Hello friends! It’s time to embark on our third annual trek through the 1950s, courtesy of Adventures of Superman! This summer, I’ll be covering both the third and fourth seasons, as the show dropped its episode count from 26 to 13 in season 3, in addition to shooting the shows in color. In doing some research earlier this year, I read that season 3 is also the year that the show embraced a less serious tone, and that is abundantly clear from the first episode. Let’s not waste anymore time…up, up, and away!
1. Third verse, same as the first
Despite color, despite a ‘sillier’ tone, despite a shortened episode order, some things are exactly the same in season 3. No ‘major’ character acts any different than they did in the prior 40+ episodes, and so Jimmy is still obnoxious, Clark is still a terrible liar, Lois is the best, etc. The show also continues the weird TV tradition, still alive today, of casting the same actor in different roles.
But Adventures of Superman takes it to a whole new level. Sterling Holloway played a kooky scientist twice in season 2, and returns to play one in the season 3 premiere, but it is a different kooky scientist, despite him playing the role exactly the same way. It is so weird and maddening, but also quasi-charming. Anyhow, the scientist invents a time machine, and manages to send the Daily Planet crew, along with a mobster, back to the Stone Age. You know, like happens literally every day somewhere in the world.
2. The Stone Age had some nice hairdressers
One of my dad’s favorite things to do with old tv shows and movies was to pull apart the logic strand by strand. I distinctly remember him laughing about how Gene Autry was able to have such clean boots in the Old West. Well, my old man would’ve had a field day with this episode. Between Cavemen having extra pelts laying around, in convenient sizes, for the displaced timetravelers to wear, to their well coifed hair, to their seemingly instantaneous understanding of English words like “boss” and “fire,” the entire sequence is laughably naïve.
3. The world’s shittiest ruse
I get that part of the joke of this series is ‘how couldn’t Lois know that Clark is Superman?,’ but this episode goes so far beyond logic of any kind, I found myself laughing out loud at a few instances. They don’t seem too surprised that Superman is back in time with them, though he can’t get back to the future, despite ‘following them back.’ Then, when its time to leave the past, Lois says they must wait for Superman, and Clark says something along the lines of “Please don’t ask me why, I can’t explain,” but he knows Superman will be fine and can return whenever he wants to. I suppose the running gag nature of it should be enough of an excuse, but it’s not. It’s lame.
4. The return of the bromance
The second episode, “The Talking Clue,” features the only relationship built on mutual respect in this entire series, that of Clark Kent and Inspector Henderson. I’ve mentioned before how it is almost written as if they are a secret couple, and after this episode, I am 80% sure that their secret romance is indeed intended on the part of the writers, and it is pretty much the bets part of Clark’s character. He’s such a smug prick to everyone else; it’s nice to see him actually be kind to someone.
5. Novelty
This whole episode is built around the novelty of Henderson’s son ‘collecting’ recordings. Not records, but essentially collecting field recordings of just about anything he can get his hands on, as well as being a real Dick Nixon and recording people’s conversations. It winds up saving the day in the end, of course, but imagine the world being so dull that there would be a newspaper article written about the boy who likes sounds? It’s no “Identical Twins Join Chronicle Staff,” obviously, but what is?
See y’all next week!
