Birdman and the Galaxy Trio | |
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Also known as |
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Genre | Superhero |
Created by | Alex Toth |
Written by |
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Directed by | |
Voices of |
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Theme music composer | Ted Nichols |
Opening theme |
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Composer | Ted Nichols |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 20 [1] |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 9, 1967 – January 20, 1968 |
Related | |
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, or simply Birdman or The Galaxy Trio, is an American animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, [2] and ran on Saturday mornings until January 20, 1968. The program consists of two segments: Birdman, depicting the adventures of a winged superhero (created by Alex Toth, creator of Space Ghost ) powered by the sun, and The Galaxy Trio, centered around the adventures of a patrol of interstellar superheroes. [3] Each segment was a complete independent story, and the characters of each segment did not interact with those of the other, except for a bumper that has all four heroes defeating a prehistoric monster.
A parody series, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law , premiered on Adult Swim on September 2, 2001, [4] concluding on July 22, 2007 after four seasons, with a special, Harvey Birdman: Attorney General , premiering on October 15, 2018, [5] and a spin-off series, Birdgirl , premiering on April 5, 2021. [6] [7]
Birdman (voiced by Keith Andes) is an ordinary human who has been endowed by the sun god Ra with the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project quasi-solid "solar shields" to defend himself against attacks (Birdman's origin is only vaguely, and only briefly, hinted at during the series. His real name is there given as Raymond "Ray" Randall). After he had acquired his avian—and other—powers, he was recruited by a top-secret government agency, Inter-Nation Security, and now works full-time fighting crime, assisted by his pet eagle, who responds to the name of Avenger. In addition to the abilities he received from Ra, Birdman also possesses the power of flight, thanks to the giant wings which sprout from his back. It is possible Birdman is fireproof; being forced into an incinerator recharged rather than hurt him. His sole weakness is that he has to recharge his superhuman powers periodically, through exposure either to the sun's rays or to a comparable source of heat and/or light such as a desk lamp (when he was once shrunken to insect proportions) or the aforementioned incinerator, a weakness that is exposed in nearly every episode. His trademark is his battle cry of "Biiiiirdman!!!" whenever he goes into battle.
He is assisted by his supporting characters:
Birdman has fought the sinister organization F.E.A.R. that is led by Number One (voiced by John Stephenson) and Birdman's "number one" enemy. F.E.A.R. is behind many plots over the course of the series, frequently employing supervillains to perform nefarious tasks. The organization was seemingly defeated for good and its leader arrested in "The Wings of F.E.A.R.", but it occasionally resurfaced without any explanation.
Birdman has also fought some other villains with some of them appearing either having one appearance or having more than one appearance. They consist of:
The Galaxy Trio is a group of three extraterrestrial superheroes, Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl, who patrol space in their cruiser Condor One. They maintain order and fight evildoers in the name of the Galactic Patrol law enforcement agency. The ship was equipped with a "displacer", that is, a teleportation device.
The Galaxy Trio get their missions from a man named the Chief.
The Galaxy Trio faces off against an assortment of villains with some of them appearing more than one:
Each episode featured two Birdman segments with one Galaxy Trio segment between them.
