TVXOHOF, JANUARY 2018 - SUPERMAN'S PAL

With the January membership for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame, I like to salute the greats of Classic TV, although those characters can appear anywhere in the schedule, especially if they fit in with the traditions of other months.  

This year I decided the time finally had come for Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen - the televersion from Earth Prime-Time only - to take his place in the Hall.  He qualified for it years ago, once the Amex commercial aired which starred Jerry Seinfeld and the Superman of the Tooniverse.  And I kept slotting him into successive schedules but always found reasons to preempt him for some other candidate.  But like I said, the time has come!

I tend to think the whole world knows as much as I do about everything.  But if you don't know about Jimmy Olsen, let's go to the Wiki file!

From the Wikipedia:

James Bartholomew Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman, and has a good working relationship with his boss Perry White. Olsen looks up to his coworkers as role models and parent figures.

Jimmy is traditionally depicted as a bow tie-wearing, red-haired young man who works as a cub reporter and photographer for The Daily Planet, alongside Lois Lane and Clark Kent, whom he idolizes as career role models. In most depictions of the character, he has a strong friendship with Superman. As Superman's friend, Jimmy has special access to the Man of Steel, thanks to Superman's gift to Jimmy of a "signal watch", a wristwatch which, with the press of a button, emits a special ultrasonic frequency signal that Superman can hear anywhere on Earth. (In Post-Crisis continuity Jimmy invented the watch himself, and Superman briefly considered confiscating it. In New Earth continuity, the watch was designed by Superman based on a larger signaling device Jimmy created.)

In many Silver Age of Comic Books, Jimmy was often seen sharing adventures with Superman, who saved him from various predicaments ranging from dangerous to merely embarrassing. This was particularly pronounced in the series "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" published from 1954 to 1974, which saw Olsen in a variety of slapstick adventures and strange transformations. Like most DC characters, modern portrayals of Olsen have been more serious in tone.

An important part of the Superman mythos, Jimmy Olsen has appeared in most other media adaptations of the character.

"Olsen" is a common Danish-Norwegian surname. However, there is never any reference to the character having a Scandinavian ancestry, other than the name.

On the 'Adventures of Superman' television series (starring George Reeves), Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Jack Larson, who appeared as the cub reporter from 1952 to 1958. Largely because of the popularity of Larson and his portrayal of the character, National Comics Publications (DC Comics) decided in 1954 to create "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen", a regular title featuring Jimmy as the leading character. Decades later in 1996, Larson portrayed an unnaturally aged Jimmy Olsen in an episode of 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'.

Adventures of Superman (1952 - 1958)

101 episodes

Stamp Day for Superman (1954)
Superman's commitment to promote US Savings Stamps is temporarily delayed when Lois is kidnapped.

Clark Kent and Lois Lane, out for a stroll, discover a jewelry robbery in progress. Lois gets a good look at one of the burglars. Later Clark and Jimmy Olsen visit Jimmy's old school to discuss Superman's visit there to promote the U.S. Treasury Department's Savings Stamp program. In the meantime, Lois is captured by Blinky, the jewelry burglar she spotted. When Lois doesn't show up to join Clark and Jimmy, Clark realizes she's in trouble and arranges for Superman to save the day and still make his appearance at the school's Stamp Day.

(from the IMDb)

American Express commercial (1998)

Jerry Seinfeld comes to the rescue of the Superman from the Tooniverse, thanks to his Amex card.  And Jimmy Olsen, standing outside the Daily Planet building saw the visitor from the cartoon dimension flying through the skies.

When Superman was inducted into the Hall as one of the "pioneers" subjected to my televisiological studies, he was brought in as a Multi-dimensional.  Basically all of the Supermen from the many TV dimensions are of the same basic character even if their Kryptonian telegenetic composition varies.  (It's Toobworld Central policy that all Tooniverse characters - no matter the style of the artwork - are still the same person.)

But with Jimmy Olsen, we're only taking into account the first one seen on TV, played by Jack Larson.  There are a LOT of variations in character for Superman's Pal across the greater TV Universe.  And as far as telegenetic stock, it has gone so far afield that he's black in Comix Toobworld DC-2.  Although it should be pointed out that Jimmy Olsen in Supergirl's Toobworld has the best chance for inclusion in the Hall as another incarnation of the "cub reporter".  So far he's only appeared on 'Supergirl' but he could cross the vortex and wind up in the "Arrowverse" - the alternate Toobworld officially known by Toobworld Central under its designation of Comix Toobworld DC-1.

