Editing Supertrain

{{Short description|1979 American television series}}
{{for|the model train exhibition|SuperTrain (exhibition)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image              = Supertrain.jpg
| image_size         = 220
| genre              = [[Science fiction]]/[[Drama (film and television)|Drama]]/[[Adventure (genre)|Adventure]]
| creator            = {{plainlist|
* [[Donald E. Westlake]]
* [[Earl W. Wallace]]
}}
| starring           = {{plainlist|
* [[Edward Andrews]]
* [[Nita Talbot]]
* [[Harrison Page]]
* [[Robert Alda]]
* [[Patrick Collins (actor)|Patrick Collins]]
* [[Charlie Brill]]
}}
| executive_producer = {{plainlist|
* [[Dan Curtis]]
* [[Robert Stambler]]
}}
| producer           = {{plainlist|
* Robert Stambler
* Anthony Spinner
* [[Rod Amateau]]
}}
| music              = [[Bob Cobert]]
| country            = United States
| camera             = [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]]
| runtime            = 45&ndash;48 minutes
| network            = [[NBC]]
| company            = {{plainlist|
* Dan Curtis Productions
* [[NBC Productions]]
}}
| first_aired        = {{start date|1979|2|7}}
| last_aired         = {{end date|1979|5|5}}
| num_seasons        = 1
| num_episodes       = 9
| list_episodes      = 
}}

'''''Supertrain''''' is an American [[science fiction]] [[Adventure (genre)|adventure]] [[drama (film and television)|drama]] television series that ran on [[NBC]] from February 7 to May 5, 1979. Nine episodes were made, including a two-hour pilot episode.

==Premise==
The series takes place on the ''Supertrain'', a [[nuclear power|nuclear-powered]] [[high-speed rail|high speed train]] that is equipped with amenities more appropriate to a [[cruise ship]]. It has luxuries such as a swimming pool, shopping centers, a gym, a library, a medical center, and a [[discotheque]].<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |title=Supertoy |magazine=TV Guide |date=17 March 1979 |page=2+ |url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A1232136/PPFA?u=uga&sid=PPFA&xid=c4ad295d |access-date=30 April 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830052503/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=PPFA&u=uga&id=GALE{{!}}A1232136&v=2.1&it=r&sid=PPFA&asid=c4ad295d |archive-date=2021-08-30}} {{closed access}}</ref> It is so big it has to run on very [[Broad-gauge railway|broad gauge]] [[rail track|track]]. Though it had a rated top speed of {{cvt|250|mph|abbr=on}}, and cruised at {{cvt|190|mph|abbr=on}}, the train took 36 hours to go from New York City to Los Angeles, which would put the train's average speed at around {{cvt|78|mph|abbr=on}}, slower than the moderately-paced [[Amtrak]] ''[[Acela Express]]'' and well below the speeds of bullet trains in Europe and Asia; however, the first few episodes establish that Supertrain does not go directly from New York to Los Angeles, stopping in [[Chicago]] and [[Denver]] as well as an unnamed stop somewhere in [[Texas]].

Much like its contemporary ''[[The Love Boat]]'', the plots concerned the passengers' social lives, usually with multiple intertwining storylines. ''Supertrain'' was described in a 1979 ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' review, "It's a 'Love Boat' on wheels which has yet to get on track."<ref name=":1">Telefilm Review: Supertrain. (1979). ''Variety'', (46), p.18.</ref> Most of the cast of a given episode were guest stars. The production was elaborate, with huge sets and two high-tech model trains for outside shots.<ref name=":0" />

