'70s TV Supers

[Certified]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Diff'rent Strokes! Super-powered Gary Coleman ftw!

 

(Or was that 1980s?)

 

1982

 

Be afraid ....

[BobGreenwade]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I would so love to have a campaign like this going.

 

I'd also absolutely love to write a subgenre book on the topic, even coming as far forward as the contemporary programs like Heroes or the updated The Bionic Woman.

 

And, at the risk of having small, sharp objects thrown in my direction (even if only by Courney Cox), Misfits of Science.

[OddHat]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I would so love to have a campaign like this going.

 

I'd also absolutely love to write a subgenre book on the topic, even coming as far forward as the contemporary programs like Heroes or the updated The Bionic Woman.

 

And, at the risk of having small, sharp objects thrown in my direction (even if only by Courney Cox), Misfits of Science.

 

Misfits of Science rocked.

[JmOz]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

If you've got Green Hornet, I assume you also have the Lone Ranger, who was his grandfather.

 

If you're looking for a master timeline of sorts, I wrote one up a while back that combined the DC and Marvel heroes.

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1219989&postcount=1

 

Some of the featured characters might be too powerful for the game you have in mind, but wherever possible, I've tried to match the date that the heroes were active with the date they were created.

 

Green hornet was the decendent of the Lone Rangers's Brother, not the lone ranger. number of generations is based on wich version

[Gideon]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I love the idea.

 

As far as power level goes, I would simply be very strict on what I would allow as powers/builds. I would also encourage the purchase of skills and talents (although for this game I would be very strict on how high skills could be, and I would definitely disallow the Ultimate Skill rule for default skills).

[Opal]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I glad somebody else remembered Isis!

[assault]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

In fact' date=' rather than set the campaign in that time period, maybe I'd do it as the modern day in which those shows are the past. So, Peter Parker became Spider-Man about 30 years ago, Steve Austin's bionics are old tech by now, etc... Hmmm:think:[/quote']

 

I think this would be a really bad idea. It would suck all the flavour out, and leave you with with Just Another Superhero Setting.

 

A game set in the TV 70s would rock.

 

Shaft and numerous other blaxploitation heroes could, no doubt, make an appearance.

 

I'm trying to think of suitable Australian heroes from the period, but nothing comes to mind. Mad Max would be a candiate, but of course it was set in the future.

[Vestnik]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Mad Max could be a Days of Future Past scenario.

[Clonus]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I've never been all that interested in playing someone else's character as a player. Never wanted to play Captain Kirk or Spider-Man. I find it more useful in such an environment to look for the villains.

 

The Fembots: Created by renegade OSI scientist Doctor Franklin, the Fembots were a team of human-appearing robots made in the shape of women because Doctor Franklin was a pervert. (He could create male robots and on one occasion made a fake Oscar).

 

KARR: The insane prototype for KITT

 

Count Cagliostro: Stage magician and alchemist who developed a method for transmuting lead to gold temporarily and tried to use it to swindle a Middle Eastern potentate

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I think this would be a really bad idea. It would suck all the flavour out, and leave you with with Just Another Superhero Setting.

 

A game set in the TV 70s would rock.

 

Shaft and numerous other blaxploitation heroes could, no doubt, make an appearance.

 

I'm trying to think of suitable Australian heroes from the period, but nothing comes to mind. Mad Max would be a candiate, but of course it was set in the future.

 

See, my original intent was never to set a game in the "reality" of those shows, but to try for something that would capture the feel of those shows. And, as Clonus said (paraphrasing) "I've never been a big fan of playing someone else's characters." BTW, thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Please feel free to continue.

[Vestnik]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

You know, this kind of reminds me of a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for the 1970s.

 

I'd like to do it for the 80s, given that I am in that age cohort. The group could have, let's see, Knight Rider, one of the Misfits of Science, the Fall Guy, McGyver, and the kid from Back to the Future. Plus, of course, Manimal.

 

Was the Man from Atlantis 1970s?

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

You might find some ideas you can use in my timeline here. Includes the Secret Links between Gilligan's Island' date=' the Prisoner, the Six Million Dollar Man, and the Greatest American Hero.[/quote']

 

Thanks very much for this, OddHat. Not only some cool ideas in their own right, but also some very fun reading.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

If you've got Green Hornet, I assume you also have the Lone Ranger, who was his grandfather.

 

If you're looking for a master timeline of sorts, I wrote one up a while back that combined the DC and Marvel heroes.

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1219989&postcount=1

 

Some of the featured characters might be too powerful for the game you have in mind, but wherever possible, I've tried to match the date that the heroes were active with the date they were created.

 

Of course, any timeline that includes the Green Hornet must include his great-uncle as well. As for the combination DC/Marvel timeline, I have played around with similar concepts before, as well, but it's not quite what I have in mind here. As I've said previously, I'm not thinking of specific characters so much as a "feel" that those shows seemed to have in common.

[OddHat]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

I've never been all that interested in playing someone else's character as a player.

 

The key to running this type of campaign (as opposed to a convention one shot) is not to have the Players play the famous name characters. The purpose of having those characters as (usually far background) NPCs is to allow the Players to clearly picture the world and its history, and they do that pretty well. Most gamers are at least as well acquainted with Fictional as Real history, and are often better able to picture it; generally childhood memories of fictional characters (Ultraman and Steve Austin in my case) are clearer than memories of real life public figures of the same period.

 

So, you don't play Steve or Jaime; if you're bionic, you play another bionic man answering to the OSI. You don't play TVs Superman; if you want a Kryptonian power set, you play Superman's illegitimate son, or something similar that floats your boat. You don't play Isis, you play another person with a similar magic artifact.

 

IME and all that.

