In recent seasons, NBC revived both Bionic Woman and Knight Rider, which made me think of another disastrous NBC show centered around a futuristic vehicle—Supertrain! A failed attempt by the Peacock network to create its own Love Boat-style franchise, Supertrain became one of the most heavily criticized TV shows in history. While the train itself was an impressive sight (it had a disco and a swimming pool on board!), the series fell short in several areas that viewers were craving at the time—big-name guest stars and comedy.
Supertrain premiered on February 7, 1979, at 8 PM, but quickly struggled, limping along for a few weeks before it was “retooled” and moved to a more “adult” 10 PM Saturday time slot. I remember watching it a few times and thinking it was pretty awful—except for the train, of course. I always hoped it would stick around long enough to inspire a cool line of toys, but that never came to be. In the end, only 9 episodes ever aired.
Maybe NBC will revisit the Supertrain concept, considering they’ve been mining their archives for revivals over the past few seasons (Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, American Gladiators, Knight Rider). With V making a comeback on ABC, how far off can Supertrain be? A revival could be just around the corner! Big thanks to Tony Cook for posting some fantastic Supertrain clips on YouTube, giving us all a chance to relive the trainwreck—pun intended!
