Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

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Lois & Clark:
The New Adventures of Superman
Genre Action/Drama
Running time 45-60 minutes
Creator(s) Deborah Joy Levine
Starring Dean Cain as
Clark Kent/Superman;
Teri Hatcher as
Lois Lane;
Lane Smith as
Perry White;
Tracy Scoggins as
Cat Grant;
K Callan as
Martha Kent;
Eddie Jones as
Jonathan Kent;
John Shea as
Lex Luthor;
Michael Landes as
Jimmy Olsen
(Season 1);
Justin Whalin as
Jimmy Olsen
(Seasons 2-4)
Country of origin United States
Original channel ABC
Original run September 12, 1993–June 14, 1997
No. of episodes 88

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books. It was advertised simply as "The New Adventures of Superman" in the United Kingdom (with the episodes having altered opening credits when aired on the BBC, though not on later Sky One or ITV2 repeats) — non-US audiences were rightly expected not to understand the joking reference to Lewis and Clark — but should not be confused with the 1966 Filmation animated series The New Adventures of Superman.

Lois & Clark aired from 1993 to 1997, and starred Dean Cain as Superman/Clark Kent, Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane and John Shea as Lex Luthor. The series generally followed comic book writer John Byrne's 1986 revamping of the Superman mythos, with Clark Kent as the true personality, and Superman the secret identity. As the title suggests, it focused as much on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane as on the adventures of Clark's superpowered alter-ego. As Clark attempts to explain to Lois, in the Season 2 episode Tempus Fugitive, "Superman is what I can do. Clark is who I am."

The series spawned several short tie-in books aimed at young adults, as well as one full-length novel for adults, Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel (1996), written by C. J. Cherryh.

The plot of the television series is as follows: In 1966, Jonathan and Martha Kent witness the crash-landing of a small spaceship in Shuster's Field near Smallville, Kansas. When they investigate the craft, they discover the baby Kal-El. The Kents decide to raise Kal-El as their own, naming him "Clark Jerome Kent". 22 years later, Clark moves to Metropolis and gets a job at the Daily Planet under the gruff editor Perry White. There, he is partnered with Lois Lane, who at first considers him little more than a pest. Eventually, however, the two fall in love and marry after a turbulent courtship. The marriage was timed to coincide with the corresponding event in the comic books.

Unlike Pre-Crisis continuity, where they died, Jonathan and Martha Kent are very much alive and active in this version of the story. They remain on their farm in Smallville, but frequently visit Metropolis.

Lois & Clark was notable for being the first medium outside of comics to reflect John Byrne's retcon of Superman which involved making Clark Kent more assertive and less of a performed persona, emphasising that Clark was the personality Superman was raised as, not the Superhero. In fact, the show took this notion even further, depicting Clark fairly unequivocally as the "real" personality (apart from necessary precautions to safeguard his secret identity) and Superman as a somewhat performed persona. The Lois and Clark version was also notable for having the reverse of the traditional distinction between Clark Kent and Superman's hairstyles; here it is Superman who has the slicked-back hair and Clark whose fringe falls more naturally, perhaps to reinforce the notion that Kent is the "genuine" personality where as Superman is the artificial disguise. Most of the time, neither persona features the character's trademark spitcurl, but in a few instances it appears on Clark.

Contents

[edit] Series History

The first season (1993 - 1994) was a success; garnering the cast, especially Hatcher and Cain critical praise for their performances. John Shea was also met with rave reviews over his portrayal of Lex Luthor, while Landes gained a cult following for his more modern-day Jimmy Olsen character trying to uncover the truth and become a reporter. Lex Luthor was soon written out after a falling-out with producers over salary prices and other commitments. He only appeared sporadically; once in season two and twice in season three. Another big change that upset many fans was replacing Michael Landes with Justin Whalin as the new Jimmy Olsen in Season Two. The official reason, according to Landes, was that he looked too much like Clark Kent and was replaced to emphasize the character's youth, a move which still angers Landes today and turned off many fans.

