Star Wars Holiday special introduced Boba Fett 2 years before we see him in the Empire Strikes Back.
wow...for some reason, I always thought this was some weird dream I had as a child...and just couldn't forget it.
now I know...It was really real..and I really watched this.
cheesy...but I like it.
Like Sinbad's Shazaam
It's crazy because I vividly remember this show, yet it felt exactly the same way you described it - like a figment of your imagination. As an 8 year old kid who was a heavy Superfriends fan at that time, I knew this show was real because I instantly knew all the characters on it and was tripping on them having Shazam in the place of Superman. A child's memory is something..
Clearly this production was (tongue in cheek), by design. So to pick apart plot failings, and bad special effects of a 70's TV show seems a bit silly. I don't believe the writers were trying to make a classic, and lets face it, the source material is comic books. People just didn't take superheroes as seriously in the 70's as they do now..
Stupid comment. People took Superman very seriously, so this crap flew in the face of everyone who knew that comic book superheroes deserved more than this crap offered. Hell, even the 60's Batman had far superior writing, even if it was campy. Your comment is just down right stupid.
But this is bad by even Saturday morning TV standards. The simple truth is that even by the standards of the time, this is terrible. As mentioned, this is the era of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk. And kids had live action TV shows on Saturday mornings. By all standards of 70's tv, this show was bad.
This is the same Batman and Robin that appear in the 1966 Batman series. By logic, that means all of the other superheroes on the show are cannon and in the same universe?
Yes, I remember watching this as a child. I'll admit by today's standards it's a bit cheezy and campy... but back then, everyone at school were raving about it. I thought it was great!
As goofy as this show was, it started my love for Green Lantern!
Strangely enough he had the Power to Teleport in this Special.
I guess it saved money on Creating Flying Effects for him.
Wait this was real? I honestly thought I dreamed it when I was a child!
@george scott When you mention that the castaways meet the Harlem Globetrotters, the looks you get.... If you don't remember, that's because they had two specials.
No wonder woman or Superman… Somehow I think Linda and Christopher weren’t exactly shedding tears that copyright stood in the way of them joining the cast.
The villains were pretty spot on.
Little Known Fact-Giganta was played by a Transgendered Actress.
It was never repeated. Black Canary was played by a nude model named Danuta
HOLY BUCKETS OF CRAP BATMAN!!.... That's Howard Morris (Ernest T Bass) as Doctor Sivana!!!... and Charlie Callas as Sinestro!!!
Whoa! I missed that. I love Howard in High Anxiety. It came out about that time. Prof. LIlloman.
Sadly, this would be the last appearance of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Frank Gorshen.
Actually no,
All three appeared in the telemovies "Return To The Batcave: The Misadventures Of Adam And Burt".
Frank Gorshin appeared with Julie Newmar.
Gorshin looked really ill as he was dying from cancer at the time.
I LOVED this when it came out, because of Adam West and Burt Ward. Yes, the "Robin who does flips" IS Burt Ward, Adam West's sidekick from the show. If you watch the special ffeatures DVD you would know that Burt was an all star at tumbling and other gymnastic sklls
The people who didn't like this show probably didn't like the "Batman" TV series or "The Monster Squad!" I enjoyed both of them and both of these specials for the campy, fun-filled comedy shows that they were! The fact that up and coming comedians appeared in them should have tipped the viewers off that this was done "just for laffs!" Lighten up, superhero fans!
As one person pointed out they didn't really take superheroes that seriously back then, comics at that time were still thought to be for kids and this was probably their main audience. The fact they even adapted them at all is something of a miracle especially for live action. And the technology back then was also quite limited so of course the graphics and effects would seem especially cheesy by today's standards, you should have seen what Marvel was pumping out at the time. They gave Captain America a plastic see through shield that was part of his bike. Terrible jokes aside they probably had fun making this. And is also kinda the template of what not to do when making a movie or special.
