Superman and Lois
The Complete First Season (2020-2021) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment-2021)
It’s a tough time for the CW Arrowverse.
The block of TV series based on DC comic heroes – which for much of the past several years have been a huge chunk of the network’s programming – are losing ground both in popularity and in quality. Old favorites have gone off the air – like Arrow, which ended a eight-year run last year. Black Lightning finished its three-year stint up earlier this year. Supergirl is currently almost done its final season as well.
The quality has also gone down. The best shows have shown a significant drop in quality. The Flash is hemorrhaging long-time supporting characters and replacing them with uninteresting new people and cliched, uninteresting plotlines. Supergirl is currently stumbling through its weakest season yet – making its impending end date something of a mixed blessing. Legends of Tomorrow has always been up and down quality-wise, but it is also in the midst of cast shakeups and uninspired storytelling.
The new series they hoped to pick up the slack have been having trouble catching on. Batwoman has been a disappointment, having to change the actresses in the title role already only two seasons in (the third season is just about to start) and Stargirl, which is a lot of fun, has gotten very little notice.
The one true bright light in the Arrowverse right now is Superman and Lois.
Actually Superman and Lois is not exactly part of the Arrowverse, it is more of a stand-alone Arrowverse-adjacent project.
Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman character was introduced as a recurring character in Supergirl, and he also appeared on a couple of the Arrowverse crossover episodes (as well as Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane). There are different variations on some mutual characters. Superman and Lois villain Morgan Edge was also the villain of Supergirl season three, although played by a different actor with a distinctive style. Another character seems to be Lex Luthor early on, although it turns out that he is someone else entirely.
However, it is its own little world. Superman and Lois does not have actors from the other Arrowverse series popping in for little stunt cameo appearances. While Superman and Lois does toy with the whole multiverse concept that is so important to all the other series (as well as most comic-based TV and cinema in general) it is not the main thrust, and this Superman and Lois appear to be on a different timeline than what is going on in the Arrowverse at large.
Instead of all of the bells and whistles, Superman and Lois takes things back to basics. It features arguably the most iconic superhero of all, one who has inspired multiple TV series over the years, so they do not have to waste a lot of time for people to know these characters.
Instead, Superman and Lois takes a deep dive into them and puts them in a different context. Clark Kent and Lois Lane have been downsized from hot-shot Daily Planet reporters in Metropolis. (Clark was laid off and Lois left due to creative differences with the new management). And in this series, they are parents of two teenaged sons.
After the death of Clark’s adoptive Earth mother Martha Kent, Clark and Lois decide to return to her farm in the town of Smallville, where Clark grew up. Clark feels like it would be good for the boys to grow up in a small town, but there is some culture shock. And, of course, his duties as the world’s greatest hero are always there, even in this apparently slower-paced area.
Superman and Lois mixes the hip modern swagger of the CW adaptations with the old-school heroism of the man of steel. It makes for the best superhero series in quite some time.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2021 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 18, 2021.
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