The second season (1994 - 1995) focused more on the budding romance of Lois and Clark, as well as many villains from the comics like The Prankster, Metallo, the Toyman and the criminal group known as Intergang, and features new love interests for the ace reporters: D. A. Mason Drake (Farrah Forke), who fell in love with Clark Kent, before being killed in a car explosion, and Dan Scardino (Jim Pirri), a government agent interested in Lois Lane and rival of Clark Kent. This season also featured the debut of fan favorite villain Tempus (played by Lane Davies) and H.G. Wells, as a time-traveler. Wells' younger version was played by Terry Kiser, and the older version was played by Hamilton Camp. Season 2 ended with the cliffhanger of Clark proposing marriage to Lois, with fans waiting 4 months to learn her answer.

In the premiere episode of season 3 (1995 - 1996), Lois revealed that she had recently learned Clark's identity. Only later in the 7th episode of the season "Ultra Woman" did Lois finally accept Clark's proposal. The long-anticipated Wedding was put off to coincide with the characters marriage in the comics, which lead to many storylines designed to delay and interrupt the Wedding on the TV series.

The fourth and final season (1996 - 1997) began with the resolution of a cliffhanger involving a previously unknown colony of Kryptonian survivors and what appeared to be DeathStroke. After the conclusion of this storyarc, Lois & Clark finally wed in the 3rd episode of the season. The series ended on a strange cliffhanger in which Lois and Clark find an infant on their doorstep, along with a note that claimed the child belonged to them. This mystery was never resolved. Earlier in the 4th season, ABC had announced and promised an additional 5th year of the show, so the show's producers and writers were caught unprepared when ABC later changed its mind and decided that no new episodes would be produced.

[edit] Episode list

[edit] Season 1

  • Episode 1-01 Pilot (Part 1) (Airdate: September 12, 1993)
  • Episode 1-02 Pilot (Part 2) (Airdate: September 12, 1993)
  • Episode 1-03 Strange Visitor (Airdate: September 26, 1993)
  • Episode 1-04 Neverending Battle (Airdate: October 3. 1993)
  • Episode 1-05 I'm Looking Through You (Airdate: October 10, 1993)
  • Episode 1-06 Requiem for a Superhero (Airdate: October 17, 1993)
  • Episode 1-07 I've Got a Crush on You (Airdate: October 24, 1993)
  • Episode 1-08 Smart Kids (Airdate: October 31, 1993)
  • Episode 1-09 The Green, Green Glow of Home (Airdate: November 14, 1993)
  • Episode 1-10 The Man of Steel Bars (Airdate: November 21, 1993)
  • Episode 1-11 Pheromone, My Lovely (Airdate: November 28, 1993)
  • Episode 1-12 Honeymoon in Metropolis (Airdate: December 12, 1993)
  • Episode 1-13 All Shook Up (Airdate: January 2, 1994)
  • Episode 1-14 Witness (Airdate: January 9, 1994)
  • Episode 1-15 Illusions of Grandeur (Airdate: January 23, 1994)
  • Episode 1-16 The Ides of Metropolis (Airdate: February 6, 1994)
  • Episode 1-17 The Foundling (Airdate: February 20, 1994)
  • Episode 1-18 The Rival (Airdate: February 27, 1994)
  • Episode 1-19 Vatman (Airdate: March 13, 1994)
  • Episode 1-20 Fly Hard (Airdate: March 27, 1994)
  • Episode 1-21 Barbarians at the Planet (Part 1) (Airdate: May 1, 1994)
  • Episode 1-22 The House of Luthor (Part 2) (Airdate: May 8, 1994)

