World Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

[Super Kal]

i hope so too

 

[Snoo]

Comparing Cain's Clark Kent to other live-action Clarks, one of the biggest differences to me is how good he feels in his skin. How comfortable he is. Confident, quick to offer his opinion, etc. I find all the other Clarks way more on the bumbling, shy, reserved side (except maybe George Reeves' version) which helps sell the double identity to me.

It's also a lot more fun to watch as far as I'm concerned because the actor gets to play two different characters, it brings lots of comedic moments (not that Lois & Clark lacked these), it's almost painful yet lovely to observe office Clark bumping into things and stuttering, checking around quickly to see no one's actually looking at him, then smiling to himself, etc. It doesn't have to be exagerrated like Chris Reeve sometimes did it but I wish there was a bit more of this side of Clark's on the Lois & Clark show.

With Cain's confident and laid-back Clark, I never really got to enjoy this kind of duality. I just wanted to see more of the differences between the alter egos. Cain's Clark was rather popular at the office and had women fawning over him. Well, since the show focused more on the relationship between Lois and him and not Lois and Superman, I can see why they developed the character that way...

Still, IMO that shy side of him was missing.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I've been watching one episode of L&C a night before bed for a while now (it's perfect for that, which I suppose is as much a criticism as a complement). I purchased seasons 2, 3 and 4 consecutively so I'm watching them in order....anyway, Cain's Superman has grown on me. And by the time I got to the third season episode, 'Super Mann', he finally convinced me he was Superman, and I started looking at the character a different way.

A lot of it is to do with the writing and special effects. If Superman is written badly, or the effects are unconvincing, they are going to make Cain look bad whatever he does. But a lareg part of it is because Cain is up against pathetic bad guys in the first two seasons (except for Lex), most of which are simply comedy double acts. A man is judged by his enemies.

When we get to season three however, not only are the stories bigger in scope, not only have the effects improved substantially, but the bad guys are finally bad. Evil, menacing. A threat. These are villains that only Superman can stop, whereas before the police or even Lois and Jimmy could conceivably stop the bad guys of previous seasons.

By the time we get to the episode 'Super Mann', we get the pure comicbook conceit of suspended animation Nazis trying to unleash the Fourth Reich. Much, much better villains than typical L&C ones. You can't go wrong with Nazis as the bad guys, they don't even require a build up. We all know how great a threat Nazis are. And only Superman can stop them - but they trick him by luring him to an unexploded WWII bomb that explodes in his face. He survives, but is covered in radioactive particles and has to stay in a glass cell for 300,000 years. Obviously helpless to stop the Nazis conquering Metropolis and the world.

Now that's more like it-!

Even better, Lois thinks of a last minute way to get Supes free....he can fly into the suns gravitational pull and it will suck the radioactive material out of him...but it will take hours to get to the sun and back, and he doesn't even know if he can escape the sun's gravity once he is there.

While he's up there, the Nazis threaten the world leaders, and when they fail to comply, the Nazis are about to explode bombs all over thw world...

...obviously you know what happens next, but the fact that the story is built up so well, the threat is huge and the effects are suficient, Superman becomes a much more dynamic, heroic, powerful and exciting character in this episode. By the end of it, I looked at Cain completely differently, for the first time I thought, "Whoa, he really is Superman."

So I've retracted my views on Cain being a lame Superman.

And also as you can see in the image below, as the series progresses, he looks a bit older, and no loner the Superboy of the early episodes.

http://media.monstersandcritics.com/articles/1177586/article_images/loissupermanandjimmy.jpg

 

[Matt]

I know we've argued on this many times in the past Kev, but I never thought I'd see the day where you praised Dean Cain's Superman

 

[Matt]

Back on topic, I actually liked Lois and Clark. What a lot of people don't take into consideration is, the focus is on Lois and CLARK, not Lois and Superman. Superman was simply a background character. And while I'll admit, they got many things wrong...they also got many things very right.

1) Best on screen live adaptation of Jimmy and Perry. Lane Smith (RIP) and Justin Whalin were both great. Even the original Jimmy was pretty decent

2) Best on screen live adaptation of the Kents.

3) Best on screen live adaptation of Luthor. He had the perfect ammount of arrogance and entitlement combined with class, dignity, and a bit of sympathy.

4) Best on screen adaptation of Lois Lane, hands down. Hatcher was the best Lane ever. That includes animated.

5) Best on screen adaptation of Clark Kent, ever. The Clark is who I am, Superman is what I do approach just makes so much more sense. Plus Cain had a good mixture of the average every man combined with...a certain unique, can't quite put your finger on it, aspect which works really well for Supes.

 

[stargazer]

Colours were good. It bypassed the 'problem' Superman Returns had withthe clashing colours by not muting the red but muting the blue. It's really that simple.

But look at Cain's face, his hair. That's clearly not Superman.

Compare this with Gerard Christopher, the previous actor to play the role.

http://gerardchristopher.com/sbwall-lg.jpg

Gerard beats Dean easily. He had a good look actually.

