Supertrain: Express To Terror (episode 1) 1/10

[Setebos]

Another indication this was going to be bad: look at the cast. I mean, both Steve Lawrence AND Don Meredith?

[Setebos]

The theme music should've been warning enough.

[dragon4166]

Disco-lite music, overly formulaic plot... way too much cheese! Classic late 70's!

[navyboydjray]

How did I miss this back in the day.

Chock full of cheezy goodness.

[ladyi7609]

Guess what? I was looking up the TV listings for the date of my birth on a website called TVTango and THIS WAS ON DURING THE VERY MOMENT I WAS BORN. I kid you not. According to the site, this "Express to Terror" was a two-parter and it lasted from 7:00 - 9:00 PM Central time the evening of Wednesday, February 7. I was born on 8:45 PM that very same night. THIS IS TOO MUCH.

[imstillstuckinthe80s]

@ladyi7609 So you were born duinr the broadcast of on eof the WORST tv shows ever made? Kind of a dubious distinction:)

[ladyi7609]

@imstillstuckinthe80s Sure, it's dubious. But there's a kind of cheesy charm to this show, and I have to admit that I love the original theme to this show. "The Jeffersons" were on CBS and "Charlie's Angels" was on ABC at the same time. Ho hum. But this show -- there's something so much more apropos about this show being aired during the time of my birth IMO, since I consider us kids born from '77 - '80 to be "disco babies", and this show? Disco TV par excellence.

[Gnillob802]

Would have been better using the high-tech sci-fi angle of the atomic train instead of the glamour aspects such as a swimming pool & gym. Introducing a clone of the Love Boat crew is too obvious & the disaster episode title was out of place, but what's even worse bottom-of-the-barrel celebrity guest stars. Steve Lawrence & Don Meredith were doing the 3rd story lines on Fantasy Island & hardly names to get you to watch. NBC had Rock Hudson & George Peppard among others they could have used.

[Salmonleap]

At 9:18 the dude looks just like Anton Chigur from "No Country for Old Men"...

[masonccc]

@Salmonleap It's Actor Don Stroud

[timothyp873]

a swimming pool on train?!

[catguy1717]

I probably saw this as a kid and probably liked it then but to see it now, it is pretty cheesy! It's sooo 70's!

[MrJacMac1986]

Wonder if Norfolk Southern or Union Pacific would want to invest in a Supertrain?

[MrJacMac1986]

I was 11 when this came on but I never saw it.I might have glimpsed it but I dont remember seeing it.And I watched alot of TV back then.

[Tr1ploid]

I love how the lines after 0:57 are so applicable to the making of this series;

[cratercritter]

This is genius. How can you not love SUPERTRAIN!

[ghroit]

Thanks for posting this :) I was in highschool when this came out, and I REALLY wanted to like it. I thought the pilot was okay. But later they turned it into (as they said) "Love Boat on Wheels" and even added a laugh track, then you were better off watching Fantasy Island.

[yomie100]

Its bad, really bad. But I love watching it. Lol. :o)

[TheWhistler3]

I can remember all the jokes that were made about this. Late Night Television had a field day.

[RichieEastside]

Oh wow 36 hours....lol

I read that this show almost didn't even get on the air because they couldn't make a model of the train that would stop crashing. Every time they tried to get a shot it, it would derail and crash into something and break.

[seybernetx]

Amazon currently (May 2011) offers a Collectable VHS (?I guess) for $190, on the odd chance anyone is interested.

Perhaps more interesting, all the items in the 'Customers Who Bought Related Items Also Bought' seem to be medical supplies, things like iodine, emergency rqations, and thermal blankets.

There is probably a message in that, but nothing occurs to me.

[carnesod]

"Grizzly" to "Jaws" = "Supertrain" to "Love Boat"

[newstarcadefan]

Actually, I'm digging the tune that Bob Cobert had created. Though this is 70's cheese at it's finest, it is still sweetness.

[DungeonStudio]

For James Earl Jones, it was Dr. Strangelove to the voice of Darth Vader. For Keenan Wynn it was Strangelove to....Supertrain? He'll forever be Col. Bat Guano to me. LOL Great show though, and kudos to Stuckinthe80's for puting them all up as historic preservation.