==Production troubles==
''Supertrain'' was the most expensive series ever aired in the [[United States]] at the time. The production was beset by problems, including a model train that crashed. NBC paid $10 million for a total of three sets of trains: a full-size train with enormous [[Passenger railroad car|passenger cars]] measuring {{convert|64|x|26|x|22|ft|m}}, and two model train sets at 1:9.6 and [[1:48 scale]]s for outside shots.<ref name=":0" /> While the series was heavily advertised during the 1978–79 season, it received poor reviews and low ratings, with 16.24 million viewers watching its premiere.<ref name=RatingsRyan>{{cite web |title=Ratings Ryan: Weekly Nielsen Ratings: 1978-79 TV Season (UPDATED) |website=Ratings Ryan |url=http://www.ratingsryan.com/2022/01/weekly-nielsen-ratings-1978-79-tv-season.html |access-date=16 October 2024 |date=22 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422084850/http://www.ratingsryan.com/2022/01/weekly-nielsen-ratings-1978-79-tv-season.html |archive-date=2024-04-22 }}</ref> The two-hour premiere was out-rated by a two-hour special of [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'', and received a 21.8 rating and 32 share, ranking it 17th for the week.<ref>Weekly Rating Scorecard. (1979, February 14). ''Variety'', ''294''(2), 68.</ref> Despite attempts to salvage the show by replacing its producer, reworking the cast and the show's genre to a [[sitcom]]-like format, and a timeslot change from Wednesdays at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. to Saturdays at 10:00&nbsp;p.m., it went off the air after only three months.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} NBC, which had produced the show itself, with help from ''[[Dark Shadows]]'' producer [[Dan Curtis]], was unable to recoup its losses from the high production costs.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} This, combined with the [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|U.S. boycott]] of the [[1980 Summer Olympics]] the following season (whose coverage NBC was to have carried, costing the network millions in ad revenue), nearly bankrupted the network.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kiwireport.com/hugely-promoted-shows-turned-massive-flops/8/|title=Heavily promoted shows that turned out to be huge flops {{!}} KiwiReport|date=2018-06-21|work=KiwiReport|access-date=2018-10-17|language=en-US}}</ref> For these reasons, ''Supertrain'' has been called one of the greatest television flops.<ref>[http://www.businesspundit.com/7-of-the-most-expensive-flops-in-television-history/ "7 Of The Most Expensive Flops In Television History: 1. Supertrain."] ''www.businesspundit.com'', January 31, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2010.</ref> The show finished 69th out of 114 shows during the 1978–79 season, with an average 15.7 rating and 25 share.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/07/1978-79-top-30-ratings-abc-enjoys.html |title=1978-79 Ratings History -- ABC Enjoys a Hattrick in 1st Place |author=J. Clawson |date=July 19, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118133719/http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/07/1978-79-top-30-ratings-abc-enjoys.html |archive-date=2018-01-18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf |title=Rounding up the ratings for 'the season' |magazine=Broadcasting |date=June 18, 1989 |page=56 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513230749/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf |archive-date=2022-05-13 }}</ref> By the end of the series, the show had lost over half its audience with only 7.08 million viewers watching the last episode.

Before the show aired in the U.S., NBC sold it directly to the [[BBC]], the first foreign broadcaster to pick up the series. "For two runs, BBC reportedly coughed up more than $25,000 per hour episode, which if not a record series price in this market is close to it."<ref>'Supertrain' Sold to BCC Directly by NBC. (1979, January 31). ''Variety'', ''293''(13), 39.</ref> The BBC was planning to air ''Supertrain'' in the fall of 1979, after the series premiered in the U.S. in February. By selling the show to international markets, NBC hoped to offset its own development costs. After the failure of the series in the United States, the BBC never aired the show.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

== 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" />

==Episodes==
{{Episode table |background=#000050 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes= |viewers = |viewersT = U.S. households (in millions)

{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=1
 |Title=Express to Terror
 |DirectedBy=[[Dan Curtis]]
 |WrittenBy=[[Earl W. Wallace]],<br /> [[Donald E. Westlake]]
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|2|7}}
 |Viewers=16.24<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=Mike Post ([[Steve Lawrence]]), a passenger with a large gambling debt, finds himself the target of an unknown assassin on the train. A woman travels with her abusive boyfriend, who is hiding a dangerous past. Social director David Noonan (Patrick Collins) tries to stay clear of the amorous granddaughter of Supertrain's chairman and creator.

