Superman and Lois: Pilot
February 24, 2021 3:52 AM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Superman and Lois' return to idyllic Smallville is set to be upended by mysterious strangers.
Den of Geek (Spoiler Free) Episode 1 Review - Superman & Lois is a heartfelt celebration of everything that makes these characters great, and it's a promising start for the newest DC TV series.
Den of Geek - Superman & Lois Episode 1: DC Comics and Movie Easter Eggs Revealed - The first episode of Superman & Lois has so many loving nods to Superman's DC Comics, TV, and movie history that we almost don't know where to start. Here's everything we found...
The Hollywood Reporter review - The Superman/'thirtysomething' hybrid you may or may not have wanted.
TV Line - Superman & Lois Team Explains the Series Premiere's 'L' of a Final Twist: 'We Wanted to Tell a New Story'
TV Fanatic recap - "The CW took viewers back to Smallville on Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 1. It's darker than before, setting it apart from what came earlier, resulting in an entirely unique vibe, unlike any Smallville we've seen."
EW - Superman & Lois boss and stars on the Stranger's shocking identity, [SPOILER]'s powers
Den of Geek (Spoiler Free) Episode 1 Review - Superman & Lois is a heartfelt celebration of everything that makes these characters great, and it's a promising start for the newest DC TV series.
Den of Geek - Superman & Lois Episode 1: DC Comics and Movie Easter Eggs Revealed - The first episode of Superman & Lois has so many loving nods to Superman's DC Comics, TV, and movie history that we almost don't know where to start. Here's everything we found...
The Hollywood Reporter review - The Superman/'thirtysomething' hybrid you may or may not have wanted.
TV Line - Superman & Lois Team Explains the Series Premiere's 'L' of a Final Twist: 'We Wanted to Tell a New Story'
TV Fanatic recap - "The CW took viewers back to Smallville on Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 1. It's darker than before, setting it apart from what came earlier, resulting in an entirely unique vibe, unlike any Smallville we've seen."
EW - Superman & Lois boss and stars on the Stranger's shocking identity, [SPOILER]'s powers
Is there a place in this show for Chloe Sullivan? I suppose Allison Mack ruined chances for that.
posted by rikschell at 5:32 AM on February 24, 2021
posted by rikschell at 5:32 AM on February 24, 2021
Nice to see you back oh yeah! Looking forward to chatting about the Arrowverse (or what's left of it). I haven't had a chance to watch this yet, but I will chime in once I get caught up.
posted by sardonyx at 7:32 AM on February 24, 2021
posted by sardonyx at 7:32 AM on February 24, 2021
I actually ended up watching this by accident and reluctantly stayed on, my heart still sore from the frustrated longing between Clark and Lex on Smallville.
It... wasn't bad. Not sure about Tortured Teen Son, though he is EXTREMELY pretty, but his more laid-back brother is less irritating.
I missed the beginning, is there a reason Lois would be ok with leaving her big city career behind?
posted by emjaybee at 8:19 AM on February 24, 2021
It... wasn't bad. Not sure about Tortured Teen Son, though he is EXTREMELY pretty, but his more laid-back brother is less irritating.
I missed the beginning, is there a reason Lois would be ok with leaving her big city career behind?
posted by emjaybee at 8:19 AM on February 24, 2021
On the one hand, I don't feel a strong need in the world for more Superman stories. On the other hand, if they're going to make them anyway, the fact that they are coming into the world as a spinoff of Supergirl is pretty rad.
posted by solotoro at 8:22 AM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by solotoro at 8:22 AM on February 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
emjaybee - in the beginning, Lois was angry at all the changes Morgan Edge was making at the Daily Planet, and with Clark being the latest to get laid off, it seems like she might be feeling like she would be axed in the next wave. (But, I mean, the newspaper/magazine industry in the Arrowverse doesn't follow any real-world logic, no doubt Lois will take over the Smallville Gazette or something in coming weeks to be a reporter/blogger/journalist-extraordinaire a la Iris West.)
posted by oh yeah! at 11:39 AM on February 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by oh yeah! at 11:39 AM on February 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Okay, so things they've referenced in the first episode and checked off the list: Donner, Siegel and Shuster (names on the chalkboard of the Kent home in Metropolis); the classic Superman lifts a vehicle pose, an alternative-style S-shield (although why they went with a Kingdom Come version is a bit baffling, as I would have expected something closer in shape to the 1938 version)--so, it's not too bad of a start. I'm sure we'll get lots more as the series progresses. (I know that Den of Geeks piece says the S is the Max Fleischer version, and that's what I thought they were going for at first, but I still think it looks more like the Kingdom Come one.)
I saw an article about how they shot in a real Vancouver newsroom (thanks COVID-19 work-from-home schemes) and how that made the office scene look more authentic and recalled the Christopher Reeve movie which shot in a Toronto newsroom, so I was really hoping for more newsroom action, and was therefore disappointed by the amount we got. Maybe we'll get to see Lois in her element, but I suspect most of her story chasing will be done outside of the office.
