In September 1993, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman arrived on television screens. The series – which stared Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in the title roles – introduced a whole new audience to the Superman mythology, and became an instant ratings winner.
Part romance, part action-adventure show, Lois & Clark placed its focus largely on the developing relationship between its lead characters, Lois Lane and Clark Kent. During the course of the series, Lois and Clark found friendship, love, and companionship, all while fighting off a never-ending threat from nefarious villains, including Lex Luthor.
But how did Lois & Clark end and why was the show cancelled? In this post, I will answer those questions, along with some other key questions about the series.
__
How many seasons of Lois & Clark were produced and how many episodes?
Lois & Clark originally aired in the US from September 12th 1993 until June 1997. The show ran on ABC for a total of four seasons and 88 episodes (22 per season).
__
Who were the cast of Lois & Clark?
The core cast of Lois & Clark was as follows:
- Dean Cain – Clark Kent/Superman
- Teri Hatcher – Lois Lane
- Lane Smith – Perry White
- Michael Landes – Jimmy Olsen (Season One)
- Justin Whalin – Jimmy Olsen (Season Two to Season Four)
- Tracy Scoggins – Cat Grant (Season One)
- Eddie Jones – Jonathan Kent
- K Callan – Martha Kent
- John Shea – Lex Luthor
In addition to the above actors, recurring cast members included:
- Tony Jay – Nigel St John
- Kenneth Kimmins – Dr. Klein
- Beverly Garland – Ellen Lane
- Harve Presnell – Sam Lane
- Lane Davies – Tempus
- Terry Kiser – H.G. Wells (Season Two & Season Four)
- Hamilton Camp – H.G. Wells (Season Three & Season Four)
- Sal Viscuso – Bobby Big Mouth
- Shaun Toub – Asabi
__
Why did the actor playing Jimmy Olsen change between Season One and Season Two and what happened to Cat Grant?
During the first season of Lois & Clark, Michael Landes played the role of Jimmy Olsen, however, from the second season onward, Justin Whalin took over the role. The producers of the show replaced Landes, as they felt he looked a little too similar to Superman/Clark actor, Dean Cain, and they wanted an actor with teen appeal.
As for Cat Grant…
For the first season of Lois & Clark, actress Tracy Scoggins played the role of gossip columnist, Cat Grant. However, when the show returned for its second season, neither Scoggins nor Cat Grant were anywhere to be seen.
According to Scoggins, she left the show after she was cast in a pilot for a sci-fi comedy called Galaxy Beat. Speaking on the podcast, Lois & Clark’s: The New Podcast Adventures of Superman, Scoggins said: “I wrapped on Lois & Clark on a Friday and I started filming Galaxy Beat on Monday.”
Scoggins admitted there was a little more to her disappearance from the show, but she felt it was not her place to say any more than the potential scheduling conflicts.
__
What happened to Lex Luthor?
Lex Luthor appeared throughout Lois & Clark’s first season as the show’s recurring villain, with actor John Shea playing the role. The character was killed off during the Season One finale, The House of Luthor, so the series could move away from having one main villain.
But death proved to be but a temporary inconvenience and the character was briefly resurrected for the Season Two episode, Phoenix, with John Shea reprising the role. In this episode, Lex sported his traditional bald look from the Superman comics and was kept alive for future use.
Lex/Shea returned during Season Three, this time appearing in the episodes Double Jeopardy and Seconds. However, he was killed off once again – and this time for good.
Although the character was officially dead, Shea did return to the role one final time, for a brief voice-over role in the Season Four episode, Shadow of a Doubt. This voice-over was via a recording which Lex had made prior to his death, so it allowed the actor to reprise his role without the need to resurrect the character.
__
Outside of Lex Luthor, did Lois & Clark feature any major villains from the Superman comics?
While Lois & Clark largely focused on original villains, created especially for the TV show, the series did incorporate a few villains from the comics – most notably, Metallo, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Toyman, Prankster and Intergang. The villains differed somewhat from their comic book counterparts, but shared similar characteristics and traits.
The show also used the names, Dr. Light and Deathstroke – two additional comic book villains. However, these villains had nothing to do with the characters from the comics.
__
Did Lois and Clark ever get married?
One of the defining aspects of Lois & Clark was the ‘will they, won’t they’ relationship between Lois Lane & Clark Kent. This relationship developed with each passing season, leading to the inevitable subject of marriage.
But marriage in Lois & Clark was not a simple process and when the characters initially went down the aisle, it was part of a sinister plot involving a clone of Lois Lane. This wedding took place during the Season Three episode, I Now Pronounce You…, with Clark unaware he was marrying a fake Lois.
This ‘fake out’ wedding was eventually corrected with a real wedding in Season Four, via the episode Swear to God, This Time We’re Not Kidding. In this episode, Lois and Clark finally tied the knot.
__
What happened in the final episode of Lois & Clark?
The final episode of Lois & Clark was titled The Family Hour and focused on Lois and Clark’s desire to plan a family. In the episode, Lois and Clark discover they are unable to have children, due to Clark’s unique physiology, so they seek medical advice from Lois’s father, Sam Lane.
