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Lois & Clark

The Many Faces Of… Super-Finales!

As the series finale of Supergirl approaches, Russ Dimino looks back at Super-finales of the past, including Smallville, Superboy, Lois & Clark and more

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As Supergirl prepares to take her final bow tonight (November 9), we thought we would take this opportunity to look back at some other super finales from years past. Here is a look at how five shows starring Kara’s “more famous cousin” (as Barry Allen once called him) each wrapped up their run.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As there were many shows starring Super-people, this list is curated to big highlights and milestones, narrowed down to a Top 5. So, trust – nothing is “forgotten;” just only so much space!

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THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN

SERIES SUMMARY: The live-action heroics of Superman hit the small screen for the first time as George Reeves brought the character to life in black and white, alongside Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane, Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, and John Hamilton as Perry White. Starting with the second season, Noel Neill took over the role of Lois Lane. (She had previously played Lois alongside Kirk Alyn’s Superman in the serials of the late 1940s.) Later seasons were broadcast in color. Lex Luthor and the rest of Superman’s comic book rogues gallery were notably absent from this series, instead mostly pitting the Man of Steel against gangsters and mad scientists.

WHEN IT AIRED: 1952 – 1958

SERIES FINALE: “All That Glitters,” April 28th, 1958

HOW IT ENDED: Professor Pepperwinkle has invented a machine that creates gold, making him a target for some crooks who want to steal his device. While investigating the professor’s invention, Lois and Jimmy are exposed to “Positive Kryptonite,” which gives them the same powers as Superman! This actually turns out to be a dream that Jimmy is having after getting hit on the head. Superman shows up in the last few minutes to defeat the crooks, and the professor agrees never to use his invention again. (It turns out it requires platinum to operate, which meant he was losing money in creating the gold.)

SATISFYING ENDING?: Not at all. This is a fun episode, but it’s pretty obvious this was not intended to be a series finale. Superman only appears in about three minutes of it, and the fact that most of it is just Jimmy’s dream is a bit odd. Still, it’s amusing to see Lois and Jimmy flying around like Superman usually would!

FUN FACT: This episode was directed by George Reeves, which may explain why he doesn’t have much screen time in the episode.

WHERE TO WATCH: All six seasons of “The Adventures of Superman” are available on DVD, and they are available for digital purchase on sites such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu.

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SUPERBOY

SERIES SUMMARY: The adventures of Superman when he was a boy! “Superboy” got off to a rocky start with John Haymes Newton in the title role, a low budget, and some lackluster storylines in season one. Season two introduced a new leading man; Gerard Christopher took over the role of Clark Kent/Superboy. The later seasons of the show were particularly strong and featured scripts by comic book writers like Denny O’Neil, J.M. DeMatteis, Cary Bates, Mike Carlin, and Mark Evanier. Stacy Haiduk played Lana Lang for all four seasons of the show. The series also featured pretty faithful renditions of Superman villains like Metallo, Bizarro, and Mr. Mxyzptlk in live action for the first time.

WHEN IT AIRED: 1988 – 1992

SERIES FINALE: “Rites of Passage,” part 1 and 2, May 10th and May 17th, 1992

HOW IT ENDED: A message from Superboy’s spaceship is activated, letting him know he is ready for the next stage of his development. However, a crystal that was supposed to come with the ship is missing, and as a defensive measure Clark is stripped of his powers. Now, powerless, he must try to find the crystal and get his powers back – but he’s not the only one looking for it. Lana Lang, Matt Ritter, and C. Dennis Jackson from the Bureau of Extra-Normal Matters are all in Smallville looking for it as well, and Lana is closer than ever to figuring out that Clark and Superboy are one and the same. In the end, Clark finds the crystal first and restores his powers just in time to cast some doubt on his secret identity once more.

SATISFYING ENDING?: It’s not bad. The show stops just short of saying that Superboy has now become Superman with this “next stage of development.” It seems to be what they are implying, but it would have been better if they’d come right out and said that. Also, Lana comes very close to figuring out the secret only to have it be pulled out from under her once again. For the series finale, it would have been more satisfying if she finally got to learn the truth.

