Super Friends: The Lost Episodes
These Saturday morning heroes were apparently lost, but maybe all they needed was a map
Tags: Super Friends Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Aug 25th, 2009
I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in an era when they actually meant something – long before the era of product placement, and toy line tie-ins. It used to be that cartoons were based around a good idea, not which license was exploitable. As the decade of the 1970’s came to a close the shift was beginning, both economically and socially, and that is evident in Super Friends: The Lost Episodes.
I remember when Super Friends came on the air initially and included Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog. Then the Wonder Twins replaced them, and the roster of heroes grew a little bit, even having a few created specifically for the series. Then the roster of guest stars became a bit more permanent and the threat from an organized group of super villains (The Legion Of Doom) would make their presence felt. Things went a bit downhill from there as the series would continue to get retooled and storylines were simply… weird. Story lines would veer into some wild fantasy territory, even for costumed heroes. Things picked up as the decade changed, but credibility was lost, and viewers were beginning to get more sophisticated. This is where Super Friends: The Lost Episodes comes in.
Apparently these episodes, 8 half hour episodes divided into 3 segments each, comprise a season that was produced but not initially aired. You wouldn’t know it, however, by watching this DVD. There are no special features which allow the viewer to know why these are “lost” or where they fit into the overall Super Friends chronology.
By having 3 segments in each 30 minute episodes, the adventures are short and focus on a couple of heroes rather than having the full roster available for larger battles on a regular basis. In this way they play out much more like comic books of the time, with simple stories and simple execution.
It’s hard to pick out any episode or segment as a standout because they all sort of mediocre, at least by today’s standards. At about 7 minutes, there isn’t much time to really plot out an intricate storyline, or to give too many characters lines of dialogue (when The Legion Of Doom does reappear only a couple of villains actually talk).
Fans who know and hold the Super Friends cartoon franchise in any regard, however, will enjoy watching this simply because there will be some stuff that wasn’t seen. I remember seeing some of these episodes, but that could have been in syndication. For those that only know the newer Justice League series, this will seem like a pre-historic relic, and it is. It is, however, an important part of our cartoon history as it kept the DC heroes active on the small screen.
It’s a shame, though, that there are no special features allowing modern viewers to get to know more about this series or the franchise. Even 5 minutes of interviews with some VP of programming would have been better than nothing.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Kid friendly super hero action + Helps to complete the collection |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - No special feature to give the series context or let the viewer know what makes these episodes "lost" | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you remember Super Friends, you'll enjoy this. If not, this might not be the best place to start. | |
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Tags: Super Friends
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Aug 25th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