The Jimmy Olsen of Comix Toobworld DC-3 - which currently only houses 'Lois & Clark' - may not have looked like the Jimmy Olsen of Earth Prime-Time in his youth, but when he was preternaturally aged he looked exactly like Toobworld's Jimmy Olsen by that point in his life.  (Both timelines are askew from each other.)  Yet it's highly unlikely he'll ever see the inside of the Hall unless he buys a ticket....

After the series ended and before he was last seen in that quick cameo for the Amex blipvert, much of Jimmy Olsen's life remains "unseen on TV" and open to speculation.  But this is what Toobworld Central has accepted as its own personal canon, knowing full well it goes against the established life of Olsen in the Comic Book Universe and other metafictional universes.

There's a reason why so many people in the main Toobworld know that Superman's secret identity was as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent in Metropolis.  It's because Jimmy Olsen spilled the beans.

I've written about this plenty of times in the past so that I'm hoping you are all ardent followers of this blog and will not be surprised by the news: In the main Toobworld, Superman is dead. 

Quick recap - Superman used his body to shield two Chicago gangsters named Ray Luca and Pauli Taglia from an atomic blast when they tried to hide out in the middle of a Nevada A-bomb test site.  They were unharmed, thanks to Superman, but his usually impenetrable skin was permeated with microscopic grains of green kryptonite which had been under the surface of the desert where the atomic bomb was detonated.  It was a fatal dose and Superman died of the radiation poisoning within weeks.

But before he died, Superman told his pal Jimmy everything about himself, all of the secrets - including his Terran identity as Clark Kent - in order for his history and the memory of Kyrpton to live on after he was gone.  

Jimmy didn't take the news well......

One might think that this was something Superman should have told the woman he loved, but I guess he was convinced that it would have been cruel to subject her to watch him die as she transcribed his dictation.  Not that Jimmy fared any better......

Jimmy published Superman's biography after the Man of Steel died, perhaps with the assistance of UNReel, the shadow ops group which keeps the public from believing the Truth about some of Toobworld's greatest heroes.  From this incredible revelation came the comic books, the movies, the TV shows - anything that might later cause a Zonk in the dialogue references from other TV shows.  It's how Jerry knew "Jor-El" was the name of Superman's father, which he used as his bank password.  And any money made from those sales which would have been due to Superman's estate were donated to the foundation started by Jimmy and Lois in his memory - the Kent Foundation.

Other than that, it's anybody's guess as to what happened to Jimmy Olsen, but I like to think that some of those small roles played by Jack Larson on later TV shows were actually Jimmy Olsen despite the difference in names.  I think he was working undercover for a story at the Daily Planet - still out in the streets, working the beat, even though he was more than likely the Editor-In-Chief of the paper by the time we saw him just leaving the Daily Planet in that Amex commercial.

There are a couple of Wish-Craft moments in Jimmy's life which I can't prove but I just like them.  One, he accompanied Superman when he took the trip in the TARDIS with the First Incarnation of the Doctor and his granddaughter "Susan" in order to find a planet where the Kandorians could be released from their glass bottle prison.  (The Kandorians descendants were later seen in an episode of 'The Twilight Zone' - "The Little People".)

Two - Jimmy Olsen had grown up with another Jimmy - James B.W. Bevis.  They even adopted the same clothing style which they continued long after graduating.  (From another 'Twilight Zone' episode - "Mr. Bevis'.  Mr. Bevis had his own run-in with the Doctor: while touring England after he retired, Bevis had to go to the hospital in Leadworth.  After stripping down for the examination, the Eleventh Doctor stole his clothes.)

Like I said, I can't prove it, but it's just some fun conjecture.....

I wanted to make Jimmy related to Mrs. Olson from over one hundred Folger's Coffee blipverts, but as you can see from the superimposed caption on this one, she spelled her name differently.  (I was hoping to make her his aunt by marriage.)

One doesn't like to let go of people in our lives, even the fictional ones, but it has to be accepted that by this point in Toobworld time, James Bartholomew Olsen has passed away... probably around the same time as Jack Larson (2015).

Hopefully this little tribute will keep that memory of him alive for somebody out there.....

BCnU!

SHOWS CITED:

'The Adventures of Superman'

'Crime Story'

'Stamp Day For Superman'

American Express commercial

'Seinfeld'

'Supergirl'

'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'

'Law & Order: Trial By Jury'

Folger's Coffee commercial
'Doctor Who'
'The Twilight Zone'

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS" - SUPERMAN

"CHIEFLY O'HARAS"

[EPISODE ELEVEN]

"ONCE A HERO"

As the train carrying Helen O'Hara heads around the bend, we're going to shift our focus from her for awhile - in fact, we won't be returning to her story again until we reach the late 1960's in the Toobworld timeline.

We'll instead be turning our attention to her younger brothers, the twins Jim and Frank.

