I am starting to think the way I am watching these Filmation episodes is all wrong. I like pepperoni pizza, but I don't imagine I would enjoy it nearly as much if I were to first eat all the cheese, then drink all the sauce, then the crust. I just imagine a Superman / Aquaman Hour of adventure going down more smoothly with a nice variety of shows rather than back to back to back of the same hero making the repetition stand out. Having said that, Aquaman was a nice pepperoni.Overall, this was a fun show and different from the Superman themed shows. In fact, the underwater setting was different than what I have seen in a lot of other, even more contemporary shows. Unfortunately the use of water was pretty inconsistent. Sometime people could breathe it, sometimes not. Sometimes characters swam, sometimes it was easy to forget they were even under water as the strolled around with feet constantly on the ground.
In the end, I think this may have been my favorite of the Filmation series so far. At least, the essential five were hard to pick because there really were several stand outs and few disasters. Then again, maybe my expectations have just been set at an appropriate level.
Essential Five:
1. Menace of the Black Manta - Not sure if this truly deserves the #1 spot, but I had a blast as I began this new series and the kick-off episode really set the standard for the series. Featuring the menacing Black Manta and his Manta Men for the first time put this episode over the top.
2. The Torp, The Magneto, and The Claw & The Trio of Terror - Something about villain team-ups adds another level of intensity to these shows. Although I enjoyed both, I have to give the edge to the Awesome Threesome of robots: Torpedoman, Magneto, and the Claw.
3. The Mirror-Man From Planet Imago - I am a sucker for look-alike episodes, and this was a pretty good one and definitely a bit of a twist on the series' typical monsters invade plot line.
4. In Captain Cuda's Clutches - Captain Barracuda actually turned out to a fairly memorable villain especially with his tricked out Spy Hunter style starfish Starro.
5. The Crimson Monster from the Pink Pool - This pick may seem a bit of a surprise since it didn't really have a villain to drive the story. But even though it was full of zany plot points, they were put together in a mostly fun, rather than completely illogical fashion.
2. The Torp, The Magneto, and The Claw & The Trio of Terror - Something about villain team-ups adds another level of intensity to these shows. Although I enjoyed both, I have to give the edge to the Awesome Threesome of robots: Torpedoman, Magneto, and the Claw.
3. The Mirror-Man From Planet Imago - I am a sucker for look-alike episodes, and this was a pretty good one and definitely a bit of a twist on the series' typical monsters invade plot line.
4. In Captain Cuda's Clutches - Captain Barracuda actually turned out to a fairly memorable villain especially with his tricked out Spy Hunter style starfish Starro.
5. The Crimson Monster from the Pink Pool - This pick may seem a bit of a surprise since it didn't really have a villain to drive the story. But even though it was full of zany plot points, they were put together in a mostly fun, rather than completely illogical fashion.
Series Stinker:
The Fiery Invaders - One thing I was hoping to get away from with the ocean setting was space aliens. So, their presence alone started this off on the wrong foot (little did I know at the time of watching this that eventually Aquaman would be the one exploring other planets). Adding in the recurring under water fire motif this was a real dud.
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