In fact they still weren't taken seriously until at least about the 90s, and no one other than Batman or Superman were considered a bankable franchise. James Cameron tried to make a Spider-Man movie in the 90s that never got off the ground along with several others. We're fortunate with what we have, and you know they had to start somewhere when they made
"The Incredible Hulk" TV series from the 70s was done in a serious tone.
@@dhenderson1810 And the later Hulk TV Movies featured Daredevil & Thor, badly costumed though.
Dr. Strange TV Movie.
Wow! Who would have thought DC in a way already had a cinematic universe with the Adam West Batman a long time ago?
Wow I remember watching that when I was a kid and thought it was awesome yes I'm old I know but great Scott I'm still a fan God bless comic book nerds
you have real point still its nice to to see comic accurate costumes in real life
Would’ve been cool if Chris Reev and Linda Carter joined them, would’ve had some background to this version of the JL
And if you comic fans were wondering where Aquaman was during all this… good for you.
For many years, I had vague memories of the "Roast" - specifically, when Sinestro blasts Green Lantern (as shown around 8:00 or so). And for years, I thought I had imagined something so hokey. It wasn't until a few years ago that I stumbled across references to it on the Internet. Overjoyed that my memory was not playing tricks on me, I watched it!
And regretted every second of it.
first live action Green Lantern and I was blown away as a kid
People shouldn’t be allowed to review anything from an era they don’t understand. Historical context is everything.
It was really meant more as a spoof in the vein of the 60s Batman TV series, not something to be taken seriously. And remember, back then superhero TV shows were still primarily aimed at kids and not adults.
I was 11 when this came on, and I was pretty excited to see it, but came away disappointed. It made me laugh at a few bits, but I wanted it taken more seriously. I would have been fine with some humor, but more action, effects and stunts would have been nice.
Yes these 2 Primetime Specials of "Challenge." and"Legends."are maybe as we could say ridiculous in the tradition of The 1960s Batman TV show with camp.
It was NOTHING like the Batman TVshow. Nothing. Batman was cleverly written and acted camp. This was bad variety show TV.
I was 12 when these aired and I loved them!
I saw this when I aired and later found it on VHS (that's before DVD's for those who are too young to know). I was still young enough to enjoy this, it just happens to be in the same theme as Adam West's Batman and was never meant to be dark and without humor like today's DC movies. To be honest, give me this rather than the junk DC puts out, with the exception of Aquaman.
I was 14 when this came out, so I loved Black Canary's sexy costume. Now we have Titans with an obese Starfire; so I'll take LotSH anytime.
Nice job, John! I was impressed that they actually got a weightlifter to play Hawkman when I was a kid. I couldn't tell how bad it was at the time.
Can you do one on the strange Superman musical that only aired once? Late at night no less. Cheesy, but another I would own if a DVD ever surfaced.
That Superman Musical was Weird.
At least Lex Luthor wasn't the Villain in it, For Once. It would have been Strange to have heard him Sing.
OMG dr. Sivana looks amazing and so real, like a comicbook character really coming to life.
Don't take wrong i love mark strong as dr. Sivana he did an amazing job, but he obviously was inspired by new 52 and seeing pre crisis dr sivana in live action is amazing
To me ledgends of the superheros especially the roast is hilarious. I don't care if the show bombed, it is funny and interesting especially seeing adam west and Burt ward reprised their roles again from the 1966 Batman. I hated when RUclips don't have a full episodes of it and it's broken down. I'm trying to find it on DVD. Were all entitled to our own opinions but I'd like the show.
The guy showing batman and robin that car is named Jeff. I can't remember his last name but he was on a tv show named pink lady and Jeff. It was him and a Japanese singing duo of ladies that barely spoke English. Between that show and this mess you can see why no one remembers him.
Is that woman Rhoda Rooter the same actress that played Estelle, Joey Tribbiani's agent?
As a kid, I would have loved this.
I loved both specials! I thought they were great!
I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembered this.