FUN FACT: The original plan was for the series to end with “Obituary for a Superhero,” killing off Superboy to be revived later in a spin-off movie. When it became clear that a movie would not be in the cards, “Obituary for a Superhero” was given a different ending with Superboy surviving and this new finale was written instead.

WHERE TO WATCH: All four seasons of “Superboy” are available on DVD, and they are available for digital purchase on sites such as Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.

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LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN

SERIES SUMMARY: This show put the investigative reporting and will-they-or-won’t-they romantic escapades of the titular duo at the forefront, with superheroics generally taking a back seat. Dean Cain’s portrayal reflected the comic books of the time, taking a “Superman is what I can do, Clark is who I am” approach to the character. Teri Hatcher was a feisty and independent 90s woman as Lois Lane. The “love triangle with two people” concept lasted for a couple of seasons before finally letting Lois in on the secret in season three. Lois and Clark tied the knot in season four, in an event timed to coincide with their wedding in the comics.

WHEN IT AIRED: 1993 – 1997

SERIES FINALE: “The Family Hour,” June 14th, 1997

HOW IT ENDED: Lois and Clark are disappointed by the news that they are not able to have children. They ask Lois’s father, Dr. Sam Lane, for help – which involves them revealing to him that Clark is Superman. Unfortunately, a telekinetic villain known as Fat Head (Harry Anderson) has learned Superman’s secret identity as well, and he kidnaps Jonathan and Martha Kent and Sam and Ellen Lane to ensure that Superman won’t stop him from stealing millions of dollars in gold. Ultimately Fat Head is tricked into using a device which removes his powers and his knowledge of Superman’s identity, and also somehow Sam Lane’s knowledge of Superman’s identity as well. A cliffhanger ending has Lois and Clark finding a baby on their doorstep wrapped in a Superman blanket, with a note saying that the child belongs to them.

SATISFYING ENDING?: Not even close. Fat Head is one of the weirdest villains of the series (no offense to the late Harry Anderson, who seems to enjoy chewing the scenery here), and the plot just doesn’t live up to the drama of previous season finales, let alone a series finale. Having Lois’s dad learn Clark’s secret and then unlearn it in the span of an episode is a strange choice as well. This was obviously not intended to be the last episode of the series, as is evidenced by the cliffhanger with the baby, but even if you take that into consideration this is still one of the weaker entries in the entire series.

FUN FACT: Series writer and executive producer Brad Buckner revealed some details to KryptonSite about what the plans were for that baby… you can read about it here! https://www.kryptonsite.com/loisclark/buckner2003.htm

WHERE TO WATCH: All four seasons of “Lois & Clark” are included on HBO Max, in high-definition for the first time! The show is also available on DVD, as well as for digital purchase on sites such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu – although those versions are all standard definition at this time.

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SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES

SERIES SUMMARY: The creative team behind “Batman: The Animated Series” turned their attention to the Man of Steel in this series, which took a lot of visual inspiration from the Fleischer Brothers cartoons of the 1940s. Superman was voiced by Tim Daly, and Lois Lane by Dana Delany.

WHEN IT AIRED: 1996 – 2000

SERIES FINALE: “Legacy” part 1 and 2, February 5th and 12th, 2000

HOW IT ENDED: An epic two-part finale sees a subplot that had been simmering throughout the series pay off in a big way, as Darkseid (voice of Michael Ironside) takes control of Superman and forces him to lead an invasion of Earth. When Superman finally breaks free from the mind control he heads to Apokolips to settle the score with Darkseid, knowing he will have to unseat the despot once and for all. Upon returning to Earth after a brutal final battle, Superman finds that the world no longer trusts him – in fact, most people are now afraid of him.

SATISFYING ENDING?: Darkly satisfying, but, yes – which is especially ironic considering the writers originally intended for this storyline to kick off a new season, not end the series. Superman gradually regaining the public trust would have been a storyline explored as the show went on. Instead, the final moments of the series have Lois and Superman share their first kiss, as Lois assures Superman that he will win everyone’s trust back “one person at a time.” We would see this version of Superman again in the “Justice League” animated series (voiced by George Newbern going forward), but at the time, as far as we knew, this was it.

FUN FACT: The climactic fight between Superman and Darkseid was storyboarded by Bruce Timm.

