99. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Sep 12, 1993
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Rated TV-14
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a phenomenal television success. A much more lavish version of the popular Superman television series which had first aired forty years earlier, Lois & Clark focused more on the Man of Steel's early adult years in Metropolis.
With the unknowing help of Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher), Clark Kent (Dean Cain) created Superman there in Metropolis after finding work at the world-famous Daily Planet newspaper, where he meets fellow reporter Lois Lane. After Superman's debut, Lois becomes infatuated with Superman and continues to reject Clark's romantic overtures due to past bad experiences with men.
The rest of the first season Daily Planet staff includes Perry White, the chief editor, society columnist Catherine Grant (Tracy Scoggins), and cub reporter/photographer Jimmy Olsen (Michael Landes/Justin Whalin). Other major characters in the series include archvillain Lex Luthor (John Shea) and Superman's adoptive parents, Martha (K Callan) and Jonathan Kent (Eddie Jones). In a salute to the original Superman series, Phyllis Coates guest starred as Lois's mother, Ellen Lane in the last episode of the season. Coates had, of course, been the original Lois in the first Superman series.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman began to play up the romantic aspects of the series as the season progressed. By the end of the second season Lois had finally realised that Clark Kent and Superman were the same person so it came as no surprise to her when he finally revealed his true identity and proposed marriage.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman went where few shows care to go - it allowed the relationship between the two title characters to grow and develop naturally, as it might in real life. The real ratings problems began in the third season, when the network insisted on a fake wedding. Nicknamed the "ARRGGGHH" by the fans, the non-wedding arc included a clone, a kidnapping, and even amnesia. It would have been bearable if the famous couple had ended up together, but the network, afraid of the Remington Steel curse, refused to allow it, which set up some interesting season rewrites, because the original intent was to allow the marriage to occur.
Lois & Clark ended in 1997 with a cliffhanger, canceled by a network that did its best to bury the successful series in order to bring back The Wonderful World Of Disney. By the end of the last season, Lois and Clark had come a long way from the prickly, anything for a story, but marshmallow-hearted woman and the naive farm boy from Kansas. The Ice Queen had softened, the farm boy had grown up. Both had fallen in love, married, and were discussing children.
The last episode was unsatisfying due to its lack of a conclusion, but the series is still popular today. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman left a lasting mark on the face of a mythos where Clark Kent was real, Superman was the disguise, and Lois Lane was essential to his make-up. It left wonderful recurring villains, such as Tempus, and a timeless love story that makes one believe in true love.
