Monday, June 4, 2012

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Superboy (1988)

Fans of DC's Superman franchise got double the pleasure in 1988. Not only did the Man of Steel return to CBS with a solo animated series that we've reviewed here in the past, but we also got a brand new series, set more in modern times, of Superboy. 27 years after a failed pilot from Adventures of Superman producer Whitney Ellsworth, the Boy of Steel finally landed his own series. Suffice it to say, it outlasted Ruby-Spears' Superman, lasting 4 seasons.

John Haymes Newton was cast first as Superboy, aka Clark Kent, but left after the first season due to either creative differences, money, or both. Gerard Christopher stepped in beginning with season 2, and it was, dare I say it, up, up, and away from there. DC, of course, adapted the series into a comic book that lasted about a year or two.

Here's the first season open:



And, here's one from season 2, Gerard Christopher's 1st season:



The series came from the same folks who masterminded the four "Superman" movies with Christopher Reeve, but, due likely to litigation issues involving the estates of co-creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster, it hasn't been seen since it ended in 1992. Once those issues are finally settled, I'd not be surprised to find it materializing somewhere, like, say, maybe, The Hub?

No rating: I didn't watch the show.

2 comments:

magicdog said...

The Hub would be a great place for this show.

I remember watching this show back in the day and it wasn't bad. In some ways it's comparable to its spiritual successor, Smallville.

I remember John Haymes Newton getting stopped for a DUI in LA and invoking the "Do you know who I am?" spiel during his time on the show. Not long after he was gone. Sometime afterwards, he turned up as one of "The Untouchables" on that show. I could barely notice a difference when Gerard Christopher took over the SB role.

The last time I had seen Stacy Haiduk was on the first season of Charmed way back in '99(she played "The Guardian of the Urn" who cursed anyone who stole it).

hobbyfan said...

I do remember Newton moving on to "The Untouchables", and I think that was the last TV gig of note he had.

When I think about this for a moment, I am reminded of a similar sitch with "Shazam!" back in the 70's. Jackson Bostwick was the first Captain Marvel, and was canned after 1 season, replaced by John Davey for the rest of the run. I wonder if there were similar circs leading to his departure.......