M.A.N.T.I.S.

I was a fan of M.A.N.T.I.S. for it's short run on Fox. Was it a great show? Was it life altering? Was it a deep and thorough examination of the human condition? No! I liked it more for what it was not rather than what it was. I got to see it because of its time slot just before the X-Files. Like the X-Files this was a show out of the ordinary. It wasn't about a bunch of gritty cops on the verge of divorce, nor was it about a bunch or evil back stabbing/wonderful gifted doctors/lawyers (take your pick). I don't even care about the sub text of the once brawny man overcoming his disability through the use of his mind. I just wanted something fun to watch on a Friday night waiting for the X-Files and this show filled the gap. I hope it comes out as a complete DVD Box like Firefly. Shows like this could help get a new section going at the store for failed TV shows with huge fan bases.

After watching the first ep of Black Lightning on the CW I checked out it IMDB page and it lead me to this show that I never heard of. I tracked it down and watched it and who for a show so old it blow Black Lightning out of the water, this is the hero we need on the CW. This show was so much stronger, the actors were better and even for a cheesy superhero show from the 90's made some of the newer shows look like crap. If you like Black Lightning you will love this, and if you don't you still might as the show is put together so much better.

Yes, it was a poor series. So poor, in fact, that I could tell you the entire plot of the episode within about two minutes of its start. Sam Raimi produced this nightmare I believe and boy was I surprised. I really thought it would turn out OK. It went on right before the X-files, a spot which became legendary for its cancelled shows. The acting was poor, not due to the talent of the actors I believe, it is just hard for people to buy into this stuff into the first place.

I can't remember much about the plots of the shows since its been almost ten years, however there was this one where this buff guy turned out to be a robot. The writing was so lame. In comic books a decent writer can make a super hero come to life and comic fans (like me) buy into it, here I just gasped at how uninteresting it was. I only watched because I wanted to watch a show about superheros.

On a positive note I was flipping around the channels when I saw the unaired final episode of Mantis on the Sci-Fi channel. And god bless Raimi's heart, the main character mercifuly dies at the hand at of an invisible Tyrannasaurus Rex, his main squeeze by his side. Quite lame, Quite appropriate.

Sam Hamm and Sam Raimi are super heroes of Hollywood, propagating ideals of tolerance and hope through the super hero genre in prime time TV. This show isn't extra sexy like Gossip Girl, or extra morbid like CSI, or drowning in its larger than life production values like Smallville (which may or may not be sponsored by Highlighter markers, ease off on the lighting gels guys!) It's an understated super hero drama that definitely paved the way for a more realistic approach to heroes, like we see now in Iron Man and The Dark Knight. The ep, "Gloves Off," is a real turning point for the Mantis and one worth checking out on Hulu, if you've never seen one. I'd love to see this show revisited, now that we see that shows like Buffy, Smallville, and Fringe can be incredibly popular. Plus, CG has come a long way since then. Thanks guys and thanks for making it available on Hulu. Much love, from a viewer who was left changed for the better.

i saw this show when i was 7 years old. even back then it was a cool show. there weren't-and still aren't-many black superheroes out there, save for Spawn, Blade, & Bishop; and this show introduced a cool concept. basically, a paralyzed scientist creates a bio-suit that allows him to walk and he uses it to fight crime.

after it was canceled, re-runs aired on the sci-fi channel for a while. the only way to see it now is on video.

worth looking into if you're looking for a new black superhero.