The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure

Infobox television
show_name = The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure


format = Animated television series
runtime = 60 Minutes
creator =
presenter = Filmation
Ducovny Productions
DC Comics
director = Hal Sutherland
starring = Bud Collyer
Marvin Miller
Ted Knight
producer =Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
executive_producer = Allen Ducovny
country = USA
network = CBS
first_aired = 1967
last_aired = 1968
num_episodes =
list_episodes =
preceded_by="The New Adventures of Superman"
"The Adventures of Superboy"
followed_by="Aquaman"
"The Batman/Superman Hour"
related="Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder"
"The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour"
imdb_id = 0231046
tv_com_id =13641

"The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure" was a Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC Comics superheroes.

Overview

Each episode consisted of new segments from the existing series, "The New Adventures of Superman" and "The Adventures of Superboy", as well as outings for Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad. From the point of view of Superman fans, it is generally regarded as the second season of "The New Adventures". [ [http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=episode-guides/t-tnaos supermanhomepage.com listing for the series] ] Fans of Aquaman see it as the premiere season of "Aquaman". As a part of "The New Adventures", it is notable for containing some of the final work done by Bud Collyer, the voice actor who had originated the roles of Superman and Clark Kent on radio. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0172872/ imdb.com listing for Bud Collyer] ]

It also included a rotating series of 'guest star' cartoons featuring the Atom, the Flash and Kid Flash, the Green Lantern, Hawkman and new shorts from "The Adventures of Superboy". The Justice League of America (Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Superman) and Teen Titans (Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad) were also featured in team adventures.

Many of the shorts were penned and script-edited by DC Comics employees. Bob Haney and George Kashdan — the writing-editing team who were then producing the original version of the "Teen Titans" comic book [ [http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=17734 comicbookdb.com credits for "Teen Titans" #1] ] — were prolific on the series, taking on nearly all the "guest star" cartoons. Mort Weisinger, editor of all "Superman" comic titles during the 1960s, served as script editor for the shorts featuring Kal-El. This use of comic writers on the television series tended to make them "a very faithful adaption to the comic book mythos".cite web|url=http://www.titanstower.com/source/theater/filmation.html|title=Animated Titans: Filmation|work=Animated Titans|publisher=titanstower.com|language=English|accessdate=2008-09-12] Even so, there were some elements which were novel to the cartoons — such as secondary characters in the "Hawkman", "Green Lantern" and "Atom" shorts. Likewise there were occasional omissions, like Robin's complete absence from the "Teen Titans" shorts.

This series marked the animation debut of nearly all of its featured characters and teams. The exceptions were Superman and his supporting cast, who had been previously immortalized in the iconic 1940s Superman shorts (and later in the "The New Adventures of Superman"), and the Superboy characters, seen in the previous season of "The Adventures of Superboy".

Continuation

In 1968, the show's three main components were again divided amongst other shows. New Superman/Superboy segments were moved to the "Batman/Superman Hour". Meanwhile, new Aquaman shorts aired as a part of "Aquaman", a 30-minute version which also provided a home for further cartoons featuring characters drawn from the wider DC Universe.

Influence

The show continued to evolve a narrative format that had been started with the original Superman radio show. Specifically, it featured a narrator who served to both compress and dramatize the storytelling. Whereas the first season of "The New Adventures of Superman" had featured longtime radio narrator, Jackson Beck, "Superman/Aquaman" was the first to feature actor Ted Knight, who had made his Filmation debut as Perry White late in the previous season of "The New Adventures". He would become the main voice used in the narration of DC cartoons for over a decade. He remained the unofficial "voice of DC" even when the cartoons were being produced by Hanna Barbara under the "Super Friends" banner.

Episodes

Aquaman (and Aqualad)

Cast (voice)
*Marvin Miller as Aquaman
*Jerry Dexter as Aqualad
*Diana Maddox as Mera / Queen Vassa
*Ted Knight as Imp / Tusky / Black Manta / Various Villains / Narrator

Adventures

Thirty-six Aquaman segments were produced:{|

Guest stars

Cast (voice)
*Pat Harrington, Jr. as Atom/Speedy (in Teen Titans segments)
*Cliff Owens as The Flash
*Tommy Cook as Kid Flash
*Gerald Mohr as Green Lantern
*Paul Frees as Kairo
*Vic Perrin as Hawkman
*Bud Collyer as Superman (in Justice League segments)
*Jerry Dexter as Aqualad
*Julie Bennett as Wonder Girl
valign="bottom"
The Atom
*Invasion of the Beetle-Men
*The Plant Master
*The House of Doom

The Flash (and Kid Flash)
*The Chemo-Creature
*Take a Giant Step
*To Catch a Blue Bolt

Green Lantern
*Evil is as Evil Does
*The Vanishing World
*Sirena, Empress of Evil
width="110"|
valign="bottom"

Hawkman
*Peril from Pluto
*A Visit to Venus
*The Twenty Third Dimension

Justice League of America
*Between Two Armies
*Target Earth
*Bad Day on Black Mountain

Teen Titans
*The Monster Machine
*The Space Beast Round-Up
*Operation: Rescue

uperboy

"

See The Adventures of Superboy ~ Season 2

uperman

"

See The New Adventures of Superman ~ Season 2

DVD release

Aquaman episodes can currently be seen as part of Cartoon Network's "Boomerang". In 1985, Warner Home Video released eight selected Aquaman episodes of the series on VHS in the "Super Powers" video collection, along with Batman, Superboy and Superman. These videos were rereleased in 1996 and are out of print. On October 23 2007, Warner Home Video released "The Adventures of Aquaman: The Complete Collection" on DVD in Region 1; the 2-disc set features all 36 Aquaman segments from the series, as well as special features.

Warner Video also released "DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures" on August 12, 2008. The double DVD set features 18 cartoons starring Hawkman, Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, the Teen Titans, and the Justice League Of America.

External links

*imdb title|id=0231046|name=The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure
* [http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Filmation_Associates/S-Z/The_Superman___047__Aquaman_Hour_of_Adventure/index.html Big Cartoon Database ~ Superman/Aquaman Hour]
* [http://www.tvparty.com/sat67.html TV Party - Saturday Mornings 1967]
* [http://www.eskimo.com/~tegan/aqua/media/tvshow.html The Aquaman TV Series]
* [http://www.tv.com/the-superman-aquaman-hour-of-adventure/show/13641/summary.html TV.com -The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure]
* [http://www.supermansupersite.com/filmation.html Superman Super Site - The New Adventures of Superman]
* [http://captain.custard.org/classic/jlatv3.html JLA on Television]
* [http://www.titanstower.com/source/info/animatedfilm.html Titans Tower Info: Animated Titans]

References