The World's Greatest Super Friends Podcast

The Justice League of America "Between Two Armies" September 9, 1967 Two worlds at war with Earth in the middle of the battlefield.  It's up to the JLA to stop this from destroying the planet.   John and Dan discuss the first JLA adventure by pointing out how, save for Superman, there is something about each of the other characters that is somewhat off-model from their comic book versions, noting the voice actors for this series, and commenting on how the JLA was the weakest of the "guest hero" cartoons from Filmation. Join us in a few weeks as we return with a new Super Friends review, "Too Hot to Handle" and follow that up with a look at another of the Filmation hero shorts.

"The Weathermaker" Aired: September 30, 1973 A series of freak weather events around the Florida panhandle keeps the Super Friends busy as they must answer a series of weather-related emergency calls.  But what is causing it?  Batman and Robin are kept on the move as they track down the perpetrator, Dr. Thinkwik.   This may turn out to be the shortest episode of the podcast.  Despite John's saying he enjoyed the story, he couldn't really explain why and Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension wasn't giving him anything to work with as he didn't care for the episode.  They do discuss the ever changing powers of Wonder Woman in the series, the tell, don't show aspect of many scenes in this first season, and they debate Wonder Dog vs. Gleek. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

"The Androids" Aired: October 27, 1973 A lunar mission returns to Earth, but the astronauts are missing.  The Super Friends are brought in to investigate and soon discover that the entire space program is endangered by a scientist and his army of androids.  John and Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension are at odds over how good this episode is. Together, they discuss how much like a Batman 66 episode this story is, how much the space program meant to us, and how the cartoon was mirroring the Superman comics of the time. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

The Flash "To Catch a Blue Bolt" November 25, 1967 Blue Bolt returns to Earth with thoughts of revenge against the Flash.  So he sets off on a world wind havoc tour with the Flash and Kid Flash right behind him. John and Dan discuss an episode of The Flash on his 80th anniversary.  They talk about the Speed Force, the plot holes that do not matter in what is an exciting story, and the changes in Kid Flash's costume compared to the comics of the time. Join us in a few weeks as we return with a new Super Friends review, "The Androids" and follow that up with a look at another of the Filmation Aquaman shorts.

"Too Hot to Handle" Aired: October 20, 1973 Earth's temperatures are rising causing catastrophes that the Super Friends must respond to all the while being observed by a strange little man in a fur coat.  The only way to stop it is to enlist the aid of The Flash, but even then, things escalate to the point that the Super Friends must travel to a distant world to save another world from destruction.  For John and Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension this episode stands out as the best of the first season. There is much to praise from the writing, to the animation, to the limited use of Wendy and Marvin, to the early warning message of global warming.  In addition, the two discuss The Flash vs. Superman, how to pronounce robot, and how to obtain a Mego action figure with no money and no physical material. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

Aquaman "Menace of the Black Manta" September 9, 1967 We take a slight detour from our look at the Super Friends with the precursor to the series, the Filmation cartoons.  The DC Universe was covered on television from 1966-1969 on CBS television with most of the major heroes given their own venue to shine, and among them was Aquaman.   John and Dan discuss the first episode shown in his adventures.  It's completely different from their look at Filmation's Batman and that's not a bad thing.  They talk about the frenetic pace of the story, Bob Haney, the writer of the episode as well as of the comic book at the time, and how cool a villain Black Manta is. Join us in a few weeks as we return with a new Super Friends review, "The Shaman U" and follow that up with a look at one of the Filmation Justice League of America stories.

"Dr. Pelagian's War" Aired: October 6, 1973 A Nemo-esque environmentalist demands the world's industrialists change their polluting ways or face the consequences. And then it's a race against time as the Super Friends must "convince" three holdouts.  While the last episode didn't meet with Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension's approval, he has to admit that this may be the best of the first five stories and it does have a lot going for it.  Together, they discuss the origin of the name Pelagian, the darker tones this episode takes while also having some of the best humorous bits to date, the importance and strength of Aquaman in this first season, and his unexplained relationship with Pelagian. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

"The Shamon U" Aired: October 13, 1973 A scientist has discovered the means to mine the skies above for gold from passing meteors.  But his get rich quick scheme has a horrible after effect for the ecology of our planet and the Super Friends must stop him before it's too late.  John is making this episode sound better than what it seems in his opinion, while Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension finds some things to praise about the story.  Together, they discuss the James Bondian nature of some of these stories, the vocal talents of Shannon Farnon, and the usefulness of Aquaman in these early episodes. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

"Professor Goodfellow's GEEC" Aired: September 23, 1973 Professor Goodfellow has developed the means to make humanity's life so much more simpler - the GEEC - a computer system that will run the world and handle all the tasks that occupy humanity and keep them from reaching their full potential.  He offers it for free to the world when the US government passes on getting involved.  At first, it all seems fine, until a malfunction causes worldwide havoc. While Superman and Aquaman race to rescue as many people as possible, Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman must infiltrate the GEEC complex and shut the computer down. Sounds great, doesn't it?  On paper, it is a great idea, but as John is joined by 13th Dimension webmaster Dan Greenfield to discuss this episode, they discover that being a Saturday morning cartoon in the thick of Congress's crackdown on violence, the story is simplified and so much is missing.  They talk about the story ideas missing in the concept, the appearance of Plastic Man, and comment on the phenomenon of computers gone bad in the 60s and 70s. John references The Ultimate Super Friends Companion by Will Rodgers.  Check it out for yourself by purchasing a copy via Amazon. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter

"The Baffles Puzzle" Aired: September 15, 1973 At first, it seems to Batman like a simple matter for the police when all the encyclopedias disappear from the library.  But when Colonel Wilcox of the Secret Department of Investigation contacts the Super Friends to prevent the stealing of French lithographs, things get serious as the scent of almonds connects the two events.  It's a race then to stop the theft of $5 million while dealing with a series of threats and trying to located the missing Junior Super Friends. John is joined by 13th Dimension webmaster Dan Greenfield to discuss this episode that sounds like it has more going for it than the pervious one.  At least, it seems that way to John.  There are many firsts for the series here, including the appearance of Clark Kent, Kryptonite, and Colonel Wilcox.  In addition, John and Dan discuss the animation choices of the episode, Wonder Woman's powers, and the cast taking on other voices. Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod. Links 13th Dimension Website Facebook page Twitter