Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Pilot Discussion Thread

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 :


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 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.

Not that I've ever seen. It doesn't mention that pairing in my Superman encyclopedia, either.

Speaking of the show Smallville:
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.

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.

I actually bought "Superman: The Animated Series" on DVD recently, and I'm planning to watch it sometime this summer. I haven't seen it in years, but I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

The versions of the character that I was actually talking about where he never visited his mother is actually "Adventure of Superman" (with George Reeve) and the Christopher Reeve movies. I can give the Reeve movies some leeway since Martha was said to be dead by the third movie, but "Adventures of Superman" lasted six seasons. I don't think his mother is ever even mentioned after the first episode. It's one of the few things about that show that I didn't particularly care for.

Doesn't his mother tell him when he leaves for Metropolis to go live his life and don't look back?

Or maybe his visits home weren't "adventuresome" enough to mention on the show.

She might have told him that. It's been awhile since I've seen the show. If that’s the case, I still blame the writers just a little bit because Clark can still easily visit his mother even if he lives in Metropolis.

I think the writers could have thought up one adventure that takes place in Smallville that could send Clark back there for just one episode. I’m not saying that they needed to show her frequently or even in more than one episode after the first episode. I’d have just liked at least one episode acknowledging the fact that Clark still kept in touch with his adoptive mother. At least the Christopher Reeve film had that one scene mentioning sending part of his check to Martha after he was hired at the Daily Planet. I don’t remember him mentioning anything about her after the first episode of “Adventures of Superman.”

To be clear, the lack of Martha and Jonathan doesn’t really take away from my enjoyment of the Christopher Reeve films or “Adventures of Superman.” I really like both versions a lot. It’s just that the fact that Martha and Jonathan were given bigger roles on “Lois and Clark” is one reason why I like that show just a little bit more than the others.

Martha and Jonathan really added a lot to the show. They are good foils for Clark and a good source of advice. This version of Clark really needed them because they were his only confidants. He doesn't have Bruce Wayne as a best friend, he doesn't have any League to relate to, and for a long time he doesn't have Lois to confide in. Some other versions of Superman (like the comics in the 30's and 40's) were total loners without confidants, but this Clark seems much more emotionally vulnerable, and, frankly, more human, and he needs that connection more.

Martha really pulls off that mix between traditional farmer's wife and modern, educated woman. I like the montage of her designing Clark's suit, but it raises a lot of questions and points out abilities that never really get mentioned again. Martha can't just sew. She can design clothes. I've sewed a little bit, and I can follow a basic pattern, but that's a far cry from being able to come up with a pattern from scratch. There's a lot more you have to know to be able to whip up a dozen different skin-tight, well-fitting outfits the way she did. Then there's the question of where she got the fabric. Presumably, all that stuff could be stocked at the local fabric store in Smallville, but the staff at the store are probably her long-time friends and would ask her what sort of project she was working on. Gossip ensues. Maybe she could have some reasonable excuse the first time, but people are going to get suspicious if she's routinely buying copious amounts of red and blue fabric and thread. I figure Clark flew her to some large city somewhere where she could be reasonably anonymous. Then, once they've decided on the suit they should buy a huge amount of the fabric in bulk under a false name, if need be. They don't want to run the risk of that particular shade of blue spandex becoming unavailable. She's probably also got a fancy, expensive embroidery machine to make new S-shields. Those get singed reasonably often.

Wow, I didn't expect to rant so much about Martha's sewing. It's a good thing they settled on the red and blue, though, because I can't see Superman going over as well dressed in leopard print.

That seems reasonable to me. On the "Mile High Club" line, that is from Neverending Battle, but it still makes it seem that Lois was up on the space station.

My main gripe about that show was at least in Season 1 they did at least 2 Lois-free episodes, and others where she had no role. I think with Ma Kent they just had that actress for the first episode, and did not have the budget to bring her back ever.

On the Superman the Animated Series issue, it was made after Lois and Clark, so we still have Lois and Clark being the first time we have identified Clark connecting with his parents on a regular basis.

