Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman aired on ABC from September 12, 1993, to June 14, 1997, for a total of 87 episodes, including an hour and half pilot episode.
TV writer and producer Deborah Joy LeVine was the creator of Lois and Clark. She was the showrunner for Season.1 only.
As the title of the series indicates, the show was originally intended to be more about the relationship between Lois Lane (played by Teri Hatcher) and Clark Kent (played by Dean Cain) than it was about Superman himself. As LeVine recalled to Larry Tye in his excellent book, Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero:
“Just doing a show about a heroic guy who helps people was not that interesting to me. I was much more interested in what his problems were emotionally, how he falls in love with Lois, who is pretty horrible to him. I told ABC I didn’t want to do Superman but I would love to do a show that was a love story between this alien and this Earth woman he knows he probably never will be able to have a real relationship with. I wanted to do it as a romantic comedy…”
In a lot of ways, LeVine was echoing the changes that John Byrne had made to the Lois and Clark dynamic when he led the reboot of the Superman titles in the mid-1980s. So in that sense, her take on Clark and Lois was not dramatically different than what fans were somewhat used to already (and it was not like Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder’s interactions were not already key parts of the Superman series of films).
This three week topic will cover all four seasons of this show.
In episode 2
When Clark. s hiding in
Cat’s apartment
She decides to dress casual
To better suduce Clark
She looked way more attractive to me
Even her hair looked more normal
Another Cat moment
In All Shook Up
She is confesding to a priest
Saying she is all alone
As the world ends
Then can’t help herself
And tries to seduce the priest.
In Smart Kids episode
Which you will either like
Or dislike intensively
The kids are broadcasting
A cartoon
And then analyzing it
It is way over Cat’s head
And she admits it.
Also
Cat dressing ‘like a librarian’
To attract a billionaire
In another episode.
I am not ashamed to say Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is my Superman. This show debuted when I was 11 going on 12. I was the perfect age for this show.
Tracy Scoggins was the perfect actress to bring Cat Grant to life and to this day I get excited when Cat Grant appears. It is all because of this show that I have that kind of appreciation for a lesser-known comic book character.
Yes, I have seen the original series with George Reeves and then Superman: The Movie before this show appeared but Dean Cain was and is the actor I compare all actors who put on the red cape. He comes across as an extremely nice guy, even when people are going after him for his political beliefs on social media. I get the feeling he understands that he is still Superman to many people so he seems to go above and beyond. Check out Comic Book Men Season 3 Episode 9 to see Dean Cain serve cake to everyone at a party to celebrate Superman’s 75th Anniversary. (This is currently streaming on Amazon Prime).
Teri Hatcher is the perfect Lois Lane. She is believably conceded and full of her self as I have always seen Lois as. I do not mean this be a slight on Teri Hatcher because she also comes across as extremely likable. However, she also seemed way too comfortable in Lois’s skin. Demanding and indecisive while being romantic and working hard for what she wants. Margot Kidder was good as Lois but I will admit that she never fit my image of Lois. After I saw Teri Hatcher on that Sunday I knew I have found the Lois that I was looking for.
Lane Smith. Not enough can be said about Lane’s portrayal of Perry White. He was a hard boss to work for but he loved the business and the people even more. One moment he can be scolding Jimmy about doing something dimwitted and the next he can be reciting an anecdote about Elvis. All the while, his love of the character shone through in every scene he was in.
I might have fond memories of watching the 1950s show with my grandmother but Lois and Clark are where I confirmed my love of Superman. To this day, I maintain that Superman comics are only as good as the supporting characters and this show is what helped mold that opinion.
While I am here, I will share a photo of the trade paperback that I shared in @Lincolnfan78’s original topic.
Quick note: I have not checked if the missing comics have been added since I had originally made this post.
I agree 100%. This goes back to my theory that the comic is only good as its supporting cast. You can tell the writers that have figured this aspect out and the writers who haven’t. Jurgens and Byrne are writers that come to mind that have figured it out.
Watched the season 1 episode 18 Vatman on the treadmill tonight. Picked it because I saw a doppleganger Superman and that’s alway fun. My quick thoughts.
Theme music is really nice. Very Supermanesque.
Chemistry between Cain/Hatcher & Clark/Lois is perfect. You believe these two are rivals, but friendly rivals. Lois actually thinks Clark is both her friend and someone who looks out for her. This makes their eventual romance more convincing.
Comedy. Nice light comedy touch. A small moment, Clark is just back from Paris and he runs into Lois and offers her a baguette and she makes a face because it’s so good. It’s a little thing but nice.
Easter eggs. Lois tells Clark he gets a pin if he joins the Superman fan club.
Bizzarre (without the O this time) made a great protagonist, and Lex is spot on as the soulless arch enemy.
So, what season 2 show should I watch next time I’m running in my basement?
Okay, I went and started it so it’ll be marked for my next run. These shows work well to fill most of my four miles, then over to something else for the last ten minutes.
Watch a lot of these with my wife, we enjoyed the show but I’m sure we missed a bunch. We moved to japan in Aug 93. Armed Forces Television then got everything about 6 months later, then we moved back to the States in July 96, so we probably missed a most of season 3.