 

[stargazer]

Comparing Cain's Clark Kent to other live-action Clarks, one of the biggest differences to me is how good he feels in his skin. How comfortable he is. Confident, quick to offer his opinion, etc. I find all the other Clarks way more on the bumbling, shy, reserved side (except maybe George Reeves' version) which helps sell the double identity to me.

It's also a lot more fun to watch as far as I'm concerned because the actor gets to play two different characters, it brings lots of comedic moments (not that Lois & Clark lacked these), it's almost painful yet lovely to observe office Clark bumping into things and stuttering, checking around quickly to see no one's actually looking at him, then smiling to himself, etc. It doesn't have to be exagerrated like Chris Reeve sometimes did it but I wish there was a bit more of this side of Clark's on the Lois & Clark show.

With Cain's confident and laid-back Clark, I never really got to enjoy this kind of duality. I just wanted to see more of the differences between the alter egos. Cain's Clark was rather popular at the office and had women fawning over him. Well, since the show focused more on the relationship between Lois and him and not Lois and Superman, I can see why they developed the character that way...

Still, IMO that shy side of him was missing.

Agreed.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I know we've argued on this many times in the past Kev, but I never thought I'd see the day where you praised Dean Cain's Superman

I know-! Not a complete 180 degree turn, but maybe a 140...just goes to show how one's opinions can change when looking at things from different angles. I used to absolutely hate Mission Impossible II, and remember some lengthy Hype! discussions about that in summer 2000, and now I love it. The Shadow and Rocketeer I used to see as lame, but now I recognise them as two of the best movies of the genre.

Maybe one day I will even like GoldenEye...

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Back on topic, I actually liked Lois and Clark. What a lot of people don't take into consideration is, the focus is on Lois and CLARK, not Lois and Superman. Superman was simply a background character. And while I'll admit, they got many things wrong...they also got many things very right.

1) Best on screen live adaptation of Jimmy and Perry. Lane Smith (RIP) and Justin Whalin were both great. Even the original Jimmy was pretty decent

It's tricky to say which actors played the roles of Superman characters best, as they have all generally been good. Jackie Cooper was good, Frank Langella was good....I only realised that Lane Smith was playing the whole think as tongue-in-cheek when I re-watched the first season of L&C on DVD. It's a great performance. It's subtle humour.

As for Jimmy...Justin Whalin was good, sure, but Michael Landes felt more natural. Justin Whalin just screamed, "I'm here to get the 13 year old girls watching,", and he really was a stereotype in every way. Landes was a more soulful Jimmy, he understood the comedy and the style of the series and played it well. If you watch season one, his style of performance matches Hatcher and Cain perfectly. With Whalin, he plays Jimmy far more straight-forward.

2) Best on screen live adaptation of the Kents.

I have to disagree here. Glenn Ford was wonderful as Jonathan Kent in the 1978 Superman. His, "You are here for a reason," speech is as powerful as any of Marlon Brando's.

In L&C, it's always laid on too thick that the Kents are good, decent, unassuming, nice people. Martha Kent is always too happy. In Superman the movie, they were simply Norman Rockwell ordinary Americans of the 1950s, but they had a quiet dignity and humanity that never needed stating. They were normal, kind people.

3) Best on screen live adaptation of Luthor. He had the perfect ammount of arrogance and entitlement combined with class, dignity, and a bit of sympathy.

I agree that the Lex of L&C is great, however Michael Rosembaum is better. The Lex of Smallville is a fully 3D, rounded character. Lex of L&C is more simplistic. Plus, the Lex of L&C would smile at Superman, be polite to him whilst trying to kill him. He saw him as an opponent, but he didn't truly despise him. There should have been more hatred and bitterness.

Having said all that, which Lex was most convincing as a genius? Gene Hackman. Which Lex could turn from comedy to pure menace in a second? Gene Hackman.

And obviously Spacey is great, as is Clancy Brown in the animated series.

So my conclusion is that they are all great.

4) Best on screen adaptation of Lois Lane, hands down. Hatcher was the best Lane ever. That includes animated.

I used to agree. But the Dana Delany Lois of the 90's animated series is really definitive. Kind of. It's hard to define a character that was the ultimate damsel in distress for half her existence and later became a no-nonsense, touhg-talking go-getter.

5) Best on screen adaptation of Clark Kent, ever. The Clark is who I am, Superman is what I do approach just makes so much more sense.

Why does it make more sense? It makes less sense.

Superman literally puts on Clark Kent as a disguise. Suit, glasses. When he takes off his glasses, and his suit, he is Superman underneath. If you try and reverse it, it's a far less powerful visual transformation. If Clark was the real person, it would be better for him to put on a disguise to become Superman, rather than take one off.

 

[SuperDaniel]

I think most people misinterpret the line "Superman is what i can do. Clark is who i am"

What i got is that what makes Superman the guy he is his humanity, his human background and raising by the Kents. Its Clark who is under the costume, who made the decision to use his powers for good so thats what matters.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I think most people misinterpret the line "Superman is what i can do. Clark is who i am"
.

