The Adventures of Superman (1950's TV Show)

[Billy Jor-El]

Yeah, that's true to some extent. "The Stolen Costume" is not in the highest quality, either, as I think it was taken from a broadcast print. Because of the 2 dying in the end, and that Superman is pretty much responsible for it, that ep was "hidden away" for a long time. Of course it's all silly....he tells them to put on warm clothes as he's taking them somewhere.....so the girl is out there in high heels

Hey, when they gave him back the costume, did he put it back on at super speed? They could've tried to get away while he dressed. Man, I obsess about this stuff too much

[kanetaker5566]

Yes I didn't notice the quality before, I just watched it again and saw that they didn't even show how he got the costume on there just on top of the mountain and he has it on.
What about candy did he just forget about clark smashing through a door like it was cardboard and punching him in the face.

[Billy Jor-El]

Heck, what about the neighbors? They hear a door being smashed to bits and don't come out to take a look? What did the landlord say when the tenants suddenly disappeared and left the place with all their belongings and a smashed door?

Let's go further (I told you I obsess about this...).....the costume was stolen. It was made by Martha (or in the case of the 50s version, Sarah) out of the blankets in Kal-El's ship. Yet in later eps we see Clark open the secret closet to reveal more than one tunic, if not the whole costume. Where did that come from???

As for Candy....he probably couldn't see who came bursting in to knock him out. Clark could say, "I dunno...." and leave it at other crooks. If he's such good friends with Clark he should have been a little more than slightly suspicious about his possible dual identity!

Kinda OT...but I love seeing the familiar faces in eps. Sgt Schultz and Gen'l Burkhalter from "Hogan's Heroes" make appearances, and I was really tripped by realizing that Prof. Pepperwinkle makes a cameo in a Marx Brothers movie ("Horsefeathers"). Then, the girl who playes Alice in "Joey" is the creepy/controlled girl from "Invaders From Mars" (which also has Insp Henderson, and frequent bad guy John Eldridge).

[kanetaker5566]

I always wondered that to about how he had more than one costume I watched all these when I was in like the second grade up until 4th grade what ever year it started on nick at night I forget. I do remember a lot of them because I recorded them all and watched them over and over. I'm downloading most of them now I have all of season one and two but haven't finished watching two yet.
I saw up a few post you wanted to know some mess ups on the show in one episode I saw jimmy is stuck in a safe and the rope breaks and the safe falls but when superman goes to catch it you can see the shadow of the safe hanging and then they drop it down for him to catch it.

[jpfort1957]

I know I was watching George Reeves as Superman in 1962 everday after school and comparing notes with my kindergarten buddies. It was a daily rerun and there were only 4 channels at that time and every kid watched Superman. I also remember several adults telling every kid that Superman was just a show.........not real.......and that the guy playing Superman had committed suicide. Even at 5, kids knew it wasn't real, but didn't want adults shoving it down your throat and reminding you about the suicide of your hero. Loved the show, watched repeat after repeat It must have been 4 years later when Batman came out on TV. Batman was pretty funky but still a pretty entertaining show for kids. There was one more superhero type guy that came out about the same time period, that I never hear about at all, The Green Hornet. The Green Hornet had a sidekick named Kato (played by Bruce Lee). GH must have been a DC character because I remember The Green Hornet & Kato had a fight with Batman & Robin on one eppisode.

[rkhfab4]

Panic in the Sky

Superman loses his memory after colliding with the meteor in order to divert it. He regains his memory after blowing it up later.

----- Added 12 Minutes later -----

GH was based on a radio show from the 30's and 40's. The character, like his great uncle The Lone Ranger, wore a mask and had a minority sidekick who was very important to his survival in a hostile environment.
The Green Hornet's character was really a newspaper publisher named Brit Reid and rode in a gadget oriented car called The Black Beauty which was driven by his electronics expert/inventor/martial arts expert chauffer named Kato. In the early days Kato was Japanese. When World War II broke out the character became Filipino and then, eventually, Chinese.
Only the district attorney knew that GH was a good guy. Because of his criminal reputation he was able to infiltrate criminal organizations in order to break them up.
He never used a gun but instead carried an arsenal of Hornet Stun(knock-out gas)and Hornet Sting(an electronic pulse gadget that could blow open steal doors). The Black Beauty had stealth capabilities and rockets fired from the front bumper area.
He was never a DC character but the tv show and Batman were produced by the same organization: Greenway Productions. The voice-over announcers were the same guy...executive producer

[Welling_is_pretty]

So a while back when this was on Nick at Nite (back in the 90's) we taped some episodes because my Dad liked this show. It was the first time I had seen any episodes of this show and while I thought it was corny I kinda liked it. Since then I've seen some other episodes but it's been pretty hit and miss.

