The New Adventures of Superman (TV series)

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This article is about the animated series. For the live-action TV series known in the United Kingdom as "The New Adventures of Superman", see Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. For other, similar titles, see Adventures of Superman.
The New Adventures of Superman

Title card from The New Adventures of Superman
Created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster (characters)
Directed by Hal Sutherland
Presented by Filmation
National Periodical Publications
Voices of Bud Collyer
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Production
Producer(s) Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run 1966 – 1970
External links
IMDb profile

The New Adventures of Superman was a series of six-minute animated Superman adventures produced by Filmation that were broadcast on CBS between 1966 and 1970. The 68 segments appeared as part of three different programs during that time, packaged with similar shorts featuring The Adventures of Superboy other DC Comics superheroes.

Contents

[edit] History

These adventures were the first time that Superman (and his guise of Clark Kent), Lois Lane and Perry White had been seen in animated form since they were immortalized in the Superman short films of the 1940s.

The first TV series produced by Filmation Associates, The New Adventures of Superman was extremely popular in its Saturday morning time slot and, despite having obviously been developed for young children, employed the services of several DC comic book writers including George Kashdan. Many of the character designs (later based upon the artwork of Superman artist Curt Swan in the show's third season) stayed true to their comic book counterparts; iconic shirt-rip shots and related transformations from Clark Kent into Superman were incorporated into almost every episode, and such lines as "Up, up, and away!" and "This is a job for Superman!" were also borrowed from comics and the old Superman radio show. In addition, this series marked the animation debut of Jimmy Olsen and classic Superman villains such as Lex Luthor, The Toyman, and Brainiac. Due to a limited production budget, stock animation was often re-used for certain shots of Superman flying (or switching identities from Clark Kent into the Man of Steel), while character movement was often kept at a minimum.

Producer Lou Scheimer also recruited Bud Collyer and Joan Alexander, veterans from both the Superman radio show and the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons, for the voices of Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane respectively. For this series, Collyer returned to the same vocal technique he'd perfected on the radio show to play the Man of Steel. While in the identity of Clark Kent, Collyer would keep his voice lighter while projecting a sense of weakness. But when the mild-mannered reporter would change into his true identity of Superman, Collyer's voice would deepen dramatically into a heroic baritone. Alexander departed after the first season and was replaced by Julie Bennett in later episodes.

Despite its success, the series raised the ire of a conservative organization called Action for Children's Television, a grassroots organization formed in 1968 and dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children, due to Superman throwing punches and other action-related violence which the group found objectionable. As a result, the series was soon cancelled, and future cartoons would not allow for such comic book violence.[1]

Superman subsequently appeared in ABC's long-running animated series Super Friends (1973), produced by Hanna-Barbera, whose rights to DC Comics characters were gradually transferred from Filmation.

[edit] DVD and video releases

In 1985, Warner Home Video released seven selected episodes of the series on VHS in the "Super Powers" video collection along with Aquaman, Batman, and Superboy. These videos were re-released in 1996 and are out of print.

Warner Home Video released a two-disc DVD containing the first 36 segments of The New Adventures of Superman on June 26, 2007. Due to the ongoing legal battle between Warner Bros. and the estate of Jerry Siegel over the rights to the "Superboy" name, it does not include the The Adventures of Superboy segments originally broadcast in between the Superman segments. However, the opening title sequence and bumpers for the Superboy episodes are included in the set.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1 (1966–1967)

The series premiered on September 10, 1966 as a "30-minute" program named The New Adventures of Superman, featuring two Superman segments with one The Adventures of Superboy short in between.

Thirty-six Superman segments were produced that season:

  • The Force Phantom
  • Mermen Of Emor
  • The Prehistoric Pterodactyls
  • Merlin's Magic Marbles
  • The Threat of the Thrutans
  • The Wicked Warlock
  • The Chimp Who Made It Big
  • The Deadly Icebergs
  • Robot of Riga
  
  • The Invisible Raiders
  • Neolithic Nightmare
  • The Return of Brainiac
  • The Magnetic Monster
  • The Toys of Doom
  • The Iron Eater
  • The Ape Army of the Amazon
  • The Fire Phantom
  • The Deadly Dish
  
  • Insect Raiders
  • Return of Warlock
  • The Abominable Ice-Man
  • The Men from A.P.E.
  • The Tree Man of Arbora
  • The Image Maker
  • Superman's Double Trouble
  • The Deadly Super-Doll
  • Lava Men
  
  • Luthor Strikes Again
  • Mission to Planet Peril
  • The Pernicious Parasite
  • The Two Faces of Superman
  • The Imp-Practical Joker
  • Superman Meets Brainiac
  • Seeds of Disaster
  • The Malevolent Mummy
  • The Bird-Men From Lost Valley

[edit] Season 2 (1967–1968)

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was first broadcast on September 9, 1967. This 60-minute program included new Superman segments, and adventures featuring Aquaman and his sidekick Aqualad. It also comprised a rotating series of cartoons featuring The Flash and Kid Flash, the Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom, the Justice League of America, and the Teen Titans (Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Aqualad), and new Superboy shorts.

Sixteen Superman segments were produced that season:

  • A.P.E. Strikes Again
  • The Lethal Lightning Bug
  • The Prankster
  • The Saboteurs
  
  • The Wisp of Wickedness
  • Superman Meets His Match
  • Night of the Octopod
  • Brainiac's Bubbles
  
  • War of the Bee Battalion
  • The Toyman's Super-Toy
  • The Cage of Glass
  • The Atomic Superman
  
  • Luthor's Loco Looking Glass
  • The Warlock's Revenge
  • The Halyah of the Himalayas
  • Luthor's Fatal Fireworks

[edit] Season 3 (1968–1969)

The Batman/Superman Hour premiered on September 14, 1968, featuring new two-part Superman segments alongside new Superboy shorts and the adventures of Batman, Robin and Batgirl.

Sixteen Superman segments were produced that season:

  • Luthor's Lethal Laser - Part 1
  • Luthor's Lethal Laser - Part 2
  • Can a Luthor Change His Spots? - Part 1
  • Can a Luthor Change His Spots? - Part 2
  
  • The Team of Terror - Part 1
  • The Team of Terror - Part 2
  • Rain of Iron - Part 1
  • Rain of Iron - Part 2
  
  • The Mysterious Mr. Mist - Part 1
  • The Mysterious Mr. Mist - Part 2
  • Luminians on the Loose - Part 1
  • Luminians on the Loose - Part 2
  
  • The Ghost of Kilbane Castle - Part 1
  • The Ghost of Kilbane Castle - Part 2
  • The Japanese Sandman - Part 1
  • The Japanese Sandman - Part 2

[edit] Season 4 (1969–1970)

The New Adventures of Superman returned for one last last season on CBS, beginning September 13, 1969. The format was the same as in Season One - a "30-minute" program with two Superman segments and one Superboy segment. All season four episodes were reruns of those that had originally aired during the three previous seasons.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The New Adventures of Superman", Superman Homepage. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 

[edit] External links

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