Anyhow, as I remember this, we, the Superman writers at that time (Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson and myself), had plotted out broad strokes for the many Superman titles, in conjunction with editor Mike Carlin, and associate Dan Thorsland, leading up to the wedding of Superman and Lois. We would chart out the rough outlines for over a year in advance, really, always leaving room for changes as the work started on a given issue. The wedding was scheduled for Adventures of Superman#500, far in the future. Somewhere in there, word came down that ABC was interested in doing a TV series called Lois and Clark. The possibility arose, of saving the comic book wedding, to do as a true tie-in to the show, a cross promotion. A great marketing tool to feed a potentially huge audience to comic book stores! The execs were developing the show with Thomas Carter as the perfect showrunner/ producer, based on his track record on tv with Hill Street Blues, The White Shadow, all great character driven shows. It would be a gritty drama, with an emphasis on the newspaper stuff, and the stories the reporters chased down. Sounded great to us, but suddenly we hear that Mr. Carter was going off to make the feature film "Swing Kids," and we were left scrambling to substitute a storyline for the wedding, knowing that the show was being delayed, the wedding had to be pushed back. We had to save the comic book wedding for the TV show. So we suddenly had a free slate, and somehow or other, the greatest comic hero met his death by our hands. Maybe a bit of spite found its way into our thinking, I can't say for sure.
Thomas Carter would have been terrific on Lois and Clark, but that never came to be either. It certainly would have been a different show, more gritty and real. As it happened, the show worked in a frothy, "Moonlighting" vein as well.
from the Death of Superman Omnibus edition, tm & copyright DC Comic 2011
1 comment:
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