Adventures Of Superman DVD Series Collection (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Tony, hard to tell if the Superman binge on Decades was HD. I'm really pretty sure they were not. . When they were broadcasting the color episodes, as they got into the 5th and 6th seasons, the image quality looks very good. But not HD. The episode where Superman is trapped in the hole where the kryptonite Rays are disabling him, and he levitates Louis, I remember that sequence from my childhood. Plus the one where Superman splits into two and the one with the cube, the muted colors and grays seem like how I remembered seeing it back in olden days.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Fair question, but why would the Network randomly do Color for just ONE of the Color season openings (Not even the first, OR the last!), and not the others? It just doesn't make any sense to me!

CHEERS!

Because Kellogg's didn't sponsor that particular season? Their sponsorship plugs were actually burned into the original broadcast titles.

I do concede that in the absence of having the original broadcast titles for viewing, what you state does fall into the realm of possibility.

At any rate, if these are ever found, I would love to see the missing AOS openings/closings in their original state, whether in Black & White or Color.

CHEERS!

 

[JayHink]

This series has been on my 'to get' list for quite a while. (The price is affordable so I always buy something else that seems more pressing. lol)

I, too, grew up watching the show in reruns as a kid in the 80s. Did Nick at Nite air these back then? Can't remember which network I watched them on. (I remember watching Batman on the Family Channel, I think.)

I think I'll mozy on over to Amazon & pick these up.

 

[B-ROLL]

Thanks Bryan for that observation of the time compression.

Decades http://www.decades.com/ seems to time-compress (or more accurately use time-compressed sources). There have been instances where another OTA subchannel has been airing the same episode and they are way ahead of the other one ...

They are "honoring" Dark Shadows' anniversary today ...

 

[Tony Bensley]

This series has been on my 'to get' list for quite a while. (The price is affordable so I always buy something else that seems more pressing. lol)

I, too, grew up watching the show in reruns as a kid in the 80s. Did Nick at Nite air these back then? Can't remember which network I watched them on. (I remember watching Batman on the Family Channel, I think.)

I think I'll mozy on over to Amazon & pick these up.

Regarding the first AOS season, my problem is twofold:

1. For Christmas 2006, my lovely wife bought me the AOS Season 5 & 6 DVD set. Since then, it was a quest of mine to eventually get all of the other seasons. Unfortunately, during those late '00 years, EACH Season set usually cost about as much as the entire series is currently going for! Thus, I eventually caved in to purchasing a used AOS Season 1 set. While the episodes played just fine, the unfortunate downside is the set lacks the outer cardboard casing, thus I'm stuck with using a Rubber Band to keep the inner foldout casing from spilling open!

2. Every time I see Season 1 at a good price, I WANT to order it, but so far I haven't, knowing that I already have the set, and it just seems like such an unnecessary double dip, especially considering that I'm on a pretty limited budget, to begin with!

CHEERS!

 

[JoeDoakes]

Regarding the first AOS season, my problem is twofold:

1. For Christmas 2006, my lovely wife bought me the AOS Season 5 & 6 DVD set. Since then, it was a quest of mine to eventually get all of the other seasons. Unfortunately, during those late '00 years, EACH Season set usually cost about as much as the entire series is currently going for! Thus, I eventually caved in to purchasing a used AOS Season 1 set. While the episodes played just fine, the unfortunate downside is the set lacks the outer cardboard casing, thus I'm stuck with using a Rubber Band to keep the inner foldout casing from spilling open!

2. Every time I see Season 1 at a good price, I WANT to order it, but so far I haven't, knowing that I already have the set, and it just seems like such an unnecessary double dip, especially considering that I'm on a pretty limited budget, to begin with!

CHEERS!

I think that was a Canadian problem. I got all my at Big Lots for about $6 each.

 

[B-ROLL]

I think that was a Canadian problem. I got all my at Big Lots for about $6 each.

+1

Someone said that all of the Warner Bros DVDs were supposed to go to a landfill but ended up "somehow" at Big Lots!

One of my former co-workers was George Reeves' niece. I told her about finding all the Superman sets on DVD for $6 each at Big Lots!

She asked if I could pick up a set so her newborn would (eventually) be able to see her grand-uncle in action (so to speak). When I went back, they only had Season 5-6 which I did buy for her ...

