Brian Heiler over at the Topless Robot website took it upon himself to list the ten worst superhero television shows ever made. I don't know if I agree with every choice, but he's certainly in the right ballpark.Going through the list, we start with Birds of Prey. The first mistake they made (and there was a myriad of them) was altering Batman's daughter to have superpowers. I guess the WB was trying to copy the success of Smallville into other superhero shows and failing.
I remember seeing one episode of Once A Hero. I'm only sorry they didn't air the episode in which Adam West parodied himself. I missed Exo Man altogether (but only in the sense that I didn't watch it).
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park was filmed while KISS the band was in its declining years. Gene Simmons moved on to other things such as Family Jewels and Ugly Betty.
The Thor episode mentioned isn't actually Thor, but rather the TV movie The Incredible Hulk Returns. Marvel Comics was actually trying to launch television franchises of their other superheroes. Sadly, religious groups didn't like the portrayal of Thor as a god, so he was demoted to a "mighty warrior." And when they introduced Daredevil in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, he wasn't allow to be red or have horns. I believe Marvel also wanted to introduce She-Hulk and Iron Man in two more Hulk TV movies, but nixed it and broadcast The Death of the Incredible Hulk instead.
I never saw My Secret Identity, but I dig seeing Jerry O'Connell from his time between Stand By Me and Sliders (and Carpoolers), before his big weight loss.
The Captain America TV movie was more trying to cash in on Evel Knievel's success (as well as The Six Million Dollar Man and other '70s icons) rather than make something true to the source material.
I remember Legends of the Superheroes quite vividly. It could also be called "Adam and Burt's last hurrah." Borscht Belt comedy meets the Super Friends. You could tell affirmative action was in play when the character of "Ghetto Man" was introduced. I only wish I was making this up.
Wonder Woman without Lynda Carter. Pass.
Finally, there was the Justice League CBS pilot from the '90s, which was trying to cash in on the new, more humorous Justice League incarnation in the comic books. While containing major suck, it did include appearances by John "Crypt Keeper" Kassir and Kim "Son of the Beach" Oja as well as David "Can't Stop The Signal" Krumholtz in a supporting role.
This list made me laugh. While it's not quality television, I recommend taking a look.
Giveaway Monday: That '70s Show The Complete Series Stash box set
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-03-2008 @ 11:15AM
mj said...
I LIKED Birds of Prey. Strong women, good plot. And I thought Thor was wasted. The first Wonder Woman movie was way better than the series. (no Carter) In any show now, Thor COULD be a God. Come on networks!!! I still say, take the JL characters from Smallville, plus Chloe, and give them a show. Clark could have a VERY minor role. I would watch.
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6-03-2008 @ 11:33AM
Bob Sassone said...
Oh come on, that Wonder Woman movie with Cathy Lee Crosby is 100 times better than the Lynda Carter version!
They should have Night Man and Elektra Woman and Dyna Girl on the list.
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6-03-2008 @ 11:45AM
Anita said...
Don't forget the TV movie adaptation of Marvel's Generation X for Fox -
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6-03-2008 @ 11:53AM
Merlin said...
Come on indeed. Lynda Carter makes Cathy Lee Crosby look like a boy.
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6-03-2008 @ 12:01PM
Matthew said...
"KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park was filmed while KISS the band was in its declining years. Gene Simmons moved on to other things such as Family Jewels and Ugly Betty."
Actually the film was made at the height of their success. Paul and Gene both have stated it was a terrible decision with not much foresight involved.
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6-03-2008 @ 12:28PM
GL said...
That KISS movie is the greatest thing ever put on film.
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6-03-2008 @ 12:40PM
Happy Steve said...
My vote goes to "Small Wonder".
What? She wasn't Wonder Woman's precocious little daughter?
OMG! That's what the premise was?
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6-03-2008 @ 12:41PM
kevjohn said...
They had so much superhero suckitude on this list they didn't even have room for The Tick. The one featuring the David Puddy guy, who's the same in everything he does. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The Tick was a superhero show with no superheros.
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6-03-2008 @ 4:20PM
Akbar Fazil said...
A. His name is Patrick Warburton.
B. While he does have a specific style that is used alot in most of his roles, he can do different things. Compare Brock Samson to Johnny Johnson.
C. The live action Tick carried out one of the main points of the entire Tick universe. There are superheroes. In fact there are so many of them, most come across as average joes with not much too them.
6-03-2008 @ 12:48PM
Midnight13 said...
"The Tick" was a superhero show for people who hate superhero shows. It was all tongue and cheek and overall wasn't that bad, but perhaps the live-action version wasn't as good as the animated version. Also, wasn't there an "Aquaman" pilot? I don't even have to watch the show to say: Worst Comicbook Based Show...Ever.
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6-03-2008 @ 3:28PM
Bill said...
The Aquaman pilot never even aired, but it showed up on the internet at some point. I enjoy a ridiculously bad tv show as much as the next guy, but I never made it more than 10 minutes in.
6-03-2008 @ 3:30PM
George McBain said...
Actually, Mercy Reef (the Aquaman pilot) it was very good, but since the show was developed right when WB and UPN were merging, The CW passed. When it showed up later on iTunes, it quickly became the number-one most downloaded television show on the service.
6-03-2008 @ 9:01PM
Vincent J. Murphy said...
Let's not forget David Hasslehoff as Nick Fury. And the awful Spider-man and Dr. Strange shows.
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6-04-2008 @ 12:22AM
Mike said...
I liked Birds of Pry too.
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6-04-2008 @ 7:48AM
CRVBOY said...
Birds of Prey was good. And it was developed by the folks who developed Smallville.
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6-04-2008 @ 7:59AM
Argus said...
My Secret Identity was fantastic. At least when I was 6.
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6-04-2008 @ 9:45AM
Cold Chilli said...
Roboman, Manimal classics from the 80s.
Even NBC jokes how bad Manimal was
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8-18-2008 @ 2:16AM
CARLOS D said...
for i can recall...birds of prey came out waaay before smallville...so please...check your facts first
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