| Super President | |
|---|---|
| Voices of | Ted Cassidy Paul Frees June Foray Shepard Menken Don Messick Lorri Scott Mark Skor |
| Narrated by | Paul Frees |
| Theme music composer | Doug Goodwin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Producers | David H. DePatie Friz Freleng |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises Mirisch-Rich Television Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 16, 1967 (1967-09-16) – December 28, 1968 (1968-12-28) |
Super President is an Americananimated cartoon that aired Saturday mornings onNBC from September 16, 1967, to December 28, 1968. The series was produced by theDePatie–Freleng animation company.[1]
In the show, thePresident of the United States has extraordinary superpowers, including increased strength and the ability to change his molecular composition, and uses them to protect theFree World, as well as his haplessVice President. The show was relentlessly criticized for its bad taste and low quality, and was cancelled after thirty episodes, midway through its second season.
ThePresident of the United States, formerastronaut James Norcross (voiced byPaul Frees) is given superpowers as the result of a cosmic storm during a space mission. The future President gains increased strength and theMetamorpho-like ability to change his molecular composition at will to any form required (likegranite,steel,ozone,water and evenelectricity). A hidden panel in theOval Office allows him access to his secret base, a hidden cave beneath the "Presidential Mansion" (a somewhat modifiedWhite House). Super President travels either by using a futuristicautomobile/aircraft/submarine called the Omnicar, or by using jets built into his belt.
Despite the fact that the character's name is "Super President", for some reason only Norcross' chubby,pipe-smokingadvisor Jerry Sales knows that the leader of theFree World is also a red and white-costumed superhero in his off-hours.
A total of thirty episodes ofSuper President were produced. Two episodes appeared in each show. Each episode also included an episode ofSpy Shadow starringsecret agent Richard Vance (voiced byTed Cassidy) who had learned inTibet how to command hisshadow (also voiced by Ted Cassidy) to act independently of himself, an ability he put to good use as an Interspy operative battling a variety of villains, including the evil forces of S.P.I.D.E.R. ("Society for Plunder, International Disorder, Espionage and Racketeering"). Spy Shadow had the power to slip through small openings, hide himself in another person's shadow, and was invulnerable to harm thanks to his insubstantial nature, but his fists remained decidedly solid. Spy Shadow's only weakness is the inability to appear in total darkness for "there can be no shadow without light".
Super President came under fire from critics and TV watchdog groups, includingAction for Children's Television, for its depiction of a national leader who was an invinciblesuperhuman (especially since it debuted less than four years afterJohn Kennedy's death).[2] TheNational Association of Broadcasters said: "An all-time low in bad taste, with the President of the United States in aSuperman role. NBC was responsible for this direct ideological approach to totalitarianism. We fear that there may be other broadcasters who are irresponsible enough to keep it in circulation".[3]
InThe Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter says that the show is "perhaps the worst animated program in the late 1960s (its producers admitted it themselves)" and calls the superhero president "arguably the most implausible superhero narrative idea ever invented".[4]