The Adventures of Superman: Season 05 (1956)

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Having filmed its fourth season within the hallowed walls of the old Chaplin Studios, The Adventures of Superman moved into new quarters at the ZIV studios (formerly Eagle-Lion) for its fifth season on the air. Going along for the ride were, of course, the series' popular stars: George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman, Noel Neill as Lois Lane, Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton as Perry White, and Robert Shayne as Inspector Henderson. Perhaps inevitably, a bit of creative ennui was setting in as the series entered its fifth year. Phlegmatic episodes like "Tin Hero", "Close Shave" and "Mister Zero" (derided by many fans as the series' most ridiculous entry) are hardly representative of the best that Superman has to offer. On the plus side, Season Five yields such laudatory efforts as "The Phoney Alibi" and "Whatever Goes Up", both featuring Philips Tead as the eccentric Professor Pepperwinkle; "Peril in Paris", wherein Robert Shayne inexplicably drops his familiar "Inspector Henderson" guise to play a French police captain, replete with a broad Pepe Le Pew accent; and "Disappearing Lois", which if nothing else offers the amazing spectacle of Noel Neill flirting outrageously with ubiquitous Superman bad guy Ben Welden! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi