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This set is AWSOME!!!! complete and quality is excellent BUT yes there is a BUT when you look at the episode descriptions I noticed that episode 14 has episode 16's description episode 15 has episode 14's description and episode 16 has episode 15's description other than that GET THIS SET!!!
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I remember in the early 50's, my older brother would watch Superman religiously. I remember the opening segment, but I was too little to understand the stories, so I didn't sit down and watch them.
Now that I've got the 1st and 2nd season DVDs, I can see why my brother was so crazy about this show. These are great mystery stories, the casting is perfect, and the character of Superman is every kid's dream come true, at any age.
Noel Neill is a wonderful Lois Lane, but I also liked Phyllis Coates; she has a certain Anne Baxter-ish toughness that is a lot of fun. I like both of them.
On the first show I watched, I heard the "Clark-Kent-is-going-to-change-into-Superman-music" begin playing.....and I felt goosebumps all over. What a high. The magic is still there, and it's better than ever!
The pictures are clean and sharp, the sound is great and the special features are pretty good, too.
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When I was a youngster I would lay in bed listening to Superman because it was too late to watch and I was suppose to be asleep which I would inevitably do before each episode ended. Well, the big surprise watching them in their entirety is that they seem so long. This I conclude is because the advertising in those days was at least half of what it is today and the action is kept at a suspenseful tempo throughout the show. The best part is the one liners thrown around by the cast especially at the end of each show. This is no Rembrandt or Picasso but it is sure fun to watch - warts and all.
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The series of The Adventures of Superman, was and still is a timeless epic. This series was and still is a moral example of how a Television series should be, and it was so important in how it taught children and adults alike. The first episode was Superman's story, and George Reeves was an amazing actor.
I hope that all see this epic series in all of its releases now on DVD.
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FIRST THOUGHTS - I NEVER MISSED THIS SHOW WHEN IT WAS ON T.V. IN THE 1950s!
The first season is really different from the others, as Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane gives these first episodes more of an appeal to adults and older kids. Of course, when this DVD Set came in the mail I had a Superman marathon which meant I played all the episodes round the clock. Yes, this series is that good, and especially this first season, which I recall well, although I had not seen the episodes for decades.
Of course I still get a chill during the introduction as the announcer zips through the usual discourse of: "faster than a speeding bullet", "more powerful than a locomotive", "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound", "can change the course of mighty rivers" etc.!
ABOUT THE FIRST SEASON: Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane just can't stay out of trouble! She really had a nack for getting into trouble and she behaved like a very independent woman. Only a super-man could keep this Lois Lane out of trouble!
Without giving too much away about the plots, this first season is filled with mystery adventures and, as others have pointed out, has a film-noir quality that is hard to miss. Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane is rather over-the-top but she has always been my favorite Lois, perhaps because I saw her in that role first. George Reeves *is* Superman, make no mistake about it, as he plays the role without overdoing the hapless Clark Kent role. In fact, he plays a rather strong and emotional Clark Kent which is nice to see and fits the role quite well.
5th DISK HAS FEATURE LENGTH TREAT: "SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN"!
Disc One:
"Superman on Earth"
"The Haunted Lighthouse"
"The Case of the Talkative Dummy"
"The Mystery of the Broken Statues"
"The Monkey Mystery"
"A Night of Terror"
Disc Two:
"The Birthday Letter"
"The Mind Machine"
"Rescue"
"The Secret of Superman"
"No Holds Barred"
"The Deserted Village"
Disc Three:
"The Stolen Costume"
"Treasure of the Incas"
"Double Trouble"
"Mystery in Wax"
"The Runaway Robot"
"Drums of Death"
Disc Four:
"The Evil Three"
"Riddle of the Chinese Jade"
"The Human Bomb"
"Czar of the Underworld"
"The Ghost Wolf"
"Crime Wave"
Disc Five:
"SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN", THEATRICAL RELEASE [same as 2-part episode, different opening]
"SUPERMAN AND THE UNKNOWN PEOPLE, PART ONE"
"SUPERMAN AND THE UNKNOWN PEOPLE, PART TWO"
ABOUT THE DVDs: Excellent transfer, Features, Value!
A fantastic transfer of a 55-year-old TV show is too good to be true, but true it is. The episodes appear to be uncut, as the lengths run about 25 minutes and some seconds which is consistent with their original running times. There is commentary for a few of the episodes, but frankly I have been too anxious to see all the episodes a few times first. The package is nice too! Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPECIAL FEATURES:
RETROSPECTIVE DOCUMENTARY - Made in 2005 and runs about 18 minutes. Includes footage from most of the first year's episodes and interviews with Leonard Maltin and an nicely-aged Jack Larson [Jimmy Olson].
*COMMENTARY ON 4 EPISODES [2 by Gary Grossman - 2 by Chuck Harter]
*ORIGINAL KELLOGG'S CEREAL COMMERCIALS
*PONY EXPRESS DAYS: "VINTAGE WARNER BROTHERS HISTORICAL SHORT", Starring George Reeves
*THE 2 PART EPISODE, "The Unknown People", which had been theatrically released earlier as "The Mole Men", is included as well.
RECOMMENDED: SEASON TWO, PLUS SEASON THREE/FOUR, which has just been released in one DVD set. I will be getting that one this month, as I pre-ordered it from Amazon in March! The 3rd and 4th season set has many of my favorite episodes, [eg. "The Big Chill"] and both years are within 1 DVD boxed set as they made only half as many episodes during the third and fourth seasons as the previous two. Although color TVs did not exist 50 years ago, the shows from these later seasons were shot in color, unlike the first two seasons, giving them a warmer, and more modern look when seen today on color TVs.
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