A thread for the discussion of all live action television Superman shows. Vote for your favourite.
My personal favourite is Lois & Clark from the early to mid-nineties. It was my first exposure to the Man of Steel and I still say that in many ways (but not every way), it is probably the closest to the definitive Superman experience. It teaches you everything you need to know about how and why Clark became Superman as well as how and why he ended up marrying Lois Lane. It doesn't just teach you about right and wrong and superheroics, but it teaches you a lot about relationships as well. The whole family can watch this show, because the kids can enjoy the superhero action and the adults can enjoy the Lois/Clark banter and the newsroom antics of the other supporting characters.
Obviously there are pretty big flaws with this show as well. Towards the end it just completely stopped taking itself seriously in any sense of the word and became a campy mess with every episode seemingly exactly the same. I also would have preferred it if more elements from the comics were brought in, but the budget probably wouldn't allow villains like Darkseid.
My second favourite Superman show is probably Adventures of Superman with George Reeves. The first season is pure Golden Age (even though the show was produced at the height of the Silver Age), and I love it. Casually ignoring the fact that Superman's strength is enough to easily splatter a human being, Superman regularly clocks villains with his bare fists in the early episodes and it is DAMN satisfying, especially considering the villains in this show are scum-of-the-earth mobsters. As the show continued, it became sillier and sillier, until eventually it was at a level of campy madness that rivalled the Adam West Batman show. But it's still fun to watch.
Another Super-gem is the little known 'The Adventures of Superboy' from the late '80s. This show was very much a reimagining rather than an adaptation, as it placed Clark in very unfamiliar surroundings. Instead of Smallville, Clark becomes Superboy in his Freshman year in Shuster University, in Siegelville, Orlando. I'll get right to it. This show is pretty much a camp-fest right from the start, the special effects have to be seen to be believed (as in, they're BAD) and the pacing is horrible. Nevertheless, the show has something of a 'kitsch' charm to it and is still watchable. Oh and the wire-effects are FANTASTIC. They actually rival the Reeve movies, they're that good. The computer-effects are diabolical, though.
When Smallville started, I couldn't get enough of it. "What an amazingly brilliant idea!" I thought. And for a while, the show did the brilliant idea justice. Midway through the third season, though, the show completely ran out of steam and became the garbage it is today. Now and again, it churns out brilliance and it seems as though it will triumph once again, but then Lana or a dumb storyline comes along and ruins everything. The thing I hate the most about the show is probably the tone. Just watch the finale of the last season and you'll know exactly what I mean. Everything's all dark and sinister with no Superman lightness to balance it out like in the other shows and movies. Clark is still the same whiney teen he was in the first season and the world's moved on without him and it's getting to be damn annoying. Personally, I can't wait for the show to get cancelled, not because it's crap, but because a cancellation would actually force the writers to get their act together and turn the whiney teen into an unstoppable force for justice.
My personal favourite is Lois & Clark from the early to mid-nineties. It was my first exposure to the Man of Steel and I still say that in many ways (but not every way), it is probably the closest to the definitive Superman experience. It teaches you everything you need to know about how and why Clark became Superman as well as how and why he ended up marrying Lois Lane. It doesn't just teach you about right and wrong and superheroics, but it teaches you a lot about relationships as well. The whole family can watch this show, because the kids can enjoy the superhero action and the adults can enjoy the Lois/Clark banter and the newsroom antics of the other supporting characters.
Obviously there are pretty big flaws with this show as well. Towards the end it just completely stopped taking itself seriously in any sense of the word and became a campy mess with every episode seemingly exactly the same. I also would have preferred it if more elements from the comics were brought in, but the budget probably wouldn't allow villains like Darkseid.
My second favourite Superman show is probably Adventures of Superman with George Reeves. The first season is pure Golden Age (even though the show was produced at the height of the Silver Age), and I love it. Casually ignoring the fact that Superman's strength is enough to easily splatter a human being, Superman regularly clocks villains with his bare fists in the early episodes and it is DAMN satisfying, especially considering the villains in this show are scum-of-the-earth mobsters. As the show continued, it became sillier and sillier, until eventually it was at a level of campy madness that rivalled the Adam West Batman show. But it's still fun to watch.
Another Super-gem is the little known 'The Adventures of Superboy' from the late '80s. This show was very much a reimagining rather than an adaptation, as it placed Clark in very unfamiliar surroundings. Instead of Smallville, Clark becomes Superboy in his Freshman year in Shuster University, in Siegelville, Orlando. I'll get right to it. This show is pretty much a camp-fest right from the start, the special effects have to be seen to be believed (as in, they're BAD) and the pacing is horrible. Nevertheless, the show has something of a 'kitsch' charm to it and is still watchable. Oh and the wire-effects are FANTASTIC. They actually rival the Reeve movies, they're that good. The computer-effects are diabolical, though.
When Smallville started, I couldn't get enough of it. "What an amazingly brilliant idea!" I thought. And for a while, the show did the brilliant idea justice. Midway through the third season, though, the show completely ran out of steam and became the garbage it is today. Now and again, it churns out brilliance and it seems as though it will triumph once again, but then Lana or a dumb storyline comes along and ruins everything. The thing I hate the most about the show is probably the tone. Just watch the finale of the last season and you'll know exactly what I mean. Everything's all dark and sinister with no Superman lightness to balance it out like in the other shows and movies. Clark is still the same whiney teen he was in the first season and the world's moved on without him and it's getting to be damn annoying. Personally, I can't wait for the show to get cancelled, not because it's crap, but because a cancellation would actually force the writers to get their act together and turn the whiney teen into an unstoppable force for justice.