In the opening credits, Winfield Root, the chairman of the fictitious company Trans Allied Corporation, mentions they will create an "atom-powered steam turbine machine capable of crossing this country in 36 hours."  The maiden voyage left Grand Central Terminal in New York City 22 months later en route to Los Angeles. The Supertrain stops a few times, including somewhere in Texas, before arriving in Los Angeles at the end of the show.

''Main Cast:'' [[Edward Andrews]] as Harry Flood, [[Patrick Collins (actor)|Patrick Collins]] as Dave Noonan, [[Harrison Page]] as George Boone, [[Robert Alda]] as Dr. Dan Lewis, [[Nita Talbot]] as Rose Casey, [[Aarika Wells]] as  Gilda, [[Bill Nuckols]] as Wally (credited as William Nuckols), [[Michael DeLano]] as Lou Atkins (credited as Michael Delano), and [[Charlie Brill]] as Robert.

''Guest Stars:'' [[Steve Lawrence]] as Mike Post, [[Char Fontane]] as Cindy Chappel, [[Don Stroud]] as Jack Fisk, [[Keenan Wynn]] as Winfield Root, [[Deborah Benson]] as Barbara Root, [[Ron Masak]] as Fred, [[Don Meredith]] as Rick Prince, [[Vicki Lawrence]] as Karen Prince (credited as Vickie Lawrence), [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] as David Belnik, [[Stella Stevens]] as Lucy, and [[Fred Williamson]] as Al Roberts.

''Other Guests:'' [[John Karlen]] as Quinn, [[Frank Christi]] as Tony Packoe (credited as Frank R. Christi), [[H.M. Wynant]] as Fairmont, Anthony Palmer as T. C. Baker, Howard Honig as Sam Howard, [[Allen Williams (actor)|Allen Williams]] as Riley, [[Parley Baer]] as Heaton, [[Sid Conrad]] as Whittington, Robert Karnes as Martin, Cameron Young as Fenner, [[Sylvester Words]] as Porter, [[Orin Cannon]] as Stationmaster, [[Chuck Mitchell]] as Big Ed, and [[Bert Conway]] as Workman.

Note: The pilot episode was a two-hour special.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=2
 |Title=And a Cup of Kindness, Too
 |DirectedBy=[[Rod Amateau]]
 |WrittenBy=[[Shimon Wincelberg]]
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|2|14}}
 |Viewers=12.07<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A man ([[Larry Linville]]) frantically tries to catch Supertrain, where a professed hitman ([[Dick Van Dyke]]) is targeting his soon-to-be late wife ([[Barbara Rhoades]]). Meanwhile, the spoiled great-grandchildren of Supertrain's chairman of the board make life miserable for the crew by playing practical jokes.

The Supertrain stops in Chicago at the end of the show.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=3
 |Title=The Queen and the Improbable Knight
 |DirectedBy=[[Charles S. Dubin]]
 |WrittenBy=Brad Radnitz
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|2|21}}
 |Viewers=10.13<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A young travel reporter falls for a mysterious young woman riding on Supertrain, but both are unaware that she is the heir to a throne and the target of a kidnapping plot.

The Supertrain stops in Denver at the end of the show.

''Guest Stars:'' [[Paul Sand]] as Barney Sweet, [[Mary Louise Weller]] as Ali (Alexandra Peters, future Queen of Montenegro), [[Michael V. Gazzo]] as Menkton, [[Nehemiah Persoff]] as Max (Ali's uncle), [[Steve Franken]] as Fleck (credited as Steven Franken), [[Fred Sadoff]] as unknown, and [[Kenneth Mars]] as Turley.