 

[Tony Bensley]

Regarding the first AOS season, my problem is twofold:

1. For Christmas 2006, my lovely wife bought me the AOS Season 5 & 6 DVD set. Since then, it was a quest of mine to eventually get all of the other seasons. Unfortunately, during those late '00 years, EACH Season set usually cost about as much as the entire series is currently going for! Thus, I eventually caved in to purchasing a used AOS Season 1 set. While the episodes played just fine, the unfortunate downside is the set lacks the outer cardboard casing, thus I'm stuck with using a Rubber Band to keep the inner foldout casing from spilling open!

2. Every time I see Season 1 at a good price, I WANT to order it, but so far I haven't, knowing that I already have the set, and it just seems like such an unnecessary double dip, especially considering that I'm on a pretty limited budget, to begin with!

CHEERS!

I think that was a Canadian problem. I got all my at Big Lots for about $6 each.

To use an early '90s type catchphrase, "Color me surprised - NOT!!!!"

 

[Nelson Au]

$6 dollars? What a steal!

 

[Matt Hough]

You "youngsters" out there will never know the absolute SHOCK that we Baby Boomers experienced when after watching all of the SUPERMAN TV episodes in black and white during the 1950s, our families finally sprang for color TVs and there were actually SUPERMAN episodes in color! (Lone Ranger episodes as well). We were SHOCKED and, of course, delighted that the show could be up-to-date enough to be in color, even if the color seasons were a pale reflection of the great adventure offered during seasons 1-3.

I don't remember what I paid for them, but I know I bought them when they were first released (I have the two Kirk Alyn/SUPERMAN serials, too), and have watched them numerous times with great pleasure always taking me far back into my childhood and some of my earliest recollections of things I watched on TV as a tiny boy.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yeah... I didn't hesitate to snag this series when it first became available! Heck, I got up at 5:30am on Saturday mornings so I'd be there to watch the station sign-on at 5:55 and The Adventures of Superman at 6! That was in 1961/62/63. To this day, any time the subject is brought up, mom gives me grief that she had to drag me out of bed for school but I was "up before the chickens on *Saturday*" to watch Superman!

 

[Nelson Au]

I just ordered the complete AOS series. Next are the Kirk Alyn serials and Route 66.

 

[rjd0309]

I just ordered the complete AOS series. Next are the Kirk Alyn serials and Route 66.

Nothing against Kirk Alyn, but IMHO he lacks the charisma of George Reeves.

 

[Nelson Au]

I've never seen the Kirk Alyn serials, I've been curious to see them.

And Henry Cavill lacks the charm and charisma that Christopher Reeve brought to the role, imho.

Not that we're comparing Superman actors like the Bond actors. I thought Brandon Routh was good too but just hampered by possibly the direction or script. I've never seen Smallville, so I can't comment. I haven't seen Dean Cain's Superman in ages.

 

[BobO'Link]

Best TV Superman - George Reeves
Best Movie Superman - Christopher Reeve

I enjoyed the Kirk Alyn serials but the "ballet dancer" poses, take offs, and landings make it feel "off" somehow. It's very nice that they feature Noel Neill as Lois Lane.

Dean Cain made a very good "Superboy becoming Superman." I really enjoyed that series but my enjoyment suffered a bit when they had Superman and Lois marry. Still, he's my second favorite Superman, just ahead of Christopher Reeve.

I liked the Salkind's The Adventures of Superboy (aka Superboy) series from 1988. It was kind of cheesy and the sfx were a bit dodgy but overall it wasn't too bad. It's more of a guilty pleasure type thing and in all fairness I've not seen any episodes of that one since the original syndication run although I *do* own S1 on DVD - just haven't yet made time for a viewing.

I didn't care for Smallville but I only watched the first 3-4 episodes and none after that as it just didn't "ring true" to what i remembered reading in the Superboy comics as a kid. It's quite possible I'd like it better now than when it first aired but... I need to pick up a copy of S1 to find out for sure.

Brandon Routh *looks* the part well enough but Superman Returns was just not that good, though not his fault, and that somewhat colors my opinion of him.

I didn't care for Man of Steel at all, partly due to Cavill as he just doesn't "look" like Superman *or* Clark to me but, like Superman Returns, he, too, had to suffer due to a lackluster script (I absolutely do not like the "re-imagined" Superman - one reason I dropped the Superman comics with "The New 52" and very much dislike the new costume.). For the record, I *do* like Man of Steel just a *bit* more than Superman Returns. I've yet to see Superman vs. Batman and the trailers I've seen don't make me want to see it. I *will* eventually see the film because I've loved the Superman and Batman characters pretty much my whole life but I'm going in with low expectations. I know for a fact it'll be the extended version I finally see as I rarely go to the theater these days preferring to do my viewings on physical media at home.

