The Best of Super Friends

Infobox Television
show_name = Super Friends


caption =
show_name_2 = "Super Friends VI"
genre = Animation / Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi
creator =
writer = Haskell Barkin
Dick Conway
Willie Gilbert
Donald F. Glut
Mark Jones
Elana Lesser
Dick Robbins
Cliff Ruby
director = Oscar Dufau
George Gordon
Charles A. Nichols
Ray Patterson
Carl Urbano
creative_director =
developer = Hanna-Barbera
DC Comics
presenter =
starring =
voices = Jack Angel
Lewis Bailey
Michael Bell
Wally Burr
William Callaway
Melanie Chartoff
Danny Dark
Fernando Escandon
Shannon Farnon
Buster Jones
Stan Jones
Casey Kasem
Vic Perrin
Stanley Ralph Ross
Michael Rye
Olan Soule
Jimmy Weldon
Frank Welker
Louise Williams
William Woodson
narrated = William Woodson
theme_music_composer = Hoyt Curtin
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes =
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Joseph Barbera
William Hanna
co_exec = Margaret Loesch
producer = Gerard Baldwin
supervising_producer =
asst_producer =
co-producer =
editor = Jeffrey Scott
story_editor =
location =
cinematography =
camera =
runtime = 60 minutes (including commercials)
network = ABC
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = September 8, 1982
last_aired = 1984
preceded_by = "The Super Friends Hour"
followed_by = ""
related =
website = http://user1291318.sites.myregisteredsite.com/willsultimatesuperfriendsepisodeguide/id16.html
production_website =
imdb_id = 1143137
tv_com_id =

"The Best of Super Friends" is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1982 to 1984 on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. It was the sixth incarnation of the "Super Friends" series following "Super Friends" (1973 TV series), "The All-New Super Friends Hour", "Challenge of the Super Friends", "The World's Greatest Super Friends" and "The Super Friends Hour".

Background and format

For the 1982-1983 television season, ABC continued to run a half-hour long program, this time called "The Best of the Super Friends". Just like its predecessor program, "The Super Friends Hour", this series consisted mostly of reruns [ [http://user1291318.sites.myregisteredsite.com/willsultimatesuperfriendsepisodeguide/id16.html If I can recall, it was most of the 30 minute episodes featuring the core group containing all 8 episodes from the World's Greatest series, all 16 episodes from 1978, the first 8 of the half hour episodes from the All New SuperFriends Hour from 1977, and one episode of Challenge of the SuperFriends: Swamp of the Living Dead.] ] of shows from the previous nine seasons. The main difference in contrast to "The Super Friends Hour" is that none of the seven minute shorts were rebroadcast.

Cancellation and lost episodes

By 1983, Hanna-Barbera had created a syndication package (that was distributed by LBS Communications and ran from 1981-1986) of the earlier "Super Friends" series. These episodes were picked up by various stations across the United States and were typically broadcast on weekday afternoons. Not wishing to compete with the syndicated programming, ABC dropped the series from the 1983-1984 Saturday morning television line-up, and for the second time in its run, "Super Friends" was canceled.

However, during this period of time, Hanna-Barbera continued to produce new episodes of "Super Friends". In total, 24 of the so-called "Lost Episodes" [ [http://user1291318.sites.myregisteredsite.com/willsultimatesuperfriendsepisodeguide/id16.html However, unbeknownst to any of us at the time, Hanna Barbera did produce a third set of 7 minute shorts. They actually aired in other countries that year, but not in America since our heroes lost the coin toss in favor of cutesy shows like the Monchichis, Rubik the Amazing Cube, and the Littles. The only Super Hero shows found on Saturday mornings that year were all reruns shows. The final season of SpiderMan and His Amazing Friends and the Incredible Hulk reruns on NBC, and on CBS, Ruby Spears Plastic Man, which was later replaced by Filmation's Tarzan series. And to add insult to injury, Superman fans were none too thrilled with Superman III, released in theaters that year. When the SuperFriends returned the following year as the Legendary Super Powers Show, three of these lost episodes aired as part of that series. When the SuperFriends returned to syndication in the 1990's in the form of the Superman/Batman Adventures package, these lost episodes were part of this show and we were finally exposed to Super Friends adventures we'd never seen before.] ] were animated but not aired in the United States that season. The series did appear in Australia uninterrupted. Three of these episodes were aired when "Super Friends" returned to Saturday morning ABC television the following year. The remainder of the episodes finally aired in syndication in 1995 as part of the "Superman/Batman Adventures" show on the USA Network. [ [http://members.aol.com/SprFriends/chronology.htm#lost83-84 HANNA-BARBERA SUPERFRIENDS CHRONOLOGY] ]

List of lost episodes

#MXYZPTLK'S REVENGE
#ROLLER COASTER
#ONCE UPON A POLTERGEIST
#WARPLAND
#TWO GLEEKS ARE DEADLIER THAN ONE
#BULGOR THE BEHEMOTH
#THE KRYPTON SYNDROME
#INVASION OF THE SPACE DOLLS
#TERROR ON THE TITANIC
#THE REVENGE OF DOOM
#A PINT OF LIFE
#DAY OF THE DINOSAURS
#RETURN OF THE PHANTOMS
#BULLY FOR YOU
#SUPERCLONES
#PRISONERS OF SLEEP
#AN UNEXPECTED TREASURE
#THE MALUSIAN BLOB
#ATTACK OF THE CATS
#PERSONAL COMMENT
#VIDEO VICTIMS
#PLAYGROUND OF DOOM
#SPACE RACERS
#THE RECRUITER

References