But first I thought I should talk a bit about Superman, since he's part of the O'Hara family now. (At least in my televersion of life during prime time.)

For Earth Prime-Time, Superman (aka Clark Kent) is only that portrayal by George Reeves as seen in 'Adventures Of Superman'. Other shared universes, like my esteemed comrades at the Wold Newton Universe and the TVCU, see all of these characters more as archetypal concepts so that they could be portrayed by several different actors yet still represent the same man (or woman.) But the Toobworld Dynamic remains true to the visual nature of the medium, and so any recasting of a role has to be accounted for. If there are no splainins that can keep a particular version of a character in the dimension of Earth Prime-Time, then - thanks to 'Sliders' (primarily, although other shows have used this gimmick) - we have plenty of other TV dimensions where those versions can hold sway.

George Reeves is not Dean Cain, nor is he Tom Welling. Their versions of Superman and the adventures they experienced don't add to the overall essence of the character. They are instead separated from each other in three different dimensions. (I've never considered where Cain's Superman from 'Lois & Clark' is located, but Welling's embodiment of the Man of Steel is to be found in the same dimension as 'The West Wing'.)

The Toobworld Dynamic is more than life during prime time; it's what happens after a show goes off the air as well. So if George Reeves was Superman even after the series ended, why didn't we see him or at least hear of his exploits during some of the catastrophic events that struck Toobworld over the last fifty years since the show was on the air - the collapse of Sunnyvale into the Hellmouth, the explosion at Moonbase Alpha, the disappearance of Oceanic Flight 815, invasions by the Canamids, the Cybermen, the Daleks, the visiting Invaders and the invading Visitors. Perhaps there were tragic accidents involving the Amsterdam Queen and the Super-Train after their shows went off the air. Even the real-life horror of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers would have to be considered since TV shows like 'Touch', 'Rubicon', 'Rescue Me', and 'CSI: NY' have deeply incorporated it into their plotlines.

In fact, it was that national tragedy that got me thinking about "Whatever Happened To Superman?", which I published in the old Tubeworld Dynamic website a few months after the fall of the towers. I got a bit of flack for that at the time, but soon enough the TV Universe was weaving it into the tele-mosaic - see the list of other shows which used the attack on the World Trade Center in their stories, compiled by my fellow Iddiot, Nora Lee Mandel.

If the World Trade Center collapse was part of Toobworld as was Superman, than in the realm of the TV Universe, why couldn't he have flown to New York City from Metropolis and prevented it from happening in Toobworld?

The only conclusion I could think of was that Superman himself must have already died.

Superman would have been about 76 years old by then. (He was an infant when he crash-landed on Earth back in 1926. This makes the character younger than the actor who played him. If Superman's age had been based on that of Reeves, then he would have been about 87 years old by September 11, 2001.)

So he could have died of old age. My own father never saw that age, and he was my Superman, so why should Clark Kent? Living under a yellow sun made him invulnerable, but he was not immortal.

I wanted to find a TV-based splainin for his demise, one that could also create a link to some other show. I thought that might be tricky - not much call for Kryptonite in other TV series.

But I did find the circumstances that were perfect

I don't know if this is how it played out on screen when the first season finale of 'Crime Story' was first broadcast, or if it has since been edited to be even more trippy for this video, but here are the basics:

Ray Luca and his dimwitted henchman Pauli made good their escape after a shoot-out on the streets of Las Vegas. Since Luca was wounded, Pauli had to make the decision where they were going to hide out - and he chose a house located in the middle of the A-bomb testing site. They were still out there when an atomic bomb was detonated... and yet they survived to return for the second season.

There's only one way that could have happened - Superman must have come to their rescue.

For whatever reason he was in the area ('Adventures of Superman' had scenes set outside of Metropolis that were basically desert-like in location, so maybe it's not too far away from Sin City?), Superman reached Luca and Pauli in time to shield them from the immediate effects of the blast. (They probably later died from radiation poisoning after 'Crime Story' concluded.) But Superman might not have been so lucky himself.

Atomic radiation might not have been harmful to him, but those desert sands may have had Kryptonite dust mixed in as well. That Kryptonite may have penetrated his clothes and permeated his skin, leaving him poisoned and slowly dying from the exposure.

Realizing that there was no cure, Superman probably put his affairs in order and finally revealed his secret to Jimmy Olsen so that the cub reporter could tell his story to the world. 

 And as was the case with the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as the Doctor, Superman must have realized that even one cell of his corpse would be worth anything to his enemies. Since fire wouldn't be able to destroy his remains, Superman either took off into outer space to die among the stars (or even in the heart of a red sun), or he used his fading powers to go back in Time and die in an undisclosed location in Earth's past where his corpse could naturally decay before anyone back in the Future could capitalize on what was left.

