Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Superman Related Adventures of Superman Show (Spoilers)

I finally got this from Netflix today At first I thought the show on Netflix had been cursed (yes, I'm using that word on purpose). It was available, then not available, and then available but never in stock. Finally, after a year(s) of trying to get it, I called and complained that they needed to buy more copies of it (only way to get what you want from Netflix). I got my first disc last Friday and it was CRACKED! The curse is broken (I just jinxed myself, didn't I?)

Anyway, I'd love to discuss the show with anyone else who has made it past the curse to actually see it.

Hi Virginia,

I saw the entire series, compliments of Netflix, perhaps a year ago. I, too, enjoyed it.

The first season was designed to appeal to the entire family, but some of the shows are, IMHO, a bit too intense for very young children. (E2 being one example.) As the series wore on, the target audience seemed to switch to children; the show was still enjoyable, but it was more comic-booky (to coin a word).

The episodes often ended with Clark breaking the fourth wall by winking at the camera while saying something that the audience, but not the other characters, would fully understand.

I'd say that George Reeves' Clark Kent ties for second place with that of Bud Collyer (who voice him on radio). (Dean, of course, gets first place. I detested Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent, although his Superman is my favourite. He brought an alienness to the character that no other actor did. Part of it, I am sure, was the writing, but part was the acting.)

Anyway, you have some fun TV viewing ahead. Enjoy.

Joy,
Lynn

I have the whole series on DVD. I think it's probably closer to "Lois and Clark" than any other version of Superman out there, so that might be why I like it so much.

I thought she did a great job as Lois, too. There are a couple of good scenes of her coming up, but I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil it for you.

There are quite a few episodes where Jimmy gets a lot of screentime. He was quite popular when the show was airing. Fortunately, though, there are plenty of episodes where Lois gets more screentime than him.

He was definitely a really good Clark Kent/Superman. His portrayal was probably closer to Dean Cain's portrayal than anybody else that played Superman.

Tonight we watched episodes 3 & 4. My daughter tried to convince her friend to stay and watch, telling her how much she liked it. Going on about the "Haunted Lighthouse". The friend said, "If I don't ever watch superhero stuff, why would I want to watch *that*." Come on, she wouldn't even try it! So, I sent the friend home. (Need to introduce daughter to new friends with better taste. I mean, come on, the girl *loves* Justin Beiber at 7! :rolleyes: )

My kids liked the first one "The Case of the Talking Dummy" because my almost 5 year old said, "I figured it out". It was a bit simple plotwise.

Nice introduction to Henderson, although he was protrayed a bit of a doofus to make Clark seem smarter by having all the answers. I love how Lois knows almost as much as Clark does without having any super powers at all. My daughter was like "*That's* an armored truck?" She's still not realizing HOW long ago these shows were made.

E4 "The Mystery of the Broken Statues" kept me on the edge of my seat through-out! Fantastic. Lois picks up a story out of thin air and comes up with all the answers just in time to get kidnapped. Missed her trademarked "Help Superman" but then again, she was gagged. (Those robbers were smart cookies).

My kids laughed at the shop owner who didn't mind having his statues smashed. "I hated those things and would have smashed them myself, but this way I get paid. Come back and smash everything in my store..." he said to the bad guys. " - as long as you pay for them."

Henderson was back and better here. More by the book. "But it doesn't matter who they are. I can't do anything because they haven't broken any laws!" So true! Even Clark and Lois knew something was up but didn't know *what*.

The mystery was an interesting one, but I figure that was a poor way to transport a coded message. It left a lot up to fate. What if some kid had bought one of those statues earlier in the day, to paint, and the bad guys would never have known?

Two more episodes on this disc. Even my husband was begging to watch more tonight, but I figure if I spread them out (like postings of a story), it has them coming back for more.

Last night we watched the last two episodes on the disc, E5 "Monkey Mystery" and E6 "Night of Terror".

The "Monkey Mystery" had lots of intrigue and cold war stuff that I liked. Lois once again used her brains to out-think Clark, but ended up getting a nasty knock in the head because of it. Jimmy showed a lot of guts in defending the monkey, I doubt either of our Jimmys would have shown.

CK's lackadaisical view of the monkey with the Superman suit was charming. I think our Clark would have been more insulted. We never really saw what he thought about other people making fun of Superman outside of the Invisible Man (ILTY) episode.

I didn't recognize Lois in "Night of Terror" episode. Was the character still played by Phyllis Coates, because she didn't look like she had in the previous episodes.

This one is a definite sit on the edge of your seat thriller with Lois' death imminent at any second by thugs and Clark not knowing she was in danger. When he did finally get the message, it was garbled because it was third hand. He had seek out from the clues to discover where Lois (and then Jimmy) disappeared off to. I loved that the bad guys confused Jimmy with "Baby Face Stevens" and passed him a gun.

The Clark in this episode was most reminiscent to Dean Cain's Clark version with his obvious worry about trying to trace down Lois' whereabouts.

In this episode we see Clark finally out of the Storage closet and making his exits and entrances through his office window (no such luck in LnC). We also learn why Lois never goes on vacation.

