Superman & Lois

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TristramEvans

TristramEvans

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So...huh. Just um....hmmm.

Superman & Lois as a married couple with children. New I guess?
 
You haven't known this was coming? I think it's going to be pretty good.





 
No, had no idea. But, I mean I have no TV, and I've pretty much isolated myself from my former comicbook industry contacts that are under 45 years of age, so I'm not exactly "in the know" these days. Surprised no one here mentioned it yet.
 
TristramEvans said:
No, had no idea. But, I mean I have no TV, and I've pretty much isolated myself from my former comicbook industry contacts that are under 45 years of age, so I'm not exactly "in the know" these days. Surprised no one here mentioned it yet.
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You think we're in the know? Oh how the mighty have fallen...
 
Yeah. they're having a few new CWVerse shows, and shedding a couple. They're also apparently going to shorten their seasons and up their production values, and possibly going in with HBO Max on a few of the shows.
 
It's something I kinda wanted to get into, I have some friends hardcore into them and think they are basically the best live action DC media ever, but so far I haven't seen much beyond the first few epiosodes of The Flash, and haven't had any burning desire to go further. But then, I was always a Marvel reader primarily, so I dont have the same emotional attachment to DC characters.

That said, at the time it was airing, the first 3 seasons of Smallville was my favourite thing on TV, and I absolutely adore the Diniverse cartoons, so I'm not like anti--DC in any way whatsoever.
 
The worst thing Marvel has done from 1941-2021 is get rid of Peter Parker and Mary Jane as a married couple. It’s frankly unforgivable and one the reasons why I’ll never like the editorial staff from that decade.

Seeing viable marriages in comics (with or without children) is a great thing and I’m glad they are doing it.
 
Endless Flight said:
The worst thing Marvel has done from 1941-2021 is get rid of Peter Parker and Mary Jane as a married couple. It’s frankly unforgivable and one the reasons why I’ll never like the editorial staff from that decade.

Seeing viable marriages in comics (with or without children) is a great thing and I’m glad they are doing it.
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1941? I'm not even sure they were a twinkle in anyone's eye back them...
 
Superman and Lois Lane have had a son in the comic books since 2015, Jon. Now Superboy in his own right. The Superman & Lois show are adding a second son, Jordan. So it's not exactly new territory, although it is new to television and movies.

The show (along with the second season of Stargirl), will have a significantly larger budget than other CW shows as WarnerMedia hopes to make it a centerpiece of HBO Max once the season is over.

I'm a bit anxious. Superman is my favorite fictional character, but the DC shows on CW have become overtly political to the point of bashing your head in, and from what I've read of the Superman & Lois pilot, Superman & Lois will be no exception.
 
I haven't seen anything political from my perspective in the shows for the most part. Batwoman and Supergirl got a bit preachy (which turned me off of them for the longest), but they settled down in the end of S1 of Batwoman and somewhere along the line in Supergirl. The Black Lightning subject matter makes it inevitable that it will be of a certain view.
 
Outside of the DC animated shows, some of which are for me among the best TV ever, the DC shows I've enjoyed the most are the first season of Gotham and ... and I can't believe I am saying this... Swamp Thing. The rest of Gotham was OK, but Penguin was at his best when he was still the guy everyone underestimated. And Swamp Thing, against all odds, was just so well done and so much fun.

The CW shows I can take or leave. They are just kind of bland and cheap. Legends of Tomorrow gets away of it becasue it makes a virtue out of the cheapness. What really makes them feel dated to me is the style of the scripts. When characters talk, they aren't really talking to each other as much as explaining the plot to the audience or reminding them of a subplot. It's very old school, very day time television. OK that was harsh... or maybe not. Stargirl felt a lot more polished, no doubt as a result of the bigger budget.

And then there's Titans which had probably the worst trailer for any superhero show I've ever seen. Eventually when I finally gave it a shot, it wasn't all bad, I rememebr enjoying the Doom Patrol episode, but I am in no hurry to see the second season yet. I've not seen the Doom Patrol series yet.
 