I think where the movies keep missing the mark is that Superman is really more about Clark and how he deals with his abilities and tries to be "normal" when around humans. When you watch any of the live action TV series *that's* what you seem to get the most of - Clark and his interactions with his coworkers and how he tries to keep his true identity and abilities hidden. Even in the comics the stories are better when they're not just about Superman beating up/catching the bad guys but that seems to be all the post Christopher Reeve crop of Superman films want to offer. A giant 2-page spread slug-fest on the big screen.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Howie. Not to digress too much from Adventures of Superman series, the main thing I didn't care for in Superman Returns was how they portray Lois Lane. She could have been the last person that lost faith that he'd come back. Instead she was very off-putting after being used to the earlier filmed versions of Lois. Perhaps she and Jimmy Olsen are different in the

I hate to admit that apart from one or two issues, I never really read Superman in the comics. My only knowledge is from the George and Christopher Reeves incarnations. And I did have the basics from the comics. The Donner film covered the origin story very well in the first movie. And the AOS did a surprisingly good job in the first episode. I look forward to seeing that episode when I get the DVD set.

I haven't seen all the Fleischer animated films yet. I don't recall if there was an intro to how Superman came to earth. I'll have to see!

 

[Flashgear]

I've been a Superman devotee since the Gold and Silver Age 10 cent comic books...I still have them...so, the George Reeves AOS is probably my favourite cinematic treatment, although it could well be childish and ridiculous, still entertaining...the Christopher Reeve movies, especially the original, were quite good...as was the '90s Lois and Clark...I tried, but just couldn't appreciate Smallville or the recent and continuing Supergirl...the more recent Superhero movies I really don't enjoy at all...the furious and loud nonsensical overload of CGI...just not for me...

 

[BobO'Link]

^Same here. I still have my 10 cent (along with 12 cent and 50 cent "Giants") issues - Superman, Action Comics, Superboy, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

I've said many times that to "our generation" (kids in the 50s to mid 60s) George Reeves *is* Superman. He's a tough act to follow and colors my opinion of *every* person who plays the character, even the animated versions.

The thing that always gets me is that even as a kid I enjoyed the earlier, BW, seasons more than the color ones (even though I had no idea at the time that those later seasons were in color as we had a BW TV until 1968). I especially enjoy S1, and even liked it a bit better as a kid. That's partly because I liked Phyllis Coates as Lois a bit better than Noel Neill - or maybe I should say I had a crush on Phyllis Coates. I also liked the more no-nonsence approach that was used for Lois in that season. She didn't seem as much of a "damsel in distress" as in the later seasons.

 

[Ron1973]

^Same here. I still have my 10 cent (along with 12 cent and 50 cent "Giants") issues - Superman, Action Comics, Superboy, Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

I've said many times that to "our generation" (kids in the 50s to mid 60s) George Reeves *is* Superman. He's a tough act to follow and colors my opinion of *every* person who plays the character, even the animated versions.

The thing that always gets me is that even as a kid I enjoyed the earlier, BW, seasons more than the color ones (even though I had no idea at the time that those later seasons were in color as we had a BW TV until 1968). I especially enjoy S1, and even liked it a bit better as a kid. That's partly because I liked Phyllis Coates as Lois a bit better than Noel Neill - or maybe I should say I had a crush on Phyllis Coates. I also liked the more no-nonsence approach that was used for Lois in that season. She didn't seem as much of a "damsel in distress" as in the later seasons.

Of course, I seem to be the "old soul" anyway, but even as a child of the 70's, he WAS Superman! It was a thrill to see him on I Love Lucy, further cementing him as being Superman. I remember WREG showing it on Saturday afternoon; I guess we just didn't realize how good we had it then. WMC, naturally, gave us Championship Wrestling followed by The Lone Ranger, and then WREG with The Adventures of Superman! Dang, TV was good back then!!!

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Because Kellogg's didn't sponsor that particular season? Their sponsorship plugs were actually burned into the original broadcast titles.

Expanding on that, maybe the reason there is only one set of titles for all the colour seasons is that, after the show's original first-run, they went back and re-cut a single sponsor-less title sequence onto all the colour episodes to eliminate the "sponsored by..." openings?

We all know this was done for later, big-network shows like Andy Griffith, Bewitched, and more. I'd say the re-syndication (reruns, not first-run) of Superman was done as cheaply as possible, so they likely took just the one title sequence, spliced-out the originals on all the colour episodes, and put copies of this one title on every colour episode, to make sure they all matched and didn't have any sponsor announcements. Replacing them all would have saved the time of having to screen individual episodes to see whether openings needed replacing or not.