Other than the 1967 TV version of "Damn Yankees", I can't think of a TV version of a Broadway musical should I despised as much as this. I saw this 1966 musical years ago in a City Center Encores production, and while it's mediocrities were undeniable, it was distracting evening of entertainment that I enjoyed much more than this TV version, one of the great fiascos of that medium. The original production didn't close overnight, but this one is so bad that it should have played Off Broadway in the middle of the East River.
David Wilson is charisma free as Clark Kent/Superman, and when you are embarrassed for such talents as Kenneth Mars, Lesley Ann Warren, Loretta Swit and David Wayne, it's obvious that something is wrong. This was obviously written in mind for 10-year-old boys, but apparently it premiered late at night. Cheap production values makes this look like they pulled the set off the Sunday morning funnies (slapping the newspaper up against a cardboard backdrop), and the actors completely overplay in a way where you begin to wonder if they were actually pod people and not the actual stars.
The ensemble is horrible as well, often off key and not aided by amateurish staging. The presence of Gary Owen as the narrator adds to the fact that this looks like a rejected episode of "Laugh-In" from six years before. As for the songs, I can't believe that they came from the composer of "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Annie". To paraphrase Paul Lynde in "Birdie", "What's the matter with TV show producers today?"
David Wilson is charisma free as Clark Kent/Superman, and when you are embarrassed for such talents as Kenneth Mars, Lesley Ann Warren, Loretta Swit and David Wayne, it's obvious that something is wrong. This was obviously written in mind for 10-year-old boys, but apparently it premiered late at night. Cheap production values makes this look like they pulled the set off the Sunday morning funnies (slapping the newspaper up against a cardboard backdrop), and the actors completely overplay in a way where you begin to wonder if they were actually pod people and not the actual stars.
The ensemble is horrible as well, often off key and not aided by amateurish staging. The presence of Gary Owen as the narrator adds to the fact that this looks like a rejected episode of "Laugh-In" from six years before. As for the songs, I can't believe that they came from the composer of "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Annie". To paraphrase Paul Lynde in "Birdie", "What's the matter with TV show producers today?"