Maybe Superman died back in the "Wild, Wild West"?

After he was gone, Jimmy Olsen (Superman's so-called pal) made a fortune with a tell-all book that made him a multi-millionaire. This book is still in publication in Toobworld, and is the source of all the information other TV characters have of Superman's personal life - including his secret identity on Earth of Clark Kent, his Kryptonian name of Kal-El, and that of his father, Jor-El (which Jerry Seinfeld uses as his ATM password.)

With part of the proceeds from his royalties, Olsen established the Kent Foundation, which came under investigation in the early part of this century in New York City. He also bought the Daily Planet, which is why we saw him standing outside of it when the Superman of the Tooniverse crossed over to hang out with Seinfeld in Metropolis.

One last point I want to make about Superman in Earth Prime-Time. When a TV character is adapted from another source, we have to take the TV version to be the official version, not the original source material. For example, in the novel of "Rich Man, Poor Man", the Jordache family had another child besides Tom and Rudy - a daughter. But she didn't make it into the mini-series and so she doesn't exist as far as Toobworld is concerned.

But sometimes an omission from the TV adaptation just means that we never got the chance to see that character or event on screen. Such is the case with the Superman mythos - all we ever saw of his enemies were the petty crooks and mad scientists, but never the colorful villains that were to be found in the pages of the DC comic books. It's the contention of Toobworld Central that those villains did exist in Earth Prime-Time, but Superman fought them in the unseen stories between the televised episodes, and perhaps even during the commercial breaks.

This is why Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Mr. Mxyzptlyk - my choices for Superman's top trio in his rogues' gallery - were all mentioned in the previous episode of "Chiefly O'Haras", but not actually "seen". We know each of them exist in other TV dimensions - we've seen them in 'Smallville', 'Lois & Clark', 'The Adventures Of Superboy' and the many cartoon incarnations like 'Super-Friends' - so they're probably in Earth Prime-Time as well.

And keeping the time period in which Superman operated in mind, I have three actors in mind who could have played these roles:

"LEX LUTHOR" - R.G. Armstrong

Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor is a fictional character supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Superman, a major adversary of Batman and all superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #23 (April 1940). Luthor is described as "a power-mad, evil scientist" of high intelligence and incredible technological prowess. His goals typically center on killing Superman, usually as a stepping stone to world domination. Though he periodically wears a powered exoskeleton, Luthor has traditionally lacked superpowers or a dual identity.

"BRAINIAC" - Michael Ansara

Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 (July 1958), and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.

An extraterrestrial android (in most incarnations), Brainiac is a principal foe of Superman, and is responsible for shrinking and stealing Kandor, the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton. Due to complex storylines involving time travel, cloning, and revisions of DC's continuity, several variations of Brainiac have appeared. Most incarnations of Brainiac depict him as a green-skinned being in humanoid form. He is bald, except for a set of diodes protruding from his skull.

Brainiac wasn't created until after the series went off the air, but that wouldn't affect what happens off-screen anyway.

"MR. MXYZPTLK" - Billy Barty

Mr. Mxyzptlk, sometimes called Mxy, is a fictional impish supervillain who appears in DC Comics' Superman comic books.

He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Superman #30 (September 1944). He is usually presented as a trickster, in the classical mythological sense, in that he enjoys tormenting Superman. In most of his appearances in DC Comics, he can be stopped only by tricking him into saying or spelling his own name backwards (Kltpzyxm - "kel-tip-zix-um"), which will return him to his home in the 5th dimension and keep him there for a minimum of 90 days. However, this specific limitation of the character has been eliminated since the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot, upon which the character leaves only when he willingly agrees to do so after meeting some conditions he sets, such as having Superman succeed in painting Mxy's face blue.

Originally I had Billy Curtis in mind for the role, but I think Barty would have brought the true impish quality of the character to life.

Superman may be dead in the TV Universe, but the Toobworld Dynamic posits that his legacy lives on with the child he had by Helen O'Hara. And like I said, we'll be getting to that story soon enough.....

SHOWS CITED:

• 'The Adventures Of Superboy'
• 'Adventures Of Superman'
• American Express commercials
• 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'
• 'Crime Story'
• 'CSI: NY'
• 'Doctor Who'
• 'The Invaders'
• 'Lois & Clark'
• 'Lost'
• 'O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'
• 'Psych'
• 'The Queen And I'
• 'Rescue Me'
• "Rich Man, Poor Man"
• 'Rubicon'
• 'Seinfeld'
• 'Sliders'
• 'Smallville'
• 'Space: 1999'
• 'Super-Friends'
• 'Super-Train'
• 'Touch'
• 'The Twilight Zone'
• 'V'
• 'The West Wing'

Coming up next: "Double Trouble"

BCnU!

