Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Smallville: The Next Generation.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 23, 2021

Aside from square-jawed good looks and godlike powers, Superman has a pretty rough life... what with the identity crisis, perpetual isolation, and guilt of not being able to save everyone, all the time. So hey, wouldn't it be cool to add in the emotional challenges of domestic family life just for fun? That's the premise behind the CW's Superman & Lois, which finds the titular couple (Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch) more than a decade deep into marriage with the blessing and curse of fraternal twin teenage sons, jock Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and introvert Jordan (Alex Garfin). The boys are blissfully ignorant of their father's true identity, a ridiculous notion that's quickly wrapped up in a busy pilot episode that also sees Clark lose his Daily Planet gig and his mother, prompting a return to Smallville where the Kents reconnect with old friends resentful of their big-city ways. Some guy named "Captain Luthor" shows up, too.

There's an awful lot going on here, and I didn't even mention the show's closest thing to a serial villain: Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner), media mogul and new owner of The Daily Planet, whose reach extends all the way to Smallville and connection to Superman is closer than expected. During this first season's 15 episodes -- which splits the difference between the ten-episode default of most current TV shows and the overlong seasons of yesteryear -- a lot of ground is covered and, while most of it is fitfully fun to a soapy extent, Superman & Lois has the patchwork feel of a show still finding its legs. Luckily, things get better as these episodes progress. One of the Kent boys manifests their own super-abilities and, like Smallville before it, this balance of "powers during puberty" yields some interesting drama. (The other brother adds a nice layer of competition/support, which at least spices up the formula a bit.) Meanwhile the expansion of this "General Luthor" guy and Morgan Edge establishes a sharp triangle and, since neither character draws 100% from their comic counterpart(s), most sudden turns will remain a surprise even to seasoned Superman fans.

But yeah, Superman & Lois has a long way to go to achieve perfect narrative balance. There are just too many cogs in this machine and, while the formula is smoothed over slightly as this first season progresses, its world-building and mythology threaten to further derail and already-crowded train. (To say nothing of its repeated attempts at rural vs. urban social commentary, which seems like a natural fit but just feels like one more thing too many.) Like Smallville, the family dynamic is what should ground everything... but with Clark's strained attempts at being a good dad, Lois' dual role of Supermom and "big fish in a small pond" at The Smallville Gazette, their attempts at a normal relationship, the boy's clashes with each other, their separate relationships with the parents, and more... well, you can see where I'm going with this. To the show's credit, it remains entertaining despite these narrative roadblocks so, even if it doesn't end up winning you over, Superman & Lois is watchable enough to get through without feeling like a slog.

Fundamentally, this is a decent small-screen effort with solid casting choices. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch are great in their respective roles: she's confident and self-assured, while he balances the appropriate levels of demi-god omnipotence and awkward dork well enough. (Sadly, aside from football practice, he doesn't use his powers in true dad fashion, like using heat vision to start his charcoal grill or season a cast iron skillet.) The boys are well-cast too: they play off one another in true 14 year-old brotherly fashion, roasting each other in school and at home... but as a twin myself, I need to clarify that fraternals don't officially count. Other fundamentals are solid, from its workmanlike cinematography to a solid original score by composer Dan Romer... but the one technical area where Superman & Lois occasionally falls short is the visual effects. Some are fine enough; up, up, and away, otherworldly backgrounds, and all that. But a handful of sequences, including a jaw-droppingly bad bridge collapse near the start of Episode #3, are so poorly rendered that they should've been scrapped entirely. Such moments -- hell, Superman's super-exploits period -- only make up a small part of the series, and under the circumstances that's probably a good thing.

I'm probably being a little too hard on a show that's generally been well received and, warts and all, really is quite enjoyable at times. Superman & Lois decently carries the small-screen torch for one DC's most enduring and popular characters and does so almost effortlessly: even with substantial room to grow and improve, it's a pretty entertaining 15-episode run that's been preserved on Blu-ray by Warner Bros. This sleek three-disc set -- five episodes per disc, naturally -- likely beats any streaming counterpart on pure A/V strength alone, even though it could've offered more engaging bonus features. A good blind buy? Maybe not, but few fans are flying blind here.

NOTE: The episodes on this Blu-ray set are, like their currently streaming counterparts, slightly extended from the original broadcast versions and include a few additional scenes that add roughly 1-2 minutes to each one.

