History Series / LoisAndClark

By 1993, Creator/DCComics was doing quite well with both ''Film/BatmanReturns'' & ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. However, on the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} red & blue]] side of the coin, it had been six years since the last ''[[Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace Superman]]'' film, a year since ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'', and would be another three years before ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. It was also along this point that romantic comedies were taking a place of precedence amongst pop culture. Thusly it was decided to take the ''Superman'' mythos and inject the elements of a [[WorkCom workplace]] romantic comedy, leading to ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', premiering on Creator/{{ABC}} September 12, 1993, one of the first superhero series aimed at women as much as men.

* AlphabetNewsNetwork: LNN (Luthor News Network). The logo uses the same [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} typeface]] as Creator/{{CNN}}.

* ResignedInDisgrace: In the two-part arc "The People vs. Lois Lane" and "Dead Lois Walking", Lois is framed for murder and eventually found guilty, because the district attorney prosecuting her conceals exculpatory evidence to ensure he'd win the case (and then starts pushing for the death penalty). At the end of the arc, that DA is forced to resign after his actions come to light and Lois is cleared.

* RingsOfActivation: When the assassin Tez is sent to Earth in "Big Girls Don't Fly" he arrives via a teleportation beam that consists of two rings.

** This is followed by yet another 'do in Season 4, after Lois clears her name. The Wanted Posters of her face spread all over town convinced her that it was time for a change.
* InNameOnly: ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} once appeared on the show as a VillainOfTheWeek... except for some reason he was completely removed from anything resembling the character. He had magnetic powers, a purple costume, wasn't named Slade Wilson, had both of his eyes, and a completely different backstory as an evil scientist rather than a soldier. One wonders why they used the name of a popular DC character at all if they were essentially going to make up an entirely new character.

* SpyCatsuit: Diana Stride briefly sports one.
** Sweet Tart, Jack Olsen's treacherous sidekick.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Jason Mayzik only appears in the season 2 finale as the VillainOfTheWeek. However, his [[spoiler:plot to blackmail Superman with knowledge of the hero's true identity kicks off the events that lead to Lois learning that Superman is Clark]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: H.G. Wells is guilty of this on two fronts. First, he builds a time machine and travels to the future where the criminal [[TimeTravellingJerkass Tempus]] steals the time machine as part of his plan to kill Superman. After that plot is foiled, Wells dumps Tempus in a Smallville mental asylum in 1866 where Tempus writes down all his knowledge in a journal, [[spoiler:including the secret identity of Superman. This journal is found in the present by Jason Mayzik who uses it to blackmail Superman into committing crimes for him.]]

* NeverASelfMadeMan: The final VillainOfTheWeek in season 2 is Jason Mayzik, whose father was known as a former junkman who achieved wealth through hard work. In truth, the senior Mayzik became rich by reading Tempus's diary and making investments based on Tempus's knowledge of world history.

* EvilIsPetty: Randy Goode, a world-famous philanthropist, does not take it well when the Nobel Peace Prize committee snubs him in favor of Superman.
** Garret Grady settles on West Virginia as a warm-up target for his KillSat, his reasoning being that the state should have picked "a more creative name".