A MILD-MANNERED ZONK

Paul Hamilton:
"If we can prove that God exists, who knows what else is out there?
Ghosts! Angels! Krishna!"
Mike French:
"Superman."
Paul Hamilton:
"Well, that is a stretch, but why not?"
'Supernova'

'Supernova' made its debut on American television last week (at least as far as the local home for Britcoms, WLIW-21, is concerned). It first aired in 2005 in Australia and the United Kingdom. It's the story about a Welsh astronomer doing the fish-out-of-water routine, a la 'Northern Exposure', at an observatory in the Australian Outback.

The second episode, which aired this past Friday, presented a couple of Zonks to be dealt with. The first one can be found in that quote above; the second one was about 'Doctor Who' and is a bit thornier to deal with. (I'll need a little more time with that one!)

For the audience viewing at home, the joke in the Superman reference is that Superman is a fictional character from the comic books, movies, and TV. But within the "reality" of Toobworld, Superman was a living being.

There are a number of Supermen... Supermans... mild-mannered reporters named Clark Kent who are in fact Superman in the TV Universe. Alternate TV dimensions are homes to the Superman of 'Lois & Clark', 'Smallville', even the musical adaptation "It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's Superman!". And of course the Tooniverse houses all of the animated versions of the Man of Steel.

But for Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent has only been found in 'The Adventures Of Superman' from the 1950s. That Superman was played by George Reeves.

I've dealt with this topic before, so here are the basics - the Superman of the main Toobworld is dead. My theory is that he died saving Ray Luca and Paulie Taglia from that A-bomb blast at the end of one season of 'Crime Story'. (Kryptonite was in the sand and the atomized particles were thrust into Superman's body by the explosion as he shielded the two gangsters.)

This would splain why Superman wasn't around in Toobworld to prevent so many catastrophes, like the weather machine attacks on Port Charles, New York, in 'General Hospital', the fuel dump explosions on the Moon in 'Space:1999', and because the real life tragedy has become part of Toobworld lore in various shows, the attacks on the World Trade Center.

After his death, the secrets of Superman became widely known to the general public, which is why you can have characters in other TV shows talking about Lois Lane, the planet Krypton, Kal-El's parents Jor-El and Lara, and the Fortress of Solitude.

So in this case from "God, Are You Out There?", the second episode of 'Supernova', Mike's reference to Superman was to the "real" man. He probably meant that we might learn the truth about the destruction of Krypton. Paul must have misinterpreted his interjected comment as meaning that Mike thought Superman was still alive.

Feels a bit flimsy, but it'll work, mate!

Now I've got to de-Zonk that running sub-plot about 'Doctor Who'!

BCnU!
Toby OB

THE HAT SQUAD: REMEMBERING THE GREATEST LOIS LANE

Posted in the website “Bleeding Cool Comics”:

From Larry Ward, posted to Facebook,

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my very close friend, actress Noel Neill, the original “live action” Lois Lane from Superman. Noel passed away yesterday at her home in Tucson, Arizona after a long illness. She was 95.

First off, I’m glad to see that Mr. Ward made that distinction of Ms. Neill being the first “live action” Lois Lane. (Not that I would have been surprised – with him being her friend and all….)  It’s as if most writers either dismiss the talents of voice artists, or they must think the toons actually speak for themselves!

DC Comics via the CW television network are embracing the idea of a multiverse, especially with the acquisition of ‘Supergirl’ and the expansion of their film productions.  But they seem willing to accept that all of the previous incarnations of their many superheroes in film and TV actually existed as well in their own dimensions.  We might not be able to ever see Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, and Christopher Reeve cross over from their respective dimensions to interact with Tom Welling, Dean Cain, John Haynes Newton, Gerard Christopher, and Tyler Hoechlin (the Superman soon to arrive on ‘Supergirl’), but the possibility should at least be out there.  (You’ll notice I didn’t mention Henry Cavill, but I’m just paying lip service to the events of the latest movie in the franchise.)

In a way, the Toobworld Dynamic follows the same precept of the Multiverse.  But for the TV Universe, there are thousands of dimensions – as established in ‘Sliders’ – but all of them are within the TV Universe.  (However, certain movies have been absorbed into the TV Universe - including "Superman And The Mole Men", which introduced Phyllis Coates as the first Lois Lane of the TV Univere.)

All other manifestations of the fictional creative spark of Mankind: movies, books, audio dramas, etc, - they can be found in their own universes. So usually, the TV Universe will not concern itself with those comic book characters from the movies.