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Armed with a 1080p transfer that preserves its unconventional 2.20:1 aspect ratio, this first season of Superman & Lois mostly shines on Blu-ray but, like the series itself, there's some room for improvement. First, the good: this all-digital production serves up an excellent amount of fine detail in outdoor scenes and close-ups, showcasing its characters, costumes, and both the rural backdrop of Smallville and, to a much lesser extent, the dense cityscape of Metropolis. It's a nice combination, not unlike its most direct small-screen predecessor, building a comfortable and mostly inviting atmosphere that makes viewers feel right at home. Appropriately enough, the Kent farmhouse -- where much of the personal drama takes place -- doubles as Superman & Lois' emotional headquarters, and its rustic interiors largely maintain the earth-toned palette of the surround rural community. Colors are well-saturated, although the brightest reds (Superman's cape) are prone to bleeding and, in this reviewer's opinion, stick out like a sore thumb.

Smooth transition to the bad stuff: compression issues run rampant during the darkest scenes, arriving in the form of banding, posterization, and chunky artifacts that, while not all that regular or distracting in-motion, can't be ignored during their worst moments (screenshot #1, or pretty much any image in this review where black is an overly dominant color). While I'm confident that these Blu-rays still represent a fairly solid upgrade over their streaming counterparts, Superman & Lois should have been treated a bit more carefully to earn something closer to a definitive home video presentation. Whether that means more judicious encoding or perhaps a higher disc count, it'll be interesting to see if future collection(s) refine what's a mostly pleasing but occasionally underwhelming viewing experience.

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Superman & Lois serves up a decently engaging DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that, one nagging exception aside (a bad habit of relegating narration and some dialogue strictly to the front channel, which sounds a little overcooked), mixes small-town drama with big-city action about as seamlessly as possible for a production of this caliber. Discrete channels and LFE get ample support during fierce showdowns and fast fly-bys, with plenty of punch for some of the hardest hits, while more amiable surround activity can be found during comparatively subtle atmospheric touches -- weather, open-air echoes, cramped quarters, and more. Composer Dan Romer's original score adds plenty of vaguely familiar support without ripping off previous Superman fare, even if some of the more dramatic cues are a little on-the-nose at times. Overall, it's a fine effort that, stray dialogue issues aside, is good enough to get the job done.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 15 episodes and applicable bonus features.

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc release ships in a hinged keepcase with attractive cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption slip. Extras are divided between all three discs and offer a basic behind-the-scenes experience.

• Making of Featurettes - The first two of these three mid-length promotional pieces cover the basics of the series' inception, development, main characters, allies, villains, and more, as well as the franchise's long history of pop culture relevance. The third expands to cover other recent DC small-screen properties including Stargirl, Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow, and others. Several key cast and crew members offer their input including executive producers Marc Guggenheim, Todd Helbring, Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, and Sarah Schechter; DC Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee; and actors Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Jordan Elsas, and Alex Garfin.

• Superman and Lois Legacy of Hope (Disc 1, 18:57)
• Superman: Alien Spirit (Disc 3, 9:05)
• Never Alone: Heroes and Allies (Disc 3, 20:48)

• DC FanDome Panel (Disc 2, 27:41) - This virtual panel is hosted by Jim Lee and features executive producer Todd Helbing with actors Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, who collectively talk about their memories of the franchise, their characters, and how Superman & Lois sets itself apart from previous installments. Since this panel was originally recorded on September 12, 2020 (long before the pilot episode aired in February 2011), it's a spoiler-free discussion that feels more promotional than in-depth but is still worth a once-over.

Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The CW's Superman & Lois tweaks Smallville's template to fit a new generation of Superman fans (and their parents!) and, while the end result shows room for improvement, it's a decent enough start that's thankfully been renewed for a second season. This series isn't as repetitive or clumsy as that earlier' series first year with its numerous "monster-of-the-week" outings, but instead feels overcrowded with almost too many narrative paths that tend to interfere with the groundwork being laid. But this one's got plenty of heart, and it has arrived at a time when the optimistic core of Superman's mythology is sorely needed (although unlike Smallville, it wasn't as much of a happy accident this time around.). Either way, it's definitely worth a watch and will undoubtedly appeal to die-hard Superman disciples, as the franchise's basics are covered with energy to spare. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray package adds in decent A/V support and a few lightweight extras for the asking price, which makes this an easy recommendation for established fans.