That '70s Super-hero
By Philip Schweier
September 2, 2009 - 13:45
In a recent l column I used an image of actor Lee Majors as Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, a show in which he starred in the mid-1970s. And while many might say there weren't any super-heroes on television until Star Wars made heroic fantasy marketable, I think there was quite a bit to appeal to comic book fans in the 1970s.
The Six Million Dollar Man, based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, centered around an Air Force pilot who was horribly injured in a plane crash. The Office of Strategic Intelligence (OSI) took the opportunity to rebuild him, giving him bionic legs, as well as a bionic arm and eye. The series ran for five seasons, beginning in 1974.
All of which led to a spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, which debuted 1976 and ran for three seasons. Beginning in 1987, both series were resurrected for a number of TV movies. Both series were later “re-imagined” – more or less – as Jake 2.0 in 2003, and the more-direct remake, The Bionic Woman in 2007. Neither was successful, and they died after only a handful of episodes.
A second effort a year later starred Lynda Carter, a role that is now as iconic as George Reeves' Superman and Adam West's Batman. This second effort returned the character to her World War II roots, and co-starred Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor. Though somewhat campy with its comic book-style subtitles, one high point of the show was the introduction of Wonder Girl, played by future star Debra Winger.
In March, 1978, The Incredible Hulk borrowed the man-on-the-run concept made famous in the highly successful series, The Fugitive. Veteran actor Bill Bixby played David Banner, a scientist who transforms into the monstrous Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) whenever he is outraged. Banner is believed killed at the end of the premier episode, but reporter Jack McGee pursues sightings of the Hulk across the country, and Banner narrowly escape exposure at each turn "until he can find a way to control the raging beast within him."
Saturday morning also offered its share of live-action super-heroes. Most notable of these was Shazam! (1974), which starred teen heartthrob Michael Gray as Billy Batson, and Jackson Bostwick as his alter ego, Captain Marvel. A total of 28 episodes were produced, 17 of which feature Bostwick as the World's Mightiest Mortal. He was later dismissed from the show in a dispute, and replaced by John Davey for the final 11 episodes.
In the 1960s, the campy Batman established a model for success, the tongue-in-cheek formula straddling the line between kid audiences and adult viewers. Because of this success, the super-hero genre was never taken seriously by filmmakers. With the advent of Star Wars in 1977, heroic fantasy was proven to have appeal to adult audiences.
Praise and adulation? Scorn and ridicule? E-mail me at philip@comicbookbin.com
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