Superboy: The Complete Third Season

This Is What "Superboy" Fans Have Long Awaited!
After two middling seasons and many casting changes, this Third Season of "Superboy" was when the show really took off and produced some of the most quality moments of Superman-related fare ever created.

Of course, one must always remember to watch "Superboy" with tongue firmly planted in cheek. It is pretty campy throughout (though not to quite to the extent of 1960s Batman, for example) and was obviously made for a children's audience. However, if you can overlook the "cheese" factor (nostalgia helps!) and take the show for what it is, you will enjoy most every episode.

The format of this season is changed up quite a bit from Season Two. Instead of school kids, Clark and Lana now work (ala Mulder & Scully!) at the Bureau of Extranormal Events where they investigate strange cases. Gone is Andy McCallister and the juvenile tone he brought to the show. The highlights of this third season include:

-4 "portal" episodes involving Superboy travelling...

A real Super series
If you have never seen either season 1 or 2 of Superboy but want to know the kind of show it is, this is probably the best season to watch. The first season was pretty awful. The original "Lex Luthor" in the first season was unforgivable casting. TJ White was also a boring character who served as a 'Jimmy Olsen' type person. Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang was the only main character to be involved with the show all four seasons and she shines in each season. The original Superboy played by John Haynes Newton looked the part and he played it very straight much like George Reeves in the 1950s version. The stories from the first season were very lame, the special effects were terrible, and it was almost cancelled based on the original ratings. But things really did change for the better when Gerard Christopher filled in the boots as the new Superboy. And the original Lex Luthor was replaced with the phenomenal Howard Shermann. The second season was a huge step in the right direction by...

Rather enjoyable
Two things you don't ask about the series at this point:

1) What is the "Bureau of Paranormal Investigations," and how do two college Juniors get year-long internships in which they become full on field agents?" (answer - it helped the show a "Daily Planet-esque" setting)

2) Why is a grown man still calling himself "Superboy?" (answer - the producers didn't have the rights to the name "Superman")

Once you get past those two glaring plot holes, the show itself becomes rather enjoyable this point. Moving away from campiness found in all of Season 1 and big chunk of Season 2, this is when the show tried its best at more dramatic storytelling. This season also contains probably the best story arc of the series, "The Roads Not Taken." You can also sense a much darker tone to the show beginning with this season, likely due to the influence of Tim Burton's first Batman movie coming out around this same time.

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