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Post by tarkintino on Mar 10, 2021 9:38:33 GMT -5
- Batman: The Animated Series (EXCLUDING The New Batman Adventures)
- Fleischer/Famous Studios Superman shorts
- Daredevil
- Tales from the Cryptkeeper (prefer the animated spinoff to the live-action series; that third season can die in a vault fire, though)
- ?
Oooh I forgot about the Fleisher Superman shorts, they should have made my list. -M Same here, but they were theatrical shorts, so... Still, I totally skipped over that era of comic adaptations. |
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Post by Farrar on Mar 10, 2021 17:46:35 GMT -5
1. Batman, Adam West series. No contest. THE greatest TV show ever. To this day it makes me smile. I begged my parents to let me stay up to watch it. I got the Batman bubble gum cards. My friends and I play-acted all the time playing Batman and his TV cast of characters. We sang the Batman opening theme, adding more lyrics to it. I'd been a fan of the Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse cartoons, so I think perhaps someone had told me that they were based on Batman and that's what got me interested in the Batman show. The show led directly to me reading DC superhero comics.
2. Marvel Super-Heroes daily cartoons. Oh man, I loved these. For some reason I never got around to watching the Sun-Mariner episodes (on Fridays...I think there may have been some regular family obligation we had on Friday afternoons that precluded me watching then) but I know I managed to watch a lot of the other characters' episodes: Cap on Mondays, Hulk on Tuesdays, Iron Man on Wednesdays, Thor on --when else?--Thursdays. Who could ever forget those theme songs?! The cartoon episodes, as I learned much later on, were based on older Marvel stories and when I finally started reading Marvel mags, I have to admit I was very disappointed that the comics had people like Janice Cord and Sif in them--instead of Pepper and Happy and Jane Foster, who were in the cartoons.
3. Fantastic Four Saturday morning cartoon Right on the MSH cartoons' heels, I loved the FF cartoon. Sometimes we (my siblings and I) also watched Spider-Man, which came on after the FF cartoon, but it didn't make much of an impression (except for that theme song, a classic!) and we usually switched from Spidey to another channel. Anyway, I loved the FF cartoon. I had just started reading the FF comic and as my FF back issue collection grew, I realized that the cartoon stories were from the comic, with some changes. I loved telling my friends oh, this cartoon episode was based on FF #49 or #30 or whatever.
4. Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Not sure how I first watched these, if these were shown as part of another show, or what. But I know I loved Woody, drew pictures of him, and according to my my mother I ran around the house imitating his laugh. So whenever I saw Gold Key Woody Woodpeckers at the candy stores I had to have them. I know I had a WW giant summer issue that I loved. I remember being surprised that in the comic version, Woody had a supporting cast, namely a niece and a nephew, who were not in the cartoons.
5. Casper cartoons. As with Woody, we watched Casper cartoons and this led me to the Casper-family comics. Harveys and/or Woody were my earliest comics.
I remember nothing about those Casper TV cartoons, except for the opening theme song.
Honorable mention to the George Reeves Superman TV show. ETA: This moves up to #4 My grandparents loved it and we kids always watched it with them when we visited my grandparents. I can't say it was a favorite show of mine, but it was fun and it did introduce me to Lois, Jimmy, and the Daily Planet so when I started to read Superman-related comics I was familiar with the characters, setting, premise, etc.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 10, 2021 18:29:14 GMT -5
1.) The Tick (animated): Perfectly captured the lunacy of the comic and expanded upon it, adding American Maid and der Fleidermuas, as well as Sewer Urchin. It adapted a few things fromt he comics and a couple of direct adaptations of stories, then expanded it into a bigger world and handled things that Ben Edlund had only hinted.
2.) The New Adventures of Flash Gordon: First season only, which was done in a serial format, adapting the ley storylines of the classic Alex Raymond adventures. originally begun as a prime time movie special, the first 4 episodes were created from the movie footage, with some additions, then further episodes added stories from the strips, building to the conclusion seen in the film. The series was broadcast before the movie, which had material that couldn't be used, such as the bombing of Warsaw and Ming providing technology to the Nazis. Since the series aired on Saturday mornings, it had to replace some of the more violent content and give us robots.
3.) Batman the Animated Series: best adaptation of Batman ever, taking visual cues fromt he Fleischer Superman cartoons and mixing elements from every era of Batman, allowing something more than just the Burton take, the Frank Miller material. It was more mature than the Super Friends or the Filmation Adv of Batman or New Adv of Batman, giving us a wide array of villains, making Mr Freeze something more than endless cold jokes. Screwed up the Penguin (partially due to Burton, partially due to not getting a handle on the character), but finally got their finger on him later in the game. Joker was brilliant from the tsart and they gave us the wonderful gift of Harley Quinn, who has been screwed up by everyone since.