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute:
** Lord Nor is an obvious one, although he doesn't share much in common with Zod beyond the external similarities: a beard, an aristo accent, and a pair of ever-present henchmen.
** Rachel Harris, the Smallville sheriff who was good "friends" (or so she wanted Lois to think) with Clark growing up, is one for Lana Lang, as they couldn't get the rights to use her name at the time. An alternate universe Lana showed up later on.
** Creator/PeterBoyle as Bill Church, filling in for our old friend Morgan Edge. His son and heir, Bill Church Jr. (Creator/BruceCampbell), may well be a substitute for Bruno Manheim.
** On the subject of Intergang, Mindy shares more than a little in common with Lorelai (Pamela Stephenson), a Machiavellian sex bunny in ''Film/SupermanIII''.
** Also from that film, Jonathan and Martha Kent in this incarnation are similar to the couple who win the holiday in South America.
** Jack Klugman showed up in an early episode, playing a huckster who's very similar to a Marvel Comics character, Funky Flashman.
*** Sorry, but Funky is a DC character, first introduced in ''ComicBook/MisterMiracle''. The Marvel connection is that he is said to be a caricature of Stan Lee.
** Creator/JohnSpencer's character in "Lethal Weapon"--in addition to spoofing kid's show hosts like Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye-- shares similarities with The Prankster, a super-criminal who once enjoyed celebrity in ''The Uncle Oswald Show''. Like Toyman, the Prankster was apparently split into two people for this series: Bronson Pinchot previously played an ex-con who sought revenge on Lois for putting him away, using weaponized "pranks" to ruin her life in various ways.
** "When Irish Eyes Are Killing" features Patrick Sullivan, an old friend of Lois whom she met when she was in Ireland as an exchange student. Patrick suffers from a family curse that turns him evil with a desire to achieve the power of his ancient druid ancestors by sacrificing a woman he loves in a dark ritual. Patrick's Irish origin and his episode's focus on family and rituals essentially make him a gender-flipped version of Silver Banshee from the comics.

By 1993, Creator/DCComics was doing quite well with both ''Film/BatmanReturns'' & ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. However, on the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} red & blue]] side of the coin, it had been six years since the last ''[[Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace Superman]]'' film, a year since ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'', and will be another three years before ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. It was also along this point that romantic comedies were taking a place of precedence amongst pop culture. Thusly it was decided to take the ''Superman'' mythos and inject the elements of a [[WorkCom workplace]] romantic comedy, leading to ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', premiering on Creator/{{ABC}} September 12, 1993, one of the first superhero series aimed at women as much as men.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: H.G. Wells is guilty of this on two fronts. First, he builds the time machine which [[TimeTravellingJerkass Tempus]] uses in his plan to kill Superman. [[spoiler:After that plot is foiled, Wells dumps Tempus in a Smallville mental asylum in 1866 where Tempus writes down all his knowledge in a journal, including the secret identity of Superman. This journal is found in the present by Jason Mayzik who uses it to blackmail Superman into committing crimes for him.]]

* NeverASelfMadeMan: The final VillainOfTheWeek in season 2 is Jason Mayzik, whose father was reputed in life to be a former junkman who achieved wealth through hard work. In truth, the senior Mayzik became rich by reading Tempus's diary and making investments based on Tempus's knowledge of world history.

* AscendedMeme: Perry's CatchPhrase "Great shades of Music/{{Elvis|Presley}}!" and his general Elvis obsession were adapted into the comics in TheNineties as a result of their being signature Perry traits on L&C.

* VibrationManipulation: One episode showed Superman turn intangible by vibrating, a process that was shown to be very draining.

* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Lois and Clark frequently trade verbal barbs at one another. A popular running gag was to have Lois believe she won a particular contest only for Clark to top her at the last minute.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: Jonathan Kent. The show allowed him to live while other previous television shows and movies allowed him to die.

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Invoked in almost every episode, with Clark giving increasingly-lame excuses for leaving so he can change into the Superman outfit. They do not improve much when Lois is in on the secret and is giving them, although it is more believable that they work because no one is less willing to accept statements at face value than Lois.

* LikeASonToMe: Not in so many words (at least not to Jimmy himself, though he does say so to Lois and Clark and then orders them not to tell him), but Perry White has a out-of-focus but still close and subtly fatherly relationship with Jimmy Olsen, which becomes clearer when you note that Perry is estranged from his sons and Jimmy from his father. Perry is noticeably very incensed and disdainful when Jimmy's absentee father comes by.

