Article Categories

»	Arts & Entertainment
»	Automotive
»	Business
»	Careers & Jobs
»	Education & Reference
»	Finance
»	Food & Drink
»	Health & Fitness
»	Home & Family
»	Internet & Online Businesses
»	Miscellaneous
»	Self Improvement
»	Shopping
»	Society & News
»	Sports & Recreation
»	Technology
»	Travel & Leisure
»	Writing & Speaking

Reprint Article Code

Category: Articles » Arts & Entertainment » TV & Movies » Article » Article Code

A review of the original SuperFriends

I grew up as a child of the 1970s. Like most children from that era, my weekly rituals included my Saturday morning cartoon staples, in which the SuperFriends were a prominent fixture. These shows were all mind candy, to say the least, but they're also a source of fond memories and reminders of simpler times. Whenever this subject comes up, people often compare the first season – the "Wendy, Marvin, Wonderdog" era – to the later episodes with the abysmal Wonder Twins. I'm surely in the minority here, but... I kinda liked the "Wendy, Marvin, Wonderdog" episodes. Sure, the ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

I grew up as a child of the 1970s. Like most children from that era, my weekly rituals included my Saturday morning cartoon staples, in which the SuperFriends were a prominent fixture. These shows were all mind candy, to say the least, but they're also a source of fond memories and reminders of simpler times.

Whenever this subject comes up, people often compare the first season – the "Wendy, Marvin, Wonderdog" era – to the later episodes with the abysmal Wonder Twins. I'm surely in the minority here, but... I kinda liked the "Wendy, Marvin, Wonderdog" episodes. Sure, the stories were fairly juvenile, but no more so than the Wonder Twin episodes. In fact, there are several things that I liked about the original series. For example:

Characterization. Wendy and Marvin had distinctive personalities that were not entirely comical. Wendy was acerbic, bright and full of initiative. Marvin was not as bright, but often was insightful nonetheless. He had a typical teenaged ego problem, and entertained fantasies of being a full-fledged superhero. The Wonder Twins, on the other hand, were nothing if not comical. Zan was a one-note character -- an egotistic, bumbling boob. Jayna, on the other hand, had no character to speak of, and was blander than tap water. As for Gleek... ugh. Don't even get me started on monkeyshining, banana-craving, consistently-played-up-for-sight-gags-and-forced-laughter Gleek.

Even the villains were portrayed in a manner atypical for Saturday morning cartoons. They weren't your typical power-crazed baddies who were hungry for revenge or out to conquer the world. Rather, they had more substantial reasons for the crimes they committed -- misguided reasons, of course, but certainly better than the standard "Must kill/steal/conquer because I'm evil" that characterized many of the later SuperFriends episodes.

Not having any powers, the Junior SuperFriends actually had to use initiative and their wits to solve the crises. This was quiet different from the Wonder Twins' approach, which was to simply use their powers -- ineffectively, at that.

We got to see more of the SuperFriends than just their powers. We saw Marvin relate the story of Superman's origin, and his early years on Earth. Wonder Woman was shown to have brains and scientific savvy, instead of merely being the resident lasso-bearer. Aquaman was more than just a man who talked to fish; instead, he was often shown to be an expert on ocean geography and marine life, and on some occasions, was depicted as having superhuman strength, in keeping with his comic book portrayal. Batman used his analytical skills as often as he used his bat-gizmos. And Robin... Robin got to reminisce about his aborted circus career, and was shown to be a vital member of the team -- not just some kid who took orders from the man in black.

Okay, so the show was hokey. Okay, so it was flawed. Still, I think there's a lot to appreciate about it, when contrasted with the years of predictable, one-dimensional SuperFriends stories that came in its wake.

Author Bio:

Some other recently published tv & movies articles

Screen Actors Guild Awards a Good Predictor of Academy Award Winners by Tuesday Knight
If the past Screen Actors Guild award ceremonies have taught us anything, it's that influence can never be underestimated. Take last years Academy Award winners, for instance. In 2006, the Screen Actor's Guild appointed the film ...

Watching Satellite TV on PC by David Johnson
Watching satellite TV on your PC without a dish might seem to be amazing to many people. Advanced technology in space communication has made ...

Satellite TV - Is It Suitable for Me? by David Johnson
If you wish to install a satellite TV dish, ensure that your existing home entertainment equipment (television) possess top quality features and excellent programming. While purchasing ...

All About the Technology Behind Satellite TV by David Johnson
It's a good idea to understand how satellite TV works, it is the future of television after all. Usually, highly elliptical or geostationary satellites that orbit above the earth's equator are used ...

Advantages of Satellite TV by David Johnson
When you are deciding to buy any equipment and services you surely give thought to the advantages and disadvantages attached to such a purchase. When you ...

Satellite TV Improvements in Technology by David Johnson
Cable TV and Satellite TV solutions remain hugely competitive, and big discounts can be had because of this. Technology is also making satellite tv more ...

Publisher Guidelines

You may reprint this article electronically in your newsletter or on your website, free of charge.

If you reprint this article from our site, then you must keep everything intact. This includes the articles title, author name, articles body, authors bio / resource box, the links contained within the article, all copyright notices and the link pointing back to our site. All links within the article must also be made active / hyperlinks.