Back in 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions began its superhero cartoon cycle with the launch of SPACE GHOST & DINO BOY. By September 1967, they had superhero series on all three major networks. And BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO (to use the series full title) which aired on NBC was one of the most popular and memorable of those series.
Like another Hanna-Barbera series that aired on NBC, YOUNG SAMSON & GOLIATH (which I have reviewed earlier), BIRDMAN was an good example of Golden Age styled comic book plotting used in an animated cartoon context. In the first of the two segments of the series, the winged wonder known as Birdman (voiced over by Keith Andes) was summoned into action by Falcon 7 (John Stephenson) to take on the latest threat to national or international security. With his pet eagle Avenger at his side, the winged wonder flew off from Bird Lair (an extinct volcano) to challenge the threat. In a few episodes, he would aided by a teen-aged sidekick Birdboy (Dick Beals) who had similar powers.
For the record, Birdman's super-powers were flight (Thanks to his wings naturally!), super strength, and the ability to file blasts of solar energy from his hands (not to mention the ability to create "solar shields"). His powers come from exposure to the rays of the sun (which could explain why his headquarters is located in the crater of an extinct volcano), but also gives him an easily exploitable weakness which the writers liked to use throughout the run of the series. He loses his powers if he is out of the sun for too long and has to recharge by exposure to sunlight (but then again, he's lucky to have Avenger to help bail him out of those situations).
For the most part, Birdman fought villains that were associated with the organization FEAR (his most frequent foe being its leader, Number One). Among them included such baddies as Dr. Freezoids, Nitron, the Ringmaster, and Vulturo among others. He managed to fight against foes that weren't allied with FEAR including Morto the Marauder, the Constrictor, Medusa, and Dr. Millennium among others. All in the space of 40 seven minute cartoons.
The second segment was The Galaxy Trio which consisted of a trio of superheroes who patrolled space in their spaceship Condor One in the fight against evil. The three heroes were Vapor Man (Don Messick) who could into vapor at will and fire blasts of different vapors; Meteor Man (Ted Cassidy) who had the power expand his size at will; and Gravity Girl (Virginia Eiler) who had the power to control gravity. And they were to need those powers to fight the worst menaces the universe has to offer in 20 seven minute cartoons that were sandwiched between the two Birdman cartoons in each half hour episode.
All in all, BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO was one of Hanna-Barbera's most popular series and was only dropped by NBC in late 1968 mainly due to the backlash against TV violence during that period. Fortunately the show was brought back in 1979 as part of the syndicated series HANNA-BARBERA'S WORLD OF SUPER ADVENTURE (which brought back most of Hanna-Barbera's superhero series) and current pops up now and then on the Boomerang Network. It is also available on DVD via Warner Home Video.
Like another Hanna-Barbera series that aired on NBC, YOUNG SAMSON & GOLIATH (which I have reviewed earlier), BIRDMAN was an good example of Golden Age styled comic book plotting used in an animated cartoon context. In the first of the two segments of the series, the winged wonder known as Birdman (voiced over by Keith Andes) was summoned into action by Falcon 7 (John Stephenson) to take on the latest threat to national or international security. With his pet eagle Avenger at his side, the winged wonder flew off from Bird Lair (an extinct volcano) to challenge the threat. In a few episodes, he would aided by a teen-aged sidekick Birdboy (Dick Beals) who had similar powers.
For the record, Birdman's super-powers were flight (Thanks to his wings naturally!), super strength, and the ability to file blasts of solar energy from his hands (not to mention the ability to create "solar shields"). His powers come from exposure to the rays of the sun (which could explain why his headquarters is located in the crater of an extinct volcano), but also gives him an easily exploitable weakness which the writers liked to use throughout the run of the series. He loses his powers if he is out of the sun for too long and has to recharge by exposure to sunlight (but then again, he's lucky to have Avenger to help bail him out of those situations).
For the most part, Birdman fought villains that were associated with the organization FEAR (his most frequent foe being its leader, Number One). Among them included such baddies as Dr. Freezoids, Nitron, the Ringmaster, and Vulturo among others. He managed to fight against foes that weren't allied with FEAR including Morto the Marauder, the Constrictor, Medusa, and Dr. Millennium among others. All in the space of 40 seven minute cartoons.
The second segment was The Galaxy Trio which consisted of a trio of superheroes who patrolled space in their spaceship Condor One in the fight against evil. The three heroes were Vapor Man (Don Messick) who could into vapor at will and fire blasts of different vapors; Meteor Man (Ted Cassidy) who had the power expand his size at will; and Gravity Girl (Virginia Eiler) who had the power to control gravity. And they were to need those powers to fight the worst menaces the universe has to offer in 20 seven minute cartoons that were sandwiched between the two Birdman cartoons in each half hour episode.
All in all, BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO was one of Hanna-Barbera's most popular series and was only dropped by NBC in late 1968 mainly due to the backlash against TV violence during that period. Fortunately the show was brought back in 1979 as part of the syndicated series HANNA-BARBERA'S WORLD OF SUPER ADVENTURE (which brought back most of Hanna-Barbera's superhero series) and current pops up now and then on the Boomerang Network. It is also available on DVD via Warner Home Video.