When a man from outer space gives a teddy bear special powers he becomes SuperTed. Now he fights aginst Texas Pete, Bulk and Skeleton. Eight adventures.
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SuperTed is a Welsh language animated television series from the United Kingdom that first aired on 1 November 1982. It was commissioned by Welsh television channel S4C, and later dubbed into English for BBC1 and dubbed into Irish for TG4. The series won numerous awards, including the 1987 BAFTA for best animation. It was also produced by Siriol Animation and Kalato Ltd in association with Abbey Home Media.
SuperTed is the creation of Mike Young, who now works out of his studios in California, USA, along with his wife, Fiona. SuperTed was created as a bedtime story for his young son, who was very afraid of the dark. His son repeated the stories upon reaching nursery school and Young's career was born.
Story:
Every episode starts with the tale of how SuperTed came to life: He was a teddy bear found to be defective in the toy factory where he was made, and then disposed of into a storeroom in the basement. A Spotty man found him there and brought him to life with his "cosmic dust". He was later taken to Mother Nature and given magical powers that enabled him to fight evil. This evil invariably takes the form of Texas Pete (An evil cowboy) and his gang; Bulk (an overweight, bumbling fool) and Skeleton (an undead cowardly skeleton with pink slippers). Texas Pete's plots are generally aimed at advancing his own wealth, ruling the world and the power or the destruction of SuperTed, his nemesis.
SuperTed's powers are activated by his "secret magic word", which (as the name suggests) remains a secret. SuperTed whispers it every time he or someone else is in peril and he transforms into a Superman-like red suit with rockets built in to the boots. These allow him to fly. In one episode, Bulk overhears the secret magic word and also whispers it, briefly acquiring identical powers to SuperTed. However, he subsequently forgets the word. The magic word is often humorously regarded as "being a profanity"
The episodes take place all over the world (but quite often in Wales) and even in space (SuperTed is the owner of his own space station). He also has a tree house in an unspecified jungle.
SuperTed has many similarities to Captain Marvel. Like Captain Marvel, SuperTed gets his powers from saying a word. SuperTed's costume is very similar to that of Captain Marvel. SuperTed was given his powers by a being known as Mother Nature, much like how Captain Marvel's powers were given by the wizard Shazam.
In 1984, Superted became the first British cartoon series to be bought by Disney, to be aired on the Disney cable channel in the US. The series was redubbed with American voice-overs for the 1985 airing.
In 1992, Superted was revived in America by Hanna Barbera (who also made Fantastic Max, another Mike Young creation) this time named The Further Adventures of Superted. Only Jon Pertwee returned from the original cast to voice Spotty. The new series takes on a more epic format, often splitting its episodes into two parts: Texas Pete, Bulk, and Skeleton are joined also by new, original villains and the theme song was also ditched for a more dramatic overture. This Superted series is considered poor quality, inferior to the original and did not last beyond one season, the reason for this however, is unclear.
SuperTed also appeared in a Public Information Film, along with Spotty & his sister, Blotch. The film, commissioned by the Central Office of Information, was entitled "Supersafe with SuperTed", and featured the three characters being flown to Earth by SuperTed, in order to teach Spotty how to cross the road safely. A flashback during the short reveals an incident when Spotty very nearly got killed, running across the road on the planet Spot (his home), to talk to his sister.
SuperTed proceeds during the animation, to teach Spotty the right way to cross the road, including not running, not standing behind vehicles, etc. He then warns the viewer that he "can't always be there to save you, especially on planet Earth".
Episode List
* Series 1
1. SuperTed and Mother Nature 2. SuperTed and The Gorilla 3. SuperTed and The City Of The Dead 4. SuperTed and the Elephants Graveyard 5. SuperTed and The Giant Kites 6. SuperTed and The Goldmine 7. SuperTed and The Great Horrendo 8. SuperTed and The Gun Smugglers 9. SuperTed and The Inca Treasure 10. SuperTed And The Lumberjacks 11. SuperTed In The Arctic 12. SuperTed Kicks Up The Dust 13. SuperTed on Planet Spot 14. Bulk's Story 15. SuperTed Meets Father Christmas 16. SuperTed And The Crystal Ball 17. SuperTed and The Magic Word - Part 1 18. SuperTed and The Magic Word - Part 2 19. SuperTed and The Whales 20. Superted Goes To Texas 21. SuperTed In Spotty And The Indians 22. SuperTed and The Rattle Snake 23. SuperTed Goes Round The Bend 24. SuperTed's Dream 25. Tex's Magic Spell
Use to have superted vitimins!
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Soundtrack
Good
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Not applicable
Value for Money
Good
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DVD
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