Pilot (Superman & Lois)

"Pilot"
Superman & Lois episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1
Directed by	Lee Toland Krieger
Story by	Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing
Teleplay by	Todd Helbing
Featured music	Dan Romer
Cinematography by	Gavin Struthers
Production code	T13.22401
Original air date	February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23)
Running time	60 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Fred Henderson as Jonathan Kent Sr. Fritzy -Klevans Destine as Sean Smith Wern Lee as Tag Harris Zane Clifford as Timmy Ryan Joselyn Picard as Sophie Cushing Arthur Corber as Max Mencken Dean Marshall as Samuel Foswell Dee Jay Jackson as Cobb Branden Paul Jarrett as Perry White Dylan Kingwell as Teenage Clark

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"Pilot" is the first episode of The CW series Superman & Lois. The episode was written by Greg Berlanti, and Todd Helbing, based on a story by Greg Berlanti. It was first broadcast on February 23, 2021 on The CW and HBO Max. The show is a spin-off from Supergirl where many characters of Superman & Lois were introduced during it's second season. The episode revolves around reporter Clark Kent and journalist Lois Lane as they struggle to parent their two sons in Smallville, all while Clark operates as the superhero "Superman" in Metropolis.

Plot

Clark Kent recalls the events of how he came to Earth from the planet Krypton, his adoption by Jonathan, who passed away from cancer, and Martha and life in Smallville before moving to Metropolis City where he became the superhero "Superman" and met his wife and Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane. Together, the couple had 2 sons Jonathan, and Jordan, raising them in Metropolis. Jonathan was more athletic and active while Jordan was diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder.

In the present-day, Superman stops a nuclear facility explosion, caused by a mysterious figure trying to gain his attention. Clark returns home where he congratulates Jonathan on being a quarterback for Smallville High School's football team and apologizing to Jordan for missing his therapy session. Clark gets fired from the Daily Planet after businessman Morgan Edge bought the company and passes on editor-in-chief to Samuel Foswell. Clark then gets a call from Dr. Fry who informs him that Martha had passed away from a stroke. A funeral is held for Martha in Smallville. There, he reunites with High School friend and ex-girlfriend Lana Lang, who is now married to Smallville's fire chief Kyle Cushing and have 2 daughters Sarah and Sophie, whom Clark's children also have met before. While exploring the barn to fix the wifi router, Sarah invites Jordan to a bonfire. Suddenly, Jordan and Jonathan become buried beneath heavy pipes. Sarah calls for Clark to rescue them. As a result, they are left with only mild concussions.

General Sam Lane informs Clark about a mysterious stranger who knows Clark's Kryptonian identity of Kal-El while also threatening that Kal isn't a hero. Clark and Lois visit the bank where Lana informs them of a mortgage Martha placed on her farm 5 years ago, which they either have to pay off or sell. Clark and Lois agree to sell the house. Meanwhile, Jordan and Jonathan explore the barn again and discover Clark's spaceship he came in. When Clark and Lois return from the bank, Clark reveals to his sons that he is Superman which leads into an argument.

Superman confronts the mysterious Stranger at another nuclear facility. He deduces to the Stranger that he chooses nuclear facility due to the fact he can't use his abilities to sense the stranger. The two then confront eachother and their fight is taken to space where the stranger stabs Superman with Kryptonite, wounding him. Meanwhile, Jordan and Jonathan attend the bonfire Lana invited Jordan to earlier. Jordan and Lana bond leading Jordan to kiss her prompting Lana's boyfriend Sean Smith to attack Jordan. Jonathan intervenes to save Jordan although is tackled down by Sean, which triggers Jordan's powers to activate and uses them to save Jonathan. Elsewhere, the stranger, identified as “Captain Luthor”, returns back to his base where he is informed by an A.I. that he had use the last of his Kryptonite.

Production

Development

On October 28, 2019, it was announced that The Flash co-creators Todd Helbing, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, and Geoff Johns would be developing a series based on Superman and Lois Lane for The CW and set in the Arrowverse, co-existing with the other series set in the franchise. It would follow the titular couple as they deal with all the stress, pressures, and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society. The couple have previously appeared in the Arrowverse series Supergirl, with Clark making his debut in the second season, and Lois making her debut in the 2018 Arrowverse crossover Elseworlds. The pilot first aired on The CW on February 23, 2021. The episode also was released on streaming services such as HBO Max for world wide and Binge in Australia.

