In 1978 MARVEL tried to capitalize on the success that The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man had on television by giving the Masters of the Mystic Arts his own TV show. A pilot was filmed for CBS and aired on September 6, 1978. Unfortunately, it didn’t go over very well as far as reviews and ratings go. Needless to say, the series was not picked up.
Given that Dr. Strange is a significant part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s renewed interest in all things connected to the magic man. Of course, that means digging up oddities like the ’78 TV movie and slapping it on a Blu-ray. That’s just what Shout! Factory is doing according to Superhero Hype.
The company that is responsible for bringing many a forgotten film to the latest video format will be releasing Doctor Strange ’78 on Blu-ray on April 26th. This is a barebones product. Aside from a cleaned up print, the only feature is a commentary track with Shout! Factory’s associate producer Russell Dyball and Cole Hornaday of The Panel Jumper podcast.
Peter Hooten stars as Doctor Strange, and Archer‘s Jessica Walter plays the villainous Morgan Le Fay. Since the film was acting as a pilot, it told us the origin of Stephen Strange becoming the heroic sorcerer. I’ll admit, it didn’t do it very well. Don’t expect this to be some sort of hidden gem.
The 1978 movie is funny in its own way. It deserves to be riffed, not only for the questionable script but the bad SFX and the hilariously terrible costume Dr. Strange ends up with near the conclusion of the movie.
Our buddy Brad Jones reviewed this lost bit of MARVEL history. Check it out below:
Did you know about this movie before now? Let us know what you think about it in the comments section below.
[Source: Superhero Hype]
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