Automan

In a time when innocents has played a part of my life, Automan has been a great T.V. gem that creator Glen Larson and ABC has top offer. It was the very first live-action super hero show that widen my horizons of imagination. Though it attracts more kids then adults. It is why the show got canceled because of poor ratings and expensive special effects. Automan was very original and it should be granted a second chance then. Thanks to the Sci-Fi Channel, it is great to relive all 13 episodes of this failed series.

This was a well cheesy show, with "Auto" and "Cursor" a blatant plagiarism of "Tron" and "Bit". That said, it was harmless fun, for the most part and enjoyable enough.

Although it didn't last long it seems to be one of the few shows that, although looking wooly and trite now, gained a dedicated following at the time.

Another case of a show I really enjoyed as a kid being taken off the air rather quickly. Whatever a kid enjoyed to watch back in the 70's and 80's always seemed to get the quick hook back then. This one is brought to us by the same guy who did "Buck Rogers" and the lesser known "Manimal". It also came on about the same time as the latter. The show was about a computer guy who somehow creates this strange computer dude or brings him into this world, can not remember so well now as I have not seen the show in a very long time. What I remember the most about this one though is the cool car which I debated with a kid at school was faster than the car on "Knight Rider". Which how there was any debate for anybody who has seen both shows is beyond me this car went so fast and could do 90 degree turns for crying out loud. I also remember "Automan" losing his power whenever more machines and such were used. The effects were very Tron-like and not bad for a television show made back in the 80's. Why shows such as these got such a quick hook is beyond me, well not really my guess is they just cost to much to produce as opposed to the quirky comedies that usually went on way to long (Happy Days anyone).

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit this but I loved Automan. Like a lot of things from the 80s I think we are amazed with what things appealed to us back then. An episode of Friends summed it up when college aged Ross and Chandler turn up to thanksgiving dressed as if they were from Miami Vice. Yes this series typified 80s style in many ways and because of that has not stood the test of time. I can't see them repeating it in the UK because 14-15 year-olds will think it is stupid.

Anyway the show is about an LA cop(Arnaz jr) who has an expertise in computers. With his computer equipment he creates Automan(Wagner) and the flashing 'cursor' who makes the cars, boats, guitars or whatever Automan needs at the time. The two of them go after the big bad criminals and get them. Only two people know about Automan, his creator and another cop, an attractive female who never quite becomes anyone's love interest. There are lots of good driving scenes, likable characters and fairly good Sci-fi effects but most of all it has charisma. Unfortunately it is also a silly idea that never quite explains itself and is so corny the phrase corny could be replaced by the word Automan.

If you see it for the first time now you will probably be shocked at how bad it was. If you remember it from the first time round you will probably have that old familiar feeling which you might describe as comfortable.

For some odd reason, I actually liked this show. I was only 16yr when it aired, but I loved the special effects. This show really seems like something Disney would make. It was a little bit of Tron with low-budget comedy crime fighter thrown in. The two things I remember the most is the title song and the auto-car. The song had a catchy tune that I still hum now and then. The car would get created by "Cursor", Automan's sidekick and it was very cool how it was done. Cursor would start drawing the lines of the car and then pick up speed as he drew the rest. It would make some electrical sound while Cursor drew it. Like Automan, the car was a glowing neon light blue. When automan drove it, it steered like the motorcycles in TRON. It would make sharp turns left or right and Desi Jr's character would get slammed against the door window. The show was just fun to watch back then. The main thing that killed it was the writing. The villains weren't anything special and each story really didn't draw you in and make you want to come back. The comedy aspect of the show was decent. It also was expensive to make each episode and because it didn't draw a big audience, they really didn't make much money off of it. I still would love to see this on DVD just for nostalgic purposes.