Superhero live-action television series
Encyclopedia
Superhero live-action television series are television program
s which feature the adventures of superhero
characters, typically adapted from their original comic book
roots, applied in a live action
format. This often requires considerable modification in contrast to the animated television series translation of superheroes. Live action series featuring superheroes have been featured on TV almost since the beginning of the comic book medium and continue today in varying degrees. Such programs are typically action
, science fiction
, and adventure
oriented.
series starring George Reeves
- an extension of the popular movie serials
- featured very limited and unconvincing special effects but was hugely popular.
The live action Batman
series of the late 1960s, starring Adam West
and Burt Ward
, made playful use
of many of the conventions of superhero comics, including colorful costumes, visual sound effects, implausible escapes, and heavily expository dialog. The series helped sell color televisions and introduced the characters to millions of viewers. It reflected and reinforced the popular perception of superheroes as childish entertainment and made Batman a household name.
Batman led to imitators like Captain Nice
and Mr. Terrific but only The Green Hornet
starring Van Williams
as the Hornet and a young Bruce Lee
as his sidekick
Kato
approached the popularity of Batman.
By the late 1970s, superhero-like series, such as The Six Million Dollar Man
and its spin-off
, The Bionic Woman
, found success. This led to series which were explicitly superhero shows, predominantly on CBS
, such as Wonder Woman
starring Lynda Carter
, which, like the previous decades’ Batman was a huge hit and continues to be a cult classic
despite campiness
.
There were also abortive attempts at live action adaptations of Spider-Man
, Captain America
, and Doctor Strange
which fans complained failed to adequately emulate the character's stories' action and spirit. In the end, all of these adaptations would fall victim to CBS
's desire to avoid being identified as "the superhero network."
The other major superhero series of this era, The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby
as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno
as the Hulk, took a more thoughtful and dramatic approach. The show focused on Banner’s nomadic lifestyle and the curse that the Hulk had placed upon him, as typified by the classic closing image of Banner hitchhiking alone to the music of a quiet piano piece, "The Lonely Man." The series was a ratings success, survived the TV superhero purge of the time and has proven to be the most durable of this period.
Meanwhile, superhero shows aimed at children, such as The Shazam!/Isis Hour
and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
prospered. In addition, the PBS
educational series, The Electric Company
, also prominently featured Spider-Man
stories, as well as its own creation, Letterman, in its premise while Sesame Street
occasionally uses the character, Grover
, as Super Grover, both examples of educational superheroes.
The 1980s saw the launch of various live-action superhero series that did not have their origins in comic book lore, but only The Greatest American Hero
, a series with a humorous yet respectful tone about a superhero who could barely control his powers, lasted for more than a few episodes.
The 1990s saw a resurgence in superhero series, beginning with the short lived live adaptation of The Flash
which had the misfortune of being scheduled against the television powerhouses, The Simpsons
and The Cosby Show
. In 1993, the ABC Network
had a success with Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which reformatted the Superman mythos as a romantic/action drama. This led to several non-traditional approaches to superheroes in live action shows aimed at older audiences. The most successful were Buffy the Vampire Slayer, featuring a dyed-in-the-wool idealist superhero who exists within a consciously humorous take on the horror
genre, and Smallville
, another Superman reincarnation, which portrayed the hero’s early years in a teen drama
format. Other recent TV superhero or superhero-like series enjoying varying degrees of success include: Angel
, Alias
, Dark Angel
, Mutant X
, Heroes
, Misfits
, and No Ordinary Family
. A mini-series based on The Phantom
aired on Syfy
in June, 2010, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Vivendi Entertainment
.
, Spectreman
Kamen Rider
defined the Japanese tokusatsu
style of action/science fiction
/superhero shows. These series rivaled the American model in campiness but differed in that the superheroes could often grow or transform, fought monsters and robots as often as traditional supervillains and the shows were more violent, albeit in a stylized fashion. These shows found a wide audience in Japan and many other parts of the world but gained only a sizable cult following
in the U.S. Every year, Japan changes superheroes.