4.) Middle Men: Really nice adaptation of the indie comic that didn't get enough love from the network.
5.) Agent Carter: Barely qualifies as a comic adaptation, as Peggy was not as big a figure in the comics as niece Sharon; but, fro my money, the only decent Marvel tv show, which was not supported and yet the more tedious Agents of SHIELD continued. Your losss ABC and Disney.
Honorable Mention: Season 1 of Wonder Woman and seasons 1 and 2 of Batman. Both series were played a little broader (or very broadly, int he case of Batman); but, they had a sense of fun and actually captured a lot of what was great about the comics. Wonder Woman was very faithful to the spirit and even a couple of stories from the Golden Age comics (when Wonder Woman was more unique) and Lynda Carter played her with total commitment, as much as Christopher Reeve did with Superman. That is why people remembered them, despite costumes which most actors could never pull off. Batman got the spirit of the comics and played it a bit with a wink (well, a lot, in some episodes), yet also allowed some mystery (for the Caped Crusaders) and some pretty decent and exciting adventures and imaginative death traps. A great cast who played the most absurd lines straight really helped sell the idea. It starts unravelling in the second season, though the bulk of it is still pretty darn good. Season 3 was when it went off the rails.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 10, 2021 18:33:03 GMT -5
1. Batman, Adam West series. No contest. THE greatest TV show ever. To this day it makes me smile. I begged my parents to let me stay up to watch it. I got the Batman bubble gum cards. My friends and I play-acted all the time playing Batman and his TV cast of characters. We sang the Batman opening theme, adding more lyrics to it. I'd been a fan of the Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse cartoons, so I think perhaps someone had told me that they were based on Batman and that's what got me interested in the Batman show. The show led directly to me reading DC superhero comics. 2. Marvel Super-Heroes daily cartoons. Oh man, I loved these. For some reason I never got around to watching the Sun-Mariner episodes (on Fridays...I think there may have been some regular family obligation we had on Friday afternoons that precluded me watching then) but I know I managed to watch a lot of the other characters' episodes: Cap on Mondays, Hulk on Tuesdays, Iron Man on Wednesdays, Thor on --when else?--Thursdays. Who could ever forget those theme songs?! The cartoon episodes, as I learned much later on, were based on older Marvel stories and when I finally started reading Marvel mags, I have to admit I was very disappointed that the comics had people like Janice Cord and Sif in them--instead of Pepper and Happy and Jane Foster, who were in the cartoons. 3. Fantastic Four Saturday morning cartoon Right on the MSH cartoons' heels, I loved the FF cartoon. Sometimes we (my siblings and I) also watched Spider-Man, which came on after the FF cartoon, but it didn't make much of an impression (except for that theme song, a classic!) and we usually switched from Spidey to another channel. Anyway, I loved the FF cartoon. I had just started reading the FF comic and as my FF back issue collection grew, I realized that the cartoon stories were from the comic, with some changes. I loved telling my friends oh, this cartoon episode was based on FF #49 or #30 or whatever. 4. Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Not sure how I first watched these, if these were shown as part of another show, or what. But I know I loved Woody, drew pictures of him, and according to my my mother I ran around the house imitating his laugh. So whenever I saw Gold Key Woody Woodpeckers at the candy stores I had to have them. I know I had a WW giant summer issue that I loved. I remember being surprised that in the comic version, Woody had a supporting cast, namely a niece and a nephew, who were not in the cartoons. 5. Casper cartoons. As with Woody, we watched Casper cartoons and this led me to the Casper-family comics. Harveys and/or Woody were my earliest comics. I remember nothing about those Casper TV cartoons, except for the opening theme song. Honorable mention to the George Reeves Superman TV show. My grandparents loved it and we kids always watched it with them when we visited my grandparents. I can't say it was a favorite show of mine, but it was fun and it did introduce me to Lois, Jimmy, and the Daily Planet so when I started to read Superman-related comics I was familiar with the characters, setting, premise, etc. Just to be picky: Woody Woodpecker and Casper were both original theatrical cartoons which were adapted in comic books, not vice versa. Woody was the product of Walter Lance Studios and the character was licensed by Western for the Woody comics, both in the Dell and Gold Key years. Casper was licensed by Harvey, then they bought out the character. He debuted in cinemas long before he got a comic. Same with Little Audrey and Baby Huey. Richie Rich was an original comic book creation (as was Little Dot and Little Lotta), who was adapted for the tv cartoons and the film. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 10, 2021 18:40:05 GMT -5
- Batman: The Animated Series (EXCLUDING The New Batman Adventures)
- Fleischer/Famous Studios Superman shorts
- Daredevil
- Tales from the Cryptkeeper (prefer the animated spinoff to the live-action series; that third season can die in a vault fire, though)
- ?
