In a pre-Lois & Clark world, long before Superman dealt with the perils of high school in Smallville, he spent some time in college and as an intern. They called the show Superboy, a seemingly odd choice since the comic book universe had essentially “erased” him a year earlier. The character would return soon and eventually become even more popular, but that didn’t help this show. Even some hardcore DCU fans don’t seem to recall these adventures.
In 1988, Clark Kent and Lana Lang attended Shuster University with the son of The Daily Planet’s editor, T.J. White. The trio usually found themselves in dangerous or strange predicaments while working for the school paper or being victims of unusual circumstances. Inevitably, Clark would find a moment to leave and miss all the action again, so he could change into the heroic Superboy and save the day.
Later, season 2 would trade out T.J. for Andy McCalister, and then the second half of the show’s 4-season run would swap Andy and the college for the Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters. There, the characters investigated paranormal and otherworldly threats before the X-Files made it cool.
There are several comic book references, most obvious, like how Shuster University is in the fictional town of Siegelville, Florida. Superboy starts off fighting regular henchmen, gangsters, and ill-defined supernatural threats, but we do have Lex Luthor, who begins the show as a classmate, as well as Kryptonite, Bizarro, Metallo, Yellow Peri, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and a Toyman wannabe named Nick Knack, played by Gilbert Gottfried. Some of this is thanks to the show bringing on actual DC Comics writers later on. Later, comics were even published in the show’s universe that were presented as lost stories.
Superboy was originally played by John Haymes Newton (Melrose Place, The Untouchables), an actor who was quoted as wanting to flesh out the Clark Kent persona and make him more of a well-rounded individual. He did well with that part, but not everyone (including the producers) was enamored with his performance while in the costume. Newton himself criticized some of his acting later on, but this wasn’t what led to his leaving the show at the end of the first season.
There were reports of some small issues with the police, like a DUI, leading to Newton being fired. But according to the actor, it was all over his request for more money; Newton was doing his own stunts and had experienced some close calls. The actor does regret not fulfilling his contract, but that gave the opportunity of donning the cape to Gerard Christopher, who would go on to play Superboy for three seasons. The new star was said to embody the Kryptonian more, but his version of Clark didn’t work for everyone.
Then there was the chemistry with Lana, played by Stacy Haiduk. She was one of the best and most consistent actors in the show. Haiduk stayed for all four seasons, and went on to act in many soap operas, as well as SeaQuest 2032 and Kindred: The Embraced. Lana was a strong character and had chemistry with both of the actors who played Superboy, but it seemed like there was a special connection between Haiduk and Newton, who dated out of character.
T.J. is certainly enjoyable and possibly the most charismatic player in season one, portrayed beautifully by James Calvert (Deadly Games), he handles the comic relief and sidekick duties like a pro. When the son of Perry White goes off to work at the Daily Planet in season 2, Andy comes in, played by Ilan Mitchell-Smith (mostly recognized from Weird Science), and immediately makes a splash. Thankfully, he isn’t just T.J. 2.0, being more about get-rich-quick schemes and always flirting with Lana. Andy is a little more annoying than the previous third-wheel on the cast, but Clark and Lana do consider him a friend.
I hate to bury Scott Wells, but he was the worst Lex Luthor I’ve ever seen. In his fourth and final episode at the end of the first season, he appeared to get the role more, but all of his lines sound incredibly odd. He’s smarmy, creepy, and petty, but still feels like a knock-off Luthor with no inspiration. The show would replace him and use the circumstances of such to make a reason why Lex looked and sounded different, as well as being 15 years older, but all that was easier to accept because Sherman Howard (Day of the Dead, Batman Beyond) is so much better in the role. This version of the character feels dangerous, way more threatening while thinking bigger and still pulling off the comical moments. The creepiness is still present, as he immediately tries to marry Lana, and the new Lex gets instant heat from the audience for killing off one of the show’s best henchmen – Leo.
Superboy had a ton of great guest stars like Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Lex Luger, Roddy Piper, Bill Mumy, George Lazenby, and a little kid named Leaf (Joaquin) Phoenix, just to name a few. Although most of them only appeared a couple of times, many of the actors would go on to be involved in other DC projects as well, especially in the animated universe.
Good stars can only go so far. The first season of the show was the worst, almost painful in a way, and while the second made some improvements, it still felt quite rough. It wasn’t until seasons three and four that the show felt like it had found its footing, but even then, this may still be the weakest Superman television property we’ve seen overall.
The intro in the early episodes is simply boring and mainly shows off a famous Florida bridge under construction and the fact that Superboy can fly. They’d make some improvements to it, but it wasn’t until season 3 that it felt like the opening to a real show. I don’t mind poor special effects, but many of these blue screen shots are laughable.
The wirework for the flying scenes looked excellent most of the time, as the rigging team had worked on the Superman movies, but the presentation was never quite consistent. Most of the sets were simple, but a couple stood out in later episodes, and Florida shined through, as the show was filmed at the Disney/MGM Studios for the first season and then in the nearby Universal Studios location, minus several exterior shots that were found in other places around the state.
The editing also suffered early on, making several episodes more confusing, and it didn’t help that some were shown out of production order. There are also restrictions behind doing a 30-minute program, as many stories feel rushed, and the resolutions often seem too easy. The writing wasn’t strong enough to hide these issues, and producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind were keeping the show’s cost down, which resulted in it looking cheaper than it needed to. There are also a few clip-show stories later on, but they aren’t too bad. All of these issues are more pronounced in the first season.
That said, the ratings were high, and the show — renamed The Adventures of Superboy for the last two seasons — was only getting better. It was energetic, ambitious, and charming, even if some episodes were a tad generic. As the scripts improved with new writers, many multi-part stories were greenlit. The music for the show by Kevin Kiner was also a high point, as was seeing tons of vintage ‘80s products that they apparently didn’t get licenses for. The villains are a mixed bag — most hated that they looked so cheap — but it also introduced many viewers to these iconic antagonists.
Some of the best episodes involved these recurring foes, and later seasons supposedly took tonal cues from films like 1989’s Batman and Dick Tracy. There are a few darker themes that pop up, a ton of sexual innuendo – Lana blatantly asks Clark if he’s had sex at one point – and Superboy uses some questionable methods to resolve conflicts. The writers quickly learned that people had no problem with the hero killing already dead enemies, like when he flies an old vampire up to the sun and watches him explode. Efficient.
Superboy was doing well enough that the show was in line to receive its fifth season or a series of television movies to end the story. The original season 4 cliffhanger would have seen Clark die, but when the production’s future came into question, that episode was reworked to where Supes had simply faked his death. A legal battle between Warner Brothers and the Salkinds (who had produced three Superman films and Supergirl) had been going on behind the scenes, and the end of it meant that Superboy wouldn’t be able to continue or go into reruns, even though they had created 100 episodes.
That limited syndication is a huge reason why so many people never saw Superboy, and that we didn’t receive a home release of it until 2006. The season 1 set didn’t sell well, however (probably because it’s the worst part of the show), and the other episodes would only be available through bootlegs until around 2012-2013. Still, those DVDs would only be printed on demand, meaning this was just for the established fans or the wildly curious. WB wanted the show gone so it could put Lois & Clark into production, a show they wouldn’t have to split as many of the profits from.
Greed is something even Superboy can’t stop, but there were certainly other reasons this show didn’t stay relevant — no matter how hard it fought. We simply had better options, so only diehard fans or Superman completionists were worried about this version of the character. It was charming, and I’m glad I finally sat down and watched all of it, but I won’t be recommending it to anyone I know. Superboy makes for a better story, a unique part of Superman’s history, than it does for actual programming.
