Best and Worst Superman Television Shows

[Flash Gordon]

The first season of ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN with Coates as Lois Lane, is by far my favorite. Noel Neill didn't do it for me at all.

SMALLVILLE would be second, especially for the first 3 seasons which I think were extremely strong. It also has the best live action Lex Luthor we've ever had on screen.

LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN is third for me since it's what I grew up with. It's still a fun show to watch and Terri Hatcher plays a fine Lois Lane.

Everything else comes after those. I still have yet to buy the SUPERBOY DVDs, so I've only seen an episode or two- didn't care for it. I'm also not counting the fleischer toons (which are amazing) since they were played in the cinema.

[Joker Venom]

Favorite is THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, with the animated series a close second. The animated series turned in great stories. When you can do that, in spite of the creative team apparently not knowing what to do with the main character, you're doing good work.

I enjoyed Lois & Clark during its network run, but I don't think the show has aged particularly well. The first two seasons were great, but in the last two seasons, the show became too Lois-centric due to Teri Hatcher's popularity, and it seemed like Clark/Superman was just there to react to everything Lois got into.

Also, Dean Cain was not a very good Superman. He was a terrific Clark Kent, though.

[dancj]

I can only really speak for Lois & Clark and Smallville.

Lois & Clark
Smug irritating Clark
Smug irritating Lois
Smug irritating Jimmy
Crap Luthor

Smallville
Slightly bland but basically likeable Clark
Smug irritating Lois
Simpering irritating Lana
Perfect rendition of Lois - only blonde and called Chloe
Best ever live action Lex Luthor
Excellent nasty Lionel Luthor

Yeah it lost its way, but overall Smallville wins this one with ease.

[chamber-music]

SUPERBOY counts as a Superman show every bit as much as SMALLVILLE does. We got the suit and the powers and flight. And at least SUPERBOY was never ashamed of its comic books roots, unlike SMALLVILLE.

1. SUPERBOY from 1980s (best Lana, best Bizarro, best Mxyzptlk)
2. LOIS & CLARK from 1990s (best Lois, best Clark)
3. ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN from 1950s (best Superman)
4. SMALLVILLE from 2000s (best Brainiac, best Luthor, best Lois & Clark interaction - season 10 only)

I agree with this list.

[Kuwagaton]

L&C wasn't a great show, but it did hit a pretty wide demographic, which is extremely important.

[daBronzeBomma]

To use a GODFATHER analogy (which, I'll be honest, I love to use whenever applicable): it's like the 4 live-action Superman tv shows are the 4 Corleone boys in terms of how they're perceived.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN from 1950s = Michael Corleone (the one with the most respect)
SUPERBOY from 1980s = Fredo Corleone (the one who is overlooked)
LOIS & CLARK from 1990s = Sonny Corleone (the one that has an overload of passion)
SMALLVILLE from 2000s = Tom Hagen (the one that both belongs and yet doesn't belong)

and to possibly complete the TV show siblings:

SUPERGIRL from 2010s = Connie Corleone (the one that eventually proves worthy)


SUPERBOY always had a tough time for a number of reasons.

1) The showrunners. They were the same guys involved with SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, a father-son duo: Alexander and Ilya Salkind. They were not easy to work with, by any measure.

2) The lack of network support. Syndication back then meant a much smaller audience and budget. Although I have to think SUPERBOY would never have made it to 4 seasons on a major network, so maybe this is a double-edged sword.

3) The dubious honor of being the first official live-action Superverse project since the end of the Christopher Reeve era.

I think this 3rd reason hurt it more than anything. Actor John Newton (who went by John Haymes Newton back then) understandably wanted to put his own stamp on Superman, but the old saying holds true: "You never want to be the one who follows a legend ... you want to be the one who follows the one who follows a legend." (Basketball example: You did not want to the head coach of the Chicago Bulls after the G.O.A.T. Phil Jackson left ... you wanted to be the head coach of the Chicago Bulls after his underwhelming successor Tim Floyd left). Then the expectations kind of adjust themselves accordingly. Newton was fired after the first season and was replaced with Gerard Christopher, who had a much easier time on set and dealing with expectations. Why? Partly because Gerard wasn't the immediate successor to the G.O.A.T. Christopher Reeve. That was Newton's burden.

SUPERBOY opening theme (Season 1 w/ John Newton)


Honestly, SUPERBOY got better and better in the later seasons as it got more comfortable with what it really was: an unashamed comic book tv show. It should not be forgotten.

SUPERBOY is the often-missing link between the Christopher Reeve Era and the Dean Cain Era.

[ironman2978]

Best : Smallville, Superman the animated series, George Reeves Adventures of Superman, Ruby Spears Superman

Worst: Lois and Clark, Adventures of Superboy

[UltraWoman]

"Up, Up and Away!" musical?

