Superboy

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!

Before there was the long running Smallville this more modest show was also out there depicting young Clark Kent as those powers and abilities start developing. Two Superboys were in the cast as the original John Haymes Newton left the show and without a ripple got replaced by Gerard Christopher. Stacy Haiduk plays Lana Lang and this show depicts his days at Shuster University where he majored in journalism.

Superboy was a modest show and done for the juvenile viewers. I remember it being broadcast early in the Saturday morning time slots. The shows were efficiently and competently made. It sure didn't look like the poverty row budgets that were in the Captain Marvel and Isis shows from a decade earlier.

It might be nice to see these again.

This is certainly one one of the best of the Superman TV shows or movies ever done. Unfortunately it was not well supported by the owners, Viacom. Although the #10 show in syndication at the time, it never received the kudos that it deserved! Top rate show, top rate performances and scripts.

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.

It seems that sometimes very few people even remember that "Superboy" existed. But it did. And I have felt for a long time that this is the best ever (so far anyway) television adaptation of the Superman mythos. This show really stayed true to its comic book roots. This series marked the first live-action appearances of Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, & Metallo. It also featured some really inventive storylines such as those featured in "Roads Not Taken" and "The Road to Hell", two 2-part episodes dealing with the Superboys of alternate universes, and "To Be Human" which featured Bizarro being transformed into a normal human only to have to give up his humanity to save Superboy's life. I don't care what anyone says, this series surpassed any other Superman television series in quality of stories and truth to its comic book roots.