SuperFriends

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SuperFriends is a long-running, animated action franchise produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC between 1973 and 1986, featuring characters from DC Comics. The main core heroes were Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman and Robin. The last two had previously been guest stars on The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Later series added more heroes and villains.

Overview

In the inaugural series, produced for the 1973/74 season, the five core heroes are joined by Wendy Harris and Marvin White (the "Junior SuperFriends") and Marvin's pet, Wonder Dog. The heroes assemble in the Hall of Justice and receive assignments from Colonel Wilcox. Each of the 16 episodes was an hour long, and the "villains" tended to be well-intentioned extremists.

When SuperFriends was revived in 1977, the stories were reduced to fit the standard 30-minute slot. Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were replaced by Zan and Jayna, the shape-shifting Wonder Twins, and their pet monkey, Gleek.

From 1980 through 1983, the series produced three short segments each seven minutes in length. However, the 1983 season was never aired on ABC initially. It could be inferred that the 1983 season was originally intended to be produced and launched in 1982 as a lead-in to The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show, but production never went ahead until 1983 due to the 1982 Animators Strike. Reruns of SuperFriends from the 1970s aired as a placeholder for the entire season, under the title The Best of the SuperFriends. The 1983 season was never aired on ABC possibly because ratings for the rebroadcasts in 1982 were low enough, and the 1983 season was shelved in favor of rebroadcasts of pre-1979 Scooby-Doo cartoons. Although three episodes from the 1983 season did air in 1984, the 1983 season of SuperFriends never aired in its entirety until USA Network, and later Cartoon Network and Boomerang aired it in syndication.

In order to provide educational content, each episode featured a 30-second Health or Safety Tips segment, originally featuring the principal characters, and by 1980 started featuring Samurai, Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and The Wonder Twins. Each episode of 1977's The All-New SuperFriends Hour featured a Safety and Health Tip, in addition to a De-Coder puzzle (split up into three parts), and either a Magic trick or Craft segment (each of which is split up into two parts).

Episodes

1. The Power Pirate
2. The Baffles Puzzle
3. Professor Goodfellow's G.E.E.C.
4. The Weather Maker
5. Dr. Pelagian's War
6. The Shamon "U"
7. Too Hot to Handle
8. The Androids
9. The Balloon People
10. The Fantastic Frerps
11. The Ultra Beam
12. The Menace of the White Dwarf
13. The Mysterious Moles
14. Gulliver's Gigantic Goof
15. The Planet Splitter
16. The Watermen

Successor Series

• The All-New SuperFriends Hour (1977/78)
• Challenge of the Superfriends (1978/79)
• The World's Greatest Superfriends (1979/80)
• SuperFriends (1980-81, 1983)
• The Best of the SuperFriends (1982, consisting of rebroadcasts of the highest-rated 1970s episodes)
• Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984/85)
• The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985/86)

Voice Cast

• Sherry Alberoni as Wendy Harris
• Norman Alden as Aquaman
• Danny Dark as Superman
• Shannon Farnon as Wonder Woman
• Casey Kasem as Robin
• Olan Soule as Batman
• John Stephenson as Colonel Wilcox
• Franklin Welker as Marvin White and Wonder Dog

Credits

• Executive Producers: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
• Directed by: Charles A. Nichols
• Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto
• Associate Producer: Lew Marshall
• Story: Fred Freiberger, Bernie Kahn, Ken Rotcop, Art Weiss, Willie Gilbert, Dick Robbinsa, Henry Sharp, Marshall Williams
• Story Direction: Bernard Atkins, Chuck Couch, Clark Haas, George Jorgensen, George Singer, Irv Spector, Howard Swift
• Voices: Sherry Alberoni, Norman Alden, Danny Dark, Shannon Farnon, Casey Kasem, Ted Knight, Olan Soule, John Stephenson, Franklin Welker
• Titles: Iraj Paran
• Dialogue Editor: Wally Burr
• Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin
• Musical Supervisor: Paul DeKorte
• Character Design: Jerry Eisenberg, Alex Toth
• Layout: Robert Smitt, Monty Wedd
• Animation Supervisors: Rudy Zamora, Alex Toth
• Animation: Jim Davis, Richard Dunn, Cam Ford, Peter Gardiner, Sue Gilcrist, Gerry Grabner, Richard Jones, Cynthia Leech, Ray Nowlan, Vivien Ray, Joe Shearer, Stan Walker
• Background Styling: F. Montealegre, Albert Gmuer
• Backgrounds: Graham Linley
• Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
• Supervising Film Editor: Larry Cowan
• Music Editor: Richard Allen
• Effects Editors: Sam Gernette, Terry Moore
• Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer
• Post Production Supervisor: Joed Eaton
• Camera: Joe Dugonics, Wayne Smith
• Consultants: Carmine Infantino, Nelson Birdwell, Julius Schwartz
• Based upon the characters appearing in Justice League of America magazine published by NationalPeriodical Publications, Inc.
• A Hanna-Barbera Production · Produced at Eric Porter Studios
• © 1973 National Periodical Publications, Inc. and Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.

Home Media

On 10 September 2024, the complete series will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray.