You can't get it until the middle of October but Warner Home Video will soon be bringing out the first season of The Adventures of Superman on DVD — 26 episodes plus special features. There were 104 in all, so assuming this one sells, we'll probably see three more volumes spaced out over the next few years.
If you have to buy one set though, this is the one. Over the five years the series was in production, it got increasingly sappier and chintzier, becoming more of a kids' (only) show, filmed increasingly indoors and relying on stock "flying" footage to supply all the action. They got away with it because the title character was so appealing and because George Reeves was so perfect in the role. So were Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill as Lois Lane and Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen. (Noel replaced Phyllis after the first season, but I somehow saw all the Noel Neill episodes around eleven times before my local TV station ever reran the Coates shows…so Ms. Neill will forever be my Lois Lane.)
So the first 26 were generally the best. Partly because of the mood and partly because they were in black-and-white — but mostly because of the background of the folks who worked on them — these episodes have that old "movie serial" feel. Later, when the producers seemed to want to see how many of the scenes could be set in the Daily Planet offices, it felt more like a cheap, studio-bound TV show. It's interesting that while they were saving every possible dime on the last 52 shows, they did spring for the extra money to shoot those episodes in color. This showed amazing foresight since at the time, there was no market for the show in color. The negatives were just locked away and those episodes were syndicated in black-and-white until such time as it became economically feasible to go back into the vault and strike off color prints.
As soon as they're offered, I intend to order the first DVD release. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I'll probably order however many sets they bring out, even the last seasons. But I'll betcha I play Volume One more often than all the others combined.