Man of Steel: The History And Legacy Of Superman (Part 2)

By Kyle Murphy / June 12, 2013

1975 - It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's Superman TV Special

There is not much that can be said for the ABC Network's ill-advised decision to refashion the somewhat-successful "It's A Bird..." stage production into a thrown-together, shoddy, cringe-worthy, critically-panned, low-budget and low-rated late night TV Special in 1975 that hasn't already been said. Other than the fact that it drastically shortened the theater-version for time constraints and changed the script for a more-modern then-mid-seventies motif, it took out all of the charm of the 66-67 stage production like a huge chunk of Kryptonite sucking the life out of Bob Holiday. Starring a rather doofy David Wilson, whose protruding nose would make any disguise a giant leap of a task to persuade, Wilson's Superman's put-on Kryptonian voice comes off too phony, not to mention the hard-to-swallow set pieces. Neither the paltry budget nor the hippie sensibility can account for such a low-cut Superman top though, it's cape stretching the neck like so many towel-bearing kids' tees, the costume looking slapped together on perhaps the most ill-suited Superman this side of Nicolas Cage. Wilson's Superman flew through the clouds aided with some sky drawings that look to be done by a six-year-old, clearly not taking itself too seriously. Superman looks puzzled as a speeding bullet tries to catch up to him. Even for it's faults, for which there are aplenty, the "It's A Bird..." TV Special has it's appeal, if nothing else than for it's sheer campiness. The scribbled crayon backgrounds illustrate the tongue-in-cheek way that ABC approached pitching this musical Man of Steel airborne.

Make sure to check back later this week for Part 3! Looking at Superman's film career, hitting his cinematic stride from 1978-1987! Thanks for reading! Please share! If you missed Part 1: