"The Adventures of Superman - The Complete Second Season" is an essential for fans of the original series, it's star, the unforgettable George Reeves, and anyone who would enjoy seeing a series 'at the top of it's game', when it was a genuine national phenomena!
The back story is truly amazing; the first season, filmed in 1951, had taken two full years to finally reach the entire country (television, at that time, was still in it's infancy, and just beginning to spread throughout the nation, as the FCC issued licenses for new stations, from coast to coast). "The Adventures of Superman", syndicated and sponsored by Kellogg's, was a fresh, exciting series that many of the new stations picked up to help promote themselves, and sell televisions...and the series began an astonishing climb to a level of popularity that no one involved had ever anticipated.
Certainly, none of the cast was prepared for what happened; in the two-year hiatus, Phyllis Coates, the 'Lois Lane' of the first season, assuming the series was finished, took on other acting assignments, and was no longer available when the call went out for the second season to be filmed (her role was filled by the 'Lois Lane' of the 40s movie serials, Noel Neill, 33, who saw the role toned down considerably from the aggressive, feisty newspaperwoman of the first season). Jack Larson, 20, who had felt misgivings about the role of Jimmy Olsen from the beginning (only agreeing to the part when his agent joked that "nobody will ever see it, anyway") discovered himself typecast in the role, and his privacy lost...a situation even more acute for the series' star, George Reeves, now 39. During the series' hiatus, he had gotten a juicy supporting role in the blockbuster, "From Here to Eternity", only to see the role edited down to an unbilled cameo, as the producers feared a film featuring 'Superman' would lose it's impact as a 'serious' film. Reeves would only appear in three feature films during the series' entire run, and one film, afterward, all in supporting roles...with no film work at all, the last three years of his life...which provided 'motive' that his 1959 death was suicide (despite evidence of foul play).
Knowing what the future held for Reeves makes the second season of AOS a bittersweet experience, as he is so wonderful in the role! Still youthfully handsome, he projects even more confidence and ease than he had in the first season, and was far more 'kid friendly', as his fight scenes were toned down (as was all the violence, as Kellogg's responded to parents' concerns). With the national Superman 'craze' in full swing, he took special pains to remind children that "only Superman can fly", and his portrayal of the Man of Steel reflected his increasing sense of responsibility of being a good role model to a generation of children who adored him.
If the series lacked it's earlier grittiness, the second season offered spectacular compensations, especially in "Panic In the Sky", the most famous and popular episode of the entire series. As a huge asteroid plunges toward Earth, Superman launches himself into space, in a last-ditch effort to save the planet. Slamming into the gigantic rock head-on, all he can accomplish is to change it's course, temporarily...while being knocked into a state of amnesia by the encounter! With Earth's destruction imminent, can Superman regain his memory in time...AND find a way to stop it? Despite some primitive FX, the episode is STILL riveting, after a half-century!
This is DEFINITELY a 'Must-Have' collection! The Adventures of Superman Season 2
The second season of the Adventures of Superman is now slated for release on January 17, 2006. In this season Noel Neill takes over as Lois Lane. (Neill played Lois in the Superman movie serials.) There are 26 black and white episodes, just like the first season, but this second season was a bit less violent than the first.
Here are the episodes in season 2:
<LI>Five Minutes to Doom
<LI>The Big Squeeze
<LI>The Man Who Could Read Minds
<LI>Jet Ace
<LI>Shot in the Dark
<LI>The Defeat of Superman
<LI>Superman in Exile
<LI>Ghost for Scotland Yard
<LI>The Dog Who Knew Superman
<LI>The Face and the Voice
<LI>The Man in the Lead Mask
<LI>Panic in the Sky
<LI>The Machine That Could Plot Crimes
<LI>Jungle Devil
<LI>My Friend Superman
<LI>The Clown Who Cried
<LI>The Boy Who Hated Superman
<LI>Semi-Private Eye
<LI>Perry White's Scoop
<LI>Beware the Wrecker
<LI>The Golden Vulture
<LI>Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor
<LI>Lady in Black
<LI>Star of Fate
<LI>The Whistling Bird
<LI>Around the World with Superman
And special features should be:
<li>Documentary: "The First Lady of Metropolis" profiles Noel Neill. Featuring Jack Larson, Leonard Maltin and others.
<li>Commentary on 2 key episodes by Noel Neill and Jack Larson
<li>"Stamp Day For Superman": Special episode promoting savings bonds with a new introduction by Jack Larson.
I'm giving the release 5 stars based on the fact that the first season was very well done, and I have high hopes that the second season DVD set will surpass all our expectations.
IN A NUTSHELL: DIFFERENT THEMES + A DIFFERENT LOIS = A NEW TONE
We are treated to more of the same GREAT STUFF as was presented in the first season; however, Noel Neill replaced Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane and we see a true diversity of themes. Whereas the first season had focused on mobsters and crime, the second toned down the violence and added a wide range of themes to the growing Superman universe. In the process, the second season was more kid-friendly at the expense of some of the film-noir ambience.
All and all, this is a great addition and companion to the first season.
