Superman - Retter in der Not

What a great TV show. Sit back in time and watch as TV brought out the best of Superman.I remember as a child watching the reruns and was so amazed how Superman would fight off the bad guys. Bending steel and bullets that just bounced off his chest. He was my favorite super hero. Let yourself go and relive the Adventures of Superman.I just loved his outfit. The man of steel wearing red and blue. We need more shows like these instead of what we have now. Every show was like a cliff hanger. Nail biting action. Would Superman make it in time? Can he get to the bad guys before they hurt Olsen and Miss. Lois Lane? These were questions that were answered every time Superman came on. He made you feel good about the world. He was just simply the best.

What a hoot!! I loved it. I watched this television series as a little kid but the stories in this first season were so old (almost 55 years ago!), I didn't remember more than a few scenes, although they sure brought back memories.

The special effects and the credibility (picking a scene apart) were beyond bad. Apparently, they had a budget of about $5 a show, or so it looks, so you'd see the same scene over and over in various episodes. I could write volumes on all the ludicrous scenes that made no sense but that's what helps make this so entertaining. It's so bad, it's good! I don't want to sound like I am criticizing this because I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already purchased the second season.

It was especially fun to see the first show, the TV version of the origins of Superman. Then, as the episodes continued, to hear the innocence of a young Jimmy Olsen saying, "Jeepers, Mr. Kent," "Golly, gee whiz" and other similar exclamations. I laugh every time I hear those. Wow, compare that to today's TV.

Phyllis Coates was good as Lois Lane. It's too bad she left after one year. I'd rate her a slightly better Lane than Noel Neill, but Noel was good, too. Lois and Jimmy, with their nosiness, naiveté and just plain stupidity would have to be bailed out by Superman show after show.

George Reeves is likable as Superman but I got tired of John Hamilton screaming all the time as Perry White. They did calm him down a bit in subsequent years, but that first year all he did was yell.

Each episode was completely different and entertaining on this DVD package. This is great stuff for nostalgia buffs. Right now, I am in the middle of watching the second season on DVD and look forward to all of the sets that will be released.....hopefully, all of the seasons.

The general consensus seems to be that the first season of this all time classic TV show was the best and I would probably agree with that. Although, I'm a dedicated fan of the entire series.The injection of color into the closing stages of the production run gave those final episodes a special quality of their own.

George Reeves was born to play the title role. The previously inconsequential journeyman actor brought the character to life with great conviction, charm and a wonderful enthusiasm which never faltered. Of course, he had some fine support with John Hamilton as Perry White, Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen and Robert Shayne as Inspector Henderson.

As for the portrayal of Lois Lane, it really depends on which approach you preferred. Phyllis Coates created a prickly, no-nonsense big city reporter. Noel Neil was more of your good natured girl next door who was always ready with a cheery word and a polite laugh whenever Clarke Kent or Jimmy made a clumsy attempt at humor (which usually backfired).

So it's all a bit corny when you look back now from our jaded perspective of life in the present day. But, who cares? It's still good, clean fun which is more than you can say for most of the vile, mind numbing garbage that spews forth out of the television these days. And there was a good spirit behind the whole thing ...obey the law, salute the flag, say "please" and "thank you", be kind to your fellow human beings, take in stray cats, brush your teeth (and the cat's teeth) twice a day.

It was a different era and a better world in some ways.

Growing up in the 1950's I was an avid collector of comics. One of my favorites was superhero Superman. The other was Plastic Man. For some reason few have heard of the original Plastic Man, but Superman is still very much with us and probably will be for some time to come. Before judging this series, one must remember that only televisions that showed black and white were on the market. There was no color. If an early television show was produced in color it was for other reasons, say possible release on the big screen. Some producers hoped to string two or three episodes of a popular television series together and distribute it to movie houses as one feature as was done with The Lone Ranger. Also, there were no big-screen TV's. Therefore special effects could be kept fairly primitive (and inexpensive) because the viewer wouldn't be seeing much anyway. The average TV screen was about 13". A person was uptown if he/she had a 17" screen.

There were Superman movies out at the time featuring other actors rather than "the real" Superman, George Reeves. The Superman TV shows were compact, well-written, and well-performed. For me Noel Neill will always be Lois Lane. Ditto for Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton as Perry White, Robert Shayne as Inspector Bill Henderson, and even though Christopher Reeves did a bang-up job as a later Superman, George Reeves will always be Superman for my generation.

Another reason I was so drawn to the Superman TV show was because a stunt man who was married to my cousin at the time appeared in one of the episodes. In the episode, "The Wedding of Superman" Doyle Brooks played Mr. Poole, one of the heavies. Brooks was born in the little hamlet of Bethesda, Arkansas, married my cousin and set out to become a movie star in Hollywood. He ended up a successful stuntman but did very little acting. His biggest success was playing the Ajax White Knight in a now famous television commercial.

Superman's may come and go but George Reeves will always be "the" Superman to all of us who were kids in the 1950's.

I remember watching several episodes of The Adventures of Superman when the BBC screened some of them during the summer school holidays around 1987/88. An episode of this usually followed Gentle Ben and Silas (these were on around two or three times a week) but Superman was on, if I remember right, everyday. So a good 90 minutes of entertainment some mornings.

Superman/Clarke Kent was played by George Reeves who is certainly no relation to the late Christopher Reeve who starred in the four Superman movies which some people seem to think so (the surnames are different). Louis Lane was played by Phyllis Coates and later Noel Neill.

We usually had a different story each episode although some episodes were two parters.

It would be nice to see some episodes of The adventures of Superman again. They don't make 'em like this anymore.