Customer Reviews

Who Wants to Be A Superhero? (2 DVD Set)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An absolute train wreck of a reality series, and I mean that in a good way--you will often hate yourself for loving this show. I can't honestly say that it's great television, but it's just ridiculous enough to be a pleasantly diverting guilty pleasure. But like sweet candy, once it's gone--you'll barely miss it.

11 contestants, each having developed a superhero persona complete with homemade costume, come together to compete for "the greatest prize in reality show history!" OK, if you think having Stan Lee draw a comic book about you and starring in a bad sci-fi movie are the "greatest prize." But our contestants are ready to go--here's just a sampling: Fat Momma, Monkey Woman, and Cell Phone Girl. Now if, like me, you think seeing a grown plus-sized woman running around in tights with twinkies attached to her belt is a sight you don't want to miss--then this show's for you!

Obviously, the contestants don't have true superpowers. So the challenges are based on the human qualities that make one great: loyalty, honesty, integrity, self sacrifice, bravery, etc. It is rather sweet, and unorthodox, to see a show where people get ahead by being nice and honorable. This is a revolutionary concept in reality gaming. As in all reality shows, some challenges are better than others--and some are decidedly phony looking as well.

Every episode Stan Lee eliminates one or more contestants. I love that Stan, however, doesn't even bother to be present. All interactions are done through teleconferencing--that way Stan doesn't have to be bothered too much by leaving home. Some shocking revelations are made along the way. Some contestants turn out to be "actors," others trying to promote a career!!! It's crazy and diabolical, I was pretty sure they were all real superheroes.

You'll watch in amazement as the field narrows down to the true believers. Feelings and tears fly as contestants vie for Stan's approval and affections. One even sees Stan as a surrogate for his deceased father! You will be alternately touched, mystified, and horrified by the outpouring of emotion....I rose to my feet crying, "I Want To Be A Superhero, Stan! Judge Me Worthy!"

Awesome. KGHarris, 9/06.

This may have been the most fun cheesy reality show yet. Really, all one needed was an original superhero concept and a costume and one could try out. On April 4, 2006, about 120 contestants physically auditioned for Stan Lee at the Sunset Gower Studios, Hollywood, CA during a torrential rain storm, vying to be in the final 11-man lineup for the Sci-Fi Channel's WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? Thousands more had submitted tape auditions. This was a six episode series, hosted and judged by Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee, who is quoted as saying: "We're not going to ask anybody to fly or leap tall buildings with a single bound. We can't test that. But what we can test is this: Every superhero has certain qualities and characteristics on the inside, characteristics like courage, character, honesty, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion, resourcefulness. We can test that stuff." The winner will be immortalized with his or her own comic book and his/her character will appear in an original Sci-Fi Channel movie. Dubious contenders were weeded out (although several "superheroes" who ended up on screen also were kinda dubious) and so, we'll never know how the green-faced Slimeball, the disgruntled Server (a waiter in his regular gig), the Ice B*tch, the Hula Hoop Girl, or Man-Fey(!?) would've fared.

Instead, the final eleven were comprised of party girl Creature (Tonya Kay, 25-year-old automobile mechanic), the very hot Cell Phone Girl (Chelsea Weld, 22-year-old interior designer), the ornery and hygeine-challenged Iron Enforcer (Steel Chambers, 35-year-old bodyguard), sexy Lemuria (Tonatzin Mondragon, 30-year-old sculptor, catchphrase "Hello, Sunshine"), the nurturing Fat Momma (Nell Wilson, 42-year-old online sales specialist, catchphrase "saving the world, one doughnut at a time"), the very competitive Monkey Woman (Mary Votava, 28-year-old investor), the very funny, very cool Major Victory (Chris Watters, 38-year-old DJ and ex-stripper, catchphrase "Be a winner, not a wiener"), the eager Feedback (Matthew Atheron, 34-year-old software engineer), the duplicitous Levity (Tobias Trost, 32-year-old toy designer), Nitro G (Darren Passarello, 19-year-old student and filmmaker), and Ty'Veculus (E. Quincy Sloan, 34-year-old fireman captain).

