Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 6 - Episode 1: "The Last Knight"

Original Broadcast Date: February 03, 1958

Writer: David Chantler

Director: Thomas Carr

Guest Cast:
Pierre Watkin as Sir Lancelot
Marshall Bradford as Sir Arthur
Jason Johnson as Sir Henry
Paul Power as Sir Gawaine
Ollie O'Toole as the Squire
Tom Dillon as the Museum Guard
Ron Foster as the First Policeman
Morgan Windbeil as the Second Policeman

"The Last Knight"

Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are covering a medieval museum exhibit for the Daily Planet. Lois is admiring a green jewel in a display case as she and Jimmy discuss the possibility of theft and the alarm system. As the cub reporter prepares his camera, he loses a flash bulb. He finds it near a suit of armor along with a specially made cufflink. The pair intend to take it to the lost and found after Jimmy snaps some photos. Little do Lois and Jimmy realize that this unusual trinket could lead them into another very strange adventure.

As Lois and Jimmy leave, the suit of armor walks to the jewel's display case. Its iron fist smashes the glass. Lois and Jimmy are detained once the bauble is found with them. Metropolis Police Inspector Bill Henderson interrogates them, and Clark Kent is called. However, Superman discovers that the gem is a paste replica. The real one was actually hidden under a cushion in the exhibit box where it was originally. This leaves both Henderson and Superman to wonder what exactly is going on. Things have just suddenly gotten more strange, for Jimmy has noticed something eerie. The armor that was in the room before is no longer there. Where has it gone? Could someone have taken it? Superman and his friends may not like the answers to those questions if they discover the truth.

Sir Arthur has returned to the secret location of the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons. His mission to steal a suit of armor was a success. Sirs Lancelot, Henry and Gawaine have rewarded him by making him the official king of the club. The theft went well, but Arthur is greatly worried. Jimmy Olsen had taken his cufflink that was made specially for the group. Should the truth about the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons be known, there could be trouble for its members. Gawaine, Lancelot and Henry agree to go on a quest for the item. Things could run afoul for the would-be knights as Sir Arthur has the most sinister of smiles on his face after they leave on their adventure. Superman and his friends may get more than they bargained for this time around.

The Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons has captured Jimmy and Lois. Unfortunately, the cub reporter cannot remember what he did with the cufflink. The result of his forgetfulness is to fall through a trapdoor near the knights' fireplace. Lois is taken in a different way, but she, like Jimmy, is now in the dungeon. Sir Arthur's only course of action is to have Sir Henry search Clark Kent's apartment, where Jimmy is staying while his mother is away. The entire Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons is in for a surprise should any of them run into Superman.

Two policemen have taken Sir Henry as he searches Clark's apartment. However, the mild mannered reporter says that he will take responsibility for the eccentric individual. Once the officers leave, Sir Henry tells Clark everything he knows. His real name is Oliver Smith. He was in the lumber business. Upon retiring, he joined the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons. All four knights put the club's funds into negotiable bonds. Should anything happen to three of them, the last member inherits every penny of money. Upon realizing someone is a potential murderer, Clark orders Smith to go home after removing the armor. However, Smith also reveals that Lois and Jimmy are prisoners inside the castle of the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons located in Balmoor Woods. Superman is going have to come up with a plan real soon to rescue his friends. Otherwise, they could be in grave danger.

Superman has put on Sir Henry's armor and disguised his voice to gain entrance into the castle. With his face covered by the helmet, the Man of Tomorrow meets the group. Unfortunately, he fails to find the club's secret entrance. His ruse is now short-lived as Superman is locked in the dungeon with Lois and Jimmy. Sirs Lancelot and Gawaine are taken by surprise when Sir Arthur places them with the other captives. Sir Henry is also tricked into the prison. He was duped into believing that Gawaine and Lancelot were trying to kill him and Arthur. However, Arthur makes him fall through the same trapdoor that took Jimmy. Worse yet, Arthur has thrown a poison gas bomb into the cell. Clearly he wants to kill the other members of the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons along with Lois and Jimmy. Superman will have to work extremely quickly if he is to save everyone from Sir Arthur and his evil plans.

Superman busts everyone out of the gas filled dungeon in time. Now, he only needs to bring Sir Arthur to justice. Bullets, a sword and a spear are no match for the powerful hero. The latter weapon is even wrapped around Arthur to prevent his escape. The remaining knights of the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons now intend to treat their former leader to modern justice by handing him over to Inspector Henderson. As the group leaves, Jimmy remembers that he is wearing the cufflink for which Sir Arthur had searched. Lois then asks Superman not to tell Clark Kent. He would never let them forget this incident.

"Well, Miss Lane, I'll make a bargain with you. If you won't tell him, I won't," Superman says with a wink to the audience.

Rating - 3 (out of 5): With John Hamilton passing away in 1958, Pierre Watkin was approached to play Perry White's brother for a proposed seventh season of The Adventures of Superman consisting of twenty-six color episodes. George Reeves was also slated to direct at least half of them, but his sudden death halted the project completely.

Look for Marshall Bradford in the cult sci-fi classics Them!, It Conquered the World and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein.

Jason Johnson can be spotted in various parts in The Andy Griffith Show, Lassie and Mister Ed.

Paul Power was Timothy Wells in The Phantom of 42nd Street.

Ollie O'Toole portrayed Doctor Walsh in 1962's Ring of Terror.

Tom Dillon played Ellen's grandfather in 1961's Night Tide.

Ron Foster is best known for the role of Doctor Charles Grant in Guiding Light.

Morgan Windbeil can be seen as the first motorcycle cop in Live a Little, Love a Little starring Elvis Presley.

I came into this first episode of the sixth and final season expecting to rip it to shreds. Considering the rubbish that was produced in the previous year and the lackluster finale of Smallville, I did not have high hopes for this episode. It's not as good as most of the black and white entries, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by "The Last Knight". The cast and crew seem to have brought back some of the quality that had been missing for quite some time.

There is a plot hole regarding the Society for the Preservation of Knighthood and Dragons. It's one that doesn't diminish the quality, but it does leave this question in my mind. How the heck could nobody notice a group of people walking around in suits of armor? In "The Man in the Lead Mask", people were reacting to the villain's appearance as it's not something you see on the street everyday even in the Metropolis of this series' continuity. The opposite seems true with the knights in this episode. Perhaps the citizens of the Big Apricot have become more jaded over the years.

While the story is average, it is a good average. Plus, it's fun and entertaining without being ridiculous or irritating. David Chantler really did a decent job with the script. It doesn't make up for what we got in season five. However, it does show that The Adventures of Superman has not lost its touch. It just needed to find its magic again.

After a period of the most idiotic and lame heavies, Sir Arthur gives the audience what they've been craving - a bad guy that is truly evil with clear intentions for his plots. We can really see the madness in him as he smiles to the camera making viewers wonder just what he's up to. His insanity becomes more apparent as the episode progresses, and that makes Sir Arthur one of the best villains in the entire series.

One thing that seems more noticeable is that the entire cast seems to be enjoying their work more than they did in season five. I got the impression throughout those previous thirteen episodes that they were merely doing their jobs for their paycheck without putting any heart into their performance. Perhaps they could see the decline in the show's quality at the time. "The Last Knight" shows the actors we know and love at their best for the first time in what feels like ages. Let's hope they continue to do so throughout season six.

"The Last Knight" is nothing compared to the first fifty-two outings in The Adventures of Superman. However, it does show that the series is regaining some of the fun, magic and quality entertainment that had been missing for a while. In the end, I have hope that the remainder of this final season will continue to give us more of what this episode did. Keep watching to see if it will, folks.

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