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Season Three was in many ways a dramatic departure from the previous two season for THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK. The romantic will they/won't they of the first two seasons gave way to: will they be able to? Season Two had ended with Lois about to reply to Clark's proposal of marriage, her words being interrupted by the "to be continued" message. Season Three picked up the last few minutes of Season Two, only this time we get her answer in the form of a question: "Who's asking? Is it Clark or Superman?" removing his glasses to show that she knows his secret. Thus, Season Three begins with a radically premise from the first two seasons. Instead of dancing around how they feel, each acknowledges their love for one another, Lois knows Clark's secret, and they both try to answer the question of whether Superman can marry. Some fans preferred the tease of the first two seasons to the full-blown engagement of Season Three, but I personally always love when a show tries to move forward and do something different.
Season Three also saw some improvement in the primary weakness of the first two seasons: the strength of the villains. While LOIS AND CLARK was always delightful for the wonderful chemistry between Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in the lead roles (whether the many rumors of their off-screen antagonism was true or not), the show sometimes lagged from rather lame villains and single-episode storylines that seemed to have been produced with little effort. If one contrasted what was happening on a contemporary show, THE X-FILES, which was producing single episodes of near-cinematic quality, the problem is highlighted. Shooting almost exclusively on the Warner Brothers lot hurts as well (fans of THE GILMORE GIRLS will recognize much of Stars Hollow in Metropolis). Still, in Season Three there was a sharp increase in the quality of the individual episodes. The villains were truly menacing and there were genuine moments of tension. Also, Lois's knowledge of Clark's secret identity added many delightful new wrinkles to the show, and she quickly proved herself to be far more adept at covering for Clark's sudden departures than Clark had ever been in the past.
Season Three is also remarkable for some significant changes in the way the show approaches story arcs and narrative. THE X-FILES, following in the wake of TWIN PEAKS, had begun to popularize story arcs that extended beyond a single episode. Though the technique had been developed by HILL STREET BLUES in the eighties, in the nineties it was extended to Sci-fi and fantasy genres as well, and expanded so that on shows like THE X-FILES arcs could extend for several years. LOIS AND CLARK had only one real story arc, the potential for romance between Lois and Clark, while all the other arcs were with minor exceptions contained within single episodes. In Season Three the engagement took over as the main arc, with Clark and Lois struggling to resolve the main issues connected with his being Superman. But in addition to this, towards the end of the season they began stretching the narrative over one episode to another. Only occasionally in the first two seasons had they done this, but beginning with the episode where villains are able to clone humans using enzymes found in frogs until the end of the season, we see nothing but episodes that flow from one into another. This represented a major change in narrative strategy on the show. Traditionally networks do not like shows that do this. The assumption is that you might lose potential viewers who are distraught at being behind the curve on what is happening on the show. Such shows try to catch these viewers up with the "Previously on . . . " at the beginning, but networks generally prefer shows that depend entirely on stand alone episodes. Even if a viewer misses a few episodes, they can easily jump back into the middle of things. So, it was a very important change on LOIS AND CLARK when they jumped on the ongoing story arc bandwagon in the final third of the season.
I really enjoyed Season Three, not least because they took a highly unusual step, one followed by few other shows with romantic tension between the main characters. The received wisdom is that you can't have a successful show where a natural romantic couple actually gets together. For instance, the ratings collapse for MOONLIGHTING after Maddie and David got together is taken as a warning to all other shows. So, Maggie and Joel mainly are not together on NORTHERN EXPOSURE, and as soon as Buffy and Angel get together they are torn apart, and JD and Elliott on SCRUBS get together only to fall apart immediately. Clark and Lois are prevented from marrying, but with a couple of minor qualifications, they are essentially a committed couple for the entire season. Again, their ratings began to fade after they became a steady couple, so perhaps this could be viewed as reinforcement of the MOONLIGHTING lesson. But personally, I love seeing a couple stay together on TV. Maybe I'm not wired like others, but I enjoy seeing a couple be together as much as I like seeing them get together. I think that LOIS AND CLARK's ratings decline can actually be blamed on other factors, such as some unfortunate decisions about where to take story arcs. I do think that by getting Clark and Lois together, the show did create a problem for itself. Once you have resolved the central dilemma of the show, which was whether Lois and Clark will get together, you have to find a new source of dramatic tension. I don't think the show did a good show of doing this, and that is the main reason that the show began to slip a bit in Season Four.
One other general comment. Season Three was the first season to really start showing the effects of the growing capabilities of CGI. It wasn't utilized extensively, but it made Clark or Superman's quick getaways far more believable. Although SMALLVILLE came around only three years after the end of LOIS AND CLARK, you can see there how good CGI got only a few years later. Nonetheless, it did really enhance the believability of the show in the final two seasons.
In summary, this was another really great season in one of the most innovative romantic comedies that we have seen in the past couple of decades. It is also a season in which the show began to branch out in new directions. Lois and Clark don't yet get to live happily ever after, but at least they were clear in their own minds what they wanted to do.
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Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman - The Complete Third Season (1993)This exciting, action-packed update of the DC Comics Superman captures the daring exploits of the mysterious visitor from another planet and brings the city of Metropolis to life. Originally aired in the 90's, this humorously romantic action/adventure hour-long series puts a modern twist on the time-honored, legendary superhero. Bringing to life the comic book characters Clark Kent (Dean Cain), his superhuman alter-ego, Superman and Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher), this hit 90?s TV series tells the tale of one of the most unrequited romances of all time.
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