SILVER SURFER is a comic book superhero created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee of Marvel Comics in the Sixties. Being in many ways uniquely high-brow in its vintage execution, lemme overly simplify the storyline: Basically, there's this guy named Norrin Radd who lives on a planet called Zenn-La that's kind of like Tibet. Beings from around the universe go there to study its ancient teachings of peace and harmony. Our hero is destined to become the Dalai Lama, if you will, in love with a gal named Shalla Bal. But one day this creature called Galactus arrives. He's like a cosmic Great White Shark who exists solely by consuming the life-energy from planets. He's also about the size of Europe!

In order to save Zenn-La, and vowing secretly to lead only to planets uninhabited by sentient life, our hero offers Galactus his services. But when Galactus agrees and transforms Norrin Rad into the Silver Surfer, he erases his memory (and vow) and sets him out unwittingly to locate worlds--both populated and otherwise--on which to feed.

Despite his noble efforts to somehow atone for his crimes, the Surfer continues on, determined in his quest to once again gaze into the eyes of his true love, Shalla Bal, whose whereabouts remain a mystery--as does the location of his home world of Zenn La.

The TV series premiered on Fox in early 1998, becoming among the highest rated Saturday morning animated series ever. Marvel Comics stalled production, curtailing its second-season commitment. What follows is the approach taken to scripting episodes in which Story Editor Larry Brody, a longtime live-action drama writer/producer, and myself attempted to infuse a sense of live-action technique to daytime animation.

NOTE: The following links you to the appropriate script.

FIRST DRAFT: At this point in the scripting of a first-season show no animation or actor voice-over exists. Essentially, we're writing blindly and probing for the sophistication of storytelling that is Larry Brody's vision. The premise and plot points to address are: 1) The Surfer must save Galactus, albeit reluctantly, from dying of a mysterious cancer; 2) Setup the potential for a relationship between Galactus' new herald, Nova, and the Surfer in a follow-up episode; and 3) The Surfer must confront the profound shame he feels for his role in the destruction of countless civilizations while acquiring enough insight into Galactus' true being to actually convince him to forgive Galactus. This is the first stab at it--the bad with the good in all its bitter black & white...

THIRD DRAFT: Notes arrive and Eternity and Infinity are out. No doubt the relationship between the twin siblings is way too incestuous. Tintillating for adults, but we're writing for a younger audience, and there are rules... Simplify and clarify is the order of the day.

REVISED FINAL DRAFT: Tada -- Neat and tidy and ready for broadcast! (Or at least some interpretation of it.)

Now, on to the follow-up episode...

FIRST DRAFT: Over-written and densily packed with about as much stuff as I can squeeze in, to cull from later, this picks up where "Antibody" left off. The initial premise and plot points of this episode are as follows: 1) Nova locates a planet she believes to be Zenn-La, and escorts the Surfer to it; 2) The planet is not Zenn-La at all, but is the secret breeding world of the nefarious Skrull, a race of transmorphacizing reptillian creatures hell-bent on taking over the universe; and 3) Amid a Machiavellian plot of political intrigue, Nova begins to fall in love with the Surfer.