(Credit: amazon.com)
Created by
George Blair
Philip Ford
Cast:
George Reeves …. Superman/Clark Kent
Noel Neill …. Lois Lane
Jack Larson …. Jimmy Olsen
John Hamilton …. Perry White
Robert Shayne …. Insp. Bill Henderson
The Show
Superman has had many incarnations in Television and film. One of the absolute best examples of the Man of Steel on the small screen was definitely The Adventures of Superman which ran from 1952-1958 with George Reeves starring as Big Blue. While budget and effects were not really available to the show at the time, the series made do with the tools it had to make the very best show it possibly could.
With Season 2, the show really hit its stride. First of all, the addition of Noel Neill to its cast, replacing Phyllis Coates, as Lois Lane is a milestone for the series and the character. Coates may have been more attractive, but it was Neill that really brought home Lois’ independence. Starring as Lois for five of the six years the show was on the air, Neill created a big niche for herself in the annals of TV history.
The rest of the cast is once again a stellar representation of 50’s Superman Comics come to life. The best of the cast may not actually be George Reeves though. Jack Larson’s Jimmy Olsen is so perfect it’s as if he jumped right on the page and into your TV screen. Larson’s portrayal of Jimmy is so earnest, yet hilarious that when he’s on screen you can’t help but love him. John Hamilton’s Perry White is nearly as good, but doesn’t get the screen time that the rest of the cast got. “Great Caesar’s ghost” never sounded as good as it did coming out of Hamilton’s lips.
As for the Man of Steel himself, George Reeves was a perfect 1950’s representation of DC Comics’ greatest hero. An actor with a great stature and good comic timing, Reeves was able to embody Superman as well as anyone could have at the time. He was also able to make Clark Kent his own character as well, which is what really separates him from every other version of Supes’ alter ego on screen.
What’s particularly great about the series is that it knew its boundaries pretty well. It knew not to have Superman flying around the Earth to send us back in time, but instead had him busting through buildings and stopping evil plots. In the early days of Film and Television, Warner Brothers was particularly good at making Crime Thrillers and Film Noirs, and with The Adventures of Superman, the studio played to those strengths by basically having most episodes be 30 minute Noirs, using Clark Kent to solve most mysteries before having Superman run in and save the day.
Season 2’s DVD set contains plenty of episodes that are great examples of this formula. The installment Five Minutes to Doom has Clark and Lois having to solve the case of a man on death row who still claims to be innocent. The finale for the episode is an awesome scene with Superman busting through a wall to try and save the man’s life. The episode is very similar to an installment from Superman: The Animated Series entitled The Late Mr. Kent, which was undoubtedly influenced by this episode.
One of the best episodes of the season is The Defeat of Superman in which Peter Mamakos’s gangster Happy King has a scientist develop a synthetic Kryptonite. This is actually the first instance of Kryptonite used on the series, but unlike Superman III, the synthetic K doesn’t turn the Man of Steel into a bad guy. Still the episode has Larson creating some great laughs and is actually pretty exciting.
For those that like Superman taking on bigger situations, he does battle nuclear weapons in Superman in Exile and an asteroid hurtling toward Earth in Panic in the Sky. There are some goofier episodes also where Supes battles an evil clown (The Clown Who Cried) and another where Big Blue has to deal with a dog that realizes that Clark is Superman by matching his scent (The Dog Who Knew Superman). All in all though, the episodes stay consistently entertaining, mostly due to the fine work by the cast.
If you love Superman like I do, but need an alternative to the movies other than Smallville and Lois and Clark, you may want to give The Adventures of Superman a try. This season is as strong as any other as the cast really gels together and Noel Neill steps into the role of Lois Lane role sure-footedly. George Reeves is able to solidify his place as Superman for an entire generation by giving an iconic portrayal of the Man of Steel. Live Action TV adaptations have not always been kind to Comic superheroes (Batman, The Amazing Spiderman), but taking itself seriously and sticking to its comic book roots, The Adventures of Superman carved itself a place as one of the best ever attempted.
Score: 8.0/10
The DVD:
The Video
For a show that was on television 50 years ago, this DVD looks great. The print here is as crisp as possible and the people at WB should be proud of their work done here. The show is presented in Fullscreen with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
The Audio
The DVD’s sound is also very good. The show’s opening theme bursts through as you get to hear Announcer Bill Kennedy yell “Faster than a speeding bullet!” in crystal quality. The show is presented in a Mono track.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio Commentaries, Lois Lane Featurette, Bonus Episode
Bonus Episode: Stamp Day for Superman – This bonus episode was originally produced to help awareness for savings bonds and stamps. The episode was actually commissioned by the government, and comes off a bit like an info-mercial.
The First Lady of Metropolis – This is a seven minute Featurette on Noel Neill and her ascension to the Lois Lane role. She had actually played the role before in the Superman serials preceding the show’s premiere, so that basically landed her the part. The Featurette features Leonard Maltin and other Superman historian who speak on the importance of Neill.
Audio Commentaries by Noel Neill and Jack Larson – There are two episodes with which these two have a commentary on. The better of the two is for Panic in the Sky where Larson talks about how the Jerry Seinfeld commercial with Superman was basically inspired by this episode and how this is the stand-up comic’s favorite of the whole series.
Score: 5.0 /10
