Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark When did this air?

A quick trivia question: In which episode did Perry White run for mayor to keep a villain from getting elected?

This is actually a trick question. If you answered that the episode was "Tempus, Anyone?" you would be accurate, but that's not the show I was referring to. This is also the plot for the multi-part episode "The Ruler of Darkness" in the Superman radio series. It aired in 1947.

I've been listening to the old series, and was amused by finding such a different treatment of a very familiar plot.

Joy,
Lynn

Interesting. I like when they do the little parallels and inside nods to other stories that have come before. Gives it a general sense of community.

Completely agree!

Also when other shows in their little world make mention of each other. Like how Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) was in Captain America.

On a side note, how is the radio show, Lynn? I haven't had a chance to download it yet. I've been busy reading comics! lol

How the show is depends on what sort of attitude you approach it with.

If you listen to it only through modern ears, it is predictable, it has two-dimensional villains, it is full of stereotypes (nearly all cops are Irish, for example, and anyone described as having squinty eyes is invariably a villain), and it makes everyone other than Clark look galactically stupid. (Clark makes tons of mistakes that by rights should have given him away, but no one notices other than occasionally to joke, "Who do you think you are? Superman?") And don't get me started about how condescending it sounds to my modern ears to have Lois Lane always referred to as a "girl reporter."

But if you take the show for what it is and listen to it as a period piece, it is fascinating. It really does show what a different world we live in now from the one in which Superman originally sprang.

If you are willing to come at the show with the understanding that it was written well over half a century ago and accordingly give it some slack, I would recommend giving the show a listen, if only for its historical value. You can find copies of it for free or for a very nominal fee on iTunes and in other places on the web.

Joy,
Lynn

Lynn et al,

There is a ton of 'Old Time Radio' out there as MP3s, not just Superman. I have been a fan of OTR for over a decade and have gigs and gigs of files. I listen to them through headphones while cutting the grass etc. Very entertaining.

You would be surprised and appalled by the differences you will hear. The patriotic fervor of the war years is very inspiring. When you listen to what is on the radio today by comparison you are left empty. All of the anti-war, anti-US rehetoric today is disgusting.

Ken,

I am a fan of some of the old time music. I *love* listening to Danny Kaye (and watching him in the old movies, for that matter), and I thoroughly enjoy the Andrews Sisters. Burns and Allen are also good for a wholesome chuckle or two. Some years back (before the shows were so readily available for download), I bought a number of CDs full of OTR programs. I'm still going through them as time permits.

But we're straying from L&C here. Perhaps we should wander over to the "Off Topic" folder if we wish to continue this discussion.

Joy,
Lynn