All Iterations of the ‘Super Friends’ Franchise Are Joining MeTV Toons’ Weekday Lineup
The MeTV Toons channel has exclusively acquired Super Friends, the classic Hanna-Barbera animated franchise featuring superheroes and supervillains from DC Comics that remains one of the most fondly remembered cartoons that kids got up to watch while they ate cereal on Saturday mornings during its original ABC run in the 1970s and ’80s. MeTV Toons will begin airing Super Friends weekdays from 4-5pm ET on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
Super Friends followed the members of the Justice League of America as they fought crime and saved the world from many a disaster, working from their base at the Hall of Justice.
Their adventures were boosted by Hoyt Curtin’s classic theme and incidental music:
The Super Friends franchise existed across a few different iterations between 1973 and 1985, and MeTV Toons had acquired all of them:
Super Friends (1973) — Featuring Ted Knight as narrator, and voice of the Flash in one episode!
The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977-78) — Bill Woodson came onboard starting with this revival season to provide a variety of voices, most notably as the narrator, uttering such comic book caption-y sorts of phrases as “Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice …” in an iconic manner.
Challenge of the Superfriends (1978) — Featuring the Justice League of America vs. the Legion of Doom!
The World’s Greatest Super Friends (1979-80) — Listen to narrator Woodson give it his all in this intro!
Super Friends (1980-83)
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984-85) — Among the villains this season, one of DC’s “big bads,” Darkseid, makes his first appearance outside of comic books.
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985)
A main core of certain popular heroes remained mostly consistent across those titles: Superman (voiced by Danny Dark in each iteration), Wonder Woman (most famously voiced by Shannon Farnon from 1973-83), Batman (voiced by Olan Soule in earlier seasons, and by Adam West from 1984-85) and Robin (voiced by Casey Kasem), and Aquaman (voiced by Norman Alden in early seasons, and by Bill Callaway from 1978-85).
Other characters also ended up appearing either in regular roles or as guest stars, notably The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Hawkman and Firestorm, among others from the comic books, as well as characters who were created for the series, like Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Samurai and El Dorado. (Those latter characters were brought on to increase the show’s cultural diversity, and while that intention is laudable, in some cases the depictions of those characters could sometimes inadvertently come off as stereotypical.)
In the first season, the Justice League had the wacky sidekicks of Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog. Even as a kid, I remember this being among the dullest of the seasons, between the type of stories that were featured, and this fairly annoying trio.
There were also segments on how to do arts and crafts, for some reason. That went away, but one thing that continued into later seasons were tips on safety and health, which producers were probably required to have to some extent given the Super Friends‘ label as “children’s programming.” (Similar to those “Knowing is half the battle” PSAs later seen in the early ’80s G.I. Joe animated series.)
When producers went back to the drawing board and brought Super Friends back a few years later, Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog were replaced by the slightly more palatable Wonder Twins — extraterrestrial siblings Zan and Jayna, who, when they touched rings to activate their Wonder Powers, could transform into some animal (Jayna) and a form of water or ice (Zan). (That wouldn’t seem to be an especially helpful talent at first glance, but they made it work.)
I’m probably not alone in thinking that, while there were cool episodes throughout the franchise (and especially the titles airing from 1977-80), Challenge of the Superfriends was the superior entry.
Each hourlong installment of Challenge was divided into two half-hour segments: First, a standard Justice League adventure, followed by one that followed them as they battled the nefarious Legion of Doom.
Led by criminal genius Lex Luthor, the Legion of Doom also included memorable DC villains Bizarro, Black Manta (probably my favorite, mainly because of how cool his voice sounded through his helmet), Brainiac, Captain Cold, Cheetah, Giganta, Gorilla Grodd, Riddler, Scarecrow, Sinestro, Solomon Grundy and Toyman.
I’ll let Luthor do the honors of introducing his organization:
Each week, this sinister society plotted the demise of the Super Friends and the conquest of the world from their hidden swamp base inside a structure that looked a lot like Darth Vader’s helmet. Many of their schemes were, honestly, kinda dumb, but it was all still fun to watch, as you can see from some of the villains’ highlights here (which starts out with my guy Black Manta):
MeTV Toons Super Friends Primetime Sneak Peek — Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 (All Times Eastern)
Before it begins airing Super Friends regularly on weekdays from 4-5pm starting Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, MeTV Toons is airing a sneak peek on the night of Oct. 6, featuring the following episodes:
8pm: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians — “The Wild Cards” (1985). Episode features the Royal Flush Gang and the only appearance of the Joker on Super Friends.
8:30pm: Challenge of the Superfriends — “Terror From the Phantom Zone” (1978). Three Kryptonian villains escape from the Phantom Zone (new villains created for the series, not General Zod and company).
9pm: Challenge of the Superfriends — “Secret Origins of the Super Friends” (1978). Lex Luthor discovers the origins of Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, and plots for the Legion of Doom to go back in time and alter events to prevent them from existing.
9:30pm: Challenge of the Superfriends — “Super Friends: Rest in Peace” (1978). The Legion of Doom discovers a crystal that can emulate the weakness of each Justice League member, which they plot to use to kill off the Super Friends!
10pm: Challenge of the Superfriends — “The Rise and Fall of the Super Friends” (1978). Interdimensional imp Mister Mxyzptlk uses his magic to force the Super Friends to act out a deadly movie script he has written. Only Superman is unaffected; can he succeed in an elaborate plot to trick Mxyxptlk into saying his name backwards and sending him back to his dimension?
10:30pm: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians — “The Death of Superman” (1985). Has Kryptonite poisoning really claimed the life of the Man of Steel?