The Batman/Superman Hour

Last updated
The Batman/Superman Hour
The Batman-Superman Hour.jpg
Title card
Genre
Based on
Written by
  • Oscar Bensol
  • Dennis Marks
  • Bob Kane
  • Jerry Robinson
  • Joe Shuster
  • Jerry Siegel
Directed by Hal Sutherland
Voices of
Narrated by Ted Knight
Theme music composerJohn Gart
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes34
Production
Executive producerAllen Ducovny
Producers
Running time60/30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 14, 1968 (1968-09-14) –
January 4, 1969 (1969-01-04)

The Batman/Superman Hour is a Filmation animated series that was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1969. [1] Premiering on September 14, 1968, this 60-minute program featured new adventures of the DC Comics superheroes Batman, Robin and Batgirl alongside shorts from The New Adventures of Superman and The Adventures of Superboy . [2]

Contents

Series overview

This series marked the animation debut of Batman, his supporting cast and some of their classic enemies like Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and some villains exclusive to the series.

The success of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967 had prompted Filmation to produce a Metamorpho pilot and begin development on other similar series. [3] These plans were cancelled when CBS secured the animation rights to Batman in the wake of ABC's recent success with the Batman live action television series. [3] Going into production close to the start of the 1968 TV season, what would become The Batman/Superman Hour required Filmation to pull as many additional animators from other projects as they could spare to ramp up production.[ citation needed ]

This series was the first time Olan Soule and Casey Kasem performed as the voices of Batman and Robin. When The New Adventures of Batman was produced in 1977, Adam West and Burt Ward reprised the roles they had originally played in the live action TV series. Soule and Kasem would return several times to reprise their roles in 1972's The New Scooby-Doo Movies , 1973's Super Friends , 1977's The All-New Super Friends Hour , 1978's Challenge of the Superfriends , 1979's The World's Greatest Super Friends , and starting in 1980 Soule voiced the character in the 7 minute shorter episodes that were produced through 1983. These 1980–1983 episodes aired under the generic Super Friends title. Kasem would go on to voice Robin with Adam West as Batman in 1984's Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and 1985's The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians .

In 1969, the series was repackaged into 30-minute episodes without the Superman segments and renamed Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder . Batman would next appear in The New Adventures of Batman in 1977. In 1985, Warner Home Video released five selected episodes of the series on VHS as part of the "Super Powers" video collection. These videos were re-released in 1996 and are out of print. In 1996, episodes were included in The Superman/Batman Adventures on the USA Network. They later aired on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

Episodes

The Superman portion of the program consisted of new 61⁄2-minute shorts from Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman and The Adventures of Superboy .

The Batman half of The Batman/Superman Hour consisted of new shorts. One story was presented in two 61⁄2 minute segments and one story in a single 61⁄2 minute segment. Thirty-four stories were produced.

Cast

Production credits

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Super Friends</i> American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1986

Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krypto</span> Comic book superdog

Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a superhero dog appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the character Superman. In most continuities, Krypto is Superman's pet dog, usually depicted as a white dog of a generic pedigree often resembling a Labrador Retriever, a plain white Dalmatian, or a White Shepherd.

<i>The New Adventures of Batman</i> American animated television series

The New Adventures of Batman is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with Warner Bros. Television.

<i>The New Scooby-Doo Movies</i> American animated television series (1972–74)

The New Scooby-Doo Movies is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second television series in Scooby-Doo franchise, and follows the first incarnation, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! It premiered on September 9, 1972, and ended on October 27, 1973, running for two seasons on CBS as the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series. Twenty-four episodes were produced, sixteen for the 1972–73 season and eight more for the 1973–74 season.

<i>Batman</i> (franchise) Franchise based on DC Comics character, Batman

The DC Comics character Batman has been adapted into various media including film, radio, television, and video games, as well as numerous merchandising items. The Batman franchise has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

<i>Superman</i> (franchise) Portrayals of Superman outside of comic books

The American comic book character Superman, created in 1938, has appeared in many types of media since the 1940s. Superman has appeared in radio, television, movies, and video games each on multiple occasions, and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olan Soule</span> American actor and voiceover performer (1909–1994)

Olan Soule was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films.

<i>The New Adventures of Superman</i> (TV series) 1966-1970 animated television series

The New Adventures of Superman is a series of six-minute animated Superman adventures produced by Filmation that were broadcast Saturday mornings on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 5, 1970. The 68 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The Adventures of Superboy and other DC Comics superheroes.

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure is a Saturday morning 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.

<i>The Adventures of Batman</i> American TV series or program

The Adventures of Batman is an animated television series produced by Lou Scheimer's Filmation studios. It showcased the 12-minute Batman segments from The Batman/Superman Hour, sometimes broken up by and surrounding another cartoon from Filmation's fast-growing stream of superhero stars. A re-branded 30-minute version premiered on CBS on September 14, 1968, as Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder. This version was repackaged without the Superman and Superboy segments.

<i>Aquaman</i> (TV series) Animated television series

Aquaman is a Filmation animated series that premiered on CBS on September 9, 1967, and ended June 1970. It is a 30-minute version of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, repackaged without the Superman and Superboy segments.

<i>The Adventures of Superboy</i> (TV series) TV series or program

The Adventures of Superboy is a series of six-minute animated Superboy cartoons produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The 34 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The New Adventures of Superman and other DC Comics superheroes.

<i>The All-New Super Friends Hour</i> American TV series or program

The All-New Super Friends Hour is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 10, 1977, to September 2, 1978, on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<i>The Worlds Greatest SuperFriends</i> American TV series or program

The World's Greatest SuperFriends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes that ran from September 22, 1979, to September 27, 1980, on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<i>Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show</i> American TV series or program

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1984 to 1985 on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<i>The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians</i> American TV series or program

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes that ran in 1985. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

<i>Challenge of the Superfriends</i> American animated television series

Challenge of the Superfriends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9 to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics and created by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. It was the third series of Super Friends cartoons, following the original Super Friends in 1973 and The All-New Super Friends Hour in 1977.

<i>Super Friends</i> (1973 TV series) American TV series or program

Super Friends is a 1973 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera and National Periodical Publications. It is based on the Justice League comic books, and is the first incarnation of the Super Friends series.

<i>Super Friends</i> (1980 TV series) American TV series or program

Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1980 to 1983 on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. It was the fifth incarnation of the Super Friends series following Super Friends (1973), The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977), Challenge of the Superfriends (1978) and The World's Greatest Super Friends (1979).

References

  1. ↑ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 114–122. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  2. ↑ "A History of Batman on TV". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  3. 1 2 McNeil, Darren (July 2004). "The 1968 DC Filmation Pilots". Back Issue! (5). TwoMorrows Publishing. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.