Before Sam can assist the couple, he is kidnapped by a criminal with telekinetic abilities. Lois’s mother, Ellen, and Clark’s parents Jonathan and Martha are also kidnapped, and Clark’s secret identity is temporarily exposed.
By the episode’s conclusion, Superman saves the day and Clark’s secret is safe, however, Lois and Clark are no further along with their plans for a family. But during the final moments of the episode, an unnamed baby wrapped in a Superman blanket is left in Lois and Clark’s apartment, with a note suggesting the baby belongs to them.
__
Did the events of the final episode ever get resolved?
Unfortunately, the identity of the baby was never explained. Lois & Clark was cancelled following the conclusion of Season Four, so the baby became an unresolved plot thread.
In the years that have followed, there have been discussions amongst fans that the baby would have been a Kryptonian from the future.
__
Why was Lois & Clark cancelled and why did the final episode end on a cliffhanger?
Lois & Clark was cancelled due to a rapid decline in ratings over the course of the show’s fourth season. In the US, 12.2 million viewers tuned in for the Season Four opener, Lord of the Flys, however, the final episode, Family Hour only attracted 4.9 million viewers.
Yet despite a decline in ratings, the showrunners believed Lois & Clark would return for a fifth season. In fact, ABC had indicated plans to bring the show back for one final run, allowing the Season Four cliffhanger to be resolved.
But due to the low ratings of the final few episodes, ABC changed its mind and cancelled the series after Family Hour had aired. As a result, the showrunners were unable to change the outcome of the final episode and the series was left open-ended.
__
Why did Lois & Clark’s ratings drop off?
The show’s ratings had begun to take a dip towards the end of Season Three and remained lower than usual at the beginning of Season Four. The ratings peaked with the episode, Swear to God, This Time We’re Not Kidding, but started to drop-off again shortly after.
From this episode onward, the ratings began a steady decline, prompting ABC to move Lois & Clark to a new timeslot for the final half of the season. But this timeslot only made matters worse and ratings continued to fall, hitting an all-time low of 4.4 million viewers with the show’s penultimate episode, Toy Story.
__
And finally, is there a list of every episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman?
Below is a list of all 88 episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. This list covers every episode in the show: 22 episodes per season, for four seasons.
Season One
- 01) Pilot (i)
- 02) Pilot (ii)
- 03) Strange Visitor (From Another Planet)
- 04) Neverending Battle
- 05) I’m Looking Through You
- 06) Requiem for a Super Hero
- 07) I’ve Got a Crush on You
- 08) Smart Kids
- 09) The Green, Green Glow of Home
- 10) The Man of Steel Bars
- 11) Pheromone, My Lovely
- 12) Honeymoon in Metropolis
- 13) All Shook Up
- 14) Witness
- 15) Illusions of Grandeur
- 16) The Ideas of Metropolis
- 17) The Foundling
- 18) The Rival
- 19) Vatman
- 20) Fly Hard
- 21) Barbarians at the Planet
- 22) The House of Luthor
Season Two
- 23) Madame Ex
- 24) Wall of Sound
- 25) The Source
- 26) The Prankster
- 27) Church of Metropolis
- 28) Operation Blackout
- 29) That Old Gang of Mine
- 30) A Bolt from the Blue
- 31) Season’s Greedings
- 32) Metallo
- 33) Chi of Steel
- 34) The Eyes Have It
- 35) The Phoenix
- 36) Top Copy
- 37) Return of the Prankster
- 38) Lucky Leon
- 39) Resurrection
- 40) Tempus Fugitive
- 41) Target: Jimmy Olsen!
- 42) Individual Responsibility
- 43) Whine, Whine, Whine
- 44) And the Answer is…
Season Three
- 45) We Have a Lot to Talk About
- 46) Ordinary People
- 47) Contact
- 48) When Irish Eyes Are Killing
- 49) Just Say Noah
- 50) Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape
- 51) Ultra Woman
- 52) Chip Off the Old Clark
- 53) Super Mann
- 54) Virtually Destroyed
- 55) Home is Where the Hurt is
- 56) Never on Sunday
- 57) The Dad Who Came in from the Cold
- 58) Tempus, Anyone?
- 59) I Now Pronounce You
- 60) Double Jeopardy
- 61) Seconds
- 62) Forget Me Not
- 63) Oedipus Wrecks
- 64) It’s A Small World After All
- 65) Through a Glass, Darkly
- 66) Big Girls Don’t Fly
Season Four
- 67) Lord of the Flys
- 68) Battleground Earth
- 69) Swear to God, This Time We’re Not Kidding
- 70) Soul Mates
- 71) Brutal Youth
- 72) The People vs. Lois Lane
- 73) Dead Lois Walking
- 74) Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark
- 75) Ghosts
- 76) Stop the Presses
- 77) Twas the Night Before Mxymas
- 78) Lethal Weapon
- 79) Sex, Lies and Videotape
- 80) Meet John Doe
- 81) Lois and Clarks
- 82) …aka Superman
- 83) Faster Than a Speeding Vixen
- 84) Shadow of a Doubt
- 85) Voice from the Past
- 86) I’ve Got You Under My Skin
- 87) Toy Story
- 88) The Family Hour
__
__
Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a comment