PolarBlues said:
I've not seen the Doom Patrol series yet.
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Doom Patrol is probably the best DC live action show right now, hands down. And I say that as someone who considered Legends the best one before it came out. Stargirl for me was what I'd expect more for a Teen Titans show than Titans was (given the many of The Titans are adults)
 
So, I actually watched the premiere (I guess?) of Superman & Lois last night, though by accident--I was flipping the dial at 8:00 to see if there was anything I wanted to watch and stumbled on it.

The jury is still out, as far as I am concerned. I didn't hate it, but I didn't think it was great, either. The production values were certainly high and the actor cast as Superman, Tyler Hoechlin, did a decent job both as Supes and Clark Kent, I thought. It was nice to see Michelle Scarabelli (from Alien Nation) as Martha Kent, albeit briefly.

On the negative side, I'm not sure about the casting of Elizabeth (once Bitsy) Tulloch as Lois Lane. I always thought she was a weak link in Grimm, where she played Juliet, being consistently out-acted by Bree Turner (Rosalee) and Clair Coffee (Adalind). She may do better in this role.

The picture of Smallville seems to come from Hillbilly Elegy, but I guess the producers can't be blamed for wanting to take on issues of rural decay. I was surprised that coal mines featured so prominently; it turns out there was coal mining in Kansas, until the 1970s, anyway.

I'm not sure what I think about the sons and their troubled relationship with Clark. I guess there is a need for some family drama in the show. Still, if there turns out to be too much of adolescent pouting then I'll quickly lose interest. But I'm not their target audience anyway.
 
Picaroon Jack said:
I am just now finding out about Stargirl and I really like the old school heroes the young heroes are based on. I'll take a look tonight!
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It's a lot better than I expected. And the villains actually have motivation, characterization, and history! Luke Wilson carries a lot of the pathos, though Amy Smart does some pretty heavy lifting later on. I have to admit; the kids are pretty good in their roles too- more mature in their way than a lot of the CW Verse actors in other shows. And for all the lightheartedness in the trailers and such, it gets really dark.
 
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So Superman & Lois....

It wasn't bad. Some of the teenager dialogue/acting was cringy, but overall it was enjoyable. Good mix of action and drama. The "twist" was predictable, but that's OK, this isn't Game of Thrones. I'm not totally invested yet, but willing to give it some more episodes.
 
TristramEvans said:
So Superman & Lois....

It wasn't bad. Some of the teenager dialogue/acting was cringy, but overall it was enjoyable. Good mix of action and drama. The "twist" was predictable, but that's OK, this isn't Game of Thrones. I'm not totally invested yet, but willing to give it some more episodes.
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It actually gave me the feeling I wanted in Man of Steel. Don't get me wrong, I loved Man of Steel, and think that Cavill is the best representation of Superman we've had since Reeves. But the feeling of this was better- and the upped production values didn't hurt. They played the bond between the brothers well, especially given the twist (if we're talking about the same thing). The later reveal- I don't think I read those comics, so I wasn't expecting it.

I also liked the dynamic with General Lane. My hope in the future is that Lois has more of a story arc- I guess we'll see that later. With her in the billing rather than this just being Superman, I expect more from her role in the series.

Overall, I'm on board for the ride.
 
Second episode, still keeping my interest. Only part I was thoroughly underwhelmed by was the casting and/or costuming of Jor-El. I wasn't expecting Brando or Crowe, but slightly more gravitas.

I wish Superman had kept the Action Comics style costume he had in the opening of the first episode. I've never liked the "no red underwear" look.

Thought it was kinda weird when the one kid was upset that they were keeping him home from school.
 
I'd forgotten it was on Tuesday nights. Hope they re-run it later this week.
 
Haven’t seen it yet, but that trailer...”The world will always need Superman, right now this family needs you more.”

Sorry, I literally laughed out loud. It’s one thing to say something like that when your spouse is a Doctor, Cop, Firefighter, etc (and it’s used all the damn time). It’s another thing to say that when your spouse can stop a tsunami or a volcano from erupting or any other disaster that can save thousands to millions of lives in a single action.

When people would be literally dying if your dad wasn’t on the job, it’s ok for him to miss a soccer game, and learning the world doesn’t revolve around you is a life lesson better learned early.
 