On January 14, 2020, Superman & Lois was officially picked up as a series, with an order for 15 episodes. When developing the series' concept, Helbing said they took inspiration from other series such as Everwood, and Friday Night Lights, stating

"Whenever you do any of these shows, you want to make them slightly different,” said Helbing. “We just approached this as much as we could like a feature — from the aspect ratio to the cinematography to the look to the design of the house and farm. We are competing with shows on cable and streamers…we wanted to be able to do that and offer audiences something of equal quality.”

Casting

Tyler Hoechlin portrays the series' protagonist, Clark Kent / Superman

Tyler Hoechlin, and Elizabeth Tulloch signed on to reprise their roles as the titular characters from the Arrowverse. On February 5, 2020, Jordan Elsass, and Alexander Garfin were cast as the titular couple's children Jonathan, and Jordan Kent. On April 2, Dylan Was was cast as Lois's father and military General Sam Lane. Walsh replaces Glenn Morshower, who previously portrayed Sam Lane in Supergirl. On April 7, Emmanuelle Chriqui was cast as Clark's ex-High School girlfriend Lana Lang. The following day, Erik Valdez was cast as Lana's husband and Smallville's fire chief Kyle Cushing. On May 12, Wole Parks was cast as "The Stranger", an enemy hellbent on killing Superman, who is revealed to be "Captain Luthor" from another Earth.

The next day, Inde Navarrette was cast as Lana and Kyle's daughter Sarah Cushing. Additional casting for this episode include Michele Scarabelli, and Fred Henderson as Clark's adopted parents Martha, and Jonathan Kent Sr., Fritzy -Klevans Destine as Sarah's boyfriend Sean Smith, Wern Lee as Sean's friend Tag Harris, Zane Clifford as Timmy Ryan; another one of Sean's friends, Joselyn Picard as Sarah's younger sister Sophie, Arthur Corber as Max Mencken; Sean's friend, Dean Marshall as Samuel Foswell; the new owner of the Daily Planet and one of Morgan Edge's minions, Dee Jay Jackson as Cobb Brenden, Paul Jarrett as former Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White, and Dylan Kingwell as teenage Clark.

Design

Helbing stated Superman's costume in the series would feature a more "classically comicbook-y" look from the previous costume used in Supergirl. It would also somewhat reminiscent of Superman's look in DC Rebirth with the texture of the costume being inspired by the DCEU version of Superman. The new suit is designed by Laura Jean Shannon. Hoechlin further elaborated:

"Just as this suit is unique and set apart from the ones that preceded it, the story we’re telling about Clark/Superman at this point in his life is unique and something we’ve never seen before. I appreciate the opportunity to wear the suit and the responsibility that comes with it. But it’s always interesting when I’m asked how I feel about “my new suit,” because I’ve always felt that the suit doesn’t belong to me; it belongs to everyone that finds some kind of meaning in that suit, in the symbol on the chest. I just happen to be the one wearing it. I come from the world of baseball and a line of coaches that always preached that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the one on the back. Because when you wear that jersey, it represents not only you, but your entire team, and everyone that has ever worn that jersey that came before you. So when I wear the suit, that’s what it means to me. It represents everything that Superman stands for and has stood for, for almost a century now. And I look forward to carrying on that tradition."

Filming

Principle photography was originally meant to commence on in March 2020, but was delayed until October, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Filming officially began on October 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Music

Dan Romer was attached a composer for the series.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Flake"	FIDLAR	1:09
2.	"Under the Sun"	DIIV	1:03
3.	"Let it Ride"	The Blue Stones	1:05

Reception

Ratings

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	February 23, 2021	0.4	1.75	0.4	1.50	0.8	3.25

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 87% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 7.76/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it may be a bit too grounded for some viewers, Superman & Lois draws strength from unexpected places – without skimping on the action – to carve its own path in a crowded superhero universe." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Screen Rant reviewed the episode, saying "The pilot episode of Superman & Lois is filled with fan-pleasing moments, Easter eggs, callbacks to the comics, cool character moments, and exciting hints for the future. Nevertheless, while it was generally an excellent start to the series, it had some problems which will need to be addressed as the series progresses." IGN commented on the unique theme of the episode in Clark Kent and Lois Lane being parents, saying "Superman & Lois stands apart from all other versions of the Superman mythos in that it features this Dynamic Duo trying to raise twin teenage sons. The idea of Lois and Clark being parents isn't entirely new, as Jon Kent has become a mainstay of the Superman comics since 2015."

Beats praised Tyler Hoechlin's performance in the episode, saying "The appeal of the series premiere lies largely with Hoechlin, who, like Superman himself, does much of the heavy lifting emotionally throughout the episode. Hoechlin has been a standout as the man of steel in his previous Arrowverse appearances, with a charm and humility that are more than a little Christopher Reeve-esque." The review also praised the urban "general look and feel of the show" for the pilot.

References

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