"Superboy" (1988) TV series 1988-1992

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Directors:

Kenneth Bowser
Colin Chilvers
(more)

Writers:

Stan Berkowitz (writer)
Michael Carlin (episodes)
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

8 October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The adventures of the Man of Steel in his teenage years.

Plot Keywords:

Superboy | Superman | Superhero | Cult Favorite | Based On Comic Book

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Stacy Haiduk	...	Lana Lang (100 episodes, 1988-1992)
Gerard Christopher	...	Superboy / ... (72 episodes, 1989-1992)
Robert Levine	...	C. Dennis Jackson (48 episodes, 1990-1992)

(more)

Series Directed by
David Nutter		(21 episodes, 1989-1992)
Reza Badiyi		(5 episodes, 1988-1989)
Kenneth Bowser		(unknown episodes)
Colin Chilvers		(unknown episodes)
Jackie Cooper		(unknown episodes)
David Grossman		(unknown episodes)
Andre R. Guttfreund		(unknown episodes)
David Hartwell		(unknown episodes)
John Huneck		(unknown episodes)
Danny Irom		(unknown episodes)
Jefferson Kibbee		(unknown episodes)
Peter Kiwitt		(unknown episodes)
Richard J. Lewis		(unknown episodes)
Chuck Martinez		(unknown episodes)
Hugh Martin		(unknown episodes)
Thierry Notz		(unknown episodes)
Joe Ravitz		(unknown episodes)
Tracy Roberts		(unknown episodes)
Bryan Spicer		(unknown episodes)
Mark Vargo		(unknown episodes)
Robert Wiemer		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Migdia Chinea-Varela		(6 episodes, 1988-1990)
Fred Freiberger		(6 episodes, 1988-1989)
Michael Maurer		(6 episodes, 1989-1991)
J.M. DeMatteis		(5 episodes, 1991-1992)
Cary Bates		(3 episodes, 1989-1990)
Mark Jones		(3 episodes, 1989-1990)
Howard Dimsdale		(2 episodes, 1988)
Ilya Salkind		(2 episodes, 1989-1990)
Matt Uitz		(2 episodes, 1991)
Stan Berkowitz		(unknown episodes)
Michael Carlin		(unknown episodes)
Paul Robert Coyle		(unknown episodes)
Paul Diamond		(unknown episodes)
Sandy Fries		(unknown episodes)
Andy Helfer		(unknown episodes)
Denny O'Neil		(unknown episodes)
Joe Shuster		(unknown episodes)
Jerry Siegel		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Ilya Salkind	....	producer (unknown episodes, 1988-1992)
Stan Berkowitz	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Julia Pistor	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Kevin Kiner		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
John Huneck		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
John Elias		(unknown episodes)
Michael T. Elias		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Ellen Jacoby		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Design by
John Bortles		(unknown episodes)
Alan E. Muraoka		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
David Kahler		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Michael J. Kent	....	special makeup effects artist (5 episodes, 1990)
Lee Grimes	....	special makeup effects artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Buck Allen	....	production manager (unknown episodes)
Barry H. Waldman	....	production manager (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	second assistant director (13 episodes, 1988-1989)
Frank Falvey	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)
Roger La Page	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Polly Ann Mattson	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)
Gary Rogers	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Paul Sirmons	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Barry H. Waldman	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Jeff Chandler	....	assistant art director (26 episodes, 1988-1989)
Daniel Valcich	....	carpenter (12 episodes, 1992)
Jerry Blohm	....	swing gang (unknown episodes)
John F. Escobar	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes)
Rich Swim	....	property master (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Richard Achor	....	sound effects editor (unknown episodes)
Peter J. Devlin	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)
Mark Muncy	....	sound mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Danny Cadow	....	flying effects specialist (1 episode, 1989)
James L. Roberts	....	special effects foreman (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Pete Opotowsky	....	visual effects supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Cort Hessler	....	stunts (9 episodes, 1991-1992)
Tom Akos	....	utility stunts / stunt double / ... (4 episodes, 1988-1991)
Greg Anderson	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Erich Barrett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Larry A. Lee	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Mike Massa	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Joe Murphy	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gar Stephen	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Lacy	....	assistant camera / camera operator: "b" camera (48 episodes, 1989-1992)
Robert Beverlin	....	assistant camera (26 episodes, 1988-1989)
Bruce Merwin	....	electrician (3 episodes, 1988)
Brett Allen	....	Steadicam operator (unknown episodes)
Stephen Campbell	....	assistant camera (unknown episodes)
C.W. Fallin	....	director of photography: second unit/additional photography (unknown episodes)
W.D. Hill	....	grip (unknown episodes)
David Norris	....	camera operator: Wescam camera (unknown episodes)
Nik Petrik	....	camera operator: "b" camera (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael J. Kent	....	costume fabricator (1 episode, 1990)
Ellen Falguiere	....	wardrobe supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Melinda Taksen	....	script supervisor (45 episodes, 1990-1992)
Roderick Richardson	....	craft service (44 episodes, 1990-1992)
Susan Agnoff	....	assistant production accountant (unknown episodes, 1990)
Jesse Blanco	....	set production assistant (unknown episodes)
Brian Cain	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Joanne Martin Hinson	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Chris Iller	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Damian Mcknight	....	production intern (unknown episodes)
Stanley Robinson	....	key production assistant (unknown episodes)
Mayo Sanchez	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Trish Weinstock	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Alexander Salkind
• Cantharaus Productions N.V.
• Lowry Productions

