Superman on Television

Adventures of Superman: Episode Reviews

Season 5 - Episode 13: "Whatever Goes Up"

Original Broadcast Date: May 31, 1957

Writer: Wilton Schiller

Director: Harry Gerstad

Guest Cast:
Tristram Coffin as Major Osborn
Milton Frome as Frank Gannis

"Whatever Goes Up"

Jimmy Olsen's latest hobby is chemistry. This could prove dangerous for the cub reporter when he accidentally burns Frank Gannis' sixty dollar pair of pants with a concoction that sprayed out the opened window. Fortunately, Superman arrives before Gannis can harm Olsen. Jimmy, blaming himself for the incident, tells Superman to let Gannis go. However, a rubber ball the lad created proves to be more lethal than any disgruntled pedestrian. It explodes after bouncing, but the Man of Steel's invulnerable body takes the brunt of the impact. At this point, Superman tries to persuade his pal to take a safer pastime like collecting butterflies. Jimmy might do well to listen to our hero, for his meddling with science could get him into deep trouble.

Having brought beauty contest photos to the office of Daily Planet editor Perry White, Jimmy decides to use his latest invention on a paperweight. A floating bottle comes out of Jimmy's pocket. He grabs it to place a few drops of its liquid on the figure holding down his pictures. The paperweight begins to levitate. As Perry enters, Jimmy hides it in the desk. Irate, the chief wants to know what's going on. He sits down to open the drawer, discovering the paperweight has defied gravity. It suddenly falls on Perry's foot. Angered even more, Perry fires Jimmy yet again. However, he can't help but wonder what trick put the object into the air. Jimmy shows Perry the small container of elixir that he created. Realizing that the cub reporter has discovered some new breakthrough chemical, Perry believes the American government should be contacted at once. Little does he realize that Jimmy's compound will be caught in the middle of a strange and possibly deadly adventure.

Major Osborn does not believe his eyes when he sees a demonstration of Jimmy's anti-gravity chemical. The cub reporter's youth also causes the military official to have doubts. Nonetheless, he's willing to give both Jimmy and Perry a chance. Osborn is shocked to see his pen floating with ease. This results in Jimmy giving him the bottle of the formula for scientists to study. However, it flies out the window as Osborn, White and Olsen discuss arrangements to get the young man's notes. Fortunately, Superman catches it before it can fall into the wrong hands. In the meantime, Jimmy tells Osborn that he was working on many projects at once, and he doesn't know which papers are about the fluid. In reality, Jimmy created the liquid by accident. This could cause a lot of problems for him should the United States government learn the truth.

With Lois Lane's assistance, Jimmy is trying his best to re-create the anti-gravity liquid. Lois now knows that he stumbled upon it accidentally while attempting to make anew type of chocolate cake recipe. A short time later, Frank Gannis enters the laboratory claiming to be a government agent. In truth, he wants to steal Jimmy's fluid. Both a floating table, which lands on Gannis after a few seconds, and a fear of Superman, who has landed in Jimmy's laboratory, prevent him from committing his crime. Jimmy, Lois and Superman have won the first round, but Frank Gannis intends to take the strange chemical by any means necessary. Will he succeed, or will everything fly out of his hands all the way to a prison cell?

The attempt on his life combined with his being unable to figure out the mixture of his anti-gravity formula have taken their toll on Jimmy. He wants to give up his research. Both Major Osborn and Perry have been persuading him to continue. Government scientists have the basic components of the fluid, but Jimmy somehow rearranged the atoms to create something new. Thinking of rocket ships and being able to fly like Superman during the conversation help Jimmy to reconsider his decision. He will help his country, but Superman will have to watch him closely in order to keep him out of peril.

Word has reached the underworld of Metropolis about Jimmy's anti-gravity fluid. It is for this reason that Major Osborn's men have his building surrounded. In spite of this, Gannis has managed to enter Jimmy lab. He now has Jimmy and Lois as hostages. Meanwhile, Major Osborn, Perry White and Clark Kent have received some disturbing news. Because of Jimmy's liquid's instability, it becomes a dangerous explosive when combined with water. Osborn tries to warn Jimmy by telephone, but nobody answers. Things could become more deadly for Jimmy and Lois if they cannot be rescued from Frank Gannis and Jimmy's own formula very soon.