No. | Titles | Original air date | |
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1 | "X the Eliminator / Revolt of the Robots / Morto the Marauder" | September 9, 1967 | |
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2 | "The Ruthless Ringmaster / The Battle of the Aquatrons / Birdman Versus the Mummer" | September 16, 1967 | |
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3 | "The Quake Threat / The Galaxy Trio Versus the Moltens of Meteorus / Avenger for Ransom" | September 23, 1967 | |
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4 | "Birdman Versus Cumulus, the Storm King / The Galaxy Trio and the Sleeping Planet / Serpents of the Deep" | September 30, 1967 | |
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5 | "Nitron the Human Bomb / The Galaxy Trio and the Peril of the Prison Planet / Mentor, the Mind Taker" | October 7, 1967 | |
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6 | "The Purple Moss / Drackmore, the Despot / The Deadly Trio" | October 14, 1967 | |
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7 | "The Brain Thief / Titan, the Titanium Man / Birdman Versus the Constrictor" | October 21, 1967 | |
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8 | "Number One / The Duplitrons / Birdman Meets Birdgirl" | October 28, 1967 | |
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9 | "Birdman Meets Reducto / Computron Lives / Vulturo, Prince of Darkness" | November 4, 1967 | |
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10 | "The Chameleon / The Eye of Time / The Incredible Magnatroid" | November 11, 1967 | |
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11 | "Hannibal the Hunter / The Galaxy Trio and the Cavemen of Primevia / The Empress of Evil" | November 18, 1967 | |
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12 | "The Wings of F.E.A.R. / The Demon Raiders / Birdman Meets Birdboy" | November 25, 1967 | |
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13 | "The Menace of Dr. Millennium / The Rock Men / Birdman Versus Dr. Freezoid" | December 2, 1967 | |
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14 | "The Deadly Duplicator / Space Fugitives / Professor Nightshade" | December 9, 1967 | |
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15 | "Train Trek / Space Slaves / Birdman Meets Moray of the Deep" | December 16, 1967 | |
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16 | "Birdman and the Monster of the Mountains / The Galaxy Trio Versus Growliath / The Return of Vulturo" | December 23, 1967 | |
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17 | "The Revenge of Dr. Millennium / Return To Aqueous / The Ant Ape" | December 30, 1967 | |
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18 | "Birdman Versus the Speed Demon / Invasion of the Sporoids / The Wild Weird West" | January 6, 1968 | |
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19 | "The Pirate Plot / Gralik of Gravitas / Skon of Space" | January 13, 1968 | |
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20 | "Murro the Marauder / Plastus the Pirate Planet / Morto Rides Again" | January 20, 1968 | |
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Birdman appeared in issues 1 through 7 (April 1968 – October 1969) of the Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes comic book, published by Gold Key Comics. [10] He was joined in issue 2 by the Galaxy Trio (their first appearance together).
In 1997, he was also featured in issue #5 of DC Comics' Cartoon Network Presents: Toonami comic book series. [11]
In 2000, the character of Birdman was revived three decades later in the parody Cartoon Network/Adult Swim TV series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and several characters from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio appeared in this satire. [12]
In 2016, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio played a major role in the DC Comics series Future Quest , that also featured characters from various animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera such as Jonny Quest , Space Ghost , The Herculoids , Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles , and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor . [13]
By 2021, Gravity Girl makes a cameo in Jellystone! She was seen in Mayor Huckleberry Hound's flashback as the referee of the infamous final fight of The Funky Phantom where she pulled him out of the ring after he misused his ghostly abilities on Mightor. Birdman appears in season 3 as a picture, and he is revealed to be dead. Another episode has Space Ghost villains Brak, Zorak and Moltar cosplaying as the Galaxy Trio to infiltrate a convention.
On July 17, 2007, Warner Home Video released Birdman and the Galaxy Trio: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. [14] This DVD set was re-released by the company's Warner Archive division as a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release on January 10, 2017. [15] Birdman also accidentally appeared on the menu screen for the DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures, a DVD set which featured DC Comics-based superhero cartoons produced by Filmation for The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (which coincidentally premiered the same day as Birdman and the Galaxy Trio), in 2008. Warner Home Video has stated that this was a mistake, and that Hawkman was supposed to be in Birdman's place. [16]
Jonny Quest is a science fiction–adventure media franchise created by Doug Wildey for Hanna-Barbera. It revolves around the titular Jonny Quest, a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–65 television series of the same name, and has come to include two sequel television series, two television films and three video games. It is currently owned by Warner Bros. after Hanna-Barbera was absorbed by Warner Bros. Animation and succeeded by Cartoon Network Studios.
