Legends of the Superheroes (1979)
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Debuting January 18, 1979. NBC, 8/7pm Central
This two-part special produced by Hanna-Barbera aired on January 18 and 25, 1979, and featured characters from the DC universe in a bizarre comedy/variety show format.
Adam West and Burt Ward reprised their roles as Batman and Robin over a decade after their 60s TV series had ended, joined by comic heroes Captain Marvel (Garrett Craig), Green Lantern (Howard Murphy), Hawkman (Bill Nuckols), The Flash (Rod Haase), The Atom (Alfie Wise), Black Canary (Danuta Wesley), Huntress (Barbara Joyce), and Scarlet Cyclone (William Schallert), a character invented for these specials.
Shot on videotape with a laughtrack added, the first airing was called “The Challenge” and featured our heroes uniting to celebrate Scarlet Cyclone’s birthday. The party is interrupted by the Legion of Doom (Riddler, Weather Wizard, Sinestro, Mordru, Doctor Sivana, Giganta, and Solomon Grundy), who announce they have hidden a deadly bomb in a secret location, and the heroes must follow clues to find it. Here Frank Gorshin reprises his Riddler role. The second airing was “The Roast”…an actual Dean Martin-style celebrity roast hosted by Ed McMahon, where the villains ‘roast’ the heroes. This includes the addition of Ghetto Man (why…) who does stand-up, and Aunt Minerva (Ruth Buzzi), Captain Marvel’s enemy who is seeking a new husband.
While notable for being the first live-action appearances of all the heroes apart from Batman, Robin, and Captain Marvel, and a very early uncredited appearance by Night Court’s Marsha Warfield, this was just goofy. The fact that it made it to air was a testament to the skill of Joe Barbera able to sell ideas to TV networks. Reportedly dozens of concepts were pitched to NBC, one morphing into the next, an exec said “That’s great, Joe. We’ll buy two hours.” Barbera and agent Sy Fischer weren’t sure exactly what concept had actually sold, and this is what they went forward with.
Legends of the Superheroes DVD
Read more about Hanna Barbera: A Cast of Friends by Bill Hanna
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