veryone knows the story of Kansas farm boy Clark Kent, who comes to the big city of Metropolis and starts leading a double life as the costumed hero Superman. But what do they know about his gal Friday and perennial love interest, Lois Lane? Actually, a lot, thanks to this reimagining of the Superman legend, which first premiered on the ABC network in 1993.
The first season introduces the familiar setting of the Daily Planet newsroom but tweaks the main characters to fit modern sensibilities. Lois (Hatcher) is a dedicated career woman who secretly dreams of being swept off her feet. Perry White (Smith) is a good old boy with a fondness for Elvis and a host of stress-related medical conditions. Jimmy Olsen (Landes) may be just as young and eager as his comic-book counterpart, but he's a lot more handsome and not quite as green. Perhaps the biggest departure is in the character of Lex Luthor (Shea), a rich, handsome, outwardly respectable businessman who becomes Clark's rival for Lois' affections.
As Clark and Lois pursue big news stories, some of their leads point to information about his past. With each new revelation, he begins to understand his role as a hero, but struggles with his feelings for Lois and the secrets that he must keep. Fortunately, he has a pair of willing confidants in his loving parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Jones and Callan), who help guide him on his path.
The love triangle between Clark, Lois and Lex comes to a climax near the end of the season, when Lex proposes to Lois and she accepts. Jealous and suspicious of Lex's motives, Clark sets out to prove that he is responsible for the demise of the Daily Planet. But will he have the evidence in time to convince Lois not to go through with the wedding?
A super series' mediocre release
For those who may not remember the state of the Superman franchise prior to 1993, the most recent modern incarnation was the 1987 film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace film starring Christopher Reeve, which failed at the box office and essentially sent the character into forced hibernation. It wasn't until screenwriter Deborah Joy LeVine came along six years later with her inventive take on the mythology that Superman and his alter ego became relevant again.
In this new version, Clark has to share the spotlight for the first time. As the title indicates, the two leads are equal parts of this series. Lois is elevated from sidekick and frequent damsel-in-distress to a complex, three-dimensional character in her own right. Their will-they-or-won't-they romance is as much a part of the story as Superman's crime-fighting adventures. From the first episode, Cain and Hatcher deliver the snappy dialogue with charismatic flair. Those winking references to Superman that often appear on Smallville? They did it here first.
Now, after fans have spent years petitioning and pleading with Warner Brothers, the series is finally coming out on DVD. While not a substandard offering by any means, the collection isn't exactly worth the long wait either. To the studio's credit, they did manage to get most of the original cast to do interviews for one or both of the two featurettes, but only Cain participated in the single commentary track in the set (for the pilot episode). The pilot presentation introduced by LeVine has little new information, and in fact repeats some of the same stories that are already in the commentary.
Technically, the set has good (but not great) sound and picture quality. Though the special effects were advanced for their time, they now look crude at best and cheesy at worst. It would be nice to see some of these cleaned up for this release (at least where it's feasible, like in the case of a simple color correction). For true fans, however, the real bonus is just having all of the episodes together on DVD for the first time.
