Though this episode may take place in England, a notable change considering all the action usually takes place in Metropolis, it doesn't make a huge difference outside of the characters having mildly annoying stereotypical British accents and mannerisms. What's far more distinctive is the seemingly supernatural focus, a relative rarity this early on in the series. A late magician, Brockhurst, claimed that he would reappear as a ghost five years after his death, and of course, it's been five years since he died. Now Clark, Jimmy, and the local inspector have to figure out what's going on, especially since Sir Arthur, Brockhurt's manager and a friend of Perry White's, is pretty freaked out - he thinks that Brockhurst wants to come after him because he was always kind of nutty in real life and thought that Arthur was cheating him.
Overall, this was an enjoyable episode mostly because Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen were wonderfully portrayed by George Reeves and Jack Larson as always. I found it amusing, if perhaps a bit weird, just how angry Clark got over being asked to cover a story about something he thought was based on superstition. Reeves' ability to convey such intense emotion in Kent was truly excellent (one of my all-time favorite aspects of the show is how it makes Clark feel like a real person with genuine emotions), but I guess it also felt odd that Clark would get SO angry about something like that. He is an intelligent, logical, and down-to-earth person, so I'm not surprised he would have no patience for treating the fanciful as reality, but I wouldn't have expected him to get quite that worked up about it. It's also dreadfully ironic considering that Clark himself is an alien living among us who can fly with no means of propulsion, which isn't exactly the most grounded, believable thing ever. I can only speculate that Clark's passion for his job and for helping his community made him hate the idea of wasting time on what seemed to him to be a worthless assignment, especially since Superman's time would be wasted too.
This episode, while certainly solid, isn't one of the series' best or anything, mostly because of how they handled the villain and his schemes. For one thing, if they wanted to tell a story about a person faking supernatural happenings, they could've stood to come up with more interesting tricks, especially since Brockhurst was supposed to be one of the best magicians in the world. There wasn't anything wrong with the ways in which the ghost's appearance were faked, they were just quite mundane. But a bigger issue is how the villain's motives were not well developed; he thought his manager was cheating him, but apparently, this was ONLY because he was insane - no other elaboration whatsoever required. What's even more inexcusable is how they allude to Brockhurst having a bone to pick with the local inspector because Brockhurst got in trouble with the law, but don't see fit to elaborate on that beyond vaguely mentioning some heist. Why would a famous magician even want or need to commit a crime, anyway?
Another flaw connected with Brockhurst is how they explain several really major plot points by citing his amazing disguise abilities, but they do this in a way that's barely expanded on and very hard to believe. Yes, plot holes are par for the course in this show, but at the very least, they could've mentioned his disguise abilities earlier on so it would feel more natural and less like a cop-out.
Of course, I always enjoy seeing Clark and his friends investigating mysteries as opposed to just Superman punching villains (another major reason I love the show), and this episode had that, which is definitely a positive point in its favor. It was especially nice to see Jimmy doing some investigating and not just Clark, as I love seeing that he has some skills as a reporter despite his lack of sense at times.
Overall, this was still a fine episode, with an interesting premise and the primary characters being lovable and well-acted as always. There are just several aspects where I can't help but wish they'd done a better job and made better use of the premise. I can look past plot holes, but it's a little harder when patching up the plot holes would have made the story not just more sensible, but more interesting. Still, it's not really that big a deal; if you like this show, you'll enjoy this.
Overall, this was an enjoyable episode mostly because Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen were wonderfully portrayed by George Reeves and Jack Larson as always. I found it amusing, if perhaps a bit weird, just how angry Clark got over being asked to cover a story about something he thought was based on superstition. Reeves' ability to convey such intense emotion in Kent was truly excellent (one of my all-time favorite aspects of the show is how it makes Clark feel like a real person with genuine emotions), but I guess it also felt odd that Clark would get SO angry about something like that. He is an intelligent, logical, and down-to-earth person, so I'm not surprised he would have no patience for treating the fanciful as reality, but I wouldn't have expected him to get quite that worked up about it. It's also dreadfully ironic considering that Clark himself is an alien living among us who can fly with no means of propulsion, which isn't exactly the most grounded, believable thing ever. I can only speculate that Clark's passion for his job and for helping his community made him hate the idea of wasting time on what seemed to him to be a worthless assignment, especially since Superman's time would be wasted too.
This episode, while certainly solid, isn't one of the series' best or anything, mostly because of how they handled the villain and his schemes. For one thing, if they wanted to tell a story about a person faking supernatural happenings, they could've stood to come up with more interesting tricks, especially since Brockhurst was supposed to be one of the best magicians in the world. There wasn't anything wrong with the ways in which the ghost's appearance were faked, they were just quite mundane. But a bigger issue is how the villain's motives were not well developed; he thought his manager was cheating him, but apparently, this was ONLY because he was insane - no other elaboration whatsoever required. What's even more inexcusable is how they allude to Brockhurst having a bone to pick with the local inspector because Brockhurst got in trouble with the law, but don't see fit to elaborate on that beyond vaguely mentioning some heist. Why would a famous magician even want or need to commit a crime, anyway?
Another flaw connected with Brockhurst is how they explain several really major plot points by citing his amazing disguise abilities, but they do this in a way that's barely expanded on and very hard to believe. Yes, plot holes are par for the course in this show, but at the very least, they could've mentioned his disguise abilities earlier on so it would feel more natural and less like a cop-out.
Of course, I always enjoy seeing Clark and his friends investigating mysteries as opposed to just Superman punching villains (another major reason I love the show), and this episode had that, which is definitely a positive point in its favor. It was especially nice to see Jimmy doing some investigating and not just Clark, as I love seeing that he has some skills as a reporter despite his lack of sense at times.
Overall, this was still a fine episode, with an interesting premise and the primary characters being lovable and well-acted as always. There are just several aspects where I can't help but wish they'd done a better job and made better use of the premise. I can look past plot holes, but it's a little harder when patching up the plot holes would have made the story not just more sensible, but more interesting. Still, it's not really that big a deal; if you like this show, you'll enjoy this.