For six episodes, these eleven contestants lived in a warehouse fronting as their "superhero lair" and competed in various competitions which, on the surface, challenged their superhero skills but, in actuality, tested their inner qualities. One such challenge involved the superheroes being placed in a public venue, clad in their civilian clothing, and having to change into their costumes without being seen and then racing to a meeting point. Whosoever passed the finish line the fastest, ostensibly, wins the challenge. But the real test lied in the lost little girl ensconced in their path, who was crying out for help. The contestants who stopped and helped the little girl were the ones who passed the challenge. This was actually what hooked me onto this show, when it became a must-see series for me. You never quite knew what Stan Lee was looking for in every challenge. To keep things even more off kilter, several challenges did play fair and were nothing more than what they were on the surface. My favorite one had to be when the superheroes had to navigate an old woman's backyard despite the assault of two vicious guard dogs. I couldn't believe the tenacity of one of the superheroes (it took that one @20 minutes under the aggresive ministrations of the hellhounds).

This was a quirky, fast-moving show, as two contestants are elimated every episode, and Stan Lee is ever judging the players, even in their daily interactions in their "down time" (where contestants would ordinarily be exempt), and the viewer (and the players) are never quite sure what would constitute an elimination. An event such as a costume makeover would normally be a cause for celebration, but no. Stan Lee is always observing your reactions. Even something as mundane as a chore to go to the local deli to fetch snacks could (and did) constitute an elimination process. So, yeah, there was an aura of unpredictability which clung to this show and kept me guessing at times. Yes, there were moments when it was VERY cheesy and, contrary to what I just said, VERY obvious and you could see the wheels of the players' minds spinning as they opt for the obvious choices and say the PC things, as when Stan Lee asked every contestant to declare which other superhero should be eliminated and for what grounds. Also, the 180 degree turn of one contestant, who then became the series' nemesis, while a good idea (I was all for it), wasn't executed well and seemed contrived, to boot. The producers also might've tried a bit too hard to add a touch of poignancy to the show, although I felt Stan Lee was sincere in those moments when even he got teary-eyed and choked up. I thought it believable that he would get emotionally attached to these costumed folks, who, without a doubt, held him in high esteem. Several of the contestants, for their own part, clearly invested a lot of emotion and dedication and their tears and shows of sincerity were not unwarranted.

To be honest, I didn't agree with the choosing of the winner, who I felt was too smarmy and too prone to playing the emotional strings. In fact, I didn't like the two finalists. I was rooting for the bronze winner, and I guess Stan Lee liked him too, quite a bit, as he did give him a good, tearful moment to go out on.

While I don't think Stan the Man will ever trump the Donald's catchphrase "You're fired!," he's got a good thing going with his own proclamation of doom: "Turn in your costume." The six episodes aired from July 27 to August 31, 2006 and proved to be enough of a ratings bonanza. According to Daily Variety, the Sci-Fi Channel has greenlighted season 2 of WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO?, expanding it to a 10-episode sophomore show. Can't wait. Maybe, then, we'll get to see Slimeball, the Server, or Ice B*tch. I don't think I'll ever want to see Man-Fey.

to see Stan bad mouth these people (when he really is the world's nicest guy off camera) was just not him. This show was a joke and I am glad he did not want to do more.

Okay, the other review is right on target with this one but I must admit that it was refreshing to see a "reality" show that didn't involve nudity, back stabbing, and general bad behavior. The love some of these people had for Stan Lee and super heroes made me want to cry. It's worth watching just to see how creative some people were with it and how stupid some of them could act. It's fun so go with it.

Aside from the fact that the legendary Stan Lee serves a judge, jury, and executioner on this reality show, the very concept of a reality show that tests who has all of the essential character traits of a true superhero is doubtlessly what made WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? the phenomenon that it has become.

The rules are simple: Stan Lee holds auditions for people to create their own superhero, selects 11 people (out of what seems to have been 11 million), and puts them through a series of challenges to test their inner superhero.