[Shaft]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Shaft and numerous other blaxploitation heroes could, no doubt, make an appearance.

 

Well, if that does merit rep from me, I don't know what does...

 

Can I dig it?

 

Now I'm gonna call up Jim Kelly and a couple of other brothers and go medeival on some of the badguys' @$$es... before they find out that I'm just a white guy who likes Green Arrow and Hawkeye.

[JmOz]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Well, if that does merit rep from me, I don't know what does...

 

Can I dig it?

 

Now I'm gonna call up Jim Kelly and a couple of other brothers and go medeival on some of the badguys' @$$es... before they find out that I'm just a white guy who likes Green Arrow and Hawkeye.

 

You know shaft, me and you could get in on this, You play Bo Duke, I play Luke Duke, we get are archery fetishes in, we even get exploding arrows and a cool car, and the year it premeired, 1979

[McCoy]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

You know, this kind of reminds me of a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for the 1970s.

 

I'd like to do it for the 80s, given that I am in that age cohort. The group could have, let's see, Knight Rider, one of the Misfits of Science, the Fall Guy, McGyver, and the kid from Back to the Future. Plus, of course, Manimal.

 

Was the Man from Atlantis 1970s?

1977-78.

 

Most interesting thing, for me, about the show is that Patrick Duffy claims he can't swim.

 

My favorite from the 80's? Andrew Clements, Ultraman!

[assault]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

The key to running this type of campaign (as opposed to a convention one shot) is not to have the Players play the famous name characters. The purpose of having those characters as (usually far background) NPCs is to allow the Players to clearly picture the world and its history' date=' and they do that pretty well.[/quote']

 

This is why I don't think that setting such a game in the present would be a good idea. It would tend to distance the game from its ostensible setting, losing all the good 70s flavour.

 

A game set in the 80s would be kind of weird. I was there, but I don't really remember it...

 

Now I understand what they say about the 60s.

[OddHat]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

This is why I don't think that setting such a game in the present would be a good idea. It would tend to distance the game from its ostensible setting, losing all the good 70s flavour.

 

While I do use the TV Supers of the 70s as part of my background for my 2005 campaign, I'd also love to play a funky 70s Supers game. Heck, I might start the first game session with a 70s Action Movie / Superhero DVD Night just to help the players wrap their heads around the decade.

[Clonus]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

See' date=' my original intent was never to set a game in the "reality" of those shows, but to try for something that would capture the[i'] feel [/i]of those shows. And, as Clonus said (paraphrasing) "I've never been a big fan of playing someone else's characters." BTW, thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Please feel free to continue.

 

Of course as far as "feel" goes you run into the problem that a fundamental structural element of the shows was that you didn't have more than one hero working together as more than a guest star except for Michael Knight's gig as Kitt's sidekick. That way they could be outnumbered without an actual army of mundane goons. So if you've got a solo game it works fine but if you've got an actual play group...

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Of course as far as "feel" goes you run into the problem that a fundamental structural element of the shows was that you didn't have more than one hero working together as more than a guest star except for Michael Knight's gig as Kitt's sidekick. That way they could be outnumbered without an actual army of mundane goons. So if you've got a solo game it works fine but if you've got an actual play group...

 

Hmm.... I never really thought about that. But, you're right, the only real live-action "group" of the time was the Misfits of Science (and that was really the '80s). Oh, and of course the occasional Bionic crossover. Of course, I think that probably had as much to do with budget as anything else.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Of course, this is all just an intellectual excercise for me, anyway, as it seems I'll probably never get a group together to play this or any other campaign.

[OddHat]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Hmm.... I never really thought about that. But' date=' you're right, the only real live-action "group" of the time was the [i']Misfits of Science [/i](and that was really the '80s). Oh, and of course the occasional Bionic crossover. Of course, I think that probably had as much to do with budget as anything else.

 

Well, there were as you say the Bionic crossovers, and Wonder Woman had a few superpowered guest stars. Isis and Captain Marvel occasionally hung out, Batman and Robin, Green Hornet and Kato (Lee insisted that Kato be written as a full partner, and in Hong Kong and Taiwan it was the Kato Show), Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, probably more that I've missed. Japan had a number of group hero shows in the 60s and 70s, most notably Ultraman and (American title) Space Giants.

[Shaft]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

You know shaft' date=' me and you could get in on this, You play Bo Duke, I play Luke Duke, we get are archery fetishes in, we even get exploding arrows and a cool car, and the year it premeired, 1979[/quote']

 

That's cool. And twenty years later, my adopted son becomes Superboy, and you become one of Cybill's ex-husbands.

[Shaft]

Re: '70s TV Supers

 

Well' date=' there were as you say the Bionic crossovers, and Wonder Woman had a few superpowered guest stars. Isis and Captain Marvel occasionally hung out, Batman and Robin, Green Hornet and Kato (Lee insisted that Kato be written as a full partner, and in Hong Kong and Taiwan it was the Kato Show), Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, probably more that I've missed. Japan had a number of group hero shows in the 60s and 70s, most notably Ultraman and (American title) Space Giants.[/quote']

 

Hulk also had Daredevil and Thor show up (at different times) in his made for TV movies. I can totally see the cheesy, 70s TV version of the original Avengers working: Iron Man looking like an old school Dr Who Cyberman, Wasp wearing a different Olympic skater type mindress every episode, and Ant Man wearing a silver hockey helmet covered in tin foil. Of course, when Ant Man and Wasp shrink, they have to cut to them on a different stage, with giant versions of their environment- they would never be in the same shot as the actors playing their full sized team mates, but stage a prop might look like part of them).

 

Also, there was a very short lived Justice League TV show. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_of_the_Superheroes What 70s team would be complete without a roast hosted by Ed McMahon?