I thought his calling them and visiting them made sense. However starting in season 2 they started coming to Metropolis way too often, and almost never by Superman express. I understand why they did that for story telling purposes, but it did not make sense that farmers from Kansas could afford that many flights to Metropolis.

Oddly enough Martha and Jonathan seem to appear more in the show after Lois knows that CK=SM. However it makes sense, Lois looks to Martha for motherly advice she would never take from her own mother.

One thing that was never addressed in Lois and Clark is, does Lois sew? My gut reaction is "no". It seems too domesticated for her, but maybe. In "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape", Clark goes to Martha to get new super suits after the helicopter destroys his. Still, Lois is just his girlfriend at that point.

I just had a thought.

I found that odd, as well. How can they afford the airfare all the time? I would expect Clark to be out in Kansas much more than the Kents would be going to Metropolis. Also, whose parents go visit them at work and become friends with their boss? If my parents came to town, the last place I would expect them to show up would be my office.

I wouldn't expect Lois to sew, either, but didn't she make Alt-Clark's suit? I seem to remember Lois sitting at a sewing machine in Clark's apartment. Where did they get the sewing machine for that? It's been a while since I've seen it, so my memory of the scene is fairly fuzzy.

Lois and alt-Clark brought the machine in when they brought in the material and ski suit. Lois isn't a domesticated woman. She doesn't cook, she doesn't (really) sew, I can't imagine her ironing or canning or growing veggies in community garden. She's too busy for all those things, and she lives in Metropolis where people will do those things for her. Should she get a hobby, I can't imagine it would anything in that range. Personally, I don't mind that, in this way, Lois isn't like Martha. It shows that women can be strong when they know those things (Martha) and even when they don't (Lois). I'd hate for Lois to try and be more like Martha, she's great the way she is.

One of the things that bothered me about S4 was the writers' desire to try to tame Lois after her marriage to Clark by making her more domesticated, by making her *want* to cook (who would *want* to cook, if they aren't great at it and are married to someone who is? Not me!), and by making her baby crazy at the end. They should have let Lois and Clark be married and deal with sharing their lives before being ready to try to bring children into their relationship. They were still young (and one of them would be for a while), so there really was no rush.

Well, Clark does spend a lot of time at the office, and his girlfriend is their, and he has a deep relationship with Perry.

Anyway maybe they first met Perry at the Daily Planet fair at the start of "The Source". That at least made sense because Martha wants to get Jonathan away from Kansas so he does not brood on the recent death of a relative, plus it is possible they came Superman express. At least it is not one of the times they explicitly come by normal means.

I have to agree with both points. I think on the baby crazy think they just figured it was the next step, but really they should have waited until the next season. Although there was not one.

On the cooking thing, I guess maybe there is some idea that some women feel they should be good cooks, but I thought in "Chip Off the Old Clark", we established that Lois would let Clark do the cooking, so really, the whole thing didn't make sense. Unless "Ghosts" is an intentional build-up to "I've Got You Under Your Skin", since the whole Lois cooking in there allows them to postpone her realizing that Clark is not really Clark.

Although, to be entirely fair, Lois does not just start cooking after she gets married. She cooks a whole Christmas dinner in "Seasons Greedings". Hmm, on that line you can't have as frazzled a Lois in "The Night before Mxymas", if she has not learned to cook. Although, actually, since that is after "Ghosts", it would almost be better continuity if Lois was like "yeah, Jimmy, bring Brenda, I am really excited, I love that I am now such a great cook, and want to show it off to more people". OK, cooking for large groups is still difficult, but this is another place where it seems like they forget about a development from a previous show.

I think they went too far in turning Lois and Clark into a home-based sit-com after their marriage. I had actually forgotten there were any scenes at the office in "Ghosts".

It was a bit much when both Lois and Clark were working on stuff related to their apartment instead of actual stories.

On the other hand, Toy Story, especially Lois telling the story of Superman to the children, was one of my favorite scenes of the entire series, so I can't complain too much about the Lois wants to be a mother dialogue. They are in their late 20s, so having kids is perfectly reasonable. Still, I have to agree that being so worked up about it after just a few months of marriage, especially when she spent some of those in jail, was a bit much. Especially after they were willing to wait so long between their failed wedding and the real one. at "Small World After All" not being the marriage episode.

