Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 3 - Episode 4: "Superman Week"

Original Broadcast Date: May 14, 1955

Writer: Peggy Chantler

Director: Harry Gerstad

Guest Cast:
Herb Vigran as Sy Horton
Paul Burke as Matthew Tips
Tamar Cooper as the Female Artist
Jack George as Van DeGlass
Buddy Mason as the Bank Guard

"Superman Week"

Superman is very busy in both of his identities of the Man of Steel and Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. It's Superman Week in Metropolis. Telegrams are coming in from all over the world thanking the caped hero for his various good deeds. He has even posed for a female artist's portrait, and, later, sculptor Mister Van DeGlass will meet Superman to look over the final details of a bust in which he is making. Clark, meanwhile, has his hands full helping Lois with letters and other preparations for the celebration's testimonial dinner. Plus, editor Perry White wants him to investigate what's going on with underworld figure Sy Horton. Superman may really need to be two people if he is to make it through Superman Week intact.

We now go to 5867 Westlake Street, where Sy Horton is hiding out with his partner Matthew Tips. The pair of gangsters is lying low until they can plan their next move. Cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, having seen Perry's memo to Clark about Horton, has decided to get the scoop on the criminal. He does so disguised as a telephone repairman. However, Jimmy's bumbling and false mustache do not convince Sy. He knows something is amiss. Horton has searched Jimmy for his identification. He also forces him to drink water laced with a truth serum. It looks like young Mister Olsen has gotten himself into some serious trouble.

Kryptonite is the one substance that can rob Superman of his special powers and eventually destroy him. The only remaining element of his home planet of Krypton was discovered by Professor Meldini and Happy King. The only known piece of Kryptonite was placed in a lead pipe by Jimmy when he and Lois were captured by King and Meldini. Superman had thrown it a great distance, but it eventually landed in Metropolis Bay. Now, thanks to Jimmy Olsen, in addition to knowing that Clark Kent and the rest of the Daily Planet's staff are on to him, Sy Horton knows that Kryptonite can eliminate Superman. All the vicious racketeer has to do is get his hands on it. Once he does, the Last Son of Krypton will no longer be a menace to the Metropolis underworld.

As Perry, Clark and Lois prepare the guest list for the Superman Week Dinner, Jimmy enters Kent's office. He tells him that Sy Horton knows about Kryptonite and what it can do to Superman. Worried, Clark ponders the situation before telling Jimmy to meet him at his apartment tonight. Hopefully, by then, he will have a plan to stop Sy Horton before the gangster can bring about the Man of Steel's demise.

Jimmy has arrived at Clark's to find the mild mannered reporter with the same lead pipe containing the Kryptonite. Sy and Matthew had been following Jimmy in hopes of getting their hands on the lethal element. It looks like their pursuit has paid off. Sy Horton and Matthew Tips now have the Kryptonite. With the means to do away with Superman in their possession, it's only a matter of time before the two criminals can begin with their plans to be the chief crime lords of Metropolis.

As Superman flies to his appointment with Mister Van DeGlass, Sy and Matthew have knocked out the famous sculptor. Horton is disguising himself as Van DeGlass while Matthew places the Kryptonite in the bust that our hero must see. A line is drawn on the floor. Once Superman crosses it, he will be exposed to the Kryptonite's deadly radiation. All Sy and Matthew have to do is wait for the Man of Tomorrow to arrive.

Superman has entered Van DeGlass' studio. Upon closer inspection of his bust, the Metropolis Marvel begins to feel weak. Sy has revealed himself to his enemy before he loses consciousness. Superman has succumbed to the lethal effects of the Kryptonite. Now, Sy Horton and Matthew Tips can start their reign of terror throughout the city of Metropolis.

One half of a million dollars in city payroll is coming to the west side, and Superman is supposed to be guarding it. However, with the Man of Steel out of the way, Sy can take the money and use it finance the biggest underworld organization in Metropolis. Knock out drops have been placed in a guard's coffee. Sy Horton is mere seconds away from being the most powerful crime boss in the entire country.

As Sy and Matthew unlock the door leading to the payroll, Superman smashes through the wall. The bank guard had pretended to be asleep thanks to a warning from the Metropolis Marvel. Bullets from Sy's gun bounce off Superman's chest, and both Sy and Matthew have had their heads placed between the vault entrance's bars. Horton is left wondering why the Kryptonite did not hurt Superman. Superman says that it was merely a trap to catch Sy committing a crime. The Kryptonite story was false. At least this is what Superman reveals to Sy. Actually, the dangerous alien element is still at the bottom of Metropolis Bay. Our hero knew that Jimmy was followed by Sy and created a decoy made of metal covered with glowing phosphorus For now, the Last Son of Krypton is safe from its deadly radiation, and Sy Horton will get life in prison. It's all in a day's work for Superman.

