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

Well, I’m back with my ultimate say on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Basically, all I’m talking about today is what I liked, what I disliked, what I wished they did, and my favorite episodes of the show. Now, did I think this was a good show? Yes, I think it was even when it got pretty bad in the later seasons. I’ll get to why below.

PROS

I liked the overall concept of the show where it focused on life at the Daily Planet instead of Superman’s never-ending battle against evil. I thought the main cast was solid for the most part. Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher were a good Clark and Lois. While they might not be the best live-action versions ever, they were still pretty good. Lane Smith was a good Perry White while K Callen and Eddie Jones were good as the Kents. While Justin Whalin was okay as Jimmy, Michael Landis was a better one. Then, there was John Shea who played an awesome Lex Luthor.

You had some good villains in there even though a lot of them were subpar. There was Lex, Tempus, a son of Lex Luthor, and a few others. The first season was probably its best season since it had a mix of everything. The second season was about on par with the first season. While the latter two seasons have their issues, there were some good episodes in there. I always liked the theme song. While it’s not the movie theme or even the theme from Superman: The Animated Series, it’s good. It was also fun to see what guest star would show up on here. The show even had some good continuity in the four seasons.

CONS

I did think Cat Grant was wasted, but I blame that on the direction and not the actress (Tracey Scoggins). I also missed Michael Landis as Jimmy in the later seasons. I also noticed that the show started to get more focused on Lois’s and Clark’s relationship especially in the later seasons. It began to get away from the life in the Daily Planet concept and you sometimes forgot about Perry and Jimmy. While I liked the relationship and marriage, the show didn’t have much else going for it. The show also didn’t exploit its comic roots that much in the later seasons.

The show suffered when it came to the villains. I can count on both hands how many of Superman’s villains showed up in 88 episodes of the show. It really wasn’t many. Even when some did show up, they were sometimes not that good. A lot of the villains in general weren’t that good on the show. The Third Season was where it started to come apart story-wise. Then, we had that wedding-clone-amnesia arc which is something that I still won’t be revisiting soon. While the fourth season had some good things, it was pretty much over for the show there.

WISHES

There are some things I wish the show had done throughout its run. I wish it had tried to incorporate more of the DCU in it. Now, I don’t need Batman to show up, but it would have been cool to get at least a couple of superheroes and other villains from the comics. I think the John Wesley Shipp version of the Flash could have fit nicely in the show (maybe the first season). I guess they didn’t want that many connections to the comics or they had to deal with the rights of the characters. Either way, it would have been cool to see some more heroes. Also, it would have been nice to see better representations of villains from the comics.

I also wished it didn’t stray away from its original concept. While I liked the Lois/Clark relationship (it’s in the title, duh), it really did take precedence over everything in the later seasons. They probably could have given others at the Daily Planet more to do story-wise. They also could have spaced out their relationship better especially in the third season. Clark asked her to marry her on their fourth date! They were barely engaged the first time they almost got married. Could had any of these ideas helped the show? I don’t know but I bet my counterpart from Earth-8 (the place where Young Justice and Spectacular Spider-Man lasted more than two seasons) might know. Too bad I can’t ask him since alternate Earths are but a dream.

TOP TEN EPISODES

Finally, here are my top ten episodes (including multiparters) of the show in no particular order. If you want to see what it was all about, these ten might give you an idea.

1. Pilot (Season 1) – It’s the pilot episode. Everything gets set up here for the first season. Clark becomes Superman, meets Lois, gets a job at the Daily Planet, and meets Lex.
2. All Shook Up  (Season 1)– Clark ends up losing his memory after a failed attempt to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth.
3. Ultra Woman (Season 3) – Because of some Red Kryptonite, Clark’s powers are transferred to Lois. She creates a superhero persona and gets to see what’s like to be Superman.
4. Tempus Fugitive (Season 2)– Lois and Clark end up traveling back in time to help HG Wells stop Tempus from erasing Clark from history.
5. The Foundling (Season 1) – Clark ends up learing about the planet Krypton.
6. Never-Ending Battle (Season 1) – Lex Luthor tries to test Superman’s abilities.
7. Meet John Doe/Lois and Clarks (Season 4) – Tempus returns with mind-altering tech in order to become President of the US. Lois and Clark get some unexpected help in taking him down.
8. Honeymoon in Metropolis (Season 1) – Lois and Clark have to pose as a newlywed couple for a story.
9. Through a Glass Darkly/Big Girls Don’t Fly (Season 3) – Superman gets put through tests by two Kryptonians in order to see if he would be a good ruler.
10. Twas the Night Before Mxymas (Season 4) – Mr. Mxyzptlk comes to Earth on Christmas Eve an makes everyone relive the day.

While the show was never perfect, I think it still has its good points. I think it was one of the things that made me a fan of the character, so I’m grateful for that.  It made me laugh, sad, happy, and sometimes mad. Well, that should end Superman Month. I had fun with the whole “homage” concept. I’m thinking about doing it with another character but that’ll be sometime later. Well, I’m outta here. Peace and God Bless.