Superman and Lois has officially hit The CW's airwaves, and this latest bit of goodness from Berlanti Productions had me reminiscing about my first encounter with superheroes: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I was 10 years old when it debuted in the early ‘90s and naturally, I wanted to be Lois Lane when I grew up — that whole writing thing and a superhero partner? Where do I sign up?

ABC’s Superman lasted four seasons before getting canceled. Its version of the iconic DC hero leans toward the lighter, almost campy side of life with moments that at times feel somewhere between a workplace comedy and James Bond circa Timothy Dalton. Storylines were uncomplicated and generally featured over-the-top villains in a crime-of-the-week structure, serious romance, and a mix of mystery and banter that celebrates Superman as the ultimate symbol of hope.

Season arcs and the slow burn

Romantic comedies were having their moment in the 1990s. Thus, ABC seemed to position Lois & Clark as more of that workplace comedy that I was talking about, with a central focus on the relationship between Lois (Teri Hatcher in her star turn) and Clark (Dean Cain’s glory days). Rewatching an episode is like taking a trip in the DeLorean. There are legit opening credits and actual film strip canisters. Synth music, pay phones and landlines. The sheer size of Lois’ desktop computer at the Daily Planet provokes a nostalgic smile.

Everything about the show takes its time — and therefore is of the time period; entire scenes languish in "not needed" land, but rather add to the slow burn of whole season arcs that network shows used to be about. Relationships weren’t consummated and Big Bads caught in a two-to-three-episode arc. More like 23. The Lois & Clark pilot in itself feels like a mini-movie with a "ticking clock" aspect to really get us hooked. We also get Lex Luthor (John Shea) staring down a cobra, glamorous balls, and an international space station near-catastrophe. We also eerily get modern-feeling vibes, with Russia gracing the newspaper headlines and talk of vaccine patents.

Thematic throughlines

Lex Luthor's (Lois & Clark's fitting season one baddie) home is an ode to ancient civilizations. In a conversation with Clark, they discuss Alexander the Great’s battle strategy of always seeking the higher ground to gain an advantage over his adversaries. At the pilot's end, Superman has the last laugh by telling Lex to "look up" if he wants to find the hero. And you just know: Let the games begin.

This juxtaposition of an appreciation for ancient culture with cutting-edge science labs in space — like the conversation between Clark and his dad where Clark talks about the exciting "energy" of Metropolis but his dad dubs it "impatience" — beautifully underscores the iconography of Superman himself: an old ideal that’s in a state of constant evolution with the times, for the needs of the times.

Lois as the lead

While Superman’s televised self has been leaping tall buildings and saving Lois Lane for just shy of 70 years, it’s no coincidence that his beloved is billed first in Lois & Clark. She’s the first one we meet — in disguise, no less — and we are immediately introduced to the kind of woman she is through her work: ambitious, brave, intelligent, and kind. Yes, she has her damsel-in-distress moments. But overall, this Lois was a leader who rescued Clark right back a fair number of times — even taking a turn as the superhero Ultra Woman at one point.

It’s also of note that when we do meet Superman, it’s first as Clark. The pilot sets up his evolution from "nice guy who just wants to help" to the alien officially known as Superman in that unmistakable outfit — the one his mom apparently sews for him in a cutesy little montage to Bonnie Tyler’s "Holding Out for a Hero." And befitting this series, it’s Lois who first dubs him Superman, thanks to a little subconscious nod to her sister’s wish (and earlier line) that Lois finds a "super guy.

Working with IP

When you’re part of a larger universe — and not just in the sense of Clark being from out of this world — your show has to act in accordance. Thus the Lois & Clark "will they/won’t they" that kept audiences hooked for several whole network-length seasons had to play into Superman’s larger reputation by not actually getting married on the small screen as planned, because their comic book counterparts had just broken up. And so, Clark married a frog clone. Yup, that happened. And possibly, it’s speculated, that's also why viewership declined immensely after that fake out until final, dismal ratings signaled the end.

In retrospect

Lois & Clark may not be everyone’s favorite incarnation of Superman, but it was one that welcomed female viewership in a way that its superhero predecessors didn’t. Through a focus on Lois, her relationship with Clark, and a behind-the-scenes driving force in creator Deborah Joy LeVine, Lois & Clark reinvigorated Superman on mainstream television for a new generation — until Smallville came along. But that’s for another day.

As Lois & Clark became more fantastical under the guidance of its post-LeVine producer, it eventually ended on a cliffhanger. Yet, somehow, for those that tuned in every week, they got to see Clark’s pilot dream come true: He desired to feel human and to him, that meant family. Throughout, his parents Jonathan (Eddie Jones) and Martha (K Callan) stuck by him and Lois eventually did marry Clark. And in that final cliffhanger episode, they’re even entrusted with a mysterious baby. Looks like Superman’s alter ego got everything he wished for, in that particular universe at least.