# Things that bugged me about the Superman TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899 "2011-02-19T10:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/21 "2011-02-20T07:41:51Z")
And still, George Reeves, best Superman actor ever. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/22 "2011-02-21T01:40:00Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Anyone else notice anything that seemed strange or bugged you? Didja ever notice that, much like Springfield, Metropolis had a seaport, desert, mountains, small towns, international airport, world-class academic and medical researchers and four-season climate within walking distance, and yet had a newspaper with only three reporters? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/23 "2011-02-21T03:21:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > He relies on a widespread form of faceblindness known as Lois Lane’s Disease. Well, if nobody noticed that Lois herself changed her appearance completely overnight (Noelle Neill didn’t look ANYTHING like Phyllis Coates), why would anyone notice that Clark Kent looked a lot like Superman? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/24 "2011-02-21T03:42:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > And still, George Reeves, best Superman actor ever. This. Despite pushing (and then passing) 40, with plenty of padding in the chest and apparent salt & pepper hair. You could _believe_ the guy had been fighting crime since 1938. He’d been _around_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/25 "2011-02-21T04:16:06Z")
On the thrown gun thing, my understanding as a kid was that Superman himself wasn’t actually invulnerable; it was just the S emblem on his chest that was bulletproof. So when the baddies were shooting at his center of mass, he was fine, but when they threw the gun at his head, he had to duck. At least, that’s what I remember, though I’m not sure if I got that from any canon source. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/26 "2011-02-21T06:31:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the thrown gun thing, my understanding as a kid was that Superman himself wasn’t actually invulnerable; it was just the S emblem on his chest that was bulletproof. So when the baddies were shooting at his center of mass, he was fine, but when they threw the gun at his head, he had to duck. At least, that’s what I remember, though I’m not sure if I got that from any canon source. I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. The Punisher has the great big skull to make people shoot him in his bullet-proof vest, but Superman doesn’t. You’re just forgetting the incredibly obvious: Superman is immune to thrown pistols, but the actor isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/27 "2011-02-21T07:03:37Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. The Punisher has the great big skull to make people shoot him in his bullet-proof vest, but Superman doesn’t. You’re just forgetting the incredibly obvious: Superman is immune to thrown pistols, but the actor isn’t. Couldn’t they have cut to Supes stopping the “bullets”, and then cut back to the guy holding a foam gun, and then throw it at Supes? It was good enough for the metal bars. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/28 "2011-02-21T08:21:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Couldn’t they have cut to Supes stopping the “bullets”, and then cut back to the guy holding a foam gun, and then throw it at Supes? It was good enough for the metal bars. Hey, those foam guns have _corners_, y’know. You could put someone’s eye out, or it’ll kinda sting, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/29 "2011-02-21T10:24:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the thrown gun thing, my understanding as a kid was that Superman himself wasn’t actually invulnerable; it was just the S emblem on his chest that was bulletproof. So when the baddies were shooting at his center of mass, he was fine, but when they threw the gun at his head, he had to duck. At least, that’s what I remember, though I’m not sure if I got that from any canon source. That was the explanation I’ve read for Batman’s yellow emblem, but not Superman. Re: the disguise thing: one of the comics mentions that a minor superpower Superman has is mass hypnosis. Everybody sees Clark Kent as some blonde dude. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/30 "2011-02-21T10:34:30Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > Re: the disguise thing: one of the comics mentions that a minor superpower Superman has is mass hypnosis. Everybody sees Clark Kent as some blonde dude. _Superman_ #330 (December 1978). Everyone sees Clark as frail and smaller than Superman, because that’s the image he’s trying to convey. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/31 "2011-02-21T18:06:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Superman #330 (December 1978). Everyone sees Clark as frail and smaller than Superman, because that’s the image he’s trying to convey. Which doesn’t actually require a superpower, just good acting skills. As evidenced wonderfully by Christopher Reeves. