Superboy Articles

New Faces for the BOY OF STEEL:
Continuity revamped, characters redesigned, "Superboy" attempts flight once more.

By Bill Wilson

From Comics Scene (second series) #10, October 1989

Thanks to Bill Mah for typing and sending me this article.

Despite a strong performance in its maiden season, during which it consistently ranked among the top new syndicated TV shows, Superboy: The Series flies into its second 26-week season amidst sweeping changes to its cast, crew and production facilities.

When it premiered in October 1988, Superboy was the first weekly TV series to be produced at the new Disney/MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. For this second journey into America's homes (currently six to seven million households per week), the series moves several miles down Interstate 4 to Universal Studios Florida, "the largest motion picture and television sound facility outside Hollywood," where it is now showcased as that studio's first weekly television product.

Executive Producer Ilya Salkind, the man who gave the world Superman I, II and III, explains, "Our experience at Disney was very good, but this promises to be even better. When we came to Florida a year ago, we went to Universal first because of my long association with Tom Pollock, the Chairman of Universal, who had been my lawyer and my father's lawyer for 13 years. Unfortunately, Universal's facilities were not ready at the time, so we went to Disney. We tried to negotiate for a larger stage, but discussions always turned to talk of the larger stages being available for movies, not TV series. So, during our hiatus between seasons, we decided to make the move."

And Salkind's commitment to future project development in the booming Central Florida area is clear: "Not only have I bought a house here, but I plan to base both Superman V and Christopher Columbus: The Movie here, both $35 million pictures," he says. "I love it here. It works, the people are great, there is help, there is enthusiasm, and the facilities are tops. In many respects, we've achieved things here that perhaps we wouldn't have been able to accomplish in the movies." With post-production for Superboy now handled on-site by Universal's state-of-the-art Century III, there's the promise of more intricate and convincing special FX sequences than last year's.

Accompanying the Boy of Steel's move to another studio will be a new approach to the character. "It's important that the show had a year of exploration, of refining certain angles," Salkind explains. "I come from movies, and perhaps it wasn't easy to get the right TV angle. But this second season should be absolutely tremendous, and I'm saying that with total confidence. Part of this new season's success will be due to our learning and understanding just how important 50 years of comics books have been to Superboy/Superman. The first season we got a little lost, and we forgot just how much the character can influence an audience, how important he is to them. I think what was missing last year was that lovable, accessible nerd aspect of Clark Kent which people identify with so much, which I feel you need to balance the superhero side."

The "nerd" aspect of Clark's personality, so deftly developed by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films, was one thing actor John Haymes Newton vehemently opposed in his approach to the Clark/Superboy relationship in season one and this philosophical difference, among other things, led to what is probably the biggest news concerning Superboy's second TV season.

John Haymes Newton is gone, replaced by actor Gerard Christopher, who at 30 years of age is some eight years Newton's senior, but looks every bit the part of the Boy of Steel. Although Superboy represents Christopher's first regular TV role, his previous motion picture credits include Dangerously Close and Tomboy.
"A new talent playing Clark is not important," Salkind proclaims. "What is important is that Clark Kent should be a mild-mannered reporter. We're going back to more complicated roots and experience is needed, and Gerard as Clark will bring us that experience."

"I don't think people will identify with me as a new person playing the character," Christopher begins. "The character's the same. Superboy's what's important, and I intend to have a lot of fun with the character. Clark's going to be much more human, very clumsy. You'll see many of the problems he has as a real person, but also the problems he has being an alien and a human being all at the same time, and the problems he has dealing with himself as a superhero, having to act the part of the nerdy kid."

The actor's love for the character prompted him to meet the challenge of bringing Superboy to life on screen head-on. "I was a Superman fan as a kid, and when this opportunity came up, I just couldn't believe it," Christopher says. "I've gone up for many things in my career, things I enjoyed doing and all, but never have I been as excited as I was when I heard they were interested in seeing me for this! I really felt in my heart that I was 'right' for Superboy. There's a certain look that must be there, a certain love for the character that must be there, and they were all there for me. At first, I was just really excited about trying out for it, but when I got the part, I was ecstatic!"