Usually....

Of all the characters from DC Comics, the one who would be the exception to the rule would be Lois Lane as personified by Noel Neill.  She began “life” in a dimension of the Cineverse, as seen in the 1947 serial starring Kirk Alyn as Clark Kent/Superman (with a second serial in which Supes battled Atom Man.)  But then in the second season of ‘The Adventures Of Superman’, she became the Lois Lane of Earth Prime-Time, replacing Phyllis Coates who played Lois in the “Mole Men” movie and in the first season.

THE ORIGINAL LOIS LANE OF EARTH PRIME-TIME

This is a recastaway discrepancy that I always meant to tackle, and although I had my ideas on how to handle it, it is to my shame that I never got around to it while Ms. Neill was alive.

Oh well.  Better late than never I suppose…..

As I just mentioned, Phyllis Coates was the Lois Lane born on Earth Prime-Time, the planet that was manufactured by the Magratheans.  Her DNA history was a mixture of evolved apes blended with aliens, like the Westerosi refugees from Mondas, the Golganfrincham telephone sanitizers, and donated “seedlings” provided by the Preservers.  (Sorry, Creationists – the Adam & Eve story takes place on the first Earth, Mondas.)  This explains why the TV Lois differed in appearance from the movie Lois; movie Lois didn’t have such a chromosomal back-story.  (I suppose a similar splainin would be needed for why the Superman of Serial Cineverse looked different from the Kryptonian of Earth Prime-Time and all of the other Supermen.)

My splainin for how the first Lois Lane of the Cineverse came to be the most famous Lois Lane of Toobworld, and what happened to the original TV Lois, is pure speculation.  And as a matter of fact, I have several theories as to what may have happened to Phyllis Coates' character.  (But this one is the best for getting Superman out of the TV dimension.)  It’s something that never was seen on our TV screens here in the Trueniverse, and frankly, most of this theory is just to make it a bit more interesting from a creative standpoint.  But I like it and it gave me the chance to throw the Doctor into it as well…..

For me, the major downside to ‘The Adventures of Superman’ (and I’ve written about this before) was the lack of villains to be found from the comic books.  Instead we got an endless array of dumb thugs, personified many times over by Ben Welden.  Where was Lex Luthor?  Brainiac?  And in this case, Mr. Mxyzptlk?

"Mister Mxyztplk" (as his name was originally spelled, originally pronounced mux-ITZ-pulk according to the title “Superman Family”) was introduced as an imp from the fifth dimension. Not being bound by our physical laws, he could do things that seemed to be magical. In his first appearance, Mxyztplk wreaked havoc across Metropolis by using his powers to pull all manner of pranks.

Species:
5th Dimensional Imp (Zrfffian)

Place of origin:
5th Dimension

Notable aliases:
Master Mxyzptlk, Ben DeRoy, countless others

Abilities:
Reality manipulation
Not bound by third dimensional laws
Can alter 3-D laws in a manner that resembles magic
Ability to break the 4th wall along with retconning abilities

Mxyzptlk has appeared in the ‘Superboy’ series and in ‘Lois & Clark’, played by Michael J. Pollard and Howie Mandel respectively.  (I do not count Mikhael Mxysptlk of ‘Smallville’, played by Trent Ford, as having anything in common with the character from the comic books other than the name.)  Had the Zrfffian appeared in 'The Adventures Of Superman', I believe Billy Barty would have been perfect in the role.  (I would have also chosen Billy Curtis, but he already appeared in the Toobworld-absorbed movie about the Mole Men and I think we may be returning to that.....)

No matter who played the Imp, he would have been the perfect “villain” to be the cause for the disappearance of the first Lois (Hereafter to be referred to as Lois-PC.)  Using his “magical” powers, Mxy could have caused Lois-PC to be banished from Earth.  Even worse, he could have banished her to some other Earth in another dimension.

In the time period in which he was active*, Superman was probably the only TV character on Earth who could break through the dimensional vortex and visit the countless alternate Toobworlds in the Multiverse.  (At least the only one who could be seen on our TV screens at the time so that would exclude the Doctor.)  Stashing Lois away in some other dimension would keep Superman busy so that Mxyzptlk could get into all sorts of mischief on Earth Prime-Time without being interrupted.

By flying super fast, Superman was able to pierce the veil between worlds and begin his desperate search for Lois-PC on as many of the myriad Toobworlds as he could.  But when it came to breaking through the walls between universes, that was a different matter and far beyond even his capabilities. 

That’s when he had to call in the help of an old friend of his – a Gallifreyan Time Lord known only as the Doctor.  His TARDIS could easily break through to the relative dimensions of other universes.

