TV's First Live-Action Video Game Show Looked Nothing Like Fallout And The Last Of Us

We are now in the golden age of video game adaptations, with shows like Fallout and The Last of Us pleasing not only fans of the source material but general audiences. With God of War also set to get the TV treatment, it doesn't look like this trend of high-budget adaptations will stop anytime soon. However, the first live-action video game adaptation for TV had a very different look and style.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Included Live-Action Segments

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Was Actually About Plumbing

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was mostly animated, but it had some live-action segments in each episode. These starred WWF wrestler "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario, and featured different special guests, who would either play themselves or a Super Mario character. The series introduced its own lore, and funnily enough, it is still one of the best cartoons based on Nintendo characters.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episodes usually began with Mario and Luigi working as plumbers, before the brothers would warp into the Mushroom Kingdom, which would be familiar to fans of the Super Mario games. This hilarious detail set the show apart from other TV shows based on video games and was a creative choice that was far ahead of its time.

It Took Decades For Live-Action Video Game Adaptations To Be Taken Seriously

Video Game Adaptations Have Come A Long Way Since The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The late 1990s and early 2000s were a major breakthrough for live-action video game adaptations, with the Lara Croft movie arguably being the most successful. That said, these were not always taken seriously. The success of Game of Thrones revealed the potential for epic high-budget TV shows based on IPs, launching a new era of television where series like Fallout could exist.

Although we've seen some incredible live-action video game shows these last couple of years, animation continues to be a great medium for video game adaptations. Super Mario Bros recently got a billion-dollar animated movie, and shows such as Arcane, Castlevania, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners have all been successful.