Christopher glances up at a cable hook-up above his head, and a slight smile creeps across his face. "If you've ever flown - I mean, on a cable like this one right here like I did the other day - it's as close to your childhood dream of flying as you can possibly get." And how did it feel the first time he put on the red-and-blue longjohns? "Fantastic, a lot of fun. I looked at myself in the mirror, and it was really hard to believe I was really in it. It's a great feeling. I mean, everyone has seen the old TV shows with George Reeves, and the movies with Chris Reeve, and wondered just what it's like. Superman is just such a great character, so all-American."

Joining Gerard Christopher as a newcomer to the cast this season is Ilan Mitchell-Smith, who starred in Weird Science. Smith portrays Andy McAlister, Clark's new roommate, replacing T.J. White (Jim Calvert) who has gone to Metropolis to work at The Daily Planet with his father Perry White. The Andy McAlister character adds tension as well as a touch of comic relief to the series as he schemes to involve the Boy of Steel in a variety of get-rich-quick "business propositions", thereby putting greater pressure on Clark to keep his secret identity hidden.

Stacy Haiduk, the solitary holdover from the first season ("The old person," she declares) knows the new cast will be different to work with, but she remains excited about her role as Lana Lang. "Working with John and Jim last season was really enjoyable," she says. "I'm going to miss them both very much."
In the absence of photographer T.J. White, Lana will pair with Clark more frequently this year, working more closely as a journalistic team, giving Lana more opportunities to develop into a stronger character "instead of being the one who gets kidnapped, or whatever. That stuff's OK once in a while, but, I mean, if I were in some of the situations she has been in, I probably would've tried to kick the person's butt! I'm hoping we'll see much more of that side of Lana Lang!"

Effervescent as always, Haiduk does bristle a bit at the mention of last season's Boy of Steel, John Haymes Newton, with whom she had a special chemistry on-screen and a close relationship off-screen. "I won't say it will be tremendously difficult to stare at a new face in that same role, because I am a professional actress after all, and it is more an image of a character as opposed to a specific person, but...John and I did have a very close friendship...and it is different..." Her voice trails off, a brief faraway look in her eyes, and then she quickly composes herself and continues with renewed enthusiasm. "Gerard's a great guy, and I'm really looking forward to working with him and Ilan and seeing the effects of the dimension they've added to all our characters. We were all like one big family last year - cast, crew, and all - and I think it's going to be the same again this year. At least, I hope so."

Through it all, however, the one thing which may determine Superboy's second season success, despite the changes in production facilities and cast, is the quality of the stories themselves, and that is precisely where Executive Story Consultants Mark Jones and Cary Bates come in. Jones, a TV veteran and a longtime Superman fan, and Bates, an accomplished writer of many of the Man and Boy of Steel's comic-book adventures, form a team who believe they are involved in something "special".

"Superboy is a TV show unlike any other," Jones explains, "and it's important to reinforce that by staying away from 'police stories' and concentrating on the larger-than-life aspects of the character. It's in the mold of Batman, with that feeling of being real close to 'pushing it' while still being firmly grounded in reality."
"This season, there will be other larger-than-life characters to share the stage with Superboy," Bates adds. "Last season, he was the only one, alone in a mundane world. If a hero is only as good as his villains, this year Superboy should be stronger than ever. We'll be putting him in real jeopardy this time, at the hands of such classic comic-book foes as Metallo, Bizarro and Mr. Mxyzptlk, as well as, of course, Lex Luthor."

