While Superman has appeared in several movies, the character's history on TV is perhaps even more impressive No superhero has had more live-action TV shows made about him, and the Last Son of Krypton has also been a mainstay in TV animation now for decades.
As we all get prepped for Man of Steel's release in theaters next week, here's a look back at Superman on the small screen.
Note: This list only includes shows made for TV broadcast specifically, so you won't find straight-to-video projects included.
The first incarnation of Superman on TV debuted in 1952, having been preceded by the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, which was essentially a theatrical pilot for the series. Mole Men actors George Reeves and Phyllis Coates reprised their roles from the feature as Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane, though Noel Neil -- Lois Lane in the 1940s Superman serials -- would replace Coates from Season 2 on.
Definitely a product of its time, the series was a low-budget affair, and filmed in black and white the first two seasons before going to color in Season 3. Perry White (John Hamilton) and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) also were regular characters, but the show featured no villains from the comic books, instead using various gangsters and thugs as the primary villains, with only the occasional foray into anything more fantastical. And with little money for effects, many shots of Superman flying were used repeatedly throughout the series.
The popularity of Adventures of Superman naturally had producers thinking about spinoffs, and two pilots were produced for potential new series, though neither was picked up to series.
Easily the more bizarre one came first, in 1958, with The Adventures of Superpup. Adventures of Superman was a big hit with kids, so naturally kids would love a version of Superman in which all the characters were walking, talking dogs right? Right?! A cast of little people played the re-imagined "Bark Bent" (secretly, Superpup!), his fellow Daily Bugle (yes - they used the name before Spider-Man) reporter Pamela Poodle and their editor, Terry Bite.
In 1961, a more straight-forward prequel concept was explored with The Adventures of Superboy. While an entire 13-episode season was written, only the pilot was actually shot - and it would take a couple more decades for the Boy of Steel to make it to TV on a regular basis.
Following the beloved Fleischer theatrical shorts of the 1940s, this 1966 series was Superman's first foray into TV animation - but hardly his last. Several voice actors from the Superman radio show reprised their roles here, including Bud Collyer as the title character; Collyer also had voiced Superman back in the Fleischer shorts. These were also shorts, with Superman starring in several six-minute adventures presented together as one program. Produced simultaneously were The Adventures of Superboy animated shorts, featuring a high school-aged Clark Kent in Smallville, with Superman and Superboy adventures rotating through during program.
In subsequent years, these shorts would be packaged with other DC characters under different TV series titles, including The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and The Batman/Superman Hour.
It's hard not to feel nostalgic for Super Friends, which ran for thirteen years, from 1973-1986, under various titles. While the show, viewed today, is incredibly cheesy, it did give young viewers their first ongoing look at the Justice League in action together, and Superman was a mainstay of the series through all of its many iterations and team line-up changes. Lex Luthor also was a frequent presence, heading up the Legion of Doom and their many, many nefarious schemes.
It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman was originally a Broadway production in 1966, which closed rather quickly, despite generally positive reviews. Nine years later, ABC turned the musical into a primetime special, starring David Wilson as Superman and Leslie Ann Warren as Lois Lane - Warren would later almost nab the role of Lois in Richard Donner's Superman movie.
The producers of the TV version upped the camp factor from what was in the stage version, and included an abundance of the "Bam!, Pow!" on-screen sound effects that Batman had introduced. This show recently was revived in New York (not on Broadway, this time) for a special short run of performances.
Source : ign[dot]com
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