When I was flipping through the channel guide this evening, I saw that Hub was running Lois and Clark, The New Adventures of Superman, and I knew I’d have to spend a couple hours or so visiting Metropolis. But, then, I’m kind of a sucker for super heroes.
My earliest memories of those larger-than-life characters are of Batman and Robin, coming home after school every day to catch a rerun of the classic Adam West series, simply called Batman. Those guys were cool, and to this day I define onomatopoeias as “Batman words”. Who says television isn’t educational?
Later, I was a regular viewer of The Incredible Hulk. While I enjoyed it, it wasn’t so much that I was a Hulk fan, as much as a fan of Bill Bixby. I loved him forever. Anybody remember The Courtship of Eddie’s Father or The Magician? I always thought he was a really good actor, and he was excellent as the tortured David Banner. He was even good enough to make my mom watch this show, and she wasn’t all that much of a super-hero fan.
The ladies got into the act, too, of course, most notably in the form of Lynda Carter and The New Original Wonder Woman. For some reason, I found this one even campier than Batman, but it is hard to pass up magic lassos and invisible planes. Besides, that Lyle Waggoner was a cutie.
And we can’t forget Saturday mornings. Batman and Superman showed up there, too, along with the entire Justice League. Still, I think my favorites might have been Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis. It was interesting to see an hour of children’s programming making an attempt to be gender inclusive. Plus, I always wished I had some secret code word that I could shout out and bring on some super-duper powers; how cool would that be?
I don’t know; I’m sure there’s some deep-seated reason why super heroes have captured our imaginations for generations, but I’m not sure the psychological reason matters all that much. For myself, I just know that these shows (and the comic books that preceded them) were pure, escapist fun. The characters were noble, though not perfect, and the good guys almost always won. What better way to spend your television viewing time?
Who is your favorite super hero?
