Editing Supertrain (section)

== Reception ==
In 2002, ''[[TV Guide]]'' ranked ''Supertrain'' number 28 on its "50 Worst TV Shows of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite book|title=TV Guide Book of Lists|url=https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-3007-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tvguidebookoflis0000unse/page/181 181]}}</ref>

In the May 19, 1979, edition of ''TV Guide'', the show received criticism from Robert MacKenzie. He compared the futuristic train to his traditional ideas of a [[Pullman Company|Pullman]] locomotive and describes the environment as "bigger, gaudier, and noisier, including the passengers."<ref name=":2">MacKenzie, Robert. "Supertrain." ''TV Guide'', 19 May 1979, p. 1. ''Fine Arts and Music Collection'', http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A1282359/PPFA?u=uga&sid=PPFA&xid=91d89e0b . Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.</ref> He  described the amenities of the train and the "marvel, cinematically," of the set design and train itself. Mackenzie found fault with the show's reliance on the extravagant train to wow the audience and the lack of character depth or entertaining plot. "When the early ratings proved disappointing, NBC took the series off the air for emergency surgery. The 'All New ''Supertrain''<nowiki/>' appeared April 14 looking remarkably like the old ''Supertrain''", which shows NBC's attempts to fix the show's flaws mid-season.<ref name=":2" /> He summarized his opinion on the newly changed episodes by stating, "This tale d-r-a-g-g-e-d even more than previous episodes despite the attempt to glamorize it with models in bikinis and [[Peter Lawford]] playing his usual shopworn sophisticate."<ref name=":2" /> In his annual television special later that year, comedian [[Alan King]] commented on the show's ratings failure: "It's a bird! It's a bomb! It's ''Supertrain''!"{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

''Supertrain'' was critiqued by the Telefilm Review in the February 9, 1979, edition of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]].'' The article begins, "NBC's highly-promoted new ''Supertrain'' series features a slick new train of tomorrow, with a script from yesterday...it seeks to overwhelm, but underwhelms instead."<ref name=":1" /> By emphasizing the train as the main character, the character plots and stories of each episode seem like more of a second thought. Telefilm predicted the show's failure in its review: "Without better scripts, the train's trek may well end in 13 weeks. More emphasis on characters, less on the train, is in order."<ref name=":1" /> The show lasted just over 12 weeks. The choices of the producer, Dan Curtis, were harshly criticized, saying he was "neglecting characterizations for the sake of camera angles, and his contribution is a sorrowful one."<ref name=":1" />