And that’s when the Superman of Earth Prime-Time met the Lois Lane of the Serial Cineverse.  (As it is with the TV Universe, there are many sub-dimensions – and thus, several different Supermen – in the Movie Universe.)  At the time he met Lois-NN, however, her life was in grave peril.  Perhaps it was caused by Lex Luthor, teamed up with the Spider Lady, seeking revenge after their defeats by that world’s Superman.  

And where was that Superman?  Since he was not seen again in Serial Cineverse after those two stories, it’s pozz’ble, just pozz’ble, that he was dead.  Movie serials weren’t quite dead yet however**, so I don’t think it was a world-wide catastrophe in which everybody of that world was in danger of imminent death.  It was only Lois-NN whose life may have been in danger… so much so that Superman and the Doctor had no choice but to evacuate her from her home-world.

Or perhaps there was some kind of crossover with a different movie serial.  It could be that she was subjected to experiments by the Martian Mota, from the "Flying Disc Man From Mars" production.  Or maybe her blood had been contaminated by a venom supplied by "The Black Widow", Princess Sombra.  In either scenario, something drastic had to be done - like removing her from the atmosphere of her home-world because it had become toxic to Lois-NN after she was subjected to the poisons coursing through her body.

Superman and the Doctor brought her back with them to the dimension of Earth Prime-Time where her life was no longer in danger.***  There she would have eventually accepted her fate and new world.  She would have had to adjust to the more noticeable changes between her two lives, most notably the change in appearance for her friends and family, especially Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Clark Kent.  But at last she reconciled herself with that new life and even went back to work in the new configuration of her old job at the Daily Planet. 

Lois Lane with Jimmy Olsen of the Serial Cineverse [top]
&
Lois Lane now on Earth Prime-Time with TV's first Jimmy Olsen

But something about her rather traumatic experience put the bug in the mind of Lois-NN that there may have been a connection between Clark Kent and Superman; perhaps it was that comparison of the reporter and the Man of Steel of Earth Prime-Time to the memories she had of the “two” men from her Earth which made her realize that the differences were the same in both match-ups.  It was only his superhuman ability to quickly think on his feet that helped Clark to protect his secret identity as Superman.

It all became moot after the death of Superman in 1964.****  Overcome with grief at having lost the second Superman in her life, Lois-NN faded into anonymity, away from the prying eyes of the Toobworld populace.  She may have even adopted several aliases and new life-styles in her later years to avoid the public.  

Eventually, she may have been revisited by the Doctor, who offered her the chance to visit other worlds, other dimensions, even other variations within the Cineverse.  And while on those alternate Earths, she could have met their versions of Superman......

The incarnation of the Doctor who could have visited Lois-NN might have been the Eighth Doctor.  We know there are so many possible adventures he could have had, unseen by the audience viewing at home.  The Eighth Doctor would have been amenable to traveling with an old lady. I'm fairly certain that he did so with Dr. Grace Holloway, staying with the human woman he loved until mortality finally caught up to her and she passed away.)

And that concludes my look at the mystery of the Lois Lane Recastaways of Earth Prime-Time… from the perspective of Lois-NN.  As to what actually happened to Lois-PC, we shall examine that aspect at a later date… perhaps on the birthday of Phyllis Coates, the only cast member from the show who is still with us.

Up, Up, And Away!

O'BSERVATIONS:

* Superman first revealed himself to the public of Earth Prime-Time in September of 1952, when he saved a man falling from a blimp.  According to the leading Toobworld theory, his last known adventure was in 1964 at a Nevada A-bomb test site.  Superman rescued two criminals hiding out there, named Ray Luca and Paulie Taglia.  

** The last movie serial appears to have been the Western "Blazing The Overland Trail" from Columbia in 1956.

*** Just as there was a difference in the chromosome make-up of the humans from the Serial Cineverse as compared to that of the Toobworld humans, so too there could have been a chemical difference in the atmospheres of both worlds.  Whatever was afflicting Lois-NN in her original world, it was eradicated by the exposure to the atmospheric elements of Earth Prime-Time.

**** The Man of Steel was able to shield both Luca and Paulie from the radiation of a test detonation, but in the process his own body was riddled with Kryptonite radiation.  [This was created when a buried vein of Kryptonite was obliterated in the blast.]  In only a matter of days, Superman - and Clark Kent - were dead.  It would be Superman's "pal", Jimmy Olsen, who revealed the truth about Superman in a best-selling book (which would be the source of information behind all those TV Zonks in which TV characters know all about his secret identity.)

Good night and may God bless.  Noel Neill... Lois Lane....  You will both be missed......

CASTING COUCH OF STEEL

When I was a little kid, I thought 'The Adventures of Superman' would always be the pinnacle for TV superheroes.