WHERE TO WATCH: “Superman: The Animated Series” is included on HBO Max, and was also just released as a series set on Blu-ray. It’s also available on DVD, as well as for digital purchase on sites such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu.

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SMALLVILLE

SERIES SUMMARY: The series that started out as young Clark Kent by way of “Dawson’s Creek” would go on to give fans ten years of stories of a pre-Superman coming into his own, with a no-tights, no-flights policy strictly enforced for the majority of its run. Tom Welling played Clark, alongside Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor, Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, and John Schneider and Annette O’Toole as Jonathan and Martha Kent. Erica Durance joined the series in its fourth season as the incomparable Lois Lane.

WHEN IT AIRED: 2001 – 2011

SERIES FINALE: “Finale” part 1 and 2, May 13th, 2011

HOW IT ENDED: Lois and Clark’s wedding day is approaching, but so is the planet Apokolips. Darkseid (who is more of a disembodied evil force here rather than a physical presence) has unleashed doom and gloom on the world, and on top of that Lex Luthor has just been resurrected. Clark finally accepts his destiny and dons the red-and-blue suit for the first time to go save the day – although not before his father reminds him to “always hold on to Smallville.” Superman flies up, up, and away… and physically pushes the entire planet Apokolips away from Earth, to much rejoicing.

SATISFYING ENDING?: Some might disagree, but overall yes. Fan favorite Michael Rosenbaum came back to play Lex Luthor one more time, there are some great Clark and Lois moments as they get ready for their wedding, and there are lots of flashbacks as Clark embraces his powers. Some fans felt a bit cheated though by the fact that we don’t REALLY see Tom Welling in the famous super suit… all the Superman shots are done via CGI. Still, the “flash forward” in the last few minutes of the finale that shows us Lois, Clark, and the rest of the crew at the Daily Planet seven years later is hard not to geek out over, even after multiple viewings. The final shot of the series is the famous shirt-rip and “S” reveal, which seems only appropriate.

FUN FACT: Michael Rosenbaum filmed his scenes for the finale in a single day.

WHERE TO WATCH: All ten seasons of “Smallville” are included on Hulu, and the show was also just released as a series set on Blu-ray. It’s also available on DVD, as well for digital purchase on sites such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu.

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The series finale of “Supergirl” will air on the CW on November 9th as a special two-hour event (see pictures here!). Fans are, of course, speculating about how the series will end. Will Kara fly off into the sunset to live happily ever after? Will she travel to the future to be with Mon-El and the Legion? Will she finally admit her true feelings for Lena? Could she possibly be de-powered, or even killed off? Given the interconnected nature of the Arrowverse shows, many fans hope that things will be left open-ended enough that we might see Supergirl again someday, perhaps on “Superman & Lois” or “The Flash,” if Melissa Benoist can be persuaded to don the tights and cape once more.

Back in the second season of “Supergirl,” in the episode “The Last Children of Krypton,” Kara says a Kryptonian phrase to her cousin Kal-El (Tyler Hoechlin) as the two say goodbye to each other. Winn asks what it means.

“There’s not really a word for it in your language,” Superman says. “I guess the closest thing would be… ‘to be continued’.”

A fitting reminder to fans as another super show leaves the airwaves. It’s not really goodbye, when these characters always remain ready to save the day in whatever incarnation comes next. After all, the fight for truth and justice is, as it always has been, a never-ending battle.

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Lois & Clark

Christopher Reeve Was Offered An Iconic Lois & Clark Role

A podcast interview has revealed that Christopher Reeve was offered an iconic Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman role.

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One of the highlights of the second season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was “Tempus Fugitive” which saw Lane Davies as a time-traveling villain intent on killing Superman. Along the way, his character became the first to tell Lois Lane that “hello, duh… Clark Kent is Superman!” Of course, due to time travel shenanigans this was forgotten, though Lois figures it out a few episodes later anyway.

There is a piece of Lois & Clark trivia that we had not known before, though: Former Superman Christopher Reeve was the first actor offered the role of the sardonic Tempus! This would have filmed several months prior to his horse-riding accident. Larry Drake from L.A. Law was also considered at one point.

The revelation came out on the Comic Book Central podcast which Lane Davies guested on a while back and only just now caught our attention. Also revealed in the podcast: Lane Davies had auditioned for Lex Luthor, and — perhaps unsurprisingly — he and John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Q”) often would audition for the same roles! Where was our Q/Tempus crossover?

