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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 11, 2011 22:01:54 GMT -5
Had a quiet evening at home this evening, so popped in Disc 1 of Lois and Clark. Watched the pilot and "Strange Visitor".
Gotta say, I enjoyed the heck out of both of 'em. The writing is clever and funny and sexy. The writing doesn't talk down to anyone. Hatcher is wonderful, Lane Smith is a great Perry, Landes may be the coolest/most useful Jimmy ever, and John Shea is the king of charisma as Lex Luthor.
I really like Cain's Clark, but his Superman is a little flat. Still, he's got the body for it. It's tough to still look muscular and defined in tights, and he pulls it off. No padding there.
But yeah...I really, really enjoyed these. I think I'm gonna watch the rest. Can't remember the last time I watched most of this.
Interestingly, I had forgotten that they changed the costume from the pilot to the next episode. I like the costume in the pilot better, with the smaller "S" and the lace-up boots. Something about it.
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Post by Jimbo on Aug 11, 2011 22:29:06 GMT -5
I always got the impression Clark was the main deal, and Superman was just a formality to put in every episode. So it never bothered me that the Superman character was bland. After all, it was Clark pretending to be Superman instead of the usual opposite.
Ah, season 1. Great season all-around. Landes was great, and Cat was fun. So sad the main producer handed it over to others, who quickly ran it into the ground.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Aug 11, 2011 23:23:56 GMT -5
Interesting thread,as I was discussing this earlier on at work. I may give this another go. I remember enjoying the pilot upon first viewing,and then loosing interest in the series.
I think I like the focus being Clark, and Superman being the secondary character. After finishing up watching Superboy I have nothing 'Super' related to watch now.
please post thoughts on the rest of the season...
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Aug 12, 2011 2:49:20 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that the main producer/showrunner was fired after season 1. Not sure why. I felt that after the first season of introducing the ensemble, they weren't sure where to go with it- when they could have kept on going back to the comics for more source material (Steve Lombard would have been fun to have in there as an example).
Still, I thought that they got back to doing some fresh ideas in season 4- but by then, there were so many blah episodes (not to mention the horrible 'amnesia' and 'clone' episodes that derailed the delicate charm and freshness the series had for awhile) it was hard to feel that great about the series' hit ratio at that point.
If you can find it cheap at a used dvd store (I got the seasons used for $10-15 each, if I recall right), still worth it, though, imo.
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Aug 12, 2011 4:46:30 GMT -5
I thought Hatcher was much stronger than Cain
The best Perry and Jimmy IMO. It was a real pity Landes was let go; to be replaced by a computer geek/biker was not the right step for that character
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charl
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Post by charl on Aug 12, 2011 4:51:59 GMT -5
& Landes was replaced because they think he looked too much like Dean. where's the logic in that? costly mistake
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Shane
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Post by Shane on Aug 12, 2011 5:33:58 GMT -5
Season 1 &2 are great
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 12, 2011 7:12:17 GMT -5
Those first two episodes are more entertaining than any Smallville episode I ever saw.
CAM, good call with Steve Lombard. Would have been a PERFECT addition to the supporting cast!
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 12, 2011 9:08:19 GMT -5
Come to think of it, the only time I really cringed at all was the "making the costume" montage from the pilot episode. Horrifically lame, and highlights how ridiculous the notion that the Superman costume is a homemade thing is.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 12, 2011 9:33:13 GMT -5
Nice, dude! We can keep this thread alive. I'm gonna try to watch another episode later today.
For as lame as this show got in its later years, it has a few serious home runs in this first season. It really does resemble an updated version of the George Reeves stuff in a lot of ways, with Clark not being totally useless, and most of the episodes actually spent following the Daily Planet team around on stories. It's a great concept, and one that I think could be useful again in future Superman tv show, but maybe play down the romance a touch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2011 12:53:52 GMT -5
The costume montage is total cheese, but the payoff, I think, is my favorite part of the whole series.
He comes out of the bathroom with the suit on without the S, the theme starts to play a little bit, teasing, and then Ma pulls out the S...really, that whole chunk until the very end of the pilot is my favorite segment from the series. His first appearance, I LOVE the music when we see him flying for the first time. And I LOVE that they threw in a "What the heck is that?"
And one of my absolute favorite Superman flying scenes in anything, movie or TV show, is Superman carrying Lois through the window at the Daily Planet. It's gorgeous. The pilot nailed the flying, I feel, for the most part. His hovering outside of Luthor's pad isn't on the DVD for some reason, I don't know why, but it was on the VHS tape I recorded when it first aired, and it is AWESOME.
Val, let's watch a few together sometime. That'd be swell.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 12, 2011 17:24:26 GMT -5
Just watched episode 3, "Never Ending Battle". This is one of the best 45 minutes in the history of Superman television. Again, it's low-key, but it's funny, witty, charming, and true to the characters. Great stuff with the entire Planet staff and another great job by John Shea.
Cain has a great "George Reeves" moment with Lois at the very end. Well done.
