Adventures of Superman (TV Series) Divide and Conquer (1958) User Reviews

Two For The Pirce Of One!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 27 January 2007]

This adventure takes place south of the border in some unnamed Latin American country. Perry White, along with Clark and Lois (no Jimmy) , are down there working with this country's President, attempting to publish a Latin American-edition of The Daily Planet.

Trouble is brewer, however, as the President knows that enemies close to him are ready to assassinate him, take over the country and its riches, and make the people poor. The current President shares all wealth of the country's mines with the people.

Sure enough, an attempt is made - foiled by Clark Kent seeing a bomb with his X-ray vision, and then later when Perry, Lois and the Prez are down in a mine shaft (with no security above them!) and it explodes from above, cutting off their air supply.

The big story, however, in this episode is Superman willing himself in half, becoming two Supermans at the same time (but with half the power)! The how, what and why he does this all make for an interesting show, albeit one with a million holes in it, of course. In another unfamiliar sight, we see Superman in jail!

Two for the Price of One....If You Can Buy That

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 14 February 2015]

Captain Kirk was split in two on a couple occasions, caught in some outer space continuum, so why not Superman. In this episode a South American country is on the verge of a coup. The Vice President is in cahoots with his co-conspirator to kill off the President (a benevolent, kind leader). If the President dies, this guy takes over and, in the process, takes over the mines, which are the chief source of income for the country. When a bomb is planted in the President's office, Superman intervenes (after one of the lamest of excuses Clark has ever come up with). Instead of Superman being seen as heroic, the Vice President quotes chapter and verse of the constitution and gets our guy put in prison. If he doesn't go, the President will be impeached. While in prison, Superman calls in an old friend, a physicist, who tells him of the ability for dense molecules to come apart but only after great will is brought forth. Superman proceeds to split in half, but his powers are greatly limited. Even flying becomes a great chore for the two halves. Perry, Lois, and the President go on a tour of the mines and are trapped by a dynamite explosion set off by "you-know-who." Now the question is, "Can Superman pull himself together?"

Enjoyable despite - or rather because of - the insane premise

[sssuperman-dot-com · 7/10 · 5 September 2015]

While this show tended to be much more grounded in the first two seasons, the colored episodes are known to take dips into the wonderful world of soft science fiction. This is certainly one of them. However, while some episodes focus on concepts which are clichéd (time travel, a little man from Mars) and others which are just boring (a machine that makes people think they're upside down? Seriously?), this one actually has a rather interesting one: Superman splitting into two selves, each significantly less powerful than the original version. The "explanation" for this, while nauseatingly bad, kind of makes sense in a "superheroey" way.

All around, this episode was just fine - nothing bad, but nothing special either - but the fun concept that drove it pushed my enjoyment of it up quite a bit. The concept of a single person splitting into two is an interesting concept to begin with, and as it is in this show it seems like a very good fit for Superman, both because it's nonsensical and because it gives Superman an interesting challenge, as the two Supermen are much weaker than the one Superman.

And while some might prefer a story where the two halves of a person don't get along, I really enjoyed the fact that this show did otherwise. It was just...well, cute. An unusual kind of friendship, yet as strong a friendship as there can be. I especially liked one Superman patting the other on the back as he flew off to save the day. I know this sounds dorky, but it made me think about the nature of love and friendship. Who is a better friend than one's self? Maybe, in a sense, this is the basis of love and friendship - identifying others with oneself in some way. But I digress.

Sure, if it was a longer and more complicated story, they probably would've mixed things up a bit. But this is Superman, a character who embodies an almost childlike simplicity and idealism. It just plain works for him this way.

There's other things I could talk about other than Superman's split, like the overarching plot line of the attempted overthrow of the president of the unnamed Latin American country, or Superman being in jail, or the fact that Jimmy didn't appear, or all the plot holes (but then again, what episode of this series doesn't have them?), or the fact that at one point, Clark Kent wore a bathrobe, but none of that seemed particularly interesting to me. Except the part about Clark Kent wearing a bathrobe. I always get excited whenever he wears something other than his normal suit.

In short, by the standards of this show's better offerings (such as many in the black-and-white era), it's not an especially well- written story, but it's definitely not bad either, and even if the basic concept is nonsensical as can be and maybe not utilized to its full extent, it's still worth watching. I certainly enjoyed it.

Gunboat Diplomacy and the Man of Steel

[redryan64 · 6/10 · 7 November 2014]

BEING SUCH A WELL known hero to a world-wide constituency, it was only natural that Superman would get involved in some foreign conflicts. In this case, the place is a fictitious Latin American country in the very real danger of a coup instigated by a treacherous Vice President.

IN ATTEMPTING TO prevent the overthrow of the legitimate regime, the Man of Steel is compelled to peaceably surrender himself and remain in prison. With the consultation of a scientist, Superman is able to split into two and after finding that he is weakened , eventually rejoins into one. But, we digress.

THE STORY IS one of those in which our hero gains a different super-power, but only temporarily. We can think of only one other such TV episode (Superman uses some super-levitation on Lois); but such happenings were commonplace in the pages of the Comic Books.

DUE TO ITS unusual theme, its venturing into the international scene and its use of color photography, we heartily endorse this episode.

WE VOTE FOR this as being one of the better episodes of the rapidly running out series, now in its last season.