Season two of The Adventures of Superman, which was shot in 1953 and originally aired in 1953-1954, arrives on DVD in an edition every bit as satisfying as the one devoted to the series' first season. The major highlight, apart from the entire array of 26 shows in beautiful condition -- a rich, nicely contrasted black-and-white is the norm throughout the five discs -- are two commentary tracks by series co-stars Jack Larson and Noel Neill, who played Jimmy Olson and Lois Lane. Their remarks on the episode "Panic in the Sky" aren't necessarily shot-specific (one heartily wishes that the two could have done this a decade or more earlier, or that Larson would have been interviewed over an episode such as "The Haunted Lighthouse," which was a memorable life and professional experience for him), but they have a nice enough time talking that it's fun just listening to them -- one just wishes that perhaps a third person, such as a Superman expert, could have been put in with them to prompt them with questions. They are looser and more informative in their commentary on the episode "Semi-Private Eye," which always seemed like one of the most fun shows of this season to watch -- it appears to have been so for the two of them as well, and this factor helps make their discussion on this particular chapter well worth hearing, more than once. The other special features are confined to the last of the five discs. They include a short documentary entitled "The First Lady of Metropolis," devoted to the career of Noel Neill, which is as charming a profile as one could wish for, consisting of interviews with Neill, co-star Jack Larson, and an array of scholars and historians, supported by appropriate clips from the series; her recollections of working with George Reeves are the best part of the interviews, although her account of the methods they employed in shooting the 26 episodes are also fascinating. The final bonus feature is the complete "Stamp Day for Superman," a mini-episode done for the United States Treasury at the end of this season, which includes a new introduction by Jack Larson and Superman scholar Gary Grossman. This show has been kicking around public-domain lists for decades, but has never looked or sounded as good as it does here, even if it is still somewhat grainy at times (it was never intended to be seen outside of schools, on 16 mm or 8 mm film). Each of the 26 episodes gets a single chapter-marker, and each disc opens with a very easy-to-use multi-layered menu that offers simple access to individual episodes as well as the special features, and a "play all" function that simplifies the viewing. The image throughout is full screen (1.33:1) -- the way it was shot -- and the sound is as crisp as the picture. In contrast to the first-season DVD set, which had some problems with the quality of the materials in some isolated instances, the shows here -- apart from "Stamp Day for Superman" -- all look to have been transferred from near-pristine sources.

The fifth and sixth seasons of The Adventures of Superman close out Warner Home Video's DVD release of the series in the same grand style seen on the earlier season installments. As with Seasons Three and Four, which had short production schedules of 13 episodes each, owing to the switch to color shooting, there are a total of 26 episodes in the five-platter package, with all of the bonus materials this time confined to the fifth disc. The full-screen (1.33-to-1) film-to-video transfers are, if anything, generally slightly better and more consistent in these two rounds of episodes than on the previous color releases, and run rings around the old laserdisc releases, but there's still considerable variation in color tones between shots and scenes in the same episodes, owing to weaknesses in the preservation of original materials. Some shots (starting with the main-title sequence) have a depth and richness that approaches Technicolor, while others have a pale, dupey quality, for which the producers have done a fairly good job of compensating in the transfer itself. The sound is consistent, and set at a healthy volume, and the same easy-to-use menu seen on earlier volumes is present on each of these discs. The DVD volume closes out with a close look at the character of Jimmy Olsen as portrayed by Jack Larson, who has participated in the supplementary sections of all of these releases -- the interview and factual material are good as far as they go, but one heartily wishes that someone had drawn Larson out on what he learned as an actor on the series from director Tommy Carr, who helmed a major part of the first two seasons, and also from some of the veteran co-stars and guest stars; the most entertaining moment in the entire round of supplements derives from this volume, and a fan reaction to a dual role that he portrayed in one episode of the series. Given the usual track record on vintage series supplements for DVD, it's difficult to complain too loudly about the shortcomings, although one does hope that Larson will write an autobiography someday that really addresses his work, the series, and his character, which is one of the most memorable portrayals in early television.