Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 5 - Episode 12: "Mr. Zero"

Reviewed by: James Lantz

Original Broadcast Date: May 24, 1957

Writer: Peggy Chantler

Director: Harry Gerstad

Guest Cast:
Billy Curtis as Mister Zero
Herb Vigran as Georgie Gleep
George Barrows as Slouchy McGoon
Leon Alton as the Store Clerk
George Spotts as the Martian Ruler

"Mr. Zero"

An unidentified rocket ship has been seen flying over the desert. The United States Department of Defense wants Superman to investigate. Daily Planet editor Perry White has been contacted by the government, and, in turn, he has ordered Clark Kent, who has been making paper helicopters, to get in touch with the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, cub reporter Jimmy Olsen cannot believe his eyes. A little man in a space suit has just asked him to take him to his leader. That unusual request is just the beginning of one of the quirkiest adventures that Jimmy, Superman and their friends have ever faced.

Having removed his helmet, the small man with green hair reveals himself to be Mister Zero Zero Zero Minus One of Mars. Everyone on his home planet is four feet, two inches tall. However, Mister Zero, as Clark has named him, is just four feet, one and three quarter inches tall. The aliens' uniforms come only in one size, which is rather loose on Mister Zero. The Martians believed Mister Zero is not good at doing anything. It is for this reason they banished him to Earth. Now, Mister Zero only wants to return home and have a pair of shoes that fit. The little extraterrestrial may get his wish if Superman and his friends have their way.

Before going with Jimmy to buy some new clothes, Mister Zero encounters his first female human, Lois Lane. He finds her very beautiful, but her reaction is very odd. She seems to be frozen and silent since Zero pointed his finger at her. Clark snaps Lois out of her state of suspended animation before proceeding to tell Mister Zero's story. Superman had no luck finding the unidentified aircraft that the Department of Defense had spotted. Kent theorizes that the ship dropped off Mister Zero and returned to Mars. This is something the government may not believe. However, that is not important at the moment. Clark is more concerned with Mister Zero's new ability. The pint-sized Martian may not know he has this power. This could cause the poor ingenious alien to be in such trouble that even Superman may not be able to help him.

As Mister Zero is trying on clothing in a store, Georgie Gleep enters. The Martian points, freezing Gleep where he stands. He recovers after Jimmy and Zero leave. The clerk tells Gleep of Zero being a friend of Jimmy and Clark's from Mars. This and Zero's strange power give Georgie Gleep an idea, one that could put the hapless alien in grave danger if Superman is unable to rescue him.

It turns out Clark was right about the rocket leaving Mister Zero in the desert. Now, he has to give this news to Perry, who is trying his hardest to make a paper helicopter. In the meantime, Jimmy and Zero have returned from their shopping trip, and Georgie Gleep arrives to introduce himself to the extraterrestrial. He wants to take Zero to meet his friends and see the city. However, Lois and Jimmy are suspicious of Gleep. They are right to be worried, for Georgie Gleep intends to exploit Mister Zero and his ability to freeze in a crime spree that could even stop Superman in his tracks.

Gleep and his partner Slouchy McGoon have persuaded Mister Zero to help them rob banks. He believes that bad people are keeping Lois from being able to buy food or pay the rent. The Metropolis State Bank is the cooks' first target. Tellers are frozen on the spot by Mister Zero's finger as Slouchy and Gleep take the money. Now that Mister Zero has been coerced into a life of crime, will there be any way for Superman to help him set things right again?

Mister Zero has returned to Lois, Jimmy and Clark. After learning that Lois got some money from the bank, Zero reveals what Georgie and Slouchy had told him. Fortunately, Mister Zero remembers where Gleep lives. This could be the Martian's chance to redeem himself. All he has to do is help Superman bring Georgie Gleep and Slouchy McGoon to justice. The diminutive alien may even become a hero to his people someday.

Superman has found Gleep and McGoon. However, Mister Zero has frozen them for the police. Afterwards, Zero meets with Perry White, who gives him a box of cigars. Having seen his exploits with Superman from their video devices, the Martian Supreme Council has decided that Mister Zero can return to Mars. With Zero Zero Zero Minus One now going home, there's just one thing that Clark Kent must do - teach Perry White to make paper helicopters.

1Rating - 1 (out of 5): Billy Curtis was one of the mole-men in Superman and the Mole-Men. He was also the hero Buck Lawson in the cult classic The Terror of Tiny Town.

Herb Vigran will soon match wits with Professor Pepperwinkle in "The Big Forget".

George Barrows was one of Hollywood's leading "gorilla performers," meaning he would play simian roles in film and television. Look for him to go ape in Hillbillys in a Haunted House and The Addams Family.

Leon Alton had uncredited roles in Sweet Charity and Pal Joey.

George Spotts played a mutant in 1953's Invaders from Mars.

As Slouchy enters the bank, his hand goes through the door where the window should be.

In some scenes in Clark Kent's office in which Mister Zero is talking, Billy Curtis seems to be looking in another direction as if to read a cue card.

Mister Zero is not to be confused with Mister Freeze, who would not appear in comic books until two years after this episode was originally aired. The Batman television series would make the smart move of using Mister Freeze instead of Mister Zero.

Mister Zero is a Martian. However, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter appeared in Detective Comics #225 in 1955 before the pint-sized alien came to Metropolis in this episode.

"Mr. Zero" merits just that - a zero. There have been some clunkers in this season, but this one is the absolute worst of the entire series. It's better than most of Smallville. However, that's not saying a lot when one considers some of the gems The Adventures of Superman has given us, particularly in the first two years. This episode has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I never wanted to do dwarf tossing as much as I did after watching "Mr. Zero". The character Zero Zero Zero Minus One almost made me miss the quiet dignity of Tumbleweed Jones and Poco from the radio show. Had he not been such a crybaby and a dullard, perhaps he could have been more likable along the lines of Professor Pepperwinkle. His episodes have been average to poor, but the good prof is lovable thanks to Phil Tead's performances. I kept wishing Superman would hurl Mister Zero all the way to Mars.

Peggy Chantler's scripts for season five have been pretty bad. This is sad when one considers "Superman Week" was better than some of her brother David's work. Whatever possessed her, Whitney Ellsworth and the powers that be to think that "Mr. Zero" was a good idea? Had it been written differently, perhaps it could have been a classic along the lines of Star Trek's "The Corbomite Maneuver". As it is now, this episode is like having a brick smash the audience repeatedly in the skull.

Georgie Gleep and Slouchy McGoon are yet two more boneheads that have somehow escaped the justice system before now. This is most likely due to dumb luck. Compared to the rogue's gallery of the first two seasons, these bad guys leave a lot to be desired. I understand the mentality to make the villains more stupid to set an example for children, but George and Slouchy push the envelope a bit. In any other episode, their crime spree would have probably lasted a total of two minutes.

If you want to be entertained, avoid "Mr. Zero" like the plague. If you wish to be tortured for thirty minutes, go ahead and watch it. I cannot stress enough just how horrible this episode is. I said some time back that it goes downhill from here. In this case, I can honestly say that The Adventures of Superman has hit rock bottom thanks to a whiny, irritating Martian with green hair. The series can't possibly get worse than this.



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