I'm taking a class called Comparative Study of Death and for our final paper we can choose any topic we want. I chose Death in American Mythology. American Mythology being our favorite superhero, of course.

As part of my research I'm looking at the comics, the movies, and certain episodes of LnC, Smallville, and the original George Reeves series. It's this last one that's giving me a bit of trouble. I've come across a few episodes that might be of interest to me, but I can't find much more information than a sentance or two about thier plots. I was wondering if anyone who has seen the episodes could give me better plot descriptions or point me to more helpful websites.

The episodes are:
Mystery in Wax
The Ghost Wolf
The Defeat of Superman
A Ghost for Scotland Yard
Great Caesar’s Ghost

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

~Anna

"great ceaser's ghost" was about perry white. he went on vacation somewhere or something like that (forget the details, but he was in a house away from metropolis). anyway, perry in the george reeves superman series used to swear by saying "great ceaser's ghost," just like perry from l&c said "great shades of elvis."

well, he was in this house, and a ghostly spectre came up to him and said that he was actually ceaser's ghost, having been conjured up because perry had called his name 500 times (or some large round number).

the ghost terrorized perry, appearing on the balcony outside his bedroom and telling him that he was going to kill perry.

perry at first thought he was going nuts, but after a few visitations started getting really scared. he thought he really was going to die.

meantime, the planet staff started getting worried about him (i think because he sounded odd on the phone... i'm sorry. it's been a few years since i saw the ep). superman checked up on him, and eventually found out that the ghost was not actually a ghost.

no, it was a thug who, much in the tradition of scooby doo, was attempting to scare perry out of his house so that he could come in and steal something (some treasure hidden in the house by a previous owner or something like that).

perry was reassured, the thug was captured, and everyone had a good laugh. the end.

the other ep titles don't ring any bells, but i might have seen them. maybe if you posted the brief plot summaries you found?

Paul

okay, i went and did some research. not sure how much this helps, but here's what i found:

"mystery in wax" is about a woman "madame selina" who predicted people's deaths and turned out to be right. except that they weren't actually dead. she was kidnapping them and then making it look like suicide. i haven't seen the ep, but maybe someone else here has?

"the ghost wolf," from the title, sounds like it's based on the sherlock holmes story "the hound of the baskervilles," which was about a guy who made his dog look like a ghost (phosphor dust and something in his eyes, iirc) and trained him to do evil deeds. from what i can see, it looks like someone was trying to frighten off some lumberjacks with a plot that involed a warewolf and forest fires.

btw, there appears to have been a voodoo ep called "drums of death" in which some hatian voodoo worshipers capture jimmy and perry's sister and make it look like they died.

the defeat of superman is the first kryptonite ep. kryptonite didn't show up very often in the series that i saw. it doesn't say anything about superman's death. just that he was attacked with kryptonite.

"a ghost for scotland yard" appears to be another scooby ep. a guy pretending to be a ghost going around killing people in england.

that's all i can find, anna. sorry i can't help more.

Paul

Thank you, Paul. That info is incredibly helpful.

Just in case I can jog anyone else's memory, here are the short descriptions that I found on TV Tome:

Mystery in Wax
Madame Selena, operator of a wax museum, predicts deaths that come true. When Mr. White disappears, Superman investigates.

The Ghost Wolf
Lumberjacks leave their job, fearing a werewolf. A forest fire enlivens the plot.

The Defeat of Superman
Happy King, a vengeful crook, discovers Kryptonite, the one substance that can harm Superman.

A Ghost for Scotland Yard
Superman is called to dispel a British ghost.

Great Caesar's Ghost
Perry White is a key witness in a gangster trial. But on the eve of his testimony, he believes he hears a ghost. Superman must restore the editor's credibility.

~Anna

Did a bit of ferreting around, Anna, but couldn't find any episode guides with any greater detail than what Paul's already given you.

I did find this though - don't know if it's of any use to you, too late for you, whether the episodes you need will be shown or whatever, but thought I'd toss it in anyway in case it helps you out.

LabRat

hey Anna!

nice subject you choosed!

I tried to find something useful for you and all I could came up with was a french exposé on Greek tragedy and Mothology heroes...really philosophic and...all in french (hem!)

Carole

Anna, you can watch the old Superman series on TVLand still. <g> It's on at 3:30 am EST weekdays... For "Great Caesar's Ghost", you might want to read Zoomway's "Great Shades of Elvis" because Zoom based her fic on that old episode.

BF

PS: Zoomway has several of the old show's eps on tape. You might want to ask her.