''Other Guests:'' [[Alba Francesca]] as "Alexandra Peters", [[Paul Tuerpe]] (credited as Paul Tuerpé), [[Shauna Sullivan]], [[Annie Starr]] as Theresa, and [[David Wiley (actor, born 1929)|David Wiley]].
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=4
 |Title=Hail to the Chief
 |DirectedBy=[[Barry Crane]]
 |WrittenBy=Robert I. Holt
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|2|28}}
 |Viewers=9.24<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A man knocks out and takes the place of his twin brother, a leading presidential candidate, on the eve of the election. But his deception becomes even more difficult when his campaign manager invites his estranged wife to help during the final campaign swing on Supertrain.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=5
 |Title=Superstar
 |DirectedBy=David Moessinger
 |WrittenBy=Larry Alexander
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|3|14}}
 |Viewers=9.69<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A has-been Hollywood producer sneaks onto Supertrain to convince his ex-wife, a famous actress, to star in his comeback film. At the same time, he has to avoid two hit-men searching for him on the train, sent by the underworld figure who bankrolled the movie. Only an elderly woman is willing to believe and help him.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=6
 |Title=Pirouette
 |DirectedBy=Barry Crane
 |WrittenBy=Jeff Wilhelm
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|4|7}}
 |Viewers=11.25<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A bashful doctor finds himself rooming with an heiress who is hiding from kidnappers.

''Guest stars:'' [[Bernie Kopell]], [[Joyce DeWitt]], [[Isabel Sanford]], [[Mako Iwamatsu]] and [[Tony Danza]].
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=7
 |Title=A Very Formal Heist
 |DirectedBy=Barry Crane
 |WrittenBy=Jeff Wilhelm,<br /> Brad Radnitz,<br /> Robert Stambler
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|4|14}}
 |Viewers=8.72<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=Supertrain's newest crew members, Wayne Randall (Joey Aresco) and Penny Whitaker ([[Ilene Graff]]), attempt to track down a jewel thief who has stolen a socialite's necklace.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=8
 |Title=The Green Girl
 |DirectedBy=[[Cliff Bole]]
 |WrittenBy=[[Stephen Kandel]]
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|4|28}}
 |Viewers=9.98<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=A participant in a [[poker]] tournament aboard Supertrain buys in with [[counterfeit money]].
 |LineColor=000050
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber=9
 |Title=Where Have You Been Billy Boy
 |DirectedBy=Barry Crane
 |WrittenBy=Brad Radnitz,<br /> [[Max Hodge]],<br /> Bill Taub
 |OriginalAirDate={{start date|1979|5|5}}
 |Viewers=7.08<ref name=RatingsRyan />
 |ShortSummary=[[Barry Gordon]] and [[Rue McClanahan]] guest star in a bizarre comedy of errors about a weak-willed young man who holds some Supertrain passengers hostage while trying to plan his escape from the police.
 |LineColor=000050
}}
}}

==Home media==
The pilot was released on [[VHS]], as ''Express to Terror'' in the US,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nbc_supertrain.tripod.com/id8.html|title=Home Video|website=nbc_supertrain.tripod.com|accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref> and ''Super-Train'' in the UK. It was also released in Norway.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://norskvhs.no/2013/05/26/disney-select/panikk-i-super-expressen-super-train_800x582/ | title=Panikk i super-expressen (Super train)_800x582 | date=26 May 2013 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Breitspurbahn]] — broad-gauge railway planned by Nazi Germany.
* ''[[Snowpiercer]]'' — A 2013 science fiction film about a cruise ship-like train  (with an aquarium and a swimming pool) that went around the world serving as the last resort of humanity in a new ice age.
* ''[[The Big Bus]]'' — A 1976 comedy film that follows the maiden cross-country trip of an enormous nuclear powered bus.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://nbc_supertrain.tripod.com/ Supertrain Unofficial Site] Supertrain series information including episode guide and airdates.
* [http://boxcutters.net/2011/06/27/episode270/ Boxcutters ep 270] The Boxcutters podcast takes a look back at Supertrain (includes archive interview material).
* {{IMDb title|id=0078697|title=Supertrain}}
* [http://telehell.libsyn.com/episode-4-supertrain/ Telehell ep 4] The Telehell Podcast looks at the history of the show, and covers the events of the Pilot episode

[[Category:1979 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1979 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s American science fiction television series]]
[[Category:1970s American drama television series]]
[[Category:American adventure television series]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series about rail transport]]
[[Category:Television shows set on trains]]
[[Category:Television series by Universal Television]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Colorado]]
[[Category:NBC television dramas]]