Distributors

• Viacom

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Superboy (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

30 min (100 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Filming Locations:

Boardwalk & Baseball Theme Park - Rt. 27, Baseball City, Florida, USA

Company:

Alexander Salkind

Trivia:

The pilot episode "Countdown to Nowhere" was actually the fifth episode broadcast.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006) (TV)

For some reason...it rocks your socks off!

I think of this show sort of the way I think of Tim Burton's Batman. Burtons' Batman focused a lot more on visuals and preferred to explain the story through actions rather than words. Nevertheless, people dug it and flocked to see the film(s). Superboy was much the same. The acting is nothing to write home about, the dialogue is 50/50 at best and the stories are awfully stereotyped comic book stories. Nevertheless, something about it just kicks ass. Maybe it's the fact that it's the only Superman experience ever that features a bang-on 100% accurate version of the costume. Maybe it's the fact that even though the plots are awfully stereotyped and clichéd, it really is the only show that has those plots anyway. I don't know, maybe it's just because it's fun and it doesn't make you depressed with all of the pain and anguish and darkness of the modern day Superman shows like Smallville.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with Superboy, originally he was just a spin-off of the Superman comic, showing Clark's adventures as a fully powered teenager. Well in the 80's, they got rid of that character and had the teenage Clark more along the lines of the character you watch in Smallville (which is getting steadily crappier). Now, when those crazy Salkind guys bought the rights to Superman, they also bought the rights to Supergirl, Superboy and (sigh) Superpup. Well, to make a long story short, the Salkinds sold the rights to Superman to those fools who made Superman IV. But they still had those rights to Girl, Boy and Pup. In 1984, Supergirl tanked, so that was no-show. They'd have to be pretty thick to make a live-action show about a dog with super powers, so they also gave that one a miss. But what about a boy? Better yet, a teenager, or better still, a college student with super powers? That could work...

And so, a show was born.

The first season saw John Haymes Newton as the boy of steel. Many claim that Newton was a bit too one-dimensional in terms of acting despite the fact that he looked like he had just walked off the face of a comic book. The stories in the first season generally revolved around social issues, largely because there wasn't much of a budget for fancy special effects (I'll get to that in a sec'). A lot of these episodes were also based upon events that happened in the comics or even in the movies. For example, just like in the comics, Lex loses his hair in a chemical accident and just like in the movies, Kryptonite is discovered in Addis Ababa. Another thing I liked about the first season was the fact that it was really 'Generation X' in the sense that it really tried to appeal to teenagers as well as the traditional Superman audience of kids and adults. If you listen to the first season Superboy theme tune, there's a really cool guitar solo in there. It also really reflects the style and tone of the late eighties which is kind of cool. The other seasons were more timeless and didn't have that eighties feel.

The second season brought in Gerard Christopher as Superboy because John Haymes Newton had portrayed Superboy as too much of a 'badboy' (which I kind of liked, but anyway) and he had also been getting in a bit of trouble with the law off screen. Gerard Christopher played Superboy as the Superman stereotype. He was cool, calm and collected and only ever got angry around villains. His Clark was a clumsy goofball, much the way he was in the movies, only more so. A new, older Lex Luthor was brought in as well, to tie in with a really silly story about Lex making himself look a famous inventor so that he could steal the inventor's weapon and (you guessed it folks) kill Superboy. Because the first season had brought in a bit of dough, the second season had more of a special effects budget and here's where things get really interesting. We got to see villains like Metallo and Bizarro for the first time ever off the pages of a comic. Sadly, we also got a load of silly villains like Dracula (?) and Microboy (a rival superhero in a big yellow foam suit), which made the second season look like a cross between the old Batman show and Power Rangers.

The third season became really dark and sophisticated, despite the fact that it was a show about a cheerful hero. This tone was probably to do with the release and success of Burton's Batman movie. It worked quite well, because it made Superboy look sort of out place (which is sort of cool, because Superman is out of place in today's modern, vice-filled society of sex, drugs, rock and roll and computers). The fourth season was probably the only season which didn't bring anything new to the show. The episodes were in the same dark tone as the third season, but if it counts for anything, they were written better and the overall acting was improving. But then, Warner Bros. came along and got rid of the show, because they didn't own it and it was starting to make some serious money. They took it off the airways for good and it is quite likely that it will never be seen on television ever again. But there is talk of bringing it out on DVD, so don't despair.

Overall, this show is quite good and it is worth noting that this is the last show that focused solely on a character that has been appearing in comics for over sixty years. Lois and Clark and Smallville are both attempts at updating this timeless character. It is definitely worth a watch if you can find some episodes of it.