One of the more creatively successful attempts by CBS to adapt Marvel Comics characters to television was the
Philip DeGuerre TV pilot,
Dr. Strange, starring
Peter Hooten as Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme. While comics fans nitpicked the change in costume and some story details, I thought it was a pretty fair translation of the four-color source material with some surprisingly elaborate special effects sequences (including a creepy, stop-motion demon).
Stan Lee was reportedly pretty pleased with it, and comics artist
Frank Brunner contributed designs for the project (including that revised costume).
Sure, the whole thing - especially Hooten's mustache - is terribly dated when viewed with modern eyes, but for a 70's TV production it was pretty well done.
Admittedly, Hooten was fairly unmemorable in the lead, but I liked the casting of
Jessica Walter (as Morgana LeFay),
Clyde Kusatsu as Dr. Strange's Asian manservant, and
Anne-Marie Martin (
The Shape Of Things To Come) as his apprentice, Clea.
Although produced as a pilot film, CBS aired it as TV movie, and passed on a
Dr. Strange series. The movie is not on DVD, but was released on VHS tape in the 1980s.
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