Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Third Season
List Price:
Our Price: $12.81
You Save: $47.17 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.25 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Dean Cain, Eddie Jones, Justin Whalin, Lane Smith, Teri HatcherBrand: Warner
Producer: Robert Singer
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 1011 minutes
Published: 2006-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 76178
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Actors: Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lane Smith, Justin Whalin, Eddie Jones
- Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). Subtitles: Spanish, French.
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
- Not Rated. Run Time: 1010 minutes.
DVD Reviews of Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Third Season
DVD Review: The romance heats up in a great Season Three
Summary: 5 Stars
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Season Three was in many ways a dramatic departure from the previous two season for THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK. The romantic will they/won't they of the first two seasons gave way to: will they be able to? Season Two had ended with Lois about to reply to Clark's proposal of marriage, her words being interrupted by the "to be continued" message. Season Three picked up the last few minutes of Season Two, only this time we get her answer in the form of a question: "Who's asking? Is it Clark or Superman?" removing his glasses to show that she knows his secret. Thus, Season Three begins with a radically premise from the first two seasons. Instead of dancing around how they feel, each acknowledges their love for one another, Lois knows Clark's secret, and they both try to answer the question of whether Superman can marry. Some fans preferred the tease of the first two seasons to the full-blown engagement of Season Three, but I personally always love when a show tries to move forward and do something different.
Season Three also saw some improvement in the primary weakness of the first two seasons: the strength of the villains. While LOIS AND CLARK was always delightful for the wonderful chemistry between Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in the lead roles (whether the many rumors of their off-screen antagonism was true or not), the show sometimes lagged from rather lame villains and single-episode storylines that seemed to have been produced with little effort. If one contrasted what was happening on a contemporary show, THE X-FILES, which was producing single episodes of near-cinematic quality, the problem is highlighted. Shooting almost exclusively on the Warner Brothers lot hurts as well (fans of THE GILMORE GIRLS will recognize much of Stars Hollow in Metropolis). Still, in Season Three there was a sharp increase in the quality of the individual episodes. The villains were truly menacing and there were genuine moments of tension. Also, Lois's knowledge of Clark's secret identity added many delightful new wrinkles to the show, and she quickly proved herself to be far more adept at covering for Clark's sudden departures than Clark had ever been in the past.
Season Three is also remarkable for some significant changes in the way the show approaches story arcs and narrative. THE X-FILES, following in the wake of TWIN PEAKS, had begun to popularize story arcs that extended beyond a single episode. Though the technique had been developed by HILL STREET BLUES in the eighties, in the nineties it was extended to Sci-fi and fantasy genres as well, and expanded so that on shows like THE X-FILES arcs could extend for several years. LOIS AND CLARK had only one real story arc, the potential for romance between Lois and Clark, while all the other arcs were with minor exceptions contained within single episodes. In Season Three the engagement took over as the main arc, with Clark and Lois struggling to resolve the main issues connected with his being Superman. But in addition to this, towards the end of the season they began stretching the narrative over one episode to another. Only occasionally in the first two seasons had they done this, but beginning with the episode where villains are able to clone humans using enzymes found in frogs until the end of the season, we see nothing but episodes that flow from one into another. This represented a major change in narrative strategy on the show. Traditionally networks do not like shows that do this. The assumption is that you might lose potential viewers who are distraught at being behind the curve on what is happening on the show. Such shows try to catch these viewers up with the "Previously on . . . " at the beginning, but networks generally prefer shows that depend entirely on stand alone episodes. Even if a viewer misses a few episodes, they can easily jump back into the middle of things. So, it was a very important change on LOIS AND CLARK when they jumped on the ongoing story arc bandwagon in the final third of the season.
