Series Description

Superboy was a 30 minute fantasy series that aired in syndication. It was about Clark Kent/Superboy's college years. Of course, Superboy still found time to fight evil-doers and stand for "Truth, Justice and the American Way"!

Superboy Cast

John Haymes Newton .... Clark Kent/Superboy (1988-1989)
Gerard Christopher .... Clark Kent/Superboy (1989-1992)
Stacy Haiduk .... Lana Lang
Jim Calvert .... T.J. White III
Ilan Mitchell-Smith .... Andy McAllister
Peter Jay Fernandex .... Matt Pitter
Robert Levine .... C. Dennis Jackson
Scott Wells .... Lex Luthor (1988-1989)
Sherman Howard .... Lex Luthor (1989-1992)
Stuart Whitman .... Jonathan Kent
Salome Jens .... Martha Kent
George Chakiris .... Dr. Peterson

Superboy Trivia

Clark Kent attended "Shuster University" and spent time at the student union there called the "Siegel Center". Those names were used as tributes to Superman's original creators. Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel!

On this TV show, Superboy's adoptive parents names were "Jonathan and Martha Kent", the same names used in the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve. In fact, this series was produced by the same people who produced those movies. In the 1950s TV show, "The Adventures of Superman", the parents names were "Eben and Sarah Kent".

The only characters to appear in every episode of Superboy were Clark Kent, Superboy, and Lana Lang. Since Clark Kent and Superboy were played by two different actors, Stack Haiduk ("SeaQuest DSV") was the only cast member in every episode.

Clark Kent was a journalism major and was also a reporter on his college newspaper. His roomate and best friend was "T.J. White III" who was the nephew of "Perry White", editor of "The Daily Planet" and Clark Kent's future boss.

Somewhat disturbing in the second season was the fact that both Superboy and Lex Luthor's characters were portrayed by new actors! John Newton left the series over a contract dispute. No explanation was ever given for why Clark Kent / Superboy's appearance changed. You simply came back to the series after the summer break and there's this new guy in the lead role! Lex Luthor's changed appearance was explained. Apparently, Lex wanted to hide his identity from Superboy so he had plastic surgery to make him appear much older. Fortunately, there was one nice addition in the second season! Mr. Mxyzptlk, Superboy's annoying adversary from the fifth dimension appeared on the TV show. The only way that Superboy could get Mr. Mxyzptlk to leave our dimension was to trick him into saying his name backwards (Kltpzyxm). There were also other more challenging enemies added in the second season too such as aliens, witches and vampires.

In the third season, the name of the series was changed from "Superboy" to "The Adventures of Superboy". Also, in an attempt to continue having even greater challenges for Superboy, Clark Kent had graduated from college and was working at the "Bureau of Extranormal Matters".

Gerard Christopher (the second Superboy) auditioned for the role of Superman on the TV show, "Lois and Clark". The casting director for that series actually picked him for the part! When they learned that he had already played Superboy on this series, they changed their minds and Dean Cain got the role!

Wayne Brady, the comedian who starred on "Whose Line Is It Anyway" and "The Wayne Brady Show" appeared on television for the first time in a credited role in episode #59 of Superboy, "The Sons of Icarus".

You may also want to check out these other "Super" TV series' pages: "The Adventures of Superman (1952)", "Lois and Clark (1993)", and "Smallville (2001)".

Superboy Opening Narrative

"Rocketed from a distant planet to a bold new destiny on Earth. Found by a Kansas family and raised as Clark Kent, he learned he possessed the strength of steel, the speed of light, and the desire to help all mankind. He is Superboy!"