While most of the stories in the first TV season were based on radio stories, the first to air in his second season was a recapitulation of Superman’s inaugural story in Action Comics #1, in which he saves an innocent man (or in the comics case, innocent woman) from the electric chair.

But with some variations, the first TV season—with every episode shot quickly, before any got on the air—was heavy on crime stories, and looked to be getting harder edged towards the end. But then producer Bob Maxwell was forced out, and Superman turned softer and more establishment again, until by the third season, Superman stories were more child-friendly and comic.