SUPERTRAIN has often been called the worst TV show ever made. It was definitely the most expensive at the time (1979) and almost bankrupted NBC when nobody tuned in to watch it. The series was canceled after nine episodes. But that’s all ancient history. Three decades later, it stands as an exquisite piece of entertainment.
The plot: an evil train-obsessed corporate magnate has built a new transcontinental high speed railroad to address “the pitiful state of rail passenger travel in this country today.” On it will run an “atom powered steam turbine machine” that’s “capable of crossing this country in… 36 hours!” (The company’s board members all gasp at the idea–but, for god’s sake, couldn’t they have come up with a more exciting technological premise than a train that goes 90 mph? Especially since bullet trains going twice that fast had already been in service in Japan for more than a decade at that point–and this one is “atom powered” and all?)
With its ample production budget, SUPERTRAIN attracted a rich array of period talent, including Vickie Lawrence (aka Momma for Momma’s Family), retired footballing superstar Don Meredith, and Alan Alda’s dad. Plus this gem of credit line: “Charlie Brill as Robert, the Hairdresser.”
If, after watching the opening minutes of pilot episode (and listening to that amazing theme song), you’re hooked, the action continues after the jump.
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Part 6:
Part 7:
Part 8:
Part 9:
Part 10:
See?
May 8th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Wow. It even had the guy from Porky’s in it.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
36 hours? That’s like 85 miles an hour. Was that even ahead of the times in the 70s?
May 9th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
It’s funny — I was thinking the same thing. I wonder what the record for a train crossing the continent was in 1900. I would guess it wasn’t too much more than 36 hours.
-Jebediah
May 9th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
You can hear an announcement for the “Sunshine Express” from Miami arriving at GCT. I guess in that universe they built a more useful version of the THE or ARC tunnel.
May 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Kind of reminds me of Love Boat. Nice to see that Hollywood script writers were multi-modal… hehe.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
[...] The SUPERTRAIN backstory for those of you who aren’t aware of all internet [...]
May 13th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
[...] Supertrain - WORST TV SHOW EVER! http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/05/08/watch-supertrain-express-to-terror/ [...]
May 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Does anybody remember the name of another NBC (I think) show from around this time which involved a guy building some sort of super-suit — it was sort of a Bionic Man knock-off.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:20 am
[...] Infrastructurist points you lucky readers to the pilot episode of Supertrain, which for the time was the most [...]
May 14th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] Infrastructurist points you lucky readers to the pilot episode of Supertrain, which for the time was the most [...]
May 14th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] in 1979, we only had a handful of channels, so you couldn’t be picky like today. Anyway, Infrastructurist points you lucky readers to the pilot episode of Supertrain, which for the time was the most [...]
May 16th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Supertrain’s design was a direct consequence of a sitcom engineering design constraint, as real as the physical constraints faced by the designers of the Japanese Bullet trains.
NBC’s primary design decision was to build Supertrain as
“Loveboat on Land”. The result:
1. To do Loveboat on land.
2. Must tell 3 stories including several romances with aging cheesy stars
3. Requires at least two evenings
4. Requires at least 36 hours of elapsed “story time”
5. Implies traveling the 2700 miles between NYC and LA in 36 hours
6. Implies a speed of no greater than 77 miles per hour
Thus, faster speed = No time for love = No Loveboat on land
Supertrain’s engineering failure was foretold in its very blueprints.
Sad… very, very sad….
May 17th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Does anyone remember a made-for-TV movie called “The Big Bus”? It was about a giant nuclear powered (I think) bus that was set up as more of a comedy. Basically, everything on the bus malfunctioned and hilarity - and thrills! - ensued. I remember only three things about this movie:
1. The bus was able to change it’s own tires while in motion but even that feature may not have worked.
2. A soda machine went berserk and started spraying Coke, Tab and whatever else out of its spouts, filling up the entire compartment. A stewardess almost drowned but the hero rescued her just in time.
3. The bus, which was in two segments, broke in half in the final scene.
May 18th, 2009 at 11:41 am
We had passenger service breaking 100mph in the 1930s, both steam and diesel.
Just another example of how the producers Did Not Do the Research.