World Lois&Clark's Jimmy Olsen

[Up Up & Oy Vey!]

I noticed that J.O. looksed different in some episodes than others. Is this a new actor or what?

 

[GreenCapt]

Yes, they switched actors after the first season.

 

[Primal Slayer]

yep they felt that the first actor looked to much like Dean Cain

 

[Superwoman Prime]

Michael Landes doesn't look even remotely like Dean Cain.

 

[Mr. Walters]

/\ Maybe in his dreams

 

[poussin]

Michael Landes was replaced by Justin Whalin at the end of season one.

The official reason was that he looked too much like Dean Cain. That was what had been said at the time by the studios. But a lot of rag papers claimed that it was because Michael Landes received more fan mail than Dean Cain, what was bad for the show, and so, they needed a better faire-valoir for the principal actor. That's pure gossip.

Some other papers claimed that he was replaced because of the lukewarm success of season one. They decided to make a lot of change in the series (Superman became a little more important in season 2 than in season 1 - there was some more romantic scene between Lois and Superman in the first half of the season 2, and between Lois and Clark in the second half,... they erased the character of Cat who was a little too sexy and funny for the new tone they wanted for the show, etc...), and apparently, they wanted to restructure the character of Jimmy, with a change in his way to act (less confident, a little more shy and careless...), and Michael Landes wasn't just adapted anymore at this new version.

The conclusion is that we'll probably never know why, but the facts remain that he was replaced. Justin Whalin played the role in the season 2,3 and 4, until the end of the show. I personnally prefer him than Michael Landes. He wasn't a good Jimmy Olsen.

 

[GreenCapt]

The conclusion is that we'll probably never know why, but the facts remain that he was replaced. Justin Whalin played the role in the season 2,3 and 4, until the end of the show. I personnally prefer him than Michael Landes. He wasn't a good Jimmy Olsen.

I agree. I love the show (and am rewatching it now... partly to erase the stain on my brain left by SR) but I liked the changes after Season 1- Landes' Jimmy was fun but a little too... abrupt or something... for my tastes. Though Cat was interesting for a couple of jokes I thought she wore pretty thin after that and never really added much to the series IMHO.

 

[Mr. Walters]

I liked Landes and Cat. Yeah, Cat did wear thin after a while, but if she was writen better she could have been a much more interesting character. But I suppose it was easier to just delete her with no explaination as to where she went.

 

[The Englishman]

Why was'nt the Fotress of Solitude in this series??

 

[poussin]

There was a fortress of Solitude in the series Lois and Clark. We saw it in the episode "Foundling" in the season 1: It's a little house tree in Smallville with a little board besides the door where it's written "fortress of solitude". LOL

 

[poussin]

Sorry. Double post by mistake.

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

Landes was a much better Jimmy than Justin Whalen. He was a good modern day take on Jimmy just as Cain and Hatcher were for Lois & Clark. I also loved Cat and think that she could have been developed for season 2. It's a shame they got rid of her. Still season 2 holds up really well. It's a shame it went so downhill because most people don't look back at it too fondly anymore. They forget how good it actually was before it went down the crapper.

They actually poke fun at the rumour of Landes sacking in an episode in season 2. Perry rants to Clark about a young guy that used to work at the planet and comments to Clark that "you could have been brothers" and Dean Cain cracks a smile.