Gannis has forced Jimmy at gunpoint to give him the anti-gravity fluid, including a jar of liquid that was boiling. The bottle's contents were actually combined with some coffee, which Jimmy and Lois drank earlier. Superman arrives to stop Gannis and warn Jimmy of his formula's destructive power. The Man of Steel hurls the diluted mixture at Gannis, causing an explosion that destroys his entire suit in Jimmy lab.

"Don't worry. Where you're going, they'll furnish your clothes," Superman says to the hapless gangster.

As a result of Jimmy's recent adventure, Lois persuades the cub reporter to leave science to scientists. As he is looking of the debris of his work area, Jimmy asks, "Does anyone know where I can get a good second hand butterfly net?"

With that, Lois, Jimmy and Superman share a laugh and a smile.

Rating - 1 (out of 5): Tristram Coffin can be seen throughout season one and in "Clark Kent, Outlaw". Look for him as Arthur Dunlop in Ma Barker's Killer Brood and Security Chief Meidel in The Crawling Hand.

Milton Frome played Lawrence Chapman in The Beverly Hillbillies and Laughing Leo in Batman starring Adam West.

Osborn closes the door to Perry's office in his scene with the chief and Clark. However, when Clark leaves to change into Superman, it is ajar.

While not as bad as "Mr. Zero," "Whatever Goes Up" still gives us the worst of the series. Jack Larson honestly tried his best in yet another attempt to do something comedic and possibly different with Jimmy. Yet, the end result looks clumsy and rushed for reasons I cannot fathom.

George Reeves is a great actor, but it feels like Superman is merely an errand boy throughout this episode. Superman is once again taking a back seat to Jimmy Olsen. I'd have no problem with this if the story and execution of the finished product were halfway decent. Unfortunately, "Whatever Goes Up" is not good at all. This makes certain things like very little of Reeves more noticeable to the audience as they are watching the episode.

Okay, I have a problem with the Frank Gannis character. Jimmy accidentally sprays his pants with chemicals in the beginning. That incident was his fault as he pointed out to Superman. However, if he's a Metropolis underworld figure, wouldn't Superman and/or Jimmy know about this fact through their jobs at the Daily Planet or their contacts with the police, particularly Inspector Henderson. Somehow, we are led to believe he's a big gangster, and the criminal element of the city has gotten word of Jimmy's anti-gravity liquid possibly through him. There's no explanation about Gannis and how every crook in town knows of Olsen's invention. The lack of these things creates a plot hole the size of New Krypton in "Whatever Goes Up".

Wilton Schiller couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag with a chainsaw. He has penned some the worst efforts of this season, and "Whatever Goes Up" is yet another example of why he shouldn't be permitted to write the Man of Steel again. I can understand why Whitney Ellsworth co-wrote the next year's "Three in One" with him. He probably didn't want the show to down the toilet.

As poor as this episode was, it was great to see Tristram Coffin play another role in the series. It's quite a pity a regular recurring character was not created for him as he is a tremendous actor and a welcomed addition to The Adventures of Superman. I honestly am sad that this was the last time that he appeared on the show. Coffin was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise terrible and tedious half hour.

"Whatever Goes Up" is yet another example of the decline in quality we have seen pretty much throughout most of year five. As I said before, it's better than "Mr. Zero". However, it is still a bad entry that really does not end this season on a very high note. Feel free to skip it and move on to the next episode.

Season Rating - 2 (out of 5): "Money to Burn" and "Disappearing Lois" are among the small group of episodes that saved this season from being utter crap. They were not without their flaws, but they stood out in a bunch of stories full of bad writing, poor acting, missed special effects opportunities and irritating and idiotic characters. I'll stick around for year six to see how that will be and try my best to leave this one behind without looking back the same way I did with Smallville. That's the best way for me to deal with these thirteen shows for now.

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