TV Talk - Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Season 4

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Season 4… Where can I begin? I guess I can start off by apologizing for taking so long with this one. It took a while for me to get it. Then, I held off watching it for a while to the point where I just decided to watch and talk about it this month. I have to admit I was a little nervous since the show did take a nosedive in the third season. I thought it might get worse. Well, I can honestly say that… well, that would be spoiling, wouldn’t it?

The final season of the show was debuted during September of 1996. Its last episode aired during June of 1997. I actually do remember some episodes from this season but not all of them. This was when the show started to get moved around to different time slots. I do think my interest in the show had also went down by this time since I wasn’t looking for it during the next TV season. That’s kind of sad for that to happen. I felt the same way about the TV show, Heroes, when it finally went off. Hopefully, its revival, Heroes Reborn, can be good.

Anyway, there were no major cast changes this season. Everyone from the previous season is still here. The season starts off with a two-parter that wraps up the New Krypton business. Then, the two finally get married. DC Comics even had the two get married in the comics on the week this aired. Even though they’re officially hitched, the trouble never stops with time travel, false imprisonments, body-switching, accelerated aging, and PO’ed folk being a nuisance. We also don’t get many villains from the comics again. Lois and Clark also deal with the fact that they may want to have kids one day as well as other marital issues. 

PROS

Say what you want about the show. At least it had a better Mr. Mxyzptlk than Smallville did. I think even Miller and Gough knew they messed up there.

If you think I’ll be bashing this season, do you know me? I find good in even the worst crap. Thankfully, this season isn’t the worst crap I’ve ever seen. While it has its issues, there is good to be found here. It really has to do with the main cast. Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain still sold it as Lois and Clark. Their on-screen chemistry was still nice even when the stories weren’t. Cain’s Superman is fine, but since we’re at the end, he’s not my favorite on-screen Superman. He looked good in the suit though. A lot of the episodes revolved around their relationship and the different problems that could hurt it.

The rest of the main cast was fine. I thought Lane Smith and Justin Whalin were still fine as Perry White and Jimmy Olsen. They still don’t get a lot to do, but I do feel like they got a little more to do here… just a little. K Callen and Eddie Jones were still awesome as the Kents. Professor Klein also was back for a few episodes and he was still funny. We got a buttload of guest stars this season. Some of them were Drew Carey, Kathy Kinney, Delta Burke, John Spencer, Thomas Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future), Jasmine Guy, a really hot Kristanna Loken, Antonio Sabato Jr., Staci Keanan (Dana from Step by Step), and Dwight Shultz. The late Jack Larson (Jimmy from the 50’s Superman show) even had a small role this season.

While we didn’t get really many villains from the comics, we did get some decent villains at least. There was Lord Nor (not Zod for some reason) and his Kryptonian forces from the beginning of the season. Tempus came back for a few episodes and that’s usually a plus. While we didn’t get Lex Luthor back, we did get another son of Lex Luthor and he was actually threatening. We even got another Toyman (a more threatening one) and a variation of the Shadow Thief (he actually had no name in the episode). We even had Mr. Mxyzptlk this season and I’m not attempting to spell it right. He was played by Howie Mandel which was a bit weird. At least the episode was pretty good.

CONS

Come, Superman! Let us grapple and… grapple. I have no other moves to use against you!

Then we get to this section. While I had good things to say, I also have some negative things to say. While there were some villains that were fine, the rest were pretty lackluster. Why is it that we still don’t get a lot of villains from the comics here? We got a Deathstroke and a Vixen here but they’re in name only. Also, most of the villains tended to go the campy route which has been an issue with the show. The multi-parters we had this season were fine but their resolutions tended to not be that good. The Tempus two-parter is definitely an example of that.

Then there’s the constant focus on Lois’ and Clark’s relationship. Now, I like the relationship. It was good to see them get married even if the episode had its moments of “meh” and some guy named “Mike.' There were also good things involving their marriage. The problem is that there wasn’t much else going on. It also would have been nice to see Lois or Clark off on their own for an episode. Perry and Jimmy were still not used in they way they were in the first season. The villains’ plots tended to be a bit lackluster. The effects did take a bit of a downturn this time. While the show didn’t really have that many great effects, stuff feels a little cheap towards the end of the season. It looks like the budget limits really began to show this season.

It feels like they’ve ran out of steam with the show which is probably why it got cancelled. There was talk of a fifth season coming. The idea was to resolve that plot introduced in the series finale. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. The ratings got too low in their new time slot and it was gone. I will say that the show does at least end on a decent note. Other than the baby thing, nothing is left unresolved and the characters are in a good place.

FAVORITE EPISODES

Cool! We get a version of the black suit.

Finally, here are my favorite episodes of the season. I will also include multi-parters here as well.

1. Twas The Night Before Mxymas - Mr. Mxyzptlk comes to Earth on Christmas Eve screws with time. Imagine Groundhog Day with each day losing more and more hope.

2. Meet Jon Doe/Lois and Clarks – With the help of mind-altering tech from the future, Tempus runs for President of the United States.

3. Stop The Presses – Perry gets promoted and hands his job off to Lois. It ends up affecting Lois’ and Clark’s relationship.

4. Lord of the Flys/Battleground Earth – While Clark is dealing with being a new ruler, Lord Nor and his forces come to invade Earth.

5. Sex, Lies, and Videotape – Someone gets pics of Lois and Superman kissing and leaks it in the media.

6. Faster Than a Speeding Vixen/Shadow of A Doubt/Voice From the Past - Another son of Lex Luthor comes to Metropolis in order to rebuild Lex’s empire, kill Superman, and take Lois as his own.

Overall, the fourth season pretty much feels like the third season only there’s not clones running around. While that sounds better, it kind of isn’t. Still, it has some merit to it, so if you have nothing to do, check it out. Well, I’d say I’m done, but if you think this is my last post for the show, think again. It’ll basically be an overall look at the show. I’ll also list things I wish it did and my favorite episodes of the show. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and “remember to look up!”