I really enjoyed Season Three, not least because they took a highly unusual step, one followed by few other shows with romantic tension between the main characters. The received wisdom is that you can't have a successful show where a natural romantic couple actually gets together. For instance, the ratings collapse for MOONLIGHTING after Maddie and David got together is taken as a warning to all other shows. So, Maggie and Joel mainly are not together on NORTHERN EXPOSURE, and as soon as Buffy and Angel get together they are torn apart, and JD and Elliott on SCRUBS get together only to fall apart immediately. Clark and Lois are prevented from marrying, but with a couple of minor qualifications, they are essentially a committed couple for the entire season. Again, their ratings began to fade after they became a steady couple, so perhaps this could be viewed as reinforcement of the MOONLIGHTING lesson. But personally, I love seeing a couple stay together on TV. Maybe I'm not wired like others, but I enjoy seeing a couple be together as much as I like seeing them get together. I think that LOIS AND CLARK's ratings decline can actually be blamed on other factors, such as some unfortunate decisions about where to take story arcs. I do think that by getting Clark and Lois together, the show did create a problem for itself. Once you have resolved the central dilemma of the show, which was whether Lois and Clark will get together, you have to find a new source of dramatic tension. I don't think the show did a good show of doing this, and that is the main reason that the show began to slip a bit in Season Four.
One other general comment. Season Three was the first season to really start showing the effects of the growing capabilities of CGI. It wasn't utilized extensively, but it made Clark or Superman's quick getaways far more believable. Although SMALLVILLE came around only three years after the end of LOIS AND CLARK, you can see there how good CGI got only a few years later. Nonetheless, it did really enhance the believability of the show in the final two seasons.
In summary, this was another really great season in one of the most innovative romantic comedies that we have seen in the past couple of decades. It is also a season in which the show began to branch out in new directions. Lois and Clark don't yet get to live happily ever after, but at least they were clear in their own minds what they wanted to do.
More Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Third Season reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Description of Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Third Season
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/20/2006 Run time: 1011 minutesLois & Clark presents a more upbeat world than the one depicted in Superman Returns. In Bryan Singer's big screen version, Clark loses the girl before the credits even begin. In the third season premiere of the ABC series, however, Clark (Dean Cain) proposes to Lois (Teri Hatcher). Before answering, she wants to know, "Who's asking, Clark or Superman?" So, now he knows she knows (yet another difference). In either case, the answer is no...for now. In this episode, Bill Church (Peter Boyle) also informs Bill Jr. (Bruce Campbell) that now he?ll be working for good rather than bad--which leaves Superman with little to do. That situation won't last long as the Churchs will soon be tossed in the clink and a new boss will take over Intergang. The Brylcreemed one is back in the business of saving Metropolis from the baddies. Meanwhile, a psychic named Star (Olivia Brown) moves in next door to Lois (and seems designed to add some rather dubious comic relief). Other episode highlights include "Ultra Woman," in which Shelley Long and Mary Gross transfer Clark's powers to Lois, and "Don't Tug on Superman's Cape," which spoofs I Love Lucy, Dragnet, and James Bond--with Hatcher (Tomorrow Never Dies) as "Miss Goodbottom."
Other points of interest: Both Cain and Hatcher penned episodes ("Virtually Destroyed" and "It's a Small World After All"), the title sequence changes in the third episode ("Contact") to reflect Hatcher's new hairstyle, and guest stars include future crime scene investigators Gary Dourdan ("Never on Sunday") and Emily Proctor ("Tempus, Anyone?"). Most importantly, Lois finally gets back to Clark about that little question, setting the scene for next season's super-nuptials. Extras include a sneak peek at the Singer-produced doc, Look, Up in the Sky!, which explores all incarnations of the Man of Steel. -- Kathleen C. Fennessy
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Superman - The Animated Series, Volume Two: The New Superman Adventures (DC Comics Classic Collection)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $2.38
Price in other shops:
Ruby-Spears SupermanWarner Brothers; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops:
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete SeriesUniversal Studios; Release date: 2008-10-21; DVD
Best price: $30.49
Price in other shops:
The Flash: The Complete SeriesWarner; Release date: 2006-01-10; DVD
Best price: $16.97
Price in other shops:
SupergirlWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-11-28; DVD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Superboy - The Complete First SeasonWarner; Release date: 2006-06-20; DVD
Best price: $7.38
Price in other shops:
Smallville: The Complete Tenth SeasonWarner; Release date: 2011-11-29; DVD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops:
Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Fourth SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-11-14; DVD
Best price: $12.42
Price in other shops:
Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Second SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-01-17; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete First SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops: