Supermen... and boys

Like a lot of folks, I've been watching a lot of Superman lately. Everything from the Kirk Alyn serials to the 80's Superboy show to Lois & Clark. Just about the only thing I haven't watched recently is Superman Returns... and I intend to rent it soon.

One thing I've noticed is that the various Superman film and TV shows have almost always been well cast. But I still have my favorites.

Even though no one asked, here are my choices for best actor/character match ups.

Superman: Christopher Reeve (Superman the Movie)
Runner Up: Kirk Alyn (Superman serials)
Clark Kent: George Reeves (The Adventures of Superman)
Lois Lane: Phyllis Coates (Adventures of Superman S1)
Runner Up: Terri Hatcher (Lois & Clark)
Jimmy Olsen: Michael Landes (Lois & Clark S1)
Perry White: Lane Smith (Lois & Clark)
Runner Up: John Hamilton (Adventures of Superman)
Jonathan Kent: 3-Way Tie – Glenn Ford (Superman the Movie), Stuart Whitman (Superboy), John Schneider (Smallville)
Martha Kent: K Callan (Lois & Clark)
Runner Up: Annette O'Toole (Smallville)
Lex Luthor: Tie – Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Clancy Brown (Superman the Animated Series)
Superboy: Gerard Christopher (Superboy S2-4)
Lana Lang: Tie – Stacy Haiduk (Superboy) and Annette O'Toole (Superman 3)

And my favorite Jor-El and Lara are George Lazenby(!) and Britt Ekland(!) from Superboy (even if they were, technically, imposters.).

Least favorites:
Superman: Dean Cain (Lois & Clark) – Not a bad Superman, just my least favorite.
Lois Lane: Noell Neill (The Adventures of Superman) – Not bad in the serials, though.
Superboy: Tom Welling (Smallville) – This guy just annoys me.
Lana Lang: Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) – Ditto.