[edit] Season 2

  • Episode 2-01 Madame Ex (Airdate: September 18, 1994)
  • Episode 2-02 Wall of Sound (Airdate: September 25, 1994)
  • Episode 2-03 The Source (Airdate: October 2, 1994)
  • Episode 2-04 The Prankster (Airdate: October 9, 1994)
  • Episode 2-05 Church of Metropolis (Airdate: October 23, 1994)
  • Episode 2-06 Operation Blackout (Airdate: October 30, 1994)
  • Episode 2-07 That Old Gang of Mine (Airdate: November 13, 1994)
  • Episode 2-08 A Bolt from the Blue (Airdate: November 20, 1994)
  • Episode 2-09 Season's Greedings (Airdate: December 4, 1994)
  • Episode 2-10 Metallo (Airdate: January 1, 1995)
  • Episode 2-11 Chi of Steel (Airdate: January 8, 1995)
  • Episode 2-12 The Eyes Have It (Airdate: January 22, 1995)
  • Episode 2-13 The Phoenix (Airdate: February 12, 1995)
  • Episode 2-14 Top Copy (Airdate: February 19, 1995)
  • Episode 2-15 Return of the Prankster (Airdate: February 26, 1995)
  • Episode 2-16 Lucky Leon (Airdate: March 12, 1995)
  • Episode 2-17 Resurrection (Airdate: March 19, 1995)
  • Episode 2-18 Tempus Fugitive (Airdate: March 26, 1995)
  • Episode 2-19 Target: Jimmy Olsen! (Airdate: April 2, 1995)
  • Episode 2-20 Individual Responsibility (Airdate: April 16, 1995)
  • Episode 2-21 Whine, Whine, Whine (Airdate: May 14, 1995)
  • Episode 2-22 And the Answer Is... (Airdate: May 21, 1995)

[edit] Season 3

  • Episode 3-01 We Have a Lot to Talk About (Airdate: September 17, 1995)
  • Episode 3-02 Ordinary People (Airdate: September 24, 1995)
  • Episode 3-03 Contact (Airdate: October 1, 1995)
  • Episode 3-04 When Irish Eyes Are Killing (Airdate: October 15, 1995)
  • Episode 3-05 Just Say Noah (Airdate: October 22, 1995)
  • Episode 3-06 Don't Tug on Superman's Cape (Airdate: November 5, 1995)
  • Episode 3-07 Ultra Woman (Airdate: November 12, 1995)
  • Episode 3-08 Chip Off the Old Clark (Airdate: November 19, 1995)
  • Episode 3-09 Super Mann (Airdate: November 26, 1995)
  • Episode 3-10 Virtually Destroyed (Airdate: December 10, 1995)
  • Episode 3-11 Home Is Where the Hurt Is (Airdate: December 17, 1995)
  • Episode 3-12 Never on Sunday (Airdate: January 7, 1996)
  • Episode 3-13 The Dad Who Came in from the Cold (Airdate: January 14, 1996)
  • Episode 3-14 Tempus Anyone? (Airdate: January 21, 1996)
  • Episode 3-15 I Now Pronounce You... (Airdate: February 11, 1996)
  • Episode 3-16 Double Jeopardy (Airdate: February 18, 1996)
  • Episode 3-17 Seconds (Airdate: February 25, 1996)
  • Episode 3-18 Forget Me Not (Airdate: March 10, 1996)
  • Episode 3-19 Oedipus Wrecks (Airdate: March 24, 1996)
  • Episode 3-20 It's a Small World After All (Airdate: April 28, 1996)
  • Episode 3-21 Through a Glass, Darkly (Airdate: May 5, 1996)
  • Episode 3-22 Big Girls Don't Fly (Airdate: May 12, 1996)

