SUPERMAN radio show LPs from Kellogs Cereal in Old Time Radio and Audio Horror Forum

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SUPERMAN radio show LPs from Kellogs Cereal

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BijouBob8mm	SUPERMAN radio show LPs from Kellogs Cereal	Lead	[-]
Apr 13 12 8:38 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Anyone remember those four Superman albums from the Seventies? These were a premium from Kellogs Cereals where you sent in box tops (forget how many) and postage (forget how much) and picked one of four volumes of the Superman radio show. All four album jackets were the same, showing Superman standing with hands on hips against a white background. Both the album covers and album labels gave little information about the shows, pretty much just listing them by volume #. (Don't think the ads on the back of the cereal box were much more informative; I picked Volume 1 in hopes it would have an origin episode...alas, this was not the case.) Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Apr 13 12 8:44 AM. Edited 1 time.
The Batman of Gotham		#1	[-]
Apr 25 12 6:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah, I remember them. I didn't own the set but, I borrowed them from a friend and recorded them on audio cassette tapes. I picked Volume 1 in hopes it would have an origin episode...alas, this was not the case.) The way I remember it, the records went chronologically right from the beginning of the radio series. The difference, however, with the radio Superman is that he lands on earth as a fully grown adult man and just assumes a human identity for himself picking the name Clark Kent "out of a hat" so to speak. There was no youth growing up in Smallville. No Ma and Pa Kent. No Lana Lang ( I think she wasn't created until the 1950's anyway ). But, that whole aspect of him becoming adjusted to his adopted planet is completely bypassed. It's been a while since I've listened to those particular episodes so, I don't even recall exactly what prompts him to become "Superman". But, the mythos of Superman, in general, was developed over the radio. Jimmy Olsen was a character created for the radio ( and I'm thinking the name Perry White for Superman's editor boss was created for the radio, too ) Kryptonite was a radio creation and so was the origin of Superman teaming up with Batman and Robin. These all made their way into the comic books later. - GJS
BijouBob8mm		#2	[-]
Apr 25 12 8:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	the radio Superman...lands on earth as a fully grown adult man Didn't know this for sure until about a week ago, but there really was a backstory episode. The series debuted on February 14, 1940 with "The Baby from Krypton." The first twelve episodes are out on a double CD set from Radio Spirits, now marked down to $4.99: http://www.radiospirits.com/detailsv2.asp?mbprodid=55009&sid=MjMwODU4Njc6NC8yNi8yMDEyIDk6MDA6NDYgQU0=&Svr=.62&l=1&source=&scode=G10CY100 Does anyone know what the episodes were that appeared on those four LPs? (Thanks in advance!) Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Apr 25 12 8:27 AM. Edited 1 times.
Wich2		#3	[-]
Apr 25 12 12:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	He leaves Krypton as an infant, but pops out on Earth full-grown. The backstory is Jor-EL and Lara's, not the Kents'. They did redo the origin a few times over the run of the radio series, though, and may have tweaked things then. (The first issues of the comic book did have a panel showing a Super-kid.)
The Batman of Gotham		#4	[-]
Apr 25 12 8:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If you'd like to listen to these episodes of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN you can click here: http://archive.org/details/Superman_page01 The first four episodes listed here are the AUDITION versions of the initial shows. Then, beginning with #5, we have the episode: THE BABY FROM KRYPTON as it aired. - GJS
BijouBob8mm		#5	[-]
Apr 27 12 8:13 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just got that double CD set in the mail just a few hours after my last post. In episode two, a man and boy who are saved from an elevator accident help Superman pick out his Clark Kent alias, and we meet Perry White for the first time. Even though we don't (at that point in the show) have Smallville or any other fictional biographical details about Clark, a few episodes into the series has Lois Lane tell Clark he might be better off back on the farm! (In some of those early appearances, Lois almost comes across as a prototype for Alice Kramden!) Thanks for that link, Batman. Curious to hear the audition versions. I knew Superman/Kent's backstory changed during the course of the show (and would continue to do so in the comics). That was reflected in the debut Superman animated short from the Fleischers, where we learn the young lad from Krypton was taken to live in an orphanage. The backstory is Jor-EL and Lara's, not the Kents'. I know; I just wasn't very clear in that previous post. When I said origin/backstory earlier, I meant the initial episode gave us the destruction of Krypton. He leaves Krypton as an infant, but pops out on Earth full-grown. He arrives here unusually well-educated! (Even in the Richard Donner film they tried to cover that by having some audio learning take place during the trip across the cosmos.) Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Apr 27 12 8:17 AM. Edited 2 times.
The Batman of Gotham		#6	[-]
Apr 27 12 5:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	He arrives here unusually well-educated! (Even in the Richard Donner film they tried to cover that by having some audio learning take place during the trip across the cosmos.) The radio series doesn't supply us with very satisfactory explanations, to be sure, but here's what I assume was behind it: This was afterall primarily a "Kids' Show". Kids, generally speaking, just don't have the patience to sit through an over-abundance of verbal exposition - they want to get right "into" the action and adventure ( especially when each show only lasts 15 minutes - counting commercials for the sponsor )! So, the radio series found a way to give us a bare-bones introduction to the character and then just set him loose on one wild ride after another. I'm sure they felt that kids would then fill-in-the-blanks by purchasing SUPERMAN comic books from their local vendor. - GJS

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