Product Details

• Actors: John Haymes Newton, Stacey Haiduk
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 20, 2006
• Run Time: 558 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EU1Q2M
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,641 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #1 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Series & Sequels > Superman > Superboy
  #44 in	Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Characters & Series > Superman

• For more information about "Superboy - The Complete First Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who revitalized Superman's movie career in the '70s with Christopher Reeve in the title role, the syndicated television series Superboy (1988-92) was a flawed but likable attempt to put a youthful spin on the Man of Steel by placing him in college and ridding Metropolis of crime between classes John Haymes Newton (the "Cable Guy" on Desperate Housewives) did a respectable job in both Clark Kent's oversized spectacles and in the cape and boots, and the series certainly made attempts to acknowledge its comic book origins by utilizing original characters, including Lana Lang (Stacy Haiduk), Lex Luthor (Scott Wells), and even villains like Mr. Mxyzptlk (a wonderfully eccentric performance by character actor Michael J. Pollard). Unfortunately, budget restraints and some woefully hackneyed scripts prevented the show from presenting Superboy's exploits in the grand style of the comics, and 20 years after its release, the first season is best appreciated as a camp exercise than a true action-adventure series. Still, there are some moments that approximate the high-flying style of the comics books ("The Alien Solution," which pits Superboy against a belligerent invisible alien, and Pollard's turn in "Mr. Mxyzpltk"), and guest stars like a youthful Joaquin Phoenix (billed here as "Leaf Phoenix) in "Little Hercules" provide some interesting turns (though Leif Garrett's appearance as a wealthy rock star who catches Lana's eye in "Bringing Down the House" pushes things back into camp waters). The extras include a making-of featurette, which covers the series' conception and casting, and commentary by Newton (who gets the show's camp appeal) and Ilya Salkind (who doesn't) on two episodes; Newton's screen test and an excerpt from Ken Burns and Bryan Singer's Superman documentary, Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman, round out the supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Movie DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superboy - Finally on DVD nearly 20 years later!, March 28, 2006

By	Matt MN (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

I first watched this series growing up in the 80's - I was eight years old when it premiered in syndication. To me, it is *the* definitive version of Superman/Superboy. Looking back on it, nearly 20 years later, it hasn't held up as well as I remember it - but, it still gets five stars for pure nostalgia reasons.

I thought John Newton was much better as Clark/Superman than Gerard Christopher (both actors appeared later on Melrose Place). Newton brought a realness to Clark - a regular guy who skateboarded and lifted weights with his buddies. However, Christopher took Chris Reeve's interpretation and turned it up to 11 - displaying Urkel-level nerdiness. Thankfully his Clark was toned down a bit after season 2.

Unfortunately, the first season suffers from a number of weak villains. Too often, Superboy found himself pitted against wealthy land developers, cops gone bad, polluters, and old guys in junkyards suffering from World War II shell shock. The villains got much better in later seasons. Still, there are a number of standouts in the first year - the introduction of Kryponite, Mr. Mxyzptlk, battling a succubus, time traveling to Hollywood's golden era, etc. I like how certain elements from the movie franchise were melded with John Byrne's reinvention (Clark's father being alive in this version, etc.) Incidentally, Martha is played by Salome Jens, who would go on to menace Deep Space 9 as leader of the changelings in the Dominion War. Another strength of the series was the impressive wire-work. Take offs and landings were typically done well (using many people who worked on the Superman movies) and were very ambitious - much better than the "whip pan" cape over camera effect used in Lois and Clark to "depict" take offs.

I really hope people aren't put off by some of the plots of the first season. For seasons 2-4, a number of comic book writers came on the show and infused a fun sense of adventure into the stories (not to mention Sherman Howard's maniacal portrayal of Lex Luthor - my personal favorite live action version yet!) In addition, later seasons would see the show adopting a proto-X-Files format where Clark and Lana would investigate paranormal matters. Noel Neill and Jack Larson (Lois and Jimmy from the original show) even make a cameo! Please support this series on DVD - otherwise we may never get the later seasons released!

Now if Warner would release the 13 episode 50th anniversary Superman cartoon produced by Ruby/Spears (and written by Marv Wolfman) for CBS, I would be a very happy camper.

56 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1988 SEASON 1 DVD Release!!, March 11, 2006

By	Massik - See all my reviews

I can't wait for SEASON 2 of SUPERBOY, but to get ready, I'm looking forward to the DVD release of SEASON 1 starring John Haymes Newton (Melrose Place & 'The Cable Guy' from Desperate Housewives). I just hope potential new fans (Smallville fans & Superman Returns fans) don't get discouraged when it comes time to purchase future seasons of SUPERBOY because they don't know that this show got better. SEASON 1 was probably the weakest of the series, with bad plots.

I can't believe Warner Brothers is releasing this DVD, since they filed a lien against the series in 1992 (the end of Season 4). WB blocked 'Superboy' from being rerun in North America, and from any further plans for occassional TV movies.
For the most part, 'Superboy The TV series' has been legally banned from future fans and viewers around the world which is why it has never been seen in syndication since. It cost the Salkinds a franchise, and the Superboy stars John Haymes Newton (Superboy/Clark 1), Gerard Christopher (Superboy/Clark 2) and Stacey Haiduk (Lana Lang) millions in royalties. Yet, despite this, the series is very much alive on the internet today and has spurned a loyal underground cult following.

Enjoy SEASON 1...John Haymes Newton did a good job as Superboy & Clark Kent.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great series that got better and better, May 30, 2006

By	Edmund C. Frey - See all my reviews

It's super that Superboy season 1 is on DVD! This entire series was a blast of fun and it kept improving and increasing the fun level with every episode. The early episodes are fun, but when it was decided that comic book writers should be involved in the writing that move really made the series even cooler for fans of classic Superboy comics. The reviewer who stated that the comic writers didn't make the series even more like the comics is insane! Scripts by D.C. comic book writers made this show rock! I don't see how any fan of the original Superboy comics couldn't love this show. It's the real deal when it comes to capturing the spirit of the classic Superboy of the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and early 80's. There's plenty of great comic book based fun like the chemical accident origin of Luthor, plus Metallo, plus the Yellow Peri and Gazook, plus Bizarro...! Plus Noel Neill and Jack Larson too! It was everything this Superboy fan could want from a Superboy TV series! The later episodes are especially good and when it came to capturing the classic Superboy spirit the Salkinds really did it right. Season one is a darn good start, but the later seasons were even more fun. Seasons 3 & 4 are my favorites. Please give us the other seasons on DVD too!