[edit] Season 4

  • Episode 4-01 Lord of the Flys (Part 1)(Airdate: September 22, 1996)
  • Episode 4-02 Battleground Earth (Part 2) (Airdate: September 29, 1996)
  • Episode 4-03 Swear to God This Time We're Not Kidding (Airdate: October 6, 1996)
  • Episode 4-04 Soul Mates (Airdate: October 13, 1996)
  • Episode 4-05 Brutal Youth (Airdate: October 20, 1996)
  • Episode 4-06 The People vs. Lois Lane (Part 1) (Airdate: October 27, 1996)
  • Episode 4-07 Dead Lois Walking (Part 2) (Airdate: November 10, 1996)
  • Episode 4-08 Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark (Airdate: November 17, 1996)
  • Episode 4-09 Ghosts (Airdate: November 24, 1996)
  • Episode 4-10 Stop the Presses (Airdate: December 8, 1996)
  • Episode 4-11 Twas the Night Before Mxymas (Airdate: December 15, 1996)
  • Episode 4-12 Lethal Weapon (Airdate: January 5, 1997)
  • Episode 4-13 Sex, Lies and Videotape (Airdate: January 19, 1997)
  • Episode 4-14 Meet John Doe (Part 1) (Airdate: March 2, 1997)
  • Episode 4-15 Lois and Clarks (Part 2) (Airdate: March 9, 1997)
  • Episode 4-16 AKA Superman (Airdate: March 16, 1997)
  • Episode 4-17 Faster than a Speeding Vixen (Part 1) (Airdate: April 12, 1997)
  • Episode 4-18 Shadow of a Doubt (Part 2) (Airdate: April 19, 1997)
  • Episode 4-19 Voice from the Past (Part 3) (Airdate: April 26, 1997)
  • Episode 4-20 I've Got You Under My Skin (Airdate: May 31, 1997)
  • Episode 4-21 Toy Story (Airdate: June 7, 1997)
  • Episode 4-22 The Family Hour (Airdate: June 14, 1997)

[edit] Trivia

In order to meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article's trivia section requires cleanup.
Content in the trivia section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article.
  • The Kents said that they found Kal-El (Clark) on May 17, 1966.
  • Dean Cain has a fear of flying in real life, so it was a real struggle to get him to perform many of the flying stunts for the show.
  • Jeannette Khan, the president of DC Comics, proposed in 1991 a Lois Lane solo TV Series. Early in pre-production, the show was going to be called "Metropolis."
  • Kevin Sorbo and Gerard Christopher both auditioned for the role of Clark Kent. Sorbo was passed over because at 35, he was "too old." Christopher, who had played the younger version in Superboy, was actually the first choice of the casting director and producers, until the executive producer read his resume and learned he had essentially played the same character. He allegedly told the actor, "Gerard, you've done this already. I want somebody who's an unknown!" Christopher lost the role to Dean Cain.
  • The Adventures of Superman stars Phillys Coates and Jack Larson had minor roles on the series. Coates played Lois Lane's mother, Ellen in the last episode of the first season, being replaced by Beverly Garland on seasons 3 and 4. Larson reprised his role as Jimmy Olsen as an aged version of the character for the fourth season's episode "Brutal Youth".
  • During scenes in the Daily Planet building, fake stock prices would scroll past on the wall of the newsroom. One of the stock designators was "FoLC" which was a nod to the show's fan group "Friends of Lois & Clark."

[edit] DVD

[edit] External links

Superman in popular media
Actors: Bud Collyer • Kirk Alyn • George Reeves • Danny Dark • Christopher Reeve • Beau Weaver • John Haymes Newton • Gerard Christopher • Dean Cain • Timothy Daly • Tom Welling • George Newbern • Brandon Routh
Film: Superman (1948) • Atom Man vs. Superman • Superman and the Mole Men • Superman (1978) • Superman II • Superman III • Supergirl • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace • Superman Returns • Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Television: Adventures of Superman • Superboy • Lois & Clark • Smallville • Look, Up in the Sky!
Animation: 1940s cartoons • The New Adventures of Superman • Superman • Superman: The Animated Series • Legion of Super Heroes
Other media: Radio • Broadway Theater • Newspaper Strips
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