[nhlalwenhlezondo]

I boarded a train going from New Jersey to Maine and the service was awful, lawls!

[Neville6000]

@nhlalwenhlezondo: Support the President, and you get trains like the Acela with great service.

[vardiss22]

This show was a rare miss for Dan Curtis who was gold in the 70's and 80's for network t.v.

[MrFBCBSALES]

Difficult to believe that Dan Curtis who gave us Dark Shadows, Winds of War, War and Remembrance, the Night Stalker and so many other great moments also gave us this!!!!!! What must he have been thinking???????

[ewaf88]

@MrFBCBSALES Dollar bills?

[captjami]

OMG i'm surprised the episodes still exist !!!Cool Find !!

And Hot Pants !!!:D

[captjami]

OMG i'm surprised the episodes still exist !!!Cool Find !!

[TheLastBrainLeft]

70's cheese at it's best/worst!

[Cyke101]

Building a new intercontinental railway is a good idea. Building a train that can go from coast to coast in 36 hours is an even better idea. Using that train for luxury and travel recreation, rather than using it to transport goods, supplies, and commodities in record time? Well, way to ruin a good thing there, guys.

[Applemask]

Keenan Wynn?

[collegeman1988]

The only thing about this show that I remember as a kid was that the local NBC affiliate in Denver refused to air it . . . it must have been really bad.

[mccarrpo]

The most amazing thing about this train is the orange carpet.  You just don't see orange carpet like that anymore.

[bruhe]

So you think it's a gamble, do you? Well gentlemen, since I can count my remaining years on the fingers of one hand, from my point of view, blueberry pancakes with syrup!

[stakeee]

where can i download these episodes?

[vectrinox]

The Supertrain prop is soo futuristic, that it reminds me of something out of Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers, or from Tomorrowlands Space Mountain ride at Disneyland.

[vectrinox]

Supertrain is definitely without a doubt a Spinoff, a cross between The Big Bus & The Love Boat, all wrapped into one package. Also, the design of the Supertrain reminds me alot of the air base ship from the 80's Childrens British TV Show "Terrahawks"

[mccarrpo]

Is this the Love Boat on wheels?

[imstillstuckinthe80s]

@mccarrpo exactly

[eimb1999]

@imstillstuckinthe80s : Thank you soooo much for posting!!!!!

[vectrinox]

If you ask me, they should have named it "Super Soul Train", especially with all of this dreamlike disco music playing in the background. Also, the main train cab looks very familiar. I think they used the very same prop in Star Trek The Motion Picture, in which they had converted into a shuttlecraft, the scene where it dock lands at Starfleet Command and Admiral James T Kirk steps out of the craft.

[CaseyJ747]

Nein, das ist der Ueber Zug! Der meistens, beruemstesten americanischen Zug!

[mattfirebird]

03:09 - "Put dat back in da jug mama, I'll be back for it later!"

[vinylrecord68]

I was 11 when "Supertrain" first aired on NBC.  And yes, I watched almost every episode (practically to see and hear the opening and closing sequences).

[Felamine]

I wonder how many bags of coke the producers went through before they finally came up with this monstrosity?

[pummisher]

I don't think a pool on a train is a good idea.

[yaywhewclips242]

What I found about this show is that every ep was a murder mystery which was ridiculous, Y not make it a romance like LOVEBOAT?? And the muscle guy from the spa would hit on every woman passenger in the disco. C'mon U know most BBs R gay!!

[kguen6993]

this is proof that Americans have a great sense of humour

[plezurhounds]

Makes "The Love Boat" seem like high art!!!

Cool, more stoner viewing :-)

[frtw4428]

The train was actually cool to look at (you can see where all the money was spent designing the sets and special effects of this atomic powered choo-choo!). Too bad the storyline wasn't up to par. Thanks for the upload though - brings back memories. Maybe they should make a movie out of this and have either Spielberg or James Cameron direct it (so at least it comes out somewhat decent!

[Tabaquix]

This is so badly ridiculous it's entertaining... horrible dialog...concept...acting... this is the unintentional Big Bus on tracks! :)

[1manwalkingfreakshow]

OY.

Stilted dialog. Wooden acting. Botched concept. Horrible aging of the era.

As Weird Al sang in his M.C. Hammer spoof... I Can't Watch This.

