Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – The Complete Second Season

Synopsis

The second season begins with the aftermath of the apparent demise of Lex Luthor (John Shea). His ex-wife picks up the slack in trying to eliminate Superman (Dean Cain) and Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher). Luthor himself comes back in Episode 13. Meanwhile, such classic comic book characters as Metallo make their appearance, and the odd triangle romance between Lois, Clark and Superman continues its tantalizing way.

This is a much more light-hearted approach to Superman than the rather mo…e sophisticated Smallville. There are plenty of gags involving Clark’s lame excuses when he must leave Lois to take care of an emergency as Superman, and you know you shouldn’t be expecting things to be too serious when the Jeffersons themselves show up as the villains in one episode. It’s light and frothy stuff, entertaining in its own right, but hardly deathless.

Audio

The audio is 2.0, but is considerably stronger than many such tracks on TV releases. The most notable advantage is a real use of surround effects beyond simply the music, and thus we have the creation of an honest-to-god immersive environment. Check out, for instance, the opening scene of “Seasons’s Greedings,” where the cries of the children at play fill the room. The volume level is strong, too, and there is no distortion on the dialogue.

Video

The picture isn’t as strong, and makes the series look a bit older than necessary. The colours are generally very strong, but the flesh tones are frequently too pale. There is no grain, which is good, and there are no edge enhancement problems, but there is some visible pixelation, and the image itself is a bit soft. It’s all perfectly watchable, but the flaws are still apparent.

Special Features

Only one commentary track here, and it’s by Dean Cain for “Season’s Greedings,” the episode he wrote. Other than that, there only exras are two featurettes: “Lois & Clark: Secrets of Season 2” and “Marveling Metropolis: The Fans of Lois & Clark” (and not “Marketing Metropolis” as is stated on the box). These are brief (about 10 minutes) and basically go on and on about how great everything was. The menu’s main screen and intro are animated and scored.

Closing Thoughts

Sound: good (for a 2.0). Picture: middling. Extras: minimal. Series itself: acceptable entertainment. But a must for the fans.

Special Features List

• Audio Commentary for “Season
• “Lois & Clark: Secrets of Season 2” Featurette
• “Marveling Metropolis: The Fans of Lois & Clark” Featurette

Screenshots