The New Adventures of Superman (TV series)

History

Fred Silverman, the new head of CBS daytime programming, thought a Superman cartoon could work well as part of a Saturday morning superhero block he was putting together. He reached out to National Periodical Publications to get the rights for an animated series. Mort Weisinger, the Superman comics editor, contacted his friend Norm Prescott to see if Filmation Associates could produce it for $36,000 per half-hour episode or suggest another studio.

At the time, Filmation was barely hanging on, with only Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland on staff, so they took the deal. When National Periodical sent someone to check out the studio, Scheimer had twenty pals from the animation world come by during their lunch breaks and act like employees. The trick worked, and the contract was signed, letting Filmation actually hire some of those pretend workers. National Periodical wanted to keep creative control, so DC Comics writers like George Kashdan, Leo Dorfman, and Bob Haney handled the scripts.

The character designs, especially in the third season based on Curt Swan’s art, stuck close to the comics. Familiar touches like Clark Kent ripping open his shirt to reveal the Superman costume, along with phrases such as “Up, up, and away!” and “This is a job for Superman!” were lifted from the old radio show. This series also introduced Jimmy Olsen and several villains to animation for the first time: Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Toyman, Prankster, Titano, and Mister Mxyzptlk, plus new bad guys like the Warlock and the Sorcerer.

To save money, the show reused stock animation for common scenes like characters running, Superman flying or punching, and Clark changing into Superman.

Episode list

The series premiered on September 10, 1966 as a 30-minute program called The New Adventures of Superman, featuring two Superman segments and one The Adventures of Superboy short. Thirty-six Superman segments were produced that season. The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure began on September 9, 1967, a 60-minute program that included new Superman segments, Aquaman and Aqualad adventures, and rotating cartoons featuring the Flash and Kid Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom, the Justice League of America, and the Teen Titans, plus new Superboy shorts.

Sixteen Superman segments were produced that season. The Batman/Superman Hour premiered on September 14, 1968, with new two-part Superman segments alongside Superboy shorts and Batman, Robin, and Batgirl adventures. Sixteen Superman segments were produced that season. The New Adventures of Superman returned for one last time on CBS on September 13, 1969, with the same 30-minute format of two Superman segments and one Superboy segment, all reruns.

Home media

In 1985, Warner Home Video released seven selected episodes on VHS in the Super Powers video collection along with Aquaman, Batman, and Superboy; these were re-released in 1996. On June 26, 2007, Warner Bros. Home Video issued a two-disc DVD box set of The New Adventures of Superman containing all 36 Superman segments from the first season but none of the Superboy segments, due to a legal battle over the Superboy name rights. Seasons 2 and 3 were released on DVD in Region 1 in June 2014, again omitting the Superboy segments.

In 2018, Warner Bros. launched a subscription video-on-demand service that included the series, but the Superboy segments were left out. As of 2023, no home media release of the complete series has occurred. Streaming services have added the Superboy segments for seasons two and three but not for season one, and the original intros and bumpers have not been included in any home release.