I'm not too upset by Martha's fate because a) it makes sense for story reasons and b) when I started reading comics, Superman was an orphan two times over (as all of his Krypton and Earth parents were dead). I don't think it was until Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series that the Kents were revived. Before that, I recall reading a lot of Word's Finest that had Bruce and Clark bonding over their experiences as orphans. So this was a return to my comic-reading roots.
Speaking of Martha's status, I had to laugh when reverse mortgages turned out to be one of Morgan Edge's instrument of villainy in Smallville. All we need now is for Tom Selleck (or Kurt Browning) to take over playing Edge. (Yes, I know that's not happening.)
Given the title of the show, I hope it lives up to its promise of keeping the focus mainly on the adults and not on the Super Sons (yeah, I realize that moniker usually involves a Bat and not an extra half-Kryptonian) but this is CW and the network seems to be moving back to its teenage-drama roots (see Stargirl and passing on the Arrow spinoff Canaries), so I'm suspicious. Since I'm an old fogey, I'm not too interested in watching all teenage angst all the time. I want to say I'm here for investigative journalism taking down corrupt billionaires who are destroying news-gathering organizations, but I'm a veteran Arrowverse watcher, so I know how (badly) journalism works in these shows, leaving me less than hopeful about the Lois vs. Morgan plot line.
As for Luthor, I guess he won't have Kara to bother much longer, so it makes sense to move the character over to this show. It would have been nice to see a new (or more accurately, less popular and less frequent) enemy for Clark, but I guess Superman and Lex are a package deal (to some degree).
I'm trying to keep an open mind about the boys. I don't especially like either one of them yet, but that's fine. In terms of comic book characters, guess Jon is kind of mapping onto Conner/Kon and I guess Jordan is sort of the young Jon equivalent, but those are tenuous comparisons at best.
Overall, I think the show is off to a decent start. Now we'll just have to see if it can keep the momentum going.
posted by sardonyx at 9:35 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
I saw an article about how they shot in a real Vancouver newsroom (thanks COVID-19 work-from-home schemes) and how that made the office scene look more authentic and recalled the Christopher Reeve movie which shot in a Toronto newsroom, so I was really hoping for more newsroom action, and was therefore disappointed by the amount we got. Maybe we'll get to see Lois in her element, but I suspect most of her story chasing will be done outside of the office.
I'm not too upset by Martha's fate because a) it makes sense for story reasons and b) when I started reading comics, Superman was an orphan two times over (as all of his Krypton and Earth parents were dead). I don't think it was until Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series that the Kents were revived. Before that, I recall reading a lot of Word's Finest that had Bruce and Clark bonding over their experiences as orphans. So this was a return to my comic-reading roots.
Speaking of Martha's status, I had to laugh when reverse mortgages turned out to be one of Morgan Edge's instrument of villainy in Smallville. All we need now is for Tom Selleck (or Kurt Browning) to take over playing Edge. (Yes, I know that's not happening.)
Given the title of the show, I hope it lives up to its promise of keeping the focus mainly on the adults and not on the Super Sons (yeah, I realize that moniker usually involves a Bat and not an extra half-Kryptonian) but this is CW and the network seems to be moving back to its teenage-drama roots (see Stargirl and passing on the Arrow spinoff Canaries), so I'm suspicious. Since I'm an old fogey, I'm not too interested in watching all teenage angst all the time. I want to say I'm here for investigative journalism taking down corrupt billionaires who are destroying news-gathering organizations, but I'm a veteran Arrowverse watcher, so I know how (badly) journalism works in these shows, leaving me less than hopeful about the Lois vs. Morgan plot line.
As for Luthor, I guess he won't have Kara to bother much longer, so it makes sense to move the character over to this show. It would have been nice to see a new (or more accurately, less popular and less frequent) enemy for Clark, but I guess Superman and Lex are a package deal (to some degree).
I'm trying to keep an open mind about the boys. I don't especially like either one of them yet, but that's fine. In terms of comic book characters, guess Jon is kind of mapping onto Conner/Kon and I guess Jordan is sort of the young Jon equivalent, but those are tenuous comparisons at best.
Overall, I think the show is off to a decent start. Now we'll just have to see if it can keep the momentum going.
posted by sardonyx at 9:35 PM on February 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
It is a decent start. I'm very excited for this show existing. Now if they can just do an okay job...
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:54 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:54 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Anyway, I thought this was a great pilot. Was a little annoyed that they started out with killing off Martha, but I guess since it ultimately seemed to serve the plot point of getting the Kents moved back to Smallville more than being a 'create maximum angst for the hero' fridging, I was willing to roll with it. I'm sure the show will descend into suckitude eventually like all Arrowverse shows, but, I thought it was a lovely start.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:23 AM on February 24, 2021 [3 favorites]