One of the frustrating things about reviewing Adventures of Superman has been just how dull some of these episodes are. Luckily, the third season has avoided that by going an extra 15-20% into the ‘bonkers’ category, and it is greatly appreciated. Up, up, and away!
1. The goofiest/best set up yet
“The Lucky Cat” begins with Clark and Jimmy going to do a story on an anti-superstition society. They are a group of people who hate superstitions, and so begin their meetings by walking under a ladder, ignoring pennies on the floor, and breaking a mirror. This is both the stupidest idea for a group I’ve ever heard, and also one I’d maybe join. Although, it would either be filled with people with a good sense of humor about themselves or the Ricky Gervaises of the world, who would just be making people feel stupid.
This episode is built around a red herring of a landlord who hates the anti-superstition society, and so when tragedy almost befalls a few members, he’s the prime suspect. But ultimately, he’s just a cranky old man created as a distraction for the ‘real’ criminal, which seems awfully convenient. Imagine going to rob a bank, and there was a guy outside claiming that working for a bank will get you robbed. That’s some patsy to set up, and that’s essentially what happens here.
2. New powers shown!
The 1950s were hardly a special effects Camelot, so I can’t really fault the show for not doing more superpowers, but it is nice to see some innovation happening. The featured image above couldn’t really be cropped perfectly, so I’m pasting it here: this is how the show is showing Superman’s x-ray vision:
It’s not exactly a T-1000 jump in effects quality, but it allows the viewer to see what Superman sees, even briefly, and it’s an effective technique. It also allows Superman to have powers that aren’t just being able to not be hurt, which is 90% of what has happened thus far on the series.
3. Breaking the fourth wall in the weirdest way
So, it’s Superman week, and that means that all of Metropolis is pitching in to make it a great celebration of the Man of Steel, including a local painter who paints his portrait. The whole scene is weird, with them designating that the painting is happening in Clark Kent’s apartment, as he generously donated the space. Why does this painter not have a space of their own? But even weirder than that is the fourth wall breaking she does after Superman flies off. She turns to the camera and says “Boy, I wish I could fly, then I wouldn’t have to ride the smelly subway!”
What the shit is that? Was the writer of the episode in a particularly bad commute and felt the need to take it out on [checks notes] the idea of the subway? I get that it’s a joke, but it’s a weird one, delivered by a one-scene character, for no real reason. Sadly, this episode doesn’t get much better, in terms of writing.
4. Oh, Jimmy
Jimmy Olsen, on this show, is about as dumb as any human can be while still staying alive long enough to reach…however old he’s supposed to be. He’s a reporter, but is said to be not old enough to vote, so who knows really how old Jim is. Anyway, here he sees a note intended for Clark and decides to get a scoop, pretending to be a phone company employee at a mobster’s apartment. Of course his plan is foiled, because he’s the worst, and he’s made to drink truth serum, which basically makes him drunk and spit out a few Superman secrets, including that kryptonite can kill him.
This leads into an episode that had such an obvious twist that I can’t imagine even kids not seeing coming. It involves fake kryptonite in a lead pipe, and yada yada who cares. But Jimmy falls for it just like the crooks do because, again, Jimmy is a truly inept character.
5. A framing device for a bad joke
This is one of the worst constructed episodes of the series thus far, because it seems that the “Superman Week” premise is in place just for the final scene of the episode. I’ve mentioned in the past how Jimmy and Lois, week to week, vacillate from “who is Superman?” to “obviously, Clark is Superman.” Jimmy does so in the middle of this episode because, again, why not? But here, Lois and Jimmy ‘trick’ Clark by getting him the opportunity to interview Superman on television as part of Superman week. How will Clark ever get out of this one?
Continued belowWell he conducts the interview off-camera, and so we see him using a tape recorder of his questions, which would, to the home viewer, be absolutely plausible. However, Clark also takes the bust of Superman created for Superman Week, dresses him up as Clark Kent, and has him sitting behind the camera. Now, there’s no one in the room with them who can be fooled by this pre-schooler’s idea of a trick. Was this just so Superman had somewhere to look during the interview? That can’t be it, can it?
So, looping around to the name of this bullet point: the entire episode was centered around Superman week, just so that someone could both make a sculpture of Superman, and so Clark would have the opportunity to interview him on tv. There is nothing else in the actual plot – gangsters want to get kryptonite to make take out Superman – has anything to do with Superman Week. It’s just such a weird way to approach the episode.
Oh well, see ya next week!