Lately I've been watching that tape again and am startled by how bad (some of the special effects, the mistakes, etc.) and how good (particularly the girls who played Lois and Jack Larson as Jimmy!) was.

Of course it's always strange to watch it and think about poor George. The beginning of the 'curse', of course....

[The Caped Crusader]

Which they had more of Supes supervillians on the show.

[RightWingConspirator]

Glad I found this thread, but I'm a bit bummed it doesn't have more activity.

I always liked this show. I don't agree with earlier (years earlier!) statements that the first season was darker than what followed--ir was never dark. What it was, was serious. Those first season episodes were drama. Eliminate the guy in tights, replace him with oh, let's say a reporter from a major newspaper, and you have a regular mystery. Good, seious drama.
From the second season on, things got sillier as the show progressed. This was ue to the change on broducers. Bob Maxwell, who first brought Superman to radio, then to TV, was out. He was replaced by Whitney Ellsworth, who was an editor at DC. Ellsworth didn't care at all for the seriousness, and toned it down considerably. By the time the series ended, there really wasn't much for adults.
This is a show I watched in reruns as a child in the 1960s. I alway had a fond place for it in my heart, even though the writing was pretty substandard. It worked for the kids, though. The acting I thought was very good. To this day, the only problem I have is that George Reeves couldn't take any real joy from the show. I wish he could have lived a longer life, met aging fanboys like me at conventions and maybe do a guest shot on "Lois and Clark" (I think "Smallville" might have been been too late for him). Just a damn shame.

[terryclo]

Eliminate the guy in tights, replace him with oh, let's say a reporter from a major newspaper, and you have a regular mystery. Good, seious drama.

I absolutely agree!!

I just started watching the old Superman movies and TV show. I started with the Kirk Alyn's series, but it was really corny. And I don't like Kirk's portrayal as Clark/Superman, he totally has no charm. I liked Noel's Lois, but seem like she's not too smart, she always head for trouble over and over without thinking much.

Then I watched George Reeves' Superman and The Mole Men, and I thought it's gonna be another corny movie. But unexpectedly, I was immediately hooked from the first minute!! Yes, exactly like you said. Without the guy in tights, it's just like a regular mystery drama series. Love it!
And I immediately love George's portrayal as Clark Kent! Very different than other Clark-s I've seen, but I like it. I haven't gotten used to Phyllis' portrayal as Lois though, she seem too fierce and sharp as Lois, but maybe I just need more time.

Thanks to your comments, guys, I'll definitely continue the B&W episodes of George's series. But not sure if I'll watch the color eps. (as a person who live in the tech era, the color episodes is more friendly for my eyes, though)

One question, so in the 50s TV show, there's no romance at all between Clark/Superman and Lois? For 6 seasons, they were not dating at all?

[dru-zod2501]

^i don't recall them ever getting together in the series, which worked just fine for me. I never bought the notion of Clark and Lois being star-crossed lovers which has pervaded the mythos post-crisis. I respected them for keeping Lois just as a confidant and a clever foil.

[terryclo]

George Reeves and Phyllis Coates' Clark and Lois' relationship does look more like "Mulder and Scully" to me And I can't say I hate that. They might be a very different incarnation of Clark & Lois that I've never seen before, I feel that Season 1 would definitely be interesting for me.

Too bad when Noel replaced Phyllis, Lois is back to the Lois who's head over heels for Superman^^

[Welling_is_pretty]

One question, so in the 50s TV show, there's no romance at all between Clark/Superman and Lois?

Lois was in love with Superman (not Clark) and there was some moments of Romance/flirting, if I recall, but nothing too big. And no real romantic story at all (again, my memory of this show is a little faulty and I never saw all the episodes.

[Billy Jor-El]

I think there was a fantasy ep where Lois marries Superman. There's also one where Superman marries a (hot) female cop, but that wasn't supposed to be a real wedding, either....

[jon-el87]

Which they had more of Supes supervillians on the show.

The show ended in september, 1958, so they didn't exactly have much to choose from.

You know, Brainiac was introduced in july, of that year. Bizarro first appeared a month, after the show ended. General Zod didn't appear until three years later (Darkseid, 12 years). Metallo was created, in 1959. Basically, most of the villains, that Supes have got today, were created either towards the end of the show's original run or since the show ended.

All they had to choose from was really:
* Lex Luthor.
* The original Ultra-Humanite (which they couldn't use. As at this point, he had only transplanted his brain, into a woman's body (the albino gorilla form wasn't introduced, until the 80's). Meaning, they would've featured a character, who'd undergone a sex change. Too controversial, for 1950's television, especially as the show was aimed at children).
* Toyman (who wouldn't have fitted into their serious tone).
* The Prankster (same there).
* Mr. Mxyzptlk (who's magic would've been too expensive, for the show's budget).