Superman On Earth
Reviewed by Bruce Dettman

The mythology of Superman rather than being a static business has continued to be a work in progress almost since Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first created The Man of Steel back in the late 1930s. Comic book and strip, film, cartoon, radio, theatre and television would all eventually contribute to the incrementally changing face of the character with each succeeding decade seeming to redefine his persona and history. In one version of the story the baby Kal-El, rocketed to Earth from the dying planet Krypton by his parents Jor-El and Lara, lands and is taken to an orphanage by the Kents where he is later adopted by the couple. Later versions would omit the orphanage angle altogether. Also the Kents would go through various name changes: Martha and Jonathan, Eben and Sarah etc. Eventually Clark would leave his boyhood town of Smallville and once in Metropolis reveal himself as Superman. The creation of Superboy would derail this whole sequence of events. Now we have the popular show Smallville, a kind of variation on the mythos. Who knows what the future for the character will be?

The first year episode Superman on Earth delivered a straightforward and entertaining depiction of the origin of the character. The script by non-de-plume Richard Fielding (actually producer Robert Maxwell and future producer Whitney Ellsworth) and directed by Thomas Carr incorporates most of the familiar story and characters into a compact half hour.

Perennial announcer and quiz show host Jack Narz gets the ball running with a voice over depicting a shot of the cosmos and describing the planet Kryton as being the home of a race of Superman and women who have attained physical and intellectual perfection. This has always confused me a bit. Does this mean that all the inhabitants of the planet are possessed of Super powers? From what we see of them it doesn't seem so. As a matter of fact, given the inappropriate way the governing council reacts to scientist Jor-El's (Robert Rockwell wearing one of the costumes from the old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials) prediction of impending doom for the planet, they seem highly emotional, pig-headed and infantile.

I always have a bit of a problem with Rockwell in this role-even though he was a good actor and would later star in his own western The Man From Blackhawk-due to the fact that around this same time he also played and made such a strong impression as Eve Arden's incredibly obtuse and clueless boyfriend Mr. Bointon in the classic Our Miss Brooks TV series). In any case, Jor-el's words are not heeded, particularly by Kogan played with nasty vigor by solid character actor Stuart Randall (who would later turn up as a regular on the TV western Laramie). The sound of internal eruptions-which they attribute to nothing more serious than thunder-really gets the assembled body guffawing so Jor-El gives up on this group and finds wife Lara (Aline Towne who spent twelve chapters helping out Commando Cody in the Republic serial Radar Men From the Moon). Only enough time to get their baby Kal-El into the rocket and shoot it on its way to Earth before Kryton is blown to smithereens. Special effects being what they were in those days, particularly on the small tube, this footage of the infant's journey isn't the most impressive interplanetary journey ever filmed, but this sort of thing has never bothered me. Having been raised on early TV which provided a steady diet of old films, I had more in common with my parents' generation of movie effects and easily and uncritically accepted more limited and marginal cinema magic.

Eben and Sarah Kent (Tom Fadden and Frances Morris) just happen to be driving along a country road and after the rocket hits the earth pull the unharmed baby to safety. I will always recall Fadden, by the way, as having played the avuncular pod Uncle Ira in 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers). They decide to raise the infant, call it Clark and the years begin to pass by. After seeing a teenage, angst-ridden Clark (Joel Nestler) befuddled by his powers, we come up to 1951 when Eben dies and Clark leaves home for Metropolis. Odd, since he does not wear glasses in Smallville, that the citizens of that community don't recognize Superman when he makes his existence known to the rest of the world.

Clark, now in his familiar suit, hat and glasses decides to become a reporter at the Daily Planet. Thanks to Perry White being in an even fowler mood than usual, he has no luck getting past the receptionist Miss Bachrach (Dani Nolan who certainly bears no resemblance to the Miss Bachrach we later meet in Night of Terror) even though by the steamy look the attractive brunette gives him, she likes what she sees in the strapping Kent. Jimmy and Lois are hanging around White's office (on the 28th floor) and when Kent enters by way of walking on the outside ledge Lois wastes no time in sizing him up as a possible professional rival and the dirty looks begin. No time for nasty quips here though since news reaches them that a man (Dabbs Greer in the first of three appearances on the show) is hanging for his life from an errant blimp. Clark makes a deal with White that if he gets the story ahead of everyone else he'll earn his reporter's stripes. White thinks he's "crazy" but humors Kent. Meanwhile Lois and Jimmy are driving to intercept the dirigible but Jimmy doesn't want to speed and Lois strangely agrees (hard to believe big city reporters on their way to an important story would care about a traffic ticket). Dabbs can't hold his grip on the dangling rope and plummets towards the ground but Superman, making his first appearance, intercepts the falling man. Back at the Daily Planet Perry rewards Clark with the job, Lois fumes and the first of what would be hundreds of interrogations starts. Just how did Clark accomplish everything he did ahead of all those other reporters?
"Maybe I'm a Superman," he answers through a warm smile.

And for five more wonderful years he would be just that.

February 2006

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