You can listen to the entire podcast here, in which Lane Davies reflects about his own career but more specifically, Lois & Clark and the several episodes he appeared in, working with two different H.G. Wells and Making America Great Again as “John Doe” decades before an orange criminal made it his catchphrase. He’s even asked what he would think Tempus would do if he made an appearance on Superman & Lois!

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Krypton

Tubi Streaming Adds Superman Movies, Krypton and Lois & Clark

Two Christopher Reeve Superman films, Krypton, and Lois & Clark will all be streaming on Tubi.

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You might not need a MAX subscription to see some of the best Superman-related TV series and movies.

Variety broke the news today that Tubi is now streaming the first two Superman movies with Christopher Reeve as well as the two seasons of Krypton which starred Cameron Cuffe… and coming at the end of December, they are adding Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV show featuring Teri Hatcher.

(Before you ask: Smallville is still on Hulu!)

In addition to those productions, several DC animated movies will be streaming on Tubi as well as series such as Gotham and Batwoman. Several of the DC movies of recent years including The Batman, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, and Aquaman will also be available. There’s also the time Warner Bros. produced a Marvel show: Blade: The Series, which featured some episodes by Geoff Johns, is also coming to Tubi.

Tubi streaming is ad-supported, so there will be ads, but thankfully, it’s a considerably lighter add than The CW app which shows those irritating ForHers commercials 18 times repeatedly within an hour. You can find Tubi at tubi.com.

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Lois & Clark

30 Years Ago Today, Lois & Clark Premiered on ABC

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures premiered 30 years ago today, on September 12, 1993.

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It was a love triangle built for two. And while most are celebrating the anniversary of the premiere of The X-Files this week, it’s not the only show to hit a big 30 year milestone. Yes, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman premiered 30 years ago today (September 12), and hitting that big number is bringing up a lot of memories for this writer.

Developed by Deborah Joy LeVine, Lois & Clark focused on… well, Lois and Clark… even moreso than his costumed alter ego of Superman, who still appears. The two-hour pilot episode which aired on September 22, 1993 is to this day one of my favorite Superman “movies;” one thing that makes it special is that this Clark Kent is a good guy even before he puts on tights and a cape. Dean Cain played Clark with a worldly earnestness that could both attract and annoy Lois simultaneously. Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane was walking proof of why Clark Kent would fall for her so quickly. She was feisty, determined, and brilliant.

I was a teenager when Lois & Clark hit the air in 1993. It premiered the same night as NBC’s heavily-promoted seaQuest DSV from Steven Spielberg, and back in those days, there was no DVR and no later streaming so I had to watch one and tape the other. Sadly, I taped seaQuest, which meant I wouldn’t get to see the Lois & Clark pilot again until repeats much later. At school, my TV Production teacher loved the show and we’d often talk about it. My 11th grade English teacher scared me, telling me he thought Lois & Clark was going to be cancelled at the end of the season. Fortunately, it wasn’t, but in the pre-Internet age, I had no way of knowing, and I remember watching the Season 1 finale with the thought that it could possibly be the last. Imagine being in the pre-spoiler era and seeing that cliffhanger at the end of “Barbarians at the Planet!”

There were some changes as Season 2 began. Deborah Joy LeVine was out, and the Daily Planet set was refurbished. The Season 2 premiere makes a joke about e-mail as if it’s a thing Lois Lane has never heard of. The Season 2 premiere “Madame Ex” aired on the first night I was ever on the Internet… and I remember how all of us on the Prodigy message boards for the show had some questions. “Where’s Cat? Where’s Jack? Where’s the real Jimmy?” (Justin Whalin replaced Michael Landes for Season 2 onward. Eventually, we all came to accept and love him. We also gave a name to his black and white checkered shirt – “Ned.”) Season 2 started a little rough, but by “Season’s Greedings” (penned by Dean Cain himself), the magic was back. Later episodes in Season 2 finally got the lead characters together, and we got to meet such fun characters as Dr. Friskin (Lois’ therapist) and the sarcastic and witty time traveler “Tempus” who was accompanied by H.G. Wells.

