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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

'Twas the Night Before Mxymas

Season 4, Episode 11, Aired Dec 15, 1996

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Christmas Eve is happening over and over again, and the people of Metropolis begin losing hope. Can Lois and Clark stop an imp from the "Fifth Dimension," best known as "Mr. Mxyzptlk," before it's too late and hope is gone forever?moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Howie Mandel

Mister Mxyzptlk
GUEST STAR
Keene Curtis

William B. Caldwell
GUEST STAR
James DuMont

Ralph

K Callan

Martha Kent
Dean Cain

Clark Kent/Superman
Teri Hatcher

Lois Lane
Lane Smith

Perry White
Justin Whalin

Jimmy Olsen (seasons 2-4)
Eddie Jones

Jonathan Kent

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Fan Episode Reviews (1)

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Lois and Clark's Groundhog Day

9.3

"Superb"

By sh811a, Sep 13, 2007

This is the third and final in a trilogy of Christmas episodes, and once again they do a Christmas episode right by doing sort of the Groundhog Day approach. I would of love to of given this a ten but I couldn't because the only real problem with this episode is it doesn't quite generate as much emotional impact as the first two Christmas episode. I felt that it was probably because they kinda tried just a little too hard in two or three places in this episode making some moments feel rather chessy. But this is a minor flaw to get past so it's not much of a problem.

One of the things I like is the fact that they brought in a Superman supervillian Mister Mxyzptk who was always a rather bizzare and unothadox villan because of how truely starange, comical, but also unstablely sinster he really is, it was a great idea to get comedian Howie Mandel to play that role he fit like a glove. Mister Mxyzptk in the Superman universe in a way is sort of a sugar coated version of Mephasophles, his job was to make Supermans life a living Hell till Superman surcomes to his will.

Mxyzptke figure the only way to get Superman out of the picture in order to get what he wants is to take away people's tommarow (basically makeing them stuck on Christmas Eve and with no Christmas) to destroy hope. Trust me it makes sense metaphyically, tommarow is always a day that offers a sense of opportunity that there may be something more around the conner. But when you don't have that then there then you would have no sense of foward movement, no sense that things can get better or add up to anything. Like a plant without sunlight it can't grow without it it withers and dies.

This episode I thought was blackly humorous and a little painful just seeing everyone Superman knows and loves suffer bad karma. From Jimmy begining to regret the girl he has a crush on and feeling lonely, Perry White feeling lonelness from the fact that his two children have shunned him due to his career, the Kents insecruities about losing the farm, Lois's mom also still harboring a bit of anger toward her ex, but also Lois Lane who just has that empty feeling that the Christmas spirt she's trying to find just isn't there. So it's up to Clark with the help of Lois to bring hope into a world losing hope in order to beat Mxyzptk and save their relm.

And that is pritty much the name of the the game in this episode, the theme is about the importance of hope why despite times of darkness we must never lose it. It's the most important thing that keeps everyone alive because it's in the belief that things can get better or good things will come and if you believe it enough they will. And I'll admit this episode did give me a good feeling like the Christmas epsiodes of the show always do because everything does come though in the end, one of my favorate moments would have to be when Superman helps a desperate bank robber go on the right path again by giving him a job at the bank, Lois giving the girl Jimmy having a crush on the makeover she truely needs or even Perry White playing Santa Claws to orphan kids that he never got to do enough of with his own kids and the list goes on. Like in all things in life it is always the darkness before the light.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- The bank robber comes out of the New Troy Bank. New Troy is the sub city of Metropolis where Lois and Clark live.
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QUOTES (6)
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- Mxyzptlk: Do you have to be hit over the head with a shillelagh?! Don't you get it, it's hopeless! Clark: There's always a little bit of hope left in the human spirit! And I'll find it.
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- Mxyzptlk: That's one of the things I love about this Dimensional World, the beer! You ever had Fifth Dimensional beer? Bartender: Can't say I go much for imports.
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- Clark: There is something else bothering me, though. The whole time I was pulling kids out of that burning building, I just had the strangest sensation that I was being watched. Lois: Well, you wear that suit, tends to draw a crowd.
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- Mxyzptlk (to Clark, when the imp holds his friends in thrall): I am staying in the 3rd dimension, and no one is sending me back this time, not you, not them, not anyone! And if you try, I am going to let them destroy themselves.
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- Clark: You view Christmas like it's a chore, like it's something to get through. Lois: That's the way it feels to me. Clark: Look around you, what do you see? Lois: Crass commercialism, conspicuous consumption, gluttony, greed... I'm confusing the twelve days of Christmas with the seven deadly sins again, aren't I? Clark: Want to know what I see? I see magic.
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- Mxyzptlk (to Clark): Ah, Christmas Eve. The longest night of the year for all good little children, and large men in tights.
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NOTES (2)
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- Mr. Mxyzptlk is one of the three Superman opponents, with Lex Luthor and Metallo, to have appeared in episodes of the TV series Superboy, Lois & Clark, and Smallville.
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- Mxyzptlk is a recurring villain from the Superman comics. The method for defeating him in this episode is the same as in comic lore.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- The episode title is a reference to the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clark Moore.
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