Superboy Articles

"Behind the Scenes of Superboy" (originally untitled)

No author credited

Appeared in the March 1990 Deluxe Format DC books

Ever since Ilya Salkind announced plans for a syndicated series featuring the Teen of Steel, DC Comics has been actively involved in aspects of the show. It all started with President and Editor-in-Chief Jennette Kahn wanting the best possible stories for the series, despite its tight budget. To help, she asked editors Mike Carlin and Andy Helfer to help her go over scripts and work with the producers.

With Superboy a cerified hit and into its second season, Mike and Andy are working even more closely with the production this year. Jennette has so much other work to do these days, including answering the constant call from Hollywood for our characters, that she has relied more and more on Andy and Mike to watch over Superboy. According to Mike, "We're working with Cary Bates and Mark Jones, the Executive Story Consultants. We do what we can to make the show better." This means reading scripts and story outlines at each stage, right up to production, giving advice and sometimes constructive criticism.

Ilya Salkind, despite being Executive Producer, is very much a hands on man with the production. "If there is such a thing as a television producer getting into the trenches, he is in there. He incorporates 90% of our comments and corrections, which is great."

Mike credits Ilya, Mark, and Cary with the change of tone this year, allowing more super-powered foes to show up. We've seen Bizarro, Metallo, and even the return of Mr. Mxyzptlk plus a new foe in the form of a vampire. And a number of comic writers have had a crack at the series, including Denny O'Neil, Elliot Maggin, and the team of Mike and Andy. "We've always leaned toward the more upscale foes," Mike notes, "but last year budgetary concerns made it impossible except for Mr. Mxyzptlk. This year they have made Luthor a more worthwhile opponent for Superboy. And Michael Callan, who played Metallo, made the character his own." In fact, everyone liked the way that episode turned out, and the return of Metallo is imminent.

Recently, the duo headed south, to Orlando, Florida, where the show is currently headquartered on Universal's new lot. "We went down to meet face to face," Mike says. "It's not always good if our entire relationship is exclusively on the telephone and fax machines. We come up with better shows in person. I think the two best so far are the Bizarro shows and those are the ones we concentrated on during our meetings down here."

Andy, Mike, and Jennette made a similar pilgrimage last year, so this year it was a chance to renew acquaintances and friendships. While the cast has gone through some changes, Stacy Haiduk remains and she was thrilled to see her New York associates. It was also a chance for the DC editors to meet the new Superboy, Gerard Christopher. Soon after John Haymes Newton recieved the role, he met with the DC staff to discuss the character. Time did not allow Christopher the same opportunity, so he spoke with Mike and Andy having already filmed several episodes. "He seems like a real nice guy." Mike observes.

The week spent on the set meant early morning meetings with Cary Bates as they discussed story points, and lunch with Cary and Mark Jones as they discussed broader issues. Each day they got a chance to visit the set or go on location to watch filming. The timing was fortuitous since the episode in production featured Mr. Mxyzptlk, played by Michael J. Pollard. Joining the fifth dimensional imp was a newcomer to the show, Richard Kiel, as another-much larger- "imp". The imposing Richard was celebrating his 50th birthday that week and Gerard planned an impromptu birthday bash at the Peabody hotel. "Richard seemed honestly touched by the party," Mike adds. "It was a thrill to meet him and watch the show being filmed."

"We went on location and it was nice spending time again with the set directors, make-up people and so on, and meeting the new cast members, like Gerard and Ilan-Mitchell Smith, was also neat."

During the week, Mike and Andy got to see a lot of Hollywood (Orlando?) magic at work but to Mike, "There was nothing quite like seeing a grown man "fly" 60 feet up in the air."

There was also some serious business to attend to since the first episode of the season had just come back from the editing room. Everyone crowded into Ilya's office to watch the tape on his hi-tech system-"great sound"- and then discuss changes that still needed to be made before airing. "it was nice to have people listen to our suggestions, even this late in the process." Mike says.

"We also got a chance to see the Metallo episode in a 'rawer' form and it was great to watch the dailies during the week."

As the week wore down, Friday night saw people start to relax. With the episode complete, Mike and Andy watched things "get a little loose and crazy. Stacy and Ilan had a wrestling match in the make-up trailer, while Andy was getting his hair cut."

Leslie Christin, the series' make up artist, sat Andy down in the trailer and gave him his annual hair-cut. Andy has been letting his hair grow over the last few years and last year, Leslie was the first person to actually convince him that he should get it trimmed and styled a bit. Andy once again sat down for the experience and returned to DC to compliments on another "do" well done.

Work continues on this season's set of 26 episodes and the ratings indicate the series will be aroud for some time. Its success has spawned the first new Superboy comic book series in years, closely paralleling events and tone of the show. These days, Mike and Andy are settling into their routine, comic book editors by day and mini-TV moguls by night.

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