It's a pretty literal description of what L&C was about. It's hard to mis-interpret. Read or watch any interview with Dean Cain, and he'll say about, "Clark being the real person."

I'm halfway thru season three and the bad guys are so much better-! The show actually starts taking them seriously and adding some menace. You have the Nazis, a voodoo magician, a Kryptonite virus....it's so much better than the laaaame comedy villains of the first two seasons. Plus the episode, 'Virtually Destroyed' finally has an actual superhero/supervillain fight scene, the first for the show, and not bad either.

 

[Doctor Baywatch]

It's a pretty literal description of what L&C was about. It's hard to mis-interpret. Read or watch any interview with Dean Cain, and he'll say about, "Clark being the real person."

but that's basically Byrne's "vision".

 

[gimmen64]

After looking back and L&C, I see that Cain was the best looking Superman in quite some time. I watched the series religiously until they changed it from Sundays. It was an amazing cast and its hard to make that chemistry work on screen, just look at SR.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

but that's basically Byrne's "vision".

No 'but' about it, it's completely the John Byrne Superman. That's what Lois & Clark is based on.

 

[Doctor Baywatch]

No 'but' about it, it's completely the John Byrne Superman. That's what Lois & Clark is based on.

Yeah, but I still think this take is too much "Marvel" and "wrong". It worked for Lois & Clark because it was a romantic comedy.

 

[stargazer]

After looking back and L&C, I see that Cain was the best looking Superman in quite some time. I watched the series religiously until they changed it from Sundays. It was an amazing cast and its hard to make that chemistry work on screen, just look at SR.

Cain best looking Superman??! Totally disagree.
And I like the chemistry between Bosworth and Routh. SR is a great film, IMO. The drama had a mature, non cliched and serious tone, and it's very cinematic compared to the camp and cheese of Lois and Clark, which was just a romantic comedy, not my type of Superman story, at all. To each his/her own.

 

[gimmen64]

Cain best looking Superman??! Totally disagree.
And I like the chemistry between Bosworth and Routh. SR is a great film, IMO. The drama had a mature, non cliched and serious tone, and it's very cinematic compared to the camp and cheese of Lois and Clark, which was just a romantic comedy, not my type of Superman story, at all. To each his/her own.

I have to say that L&C was a lot of fun. I love SR and own it on 3 times on DVD and on HD. SR was a great film but I just wasn't happy that Lois was so bitter. I think that Kitty had better chemistry with Superman than Lois did. I also loved that in L&C that Clark did everything to make sure that Lois fell in love with him, not Superman.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I have to say that L&C was a lot of fun. I love SR and own it on 3 times on DVD and on HD. SR was a great film but I just wasn't happy that Lois was so bitter. I think that Kitty had better chemistry with Superman than Lois did. I also loved that in L&C that Clark did everything to make sure that Lois fell in love with him, not Superman.

That is such a girl post.

 

[gimmen64]

That is such a girl post.

t: I'm just like Superman.....EMO .

 

[SuperDaniel]

It's a pretty literal description of what L&C was about. It's hard to mis-interpret. Read or watch any interview with Dean Cain, and he'll say about, "Clark being the real person."

Oh defnietely. Clark is the real person. But i think he is in the comics too. Clark is the one inside the suit.

Anyway, i prefer this version of Superman. The bumbling fool Kent was always stupid to me.

I like that its all part of his personality. Neither is completely real or false.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

t: I'm just like Superman.....EMO .

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Oh defnietely. Clark is the real person. But i think he is in the comics too. Clark is the one inside the suit.

Anyway, i prefer this version of Superman. The bumbling fool Kent was always stupid to me.

I like that its all part of his personality. Neither is completely real or false.

In the comics, Clark was the disguise until John Byrne reversed it in The Man of Steel.

Ironically you have a quote on your sig by Christopher Reeve, who played Superman as the real person and Clark as the bumbling fool disguise.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I love L&C, since it was my first major exposure to Superman, I never found anything wrong with Clark not being the major "nerd". And I have always thought Clark should be who is while Superman is more of the disguise. He has grown up as Clark Kent, not Superman.

And I agree with Terry Hatcher being the best Lois interpretation as of yet (I just put her and DCAU Lois besides each other).

 

[ariellem]

SR was a great film but I just wasn't happy that Lois was so bitter. I think that Kitty had better chemistry with Superman than Lois did. I also loved that in L&C that Clark did everything to make sure that Lois fell in love with him, not Superman.

I'm with you on all three of these, 100%.

That is such a girl post.

L&C Lois rocked. L&C Clark rocked. L&C L&C rocked together.
SR Supes/Clark but SR Lois stank, --> [the three-dot "therefore" symbol isn't a smiley yet] SR Supes + SR Lois = crickets or worse. SR Supes + SR Kitty = wowza!

Is that better? ;->

 

[Kevin Roegele]

No.