DVD : Adventures of Superman - The Complete First Season

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- SPECTACULAR! THE MAN OF STEEL NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD!
Growing up, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was my favorite show. I had hoped we'd finally get it on DVD, and my wishes have come true.
The episodes look fantastic, with great extras (even Kellogg's commercials as bonus features).

This is a must-have for any Superman fan who will always love George Reeves as television's greatest super hero.

Rating:

- All I'd Hoped It Would Be
The reviewer who said that these are the "truncated syndicated versions" is being a little picky. The only thing missing from these episodes is the previews of the next weeks show. I for one can certainly live without them. The main substance of the shows appear to be complete; each I've watched so far runs a full 25 minutes, and the prints (digitally restored from originals) look just fine. I also seemed to notice a few frames in the full-length feature Superman and the Mole Men that that weren't even in the VHS version that Warner Brothers released a few years ago. The George Reeve "historical" short on Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express was in full color and nicely preserved; although not terribly entertaining, it was a thoughtful inclusion. The three Kellogg's commercials featuring George Reeve are more than sufficient in my view; they're rather boring and not very interesting, so three is plenty for me. I am hoping that future releases of seasons 2-6 will include Stamp Day for Superman and maybe even the pilot for the 1962 (?) Superboy show that was never picked up (both were available on VHS in the past). I thought the DVD was very well executed, except for a blooper in the packaging (the box contains a complete list of the 26 episodes with a short synopsis for each, unfortunately, the plot summaries for episodes 14, 15 and 16 are mixed up). It was a pleasure to watch the first three episodes and the Mole Men movie, and I look forward to ingesting the rest of season one shortly.

Rating:

- The Stolen Costume needs a replacement.
I was so excited when I heard that Superman is finally coming to DVD. I picked up my copy this morning and watched The Stolen Costume episode tonight and the quality is HORRIBLE!! They cut off part of the opening and the picture quality is horrible. Lines, cuts and snow. The rest of the first season is great. I hope maybe for the second season, they will re-release that episode that looks horrible and we'll all be satisfied.

Rating:

- The ORIGINAL First Season
The first, gripping season of "The Adventures of Superman" has had possibly the most unusual history of any television film series, once production wrapped in October 1951. First the episodes were assembled and scored in late 1951. Then they were re-edited in early 1952 on orders from the sponsor, Kellogg's cereals. Then, when the negatives for these "Kellogg's edits" began to wear out over the years, the original versions began appearing in syndication.

So Captain Bijou is correct: for the most part, these ARE "syndication versions." However, they are also the ORIGINAL edits, and they include scenes that Kellogg's ordered cut. Among these:
1) The whipping of Jan Moleska in "The Monkey Mystery"
2) Greer knocking Lily Sung unconscious with two vicious punches in "Riddle of the Chinese Jade"
3) Elsa, one of "The Evil Three," getting shoved down a ramp into a cellar, to be left for dead.

There's nothing missing from these episodes except the commercial bumper ("We'll return to the 'Adventures of Superman' in just a moment") and the aforementioned Preview - both of which were added when Kellogg's ordered the re-edits. In fact, the version of "Crime Wave" included here has likely never been seen on television.

As for the Kellogg's commercials - the three included in the set were made to air with the first season. Later ads, which did include others in the cast, were produced alongside later seasons and hopefully will be included in future sets.

The 17-minute documentary certainly wasn't made for the hard-core fan: it's for the remaining 80% of total purchasers of this set! Actually, it sums up the history of the series quite nicely. Also the four episode commentaries are entertaining and informative.

The only flaw in the diamond is "The Stolen Costume." Apparently the original elements of this show have vanished (perhaps stolen by a rope burglar?), leaving a (much) less-than-pristine dupe behind. Fans of this particular episode (which features the only TV appearance of detective Candy Myers, a recurring character on the "Superman" radio show) will be disappointed that it doesn't sparkle like the other 25.

Nevertheless, it's still a 5-star release; long overdue and highly anticipated. Don't walk, don't run - FLY faster than a speeding bullet to buy this all-time classic!

Rating:

- Complete?? Well, not quite....
Fans and purists of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN TV series a major disappointment.

First, the prints are obviously the truncated TV syndication versions. If your're looking for the original Kellogg's openings, they're not here, though there are 16mm prints circulating throughout the film collecting hobby with ecploding planet and "Kellogg's, the greatest name in cereal presents...The Adventures of Superman" announcer line.

Secondly, each first season episode had a "Preview" at the story's conclusion before the credits consisting of a a montage of sequences from the next epsiode. These have been Deleted as well.

Third, only four of the original Kellogg's cereal commercials cast commercials are included as one of the special features. All feature only George Reeves as Clark Kent.

The mini-documentary, SUPERMAN: FROM INKWELL TO BACKLOT, is definitely not for diehards. Jack Larson, Allan Asherman, Leonard Maltin, Gary Grossman, Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio, Maike Carlon and Alex Ross and several figures currently associated with DC Comics and the SMALLVILLE TV series chime in with opinions and an brief comments about the series and its impact on 1950s television audiences (--interestingsince only a few of them were alive at the time--). But its pretty bland stuff. No behind-the-scenes footage, production stills or nuggets of little known information.

Thankfully, SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN is included in its entirety as well in its' ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN version: THE UNKINOWN PEOPLE - Parts 1 & 2. But sadly, the theatrical trailer was not included.

The Technicolor Warner Brothers short, PONY EXPRESS DAYS (1940) starring George Reeves is also included. No doubt we'll see the Warners' shorts on future volumes for padding as well.

Packing is colorful and first rate, though a bit cumbersome. One can only imagine how long the multi-fold six disc packaging will last...epscially with repeated handling.

Eons ago, my young eyes were amazed by SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN (--seen at the long-gone Lindale Theater in Houston--), but, then they had been equally amazed at the weekly episodes of ATOM MAN VS. SUPERMAN (--seen at the Joy Theatre also in Houston and also long since departed--). When the first episode of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN was telecast, I was in the front of the set.

To the dedicated ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN fan -- and who saw it on its first run or even into the 1960s when the Kellogg's openings and previews were still intact on most syndication prints, the set is a disappointment. Though the first shows -- and they are both dark and violent for these sensitive times -- still entertain and recall a imagintive time in television's -- and our -- youth.

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