What Might Have Been

In some ways, Levine's take on Superman represents a - what if? Had the Reeve films not tumbled, first towards cheap comedy, then just plain cheapness, many of the dynamics that found their way into Lois & Clark may have first been seen on the big screen with Christopher Reeve as Superman. And it is character-based drama, not gimmicks that makes for good stories. In the originally conceived Superman I and II (sadly, unfinished) - "The son becomes the Father and the Father becomes the son" - Superman learns the price of disobedience of his father and setting one above the rest. Lester's Superman II offered us Lois weeping, carrying the burden of Superman's secret identity - "I don't even know what to call you!" Superman III's "good versus evil" Clark v Superman junkyard fight was one of the few outstanding and iconic moments in that film. In Superman IV, our hero opined "You're the only one I can talk to, Lois" - an interesting twist - would Lois replace all four of Superman's parents and become not his lover, but his confidant - after all, she remembered everything?

However, the new twists in Levine's take on Superman were far more than a - what if? Confined to the small screen, battling low budgets and pressures to take the series in a more action-oriented direction, Levine's approach was one that proved to viewers that Superman could indeed move beyond Chris Reeve's admittedly large shadow. In its first year, Lois & Clark was a hit, and deservedly so.

As with many things Superman, the ending for this television series is not a happy one. Just as the Lois & Clark cast gelled into a great unit, the series was dealt several heavy blows from which it never recovered. Tracy Scoggins' Cat was written out of the show (unsuitable for the family format), Michael Landes' Jimmy was re-cast (allegedly because he looked too similar to Superman, but other "demographic" concerns were more likely the cause) and John Shea's Lex Luthor was also let go (apparently, due to a financial dispute, but in truth, ABC wanted different villains for Superman to face). But, perhaps even more fatally, Deborah Joy Levine was booted off Lois & Clark, replaced with producer Robert Singer (no relation to Bryan). The reasons for this also lie with the ABC network. Battling against shows such as, wait for it, Seaquest DSV, ABC wanted more emphasis on Superman, more action and less romance. In fact, ABC replaced almost the entire writing staff of Lois & Clark, with its creator Levine becoming the most prominent casualty. Unsurprisingly, these changes essentially sunk Lois & Clark - between the premiere and the midpoint of the second season, the show plunged by a staggering twenty ratings points. Hasty attempts were made to revive the series, and several new ideas were put forward, but by then it was too late…

Superman and Verisimilitude

If the first season of Lois & Clark and also the Reeve movies prove anything, it is that stories that focus on Superman's personal dilemmas and epic struggles work while contrived "comic book" stories (not meant pejoratively towards the comic-book incarnations of Superman, but rather as a critique of motion-picture writing) or "baddies of the week" don't. In the ensuing seasons, Lois & Clark took a sharp turn towards the latter - the result, Donner's crucial concept of verisimilitude went out the window and the stories became increasingly silly: ever more ridiculous villains, implausible scenarios, etc. When the show was mercifully cancelled after its fourth season, the howls of protest were understandably muted (in another bizarre coincidence, the series actually ended on a cliff-hanger with a baby left on Lois and Clark's doorstep- was Superman now a father?).

So what is the lesson here for the revived cinematic saga? Perhaps the simplest one is this: if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and if it is broke, do (not the other way round as has often been the case with Superman)! Bryan Singer's over-earnest, over-digitised and thoroughly infantile Superman Returns was meant to be a return to form for the famous superhero. Instead, the film was a huge disappointment and may one day be remembered as the On Her Majesty's Secret Service of the Superman film series. Where was the story, never mind the ridiculous plot and sub-soap-opera dialogue? Was Singer the right choice to direct? Probably not. Should the filmmakers have re-invented Superman, rather than continuing the Donner take? Possibly. Would a better-gelled cast have helped? Certainly. Is Superman cinematically dead? Not necessarily. What Levine's tenure on Lois & Clark proves is that individual tenets of Superman are not sacrosanct - all that matters is that Superman is executed well - that a meaningful story is told. The high standard set by Superman: The Movie continues to cast a long shadow, and, along with Lois & Clark's first season, continues to underline how rewarding originality, tenacity and risk-taking can really be. More than Batman or Spiderman, Donner and Levine have shown that Superman must be done properly, or the fans will simply walk away, and even, in extreme cases, take matters into their own hands.

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