The Fleischer shorts first aired in movie theaters, right? That would not be eligible, but it's a great pick otherwise! Technically, so did Popeye and my own pick of Flash Gordon. Do we count those, since they became comic books, too, though, in both cases, the cartoons are adapting the original comic strip? If not, then Batman moves up a slot on mine and Wonder Woman is a solo honorable mention. If we are including comic strips in the mix, then I have changes to add Blondie, Peanuts and Dennis the Menace. |
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Post by Farrar on Mar 10, 2021 18:48:31 GMT -5
Oh, I guess I didn't read the OP instructions carefully. Okay, scratch those two, move up Superman I guess--it's a fun show as I mentioned. Guess I won't have 5 as I stopped being interested in superhero comics when I became a teenager, and haven't watched any superhero-based TV shows/cartoons other than what I mentioned. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Mar 10, 2021 18:55:48 GMT -5
The Fleischer shorts first aired in movie theaters, right? That would not be eligible, but it's a great pick otherwise! Technically, so did Popeye and my own pick of Flash Gordon. Do we count those, since they became comic books, too, though, in both cases, the cartoons are adapting the original comic strip? If not, then Batman moves up a slot on mine and Wonder Woman is a solo honorable mention. If we are including comic strips in the mix, then I have changes to add Blondie, Peanuts and Dennis the Menace. Adaptations of comic books are fair game. Cartoons that originally debuted in theaters should not be (though, really, what am I going to do about it?) |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 11, 2021 10:23:51 GMT -5
In no particular order :
1- Supergirl (the CW one... don't know if there ever was another Supergirl show). Melissa Benoist just kills it as Kara. Her character is a genuinely good person, innocent, brave, funny, charming, who actually ENJOYS flying and saving people; unlike so many tortured and grim defenders of justice, she's just bursting with joy and enthusiasm. The show's mix of silliness, adventure, sitcom humour and soap opera really brings me back to the comics I read way back when during the summer holidays, not caring whether what i read made sense or not. The series does suffer from heavy-handed political messages at times, but it's fun enough for me to overlook such foibles. (I also liked the few episodes of The Flash I saw, and of course loved Barry's crossovers with Kara. The two seem to be written pretty much the same way).
2- Daredevil on Netflix. So many of the Marvel shows were excellent... Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Punisher, Iron f...er, never mind that one. Brilliant transposition of the comic to the small screen, without becoming campy or looking stupid. The casting was remarkable too (but then... thats true of pretty much all those series).
3- The Walking Dead. I bought the first massive compendium of the comic to see what the hulabaloo was all about, and got hooked... then watched the first season and was hooked again (despite its veering away from the comics' plot). It's comic-booky without being too comic-booky, if you see what I mean, and it handled its quickly-rotating cast very well indeed.
4- Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Such a rocky and uneven start. An entire season of not knowing what to do with the franchise, and to wonder when another movie would just $#$@ things up! But then the cast really gelled and the show embraced its innate silliness, and just jumped into the Marvel toy box. L.M.D.s! Ghost Rider! The Darkhold! Kree invasions! The Earth blows up!!! Super-power conferring MGH!!! Time travel!!! Adventures in space!!! Plus, it felt as if the production crew started having fun... during the last season, it would do things like sending its characters back in the '40s, the '50s, the '70s, the '80s, and make each episode look as if it had been produced in those eras (the '40s one was even in black and white). I wouldn't say the stories were all that innovative, but they were generally a lot of fun and kept me returning.
5- The Gifted, which only had two seasons but was a huge surprise for me. What? An X-universe series featuring B-list mutants at best and total unknowns most of the time? Talk about desperwaiiiiiiiit a minute... this is actually GOOD! The whole "mutant hatred" aspect is very well handled here, and the plot is tight enough that its revoltin' developments were actual shockers. Pretty good job on the writers' part, considering we neither know nor care about most of these people before the series begins!
Sorry, no cartoons... I watched none of the cartoons made after the early '80s, so the seemingly very popular Batman:TAS or X-Men are complete unknowns to me.
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Post by badwolf on Mar 11, 2021 10:25:37 GMT -5
1. Batman: The Animated Series
2. Spider-Man (1960s cartoon)
I'd have to leave out anime as there is far too much to even begin narrowing it down.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 11, 2021 10:39:49 GMT -5
1. Batman (Adam West). This show is what got me in to comics. It is the reason I'm typing here. This show honestly shaped my life more than all but a handful of actual human beings.
2. Batman the Animated Series. This is still the gold standard for Batman. The first couple of seasons are the best Batman has ever been and are leaps and bounds beyond any other non-comic version of the character. It's still the gold standard for super-hero animation.
3. Batman: Brave & Bold. FUN!! This is the last time I gave a crap about what used to be my favorite character. This cartoon is just pure joy.
