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Season_1,_Introduction

Season 1, Introduction

Series 1, Introduction

Series one of Hanna-Barbera's SuperFriends aired its premier episode on September 8, 1973. The finale aired on December 12, 1973. It has alternatively become known as the SuperFriends (1973 TV Series). After a four year hiatus, it was succeeded by series two, having a new title, The All-New Super Friends Hour premiering on September 10, 1977.

Series Summary[]

Episode Lengths: 60 minutes

“Super Friends” was the first season of the SuperFriends series.

SuperFriends debuted on the ABC Network on September 8, 1973 on Saturday mornings in the 9:00 AM timeslot for 60 minutes.

It was narrated by Ted Knight and it featured well known DC characters Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Superman, Batman and Aquaman had each previously appeared in their own animated series produced by Filmation.

In addition to the superheroes, eager young hero trainees Wendy Harris, Marvin White, and Wonder Dog (who interestingly could 'reason' and 'talk') were along for adventures. Inspired by the Scooby-Doo gang, the trio—or at least its human members—were depicted as detectives and/or superheroes in training.

Their base of operation was called the Hall of Justice, where they responded to TroubAlerts and information supplied by Colonel Wilcox (a government liaison to the SuperFriends during emergencies).

Conflicts are often ultimately resolved with the antagonists persuaded to adapt more reasonable methods to achieve their aims with the assistance of the heroes. Natural disasters triggered by human (or alien) activity were often shown, and environmental themes featured strongly in the program.

This season also included occasional cameos by other heroes like Plastic Man, Flash and Green Arrow.

This first run of Super Friends, consisting of sixteen one hour episodes that were rerun several times, concluded on August 24, 1974. At this point, the series was cancelled and did not appear on the fall lineup for 1974.

However, interest in superheroes among ABC's prime time viewers, especially with the success of The Six Million Dollar Man (January 18, 1974 – March 6, 1978) and the live-action Wonder Woman series (November 7, 1975 – September 11, 1979) caused the network to pursue reviving the Super Friends.[1] To begin with, the original sixteen episodes of the series were rebroadcast as a mid-season replacement, running from February 7, 1976 to September 3, 1977.[2] These episodes were edited to half-hour versions. In the meantime, Hanna Barbera began production on a revamped version of the show.


Their mission:

"To fight Injustice. To right that which is wrong. And to serve all mankind!"
Narrator

Notes[]

This series aired in reruns the following season in 1974, this time at 11:00 AM. The series was dropped from the Saturday morning schedule in 1975, but returned in the fall 1977. This time, it only ran for a half hour. The 16 existing episodes were now divided in half and ran in 2 parts. They would later air this way in syndication weekday afternoons in the 1980’s.


Trivia[]


Cast[]


Cast in all Episodes[]


Junior SuperFriends:


Also starring[]


Episode List:[]

    Ep #         Episode Name        Air Date    
01     The Power Pirate         September 8, 1973    
02     The Baffles Puzzle         September 15, 1973    
03     Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C.         September 22, 1973    
04     The Weather Maker         September 29, 1973    
05     Dr. Pelagian's War         October 6, 1973    
06     The Shamon U         October 13, 1973    
07     Too Hot to Handle         October 20, 1973    
08     The Androids         October 27, 1973    
09     The Balloon People         November 3, 1973    
10     The Fantastic FRERPs         November 10, 1973    
11     The Ultra Beam         November 17, 1973    
12     The Menace of the White Dwarf         November 24, 1973    
13     The Mysterious Moles         December 1, 1973    
14     Gulliver's Gigantic Goof         December 8, 1973    
15     The Planet-Splitter         December 15, 1973    
16     The Watermen         December 22, 1973    


DVD / Media info[]

Warner Home Video (via DC Entertainme nt, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. Family Entertainmen) released Super Friends! - Season One, Volume One on DVD in Region 1 on January 5, 2010. Warner Home Video (thru DC Comics, H-B Cartoons and WBFE) released Super Friends! - Season One, Volume Two on DVD in Region 1 on July 20, 2010.

Title Type Ep # Release Date
    SuperFriends: Season One         Volume 1        16        January 5, 2010    
    SuperFriends: Season One         Volume 2        16         July 20, 2010    

For More DVD Info See:[]

Official DVD releases from amazon.com:[]


See Also[]


External Links[]


References[]

  1. Michael C. Rupprecht. "Hanna-Barbera Superfriends Chronology". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  2. Michael C. Rupprecht. "Hanna-Barbera Superfriends Chronology". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
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