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2002 TV News Archives

February 22, 2002: Fresno Bee "Smallville" Article

The Fresno Bee have published an article titled "He's still super" which delves into the history of Superman on television. Here's an excerpt from the article:

The WB's successful 'Smallville' series is the latest retelling of the tale of Superman by Rick Bentley

Superman made his first leap from comic books to starring in his own television series more than 50 years ago. Despite cheesy special effects and melodramatic stories, the original "Adventures of Superman" proved a champion with TV viewers.

Superman has returned to duty on "Smallville" on the WB Network. The show has been such a hit with the network's target demographic of 18- to 35-year-olds in its first season, the WB already has announced that the Tuesday night series will return next year. Ratings for the first week of February show the only WB program with a larger viewer audience than "Smallville" is the network's top-rated "7th Heaven."

The latest version of the Superman story blends the teen angst found in "Dawson's Creek" with the alien stories of "Roswell." The one-hour drama looks at the early days of Superman's alter ego Clark Kent as he grows up in Middle America.

"No matter what they have changed [in the television shows], the main essence of Superman has always been there," says John Nulph. The 41-year-old Fresno comic-book collector estimates that 16,000 of his 56,000 comic books feature Superman adventures.

"The shows just prove that Superman is popular whether he has the cape or not," he says.

Read the complete article at the Fresno Bee website.