Superman may have put Sy Horton and Matthew Tips behind bars, but the adventure of Superman Week is about to continue for him in his guise of reporter Clark Kent. In forty-five minutes, Kent must interview Superman on television. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, suspicious that their colleague is Superman, wonder how he's going to do this. Clark's going to have to think fast if he's going to keep the entire city of Metropolis from learning his secret identity.

Lois and Jimmy are watching television in Clark's apartment. They hear Clark's voice interviewing Superman. What they don't know is that it is a tape recorder asking the questions to the Caped Wonder. Plus, Mister Van DeGlass' sculpture of the Man of Tomorrow is dressed as Kent. It looks like Lois and Jimmy won't be able to prove that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same, at least for now.

A car is waiting to take Superman on a parade route through the city of Metropolis. First, he must put away the tape recorder and Clark Kent's hat, clothes and glasses.

"Thanks, pal," he says to Mister Van DeGlass' bust before leaving to celebrate the rest of Superman Week.

Rating - 4 (out of 5): Herb Vigran makes his third appearance in The Adventures of Superman with this episode. He'll return to play Arnold Woodman in season four's "Blackmail". Vigran also would later play Lt. Samuels in Benji.

Paul Burke will make his third and final appearance in The Adventures of Superman in season four's "The Phantom Ring". Look for him to star in the 1964 television series 12 O'Clock High in the role of Colonel Joseph Anson Gallagher.

Cult film fans will most likely recognize Tamar Cooper as Nurse Joanne Oxford in the Roger Corman classic from 1957 titled Not of This Earth. The film has been remade in 1988, 1995 and 1999. The 1999 version was named Star Portal.

Jack George had many roles, both credited and uncredited, throughout his career, including the character of Jarva in the 1953 movie serial The Lost Planet. It was written by George H. Plympton and directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. Both men would work together on Superman and Atom Man Versus Superman, which starred Kirk Alyn as the Man of Steel.

Buddy Mason was a policeman in season one's "Mystery Of The Broken Statues". Look for him in such cult classics as 1933's King Kong and 1957's Invasion of the Saucer Men. He was also Robert Armstrong's stunt double in Kong. Saucer Men also starred Frank Gorshin, who is best known as the Riddler in the 1966 Batman television series.

Actors seem to be stumbling over their line in this episode. George Reeves trips over his own tongue while reading Sy Horton's name in the memo from Perry. Plus, John Hamilton makes mistake with his dialogue when he hands the dinner's guest list to Noel Neill. When she says, "I suppose you want me to call them all," he responds with, "No - sorry, we haven't time to send out invitations." The "No" should have been "Yes".

Peggy Chantler is the sister of David Chantler, who wrote quite a few episodes of The Adventures of Superman. This episode marks Peggy's debut as a scribe for the series. According to Michael J. Hayde's book Flights of Fantasy, Ms. Chantler would often consider budget constraints when working on scenes for the show.

"Superman Week" is a followup to season two's "The Defeat of Superman".

Peggy Chantler's debut episode for The Adventures of Superman honestly deserves a five. In fact, it feels like she has a better grasp on the characters, situations and even continuity of the series than her brother David does. The only real trouble with "Superman Week" is the scene in which Sy Horton interrogates a drugged Jimmy Olsen. Both Herb Vigran and Jack Larson seem to be struggling through it for some reason. It's still believable, but both actors look as though they're trying to hard too concentrate on lines or something else.

Herb Vigran, in spite of the troubles mentioned earlier, seems better suited for the part of Sy Horton than he did for Legs Leemy in "Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor". Even he didn't seem thoroughly convinced by his performance in that episode. However Sy seems as if he was written for Vigran. This helps make his character fit so well into the story of "Superman Week".

I really enjoyed the fact that "Superman Week" was connected to "The Defeat of Superman". This gives The Adventures of Superman television series a sense of continuity, while at the same time, it's not required to watch every episode from the beginning like Smallville or Lost. I enjoy both of those shows, particularly the latter. It's just nice to have something that's a little more viewer friendly. "Superman Week" lets the audience know what happened if they missed "The Defeat of Superman". This makes it more accessible to those just getting into the show, and that's always a good thing.

Peggy Chantler's attention to detail helps make this episode so much more entertaining than I had anticipated. While it has some flaws, it is a very strong debut episode for her as a writer. Let's hope her future entries in The Adventures of Superman are this well done.

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