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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 22, 2012 20:25:46 GMT -5
So, I was gonna post this in the Superboy thread, but nobody reads that, and this is something you all should know about, because it's awesome to the Nth degree. During Superboy's third season, there was a two-parter called "The Road to heck". It's a fairly standard "Superboy sucked into alternate earths" story, and isn't anything special. Until part two. In part two, Superboy encounters an alternate earth version of himself, who "landed during the depression" and "became Superboy shortly after WWII", and in the 40 or 50 years since then, has rehabilitated Luthor, and with Luthor's help, had made the world a utopia (like a Trek/Federation Earth style utopia, not like he did it by force). He no longer wears the costume, but he's got the Jor-El white hair and S curl. The actor? RON ELY. One of the most famous Tarzans and the guy who played Doc Savage. And in ten minutes of screen time, Ron Ely turns in ONE OF THE BEST SUPERMAN PERFORMANCES I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!! Everything about him. His voice. His build (Ely still looked really fit). His mannerisms. Everything. He totally just classes up the show and does practically NOTHING. It's unbelievable. In ten minutes, and with no costume, Ely is better than Alyn, Cain, Welling, and Routh...not to mention both Superboys. That's how self-assured he is. Lemme tell ya, we totally lost out on not having a live-action Superman series in the 60s with a young Ron Ely in the role. Holy crap. My head is spinning. The episodes are mediocre, by the way, but it's 100% improved by Ely's performance. Worth seeking out, even if you aren't a fan of the show.   |
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Post by SupermanUF on Mar 22, 2012 20:48:45 GMT -5
Wow that sounds (and looks!) great! I gotta track that down!
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Mar 22, 2012 21:00:01 GMT -5
Still hoping for the dvd sets to be available first....*sigh*  |
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Post by SupermanUF on Mar 22, 2012 21:28:14 GMT -5
 ;D |
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Post by EnriqueH on Mar 22, 2012 21:39:30 GMT -5
Interesting!
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 22, 2012 21:56:57 GMT -5
It's not on YouTube anymore, but it's worth finding a torrent. Again, if you're not already into the show, the show itself won't do anything for you. But trust me, it's worth seeing this dude's scenes.
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Metallo
New Member
The worlds finest heroes
Posts: 17,076
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Post by Metallo on Mar 22, 2012 22:02:20 GMT -5
Pretty cool when you can say you played three great characters like that.
I want to rewatch The Road Not Taken two parter. The one where there's an evil Superboy from another dimension called The Sovereign.
years later Hercules The Legendary Journeys ripped that whole damned concept off from Superboy.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 22, 2012 22:04:12 GMT -5
That's one of the better episodes. I've dug into Season 3, most of which I've never seen before. It's SO much better than the first two seasons, and so much closer to being an actual Superman show than Smallville ever was.
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Mar 23, 2012 12:48:04 GMT -5
thanks- ill look for it.
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Post by ger-el on Mar 23, 2012 18:59:18 GMT -5
I have the sets if anyone is interested...
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 23, 2012 19:01:21 GMT -5
Which sets? Are these the ones that Gerard was giving away or selling on his site a few years ago?
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Mar 24, 2012 10:50:10 GMT -5
yeah- i remember gerard would have VHS of some random ep's he'd sell at comic conventions. (he is a nice guy, a bit of a letch).
he signed a tape for me with some bizzaro ep's (they are terrible).
would like to get the whole thing though- just for curiosity.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 24, 2012 21:49:32 GMT -5
I've revisited a big chunk of this show over the last year or two. It's generally not very good, but the sheer novelty of a 30 minute live-action Superman show that is so HEAVILY sci-fi and faithful to the comics (often to a fault) kind of never wears off. And, really, both Newton and Gerard fill out the tights physically better than anybody other than Reeve. No padding on these kids, and the suits themselves are even more comic accurate than the Reeve one.
It's a guilty pleasure overall, but a pleasure nevertheless.
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Metallo
New Member
The worlds finest heroes
Posts: 17,076
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Post by Metallo on Mar 24, 2012 22:11:32 GMT -5
Superboy could be hokey and corny but like The Adventures of Superman at least it was fun. It was like The Salkinds doing their version of that show.
Fun isn't a word I'd use for the overly soap opera housewife drama of Lois & Clark or the teen angst freak of the week melodrama of Smallville.
The early 90's was GREAT time for DC tv if you were a kid. The Flash, Swamp Thing, and Superboy all ran together for a short period.
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Knight
New Member
@Knighty80
Posts: 1,069
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Post by Knight on Mar 24, 2012 22:26:01 GMT -5
There was one episode I think it was in 3 or 4 where Superboy loses his powers. They used a brilliant idea that he is there in the suit without powers but just uses his presence and smarts to diffuse the situation.
I think it's the same episode when Lana tries to reveal Clark for who really he is.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 24, 2012 22:57:15 GMT -5
hmmmm...
Ron Ely was born in June of 1938. The cover date of Action Comics #1.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 0:03:52 GMT -5
Jesus Christ, life will never be the same for anyone!
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 25, 2012 7:17:29 GMT -5
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Mar 25, 2012 11:04:02 GMT -5
I remember having a lot of anticipation for the first season.... and then being shocked at just how BAD it was. Fortunately, the seasons after were MUCH better and I really enjoyed them. However, I was suprised to hear bits in interviews that the stations complained about the quality of the first season... and that Ilya Salkind even mentioned kind of being asleep at the wheel creatively--- (During SII he mentions having relationship troubles during the time of Lester's terror/reign)..... a little odd to me, as having the opportunity to be a producer of one of the biggest properties in film history seems like something you'd just love to be part of, regardless- But.... I guess anything becomes just a job after awhile...?  |
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Mar 26, 2012 21:06:31 GMT -5
Is that this particular ep? |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Mar 26, 2012 21:15:33 GMT -5
Yes.
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