By the end of Season 2, there were several places for FoLCs – or Fans of Lois & Clark – to congregate. It was around that time that a friend and I launched the “Krypton Club Newsletter,” an online mailing list and newsletter that ultimately led to the website you are reading now. An issue of the newsletter even went out the night that I graduated from high school. Elsewhere, a photo of Teri Hatcher wrapped in Superman’s cape was the most downloaded photo on the Internet once upon a time! Fans gathered on places such as AOL message boards as well as an IRC channel called #loiscla. (I acknowledge that most readers don’t recall what IRC even is.)

The summer between Seasons 2 and 3 was brutal. In the Season 2 finale, “And The Answer Is…,” Clark proposed to Lois, even though they hadn’t been dating very long by that point. We had to wait four months for the Season 3 premiere “We Have A Lot To Talk About” to find out what would happen next. Well… some of us did. One Krypton Club subscriber managed to get us an unfinished copy of the season premiere a month early. We then were going into the AOL chat room for the show and started reciting dialogue, and no one knew that what we were sharing was for real. Shhh. There was a FoLCFest where fans gathered; I didn’t attend that, but I did visit the studio with some friends and took a studio tour in the summer of 1995, where we were able to meet Dean Cain and Justin Whalin, and our poor tour guide is said to have gotten in big trouble for allowing us to stop and talk to them. Later in Season 3, I interviewed Executive Producer Brad Buckner for the Krypton Club Newsletter, and he invited my friends and I to hang out on the set and see some filming! The episode was “It’s A Small World After All” and it was so great to see a Lois who remembers who she is (more on that in a moment). I got to walk by in a scene, but none of my takes were used. We were able to meet the other cast members that we hadn’t met before, though we waited for the end of the to approach Teri so we wouldn’t bother her.

And about Lois remembering… Season 3 is when Lois & Clark pulled a bait and switch that the audience never really forgave the show for. In February, Lois and Clark were going to be married. Ads for the episode promoted them as if they were the best marriage since Michael & Lisa Marie, Charles & Di, Burt & Loni… all couples who had recently divorced… but those weren’t enough clues. When audiences saw what was really going on, they were mad, and it didn’t help that the clone/amnesia arc ran for about two months once reruns were factored in.

Season 4 got the characters actually married fast, but the damage was done. Even though Warner Bros. and ABC had made a deal to renew the show for Season 5, they renegotiated, and instead the network picked up a season of a different short-lived series. There was talk about TNT picking up some new episodes to get to the magic number of 100, but with Teri getting pregnant and other factors getting in the way, it was never meant to be. Some of us, as fans, wrote our own “fifth seasons” in fanfiction form. That was a lot of fun to do, and ours, at least, came out on Sunday nights just like new episodes of the series would have.

Lois & Clark was also a special series to me as it was one my father and I would watch together every week. Sadly, he passed away on May 26, 1997… only a few days after it was announced that the show was canceled. At the time, I was a bit relieved, not really wanting to be in a world where I’d be watching without him. Selfish, perhaps… but those final three episodes that ABC burned off in the summer weren’t the same without my Dad to watch with me.

I made lifelong friends from Lois & Clark, some of whom I still speak to on a regular basis. (A special shoutout goes to my friend Kat!) Fandom was much different in the pre-social media era. In many ways, it was good in that you gathered fans who all loved the same thing, and this show was special in that everyone was pretty much agreed on the preferred relationship in the series – it was in the title, and no one was shipping Lois & Dan “Plunger Boy” Scardino or something. Things did get a little less fun in Season 4 when a certain group of fans over-moderated the “WBTV forums” at the time, which is something I tried to avoid with the KryptonSite forums, not always successfully.

Dean and Teri would both guest star on Smallville and appear in multiple episodes of Supergirl, even both appearing in the same episode but not crossing paths. They say they’d like to do a reunion but I believe that about as much as I believe the Smallville animated show will actually happen. But, today belongs to the memory of the show that was – Lois & Clark… a fantastic series.

Want five episodes to check out? It’s nearly impossible to pick just five, but here we go: “Pilot” (Season 1) – “The Green, Green Glow of Home” (Season 1) – “The House of Luthor” (Season 1) – “Tempus Fugitive” (Season 2) – “We Have A Lot To Talk About” (Season 3). All are available on the MAX streaming service!

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