The Adventures of Superman (TV)

Identification Syndicated television series based on a comic book superhero

Date Aired from 1953 to 1957

One of the most popular syndicated series of the early 1950’s, The Adventures of Superman inspired other television shows about superheroes and has itself endured into the twenty-first century.

The fictional Superman is an alien from the distant planet Krypton whose parents sent him to Earth as a baby when their planet was breaking up. When his rocket ship crash-landed in the American Midwest, he was found and adopted by a childless farming couple, the Kents, who gave him the name Clark Kent. Although young Clark was indistinguishable from a human in appearance, his extraterrestrial origins left him with a dense molecular structure that endowed him with extraordinary powers and near-invulnerability on Earth. When he grew up, he chose to use his powers in the service of humankind and went to the great city of Metropolis, where he became a newspaper reporter for the Daily Planet—a job that enabled him to learn of crises as they were unfolding so that he could respond to them. (Although Metropolis is clearly modeled on New York City, the Daily Planet exteriors shown in the television series were of Los Angeles City Hall.)

Apart from a single episode explaining Superman’s origins, The Adventures of Superman revolves around the adult Superman, with most of the action occurring in or near the Daily Planet building. George Reeves (1914-1959), a beefy actor of stage and screen experience, played the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent. The cast was limited, and sets were simple. For example, reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates the first season and Noel Neill the last three seasons) both have private offices—an unlikely luxury for any newspaper reporter, but one that made it unnecessary to put additional actors in office scenes. Indeed, one might draw the impression from the series that the entire Daily Planet staff consisted of only a half-dozen or so employees.

Stories were generally simple, and guest casts were mostly limited to character actors, many of whom made multiple appearances on the show. The first season’s episodes were more violent than episodes in later seasons; however, Superman himself is rarely seen doing anything that might be construed as responsible for a villain’s death.

Although the show was played comparatively straight, it had an underlying feeling of silliness that may have been unavoidable, given the show’s preposterous premises. In addition to wondering about Superman’s great powers, viewers had good reason to question the intelligence of the people who were nearest to him. Although Superman and Clark Kent are physically identical—except for the fact that Kent wears glasses—no one figures out that they are one and the same person, even though the fact that they are never seen together is frequently mentioned.

Origins and Background

The character of Superman first appeared in a comic book in 1938, and he remained a comic-books staple into the twenty-first century. A popular radio series was built on the success of the comic books during the 1940’s, and in 1948 and 1950, Superman made it to big screens in two film serials. The popularity of the radio program and film serials made a series in the new medium of television the natural next step. Production on a syndicated television series began in 1951, but the first regular broadcasts did not begin until May, 1953. Twenty-six episodes were made the first year, and their popularity led to three more twenty-six-episode seasons, through 1957. There was some talk of reviving the series several years later, but the untimely death of lead actor George Reeves in 1959 ended that possibility. However, over the next four decades, the program was frequently rebroadcast in syndication and could still be seen during the early years of the twenty-first century.

Impact

The popularity of The Adventures of Superman was not fully appreciated until the conclusion of the first season’s broadcasts, when the decision was made to produce another season of episodes, and the show then became one of the first dramatic series broadcast in color. Merchandising of Superman toys and other products began in earnest, and the show became a hit among younger viewers. The show’s popularity among children probably contributed in later seasons to increasingly whimsical plots that involved invisibility, robots, teleportation, and other science-fiction themes. In 1978, Superman won a new generation of fans when Christopher Reeve (no relation to George Reeves) played him in the first of four big-budget motion pictures. In 1993, Superman returned to television in a new series, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In an homage to the original series, Phyllis Coates—the original television Lois Lane—played Lois’s mother in a 1994 episode of the new series. Another Superman-related television series, Smallville, was introduced on the Warner network in 2001. In that series, Tom Welling plays a teenage Clark Kent; Kent has superpowers, but the show never hints at the existence of “Superman” (or “Superboy”), and the character did not even begin to fly until the 2004-2005 season.

Bibliography

Bianculli, David. Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television’s Five Hundred Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events. New York: Continuum, 1996. Contains an appreciative description of the series that places it in the broader perspective of other films and television series about Superman.

Bifulco, Michael J. Superman on Television: A Comprehensive Viewer’s Guide to the Daring Exploits of Superman as Presented in the TV Series. 1988. Anniversary ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Author, 1998. Hard-to-find self-published book, but the most complete guide to the television series in print.

Daniels, Les. Superman, the Complete History: The Life and Times of the Man of Steel. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1998. Lavishly illustrated and detailed history of the Superman saga. The six-decade evolution of the comic-book hero gets most of the attention, but the book also contains valuable information on the television series.

Grossman, Gary H. Superman: Serial to Cereal. New York: Warner Books, 1977. Episode-by-episode history of the 1940’s film serials and 1950’s television show of the Superman saga. Well illustrated and filled with anecdotes.

Henderson, Jan Alan. Speeding Bullet: The Life and Bizarre Death of George Reeves. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Michael J. Bifulco, 1999. Fan biography of actor George Reeves that examines the mysteries surrounding Reeves’s death. Discusses his work on The Adventures of Superman at length.