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Key Episodes: The Silver Surfer (1998)
Following the conclusion of long-running X-Men and Spider-Man programs that dominated Saturday morning TV ratings during the early-to-mid 1990's, the Fox network commissioned Saban to adapt other Marvel properties to replace them. Among them was The Silver Surfer, starring a spacefaring wanderer with a psychedelic aesthetic, thematic ties to medieval folklore, and an enduring cult audience. The show, which earned solid ratings but was still canceled after one season due to Saban's financial struggles and Marvel's bankruptcy issues, drew heavily from the style of comics artist Jack Kirby and the ponderous melodrama of comics writer/editor Stan Lee. It also borrowed many concepts and characters from writer/artist Jim Starlin, including Gamora, Drax, Thanos, and other figures that are now household names due to the Marvel movies.
While Rachel isn't really all that into superhero comics, her Star Trek fandom spurred Ryan to tap her for this recording since The Silver Surfer had episodes written by Trek luminaries like Harlan Ellison and D.C. Fontana. The main discussion point for this one centers upon how the cartoon approaches The Silver Surfer's grief, guilt, and attempts at penance for serving the world-devouring Galactus; the hero for this show is, no matter how you slice it, complicit in the deaths of trillions of sentient beings and that has been handled in a variety of ways by the Silver Surfer's creative teams over the past seven decades.
Other thematic topics include Christian allegory, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, the Silver Surfer's philosophical parallels to Star Trek, and whether the Silver Surfer has a functioning penis under all that chrome (Ryan feels compelled to mention that Rachel is the one who brings that up).
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By Ryan Valentine
5
44 ratings
Following the conclusion of long-running X-Men and Spider-Man programs that dominated Saturday morning TV ratings during the early-to-mid 1990's, the Fox network commissioned Saban to adapt other Marvel properties to replace them. Among them was The Silver Surfer, starring a spacefaring wanderer with a psychedelic aesthetic, thematic ties to medieval folklore, and an enduring cult audience. The show, which earned solid ratings but was still canceled after one season due to Saban's financial struggles and Marvel's bankruptcy issues, drew heavily from the style of comics artist Jack Kirby and the ponderous melodrama of comics writer/editor Stan Lee. It also borrowed many concepts and characters from writer/artist Jim Starlin, including Gamora, Drax, Thanos, and other figures that are now household names due to the Marvel movies.
While Rachel isn't really all that into superhero comics, her Star Trek fandom spurred Ryan to tap her for this recording since The Silver Surfer had episodes written by Trek luminaries like Harlan Ellison and D.C. Fontana. The main discussion point for this one centers upon how the cartoon approaches The Silver Surfer's grief, guilt, and attempts at penance for serving the world-devouring Galactus; the hero for this show is, no matter how you slice it, complicit in the deaths of trillions of sentient beings and that has been handled in a variety of ways by the Silver Surfer's creative teams over the past seven decades.
Other thematic topics include Christian allegory, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, the Silver Surfer's philosophical parallels to Star Trek, and whether the Silver Surfer has a functioning penis under all that chrome (Ryan feels compelled to mention that Rachel is the one who brings that up).