Author Topic: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals  (Read 982 times)

Offline perc2100

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Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« on: February 25, 2021, 06:06:57 PM »
"Superman & Louis" premiered on CW this week, and it got enough praise from my comic friends that I (finally) checked it out today.  I don't watch the CW at all (used to watch "Flash" but it got away from me years ago), so I don't know much about their DC TV universe.  I say that ONLY to underscore I had zero expectations (other than "comic book TV shows are inevitably cheapish looking") and knew nothing of the premise other than the title and actors.

I was a bit shocked that the opening prologued basically took us from Kal-el arrive as a baby-growing up in Smallville-moving to Metropolis to be Superman-meeting Louis-getting married & having twin boys!  All of that was merely voice over setup to get to the main series, which almost immediately kind of floored me a little bit!  The premise of the series seems to be a family drama, with Clark trying to balance being a dad & husband with being Superman.  The show creatives went with a fairly traditional Superman take (good ol' wholesome Supes) with a modern spin of being a family man with teenage kids.  Clark is the earnest being that has existed in the comics for 80+ years, and Louis is the same strong take-charge type she has always been portrayed.  After the DCEU take on Kal, it was a nice change of pace to get back to old-school Supes: actor Tyler Hoechlin felt at times to be aping Chris Reeves, especially as Clark, albeit slightly: not like SUPERMAN RETURNS which was meant to be a Reeves impression; here it felt more subtle and organic).

The pilot ep seemed to center on Clark & Louis' boys: one a kind of do-gooder, well adjusted kid and the other one a bit more of the stereotypical moody teenager.  As we get through the episode, we realize the moody twin has at least some of Kal's powers: strength & endurance + heat vision.  Meanwhile some seemingly super other character is messing with the nuclear power plants, leading to a confrontation with Superman.

The ep was standard pilot episode fare: set up the characters, the setting, and the situations.  The effects were fine for TV: they didn't feel too cheap, and worked for the most part (ie don't expect a Zach Snyder budget; or even "The Mandalorian" or "WandaVision").  The pilot didn't feel "OMG THIS IS THE BEST EVER!!" but it also didn't disappoint.  I guess you can say this is a promising series that I'm gonna make a point to watch to see where it's headed. 

Anyone else see this?  If you missed it it's on demand

Offline darkron9

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2021, 08:31:18 AM »
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"Superman & Louis" premiered on CW this week, and it got enough praise from my comic friends that I (finally) checked it out today.  I don't watch the CW at all (used to watch "Flash" but it got away from me years ago), so I don't know much about their DC TV universe.  I say that ONLY to underscore I had zero expectations (other than "comic book TV shows are inevitably cheapish looking") and knew nothing of the premise other than the title and actors.

I was a bit shocked that the opening prologued basically took us from Kal-el arrive as a baby-growing up in Smallville-moving to Metropolis to be Superman-meeting Louis-getting married & having twin boys!  All of that was merely voice over setup to get to the main series, which almost immediately kind of floored me a little bit!  The premise of the series seems to be a family drama, with Clark trying to balance being a dad & husband with being Superman.  The show creatives went with a fairly traditional Superman take (good ol' wholesome Supes) with a modern spin of being a family man with teenage kids.  Clark is the earnest being that has existed in the comics for 80+ years, and Louis is the same strong take-charge type she has always been portrayed. 

Anyone else see this?  If you missed it it's on demand

Ok, whew!  I'd thought that the Superman saga had gone transgender.  "Superman and Louis"...  Sorry perc2100...  I couldn't resist...

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #2 on: Today at 03:20:37 AM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2021, 12:42:31 PM »
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Ok, whew!  I'd thought that the Superman saga had gone transgender.  "Superman and Louis"...  Sorry perc2100...  I couldn't resist...
Oh geez: another instance of "spell check can't help me with this one"  :P

I guess 'Superman and Louis" would indeed gel with a "new spin" on the IP, huh!!

Offline darkron9

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2021, 07:55:22 AM »
"The pilot ep seemed to center on Clark & Louis' boys: one a kind of do-gooder, well adjusted kid and the other one a bit more of the stereotypical moody teenager.  As we get through the episode, we realize the moody twin has at least some of Kal's powers: strength & endurance + heat vision.  Meanwhile some seemingly super other character is messing with the nuclear power plants, leading to a confrontation with Superman.

The ep was standard pilot episode fare: set up the characters, the setting, and the situations.  The effects were fine for TV: they didn't feel too cheap, and worked for the most part (ie don't expect a Zach Snyder budget; or even "The Mandalorian" or "WandaVision").  The pilot didn't feel "OMG THIS IS THE BEST EVER!!" but it also didn't disappoint.  I guess you can say this is a promising series that I'm gonna make a point to watch to see where it's headed.

Anyone else see this?  If you missed it it's on demand"

So after months and months, I saw a notice that Superman and Lois would soon be removed from HBO Max on May 17th.  This was enough to push me over the edge and watch the show.  perc2100 has done a credible job of describing the series (it might have been more intriguing had Lois actually been Louis, but then... sorry perc2100) and I found the pilot compelling enough to binge up through episode 5.  Episode 6 will air on the CW on May 18, but since I wake up at 2:30 AM, I will have to watch this later. 

Yes, I am enjoying the experience.  The story line reminds me a little of the series 'Riverdale' where the family is dealing with the intrigue of a billionaire trying to buy up the small farms that make up Smallville and the baddies like Captain Luthor.  Elizabeth Tulloch feels right as Lois to me.  Sofia Hasmik as the reticent editor Chrissy Beppo of the Smallville Gazette also does a good job as Lois' new boss.  I'm old enough to remember shows like 'Father Knows Best' and the 'Leave it to Beaver'.  This series has that feel good vibe to it with just enough Superman in it to keep it in the CW vision of the DC television Universe.

Thank you perc2100 for bringing this series to my attention.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2021, 03:05:30 PM by darkron9 »

Offline Zero

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2021, 03:12:44 PM »
Forum Housekeeping:

Spell check and edited the thread title for the show "Superman and Lois."

XD
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Offline perc2100

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2021, 08:37:21 AM »
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Forum Housekeeping:

Spell check and edited the thread title for the show "Superman and Lois."

XD
THANK YOU!  :P (insert face-palm emoji here as I'm reminded once again when my college Frosh English prof. reminded me "spell check doesn't catch ALL of the errors, huh" when I wrote a paper about elections and referenced improperly formatted voting _ballets_)

Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: Superman & Lois: newish spin with old school ideals
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2021, 03:59:00 PM »
I gotta say I am really liking this series.  It's a nice new spin on the whole Superman mythos, and while I understand the focus on the kids intros this to a different demographic, it is pretty cool to watch something like a family story unfold.
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