The Adventures of Superboy - Season 1

Just recently the Home Theater Forum hosted its latest online chat with representatives from Warner Home Video on upcoming TV series and animated titles slated for DVD release. Among the titles mentioned by participants was "The Adventures of Superboy", the 1988-92 series that saw its first season released on DVD last summer. When asked about possible future releases of the remaining seasons, Warner reps stated that "Superboy" was not in the works any time soon - which is a real shame. Since that announcement, I figured it's time to go back and take a look at this underrated release.

In 1988 the Superman franchise was struggling to keep its head above water. The third and fourth "Superman" feature films, as well as "Supergirl", were critical and commercial box office disasters. The "Superman" franchise had changed hands, as the struggling Cannon Films now had the rights to the series and had begun considering a fifth installment. In the meantime, the animators at Ruby-Spears were looking to bring Superman back to television as an animated series (which would run for 13 installments). But Alexander and Ilya Salkind, the producers who brought the first three "Superman" films to life, had one more card up their sleeve, as they had the rights to the Superboy character as well. Prior to 1988, the only times Superboy had seen the light of day had been in the 1960's, in a 30-minute TV pilot produced by Whitney Ellsworth and starring John Rockwell (which didn't sell), and in animated form in 1966 from Filmation Studios as part of "The New Adventures of Superman" (which is set for DVD release later this year). Could the Salkinds pull it off and make their mark in television the same way they had done in films? By producing a pilot film entitled "Countdown to Nowhere" (which would be slightly re-edited and aired as the fifth episode of the season), "Superboy" was about to take flight. Many of the creative personnel who had worked on the "Superman" films returned to produce "Superboy", and directors like Jackie Cooper (Perry White from the films and himself a veteran TV director) and David Nutter (who would later helm episodes of "Lois and Clark" and "Smallville") directed a number of installments in the first season.

At the time, original series produced for syndication were something relatively new to the market, and at the top of the heap was "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Its success paved the way for many other series to bypass the main networks and run solely in syndication, relying on national and local advertisers for funding and promotion. When "Superboy" premiered in the fall of 1988, it became an instant hit and one of the most popular half-hour syndicated series of its time. Viacom, a TV distributor best known for syndicating older series to local stations, syndicated "Superboy" throughout its four-year run from 1988 to 1992 (in 1990 it would also handle the syndication rights to the extended version of "Superman IV").

The premise of "Superboy" was interesting, as it sought to answer a question posed in the first "Superman" film: what could have happened in the years between the time Clark Kent left Smallville at age 18 and emerged as Superman at age 30? Ilya Salkind posited one notion that could have happened: he, like any other youth, would go to college. During his freshman year at Shuster University in Siegelville, Florida (an obvious tip of the hat to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), Clark Kent (portrayed by John Haymes Newton) balanced his time between studying journalism, writing for the Shuster Herald, and saving the community as Superboy. Along for the ride were Lana Lang (the ever-fetching Stacy Haiduk), who had a crush on Superboy, and T.J. White (Jim Calvert), son of Daily Planet editor Perry White, here playing the Jimmy Olsen-like photographer sidekick for the Herald. At times, however, Clark, Lana, and T.J. had frequent run-ins with Lex Luthor (Scott Wells), here portrayed as a rich, snobby upperclassman who looked to line his pockets with as much money as possible through more than questionable means.

Many of the initial plots of the first season of "Superboy" were relatively simplistic, as nearly all of the stories had to fit within and be resolved by the end of the half-hour, though a number of plots were revisited throughout the season and, later, the series. A number of these plots pitted Superboy against local hoods attempting to get rich quick through shady means, including Lex Luthor at times, or saving Lana from disaster. By the second half of the season, as the series grew in its ratings, the plots began to grow significantly and explore the Superman mythology, introducing Kryptonite and Mr. Mxyzptlk, the fifth-dimensional prankster. One of the running themes of Luthor's attraction toward Lana emerged into a showdown between him and Superboy at the end of the first season, which would continue throughout later seasons.

Newton's portrayal of a more mature Clark Kent and Superboy steered away from the feature films and echoed elements of the George Reeves series of the 1950's, with a confidence then rarely seen in the character. Because of the popularity of the series, the Salkinds considered a "Young Superman" spinoff feature film with Newton in the title role. But just as plans for the film and the second season began to emerge, the Salkinds soon found themselves without an actor for the lead role. To this day, reports vary between a salary dispute Newton had with the Salkinds for a salary increase for the second season, and a reported run-in Newton had with the law which led to his being fired from the series during its hiatus in 1989. Whatever the reason, the first season of "Superboy" was Newton's only turn at bat, and the cape would be passed on to Gerard Christopher when the series returned in the fall of 1989. (Newton would later go on to star in the syndicated TV version of "The Untouchables" and continue working in TV films and series billed simply as John Newton.) Jim Calvert and Scott Wells would also depart the series at the end of the first season (I don't think I ever saw them in anything again), leaving only Stacy Haiduk as the sole cast member to return. Now the Salkinds had a challenge worthy of the last son of Krypton.