The Superheroes include gay toy-maker Levity, Voluptuous Sculptor Lemuria, Comical ex-stripper Major Victory, bodybuilder/bodyguard The Iron Enforcer, tiny comic book geek Nitro G, portly single mother Fat Momma, Computer programmer/Spider-Man disciple Feedback, environmentalist Creature, boy scout/Fire captain TyVeculus, Attractive interior designer Cell Phone Girl, and tree climber Monkey Woman.

In closing, I just want to leave you with this: The Superhero who wins the competition (whose name I will not disclose) had a stronger desire than anyone to be a superhero, and , I think, defintely deserved to become the hero of Stan Lee's next comic book.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased in the sense that, aside from the Celebrity Fear Factor skit on Mad TV where 'Kenny Rogers' eats a box of kittens, I'd never seen a reality show before sitting down to watch the 2-DVD set of Who Wants to be a Superhero?, Season One. Needless to say, I loved it.

Comic book legend, Stan Lee, hosts this charming series featuring a misfit troupe of spandex-laden-would-be superheroes giving their all to prove their worthiness as the next great comic book marvel (pun intended).

Eleven people were chosen from a single live audition and thousands of video submissions to assume the role of a superhero of their own design. The purpose of the contest is to select the most deserving of the heroes to be featured in a comic book written by Stan Lee and published by Darkhorse. Since none of the contestants can be tested on how fast they can fly or whether they can stop a train with their pinky, they are instead asked to prove that they possess the qualities that every superhero possesses: honesty, courage, self-sacrifice, etc.: The human qualities that make heroes heroic.

The show opens with the greatest show-intro I've ever seen, a montage of the contestants changing into their super-alter-ego and taking to a building top to combat a giant robot, and proceeds to pit them against one another in various challenges. Some of the challenges are cheezy and have an obvious point, while others carry with them hidden goals that make for interesting twists and turns. At the end of every challenge or two, Stan calls all of the heroes to the roof or living room of the lair and tells one of them to "turn in [their] costume."

Gripes:
For only 6 episodes, two-discs are a bit much. In my opinion, the entire series could have easily fit onto one. The extra features aren't all that special, as they consist only of SciFi filler [Q

This series is not about silly heroics, it's about people caring about people. Both seasons were full of people who, by the end of the series, cared more about their colleagues than they did about winning a contest.

The human drama was as powerful as any reality show even though the subject was anything but reality. Many people probably watch to see the special effects but I watched to see the human emotion and drama.

When Monkey Woman resisted attack dogs (Season 1) for ten minutes, that was real, that was amazing. When Fat Mama almost took herself out of the game voluntarily, (season 1) rather than beat out her competitor because she cared about him I was was in tears. This kind of thing, will never be in any other reality TV. It is the stuff of superheroes.

These people remind us what is important about being human. They are superheroes at heart, if not in reality.

this is all matter of opinion, mind you, but i really really really really enjoyed this series. i was an avid watcher when it was on sci-fi, and having it on dvd is great. i totally reccommend- best reality series so far!

I persanaly watched this show every time it was on I still know all the heros. I think this realaty show was the most genius idea and I'm hoping for a season two and three!!

I'm sure there are worse things in the TV biz than trying to make a reality show filled with actors play as if it were "real", but I can't think of any at the moment.

There was a certain amount of curiosity (that soon turned morbid) that made me watch this show. First, I wanted to know how in the hell it could be pulled off. Humans obviously have no superpowers, so I thought maybe they'd make it comical.

No.

The producers really wanted to create a new superhero with the help of comic book icon Stan Lee. But filling the entire cast with actors -- and I'm not talking about actors who just happened to get picked, but actors who were obviously cast -- made this TV series so shallow and a blatant marketing tactic to try and help sell the show to audiences, that it came off being both cheesy and phony.

It was obvious from the outset that this entire "reality show" was scripted. Unlike SURVIVOR or other series that plunk strangers together in often bizarre circumstances, WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO had no angst, no interesting internal or external dynamics, and cared more about showing off lame costumes, large hooters, and moronic names (Lemuria?).

The barefaced scripting of the show became all too apparent when one of the cast was kicked off but then returns as the "evil villain" with Stan Lee's help. How could that not be scripted?

If there'd been anything approaching reality for this "reality show", it probably would've engaged me on some level. But as it stands now, it's an intellectual retardant.