How did the NAACP not get on Hanna-Barbera’s asses for naming a Black superhero Ghetto Man?
Probably Got His Super-Powers From Eating Chicken Wings.
I'd say a lack of respect for the material is exactly what's wrong with the Schumacher Batman movies.
Darick Robertson And the James Gumm Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Guardians of the Galaxy is Based more on Farscape than It is on any of the Comics.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, here's Jeff Altman, fresh off of Pink Lady and Jeff, as a used car salesman...
farpointgamingdirect PINK LADY & JEFF w/dn't air for more than another year, in 1980. And Altman was a very last minute addition (PINK LADY & JEFF).
The "used car salesman" was Weather Wizard in disguise.
I own this, more as a complisionist. I saw it as an Adult, and I would have liked it as a kid. They did the best they could.
It's dumb sure. But they have obscure superheroes in pretty good comic accurate costumes. Hawkman looks pretty badass actually
What was very sad was that the cast contained many very intelligent and funny people who either just accepted the paycheck without input or greatly underestimated their audience
John, it's good to see you returning to reviews of comics-to-film stuff again. Please keep it up!
I actually saw these as a kid when they first aired on a 13" B&W. The only thing that really stuck with me about them were the heroes I'd never heard of, particularly Black Canary, Huntress and Green Lantern. The first two never appeared on Superfriends, and Green Lantern was only in a handful of episodes.
Thanks. Will do more comic book movie reviews soon.
@bucky468 8 year-old kids in 1979 didn't have easy access to the entire history of the DC Universe. They had easy access to whatever was on TV.
I remember watching this when was a kid. and for years, now and then, I'd think about it and try to find some info on it. And now, I find this! Awesome childhood flash back.
If they would have just played it straight it would have been okay. But they took the lazy way out and got every has-been over-the-hill Vaudeville Catskills reject to participate and wouldn't attempt to pay to have Superman or Wonder Woman in it, so ... yeah, predictable results. Why try when you can just play it for a goof? Looks like a failed cash grab to me. And Project UFO was pretty weird too ... Dragnet except the investigate UFO sightings. Like X-Files but without the appealing protagonists. And every episode ended with the agents explaining away how the UFO was fake or a mistake - then there was a stinger where it turned out the UFO was real!
Have to admit Solomon Grundy sure looked like his comic/cartoon counterpart.
The closest thing we got to the DCEU was in in the 80s
"Ghetto Man"
lol
This was just another way to do Black Lightning without paying the creator like Black Vulcan, right? Lol.
@Will N That's interesting, when you read an issue Isabella did in which he has Black Lightning deal with a copycat who steals for a woman called ANNAH BARBRA, it sounds more like HB and not DC was ripping him off, or at least he thought that without actually being true.
This show wasn't meant for today's audience. It must have been like viewing the avengers back then. Watching it with yesterday's lens, the magic still remains.
Holy heck, that's Howard Morris as Dr. Sivana. My mind is fairly blown.
That guy's career stretches back to Sid Caesar.
And William Schaller as Retired Man! He had such a good career, too.☺
@@DavidBDavis-lz7bt I remember him from the Patty Duke Show.
This isn't bad. I've seen 10xWorse, where the powers & characters were totally disrespected: Hasbro giving characters (like Spider-Man) vehicles, Unnecessary costume changes (such the TV Daredevil's where only the horns remain), Video games were everyone has the same powers, etc.
This was before it's time. Thematically in this day and age being updated with its modern day technology everyone would be supportive of this, especially if you see it as they are playing today at the theaters. Because everything that are Marvel, DC are all older than 60 to 70 years old. We all can agree when you see this from a kids perspective you enjoy action packed heroes. Superheroes are for all ages.
They should have aired this Saturday morning instead of primetime
do you say complain about "Dark Knight Trilogy"? Don't understand that, that trilogy made billions.. and restored batman in the movies.
marcus stallworth I can't stand the Nolan trilogy if you can even call it that. I only found dark Knight entertaining. The other two are unwatchable
Howard Morris as the doctor is awesome.