[welder541]

It really was the love boat on rails, I could'nt agree more:):):):):) Too bad this show did'nt make it. That train is absolutely awesome. Cross country in 36 hrs that's haul'in ass.

[ar4216]

Any idea how much NBC spent on this show?

[kiteagle17]

Seventies-tastic!!!  Crap-tacular!!!

[Evil0tto]

YOU WATCHED IT! YOU CAN'T UNWATCH IT!

[Rhombus20147]

What were the actors thinking?! Think they knew this was crap at the time?

[donjabroni]

I only have one word about this train wreck, and this was being the only episode I saw back then in 79:

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I got that off my chest, I'll go ahead and watch some Love Boat clips, at least it was charming.

[juliagoolia72]

oh how I miss Steve Lawrence!

[miediev999]

This was mentioned in the letters section of the latest "Entertainment Weekly", so naturally I had to get on Youtube and find out just how terrible it is.

Wow...worse than I thought, actually.

[funwithphobias]

"You're letting your psychotic fascination with railroads lead you into a suicidal gamble with the future of this company!"

Write that on my epitaph

[RonWorld]

7:55 Steam? Is something wrong with the reactor?

[criticalsection]

Drinking on the job, sexual harassment, absolutely no charisma, awful dialog and anti-avocado.

[funwithphobias]

@criticalsection don't be so hard on yourself

[epiCnIGraRiNSeOUt]

the 70's were an awesome decade, ne?

[tgnyc]

3:10 "Put that back in the jug, momma. I'll be back for it later."

[funwithphobias]

@tgnyc BUT HE NEVER DID

[TheLastBrainLeft]

Oh my God, what were they thinking? This was insane, even for 1979.

[bradhig]

I have this on vhs. Only episode released on video

[azimuth361]

Any show with a 'Waka-chika waka chika" soundtrack is alright by me.

[Freenbean]

Of course Fred Silverman would later come up with the idea for Hill Street Blues, which in fact did become the next big thing.

[Freenbean]

I was in college and not watching much TV when this came on. I do remember this being very heavily promoted as NBC's comeback. I remember people calling it the Love Boat on rails. I think that was the first big problem: that it came off as an attempt to copy ABC's successes instead of coming up with the next big thing.

[Freenbean]

Robert Alda as the wisecracking doctor and the first shot has him pouring drinks....I wonder where they got that idea from

[dgwaters]

WOW! I can't believe it!  TV's legendary "Supertrain". For years I've read about this series in TV books but I never thought I'd ever see it!

[sqTake2]

I would have totally watched this show! but in 1978 we weren't allowed to watch TV on weeknights. The train is totally cool and this pilot episode is quite entertaining -- Don Stroud is one of my heroes, he's such a great movie jerk -- and the ending with them hanging onto the outside of the train at 200mph is wild!

[Modeltrainguy]

BRAVO! Thank YOU for posting!

5 Hornblasts, Indeed! =D

[mrksvideos]

OK, here is my 2¢ worth.

I was 8 years old staying up past my 7:30pm bedtime, sitting on the floor in my room in front of my 22 inch black and white K-Mart television watching a scratchy picture from KGW in Portland, yes I do remember seeing Supertrain. I was already hooked on trains at the time, so this was a real cool thing to see and hope for a long running show.

I remember Supertrain running back to back with BJ and the Bear.

[mrksvideos]

I even took my really cool JC Penny cassette tape recorder out and recorded the audio from both shows and still have it around somewhere. On a side note, the recording of the version of the theme I have has not surfaced on the net anywhere, I will post it to my channel when I dig up the tape.

Off and on throughout the 80's and 90's I feared that Supertrain (and other train related shows like Disaster on the Coastliner and Runaway!) faded into oblivion...until this thing called

[mrksvideos]

*EDIT* After research, found the theme I had, aparently it is from episode 4, "Hail To The Chief"...I even have the teaser from the opening too!

[mrksvideos]

'the internet' came about where I found some sporadic postings about these shows. At last I found that all was not lost as there were some VHS tapes out there of the Supertrain pilot show (which I now own) and DOTC.