In 1993 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
, based on Japan’s Super Sentai
, became the first adaptation of a tokusatsu show to become a widespread hit in the Western world
. Since then, the Power Rangers
franchise has continued to maintain a young Western audience with its many different incarnations.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s which feature the adventures of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
characters, typically adapted from their original comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
roots, applied in a live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
format. This often requires considerable modification in contrast to the animated television series translation of superheroes. Live action series featuring superheroes have been featured on TV almost since the beginning of the comic book medium and continue today in varying degrees. Such programs are typically action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
, science fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
, and adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
oriented.
History
Limited budgets and oddball writing hampered many early superhero series. The 1950s Adventures of SupermanAdventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
series starring George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
- an extension of the popular movie serials
Superman (serial)
Superman is a 15-part black-and-white Columbia film serial based on the comic book character Superman. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution...
- featured very limited and unconvincing special effects but was hugely popular.
The live action Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
series of the late 1960s, starring Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
and Burt Ward
Burt Ward
Burt Ward is an American television actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal of Robin in the television series Batman and its theatrical film spin-off.-Early life:...
, made playful use
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
of many of the conventions of superhero comics, including colorful costumes, visual sound effects, implausible escapes, and heavily expository dialog. The series helped sell color televisions and introduced the characters to millions of viewers. It reflected and reinforced the popular perception of superheroes as childish entertainment and made Batman a household name.
Batman led to imitators like Captain Nice
Captain Nice
Captain Nice was a comedy TV series that ran from January–May 1967 on NBC. Riding the tide of the camp superhero craze of the 1960s, the show's premise involved police chemist Carter Nash , a mild-mannered mama's boy who discovered a secret formula that, when taken, transformed him into Captain...
and Mr. Terrific but only The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
starring Van Williams
Van Williams
Van Zandt Williams is a former actor best known for his television role as Britt Reid/the Green Hornet. He teamed for one season with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato, in the television series The Green Hornet, broadcast on ABC during the 1966-67 season.Williams was also known for his...
as the Hornet and a young Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
as his sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
Kato
Kato (The Green Hornet)
Kato is a fictional character from The Green Hornet series. This character has also appeared with the Green Hornet in film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato was the Hornet's assistant and has been played by a number of actors...
approached the popularity of Batman.
By the late 1970s, superhero-like series, such as The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
and its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
, found success. This led to series which were explicitly superhero shows, predominantly on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, such as Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
starring Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter
Lynda Jean Carter is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ....
, which, like the previous decades’ Batman was a huge hit and continues to be a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
despite campiness
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
.
There were also abortive attempts at live action adaptations of Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)
The Amazing Spider-Man is the first live-action TV series based on the popular comic book The Amazing Spider-Man, not counting his appearances on the educational The Electric Company series, and was shown in the USA between 1977-1979...
, Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, and Doctor Strange
Dr. Strange (1978 film)
Dr. Strange is a made-for-TV movie based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Dr. Strange, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It was both directed and written by Philip DeGuere...
which fans complained failed to adequately emulate the character's stories' action and spirit. In the end, all of these adaptations would fall victim to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's desire to avoid being identified as "the superhero network."
The other major superhero series of this era, The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
as David Banner and Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...
as the Hulk, took a more thoughtful and dramatic approach. The show focused on Banner’s nomadic lifestyle and the curse that the Hulk had placed upon him, as typified by the classic closing image of Banner hitchhiking alone to the music of a quiet piano piece, "The Lonely Man." The series was a ratings success, survived the TV superhero purge of the time and has proven to be the most durable of this period.
