The fifth episode of the first season of Superboy from 1988 featuring John Haymes Newton as Clark Kent / Superboy, Stacy Haiduk as Lana Lang, and Jim Calvert as T.J.White, featuring Doug Barr.   An episode that feels almost like a pilot episode with a more assured approach to some special effects that would have been ambitious on a TV budget of the late 80s.

Lana has organised a student protest to a death-machine laser that’s been developed in the campus laboratory. When the football team show up to offer support, one pays too much attention to Lana … and another has a gun!

COUNTDOWN TO NOWHERE
featuring Doug Barr

The security guard won’t let Lana inside, until one of the footballers threatens to kill her. Inside, the guard tries to call for help but is knocked out and Lana fights back.

The laser is stolen and they use gas to cover their escape.

While reporting on the demonstration, T.J. notices that the guard has left his post. Clark uses his X-Ray vision to see inside.

He sees the gas and the two guards dying. Sending T.J. to fetch a guard, Clark rushes inside and breaks down the laboratory door.

He sucks all of the gas out of the room and a recovering guard tells him that they’ve taken the laser and Lana.

Clark rushes outside, ready to go after Lana – but there are too many people around.

Meanwhile, the villains make good their escape but Lana isn’t happy playing hostage.

Clark and T.J. question the guards and one admits that the footballer players were a little old to be college kids. At Clark’s prompting, the guard remembers overhearing one of the men talking about getting to a “main event” within ninety minutes.

Clark and T.J. try to work out how far they could go within 90 minutes. Clark’s mom calls him and asks if he’s thinking of becoming Superboy. Clark thinks he may have no choice.

On the TV, a news report talks of a shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center – the Main Event.

Clark says he’ll meet T.J. at Canaveral, after he’s called the Highway Patrol. When T.J. leaves, Clark looks for a private place … behind a bush.

After a rustle of leaves, Superboy takes off … much to the surprise of a nearby student.

Superboy powers onward, while the thieves plan a way through the launch site’s security. They plan to reach an awaiting arm’s dealer who’ll pay $20m for the laser, using the shuttle launch as cover.

Using the laser, they commandeer a visiting 4-star General’s helicopter – the one vehicle no one would stop.

They take-off, with the struggling Lana still fighting back. But Superboy isn’t far away…

Superboy’s entry into the no-fly zone alerts the radar operators. Superboy tells security that their weapons can’t hurt him, and that he’s there to fight for “Truth, Justice, and the American Way”.

He hears Lana scream and he takes off. The helicopter isn’t far away.

Lana and the thieves see the approaching Superboy, but no one recognises him.

Even at full throttle, the helicopter can’t escape.

Before Superboy can bring the chopper down, Lana is pushed out.

Superboy catches her! Lana doesn’t know who this strange man is, but she’s overwhelmed.

They land nearby where T.J. is waiting for Clark. T.J. is full of questions and he wants to know who this flying man is, but Superboy has other priorities.

Superboy heads back to the helicopter…

…but this time he has to take on the laser!

At first he’s knocked down…

…but then he gets the measure of the laser. He uses his heat vision to melt the device.

They try to run …

…but they can’t escape Superboy!

The pilot gives up struggling…

…and Superboy hands them over to the authorities.

No one can quite believe it…

…but Superboy has other places to be.

Superboy returns to Lana and T.J. They tell Clark about the flying man.

Countdown To Nowhere is, to my memory, the first episode I saw of Superboy and I’ve long wondered if they made it to be the pilot episode.  There are several pointers to this possibility.

Firstly, it appears that Superboy hasn’t made a public appearance – judging by the telephone call from Clark’s mom.  Secondly, no one recognises him – including Lana and T.J.  Thirdly, Superboy introduces himself with the George Reeves mantra “Truth, Justice and the American Way” (as though justifying the series to the audience).

Fourthly, most of the episode is given over to action – Superboy rescuing Lana, and then battling against lasers, before bringing the helicopter down to Earth.  This leaves zero introduction for any of the characters – with the exception of the demonstration at the beginning in which it’s established that the regular three know each other.

There’s plenty of action here, and much of the budget must have been spent on the special effects.  Not only is there the laser effect, but there’s also the “heat vision”, the “reverse gas” effect, together with the flying sequences of Superboy – which includes wire work and CSO.

I recall a commentary on the V pilot in which Kenneth Johnson said that each video-effect “laser” blast cost $1,000 (or something like that).  Each time one appeared on screen, he said “that’s a thousand dollars… that’s another thousand…”  If that was true, it must have been true for Superboy – just a few years later.  That’s some budget they’re using up for this episode.

In addition to all of this, the episode has a semi-major guest star in the guise of Doug Barr (who most of us no doubt remember from The Fall Guy).

In short, this is an action-packed adventure which they went to town on.  They wouldn’t do that for just any regular episode (compare this with the previous under-budgeted one), so my guess is that, all things considered, this was intended to be the pilot.  Maybe it was filmed a little later in order to have a “blockbuster” opening episode, which would explain why it falls fifth in sequence.

Is this the best episode of the season?  No way, but it’s a d*mn fine way to start your inauguration into the world of Superboy.