Special Report: Space Odyssey
Written by Rob Allstetter
Larry Brody has come full circle. As one of the original Marvel Comics fanboys, he thrilled to seeing his letters published in a few early-1960s issues of Amazing Spider-Man. Now, after a long, successful and varied television writing career, he gets to go back to his comic book roots, developing the "Silver Surfer" animated series for Saban Entertainment and the FOX Children's Network.
"After 30 years, I'm doing the thing I always wanted to do," he says, laughing. "This is a great character."
"Silver Surfer," following "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" in FOX's Saturday morning lineup, is tentatively scheduled to get a sneak peek in November and begin its weekly run of 13 first-season episodes in the 11:30a.m. (ET) time slot early in 1998.
"It's very faithful to the feeling of the original comics," Brody says. "We have a Silver Surfer who is either Hamlet or-and we didn't tell Fox Broadcasting Standards this-he's Jesus in space.
"On this show, you will see more dialogue than any cartoon you've ever seen. Every week the Surfer faces a new moral dilemma."
That's not to say the series won't have action or visual bang. Many of Marvel's cosmic characters will be appearing, and Brody says the series will employ extensive computer-generated animation for the outer space scope.
"We are trying to be cosmic. That's the way it is [Jack] Kirby-esque, not necessarily in just following his illustrations," Brody says, referring to the Surfer's visual creator. "He loved to get really big like that."
Brody, who has written for every Star Trek series except "Deep Space Nine," and who developed the mid-1970s "Star Trek" animated series, sees similarities between "Star Trek" and "Silver Surfer."
In fact, he compares the Surfer to original "Trek" Captain James T. Kirk. "The Surfer says, 'This is wrong and has to be made right,' just like Kirk would. At FOX, the women executives just hate superhero shows. But the women love this guy; he's so sensitive."
Just before embarking on a vacation to England, Brody sat down at his computer and ran through the first season of "Silver Surfer."
The first three episodes of the series are "Origin of the Silver Surfer," and follow the Surfer's comics origin of sacrificing himself as herald to the planet-devouring Galactus to save his world, Zenn-La. He then must also save the Earth, setting up the series hook: Galactus allows him to leave his servitude, but doesn't let Surfer know where Zenn-La is, and he must try to find his own way home.
Also, the Fantastic Four are not involved. "Silver Surfer' is the name of the show," Brody says. "We wanted to do something new, and the Fantastic Four story has been rehashed and feels old. When Stan [Lee] and Moebius did their version of the Surfer [in a 1988 mini-series], there was no Fantastic Four, and it was very interesting."
From there, the Surfer spends three episodes with wisecracking imp Pip the Troll, then soars into "Planet of Dr. Moreau" and "Learning Curve," a two-parter. Established Marvel cosmic characters Mentor and Drax the Destroyer are introduced, Silver Surfer visits the Watcher's Universal Library and Thanos is established as the series' main villain, though not with the obsession to kill off half the universe he is portrayed as having in the comics.
"We can't have Thanos in love with Death [the female Marvel version] on Saturday morning television, so Death becomes Lady Chaos," Brody says. "Thanos is a weird psycho. He tries to destroy as much as possible so the statue of Lady Chaos will come to life and have pity and love him."
The next episode is "Inner Visions," in which Thanos attacks a planet of Dreamers, where inhabitants are hooked up to a dream machine. The Surfer enlists the help of the only Dreamer willing to aid him - Beta Ray Bill, the noble alien who possesses similar powers to that of the thunder god Thor.
The Surfer is accompanied in the next two episodes by Nova, the Frankie Raye version who is the new herald of Galactus. "Anti-Body," a story written by famed sci-fi author Harlan Ellison, has the Surfer enlisted to help a dying Galactus, and then "Second Foundation" finds the Surfer and Nova trying to find Zenn-La and winding up on the home planet of the Skrull race.
Brody reveals Nova is one of his favorite characters.
"If I could call the show 'Silver Silver & Nova,' I would," Brody says with a laugh. "The Surfer is very philosophical, and Nova is an 18-year-old wiseguy. They work great together with their dialogue.
"And he's in love with Shalla Bal [on his homeworld Zenn-La], but here's Nova, this gorgeous girl who really likes him. She wants to help him find Zenn-La, but keeping him for herself is not a bad idea either."
Next up is "Radical Justice," where the Surfer is captured and put on trial for his crimes as Galactus' herald. "He learns to forgive himself and why he has to live and put the past behind him," Brody says.
D.C. Fontana, the story editor for the original "Star Trek" series, wrote the story for "The Forever War," which guest-stars space hero Adam Warlock. "Return to Zenn-La" then has the Surfer arriving on a planet he thinks is Zenn-La.
The first season closes with "End of Eternity," in which Thanos - Gulp! - destroys the universe.
"If we last the full 65 [episode order], we'll return the universe to normal, and leave Thanos alone for a while," Brody says. "Then we'll bring him back and build a whole season around the Infinity Gauntlet."
"Silver Surfer" is part of a recent agreement between FOX and Marvel for several new animated shows. The character is also the subject of an upcoming live-action film from 20th Century FOX, and Marvel sees the Surfer as a franchise.
The animated series figures to be a high-profile part of FOX's lineup, and Brody says that he's up to the challenge. "I really hate to say this, because everyone else does, but we're really trying to do in animation what's never been done before. This series is about ideas. Not just action."
This page is a part of DRG4's Marvel Cartoon Pages:
Featuring Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, and the Silver Surfer.