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| Legends of the Superheroes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bill Carruthers Chris Darley |
| Narrated by | Gary Owens |
| Composer | Fred Werner |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Joseph Barbera |
| Producer | Bill Carruthers |
| Cinematography | Greg Brunton |
| Editors | Harvey Berger Andy Shubert |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production companies | Hanna-Barbera Productions DC Comics |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | January 18 (1979-01-18) – January 25, 1979 (1979-01-25) |
| Related | |
| Super Friends | |
Legends of the Superheroes is an umbrella title for two 60-minutelive-actiontelevision specials produced byHanna-Barbera Productions that aired onNBC on January 18 and 25, 1979. The series was loosely based on Hanna-Barbera'sSuper Friends animated series, then airing on Saturday mornings onABC; it served as a reunion of sorts for the 1960s'Batman TV series, as it brings back together three of its stars reprising their respective roles. The specials were produced like standard variety shows of the time: onvideotape and with alaugh track.[1]
Legends of the Superheroes starsAdam West andBurt Ward, reprising their roles asBatman andRobin. The show also has a large ensemble cast that includes Garrett Craig asCaptain Marvel, Howard Murphy asGreen Lantern, Rod Haase asFlash, Bill Nuckols asHawkman, Barbara Joyce asHuntress,Alfie Wise asAtom, and Danuta Wesley asBlack Canary.
In both specials, except as noted:
In the first special, theJustice League of America (Batman,Robin,The Flash,Green Lantern,Hawkman,Captain Marvel,Huntress, andBlack Canary) unite at the Hall of Heroes to celebrate Scarlet Cyclone's birthday. The party is interrupted by theLegion of Doom (Riddler,Weather Wizard,Sinestro,Mordru,Doctor Sivana,Giganta, andSolomon Grundy), who announce they have hidden a deadly bomb in a secret location, and the heroes must follow clues to find it. It's all actually a ruse to trick the heroes into drinking Sivana's de-powering potion. Despite the fact that they now lack powers, the heroes fight the villains, and manage to both disarm the bomb and recover their powers. Only after the whole battle is over, and the heroes have proven victorious, does Scarlet Cyclone arrive to give his aid.
The second special is acelebrity roast of the superheroes hosted byEd McMahon. All of the major characters from the first episode return, with the exception of the Riddler. New characters featured include Ghetto Man, an African-American superhero who performs a stand-up comedy routine; Aunt Minerva, an enemy of Captain Marvel who seeks a sixth husband from among the male superheroes; Rhoda Rooter, an entertainment reporter who snags an exclusive interview with Giganta and the Atom; and Esther Hol, Hawkman's mother.
Warner Home Video'sWarner Archive Collection released the specials on DVD on October 19, 2010.[2]
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