Ok, I really think they should have never done the faked out wedding at all. I would even be semi OK, if Lois and Clark get married, then Luthor stages a major disaster some where else, that Clark really has a compelling reason to respond to, and promises to be back in half an hour. Clark keeps his word, comes back only 10 minutes later, but during that time Lois has been replaced by a clone.

I was just re-watching the and I noticed that in the introductory credits they do not credit K Callan and Eddie Jones but they do credit Elizabeth Barondes. It seems that they originally planned on making Lucy Lane a significant part of the story of the show, but for whatever reason she very quicly vanished from it after the first 3 episodes. I think it was a missed opportunity, but I guess a Jimmy/Lucy relationship would have detracted from Lois and Clark.

I realize that I haven't posted very many fanfic recommendations for "Pilot"-related episodes. I need to correct this omission. There are lots of excellent fanfics related to this episode.

I love alt-beginnings, and there are many of these. Wendy Richards has several, three with similar titles. There is Strange Visitor From the Congo , where, to quote from the description: "In an alternate-alternate universe, Lois Lane, newly returned from the Congo, meets Clark Kent, top reporter at the Daily Planet. They are soon partners and on the cusp of something more, but two minor problems stand in their way -- Lois can't stand Superman, and someone wants Lois dead."

And in Strange Visitor Revisited , "Lois knows and Clark knows she knows. This awareness brings a different perspective to the events which follow, as both Lois and Clark begin a process of reassessment, not just about their changing relationship but also about themselves."

The third on this theme is Strange Visitor: The Evil Vignette by Wendy Richards and Tank Wilson. Here, when Trask and his bullies barge into the newsroom, Clark betrays himself and Trask finds out that CK=SM. Things go on from there! Wendy wrote an excellent sequel to this in Don\'t Be A Stranger .

Another fic that starts at the events of "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" (yes, I know I'm cheating, but this technically qualifies as a beginnings fic) is Chris Carr's Learning Curves . "Lois stumbles across some information about Superman that he doesn't even know himself. As they embark on a quest to discover more about Superman's alien origins, Lois and Clark find plenty of other lessons to learn as well."

Jessi Mounts has a snappy little vignette in Between Floors 7 and 8 . There must have been a fanfic challenge once about "Lois and Clark stuck in an elevator" because this is one of those stories, and a very good one.

I just love Master of Disguise by BJ. Here, Lois has married Lex Luthor, Clark is a reporter in San Francisco, and Superman has just made his debut. It's a good thing that Lois has seen through Lex's machinations, and needs an excuse to go off and investigate while she sets up Lex's downfall. What better story to investigate than Superman, and who better to investigate him with than with Clark Kent, the reporter who broke the original Superman story?

I also love Caroline K's work, and she has two alt-beginnings fics. One is the awesome Field of Dreams - poetic, romantic, deeply moving. Don't miss this one - it's something special.

Caroline's other fic is Stardust : "After being turned down for a job at the Daily Planet, a dejected Clark Kent attempts to drown his sorrows at the Stardust Lounge, where he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman calling herself Wanda Detroit."

The prolific Carol M. has several fics about beginnings, or alt-beginnings. I can highly recommend First Night , where Lois and Clark meet years earlier than in the Pilot. (Another fic on this "early meeting" theme is Shayne Terry's The Family Hour .) There is also the gargantuan Learning to Love and the even more gargantuan On The Other Hand . You'd best pack a change of socks and a basket lunch when you set out to read these. Carol also wrote some sequels to these, but I'll let you discover them yourself.

Continuing some fanfic recommendations on "Pilot"-based fics, or at least fics about the beginning or first meeting of Lois and Clark.

Anonpip wrote A Triangle With Three Sides - what if Clark didn't want to become Superman?

Some fics about alt-Clark are those written by Margaret Brignell. She wrote a whole series of his beginnings, the "Only You" series. It starts with Only You: If Only and continues for four more excellent fics.

