'The Adventures of Superman' review

As a fan of Superman, I couldn't help but be curious when MeTV started airing this decades old series.  I'm a huge fan of the Adam West Batman show and even Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman was surprisingly solid, so I figured that the last of DC's big three should fare alright.

Sadly, it isn't the case.  I knew from the get-go that there wouldn't be any Brainiac or Lex Luthor, but even without the rogues gallery, they could have done better.  You can't put Superman up against gun toting gangsters; it doesn't work.  While Kryptonite does come in from time to time, it is used sparingly. As a result, you very rarely feel like there is any real danger.  To be fair, I think it's good that Kryptonite didn't pop up all over the place, but it does level the playing field to some extent.

I never understood how people saw Superman as boring.  Seeing this, I can see where they'd get the impression.  The show doesn't give Clark much personality and Superman is usually absent up until the show's final act when he swoops in to save the day.  Later episodes remedy this a little, but for a show about Superman, Superman isn't in it a whole lot.

Instead, the focus is put on Jimmy, Lois, and Perry White.  I somewhat understand the logic here, as they have to get into trouble to have Superman save them, but it feels more like the adventures of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane guest starring Superman.

For what it's worth, Jack Larsen's Jimmy Olsen is one of the show's major highlights.  He really sells the character as a dough eyed, good natured goofball.  He has the most heart and does get some rather funny lines over the course of the show.

Lois is OK.  She was played by two actresses over the course of the show and while I prefer the first, Phyllis Coates, Noel Neill did a decent job of it.

The show also does a decent job of addressing the "why doesn't anyone figure out that Clark is Superman?" question.  Yeah, they look the same, and are never seen in the same place at the same time, but it's strongly implied that both Lois and Jimmy have pretty much figured it out, they just don't have any real proof.

It's surprising as this iteration of Clark isn't too good at keeping his secret identity.  He slips up quite a bit early on and makes several comments where he says he'd have to be Superman to do something.  I also found it odd how he kept leaping out of the window of the Daily Planet.  You'd think someone would find that bizarre, but given how tight Superman is with the staff there, you could hand wave it that way.

Overall, I found this to be a letdown.  I guess nostalgia plays a part in the love for this iteration.  It hearkens back to a simpler time, but I think it's good that Superman has evolved and developed a better backlog of stories and gallery of rogues because this leaves a lot to be desired.