Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Superman Related The Adventures of Superman Radio Show

For the past year or so, I've been listening to the radio show "The Adventures of Superman," and I just finished the last surviving episode of the series today. When I first started listening to the series, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I very quickly decided that this was one very engaging version of Superman. I found myself listening to several episodes a day during breaks at work, over lunch, or while relaxing at home. I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't listened to the show before check it out. You can find it for free on several websites.

A lot of firsts happened on the radio show that you might have expected would have happened in the comics first. The radio show featured the first appearance of Jimmy Olsen, the first appearance of Perry White, the first appearance of kryptonite, and the first team up between Batman and Superman. Since many of these things are major parts of the Superman mythology, I'd say that the radio show definitely helped shaped the character into the superhero we know today.

One of the things that surprised me when listening to the show was how frequently the writers tackled the problems of prejudice. They didn't just do it once. The topic kept coming up in episode after episode. Considering that the civil rights movement was far from its peak when this show was airing, I'd say that Superman's radio adventures were ahead of their time, another reason to enjoy the show.

One last thing I'd like to comment on is Bud Collyer's performance as Clark Kent/Superman. He did a superb job at switching the tone of his voice depending on which part of the dual role he was playing, and I find that this was especially beneficial for the medium of radio, where the listener couldn't see him changing into the costume. Overall, I think he was an amazing Superman.

So, has anybody else listened to the radio adventures of Superman? I'd love to hear some more thoughts on it.

I listened to all of the shows a couple of years ago, and I completely agree with your assessment. From what I understand, their white supremacy group episodes actually revealed things that happened in real Ku Klux Klan meetings and were deliberately designed to thwart that group.

On a lighter note, I never tired of listening to Bud Collyer change personas mid-sentence. His voice command was truly masterful. From what I understand, the producers had originally planned to hire two separate actors for the role (one to play Clark and the other to portray Superman), but when they heard Bud audition, they realized that he could actually perform both parts himself. A brilliant casting decision.

One other thing the radio episodes gave us: Up, Up, and Away! Superman said this phrase (along with other spoken "stage directions" such as, "Down! Down!") to help the audience envision the action. For a similar reason, he and other characters often spoke their thoughts aloud when, in real life, they would have kept quiet.

One thing I enjoyed about the show -- although I think they tended to overdo the gag -- was Clark/Superman having little slips of the tongue that would almost give him away, but that he would manage to cover up somehow.

I, too, recommend listening to the show.

Joy,
Lynn

I also downloaded the show (it's available for free download here.)

I've only listened to a few episodes but they are great fun. You can hear the 1930's in the show - for example, when Jor-El is making Kal-El's spaceship, he mentions, "Only a few last rivets to place."

When I say "you can hear the 1930's in the show", I mean that the unconscious assumptions of the writers are present, and things have changed now, so that stuff on the show sets off a little mental "oh yeah". Another example: in the first episode, where Jor-El is talking to the high council of Krypton about Krypton going to blow up, the chairman of the council has a gavel and gavels the chattering members into silence. Plus, all the council members are male, and Jor-El, in addressing them, says, "Gentlemen..." Nowadays it would be "Ladies and Gentlemen..."

Just little stuff like that.

Good point, Iolanthe. In order to enjoy the show, I had to remind myself at times that it is a product of its period. The numerous references to Lois as "girl reporter Lois Lane" are a prime example.

Joy,
Lynn

Yes, there are certain lines that are pretty dated.

There was also a short run of a web based series - Last Son of Krypton. They ran out of funding and never finished it.

I've just listened to the first 5 parts of the show. (From the podcast "Adventures of Superman Podcast".) There were some things that I noticed (or perhaps misheard, as I listened to it while baking bread this morning). Firstly, the "rivets" and the fact that Krypton was still a very male oriented society. Secondly, by the time Kal-El reached Earth, he was a fully grown man. Is that right? He stops a car accident, saving a father and son (whose name just happens to be "Jimmy". Is this Jimmy Olsen?) Thirdly, it is these simple country folks who tell Superman to go to Metropolis and work for a newspaper and even give him the name "Clark Kent". This is a much different back story from what was shown in Action Comics #1 and from every other retelling I've ever heard. This Superman ISN'T a disguise. Clark Kent is. This IS a major change of his back story, huge, even. Kal-El was raised alone in a space ship. He doesn't have a human family, or was raised by humans. Actually, he's literally just dropped out of the sky. I wasn't expecting this!

Lastly, I'm surprised at how short each episode is, only 12-13 minutes. Just enough to get you hooked. It's a true soap opera. "Catch us again at this time tomorrow."

Yep. You heard right. The backstory does change within the show itself, but I had been pretty surprised by it when I first heard it, too.

And concerning the male-oriented society: In order to enjoy the show, you do constantly have to keep in mind that it is a product of its times. There is a *lot* in the show that would not fly today (no word play intended.), much of it being quite cringe-inducing. But if you can keep its context in mind and are willing to give it some (a lot of) slack as a consequence, it is an enjoyable show.

The format -- short episodes, about half of which are rehashes of the previous episode(s) -- does get to be irritating after a while, but again, I had to remind myself that they weren't intended to be listened to back-to-back, and the writers couldn't assume that people listening to an episode had heard any of the previous ones. (Any episode might be someone's first.)

Joy,
Lynn