Tarzan and the Super 7

I watched one episode of this when I was 7 years old...I think it was the Scarlet Samurai episode. All my life the images and ideas from that show, which were so new and fresh (compared to other Saturday morning fare), ran amok in my mind. It may have been what triggered the realization that things weren't quite right, or that the shows on television were not reflections of reality but rather idealized visions of reality, or perhaps attempts at social engineering being foisted upon us unsuspecting children. It was a very traumatic experience. The Super 7 have haunted my dreams and lain hidden in my psyche ever since, colouring my perceptions and inspiring my imagination. I only recently remembered them, as I was musing on shows that I used to like. I found them hidden at the bottom of a heap of other early animated shows that rocked my world (Battle of the Planets, Star Blazers, Voltron & the lions, not the cars, Thundercats, Visionaries, and others). I really wish I could watch this series again. If anyone knows where I can find it on video, please let me know.

Tarzan and the Super 7 was ninety minutes of solid, slam-bang action from start to finish. Though the stories were pro-social, as was the norm for kidvid of the era, Filmation lavished the shorts with attention, with body rotoscope, motion control, effects animation, and superb background artwork.

Each of the 7 segments were solid. Tarzan was beautifully animated, a highwater mark for tv animation up until that point. The New Adventures of Batman weren't quite as good, but respectably so, and a great deal of fun in their own right. Of the original animated segments, it's hard to choose just one favorite. Web Woman, Superstretch and Microwoman, and Manta and Moray were all good shorts with good animation and stories. Jason of Star Command was a wonderful little science fiction serial, with great special effects, and reminiscent of the old sf serials of the 40s like Undersea Kingdom and Flash Gordon.

All in all, a spectacular little series, with high quality segments and a pace that doesn't let up from start to finish. The series should be seen again!!