Did you mean "It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman!" musical?

If not, I wasn't aware Superman had TWO different musicals ...

Oooops, yes that's the one. I really ought to know that considering how much I enjoy musicals. I guess it goes to show that I've never actually SEEN it in RL (short of attempting to watch the Tv one and turning it off before it was finished).

[misslane]

Perfect rendition of Lois - only blonde and called Chloe.

The only thing Chloe Sullivan had anything in common with any rendition of Lois Lane was her love for Clark and her interest in journalism. Even those two qualities weren't exactly Lois-like when examined in detail.

Chloe's love for Clark was always linked to her belief that he was "weird and unexplained" whereas Lois Lane traditionally either falls in love with Clark believing he is ordinary or she falls in love with his superhero side. Chloe's interest in journalism was far more linked to exposing the strange than it was interested in changing public opinion.

Leaving journalism and loving Clark Kent aside, Chloe's moral and ethical perspective never aligned with any Lois Lane I know. Chloe's investigative style was tech-based rather than in the field or undercover. Chloe wore her heart on her sleeve; Lois masks her emotions in bravado and banter. Chloe was such an imperfect Lois that she was actually very little like Lois Lane at all.

Finally, you and I must have very different definitions of "smug" if you considered either one of the Lois and Clark Jimmys worthy of such a description.

[misslane]

SUPERBOY counts as a Superman show every bit as much as SMALLVILLE does. We got the suit and the powers and flight. And at least SUPERBOY was never ashamed of its comic books roots, unlike SMALLVILLE.

You're kidding, right? How could Smallville be ashamed of its comic book roots? It featured the vast majority of Superman's comic-based mythology. It's ninth season was a close television adaptation of World of New Krypton. Geoff Johns wrote three episodes for the show. The only thing it didn't do was adhere to one aspect of Pre-Crisis comic canon (i.e. Superboy before Superman).

[daBronzeBomma]

You're kidding, right? How could Smallville be ashamed of its comic book roots? It featured the vast majority of Superman's comic-based mythology. It's ninth season was a close television adaptation of World of New Krypton. Geoff Johns wrote three episodes for the show. The only thing it didn't do was adhere to one aspect of Pre-Crisis comic canon (i.e. Superboy before Superman).

Now YOU're the one who's kidding, right?

SMALLVILLE was absolutely ashamed of its comic book roots. And it showed.

10 years, summed up in four noxious words:

"No tights, no flights."

If you're a Superman show, there is no more damning evidence that this show really wanted to be a Superman show. A Superman show that allows neither tights not flights is not really much of a Superman show at all.

And after going a full 6 years past the original premise (Clark Kent's 4 years in high school), the least the show could have done at the end was give us Tom Welling proudly wearing the Super-suit.

But, no: Tom Welling never had any desire to wear the suit, and all we got after 10 years of watching this show and waiting? An unclear CGI of Superman in flight and a last-second shirt-rip.

SMALLVILLE did do some positive things for Superman (the aforementioned Clois relationship at the end was the best interpretation yet, IMHO), but compared to the other 3 live-action Superman shows, it is clearly the worst of the Superman shows. They (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, SUPERBOY, LOIS & CLARK) each proudly flew the Super-flag, SMALLVILLE kept finding excuses to hide it.

I'm changing my Godfather analogy for the Super-shows:

LOIS & CLARK is still the Sonny of the Superman shows.
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN is still the Michael of the Superman shows.
SUPERBOY is actually the Tom Hagen of Superman shows.
SMALLVILLE is actually the Fredo Corleone of Superman shows.

[misslane]

If you're a Superman show, there is no more damning evidence that this show really wanted to be a Superman show. A Superman show that allows neither tights not flights is not really much of a Superman show at all.

That's ridiculous. It was a pre-Superman show, so a "no tights, no flights" rule until Clark became Superman makes perfect sense and is perfectly in line with several comic book origin stories.

[daBronzeBomma]

That's ridiculous. It was a pre-Superman show, so a "no tights, no flights" rule until Clark became Superman makes perfect sense and is perfectly in line with several comic book origin stories.

Ah, a pre-Superman show that never showed the suit, even at the end of its slow, snail's-pace decade-long crawl?

No.

The fact that even at the end of the entire series, when they had nothing to lose and no reason to hide anymore, they still wouldn't show us Superman in full is a giant mark against it. It will always be the worst Superman show in my eyes for this reason.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, SUPERBOY, and LOIS & CLARK are all much truer Superman shows that SMALLVILLE ever was.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Superman TAS.

[misslane]

Ah, a pre-Superman show that never showed the suit, even at the end of its slow, snail's-pace decade-long crawl?

Um, the show ended with Clark wearing the full suit. You saw the character in the full suit at least three times.