Pilot (1)

Season 1, Episode 0, Aired
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Episode Summary

Clark Kent is a super guy who has travelled the world, but his biggest dream is to someday write for the Daily Planet, one of the greatest newspapers in the world. To do this, Clark travels to Metropolis, and, even though he was rejected at first, lands a job at the Daily Planet. There he meets a sexy but feisty reporter named Lois Lane. "Don't fall for me, farmboy," she says to Clark, but, alas, he already has. Clark's first job as Superman is to save a space station from destruction ordered by Lex Luthor, Metropolis' most powerful businessman.moreless
9.1
out of 10
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • Clark Kent comes to Metropolis looking for a job at the Daily Planet. He consults his mother, Martha Kent, and the two comes up with the Superman costume.

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By BunnyPower1, Dec 27, 2010 Report Abuse
    Clark Kent comes to Metropolis looking for a job at the Daily Planet. Perry White first dismisses him as he has no experience. He later goes out to get a story about a theater being torn down which convinces White to accept him because he has initiatives. At the Daily Planet, Lois Lane is intent on uncovering a possible conspiracy behind a space ship launch, which might blow-up. White teams Lois up with the rookie Clark against her better judgment. Meanwhile, Clark is frustrated that he cannot use his powers to help others without exposing himself and jeopardizing his chance at leading a normal life. He consults his mother, Martha Kent, and the two comes up with the Superman costume.moreless

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    1 0

  • Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis in search of a career at the Daily Planet. In this pilot episode, the viewer gets an interesting new take on the birth of Superman.

    5.7
    "Mediocre"
    By mrposey, Apr 10, 2007 Report Abuse
    This review is for the pilot as a whole, not for Part I only. One of my favorite things about this version of the Superman tale is that the writers took the time to show us details that we have (to my knowledge) never seen before. For instance, Clark decides he needs an alter ego so we get to watch as Martha sews one spandex costume after another until she finally gets it right with the red, yellow, and blue. But despite all of the attention paid here, the pilot drags on and on. The special effects on this show are terrible, and the scene in which Clark paces UP the walls in his dingy apartment was LAME-O. My biggest complaint with this series in general is that the writers do not seem to make use of their one hour time-slot. In fact, if the episodes were edited down to thirty minutes, the show would be a lot better and I wouldn't feel like I was wasting my time. I know this show has a healthy number of die hard fans (and I consider myself among them), but I think that what we love about this show is the ongoing love triangle between Lois, Clark, and Superman; not the cheesey plots of each individual episode. But I digress, I am supposed to be reviewing the pilot and not the series as a whole. This episode has some good moments, but I recommend keeping the remote nearby with one finger on fast-forward. But don't worry, the show gets better eventually.moreless

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  • Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis in search of a job at the Daily Planet.

    8.8
    "Great"
    By RHam_01, Mar 28, 2007 Report Abuse
    I think it was a good start. Considering the day and age it was made the quality was very good. I was a bit surprised at first to see that Clark hadn't yet become Superman and had yet to find his costume. It sort of goes against mythology. If I recall correctly he already is Superman when he joins the Daily Planet. But this wasn't too much of a bad thing. It involved the viewers in his journey of becoming Superman and that was sheer genius because we get to see him becoming Superman right before our eyes.

    I did wonder why he was wearing glasses, though. I know Clark Kent wears glasses.. but that was to hide his identity as Superman. If he wasn't already Superman and didn't have an idea of the costume or dual identity then would he wear glasses? It seems like a plot hole to me, albeit a very small one.

    Dean Cain looks good on screen and makes for a very charasmatic Clark Kent. Teri Hatcher makes for a great Lois Lane.. I like her sass and her bossiness.. but I was a bit thrown by the tears at first.moreless

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  • While Lois Lane, an average gal, is striving to be a superwoman, Clark Kent, a superman, is trying just to be an average guy.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By swingthesickle, Nov 24, 2006 Report Abuse
    I've never been privy to such a meeting, but I imagine loud groaning and sighing when a writer pitches yet another Superman television series. The producer might ask, "Superman, the man who cannot be stopped by bullets or laser guns. What are you going to use as a plot point? Kryptonite?" Nor do I know what is going through the producer's head when he okays a series such as Smallville when I'm sure the writer must have emphatically shook his head yes to Kryptonite.
    Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman took a different route which will make it forever stand out as one of the best Superman series of all time. Clark Kent is not the secret identity, Superman is. Clark just happens to have super powers because he was born on another planet, but he desperately wants to be an average guy who can get a job and have a girlfriend.