What did I know? I was a little kid!

But I tossed over the Man of Steel in a single bound when 'Batman' premiered in the mid-sixties, and even though it was campy and is now dated, I still hold it as the high-water mark.

Why? The bad guys!

If you're going to create a TV show about a comic book super-hero, make sure you bring along the super-villains that made the original comic book so popular.

The closest 'The Adventures Of Superman' ever came to having the colorful and bizarre adversaries of the comic books would be the Mole Men, maybe a robot or two.

And yet there were so many of the classic Superman villains who had already made their debut before 'The Adventures Of Superman' premiered in 1951:

Lex Luthor (Action Comics #23 - 1940)
The Prankster (Action #51 - 1942)
The Toyman (Action #64 - 1943)
Mr. Mxyzptlk (Superman #30 - 1944)

Unfortunately, other favorites didn't make their first appearance until the series had ended in 1957:

Bizarro Superman (Superboy #68 - 1958)
Brainiac (Action #242 - 1958)
Metallo (Action #252 - 1959)

But with that first group of "super-villains", they were still ordinary enough to fit within the budget of 'The Adventures of Superman'; and would have brought a dash of color even in the black-and-white productions. It's not like we were looking to bring in Darkseid and Doomsday from the future of the comic book to bust Supes upside the head... and the planet along with him.

Each of these villains could have still been molded to fit the general tone of the series as it was eventually produced, but we wouldn't have to be subjected to the site of C-List gangsters throwing their guns at Superman week after week.

As such, I wanted to present my suggestions for casting these roles within the framework of the original show; using actors of that time period who were working in the industry on a regular basis. No big stars - the budget for the show would never be able to afford them. Just a group of actors who were making their mark in Toobworld back in the mid-1950s.

LEX LUTHOR - R.G. ARMSTRONG

Not much I can say on this suggestion, and at the same time, I can't say enough. RG Armstrong is one of the best character actors to ever grace the small screen, and was still active up to the time of the 'Cybill' sitcom. I don't think a week could go by back in the fifties without him showing up as a villain; at home in modern dramas as well as at home on the range in Westerns. He would have the power and bearing to carry off the role of Superman's greatest foe.

(In later years, he got the chance to be a comic super-villain when he portrayed Pruneface in "Dick Tracy".)

MR. MXYZPTLK - BILLY CURTIS

(Billy Curtis previously appeared on 'The Adventures of Superman' as one of the Mole Men as well as playing the lead role of "SuperPup"! And he has the best credentials for playing colorfully impish characters with his role as the Mayor of Munchkin City in 'The Wizard Of Oz'.)

THE TOYMAN

You could go two ways with the Toyman - wistful and gentle or manic and blustery. Both would be humorous, but no less deadly to either Superman or those who know him like Lois and Jimmy.

I'd prefer the blustery Billy Gilbert for the role, but if you did want to go the kinder, gentler route, another option might have been Ed Wynn.

BILLY GILBERT or ED WYNN

I'd prefer the blustery Billy Gilbert for the role, but if you did want to go the kinder, gentler route, another option might have been Ed Wynn.

THE PRANKSTER

Again, this role could go in several routes and I have three suggestions for the actor to play the role.

First off, you could have gone with a definite name in burlesque, Broadway, and the movies:
JOE E. BROWN.

Or you could save a few bucks by going for a few up-and-comers in the TV biz: either cash in on the growing popularity of kid's show host Soupy Sales, or pluck a young comic from his 'Cellar' on a local L.A. station - Johnny Carson.

SOUPY SALES or JOHNNY CARSON

As for those other super-villains who didn't come into existence until after the show went off the air, we can still play a bit o' "What If?"

METALLO - LLOYD BOCHNER

Metallo was a robotic body with a human brain encased within it, and which was covered by a flesh-like skin. Lloyd Bochner was just starting out as an actor on television and I've always felt he had that ultra-cool, emotionless, nearly Vulcan-like demeanor down pat. And as he was in his thirties during that time, he carried a well-toned physique that could have suggested a robotic body beneath his skin.

BRAINIAC - MICHAEL ANSARA

While he was busy playing Cochise on 'Broken Arrow', Ansara could have dumped the long-haired wig, dabbed on some green skin paint and played the Captor of Kandor, the city from Superman's home planet of Krypton.

BIZARRO - GEORGE REEVES

Finally, George Reeves could have been able to stretch a bit on the show by playing his mis-shapen clone, the Bizarro Superman

If you want to see artistic renderings of these characters (and plenty more!) from the pages of the various Superman comics, check out this directory of Superman artists.

Up, up, and BCnU!
Tele-Toby