Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Superman in other venues

Do you enjoy non-L&C versions of Superman? If so, did you first start enjoying Superman via L&C or via something else?

Please elaborate as you see fit. For example, do you have a particular fondness for a certain comic book era? Which other TV shows in particular do you like?

I have a particular fondness for the Fleischer era cartoons. They were often a bit non-pc when it comes to japanese and germans but I adored Lois not standing there and taking any guff. She would get in there and do what would need to be done as soon as she could rather than letting things take their course.

I started with Superman early. Between the Fleischer cartoons (which we had on a VHS tape) and a series of the comics from the 80s and early 90s that my great uncle (who worked at a printing facility before it was closed and outsourced) gave my grandparents for us to enjoy I pretty much grew up with Superman around. I enjoyed them, don't get me wrong but they other than the Fleischer cartoons Superman didn't take on the level of devotion that it is today until I started trying to get into the fandom with lead-up to Superman Returns. When it was announced that Lois had a son and was married to someone else I dropped that version (SR only) like the plague (didn't even see it in theaters, that's how upset about it I was) and turned to the Reeve movies (which Netflix had online) and "Lois and Clark" (the first three seasons) on thewb.com. When I heard about them relaunching ("oh don't call it a reboot"... except it is) I had hoped that we would see the version of Lois I had remembered from the Bronze and Modern ages of Comics reinterpreted for a new generation and (hopefully) hints towards a new triangle. My hopes of course were dashed with them setting Lois up with someone else at the beginning of Superman #1 but tried to perservere. It didn't happen. Instead, I've been taking the money that would have gone to purchasing new comics and driving it into purchasing Earth-2 Lois and Clark from the late 70s and 80s, Bronze Age Lois stories and "Modern" Age stories (basically the ones that were around during "Lois and Clark."

Boy, was that a long winded answer. Lois and Clark was essential to part of my dating psyche (I think my dating preferences being "only men that dance" back them came from the idea of a partner and colleague being a better boyfriend than someone who was not) but the idea of Lois and Clark being involved was a lot wider than you would expect.

I was thinking about doing a poll similar to this asking people who their favorite Superman, Lois Lane, Perry, Jimmy, etc. was. Ahhh, but for another time when I have time to prep it.

I was first introduced to Superman on the Superfriends program (where, of course, I fell head over heel in love with Aquaman - Awwww, my misspent youth.) Then in the late 70s Christopher Reeves was THE Superman. I thought CR's interpreation of Clark was a bit comically over-the-top, but his Superman was terrific. I loved S & S-II (with the whole exception to the mind-wipe kiss and General Zod, who I hated), but I figured that the franchise would fix the kiss-problem in S3. Boy, was I disappointed.

The whole silly storyline with Richard Pryor in Superman 3 seemed more about the co-starring characters instead about our hero and the woman he loved. (I believe Lois was in Hawaii for most of that movie). I actually didn't mind the Lana subplot and thought it showed his Clark-side as a more rounded character than S & S-II did. The one problem I had with it was that it made Clark seem fickle in his "true" love with Lois, and once he bed her and erased her memory about said loving, he was ready to move on to greener pastures. A true player's pipedream, and one thing Superman should NEVER be is a Player!

I *think* I've seen Superman 4, but I can't imagine paying for a ticket after being so disappointed in S3. I may have caught it on video or TV, but a thousand-years ago when it first came out. I can guarauntee you that I haven't seen it twice, since I can't even recall it once.

Superman Returns was a huge disappointment. Once again they went back to the formula that Clark was an idiot fool and Superman was ultra suave. Plus, I hated the idea of Clark as a deadbeat dad. I couldn't see him leaving Lois and Earth for 5 years and going to see if Krytpon was still around. :rolleyes: It seemed like a lame excuse to me (especially since they never showed us the decision making process when he decided to go). I didn't like that Lois had moved on and hated Clark. What I especially HATED about the movie was that they hired mere kids to play 30+ year old characters. From moment one, I was like, THAT Lois has a 5 year old kid? What, did she have him in high school? It made it totally unbelieveable for me. BAD CASTING.