* LonelyAtTheTop: In "The Night Before Mxymas", William B. Caldwell serves as TheScrooge archetype.
** In "Bob and Carol and Los and Clark", Grant Gendell is presented as a proxy of Howard Hughes, a hyper-paranoid billionaire who lives in a hermetically-sealed apartment. When confronted by Deathstroke -- who seeks to KillAndReplace the old man -- Gendell finds the notion of anyone wanting to be ''him'' unthinkable: "I live in a cube!"
* LoveFloats: Lois and Superman floated several times together. Once while [[ZeroGSpot making love]](!), and at least twice while in a vertical embrace.

* OldMediaAreEvil: Whether it be a UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed proxy]], or a ProfessionalKiller posing as a TV anchorwoman, they're usually evil and out to blacken the name of the Daily Planet. Also played with in "The House of Luthor", when Lex tries wooing Lois over to his eponymous TV network.

* {{Paparazzi}}: Leo Nunk and his CameraFiend sidekick. In pursuit of a scoop, he leaks the details of Lois & Clark's wedding to the villains, and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves.

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Three guesses as to what Lois Lane's computer password is, and if you say Batman, ima smack you.

** Lois also tries to use "swordfish" to get into the club in "The Old Gang of Mine." The bouncer scoffs her lack of imagination.

** The ''Planet'' is frequently facing imminent ruin in the first season. This was alleviated when Franklin Stern (a character from the Post-Crisis comics, here played by a rotund Creator/JamesEarlJones), a rich industrialist, purchases the paper as a gesture of civic responsibility. Also, because [[BestServedCold he didn't much care for]] the old owner, Mr. Luthor.

* PowerPerversionPotential: Clark nearly uses his x-ray vision to cheat at poker, but Lois' admiration of Superman convinces him to do otherwise. Lois doesn't share his moral fibre; as Ultrawoman, she uses her x-ray vision to see Clark naked.

** Though it's at least implied a few times that Clark's "snuck a peek" at Lois with his own X-Ray vision. When he finds her in her negligee in "Barbarians at the Planet" and she wants to put on a robe, he says unless it's lead-lined it won't make any difference.

** Cat Grant, who was first established as TheRival. Justified in that The Daily Planet was closed towards the end of the first season and then reopened under new ownership and a promised overhaul of content. This would explain the absence of Jack, the orphan whom Clark recruited as a copy boy.

* RecordedSplicedConversation: In "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape", this trick is used. The villains use a recording of Superman to fake a phone call from the Man of Steel, using it to lure Lois into a trap.

* {{Expy}}:
** Lord Nor is an obvious one, although he doesn't share much in common with Zod beyond the external similarities: a beard, an aristo accent, and a pair of ever-present henchmen.
** Rachel Harris, the Smallville sheriff who was good "friends" (or so she wanted Lois to think) with Clark growing up, is one for Lana Lang, as they couldn't get the rights to use her name at the time. An alternate universe Lana showed up later on.
** Creator/PeterBoyle as Bill Church, filling in for our old friend Morgan Edge. His son and heir, Bill Church Jr. (Creator/BruceCampbell), may well be a substitute for Bruno Manheim.
** On the subject of Intergang, Mindy shares more than a little in common with Lorelai (Pamela Stephenson), a Machiavellian sex bunny in ''Film/SupermanIII''.
** Also from that film, Jonathan and Martha Kent in this incarnation are similar to the couple who win the holiday in South America.
** Jack Klugman showed up in an early episode, playing a huckster who's very similar to a Marvel Comics character, Funky Flashman.
*** Sorry, but Funky is a DC character, first introduced in ''ComicBook/MisterMiracle''. The Marvel connection is that he is said to be a caricature of Stan Lee.
** Creator/JohnSpencer's character in "Lethal Weapon"--in addition to spoofing kid's show hosts like Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye-- shares similarities with The Prankster, a super-criminal who once enjoyed celebrity in ''The Uncle Oswald Show''. Like Toyman, the Prankster was apparently split into two people for this series: Bronson Pinchot previously played an ex-con who sought revenge on Lois for putting him away, using weaponized "pranks" to ruin her life in various ways.
** Kara Zor-El alias Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} doesn't exist in this continuity, but Kal-El did have a pre-arranged marriage to Zara, one of the survivors of Krypton.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Season three features Star, Lois's eccentric neighbor who claims to be psychic. Her "readings" are wrong half the time but she does make accurate guesses often enough and she is shown to be good at hypnosis as seen in her debut episode. Given the fantastical nature of the show, she could either be a psychic whose powers aren't always reliable or a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who simply ''thinks'' she is psychic.

