Rating:  -
Having just read the other reviews, it seems to me that there's a blur between reacting to the quality of the picture and the stories themselves. So, I'm going to try here to put things in perspective.
In terms of the picture quality, i agree that the transfers could have been better. Although in color, the picture looks rather faded and washed out, and there are many imperfections. On the other hand, we're assuming here that Warners had the capability of cleaning the picture. Perhaps they did not, and were limited to less than perfect source material. So I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
As far as the episodes themselves, my fondness for them is mainly based on a sense of nostalgia, as I used to watch the show every day back in the 1960s. In terms of the stories, they can't compare to the first seasons. In fact, despite the same cast (with the exception of Lois Lane) it feels like two completely different shows. The first seasons scripts, which featured Phyllis Coates as Lois, were well written dramas, with a no-nonsense Superman acting as an avenging angel, ringing in the bad guys (who were actually quite menacing) The drama was tense, the dialogue crackled, the acting and direction was great, as was the background music. The second season stories were toned down a bit, but there were still some great episodes("Panic in the sky", "A Ghost for Scotland Yard", "The Face and the Voice", etc.) By the time the series went to color, the scripts were toned down even further. the bad guys were no longer punched out by Superman, and were more comic than menacing. Still, there were some good episodes in seasons 3 and 4, including "Great Caesars Ghost", "Test of a Warrior", and "the wedding of Superman". Basically, the episodes written by Jackson Gillis are the best (same goes for season 2)The episodes written by David Chantler are worse...some are downright boring. The dialogue and direction in season 3 and 4 also were vastly inferior to seasons 1 and 2. (I guess when Tommy Carr read the new scripts, he wanted nothing to do with them.) Having said all that, I don't want to seem hypocritical. I did buy the set, and have no regrets that I did.It was a great series, albeit one that went through many changes during its six year run. Unfortunately, the only change for the better was going to color. Otherwise, these episodes are still enjoyable, but pale in comparison with seasons 1 and 2.
Rating:  -
Color changed Superman, and Noel Neil was beautiful in Color as well as Black and White. Her sadness and want to find love in The Wedding of Superman, is superb as an actress should be. There is a song by Jose Jose named Quiero Perderme Contigo that is in format with how Lois Lane feels in that episode, but the same should be of Clark Kent, and what must be in his mind. Probably that is what Manuel Alejandro the Composer of the song had in mind when he wrote the song. Through the Time Barrier is a comedy in dealing with Time Travel, and as for thier adventures in the Land Before Time, they encounter what Wilma and Fred Flinstone must have really looked like, if they were for real and man did live with the Dinosaurs. Again Noel Neil is gorgous in that epesode, and even in a Cavewoman dress that looked pretty stylish.
By all means order or buy this great Collection
Rating: -
Superman in COLOR!
WOW!
I just received my copy of season 3 in the mail and have been a couch potato most of the day as I sat watching episode after episode.
The first thing I noticed is that the famous "intro" we all know doesn't appear to be "cleaned up" by Warner Brothers. By that I mean they're chock full of specks and film scratches, looking pretty bad overall. For a minute, I thought I was in for a day of watching terrible transfers of each episode.
That is, until the actual episode started. WOW! Talk about great looking! I remember seeing some of these color episodes when they were let out of the vaults to play on TV long after they were originally made (in the 50's they were ONLY broadcast in black-and-white). But seeing the transfer placed on these DVDs is like watching all new episodes! Not only is the color excellent, but seeing the ENTIRE episode again (instead of those heavily edited versions we'd all watch in later years on commercial television) was a huge plus as well! I can only praise the great job Warner did here.
Sure, the episodes aren't as serious as the first season, but they definitely are enjoyable nonetheless. I especially enjoy the humor as Clark/Superman would quip some comment about his alter-identity to the others at the end of most episodes. The other characters in the series may have been "dumb to the world", but WE all knew what he was hinting at, DIDN'T we?
And even though you'd THINK seeing the "flubs" on screen in these replays would make watching the series less enjoyable; I actually ENJOY "catching what I missed seeing back then". One such example is when Superman puts the crook's heads between jail cell bars he bent with his bare hands. But watch when he places one of the guys into that newly opened area. The guy's shoulders slam into the bars and the bars bend just as easily from the force of his shoulders hitting them! Obviously, in reality, the guy would have had 2 broken shoulder blades!
There are some great documentaries included on disc 5 as well, including my favorite of the bunch, the one covering the special effects on the TV series. Little did I know that George Reeves loved crashing through those walls! And you have to hand it to George for those fantastic take offs and landings (especially back in through those windows). They've never been done better! Even in the movies!
I've purchased all three volumes to date and will definitely be purchasing volume 4 when it's ready for release as well.
I LOVE THIS SERIES!
Here's to the BEST SUPERMAN there ever was: GEORGE REEVES!
Rating: -
This is just a fun series to watch. It from a simpler time when bad guys were bad and the good guy was Superman. To those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's George Reeves was Superman not the ones who came later. This is a chance to have your childhood reborn. How can the most powerful being on Earth ever lose? There is is suspense in these episodes. The earlier volumes are also great, but now watch the man of steel in color.
Rating: -
The color episodes I have seen from seasons three and four have always had severe color correction problems. Seasons one and two on DVD were restored with care, but much digital computer work will be needed if seasons three and four are going to be acceptable on DVD. Even on Nick at Nite, the colors on these episodes were off by a wide margin. This will be a FIVE STAR release if the colors are fixed, NO STARS if they are simply copied from existing film stock.
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