I fell in LOVE with Clark Kent character on Lois & Clark, and that's what brought me to loving the rest of canon. The protrayal of Clark as a guy with these extra powers who's just trying to live his life the best way he can, while dealing with super villains and trying to make the woman of his dreams notice his real self, THAT was resonated with me. I still love that aspect of the Lois & Clark. Yes! Yes! Yes! I love those old cartoons. I bought them recently <cough, cough> for my son <cough> and loved them. Lois is spunky and actually rolls her eyes when Superman says "stay here" and then goes off to do what needs to be done. I love that a woman from the 30s and 40s is shown standing up to men without being a feme fatal or screaming her heart out to be rescued. She is definately a role-model for women everywhere! And that Clark loves her, shows that a strong woman is really what the good men want, right?

I'd imagine that the big one in "something other than Lois and Clark" is the Christopher Reeve movies. I've ticked comics, movies, and other TV (most notably the more recent animated series), and was well into Superman before I encountered L&C.

L&C was my "gateway drug" into the greater Superman-verse, and it is still my favourite take on the characters.

I enjoyed the first two Christopher Reeve movies when I saw them in the theatre, but I hadn't liked them enough to seek out other versions of the characters. Although I did enjoy rewatching the movies as an adult, I wasn't as fond of them as I had been when I first saw them -- I still think Reeve's version of Superman is the best I have seen, but his Clark Kent is painful to watch. (I definitely like Dean Cain's version of Clark the most.) I also detested the kiss-of-forgetfulness, and the "Can You Read my Mind" scene which I had thought so romantic when I first saw it as a teenager just seemed plain cheesy when I rewatched it as an adult.

It was Lois & Clark that gave me enough of an appreciation of the characters to make me seek them out in other media. I've enjoyed several versions of Superman: the Fleischer cartoons, the Kirk Alyn serials, the radio program, the George Reeves TV show, and some of the more modern cartoons.

I actually did manage to sit through the full "It's a Bird..." musical. It was mildly amusing in a cringe-worthy way, although it did take 'amateur' to a whole new depth; I've seen more polished high school productions. (I wouldn't particularly recommend the musical. I only included it in the survey for the sake of thoroughness.)

I've also started reading comic books. I do not like the "New 52" version. I enjoy Golden Age stories as period pieces and Silver Age comics for their sheer silliness. I like the Bronze Age, but my favourite era is the Modern (pre-New-52) Age. I appreciate the Modern Age's continuity and character development.

Lois, Clark, and company have given me many hours of pleasure in all of their various incarnations.

Joy,
Lynn

I tried to watch the made-for-tv version of the musical but it was too painful for me and got turned off (unheard of for me as I'm very much a musical fan and can usually deal with cheesy stuff but the made-for TV musical took the cake.) I did hear of it being revived in Houston and the clips and snippets of that production of it was by far and away MUCH better than the Tv movie version (shivers) and the reviews I saw of it reflected that.

<<cringes>>

Um, okay. This is probably going to give away my age A LOT...

I, of course, love all things Superman. (Except for new reboot Superman comics I have not yet committed to that.) But I never collected comics, despite having read many, so I didn't check that box. I agree with what everyone's said about CR's Superman being excellent, but his Clark being weak. I also have some of the radio shows that I really love to listen to (it's just so much fun), and for the most part, the other tv is 'Superman: The Animated Series.' Here's where I date myself: I am technically able to say that I enjoyed LnC along with other Superman stuff because, well, I was *technically* only a baby when LnC started. My parents watched and loved the show and I grew to love it, along with all the other Superman movies, the animated series, etc. So they were all kind of introduced to me at the same time. Of course, along with the Superman obsession, I also learned to love Batman and Star Wars (talk about obsession-- I was pretty much nursed with SW) and of course all things Disney, musical or Shakespeare. I know. Weird one, here. :p But yeah. I didn't think twice about checking the box, but then I realized after seeing the results/reading the responses that most people weren't on the same page with me on that... Oh well. I guess that just made me a cool kid.