Cain's Superman actually...you know who he would have been PERFECT for? Captain Marvel (Shazam!) That's really who he looks like as Superman!
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Aug 12, 2011 18:07:32 GMT -5
I agree about it being an updated version of Reeves' show; mostly cos of the dynamics between the 4 Planet staff and the Planet being the core of the show
I didn't care much for the first few eps; I think it found its footing when they did the Smallville/Kryptonite ep. At least the show knows how Superman reacts to Kryptonite!
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Aug 12, 2011 20:15:18 GMT -5
we evisitd season one a few months ago-
- was better than i thought it it would be, still went out of its way to be corny.
- neat thatthe general sam lane/ military angle was there.
- decent effects most of the time for tv-budget.
i might end up buying the first 2 seasons, but after that the show was embarassing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2011 21:28:55 GMT -5
Lois's father in the show was Dr. Sam Lane who worked on athletes.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 12, 2011 21:44:19 GMT -5
Was there never an episode where her Dad was in the military? I coulda sworn...
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Aug 12, 2011 23:40:49 GMT -5
damn- i might be blending things-
early in season one, there was a paramilitry guy who was suspicious of the kryptonian ship (that brought kal-el) ---
come to think it might not hav ebeen sam lane- though in th ecomics later samlane was the military guy hawkish about kryptonians ( and rightly so)
thanks kev- i will look into it further
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Post by Krypton Refugee on Aug 13, 2011 0:17:24 GMT -5
At one point, I owned every season of this. I've come to realize though, that only Season One and part of Season Two are any good. After that, it went downhill in a hurry. I'd still take (almost) any episode of this over any episode of Smallville. The only season I still own is the first.
Quite possibly, the best Perry, Lois, Lex and Jimmy ever. I simply LOVE Hatcher on the show and Lane Smith is the best Perry, bar none. Interestingly, I think once they "killed off" Shea's Lex, the show took a dive it never recovered from.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2011 13:55:49 GMT -5
I love the first two seasons, dont care what anyone thinks.
The scene Kev mentioned is my fav, when his mother pulls out the 'S' and you get the little theme playing.
Landes is fantastic as Perry white.
Infact I think its all round very strong aside from Cains superman (love his take on Clark though)
Shea is fantastic as Luther by the way
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Aug 13, 2011 16:02:02 GMT -5
Going by memory and posts on here,I liked the montage of the suit scenario...it's cheese yes,but it's good. Gonna give the first two seasons another go...
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 16, 2011 15:15:41 GMT -5
Just watched another episode. "I'm Looking Through You", the Invisible Man episode. Again...terrific. While the plot is pretty lightweight, and really is just an excuse to get Clark and Lois to talk about stuff, it's fun and doesn't seem forced. Cain is better as Supes in this episode.
Hatcher is SO CUTE. The chemistry between her and Cain is totally believable, and the way her flirty little relationship with Clark develops is terrific. The only time things go a little over the top is when she gets all moony-eyed over Superman, but even that ain't bad.
Gotta say, this is even better than I remember it. These first four episodes are as good as any of my favorite George Reeves episodes. Smallville isn't a patch on this.
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Aug 16, 2011 15:42:35 GMT -5
Val, I'll be interested in your take from the remake of "Panic in the Sky" ep from the 1st season. At first, I thought the Reeves ep was too tight (after seeing L&C version years earlier), but when I caught the L&C ep again, I thought that was too padded out.
That first season is a definite update from the Reeves show. Again, I think it's because of the Planet being the hub of the show.
In the mood to catch some eps myself now. I watched the whole show 2/3 years ago. Enjoyed the first few seasons. By the end of Season 4, I was surfing the net while having it on in the background; totally lost interest.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Aug 16, 2011 15:59:38 GMT -5
Looking forward to Panic In The Sky!
I may give Season 2 a look when I'm done with this...but then again, I might not. Season One is just SO MUCH BETTER than I remember it, that I don't wanna spoil it with the later seasons.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Aug 16, 2011 16:09:30 GMT -5
I just finished watching EP 1 of S1,was better than I remember. The subtle music while Ma Kent gets the S from the trunk was a really nice touch. The flying stuff was pretty good too.
I like seeing Clark fly without the suit,but the end when Superman flys in the DP with Lois is excellent. And,when he flys away too.
The fact that Superman is the disguise is a good twist on the story.
Really liked Perry White here,I didnt much care for him when I first seen it as a kid.
Looking forward to the next episode tonight.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2011 17:14:52 GMT -5
I can remember watching the pilot when it aired on TV. It was a pretty big deal for me. My dad had a date over and her daughter and we all watched it together. They wanted to have some kind of stupid game night but I told them all to fuck off, a new Superman show was starting that night.
I remember being like a pig in shit that first season. I fucking loved every episode. I was so damn happy. Perfect age for it, too, 13? Damn. That was fun. Recording it when I couldn't watch it. I think I had the first two seasons on tape but then stopped when it started getting REALLY bad.
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