So I'm on Amazon and i notice that there is now a DVD of the original Superman TV series that I loved as a kid. I went to the reviews, and they were resoundingly 5 Stars. And as i thought back, i remembered how much i loved George Reeves as Superman, and how much simpler things were back then. I thought about the changing room and him flying out of the Daily Planet. Then i remembered Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and Perry White. There was a quiet strength in George Reeves that to me has always been the 'real' Superman though i was a big fan of Christopher Reeve as well. And when i realized i had a credit balance at Amazon, i ordered it.Last night my wife and i watched the pilot episode ( Jor-El being laughed out of the science hearings, and as Krypton explodes prematurely, off goes Kal-El), and we both kept saying how we remembered each moment as if it was yesterday ( which of course, it was far from...haha). Superman is a great story as well as an exciting adventure. It was so well done considering it was over 60 years ago, and who would have thought back then how huge, i mean HUGE, the franchise would become as well as be culturally ground breaking in some ways like the Beatles. The Adventures of Superman changed everything about TV and ultimately, the movies.Watching Pa Kent open the rocket brought me back in time and i reveled in the innocence, and was still so very happy for the Kents to have the child they always wanted. Seeing him grow up and question why he was different, and then fast forwarding to his adult hood was just so much fun, and yes, we were little kids again watching the show. One of the things we noticed was how this version does not take itself so seriously, and how there was frequent comic relief, usually in the form of Jimmy Olsen, or the frustrations of Perry White.Of course we remembered the entire beginning, and as geeky as it is, we both recited the entire, "Look up in the air, it's a bird..." That episode was truly great, and the next one was a Jimmy Olsen one. As good as it was, there were times we were laughing at the campiness as well as how incredibly naive and well, stupid, Jimmy was. And that was part of the charm of the show. No crazy super-villains from other galaxies, just normal bad guys and criminals that our hero Superman would first solve the crime, and then find and put the bad guys away. Very simple, very entertaining, and we had such a nice evening that we are ready to watch it two more episodes tonight.Highly recommended to any fan of Superman who grew up in that time, or who didn't, as it is a whole new look at our number one Super Hero of all time. It also will give you a look at our society back then that no newspaper or book can show as well. George Reeves is Superman, and this DVD is well, yeah, Super!

I just purchased the whole series. Some things can look terrible with age and time is not very kind to some TV shows from the 50,s but I am pleased to say that Superman looks wonderful. Certainly some of the production values and effects look a bit stagy by today's standards but the stories and the acting is wonderful. Its true that people must have been really think not to recognize the fact that Kent was Superman but the show cleverly gets us to accept it. Both Phyllis Coates and Noell Neil were wonderful as Lois Lane. Coates was a more sophisticated and sexier Lane but Miss Neill is equally effective as a sweeter more humorous Lois. I loved them both. The real stand out for me is Jack Larson who is simply brilliant as Jimmy Olson. His subtle acting is beautiful today and works superbly. Of course John Hamilton as Perry and Robert Shane as the inspector are perfect in their roles. George Reeves is the definitive Superman. Sexy and noble. He is the best man of steel. I love the supporting performances, all these remarkable support players add so much to the show. I am so happy to find this old friend again.

I grew up loving Christopher Reeve, I love Smallville, I hated Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and I hated Superman Returns! But, nothing can compare to George Reeve's Superman! (Ok, so Christopher Reeve is the one and ONLY Superman!!!!) After seeing only two episodes of the first season on DVD, I was blown away! The special effects aren't flashy, it's in black and white (duh!) The acting is far better than the acting was in Superman Returns (2006) sadly! He looked great as Clark and Superman! To be completely honest, he looked 100% better as Superman and Clark then Brandon Routh did! George stands right next to my favorite Superman...... CHRISTOPHER REEVE!!!! George Reeve's, even though he's dead, he blew me away! His scene's as Superman are short, but they are satisfying! Honestly, George Reeve's pummeled Brandon Routh! I didn't like Superman Returns!!! Bryan Singer ruined the legend that was Christopher Reeve, by casting some loser who bares no resemblance too him!!! George Reeve's was flawless!!! It might be an old show, it might be black and white, George might be dead, but one thing is for sure, George Reeve's and Christopher Reeve are...... SUPERMAN!! Tom Welling (Smallville) is definitely Christopher Reeve's heir too his movie's! First time I saw Tom, I thought I was looking at a young Christopher Reeve, I kid you not! He is Superman Returning!!! GEORGE REEVE'S, CHRISTOPHER REEVE, AND TOM WELLING....... ARE MY SUPERMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing Superman as a kid I was pretty enthralled by it as most kids were. I mean, unless he got near some kryptonite there wasn't nothing he couldn't do.But the show has had incredible power in syndication and I don't think it can be attributed to just nostalgia. The first year of black and white episodes with Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane were done very seriously. But when they were done in color starting in 1954 and coincidentally enough with Noel Neill as the new Lois Lane, they became what would be described as camp. Like Batman was in the sixties only not advertised as such.Some of the episodes were strictly comedy. The one where Jimmy Olsen runs afoul of gunslinger Myron Healey out west, the one where that hayseed Sylvester J. Superman played by Chuck Connors delivers a pie to the serviceman stationed in the Arctic only to be chased by Ben Welden up there. Funny to this day.Of course some of the production values from the fifties were laughable. Superman is constantly flying out from that same storage room at the Daily Planet no matter where his location is. Or in that episode that took place in the UK, where they show people using the left handed drive in cars.I saw another reviewer mentions that all John Hamilton did as Perry White was yell, but they calmed him down later on. Hamilton was very funny as the blustery editor of the Daily Planet. He had a lot of responsibility keeping his circulation because people were getting their news from television. But John Hamilton had some real health issues in his last years. That's why you always see him at his desk with minimal dialog later on. His lines were taped right to the desk. He died in fact before George Reeves did.Today Jack Larson and Noel Neill are big hits at nostalgia conventions. I suspect George Reeves had he lived would have been as well. Possibly the biggest tragedy of his career was the featured role he had in From Here to Eternity. A lot of his performance was left on the cutting room floor. He mght have been able to do both Superman and other roles had he gotten acclaim from a major film like that.The production values were from hunger, but the characters and their images live on.