Time Warner collected---and badly edited----reruns of Super Friends and various Filmation shorts to create the cable-only Superman-Batman Adventures, which premiered on USA in 1995, then shifted to Cartoon Network and its sister channel, Boomerang, soon after. The umbrella title, however, was de-emphasized by 1997 due to WB launching The New Superman-Batman Adventures as a Saturday entry.
USA ran the package in the Cartoon Express slot at 6 pm (ET) weeknights, but by this time, despite the change in cartoon content, ratings were dropping for USA at that hour, and they would soon discontinue early evening cartoons. For those of us who hadn't seen the Filmation versions of Batman, Superman, et al since their syndicated runs ended in the early 80's, it was a welcome treat. It also served as a showcase for newer viewers who were only accustomed to WB's critically acclaimed Batman series on Fox.
Here's the open:
Rating: C (due to the poor editing).
2 comments:
I've seen these exact shorts used as time fillers on Boomerang (and possibly CN at some point). I HATED the fact the original intros were cut and replaced with those tacky split screens. The hatchet job alone on the eps just made the viewing experience less than stellar.
I think they also did the same to Aquaman's '60s shorts as well.
Yes, they did, which is why I try to avoid using the edited versions as much as possible, looking for the original, unedited material.
Post a Comment