Is Clark Kent in love with Lois in this show or just friends? If yes, does it develop over time, because I haven't seen any romantic inclination on CK's part yet.

There are some subtle hints that he loves her, but a romantic relationship never actually develops.

Well, that makes sense. It was the 1950s after all. Office romances didn't start showing up on tv until the 1960s.

S1.E7 - "The Birthday Letter"

In this episode a little girl who is forced to stay at home due to a "crippled" leg, and a mother who is a work all day, writes the Daily Planet asking Superman to take her to the fair for her birthday. Lois writes a story about the letter including both the girl's name and address in the story. The girl receives a wrong number call, and some criminals kidnap her to get the message from her. The kidnappers get her address from the DP article, and one of them even dress up as Superman to get to the little girl, since they know about her birthday wish.

*My, have times changed.*

First of all, if the Daily Planet received a letter like that now, Lois would be more likely to write about the neglected child left at home to fend for herself.

Secondly, printing of the unchaperoned child's address in the paper! Perry White is lucky that the girl's mother didn't sue when her daughter got kidnapped.

It was bad enough that the mother blamed Superman when he showed up of kidnapping her daughter, because the daughter left a note, saying that 'Superman had taken her to the fair'. She didn't even give him the benefit of a doubt, but probably that was because he flew in (uninvited) into her living room. I can't imagine a superhero taking a child off to a fair without the permission of the child's parents nowadays.

The man who dressed up as Superman wasn't even wearing a blue suit (note exactly noticable in the B&W show, but please, even I could tell), but in grey sweats with painted on "S" and no red shorts. Also, fake Superman's cape looked more like a curtain than a cape. For a little girl, who read Superman comics, she should have known something was up before he walked her up the fire escape to the kidnappers hideout.

The secondary plot was interesting with the double crossed counterfitters trying to get their French Franc plates back, and the mobster's message going to the wrong number.

This episode seemed more like (seeing it through modern day's prisim) as a commentary on power of the press and the need not to print sensative information for anyone, including the criminals, could read.

The show ends with the shot of Superman flying the little girl to the fair. This is the shot most often shown when talking about this show. The little girl is beaming with excitement and Superman even has a smile on his usually serious face.

My kids decided that after seeing that shot that the fair needed a "Superman ride" in which they installed metal seats on the back of a giant fake Superman who would then fly them around the city, because they said, that looked like fun. (The girl, of course, was being carried in Superman's arms.)

OK, I'll bite. Why not?

I agree. What a difference fifty or sixty years has made!

Another movie with this same theme: The classic, "The Day The Earth Stood Still" . In there, Michael Rennie, the alien Klaatu, disguises himself as a human. He takes rooms at a boarding house. One of the tenants is a single mother (WWII widow) with a young son.

The mother and her boyfriend go on a day trip, and Klaatu volunteers to babysit the kid. No problem! They've known this guy for less than 24 hours, but he wears a nice suit and tie, so he must be OK. It's all right for your precious son to go off alone with this guy who could be a space alien, for all you know. /heh heh/

However, the film is redeemed (in my eyes at least) by the classic line: "Klaatu barada nikto!"

Because when Lois goes on vacation she ends up at a little hotel where she finds (literally) the innkeeper has been murdered by mobsters. She and the innkeeper's wife are held hostage and almost put to death. With excitement like that on vacation, why leave safety and tranquility of Metropolis?

I liked the series but it never really was one of
my favorites. It had it's moments though. It has been years since i watched it though. Re the classic movie The Day the Earth Stood Still that was mentioned, if anyone
hasn't seen the original classic i highly recommend
it. It is my favorite movie of all time. I've lost track how many times i have seen it. On the other
hand, the recent remake of the movie is absolutely
awful. I really hate what they did with the remake.
Often Hollywood doesn't seem to get what makes
a classic so good and the remakes suffer for it. Sigh.

S1.E8 - "The Mind Machine"

We've got a scientist who built a machine who will push thoughts into a person's head (from up to 25 miles away) in hopes of using it to help cure people of their fears via hypnosis. The scientist and his machine get kidnapped by a group of gangsters bent on using the machine against people at a congressional hearing against him and his gambling racket. The machine works and the gangster tells the witnesses what to say on the stand. Unfortunately, then the witnesses go crazy and die as their brains can't handle the stress of someone taking away their control (or something of the sort). Pressure gets added after three witnesses die, and next up is Lois Lane. The congressman, of course, refuses to delay the hearings (due to taxpayer cost and speed of justice, yada, yada). So, it's up to Clark Kent and Superman to find the scientist before Lois's brain gets turned to mush.

Plot wise this is your standard 'good science' in the hands of the bad guy plot. Although, I felt the 25 mile distance was a bit much. If you're hypnotizing someone to convince them to stop smoking, or their fear of heights, why do you need to be 25 miles away? Classic! There can never be too much of that.