Um, you do realize I'm probably not too much older than you (I was maybe 11 when it started.) The only reason I know about the different ages has a bit to do with both my great-uncle and my dad as well as collecting as many of the older ones at good prices as I can (I like "period" pieces and while the Lois elements can sometimes leave things to be desired I look for little nuggets of the Lois I know and love.)

Ha! So I'm not the only baby on here (though you're still about a decade older than me...)

I'm like you, Virginia. My first introduction to Superman was the Super friends cartoons. I loved super heroes. I also saw some of the Adventures of Superman with George Reeves but didn't care for them. At that time, I was more impressed with Adam West's Batman.

When Christopher Reeves' Superman movies came out, I was very excited about them. I especially liked Superman II. The idea that he was acting on his feelings for Lois! Wow! Even though they effectively erased it, it just hadn't been done.

(I agree with you, Virginia, the quality of those movies went down fast.)

I originally caught Lois & Clark in reruns in the late 90s on TNT but never viewed it consistently. I never seemed to catch the revelation episode. By far, Lois & Clark is my absolute favorite version of these characters.


Joan

Like a lot of people have said, my first exposure was the Super Friends on Saturday morning. That's not when I fell in love with Superman, though. On the show he was a cipher to me. My clearest memories are of Wonder Woman and the Wonder Twins.

It wasn't until the Superman movie that I started liking Superman. Even then, though, I was delighted by Lois. Especially when Superman II came out and she friggin' threw herself in the Niagara River to get Clark to confess his true identity. That, and the way she pursued a story onto the bottom of the elevator on the Eiffel Tower (distracting herself by spelling "Pulitzer") cemented her in my mind as the epitome of ambition and courage.

And then, you know, I was a teenager and, while I might catch one of the Superman movies on cable, I didn't give the characters much thought. At least not until I was in my early twenties, recently married, unexpectedly pregnant, and living far from family (I was adrift and scared to death, is what I'm saying) and saw something about the new Superman show. For nostalgia's sake, I decided to give it a shot.

OMG, was I hooked! If I'm ever lucky enough to actually meet Deborah Joy Levine, I may just swoon at her feet. Her version of the characters made them real to me. They weren't cartoons, they were real people. It was a revelation to see Clark be the real person and Superman the disguise. Even better, Clark wasn't perfect. He had flaws and that made him all the more attractive. Perfect is boring. I was prepared to loathe Dean in the role because he didn't have blue eyes, but he won me over. He was charming and yet he found lots of ways to gently needle Lois. I liked that a lot better than the "Golly gee" Clark in the movies.

Teri Hatcher was perfect as Lois. Tough-as-nails on the outside. Take-no-prisoners when it came to a story. But then she could go home and get sappy over a soap opera. I loved that she had that softer side.

After the first couple of seasons it was like the gave both of them lobotomies and they were much too saccharine and the show started to lose me. I can find moments worth watching in the later episodes, but not as many as those first two seasons.

I watched an episode of Smallville and was disenchanted. Superman Returns had great special effects, but it didn't have the heart and soul that LnC has for me. I'd much rather ignore the cheesy effects in the show and concentrate on the relationship between Clark and Lois. It spoke to me then and it still speaks to me now.

The Superman movies were definitely what got me interested first... but more in an abstract way. I knew who Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor were, but that was about it.

I remember watching Lois & Clark in the 90's, but it wasn't until I was far from home, and honestly a little lonely, that the show really got me. The characters captivated me and lived on in my imagination, which is why I turned to fanfic.