Meanwhile, superhero shows aimed at children, such as The Shazam!/Isis Hour
Shazam! (TV series)
Shazam! is a half-hour live-action television program produced by Filmation , based upon DC Comics' superhero Captain Marvel....
and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a Sid and Marty Krofft live action children's television series from 1976. The series lasted 16 weeks as part of the umbrella series The Krofft Supershow. During the second season, it was dropped along with Dr. Shrinker...
prospered. In addition, the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
educational series, The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
, also prominently featured Spider-Man
Spidey Super Stories
"Spidey Super Stories" was a live-action, recurring skit on the PBS children's television series The Electric Company. Episodes featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, provided to the Children's Television Workshop free of charge, and was played by puppeteer Danny Seagren...
stories, as well as its own creation, Letterman, in its premise while Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
occasionally uses the character, Grover
Grover
Grover is a Muppet character on the popular television show Sesame Street. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a monster who almost never uses contractions when speaking or singing....
, as Super Grover, both examples of educational superheroes.
The 1980s saw the launch of various live-action superhero series that did not have their origins in comic book lore, but only The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero
The Greatest American Hero is an American comedy-drama television series that aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981...
, a series with a humorous yet respectful tone about a superhero who could barely control his powers, lasted for more than a few episodes.
The 1990s saw a resurgence in superhero series, beginning with the short lived live adaptation of The Flash
The Flash (TV series)
The Flash is a 1990 American television series that starred John Wesley Shipp as the superhero, the Flash , and co-starred Amanda Pays. The series was developed from the DC Comics characters by the writing team of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, and produced by their company, Pet Fly Productions, in...
which had the misfortune of being scheduled against the television powerhouses, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
. In 1993, the ABC Network
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
had a success with Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which reformatted the Superman mythos as a romantic/action drama. This led to several non-traditional approaches to superheroes in live action shows aimed at older audiences. The most successful were Buffy the Vampire Slayer, featuring a dyed-in-the-wool idealist superhero who exists within a consciously humorous take on the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
genre, and Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
, another Superman reincarnation, which portrayed the hero’s early years in a teen drama
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
format. Other recent TV superhero or superhero-like series enjoying varying degrees of success include: Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
, Dark Angel
Dark Angel (TV series)
Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
, Mutant X
Mutant X (TV series)
Mutant X is a science fiction television series that debuted on October 6, 2001. The show was created by Marvel Studios, and it centers around Mutant X, a team of "New Mutants" who possess extraordinary powers as a result of genetic engineering. The members of Mutant X were used as test subjects...
, Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, Misfits
Misfits (TV series)
Misfits is a British science fiction comedy-drama television series about a group of young offenders forced to work in a community service programme, where they obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was...
, and No Ordinary Family
No Ordinary Family
No Ordinary Family is an American television series on ABC. The 45-minute science fiction comedy-drama was produced by ABC Studios for the 2010–11 television season. The series ran from September 28, 2010 to April 5, 2011, on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT...
. A mini-series based on The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
aired on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in June, 2010, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Vivendi Entertainment
Vivendi Entertainment
Vivendi Entertainment is an independent film, television, DVD and digital distribution company operating in the United States and Canada. It is also a distribution partner for independent content providers....
.
Tokusatsu superheroes
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, shows such as UltramanUltraman
is Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
, Spectreman
Spectreman
is the name and title superhero of a tokusatsu sci-fi TV series. Produced by P Productions and created by producer Souji Ushio, this series aired on Fuji TV from January 2, 1971 to March 25, 1972 with a total of 63 episodes , not counting the pre-series pilot episode...
Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider
, is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...
defined the Japanese tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
style of action/science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/superhero shows. These series rivaled the American model in campiness but differed in that the superheroes could often grow or transform, fought monsters and robots as often as traditional supervillains and the shows were more violent, albeit in a stylized fashion. These shows found a wide audience in Japan and many other parts of the world but gained only a sizable cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in the U.S. Every year, Japan changes superheroes.
In 1993 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
, based on Japan’s Super Sentai
Super Sentai
The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
, became the first adaptation of a tokusatsu show to become a widespread hit in the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. Since then, the Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
franchise has continued to maintain a young Western audience with its many different incarnations.