The trailers weren't great, I initially was pretty trepidatious, but the show handled it well. It's not perfect - a bit schmarmy, and some manufactured drama in places, but overall two episodes in I'm enjoying it more than any non-animated Superman since the first three seasons of Smallville. And it is genuinelly touching at times. But what's nice is that it isn't trying to be The Waltons, there's a good amount of action and fighting each episode. So far, they've got the balance between superheroics and family drama almost perfect.
 
CRKrueger said:
Sorry, I literally laughed out loud. It’s one thing to say something like that when your spouse is a Doctor, Cop, Firefighter, etc (and it’s used all the damn time). It’s another thing to say that when your spouse can stop a tsunami or a volcano from erupting or any other disaster that can save thousands to millions of lives in a single action.
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But the real question is where to draw the line. Which is the reason I like the juxtaposition of General Lane and Lois Lane as two sides of the coin, with Superman in the middle.

If I could do the things that Superman can? I'd still have to pick and choose, knowing that the situation is still better than it would be without me. Look at the world today and the number of disasters. Would you rather have someone that steps in when they can rather than the alternative?

TristramEvans said:
Only part I was thoroughly underwhelmed by was the casting and/or costuming of Jor-El. I wasn't expecting Brando or Crowe, but slightly more gravitas.
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They should have used Terrence Stamp in tribute to Smallville.
 
So new episode tried my patience a little. The prior two had a good blend of Superman action, but this was heavily weighted towards teen drama, and not of the interesting kind.
 
TristramEvans said:
So new episode tried my patience a little. The prior two had a good blend of Superman action, but this was heavily weighted towards teen drama, and not of the interesting kind.
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I liked the Super scenes they had; on the one thing, the guy manhandling him made me question a few things- but it quickly became apparent that he normally holds back and once he let loose, there wasn't really a contest, especially with the creative use of powers. I liked the delve into the side effects of using powers, i.e. the quality of his super hearing being a possible invasion of privacy, and the seriousness to which Lois apparently took it. That does explain the beepers though- I was wondering how he differentiated between not listening in on a cry for help and listening in on conversations. The Jordan stuff reminded me a lot of Smallville, so it didn't bother me much.
 
TristramEvans said:
So new episode tried my patience a little. The prior two had a good blend of Superman action, but this was heavily weighted towards teen drama, and not of the interesting kind.
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It's a show on The CW. That's bound to happen from time to time at the very least.
 
Apparition said:
It's a show on The CW. That's bound to happen from time to time at the very least.
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It's like buying a dish with cheese clearly listed on the label and saying 'but I hate cheese!' while you're eating it.
 
Never heard of "the CW"

I watch this stuff online
 
I have tried to watch CW shows a few times but the production values just get to me.
 
Endless Flight said:
I have tried to watch CW shows a few times but the production values just get to me.
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Funny you mention that, I happened to catch a random episode of the old Superboy TV show this week, and I was amazed at how far we'd come in presenting superpowers, and superman as a character on the small screen.

S&L has a pretty high standard, what I'd expected from a film a few years ago. I'd say check out this fight scene from episode 1, everything in the show is pretty much at this level going forward:

 
I was just looking something up. Has Superman’s powers been re-explained as to how he gets his powers from a “yellow” sun, when there really isn’t such a thing? Our sun is actually white.
 
Endless Flight said:
I was just looking something up. Has Superman’s powers been re-explained as to how he gets his powers from a “yellow” sun, when there really isn’t such a thing? Our sun is actually white.
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I think it's just "solar energy" these days, rather than the specific colour.
 
Endless Flight said:
I have tried to watch CW shows a few times but the production values just get to me.
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Superman & Lois, and the upcoming second season of Stargirl, have expanded budgets compared to other CW shows because WarnerMedia intends on making them tentpoles on HBO Max once their respective season is over.
 
From what I saw of Flash it wasn't bad.

But I have very low standards for superheroes to this day. I grew up with the Bil Bixby Hulk and Nichlas Hammond Spider-man, and I took what I could get and liked it.
 
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