Chris Carr penned the extraordinary three-hankie weeper, Some Kind of Angel . Lois is dead - she died in the Congo. What is alt-Clark's life like? His Lois is missing. Canon Lois went back to her own dimension. What does he have to live for? What can happen from here? Despite my description, there is a happy ending.

Shayne Terry writes about alt-Clark meeting Lois via newspaper ad in Single White Kryptonian . "Single white Kryptonian male, 27 seeks native counterpart for companionship or more. If you're an intelligent, ambitious professional female, I'll sweep you off your feet and take you for long moonlit flights above the clouds. Agoraphobics need not apply. Non-smoker preferred."


I love Pam Jernigan's Tryst , which is best described by the Archive blurb: "Lois may have died in the Congo at the hands of a clever villain, but that won't stop our heroes from getting the best of him. Destiny has decided that Lois and Clark *will* meet and fall in love -- a little thing like death won't be allowed to interfere." Quick summary: Ghost Lois meets alt-Clark, and they fall in love.
Pam has another fine fic about alt-Clark meeting Lois in In Any Universe .

ML Thompson tells us what might have happened if Tempus never intervened in the alt-world in The Other Woman . Alt-Clark is married to Lana, and then Lois Lane returns to the Daily Planet after being in the Congo. Will Lois be content with being the "other woman"? (Hint: No.)

And what if alt-Clark decided to rebuild Herb's time machine (you know, he did see the plans) and go back in time to try to save his Lois from death in the Congo? Things might not go all that smoothly, in ML's The Time Traveler\'s Wife .

ML is probably the queen of well-written, engaging, fun-to-read alt-beginning stories (not just about alt-Clark, but alternate beginnings in general.) She's got several:

in Cause and Effect , Lois and Clark meet up four years prior to their official canon meeting at the Daily Planet. Will true love triumph, or will terrorists get in the way?

What if Lois meets not Clark, but Lord Kal-El of New Krypton? Well, ML tells us what might have happened in Escape From New Krypton . Tons of action, alien invaders, kryptonite, stalwart newspaper editors, and true love.

What if Lois was convicted of murder (e.g., the events of "The People Vs Lois Lane") but Clark wasn't there at the Planet? What if he were hired to replace Lois because she had to go to prison? And what if he tried to prove her innocence? Don't miss Guilty Until Proven Innocent .

What if Lois had the powers, right from the beginning? A Matter of Destiny tells us what might have happened.

And in Without Checking The Water Level , our heroes again meet earlier and in a different place than in canon.

Geez, I think I've recommended half of ML Thompson's oeuvre. There are so many other good authors whose fics deserve recommendation too, and I'm sorry if I miss anyone's favorites.

Deadly Chakram has a thought-provoking and interesting fic in Specimen S . "What if Jonathan and Martha Kent were not the ones to find the infant Kal-El? Just how much of life is chance? And how much is fate?"

Tempus has another evil plan in Yvonne Connell's chiling Misery . Let's just say that Clark must overcome more than the usual amount of adversity.

Raconteur boldly dispenses with part of the usual mythos - in her trilogy of fics, Clark and Lois do NOT work at the Daily Planet. Instead, in the Lifeflight series, they are physicians.

In Shayne Terry's Duet , Clark Kent is a hot-shot musician with a secret to hide, and Lois Lane is an entertainment attorney who wants to sign him to a contract.

It appears that the pilot is the most built off of episode. I guess that makes sense, because if you build off of it, you can go just about anywhere. Plus it is longer than the other episodes, and has such fun characters like Samuel Platt.

Although I have to admit I think of "Master of Disguise" as more of a Fall of the House of Luthor fic. Although they mention Luthor's personnel assistant in the Pilot, we do not learn her name is Mrs. Cox until "Barbarian at the Planet".

I was just about to point out that exact thought, John. It's a great story, but since it has more to do with Lois marrying Lex and the death of the DP, it belongs over at HoL. Terrific read, though!

You're right, of course. I just wanted to recommend it one more time.

Another story on this theme (Clark comes to Metropolis late, after Lois has already married Lex) is Sheila Harper's In The Beginning . Another good read.