Northstar

Greg Evigan plays an astronaut that while using a state of the art stellar scanner recieves a dose of radiation through the device. Eventually when he gets back to Earth, he comes to the painful realization that UV radiation can burn out his brain thus killing him, but other than that he is superhuman, as the radiation has enhanced his body as well as his IQ. Not really great as a pilot film but enough to keep the kiddies munching popcorn while they watch.

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought this film was brilliant (for it's time). This guy was the closest human equivalent of Superman ever portrayed, and I liked the fact that he didn't really WANT these powers in the first place. To my annoyance, a lot of these "new" heroes seem only too happy to slap on the spandex and start running around wreaking havoc in the name of the Greater Good, often having the reverse effect.

Now I KNOW special effects in the 80s didn't have the panache of the 90s with its CGI, and that somewhat cheesy performances were the norm with a lot of 80s TV actors! But I feel the film's makers did a pretty good job with what they had, and the plot wasn't half bad either!

(NB - I originally posted this comment on 10-Nov-2000 as IronFan, which I've since deleted)