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American adult animated television sitcom created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. The first season of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is the first adult animated production to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios. A spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the series revolves around Harvey Birdman, originally a superhero from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, and his new career as an attorney, defending characters who had originally been featured in past Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Donald Earle Messick was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Harvey Raymond Randall Birdman is a fictional superhero/attorney at law who first appeared on the Hanna-Barbera show Birdman and the Galaxy Trio (1967–1968) as Ray Randall, Birdman, voiced by Keith Andes. After returning as guest host in Space Ghost Coast to Coast as Harvey Birdman, voiced by Scott Finnell, he received a new spin-off solo series in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000–2007), voiced by Gary Cole, depicting his legal career. The character returned as United States Attorney General in Harvey Birdman: Attorney General (2018).
Space Ghost is a superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth.
Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor is an American Saturday-morning animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 6, 1968, airing in reruns until September 6, 1969. Despite Moby's name coming first, he had only one short per half-hour episode, sandwiched between two with Mightor. The same structure was used the previous season for Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.
Atom Ant is a cartoon ant and superhero, created by Hanna-Barbera in 1965. Atom costarred in The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show on Saturday mornings. In syndication, Atom Ant aired alongside The Hillbilly Bears and Precious Pupp. Reruns aired on cable on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the 1990s and 2000s.
The Herculoids is an American Saturday-morning animated television series, created and designed by Alex Toth, that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show debuted on September 9, 1967, on CBS. Hanna-Barbera produced one season for the original airing of the show, although the original 18 episodes were rerun during the 1968–69 television season, with The Herculoids ending its run on September 6, 1969. Eleven new episodes were produced in 1981 as part of the Space Stars show. The plotlines are rooted in science fiction and fantasy.
Shazzan is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967, to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969. The series follows the adventures of two 12-year-old siblings, Chuck and Nancy, traveling around a mystical Arabian world, mounted on Kaboobie the flying camel. During their journey they face several dangers, but they are aided by Shazzan, a genie with magical powers. 18 half-hour episodes were produced, made up of two 11-minute segments.
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired as one of the three segments from the anthology show The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series. The show's other two segments were Wally Gator and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har.
The Funky Phantom is a Saturday morning animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, in association with Australian production company Air Programs International for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The show was a clone of Hanna-Barbera's popular Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, with a trio of teenage detectives driving around the country and solving crimes. In this case, the "Scooby-Doo" role was taken by a Revolutionary War-era ghost, voiced by Daws Butler in a manner almost identical to that of Snagglepuss.
The Peter Potamus Show is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and starring Peter Potamus, a purple hippopotamus.
Samson & Goliath, also known as Young Samson, is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC, where it debuted on September 9, 1967. Primarily sponsored by General Mills, who controlled the distribution rights through its agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, Samson & Goliath was retitled Young Samson in April 1968 to avoid confusion with the stop-motion Christian television series Davey and Goliath.
Space Ghost is an American Saturday-morning superhero animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, first broadcast on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 16, 1967, and continued reruns until September 7, 1968. The series was composed of two unrelated segments, Space Ghost and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. The series was created by Alex Toth and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Sometimes, it is alternatively called Space Ghost & Dino Boy to acknowledge the presence of both shows.
The Impossibles is a series of American animated cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1966 broadcast by CBS. The series of shorts appeared as part of Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.
Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It premiered on September 10, 1966 on CBS, and ran for two seasons on Saturday mornings.
Jonny Quest is an American animated science fiction adventure television series about a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Screen Gems, and was created and designed by comic book artist Doug Wildey.
Future Quest is a crossover comic book series published by DC Comics, as part of the comic book initiative Hanna-Barbera Beyond. The series features characters from various animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, such as Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles and Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor.
Harvey Birdman: Attorney General is a 2018 American adult animated television special written by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, and directed by Richard Ferguson-Hull. Harvey Birdman: Attorney General is a continuation of the animated television series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, created by Ouweleen and Richter, that originally aired on Adult Swim from 2001 to 2007. The special was originally released on the Adult Swim website on October 12, 2018, before making its official television debut on October 15, 2018, at 12:00 midnight. In the special Harvey Birdman is appointed assistant-U.S. attorney general and attempts to have now-President Phil Ken Sebben impeached on his own request.