    Lois is no damsel in distress. She is a motivated woman who is attracting a lot of attention as an investigative reporter. What else would you expect from a 90's television series? The dynamic between Lois and Clark, the titular characters, is spot on from the very first episode. Lex Luthor, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen add a bit of spice to the mix also, but Lois' sister Lucy seemed absolutely useless in the pilot.

    A pilot is all about character interaction, and this pilot scores high marks in getting the characters and dialogue right. Unfortunately, it does not score as high with plot. Lex Luthor is a creepy bad guy with lots of promise for future episodes, but sabotaging a space station really did not capture my attention bringing this episode down to an 8 out of 10.

    So why did this Superman series work while Smallville is such a disappointment? My opinion: it's all in the approach. Deborah Joy Levine, who created Lois and Clark, states in the special features of season one that she was fearful the whole time she penned the pilot of alienating Superman fans. She wanted to create a fresh series that remained true to the classic character. Robert Butler, who has directed episodes of classic series such as Star Trek: TOS, Hogan's Heroes, Mission: Impossible, and, The Fugitive, was the perfect choice to give the pilot of Lois and Clark the classic Superman feel. The very purpose of Smallville is to appeal to young adults by making Superman soapy in feel rather than maintaining the classic, pulpy spirit of the great superhero.

    -Matthew Miller
    Find this review and more at tv.swingthesickle.commoreless

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  • A modern re-telling of one perhaps the most well-known and widely appreciated comic book character of all time.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Supermeng, Jul 15, 2005 Report Abuse
    What made this episode so great was that right off the bat you knew this show was going to be different. This show isn\'t about Superman... and it doesn\'t try to be. That\'s what I found to be so refreshing. We know what Superman can do. We\'ve seen him in action.

    The story of these two characters is probably the best love-triangle of all time. Not only did that dynamic make for interesting stories, but the entire series was smart and funny even if it was a little cheesy at times.

    Seeing Clark/Superman use his powers for everyday tasks (shaving, making breakfast, playing sports, etc) was also amusing. There was a kind of tongue-in-cheek humor with those sequences that I always found very enjoyable.

    In my opinion (and mind you, I am quite the Supermnan fan), this is one of the best versions of the character/mythos you can find. The only versions I feel that are on par with this series are the first and second movies and the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini animated series.

    Those versions told the stories of Superman -- larger-than-life super hero. This show told the stories of Clark Kent -- newspaper reporter. The show managed to make him human even though he isn't and brought him down to earth... despite the fact that he can fly.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: When Clark goes to the theatre, the side entrance is shown, but it is spelled wrong. It is spelled as "enterance". Edit
    • Goof: When Clark flies home to the farm, when he lands his shirt is one colour, when he goes inside it's another colour. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • During the hiring process for Ma Kent, all the the actresses wore simple farm dresses. K Callan attracted the attention of the crew by wearing a pink track suit for a more "modern" Martha. Edit
    • Dean Cain was the first actor seen for the role of Clark/Superman. Deborah Joy Levine rejected him because she thought he looked too young. Edit
    • Deborah Joy Levine's original script for "The Pilot" started with Clark in New Guinea participating in a fire ceremony while Lois was working on a story in Utah. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Superman: Oh, one more thing. If you ever need to find me, all you have to do is look up. Edit
    • Cat: (whistles at Clark) Who's the new tight end? Lois: Why don't you throw your usual forward pass and find out. Edit
    • Person 1 in Crowd: What the hell is that? Person 2 in Crowd: Is it a bird? Person 3 in Crowd: Is it a plane? Person 4 in Crowd: (with binoculars) No, just a guy in a pair of tights and a cape! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Jimmy: (to Lois Lane) Still going where no reporter has gone before. An allusion from the tagline of Star Trek's opening monologue: "To boldly go where no man has gone before". Edit

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Pilot (1)

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