That was Burt Ward as Robin
It was, dude left him out...sad.🙄
Scarlett Cyclone is the same guy who played The Admiral on Get Smart a few times. The joke with him there was he was very very old.
Now Playing Podcast led me here with their review. Nice to get some good pictures of this stinker.
He was played by William Schallert who I remember from "The Patty Duke Show!" Sadly we lost him in 2016 at the age of 93! He was still working until 2014 when he appeared in an episode of "2 Broke Girls!"
@@DavidTSmith-jn5bsHe was also the original chief of Control, when the current Chief was an agent.
@@dhenderson1810 Yes, he was Admiral Hargreaves. I remember an episode where they did a send up of "This is your Life" where they stated that CONTROL started as a family business called "Hargreaves and Sons - Spies." I thought that was hilarious when I saw it.
I was 13 when this aired, I personally Loved these shows. For a child they were fun and at the time very advanced on the special effects. From an adults persepctive of course they are silly and a bit stupid, they were not aimed at the Adults though. All of it was meant for the children. The reason for the low ratings, in part, was the lack of advertisements. I only saw like 2 for these shows in the preceding weeks. That was an oversight I think to the shows doing better than they did.
Jeez. This review was harsh. My brother and I watched this when we were little and loved it. I always wondered why Aquaman wasn't included?
Cause like they said on Big Bang Theory, he was everyone's least favorite Super Friend, we wanted Flash and Green Lantern instead.
Best this is previewed here before buying it at a comic book store! #Superhero leotards and spandex solving the campy crimes of super-villainy, Hanna-Barbera style, save your money 💵 in my opinion.
Wow, I don't know how this one slipped by me in '79. I was definitely part of the demographic. Me thinks I'm better off for missing it. Pity I didn't also miss Marvel's '70s attempts at Captain America and Spiderman. Ooof. So bad. So very bad.
Great commentary and historical details. I remember watching both of these when I was 7. Of course, I didn't realize how awful they were at the time and was disappointed that they didn't make more. Now I know why.
Not Wonder Woman, ya gotta know somethings wrong when niether Lynda Carter or Cathy Lee Crosby appeared on the show.
wow I didn't know Howard Morris played Dr. Sirvana!
I think the used car salesman was Ethan Phillips? Seriously, this show had quite the cast! I also like some of the costumes considering the budget.
Those costumes were most certainly not cheesy when this show came out.
I remembered it as a kid it was pretty awesome back than even remember the Kizz movie they were Superheroes
The OG superhero dreamteam. People this was before the marvel comedic universe was a glimmer in Kevin Feiges eye.
Who said DC doesn't know how to be light hearted or that their movies are too dark. Proof positive they can go toe to toe with marvel when it comes to campiness.
Truly awful. Almost everything was wrong. Black Canary's power was a destructive sonic sound?!? This brought back some childhood nightmares. I LOVED batman as a six year old ,only to see it reduced to this dreck when I was 19. I would rather listen to an auto-tuned queef, than this monstrosity!
I watched this as a kid, and loved it. Got to see Batman and Robin again. To me it was like a live action Super Friends, which was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon at the time.
Yeah, Marsha Warfield is fine...until you dare to not agree with her on politics then watch out (for her AND her fans who'll bully you)
Aw the atom comes n it too? How cute!
Ghettoman... oh boy. What a time. How far we've come, at least now we have Black Lightning
Ocelotl Chimalpahin sounds like sjw bitching to me.
Also life would be pretty boring if we had to put every type of person on a pedistal never to be made fun of like the ultra left wants.
Trent Walters Well ain't you a clever boy? Wow that's some f*ckin insight you got there. Try having some goddamn compassion.
Ocelotl Chimalpahin sensitive people have to comment on stuff like this all the time. Does it look like that guy has compassion?