I've always liked Superman, and I was extremely excited when I heard that they were making a new tv show about it. Watching the pilot first-run was awesome.
I like that they completely glossed over the whole how-Clark-got-to-Earth-and-why-he-has-powers explanation, since everyone and their dog already know that. They addressed it later in the series, of course, when Clark found out, and that worked well, but it would have been a waste of time to go over it in the pilot.
I know that most of the previous comments are most of a year old, but I thought I'd comment on parts of them anyway
:
I like that they Deborah Joy LeVine took the Superman canon (comics) and did her own thing. I love that Clark Kent was the real Superman and the tights were his disguise. He seemed more real than the Reeves character who gave up everything he was before once he learned about his true heritage.
This has a lot to do with
Pre-Crisis vs. Post-Crisis portrayals of Superman. Before 1986, Clark Kent was very much a disguise for Superman. (Though I think this may have mellowed later into the 70's. I'm more familiar with Superman comics from the 60's and before.) He thought of himself as Superman dressed up as Clark. This shows in Christopher Reeve's portrayal. He's very Kryptonian and mourns his lost home, which he remembers. He was a toddler when he arrived on Earth. In 1986 DC Comics restarted things, even going so far as to have Kryptonians gestate in a "birthing matrix" so that he's technically born on Earth when the Kents open his spaceship. Earth is the only home he's ever known. In that continuity, he's very much Clark disguised as Superman. This works much better if he's going to get together with Lois.
I loved the Cat Grant character and was disappointed when she disappeared without a good-bye at the end of S1.
I wish that they at least had some mention of her leaving. It would have been nice if she had stayed, though. There weren't many regulars in the office besides Lois, Clark, Perry, and Jimmy. I think they could have made greater use of her, especially if they toned down her hitting on Clark once he hooked up with Lois. Or maybe they should have made her hit on him more and induce jealousy.
Overall, though, I wish that they had dressed Cat in office-appropriate attire. She could still be tarted up, just be more formal about it, but most of her outfits wouldn't fly in an office where the men are expected to wear a tie and suit coat.
As a side note, the Cat actress shows up as a regular character in season 5 of Babylon 5. I can never remember the character's name, so I just call her Cat. I can't really see that actress as anyone else.
I don't know if Lex ever tried to romance Lois in the comic canon...
Not that I've ever seen. It doesn't mention that pairing in my Superman encyclopedia, either.
Speaking of the show
Smallville:
I also liked the friendship that grew up between Lex and Clark. It made Lex's transformation to evil, even more sinister.
That's based on a comic story from the 60's where Superboy and Lex were friends in Smallville. An explosion in Lex's lab burned off his hair, and he blamed Superboy for it. According to that comic, that's where the animosity started.
In past adaptations of the character, I’ve noticed that Clark never seems to visit his parents after he leaves Smallville, which just doesn’t seem realistic.
Clark visits his parents plenty in
Superman the Animated Series. He never visited his parents in Silver Age comics because they were dead. They were still alive in early 90's comics, but I haven't read much after the early 80's to know how often they showed up since then.
