The Adventures of Superman. B&W or Color Episodes. Which Do You Like?

[Mark Giardina]

I tend to favor the early black & white episodes for the following reasons:

They were more geared towards an adult audience. Granted there was more violence than the later color programs, but that format made the show more exciting.

There was more of an effort towards special effects, especially the flying sequences; while the color shows had just one shot of Superman flying.

George Reeves was still a young man and in great shape when the program first debuted.

No offense to fans of Mr. Reeves, but as the series progressed so did his waistline. Another thing I noticed that it seemed to me that Reeves' hairline receded tremendously during the last season the show aired (1958).

The reason I don't like the color episodes mostly is because the producer of the show introduced a series of silly characters like Professor Pepperwinkle and Uncle Oscar. As mentioned earlier, the special effects were really toned down in an effort to save money. I know the show was suppose to be for children, but the scripts just got too silly.

It is somewhat ironic but I read that when "The Adventures of Superman" was going back into production in 1960 that the show was going to revert back to the original (more adult) theme.

It would have been interesting to see how long the new episodes would have lasted. After all Reeves would have been 46 years old in 1960 and I highly doubt he would have wanted to play Superman when he reached 50.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Color, mainly because I felt that Noel Neill made a better Lois Lane.

 

[Mark Giardina]

I felt that Noel Neill made a better Lois Lane.

Really? I always thought that Phyllis Coates was a better Lois Lane because she acted more like a feisty give-em-hell reporter than Neill did.

In retrospect I think Coates made a serious career move by leaving the Superman series when she did. Her post-Superman career was playing minor roles on some popular TV shows but that was it.

Although Neill is over 90 today, at least she has spent most of her adult career, sans the Superman series, appearing at Superman-related events, and being interviewed on TV about the show. I've never seen Coates making such appearances, although she did guest star on Lois & Clark back in the 1990s as Lois Lane's Mother.

 

[landtuna]

I was not a fan of Superman but did watch some of the episodes. They seemed rather silly to me, even as a kid but....the stories and characters were more faithful to the serials of the 30's and 40's and since those were all in B&W I think the earlier episodes were "better".

 

[therealjm12]

I was always a fan of the first year episodes. In fact, I bought the DVD's.. I like liked the film noir look of it. Also, I liked Phyllis Coates better. She was sexy bitchier. Not whinny.

 

[Al Timiter]

I liked the B&W episodes better. Can't decide which Lois Lane I liked better though. I thought both were good.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I've always preferred the black & white episodes. Those still come across as more detective and investigative in nature rather than superhero.

I have read that in the episodes made in color, there was less of shooting a scene over due to the higher cost of using color film. Thus, verbal bloopers sometimes stayed in.

As for the two actors playing Lois Lane, I'll go with Phyllis Coates. She came across as more of a reporter - even someone who would be doing the job today either with a newspaper or TV reporter.

 

[anotherguyTN]

When you had a black & white set as a kid they were all the same. :

 

[FreddyE1977]

Phyllis Coates always struck me as being disinterested in her role, probably why she chose
not to embrace it in later years.

 

[Mark Giardina]

Phyllis Coates always struck me as being disinterested in her role, probably why she chose
not to embrace it in later years.

You might be right. However from what I have read Coates was offered a co-staring role in a new TV series and opted for that instead of staying with Superman. Unfortunately for Coates' career her new gig didn't last one season.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

You will note in the credits of the early Superman shows, Phyllis Coates was listed at the top along with George Reeves as a co-star.

 

[Mark Giardina]

You will note in the credits of the early Superman shows, Phyllis Coates was listed at the top along with George Reeves as a co-star.

Reeves insisted upon that since Coates starred with him in the movie "Superman and the Mole Men" before the TV series went into production.

While Reeves later welcomed Noel Neill as Lois Lane, he also remained close friends with Coates. I read that he came up with some ideas for a TV series in which Coates would star in, but unfortunately nothing came of it.

 

[rnigma1]

Phyllis Coates always struck me as being disinterested in her role, probably why she chose
not to embrace it in later years.

You might be right. However from what I have read Coates was offered a co-staring role in a new TV series and opted for that instead of staying with Superman. Unfortunately for Coates' career her new gig didn't last one season.

She was also appearing in the Joe McDoakes shorts as Joe's wife Alice.

I also prefer the early B&W episodes. The color episodes were sillier (remember Chuck Connors as "Sylvester Superman"?), and indeed looked cheaper. The main characters wore the same clothes from one episode to the next so the producers could mix and match footage if needed. And there were never any scenes in the newsroom of the Daily Planet because they would have had to hire extras.