** Ultimately subverted when at the beginning of the third season: Lois countered Clark's marriage proposal by revealing she had deduced his identity (Clark and Superman [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay gave her an identical cheek stroke]] in the previous episode).
** Clark's first reaction to her figuring out is "the new glasses do not work as good as the old ones" or something to that effect.

** Frosty Lana Lang is blonde in this incarnation.
** Jimmy Olson, traditionally redheaded, has brown hair in the show.

** Creator/DeanCain has brown eyes, as opposed to Superman's trademark blue. Lois even actively describes Superman's eyes' shade of brown to a sketch artist as being full of warmth and mystery, and nothing like Clark's "[[ImStandingRightHere mud-brown]]" eyes.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: At the time of airing most people's perception of the Clark Kent/Superman characters were from Creator/ChristopherReeve's portrayal in the film series: Clark being incredibly dorky and irritating and Superman being almost inhumanly masterful and charismatic. Perhaps mindful of just how grating a "dork" Clark would be over an entire series and wanting to make the romance elements more believable the TV series Clark is much more assertive, confident and charismatic. (This is another call back to the 1950s series, where George Reeves often played Clark this way.) At the same time Superman is far more down to earth making the two personalities much more similar than the film incarnations. Also the makers incorporated into the show:

* AdaptationalJobChange: In the comics, Sam Lane is an Army General. Here, he's a cyberneticist.

* InNameOnly: ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} once appeared on the show as a VillainOfTheWeek... except for some reason he was completely removed from anything resembling the character. He had magnetic powers, a purple costume, wasn't named Slade Wilson, had both of his eyes, and a completely different backstory. One wonders why they used the name of a popular DC character at all if they were essentially going to make up an entirely new character.

* WeirdnessSearchAndRescue: When the series started having story arcs involving time travel and alternate universes, none other than H.G. Wells himself arrives to advise the heroes.

* AmbiguouslyBrown:
** Clark passes for this. {{Showrunner}} Deborah Joy Levine points out that Creator/DeanCain, who is 1/4 Japanese, has an unplaceable look to him that made him stick out in a crowd. This does not apply to the vanilla-looking New Kryptonians.
** There is a running gag in the S2 show "Chi of Steel" where Chen Chow (Chinese-American, played by a Japanese-American actor) looks and dresses almost exactly like Clark (even to the wild ties) and when Lois points this out he says "we have the same optometrist".

--->'''Tempus:''' I am the [[HundredPercentAdorationRating most popular President]] the world has ever known! Even [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan]] in his heyday couldn't have gotten away with ''this''. (shoves bodyguard out a window)

* HistorysCrimeWave: In "That Old Gang of Mine", MadScientist Emil Hamilton creates [[CloningBlues clones]] of Al Capone, John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde to demonstrate that evil is not [[VillainousLegacy inherent]]. It doesn't work out that way. (There was a comic book storyline at around the same time that may have been the inspiration, but it used fictional gangsters.)

* PluckyComicRelief: Jimmy.
* PossessionBurnout

* RobotGirl: Vixen.
** Also, Baby Guntersen.

* ShesGotLegs: Lois, boy howdy. This became an {{ironic echo}} when Lois karate kicked a goon who previously complimented them. For the first two seasons (that is, the seasons that got the most mileage out of the WillTheyOrWontThey dynamic) the image of Lois seductively propping her leg on Clark's desk was ''everywhere''.