Sue- a note on Smallville. The Lana drama in Smallville is ridiculous, and definitely a huge turn off. It took me a while to come around to the show, but there is definitely good Clark/Lois to stick around for! Erica Durance especially understands Lois inside and out, despite the weird character quirks they've given her over the seasons which "our" Lois would never do (she sleeps with her editor, likes Whitesnake and monster truck rallies ) Jump to Season 8 of Smallville, and give it a try. There are also little nods to the Superman movies and LnC. PM me and I'll even give you (or anyone!) specific eps to watch.

Or, you can always read my Smallville fic!

My first exposure to Superman was the "Super Friends" cartoon. Since I liked the characters in the cartoon so much, I began to explore the other venues where the characters appeared. I got my mom to buy me the first Michael Keaton "Batman" movie and the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie so that I could explore the individual adventures of the characters, and soon after, I started taping the "Lois and Clark" reruns off of TNT.

I enjoyed the Reeve movie, but I really fell in love with "Lois and Clark" in a much bigger way. If it hadn't been for that show, I don't know if I'd be such a big fan of Superman today.

Soon after I made my way through all of the "Lois and Clark" episodes, "Smallville" premiered, and I started watching that, too. I liked the show throughout its entire run, but I started to really get into it during its last few seasons when Lois and Clark's romance was explored.

More recently, I've watched all of the Superman movies, the Kirk Alyn serials, "Adventures of Superman" with George Reeves, and the Fleischer cartoons. I also bought the complete Bruce Timm animated series on DVD, which I'm saving to watch this summer. What can I say? I'm hooked.

Wow, my very first post here on the boards. I'm a Superman fan all round. I first saw the Superman film and loved it. I have to admit that it wasn't an obsession until Lois and Clark came along though. This lead to my discovery of the comics which I read through much of the 90s (the best era for modern, exciting, romantic Superman and Lois/Clark in my opinion).

I've watched Smallville since it began and am just as obsessed as with LnC. In fact I do have to admit that it mas my biggest Superman obsession until my love of LnC was rekindled last year. I loved it so much that I began writing Smallville fanfic. I've now moved onto LnC fanfic but only got as far as writing down my long list of plot ideas.

I just thought I'd post a reply to the following, though, on the subect of Lois and Clark in Smallville.

The problem with Smallville is that it's one of the biggest 'shipper' shows. People have their own couple that they want to get together and 'Clana' (Clark and Lana) lovers use the fact that something happens to Lana as proof that Clark would have still been with her otherwise, and therefore she is his soulmate. I don't want to go into all the reasons that 'Clois' (Clark and Lois) lovers discount this as it involves much plot proof and would give away soooo many good things.

If you keep watching I'm sure you'll see that the Clark/Lois relationship is so much more mature than the Clark/Lana one. There's also all these quotes from Clark: "you are the love of my life", "you're the one, always will be", "I love Lois and I don't want a day to go by when I'm not with her". Does that sound like someone who's 'settling' after he couldn't be with his so-called soulmate? I don't think so.

Hi Katherine,

Welcome! You'll find this to be a very friendly place. Have fun indulging your love of L&C along with the rest of us.

Joy,
Lynn

Welcome to the LnC Boards, Katherine. Are you going to share some of your Smallville Fanfic here on our "Superman in other Canon" section (down at the bottom of the main page)?

Thank you for the reassurance. I'm still plugging away through S5, but I have to admit that Lana is still annoying me. I'm ready for Clark to move on with his life. I guess stubbornness is inherent in Clark Kent everywhere. I'm curious to see how he and Lois decide to move into journalism. I'm guessing it has to do with Cloe (who I must admit I like more now than in S1).

Thanks for the welcome. I was wondering about posting. Maybe I will. I have 2 medium length stories, 3 shorter stories and 6 one-shot/vignettes that could be suitable to share. They are definitely Smallville based, but some could easily be just a slight twist on LnC.

Season 5! Well, I wish you luck getting through to Season 8. Please, please keep going. There are a couple of good bits in Season 5, 6 and 7 for Lois and Clark in amongst the angst of Lana (bleargh), but it REALLY starts in Season 8.