Lois & Clark The New Adventures of Superman

Lois and Clark: The beginning

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is a superhero television series created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and based on the DC Comics character Superman. Dean Cain starred as the mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent whose secret identity was Superman and Teri Hatcher was reporter Lois Lane who became his wife.

The series aired for 4 seasons from September 12, 1993, to June 14, 1997, on ABC and Lois and Clark also ran in syndication on Fox during the mid-2000s. In addition to Cain and Hatcher, Lane Smith portrayed Perry White the editor of the Daily Planet, and Clark's parents were played by K Callan as Martha Kent and Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent.

J ohn Shea played villain Lex Luther in the first season but left because the commute from New York to LA became difficult. He made 4 additional appearances during seasons 2 through 4. During season 1 Tracy Scoggins was Cat Grant and Michael Landes portrayed Jimmy Olsen.

The network felt that Cat was too racy for the family hour and Scoggins did not renew her contract. ABC execs also thought Landes looked too much like Cain so he was replaced as Jimmy in season two with Justin Whalen. Harvey Presnell and Beverly Garland portrayed the Lanes the parents of Lois.

The New Adventures of Superman: A family affair

Lois & Clark the New Adventures of Superman was developed for television by Deborah Joy LeVine and was loosely based on writer John Byrne's modern-day Superman, where Clark Kent is the real personality and the superhero is a disguise. This Clark was more focused and less bumbling and fumbling as in past depictions of the alter ego of the man of steel.

Each episode of The New Adventures of Superman equally focuses on the romance between Lois and Clark as well as the escapades of the superhero. The comradery between Clark, Lois, Superman, Jimmy, and Perry is amazing and they seem like one big happy family. Fans enjoy the episodes where White and Olsen are featured which makes things more balanced.

Lois & Clark cut short by ABC brass

Clark and Lois overcame many obstacles as they fell in love and many viewers thought it was romantic that they waited until their wedding night to become intimate. For reasons unknown, the ratings plunged from 12 million at the beginning of season four to 3 million. Perhaps some who watched the show became frustrated over how long it took to get the couple down the aisle.

ABC announced that a fifth season was in the works but it never came to pass. The network switched the night Lois & Clark aired which caused an additional rating drop. Viewers were stunned when what was supposed to be a cliffhanger at the end of season four turned out to be the series finally. Top ABC brass pulled the plug with no concern of giving fans some type of closure.

Lois & Clark: Baby make three

In the final episode titled The Family Affair, the super-couple finds out Clark cannot make a baby with Lois because he is Kryptonian and she is human so the couple considers adoption. They are turned down because Lois lives a dangerous lifestyle and always needs rescuing from the man of steel.

She is devastated but Clark remains hopeful and his faith is rewarded. At the end of the episode, Lois and Clark find a baby boy inside the basinet that Martha Kent gave them earlier in the episode in anticipation of a first grandchild. There is a note referring to the top reporters by name and revealing that the infant belongs to them.

The large baby is covered by a blanket with the Superman logo on it, and Clark and Lois seem to instantly love him. The final scene has the Kents and Lanes coming into the room expressing surprise as Lois is holding her new bundle of joy. When there was no season 5 loyal fans complained but it was to no avail. The mystery of where the Kent's baby boy came from was never solved.

The Superman blanket indicates that Clark's secret identity is known and there were rumors that the child came from Krypton. Eventually, Brad Buckner the writer and executive producer for seasons three and four revealed the facts.

The Adventures of Superman may continue

During an interview after the series ended, Buckner admitted that the infant was Kryptonian royalty who was hidden with Lois and Clark so that he would be protected from assassins. In 2018 Executive producer Eugenie Ross-Leming said the following. "If the show had gone on, we would have seen them figuring out how to raise this child, who would have aged rapidly. He would have become a teenager in months.”

There are Lois & Clark groups on social media where loyal fans are saying they wish the series would be revisited. Teri Hatcher says she would be interested in a reboot and that both she and Dean Cain have fond memories of the series. This sounds promising so fans should stay tuned for further developments. Lois & Clark The New Adventures of Superman is on DVD, Blue Ray and HBO Max.