In 1940 Will Eisner debuted his iconic newspaper strip The Spirit in newspapers across the country. During the course of its run, The Spirit helped create the language of sequential art and influenced generations of cartoonists and comic book artists. Despite the comic character’s influence in comic book circles an attempt at adapting his adventures into other media was never made…until 1986.

In 1987 a TV movie pilot featuring The Spirit aired on television. Starring Sam J. Jones (of Flash Gordon fame) and Nana Visitor (of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame) and written by renowned screenwriter Steven E. de Souza the pilot sank into the depths of Wildwood Cemetery in the ratings, becoming an footnote in the character’s long history.

This week Kristian, J, Reyna, Paul, and Corey all take in a screening of the forgotten Spirit television pilot and chat about the adventures of Will Eisner’s creation on the small screen. Did the TV pilot deserve to die the death it faced or should it have been given a second chance at resurrection like the titular Denny Colt did in the strip that inspired it? Find out on this week’s episode of Part-Time Fanboy!

Part-Time Fanboy. Full-Time Obsession on a Part-Time schedule.