Lois & Clark – All Shook Up

• Title: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman – All Shook Up
• tv.com: link

With a new Superman in still in theaters every now and then I’ll continue to take a look back at the hero’s more memorable moments on both the big and small screen. With an asteroid on a collision course for Earth threatening all life on the planet, Superman (Dean Cain) volunteers to head out into space and try and prevent it from crashing into the planet. Although the Man of Steel is mostly successful, a large chunk continues on its way to Earth. More troubling is the disappearance of Superman whose amnesia has left the world unprotected as the clock to the end of the world continues to count down.

The opening to the episode offers a reasonable explanation for Clark’s amnesia when he’s “injured” by an out of control car during an eclipse caused by the asteroid. Once found by Lois (Teri Hatcher), most of Clark’s story involves the reporter trying to get back to normal hoping that something may eventually jog his memory. This creates an opportunity for Cat Grant (Tracy Scoggins) to have a little fun at the amnesiac’s expense and also creates a humorous sequence where Martha (K Callan) and Jonathan Kent (Eddie Jones) try to convince Clark that he’s the missing super-hero everyone is looking for.

Along with the tension of the situation and the humorous moments mentioned above, the episode also give us some nice dramatic moments between Perry (Lane Smith) and Jimmy (Michael Landes) whose search for Superman gets the kid his first byline on the front page of The Daily Planet (typed on the Chief’s old typewriter). There’s also a heartfelt moment between Perry and Lois, the lifers of the Planet, who realize they have no one to share their final moments with as the asteroid’s collision with the Earth grows ever closer – especially after Lois turns down Lex Luthor‘s (John Shea) offer to join him in his swanky underground bunker.

Lois’ depiction of Superman and what he means both to Metropolis and one reporter in particular does enough to final spark Clark’s memory and allow Superman to finish the job he started by returning to space and pushing the remaining piece of the asteroid away from Earth. The destruction of the asteroid is the Man of Steel’s biggest feat to date on the series, but its the dramatic moments between the characters (including Lois continually looking to Clark when things look the bleakest) that provide the most memorable moments of “All Shook Up.”