Superman on Television

Lois & Clark: Episode Reviews

Season 4 - Episode 14: "Meet John Doe"

Reviewed by: Nathan MacKenzie

Originally Aired: March 2, 1997
Directed by Jim Pohl
Written by Tim Minear

Guest Cast:
Lane Davies as Tempus
Fred Willard as President Garner
William Christopher as Andrus
Victor Raider-Wexler as Dr Dussel
Robert Arce as Barrett
Richard Cody as Randolph
Robert Gallo as Guard
Dennis Fimple as Homeless Man
Ben McCain as Anchor
Shirley Jordan as Cop
Scott Alan Smith as Suit #1
Cynthia as Suit #2
Mary Ingersoll as Suit #3

Synopsis:

He's back, Lane Davies returns as Tempus and this time he wants to be President of the United States. Tempus returns to Metropolis and goes by the name John Doe to square off against President Garner, played again by returning guest actor Fred Willard for the presidency. This is no ordinary election mind you, no one even knows who John Doe is however, everyone wants to vote for him, even President Garner.

Review Rating - 3 (out of 5): Everyone's favourite villain from the future, Tempus returns to Metropolis and this time he doesn't want to just destroy Superman, he wants to become President of the United States. We last saw Tempus in the Season Three episode titled Tempus, Anyone? Tempus uses a device called a subliminator to implant subliminal messages into people's minds therefore controlling the collective will and this is done by up linking it to the satellite relay station which filters out to every major long distance phone carrier in the country. Just remember, 'John Doe is a darn nice guy'.

As I have said in previous reviews, I am a big fan of continuity. I think bringing a character back from previous episodes/seasons is a great idea and it brings good story telling to the series and what bigger continuity than Tempus. If you talk to anyone about Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and ask them who their favourite villain is throughout the series, other than Lex Luthor they will say Tempus. That being said however, continuity throughout season four is not a thought amongst the writers. There are little bits here and there, at the start of the season with New Krypton and of course Lois and Clarks wedding but other than that not much to speak of. We also see Fred Willard re-prise his role as the President which is always enjoyable.

The story as a whole I enjoyed but only because I'm a big fan of Tempus and what he brings to the series. I like how he still continues to want to destroy Superman as he doesn't want a Utopia in the future. What I wasn't a big fan of was the subliminal messaging; I thought that could have been done better then 'John Doe is a darn nice guy'. I felt the actors struggled to play on those words and others that were said throughout the episode. One thing that confused me was when we first see Tempus, he is at the Metropolis Home for the Criminally Insane. We have no idea how he got there? After his previous episode, all we know is that Tempus is taken care of but no idea what that actually means. The episode again explores time travel and in this case using time windows which was something different from previous episodes involving Tempus. The one part of the episode I thought was so well thought out was once John Doe won the election, it was straight into action in grounding Superman. In one scene Superman stops a robbery and hands the two robbers over to the proper authorities, and what plays on from there is absolute genius.

As I already said, I really like Tempus as a character and I also like how Lane Davies plays the character. I like how he tries to let the audience know all of the in jokes involving Superman and his secret identity, I mean, duh! He knows how to play the serious and not so serious aspects of his character and I believe he brings a lot to this episode and the series. There is not much to say about the other guest actors in this episode, they played their part, some better than others. I really enjoyed the scene at the start of the episode at the Metropolis Home for the Criminally Insane where we see Tempus being interviewed by who I felt was a doctor, but we find out to be by a fellow inmate, well done (insert clapping of hands here). The special effects used in this episode were good for its time; I liked how they did the time windows, reminded me of a boom tube that was used to go between Earth and Apokolips in Superman: The Animated Series and the animated Justice League TV shows.

Next week, to be continued... Lois and Clarks.

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