4. The Tick (cartoon). Super fun cartoon. Honestly I've loved all the Tick's incarnations on television even if they've all been incredibly different and not necessarily in line with the comic.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 11, 2021 20:32:20 GMT -5
1. Adventures of Superman
2. Smallville
3. Batman ( 1966)
4. Agents of shield
5 Marvel Superheroes
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Post by Graphic Autist on Mar 30, 2021 16:44:36 GMT -5
1 - Batman 1966
2 - Wonder Woman 1970s
3 - Incredible Hulk 1970s
4 - Arrow 2010s
5 - Legends of Tomorrow 2010s
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2021 21:34:43 GMT -5
I'll have to think about it before coming up with a list, but honestly? pretty shocked not to see this mentioned at all.
Easily makes my top 3 of best adaptations (vying for placement with "Walking Dead" and "Batman: the animated series" for top spot)
yes, Season 1 hasn't even concluded yet - the finale is Wed.
but it's already been renewed for Season 2, it's actually gotten *better* as it's gone, and it's got an EXCELLENT cast.
I think I'm enjoying it more than the comic it's based off of:
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Post by chadwilliam on Mar 31, 2021 13:35:33 GMT -5
I fully expect a shout-out to The 1950s Adventures of Superman series somewhere in this thread too. Man, this show deserves more than a shout out, but given how long it's been since it first aired I guess it's just one of those series you have to be of a certain age to have even glimpsed. I just love the interplay between Reeve's Clark Kent and everybody else in this show. He's coy and secretive, but you're never quite sure if he really is as far ahead of Lois and Jimmy as he thinks he is. Noel Neill once said in a commentary that she played her role as if she and Jimmy knew his secret but kept it to themselves out of fear of losing their jobs. A partially tongue in cheek comment perhaps, but it's surprisingly noticeable in the series at times. "And I suppose you just happened to be in the neighborhood while all this was going on, Mr. Kent and Superman's timely arrival was just happenstance?" "er, well, you see Lois..." "Oh forget it Clark, we'll let it slide this time". And perhaps his Kent was hardly the mild mannered character of the comics, but maybe this helped avoid the bleeding of that personality into his Superman identity the way it did with Christopher Reeve's otherwise perfect performance. This was no boy scout who couldn't leave the scene of a helicopter accident wasn't until he personally saw to it that everyone knew that "statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel" and if he ever received a summons to rescue a cat from a tree sure he'd do it, but it would seem kind of unseemly given the gravitas he brought to the role. He could be tough enough to leave a pair of crooks stranded atop an icy mountain or nearly singe another's ear with his X-Ray vision by sending the beams over a radio transmitter, but kind enough to restore a little girl's faith in humanity by proving to her that he really does exist - George Reeve is Superman. Oh, and while I completely understand how Jack Larson's performance led to Jimmy Olsen's exploding popularity, it's John Hamilton as Perry White who steals nearly every scene he's in making you truly believe that he is the one man whose bad side Superman doesn't want to get on. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 2, 2021 11:17:28 GMT -5
1. Batman (1966) They really thought of everything with this one. From where exactly Batman's insignia should be placed on his chest to make West seem heavier than he was to those askew camera angles to a new "Holy" whatever every episode. Comedy generally ages very poorly, in my opinion, but this one seems to have actually gotten funnier with time. The comedy, the earnestness, the accuracy in so many places, the cast - so much to love.
2. The Adventures of Superman - see above.
3. The Tick (Animated Series) What if Adam West and the Fawcett Captain Marvel had a baby? Worth it for the supporting cast alone and, hey, Micky Dolenz as Arthur (at least for the first season).
4. Batman: The Animated Series (1992) Once they switched from taking inspiration from the Bronze Age Batman and started using the 90's Batman as their template, I lost interest, but the first two or so years deserve all the praise they get.
5. Spider-Man (1967) The red skies; J Jonah Jameson answering multiple phones; the soundtrack; the fealty to the comics; the built-in cast of characters; Peter Parker and Spider-Man's distinct voices; the 60's.
Honourable mentions:
The Green Hornet (1966) Good guys pretending to be bad guys. The first episode I ever saw (a little over 30 years ago) had Kato break into The Daily Sentinel, seemingly shoot Britt Reid ("A gift from The Green Hornet"), and then make a breakaway all so that Reid could get a bullet the police shot into The Green Hornet out of his arm without arousing suspicion. Talk about dedication! Sleek, cool, and noirish.
The Super Power Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) I don't know how the other eras of Super Friends hold up, but this one still works. The Fear by Alan Burnett is the definitive Batman origin story (and the first time it was suggested that Alfred had been Bruce's butler since he was a child) and the look is modelled after Jose Luis Garcia's work. Adam West as Batman; Cyborg and Firestorm join the cast; mechanical Brainiac; Bizarro, Mxyzptlk, Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow; and it looks like a comic book.
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