Superboy

I think the overall criticism of this show is too harsh. It didn't have the budget of _Lois & Clark_ or _Smallville_, but it was a lot of fun and, overall, well-done.

I actually prefer John Haymes Newton in the first season. Gerard Christopher was probably the better actor, but Newton brought a little cocky attitude--and a unique sexiness--to the role, never seen before or since in any interpretation of Superman. It added a new dimension to the character. A good example is the Newton episode where a bad guy drew a gun on Superboy and said "Freeze!" Superboy smirked and deadpanned "Good idea!" and then encased him in a block of ice with his super-breath. I think he may have come across to some people as too much of a "bad boy" for the role, but it really did work.

The Christopher episodes were fun, but they lacked something.

Overall, the show really deserves better treatment than it has received. I hope it resurfaces somewhere soon.

I (being an old Superman fan) started watching Superboy from the very beginning and toughed it out during the first season. I'm sorry to say that the first season was pretty bad, mostly because of John Haymes Newton's horrendous acting. When Gerard Christopher took over the lead role starting the second season the show definitely took a turn for the better, both in stories and acting. One of my favorite episodes was when he met his "older" self in a time trip that found himself in a utopian society. Of course I think that the show would have been much better if the writers and producers stuck to the original format of Superboy like the comics used to portray him, rather than have him run off to his college years, but I guess they figured they had to bend with the times. All in all the show turned out to be pretty good as it went on but unfortunately it wasn't fast enough to please the viewers and was cancelled. On another note for you trivia fans, Gerard Cristopher auditioned and won the part of Superman in the series "Lois and Clark". After the WB executive producer read his acting resume and discovered that he had previously starred in The Adventures of Superboy he said to Gerard, "you've done this already, I want someone who hasn't acted before!". Too bad because it would have been a good choice. Of course Dean Cain did the part excellent, but it would have been a good tie-in from Superboy. Hopefully the WB will think of this when "Smallville" runs its course!

I liked the series when it was John Haymes Newton. He looked perfect.

Gerard Christopher looked fine, but the series, in my view, became surrealistic. Every episode seemed to me to be about Lex Luthor having Superboy trapped in another mind game -- VR -- and I didn't like that or the actor who portrayed Luthor as a grinning maniac.

I'm probably in the minority in liking JHN. I am probably NOT in the minority in thinking that "Lois and Clark" turned into a soap opera. It was cancelled quickly after that.

I liked this show when it was on. It captured some of the magic from the first 2 Superman movies. True it's not as fancy as Lois & Clark, or as 'hip' as Smallville. But still not a bad show.

I think that some people didn't realize the potential this show could have. Considering it was BEFORE L&C and Smallville...

It was the first step since the 1950's to bring The man of Steel back to the small screen...

After seeing that the only comment on "Superboy" was extremely negative, I had to comment on it. I can only remember a handful of episodes since I was pretty young and not into Superman enough at the time to watch it regularly. But what I remember was alot of fun. Unlike "Lois & Clark", which was made to attract people to Superman, "Superboy" was made for Super-fans. It was focused alot more on science fiction and fantasy than "L&C," and therefore dealt more with Kal-El himself. The major flaw of "L&C," and I guess what attracted alot of people to it as well, was that it made Lois Lane at least as important, if not more than, Superman himself. While Superboy did have Lois' equivalent in Lana Lang, they only used her in a story when they had a good reason. If you like romantic comedies, then "Lois & Clark" was for you. But if you enjoy the Superman mythos, fascinating sci-fi concepts, and good television in general, then "Superboy" is the better choice.