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September 1967 - September 1970, ABC
Jay
Ward Productions
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uper Chicken was one of three
segments in a half-hour show that included feature segment
George of the Jungle and other backup segment
Tom Slick. Each of the
segments was 6-7 minutes in length.
Millionaire playboy fowl Henry
Cabot Henhouse III fought crime in the guise of his masked alter
ego, Super Chicken. He drank a special concoction he called
Super Sauce to gain his super powers, although what specific
abilities he gained was difficult to discern as his "abilities"
weren't readily apparent.
Henry was assisted by his faithful
companion Fred, a none-too-bright lion of loyal service, who
wore a sweater with a backward letter "F" monogrammed to it.
When something dangerous happened or if Fred expressed some
concern Super Chicken was sure to remind him, "You knew the job
was dangerous when you took it, Fred!"
When the services of Super Chicken
were needed, Henry slipped into his super suit while Fred went
off screen to prepare the Super Sauce (somehow a mixing bowl and the
ingredients were always handy, regardless of their location).
Fred returned after a few moments and presented the mixture to
Henry, usually in a martini glass. Henry would drink the super
sauce, make some comment on the quality or oddity of its flavor,
and then get hit with a strong physical reaction that coincided
with his transformation.
The duo traveled in an egg shaped
jet aircraft called the Super-Coop. From his jet powered perch,
Super Chicken occasionally let loose with his "cry
in the sky," a clucking battle challenge that put evildoers
everywhere on notice that went, "Buck, ba-buck, ba-buck,
ba-buck, ba-buck, bu-buuu, ba-buck, ba-buck, ba-buck,… etc." In
addition to his "super powers," Super Chicken occasionally had
available some oddball gizmo (such as an oyster magnet, tear gas
fountain gun pen, or a total destruct button) that just happened
to be ideally suited to help overcome the problem at hand.
Unfortunately for Super Chicken, the devices always backfired or
had an adverse effect.
Super
Chicken may not have been the most refined superhero in the
history of the genre, but through the use of skill, luck and the
fortuitous intervention of the police he was always able to get
the job done, and in the final analysis that's what matters. |