Clark having to track the bad guy using radar in an airplane was kind of fun. How does he stop the bad guys, once he's found them, without revealing he's Superman to the man flying the plane? (He puts the plane on autopilot and knocks out the pilot, of course. Then the plane run out of fuel and Superman has another rescue on his hands. )

Then at the end Clark comes into Perry's office, and we get the "Where were you, Kent?" conversation. Perry and Lois wouldn't even let the poor man get a word in edgewise. I felt sorry for the guy.

"I was trying to help Lois..." Clark tried to explain.

"Why would I need *your* help, Clark? When I've got Superman?" retorts Lois.

Lots of fun!

"The Day the Earth of Still" is a terrific movie. The remake was awful! Dreadfully awful. Yes, times have certainly changed from back in the day. (60 years ago) Times have even changed back from 35+ years ago when I used to run to my friend's house a block or two away when I was under 5. I couldn't even think of allowing my children that kind of freedom. Sigh.

S1.E9 - "Rescue"

In this episode, Lois disregards safety protocols to try and rescue a trapped miner, causes a secondary (and worse) cave-in and gets herself trapped as well.

Clark is DC and misses by seconds each time it is announced in the ticker-tape, the afternoon edition, and even on the radio that Lois is trapped in the mine. He arrives to pick her up and discovers that a gas leak has compounded the problem. Superman rescues Lois and the miner moments after they pass out, holding up the mine after another explosion causes another cave-in.

Superman disappears and Clark returns (imagine that!) and Lois announces, "Guess what, Clark? I finally got Superman to take me out." <<oh, the pain of that joke.>>

Edge of our seat excitement. My daughter was worried that Lois and the miner were truly going to die.

Just like Lois to go into a mine after the safety inspector told her not to because they would then have more people to rescue. Gee, Lois, do you think that's why they told you not to go in the mine? Can Lois be so thick-headed as to think that she knows better than the rescue team and the mine inspector? Of course, them telling her "no" is like issuing a challenge to do it herself.

Clark doesn't seem very "super" observant. He misses the afternoon edition by mere seconds (and doesn't notice the next edition arriving as he drives by). He has car trouble as he driving to go pick up Lois and completely ignores the radio report about the cave in while fixing the car (and revving the engine). Where's super hearing when you need it?!

Good suspense. Very nerve wracking how Clark keeps missing the news. Good thing he's in the news business to keep on top of current events where Superman might be needed. Nice irony.

S1.E10 - "The Secret of Superman"

In this episode Jimmy's mom calls and wakes Clark up from a sound sleep at 1am because Jimmy hasn't come home yet, even though he called at 5pm and said he was on his way. Clark calls the paper, Jimmy answers but someone makes him hang up the phone. Superman rushes off to the Planet!

Meanwhile, at the paper, someone has broken into Perry's office and his private Superman files. They have somehow hypnotized Jimmy. The man takes the file and disappears right before Superman arrives (and changes back into Clark) and shakes Jimmy out of his trance. Jimmy remembers nothing. Clark notices the missing file.

Next the mystery man, goes to the news club where Perry has a room ( Anyone want to explain that one to me! Perry doesn't live at home but lives at the news club?) Mystery man disguises himself as a waiter and drugs Perry's coffee, putting him into a trance. Then he also asks him who Superman is. Perry doesn't know. Superman arrives and the mystery man sneaks out the window. After a little shaking Perry comes to.

Henderson is called in to investigate. Clark suspects that someone is trying to figure out Superman's secret identity and guesses that the mystery man suspects someone on the paper is Superman. (Why he thinks that, who knows?) Clark suggests that it might be Perry and they all laugh.

Perry says something to the fact: "What? Me in that outfit?! Never!"

A call from the lab informs them that Perry was drugged with a truth serum stronger than any anyone has ever seen before. Henderson guesses from notes taken on the Superman file left in Perry's room that the mystery man will come after Clark next, looking for Superman.

Under his breath, Clark mutters, "Six of one, half dozen of the other."

The only weak parts of this episode is that the Doctor's motivation is never revealed, and that one can easily be shaken out of a drugged trance. That seems a bit implausible.

Okay, I've watch 10 episodes now and I have some questions and comments.

Lois mentions in E9 that she finally got Superman to take her out, but she's never mentioned liking him before. It kind of came out of nowhere. Definiately a joke for the older generation watching.

The sly humor is starting to creep in and I love it! Can't wait for some 4th wall winks.

Does this Clark ever have to deal with Kryponite? I was worried about the mine in E9 that Clark might come to rescue the miner only to have Kryptonite mean that Lois would need to rescue him (that would have been good too). But then pig-headed Lois arrives and barges her way to rescue the miner over all the experts. Oh, Lois!

What's with Perry staying (living?) at the Newsclub? I thought the news club was just that (like the one shown during The Rival). I guess when you're Perry White you live and breathe the news business and only go home on the weekends. No Alice then I take it.

This sounds interesting enough that I've checked prices in the UK, got season 1 pretty cheaply 2nd hand on Amazon. I'll comment more when I've seen a few episodes.

Yeah! Another person on this fun ride with me! I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

The annoying thing is that I think they showed some episodes in the UK when I was a kid, but I can't remember anything about them.