And then there's a new antagonist, Young Dracula. "Young Dracula is the kind of character who has a dangerous edge to him. He and Superboy soon find they have an odd kinship to each other because they're cut from a similar mold, outcasts of a sort. Young Dracula, by virtue of his very nature, provides an element of danger to the story, at once both Superboy's equal and his adversary."

With Clark Kent and Lana Lang working closely now on editorial assignments for the Shuster University Journal, just how their relationship develops was of great concern to both consultants. "Cary and I put together an 'internal bible' if you will, detailing the entire Clark/Lana/Superboy triangle in order to develop strongly defined relationships between them," Jones says. "Clark is the one with the crush on Lana, while she is definitely in love with Superboy and thinks she and Clark are 'just friends.' Since TV is such a character medium, it's important for these characters to be very strongly defined."

"We want to avoid having Lana perceived as replacing the T.J. White character as Clark's photographer-buddy," Bates adds. "She's interested in photography, is helpful to Clark in that respect, but she doesn't think that she's very good.

"Andy McAlister, on the other hand, is better as a roommate than the T.J. character because he provides a much-needed contrast to Superboy, the exact opposite of Clark. He's the kind of kid who pulled strings to get Clark as a roommate so that he could get close to him and thereby, hopefully, get close to Superboy."
"He's a real pain in the ass," Jones interjects. "He's always scheming."

DC Comics maintains an active interest in the development of the Superboy series, retaining story approval and such, but Jones explains it's a healthy partnership: "We have a good relationship with DC, [Editor-in-chief] Jenette Kahn, [Superman editor] Mike Carlin and Andy Helfer. They keep control while entrusting us with a good deal of responsibility to maintain the characters' integrity. It's a team effort. Mike and Andy have written some things, and both Denny O'Neil and Eliot S. Maggin have done scripts for this season. We're all happy with the arrangement."

Huddled over typewriters almost constantly, both Jones and Bates get little time to see first-hand how things progress on the set, but what they have seen, they've liked. "This second season, it's a whole different show," Bates offers. "The second 13 episodes of the first season are more indicative of the direction we'll be going, but with the new characters and storylines, we've basically cleaned house." New to the show, Jones adds his views: "Perhaps I can see things from a different perspective, this being my first season and all. I think I'm less biased, but what I've seen has been terrific. Gerry's just great in the role, and the show has a bigger 'feel' than last year. We've been shooting the episode with Metallo, and I think Michael Callan as Metallo gives a performance similar to Jack Nicholson's in Batman - really intense, really into it, projecting evil while having fun at the same time."

Speaking of having fun, Jones suggests this enthusiasm is shared by cast and crew: "The crew keeps talking about how 'tough' it is, but that means it's a good show, a packed 20 minutes. The actors are happy; if actors aren't enthused, the words fall flat."

Superboy premieres with a two-part episode showcasing the "new and improved" Lex Luthor, now played by Sherman Howard, "with insidious delight," Jones describes. "Luthor is still 19 years old, but we see him after complete plastic surgery and new vocal chords, giving him the appearance of a 37-year-old man," thus Howard's casting. "Now, Luthor's not just a bad guy; he's the kind of guy who would kill little puppies or his best friend. No remorse. No redeeming qualities. By the second episode's end, you will see just how powerful and evil Lex Luthor really is."

With scripts in hand and filmimg under way, Bates and Jones are excited about the new season. Comments Jones, "I've worked on TV shows before, but I really like the fun here, because Superboy combines elements of so many things I've been involved and interested in: comics, TV, animation. It's actually fun to work, a fun show to do period. It's an 'easy' series to do, and by that I mean that it's the kind of show that practically writes itself. No struggle at all." Bates, reinforcing the "fun" aspect, admits, "Sure, it's lots of fun. As good a time as I had and as much as I enjoyed working in the comics, this is even better, seeing the characters come to life."

If the series itself ever succeeds in translating such enthusiasm to the small screen, and provides as much fun for the audience as it obviously does for the principals involved, Superboy may be flying high for years to come.

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