Tuesday, September 13, 2022

The World's Greatest Super Friends 1979-1980!


The World's Greatest Super Friends is the title of season four and to my eye it's the season in which the show begins to jump the shark just a bit, though it does it with some style and aplomb. We have longer episodes again and each one seems to have a specific inspiration. Lex Luthor returns, this time with a partner named "Orville" who is clearly inspired by Ned Beatty's "Otis" from the Superman movie, and Luthor's lair seems to owe a nod to that film as well.

(The Super Enemies)

The shows feature one with a distinct Arabian Nights feel, another borrowing from Tolkien, another in which they visit Oz, and yet another set in a variation of Camelot. The team meets up with Frankenstein's monster as well. My favorite episode provides a multi-dimensional encounter with an evil version of the Justice League dubbed the "Super Enemies". I'm a huge fan of the Crime Syndicate of America, and it was nifty to see this Hanna-Barbara variation on that classic theme.


We are getting fewer episodes each season to freshen what already exists and as I said these tales are longer. I'll take a look at the fifth and sixth seasons together next weekend as well glimpse what are dubbed "The Lost Episodes". One thing about the Super Friends I've noticed is that the show only ever gets wilder and wilder.

NOTE: This is classic post which first appeared at Rip Jagger's Other Dojo.  

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