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/32 "2011-02-22T15:22:29Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > Something I found odd about the 1950s series was that is was clearly produced with a very limited budget, yet the shows creators sprang for color film. > > ;)) The first two seasons were in black in white, starting with the third they sprang for color. Which is something I’ve wondered about too. What were the extra costs involved and how much extra money did they make as more people bought color TVs. > **[Adventures of Superman (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Superman_(TV_series))** > > Adventures of Superman is an American superhero television series based on comic book characters and concepts that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created in 1938. The show was the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California on RKO-Pathé stages and the RKO Forty Acres back lot. Cereal manufacturer Kellogg's sponsored the show. The first and last airdates of the show, which was produced for first-run syndication rather than for a network, are disputed, but th... I used to wonder what would happen if there was a janitor in the storeroom whenever Clark Kent changed into Superman. And did he wear his suit and tie underneath his Superman costume? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/33 "2011-02-22T23:56:36Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > Something I found odd about the 1950s series was that is was clearly produced with a very limited budget, yet the shows creators sprang for color film. > [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > The first two seasons were in black in white, starting with the third they sprang for color. Which is something I’ve wondered about too. What were the extra costs involved and how much extra money did they make as more people bought color TVs. > **[Adventures of Superman (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Superman_(TV_series))** > > Adventures of Superman is an American superhero television series based on comic book characters and concepts that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created in 1938. The show was the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California on RKO-Pathé stages and the RKO Forty Acres back lot. Cereal manufacturer Kellogg's sponsored the show. The first and last airdates of the show, which was produced for first-run syndication rather than for a network, are disputed, but th... Now that you bring this up, a good question. Color tvs were only rolled out in 1954. They cost $1000 at that point. They didn’t sell very well. by 1957, they were down to $500. There were 44 million tv sets in the US in 1957. 300,000 of them were color. No good reason to make your tv show in color. I ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/34 "2011-02-23T00:06:52Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > I used to wonder what would happen if there was a janitor in the storeroom whenever Clark Kent changed into Superman. “Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “Actually, it looks kinda like an elderly guy holding some sort of mop…” ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/35 "2011-02-23T00:51:31Z")
I don’t remember all the Fleischer cartoons but I do remember Superman leaping in one of them. IIRC, Supes leapt from the ground and then pushed off a skyscraper to get some good distance. The episode I am remembering is The Mechanical Monsters, I think. That was one of the early cartoons, full fledged flying may have come in a later one. I’ll have to re-watch them. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/36 "2011-02-23T02:01:42Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > There were 44 million tv sets in the US in 1957. 300,000 of them were color. No good reason to make your tv show in color. Not if you were a network show, but syndicators were using a different business model. By 1955, when _Superman_ was first shot in color, first-run syndicated programs were losing their appeal. The networks were filling more time during the day, and older, more popular network shows themselves were starting to be syndicated. So smarter syndicators started looking at ways to lengthen the shelf life of their products. Ziv had filmed _Cisco Kid_ in color from the very beginning. Both it and _Superman_ were still being run by stations like WGN into the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/37 "2011-02-26T00:36:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, if nobody noticed that Lois herself changed her appearance completely overnight (Noelle Neill didn’t look ANYTHING like Phyllis Coates), why would anyone notice that Clark Kent looked a lot like Superman? I watched the Superman reruns as a kid and yet somehow never noticed that there were different Loises. It wasn’t until Joel and the Bots pointed out that one of their MST3K experiments had both of them in it, that I did finally recognize them as two distinct women. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/38 "2011-02-26T01:03:15Z")
I didn’t notice either when I was a kid. I think because both Noelle Neill and Phyllis Coates look exactly like Lois Lane. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/39 "2011-02-26T01:32:18Z")
Almost as much as changing actresses, Noel Neill dyed her hair red for the color episodes so it would pop on screen. You couldn’t tell during the black and white era, but her natural hair color was brown. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899/40 "2011-02-26T04:36:58Z")
I remember in the episode “The Big Freeze” a mad scientist immobilizes Supes by lowering his temperature to “a thousand degrees below zero.” I always wondered if that was Fahrenheit or Celsius.😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bugged-me-about-the-superman-tv-series/571899.md?page=3)