Monday, March 17, 2008

1967-Birdman


In the late 60s, Hanna Barbera came up with a slew of original superhero and action hero characters for TV broadcast. Atom Ant, Space Ghost, Shazzan, The Galaxy Trio, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, Young Samson and Goliath, The Herculoids, and so on.
These were endlessly rerun and became more popular throughout the 70s in afternoon syndication, where most people probably remember seeing them.
With only a vague and somewhat generic origin, Birdman was somehow endowed by the sun god Ra with the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project “solar shields” to defend himself. He also has a huge pair of wings that enable him to fly. I don't think the wings were ever explained. Assisted by Avenger, his eagle sidekick, and thankfully only occasionally by Birdboy, Birdman works for Inter-Nation Security, and fights crime from his secret volcano base that has a sliding door on the crater.
Birdman segments were originally aired as part of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio.
The Birdman character was revived earlier this decade for Cartoon Network as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

1970-UFO


This British series set in the futuristic year of 1980 sports the same funky fashions and look as Space:1999. The reason is they were both created and produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson; the husband/wife creative TV team behind Supercar, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, and Terrahawks.
In 1970 UFO interest was still high and there were a number of TV series and documentaries based on them. Believed to be a threat to Earth, world governments unite and form SHADO (Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defense Organization)! Establishing bases and the Earth and the Moon, SHADO wages a secret battle against alien invaders as it attempts to discover who they are, where they come from, and what they want.