SEASON TWO has just been released. I pre-ordered it from Amazon prior to its release and and I have just completed viewing the 5 disks of the second season. The quality is the same as the first season -- almost unbelievably good. Episode 12, "Panic In The Sky" on the second disk, is a standout that also has an interesting and informative commentary track narrated by Noel Neill and Jack Larson.
If there is a difference between the first and second season, it is probably caused by several obvious differences;
---1] LOIS LANE:
Noel Neill is much lighter and more of a kid-viewer-friendly sidekick for Clark Kent, whereas Pyllis Coates was much more Kent's equal and rival. My daughter, watching parts of many of these shows -- but whole shows of none -- as she sort of flits in and out seeing parts of many and whole shows of none, stated that in "The Defeat Of Superman" if Phyllis Coates were still Lois then she would have been the one who got hit with the Kryptonite bullet instead of Superman. That's it exactly. Many of the crooks in the first season were literally mauled by Lois Lane, wildcat, as they tried with great difficulty to subdue her. Often, Phyllis Coates as Lois was physically assaulted as one would expect a man to be and the bad guys often came out of it bleeding and hurting. When that failed, there was the famous Lois Lane scream that is still reverberating all over the galaxy.
Obviously, I think a lot of Phyllis Coates as Lois but, in fairness, Noel Neill does a great job of showing a compassionate and vulnerable Lois who would surely perish if Superman were not there to save her, OFTEN.
---2] THE SCRIPTS:
The dark, "film-noir" style of the first season was definitely geared more for adults than for kids, though as a kid at the time I didn't know -- until now. Mobsters and corrupt politicians dominated that first season, with only traces of the humor that was to come in future seasons from Jimmy Olsen, and most of all from the new Lois [Noel Neill]. The new Lois did present the opportunity to change the tone of the show to the lighter side without ruining the Superman Universe in the process. Noel Neill, although five years older than Phyllis Coates, acted younger and more like she needed Superman's help while basically tagging along with Kent instead of blazing her own trail as Lois had in the first season. I have read that she was more palatable to young viewers, especially boys who found her likably obnoxious and bratty mannerisms to be cute and compelling. I guess they wanted to be Superman and save Noel. I was not one of them, and I always hoped that Phyllis Coates would return as Lois, but I had to wait until reruns for that.
---3] RUNNING TIME ON SEASON TWO IS LONGER:
Another difference from the first season is the length which ran about 25 minutes for the 1st season and has averaged over 26 minutes for the second.
COMMENTARY FOR SECOND SEASON BY NOEL NEILL {LOIS} & JACK LARSON [Jimmy}
THE EPISODES ON SEASON TWO ARE AS FOLLOWS; [Picture & Short description inside boxed set for each episode are included];
----- DISK ONE:
"Five Minutes to Doom"
"The Big Squeeze"
"The Man Who Could Read Minds"
"Jet Ace"
"Shot in the Dark"
"The Defeat of Superman"
----- DISK TWO:
"Superman in Exile"
"Ghost for Scotland Yard"
"The Dog Who Knew Superman"
"The Face and the Voice"
"The Man in the Lead Mask"
"Panic in the Sky" [PLUS OPTION TO CHOOSE COMMENTARY TRACK WITH LOIS & JIMMY]
----- DISK THREE:
"The Machine That Could Plot Crimes"
"Jungle Devil"
"My Friend Superman"
"The Clown Who Cried"
"The Boy Who Hated Superman"
"Semi-Private Eye" [PLUS OPTION TO CHOOSE COMMENTARY TRACK WITH LOIS & JIMMY]
----- DISK FOUR:
"Perry White's Scoop"
"Beware the Wrecker"
"The Golden Vulture"
"Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor"
"Lady in Black"
"Star of Fate"
----- DISK FIVE:
"The Whistling Bird"
"Around the World with Superman"
"Documentary - "The First Lady of Metropolis" examines Noel Neill as Lois Lane - recently filmed and just 7 minutes, but quite interesting and features Jack Larson, Noel Neill and others.
>"Stamp Day For Superman": Special 18 minute episode promoting savings stamps for school kids backed by Superman. That's right -SAVINGS STAMPS - NOT BONDS!
BOTTOM LINE: [I have never been happier with a DVD boxed-set purchase]
--------------- WHY IS THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOXED SET?
* ONE-SIDED DVDs [each with cool art-work]
* INCREDIBLE DVD TRANSFER - RESTORED TO ORIGINAL LENGTH
* SPECIAL FEATURES [2 EPISODES INCLUDE OPTIONAL COMMENTARY TRACKS + "STAMP DAY WITH SUPERMAN" + "THE FIRST LADY OF METROPOLIS" - documentary]
* DVD INSIDE COVER INCLUDES NEAT PHOTOS & BRIEF NOTES ON EACH EPISODE
* STURDY ATTRACTIVE BOXED SET [same size as 1 VHS + includes outer sleeve]
* "REEL" CLASS ACT + AFFORDABLE PRICE [can't wait till the 3rd season comes out!]
* SUBTITLES AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH - FRENCH & SPANISH
FINAL THOUGHTS: Sometimes Christmas comes at the end of January, but whenever the 3rd season is released will be Christmas too! - Christopher Reeve - Annette Otoole - Annette O Toole - 1983'
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