It is a shame that in this digital revolution, that people may not be recording one-off shows and archiving them on bookshelves like we folks from the 80's did to give birth to them some 20+ years later. I fear that with the invent of DVR's and lack of DV tape recorders for the

[mrksvideos]

mass market, 20 years from now the shows we see (live or recorded) may become digital dust and never be seen again. Hopefully I am wrong an others are putting to DVD or HD shows to be rediscovered in the future.

Anyway, thanks for posting this and hopefully our wishes will be answered by NBC for a DVD release of some if not all the shows.

[JMFabianoRPL]

Fact: the theme tune was later remixed to become the theme to the game show Chain Reaction.

[weatherman2007]

I was only 2 years old when this came out. At least I can watch it on the 'net.

[alcoafan]

Keenan Wynn as the head railroad guy!

And he's accused of gambling with the future of the company. An interesting parallel to what was actually going on NBC. I'm sure someone said these exact words to Fred Silverman at one point.

[Gnillob802]

The characters were too close to the characters on Love Boat (with the same guest cast) but more importantly I wonder if anyone remembers what TV shows this was up against between February 1979 and July 1979 (Supertrain was on Wednesday night, 8 EST then switched tracks to Saturday 10pm EST). ABC and CBS had a bunch of hits at the time and NBC couldn't drag viewers away (except for Little House on the Prairie).

[microbusss]

think NBC wants to put all episodes onto DVD thats just a rumor tho

[theSuperMetroid]

@microbusss I actually heard that NBC destroyed all their copies of this show and vowed to never let them air again. Not sure if that's true tho.

[DerKosmonaut1972]

Second part to my running commentary. $450 bucks one way from NY to LA on a luxury train with a private compartment no less! And buddy is pissed off about it! Hell, you can't even get a seat in the baggage car on Amtrak the same route for that amount of money. Funny! The show girls are hot! Damn! What a time! Hot girls, lose and open sexuality and no fear of HIV. Of course in today's PC, there would be howls of sexism. Looking forward to seeing the rest.

[DerKosmonaut1972]

This is the first of many running commentaries as I watch the video. The music is so awful in the extreme that it's brilliant. It's vintage 1970's Hollywood disco music. Regardless, it's distinctly and authenticaly 1970s. What has surived Disco today is not so bad despite how it remains fashionable to bash disco these days though there is much less fascist hatred of disco music than in 1980 when disco records were burnt and blow up. Still, the music to this justifies anti-disco sentiment.

[jdobbs2001]

holy crap that train looks fun they should come out with one.

[piinus]

I'm thinking theyshould do a remake but with good writers.

[dullumullu]

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!!!

You have no idea how cool this is!

[imstillstuckinthe80s]

Glad you like it. FYI all 9 episodes are now up, so enjoy.

[dandiacal]

I love this but it is totally 70s! My theory is that it was SOOO 70s that it was too 70s for people in the late 70s who were looking more towards the 80s.

[piinus]

Holy shamoagy!!! I was a pre-teen when i saw this back in the 70s. The last time i remember that it was going ridiculously fast. Daaaaamn, only 9 episode? Was it that bad? That heavens you found it. Now, can I ask you a question? Have you every heard The Big Bus? Thats also back in the 70s. and thats hard to find. Do you have that copy of the movie as well?

[imstillstuckinthe80s]

I have heard of "The Big Bus". It was a spoof of disaster movies. I don't have it but it is available on DVD. (At least it was).

[bisnagaboy]

NBC should bring it back and cancel KNIGHT RIDER

[AlbieGray]

Supertrain should have been given a better chance. It didn't deserve to be panned as bad as it did. It was an excellent idea; a good one that should have been given a better chance.

[HRHRobbie]

I remember this show when I was a kid. I thought it was kind of neat even though it was such a rip of Love Boat. Looking back it was a super train wreck. LOL. Thanks for posting. It was fun to watch!

[oceanliner5]

very very good!! i can not wait for the rest!

Thanks for putting them on you tube!

[phillyscooter]

I think it was good if you were 9-10 years old...

[imstillstuckinthe80s]

Funny you should say that. I WAS 10 yrs old when this aired.

[nickelindimer]

I was 6-7 when it aired... And big into trains at the time (What boy that age wouldn't?).

[robfergusonjr]

@phillyscooter Yes, I was 10 when I watched this and loved it.

[robfergusonjr]

4:25 hubba hubba! Where are the beauties that look like them today .... I wished I was in my 20s in the 70s....