Superman: Die Abenteuer von Lois & Clark

'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' was one of the better sci-fi shows to come out of the Nineties and it was probably one of the first attempts to give the comic franchises a modern twist.

During the four seasons it aired for, the familiar Superman characters were brought out and given a Nineties touch. While Lois is still very much her tenacious self, Clark Kent was now a confident, well-adjusted guy and was a far cry from the bumbling Clark of the films and comics. His mother Martha is the one who sews his uniform for him while she and husband Jonathan are always on hand to give their adoptive son advice on his love life. Lex Luthor is far more charismatic and he and Lois even have a fling. However, Perry and Jimmy are in usual form and Superman is ever the hero he's always been, fighting for truth, justice and the American way.

Dean Cain made an excellent Clark, portraying the loyalty and strength of the character as well as his uncertainties over Lois and his path as Superman. While Christopher Reeve gave us a very heroic Superman, Cain gave us a hero who was heavily influenced by his Earth upbringing making him very human at times and it does work for this series. Teri Hatcher depicted a beautiful, career-driven Lois who vacillated between arrogance and being insecure, and this softer edge made her a likable character. And John Shea's Lex Luthor was wonderfully evil and intriguing as the almost James Bond-like villain who had fine tastes and minions to do his dirty work.

The story lines were almost always fun and engaging, often capturing a nice balance between drama, action, humour and romance. And unlike the 'Smallville' series, where episodes are very formulaic ((ie, mutant-of-the-week attacks and Clark saves the day so he can get back to his brooding over Lana), this series avoids that plot hole by covering different villains and plots. The only problem, that eventually saw the show's demise, was when Lois and Clark married as this lead to it becoming too soapy and cavity-inducing although it did serve as a lesson to future TV show producers that you should always pair your leads together in the finale, not half-way through the series.

'Lois and Clark' was never meant to be a deep, dark insight into Superman's history but instead just an entertaining show aimed at both young and old, and I think it succeeds. Newcomers to the show should check out the first three seasons to see it at its best.

An adaptation of a feature character like SUPERMAN will have a great deal of variance, not only in the era that it is in, but also the audience (demographics) that is desired to r-r-r-r-reach. This was a point always taken into consideration by National Comics Publications( AKA DC Comics), the Copywright owner of Superman and his friends. Therefore in the 1950's, National/DC published comic magazines such as SUPERBOY and JIMMY OLSEN to appeal to the younger kids,especially boys.And alas, they did the girl's Superman magazine, LOIS LANE.All featured Superman, but with a little different spin or, point of view, if you will.

With the appearance of LOIS & CLARK, they were sort of giving us a girl's version of the Super saga,much like the comic book LOIS LANE.But this telling was a program designed to get the female audience, without alienating the guys.

Much like the BATMAN TV of 1966-68, there was a large cross section of the viewing public who grew up with and were quite familiar with the storyline. The answer to the problem was to add plenty of humor, not of the "Camp" type of the Batman show, but some sort of resembling what has come to be known as "Screwball" comedy. The adventure story line is still there, but the humor allows a wider group of people to view the episodes.

The result was a Superman series with wide appeal that fit very well in with its time slot in history as well as ABC's programing schedule.

Imagine Superman had it been done by Rock Hudson and Doris Day and you have some idea of what Lois And Clark was about. It was one of the more enjoyable shows from the last decade of the last century.

Lois And Clark had all the aspects of one of those domestic comedies that were popular back in the day. Dean Cain was a hip Superman and Clark Kent and Teri Hatcher was an ultra modern Lois Lane who had a nose for news. Granted she researched the internet for background instead of wearing out high heels chasing a story, but she knew her job and her suspicions about her colleague even before they got romantically involved.

And of course the accent here was on the budding romance of Lois And Clark. It could only end in super wedded bliss where Clark Kent finally had to let Lois Lane in on the biggest secret since the Manhattan Project.

In the old Superman series with George Reeves they also had an accent on comedy as well that is rarely talked about. Dean Cain modeled a lot of his performance on Reeves who always had an all knowing smile in every episode after he bailed out other cast members.

Technology is creeping up on the classic superhero. Back in the day Clark Kent became a reporter because he could keep track of evil doing with the use of those sources. I daresay today he wouldn't need the job, just good hacking skills. He could sit at home and stay on the internet and be just as informed. I wonder how future incarnations of the Shuster&Siegel hero will deal with that.

But it wouldn't be as fun and we'd sure miss all the Tracy/Hepburn like banter between Lois And Clark.

This version of Superman has always excited me because Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain have such awesome chemistry with each other. Dean Cain makes expert display of Clark Kent's restraints and clumsiness and Superman's authority as a Metropolis savior and his playfulness as the keeper of Lois's affections. We can see his turmoil between being who he has to be and being who he wants to be...with lots of comedy in between. Hatcher, in my opinion, is by far the best Lois to date. She has strength and class and isn't afraid to take chances with her character. She'll sing, she'll dance, she'll turn on the baby-voice...and she gives Lois a persona so stubborn, only Superman can get her to see the truths about herself and the people around her. Add in Lane Smith, who's so ridiculously funny in his Elvis-ized Santa suit and you have pure comedy. Lane Smith is the wise man of the group, fostering Justin Whalen through his mishaps and growth as a photographer and a young man. Justin Whalen's Jimmy Olsen has a certain naiveté' necessary to balance the complex personalities and tensions of Lois and Clark. Michael Landes, who played Season One's Jimmy Olsen, is equally as entertaining...making it difficult to choose who is more deserving of that role. If one invests in such a purchase, it would be hard to be disappointed.

This is my all time favorite TV show. I first started watching it as a child and even though I didn't get all the plots at the time, I was mesmerized by the superhero in the blue and red suit. As years passed and I watched the show again on reruns, the intensity of the romance between Lois and Clark became what captivated me the most. I believe that this is definitively the best caricature of what would an amorous relationship between Lois and Clark (and not Lois and Superman) be. The idea of Clark being a normal guy (with superpowers, yes, but still trying to pursue a seemingly normal life)and Superman being his cover is a good change. Another good thing is that the show's merit doesn't rely only on the main characters. The supporting characters of Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Martha and Jonathan Kent, Lex Luthor and Cat Grant(this one unfortunately only during the first season) added many of the best moments in the show. Unfortunately, and I guess everyone realizes it, during the third season the show started having some really weird plots with no such thing as coherence. It was still fun but there was something lost along the way. Nevertheless, it's still the best TV show I've ever seen. The only that truly caught my eye from the very first moment. To this day I'm still a fan and it's still magical for me to sit in front of the TV screen and watch another episode of this great show. So, thank you very much Deborah Joy Levine and all the others that wrote all the episodes we watched, to Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lane Smith, John Shea, Michael Landes and Justin Whalin, K Callan, Eddie Jones, Tracy Scoggins and all the other actors who performed such great roles, and at last but not least thanks to rest of the crew for making this Superman fly.