Since its final run in 1992, "Superboy" was not seen anywhere on television, though it was briefly considered for a return telecast on the Sci-Fi Channel in later years (which didn't materialize). When I caught this series during its run, I often missed a number of episodes simply because of poor scheduling on the station's part. And in the wake of other Superman incarnations throughout the last 15 years, "Superboy" got lost in the shuffle somewhere and was nearly forgotten.

Thankfully, Warner Home Video stepped up to the plate and offered the first season of "The Adventures of Superboy" in a nice four-disc collection. All 26 of the first season episodes are presented in their original broadcast form in Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, with your choice of French or Spanish subtitles. Because the series was shot on videotape, it echoes many of the others series that were also shot on video at that time, as it looks soft and fuzzy at times in terms of image quality. Almost as bad are some of the visual effects, which when compared to latter-day CGI efforts looks dated and cheesy. And certainly the flying effects have improved in later years. But you can't blame the Salkinds for giving it all they had in this first season.

Included on this set are two audio commentaries with Ilya Salkind and John Haymes Newton on "Revenge of the Alien - Part 2" (the season's lone two-part segment) and "Meet Mr. Mxyzptlk". Here Salkind and Newton reflect on their work on the first season of "Superboy" and discuss story points and production considerations. Having these audio commentaries is nice, but I wish their thoughts, along with Calvert and Haiduk, were included on other episodes as well.

Disc 4 contains the bulk of extra features included in this first season set, but sadly there's not a lot of love given to "Superboy". First we have "Superboy: Getting Off the Ground", a 12-minute featurette that takes a look back at the making of the first season. We have new interviews with Salkind, Newton, Haiduk, and Calvert, as they reflect on their attempts to bring "Superboy" to life. Salkind has the lion's share of stories about wanting to continue the Superman franchise with his first venture into television, while Newton, Haiduk, and Calvert reflect on their friendships during that first season. Sadly, Haiduk and Calvert have lost much of their youthful luster due simply to the passage of time, and only Newton looks as youthful yet mature enough to handle playing an older Superman. It's all too brief, punctuated by on-set photos and clips from the first season, but it's a nice retrospective look.

We also have a six-minute video of John Haymes Newton's screen tests for Superboy and Clark Kent. This one really brought a smile to my face, simply because Newton is seen testing for the role in none other than Christopher Reeve's Superman movie costume (which would make one more appearance during a second season segment involving Bizarro). Newton's test for Clark Kent is also interesting to watch, as he approaches the role with the same kind of maturity that he gave to Superboy. This is also all too brief, but it's a nice inclusion in this set.

The set is rounded out with trailers for the "Superman: Brainiac Attacks" direct-to-DVD animated film, the six-minute teaser for the Bryan Singer/Kevin Burns documentary "Look! Up in the Sky - The Amazing Story of Superman", and the Superman "Hero" trailer, all of which made the rounds on the different Superman-themed DVD releases in 2006.

Missing from this set are the original unaired version of the pilot episode "Countdown to Nowhere", which is very similar to the final presentation but without the bookend scenes included in the episode; production footage and outtakes from the first season; any and all preview trailers used to promote the series; and further commentaries with Newton, Haiduk, and Calvert on other episodes. Where Warner really delivers in a nice DVD presentation of its TV product, they really skimped on the opportunity for more extra features.

It's really sad that Warner Home Video announced that there were no plans to release the remaining seasons of "The Adventures of Superboy" on DVD. This is because of the reported low sales given to this first season set, and, as you know, sales translates into demand for later season sets of a series, particularly a very long-running series. I'm also thinking this announcement has something to do with the legal problems that DC Comics has had with the heirs of Siegel and Shuster and their claim to the Superboy character, which also has had a lot to do with the Superboy animated segments from the 1960's and the 1961 pilot film being kept off DVD in an official format. This kind of announcement only opens up the doors for bootleggers, and that only results in money lost from a studio. My advice to you is write to Warner Home Video and express your concerns for seeing the remaining seasons of "Superboy", as well as the 1960's animated segments and the 1961 pilot film, formally issued on DVD in an official format and given a lot of love and treatment it rightfully deserves.

See you next time with more DVD reviews and thoughts! Have a happy Mother's Day, and don't forget to call your mother!