Superman The Animates Series coming to Blu Ray October 12 2021

[Kamdan]

Ever since I first saw these character designs in the Superman: The Complete History book, I marveled at how much more comparable the series could have been with the initial run of Batman: The Animated Series. I'm sure they would have gone fully with it if they were given high budgets like those episodes got. Everything was noticeably streamlined in the later seasons of Batman due to reduced budgets and Superman got no special treatment.

[The Joker]

I don't know if that's what underlies Timm's falling out with Ross. But it would explain quite a lot if it did.

Constructive criticism is one thing, but Ross using the word "despise" with regard to Timm's opinion of Ross' art, is a pretty barefaced choice of a word to use. Makes me wonder if the both of them got into some sort of (very) heated conversation about their respective art and some unkind things were said? That can easily happen during an argument, and it depends on the person just how long someone takes to get over having their feelings hurt (if at all in some cases evidently).     

[The Laughing Fish]

I found an interview of Tim Daly, and he talked about playing Superman and Bizarro in the show.

Something I know I loved about your work in the series is that you were only one of a handful of actors who got to play Superman and Bizarro. Looking back, exploring that duality, even in just a handful of episodes, must have been quite an experience?

Yeah, I really liked doing Bizarro. At the time, I was in the thrall of that darkness actors seem to love to delve into, me included. It's the dark side of humanity and I consider it my job to explore all the sides of humanity, good and bad, dark and light. It was fun to get away for a moment from the boy scout nature of Superman and really go into a dark place with Bizarro. I had a great deal of empathy for him because he is sort of misguided, misunderstood, and used. He wasn't innately evil I don't think. He was just manipulated in a way that made him seem so. Anyway, the short answer is, yes, I had a good time doing that.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230609121132/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-tim-daly-hopes-for-a-brighter-future-for-the-man-of-steel-exclusive-a189219

I rewatched the episode Identity Crisis and I forgot how much Bizarro was a healthy functional clone who was convinced he was the true Superman, until his body and speech began to deteriorate. A pretty solid - if simple - story about a well-meaning but confused character who was a victim of Lex Luthor playing God. I liked how he still had traces of Superman's personality and heroism to make him a tragic character, not just for comic relief.

From a geeky point of view, I wished this episode had Bizarro having the subconsciousness of dressing up like Clark Kent at work, as he did in the fifth chapter of John Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series. He already had inherited Superman's traits, so having a scene with him breaking into a store and dressed as Clark the reporter before he and Superman fight each other would've been a nice nod to the comic, even if it were obscure.

[The Laughing Fish]

Here is another interview, this time with Dana Delaney aka Lois Lane. These are some of my favourite answers from her:

When Superman: The Animated Series first aired, strong female characters weren't the norm in any genre, never mind animation, so how did you feel when you were approached with this layered version of Lois Lane?

It's funny because I grew up reading Lois Lane comic books. When I was a kid, she actually had her own comic book. I had also watched the TV series when it was on, if you can believe it, in the 1950s [Laughs]. So, my image of Lois Lane was always a strong career woman and that's how I found her. I was really happy when I saw the writing as that matched my image of her and when I auditioned for it, I was just thrilled. Lois had been an icon for me my whole childhood and my whole life and I saw that they had a period feel to it. I immediately pictured Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. In the movies from that time and when Superman was introduced, women were really strong. They've just backslid since then.

You've been able to return as Lois since the conclusion of the series on multiple occasions; what has it meant to you to have this character follow you throughout your acting career?

I'm a fan of Superman and that world myself. Like I said, I grew up reading those comics, so that makes sense to me. Also, I feel like what Superman represents - not in a cheesy way - but the original people who drew him, Shuster and Siegel, were doing it in response to Nazis, World War II, and Anti-Semitism. It's always been a world with a political statement rather than just, 'Rah, rah, America!' I was really happy that those guys continued that in our series.

What interested and excited you most about exploring Lois' dynamic in the series both with Clark Kent and Superman?

It's funny because I watched some of the episodes in preparation and I was laughing out loud because I forget about some of the great dialogue in it. I'd forgotten that Lois was the one that names him Superman [Laughs]. What a great honour to have, you know? I think it was the triple episode where Lois was dating Batman and we had the crossover. That was so much fun to make Superman jealous and have Clark not be able to say anything. It makes me laugh when Lois finally realises Batman is Bruce Wayne and says, 'So, when were you going to tell me? The honeymoon?' [Laughs] It was such a great line to say and she really got to say some great stuff. Another thing that I noticed was, yes, Superman saved her a lot, but not until she'd kicked ass herself. They'd let Lois go as far as she could in defending herself until it was a matter of life and death and she was falling out of a building and he had to swoop in and catch her. They really let her fight her own fights that I really appreciated.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230320085503/https://comicbookmovie.com/superman/superman-animated/superman-the-animated-series-interview-dana-delany-on-lois-lanes-legacy-and-a-possible-return-exclusive-a189467#gs.7qkpau