Superman and Perry Mason, Their Respective Owners Own the Copyrights and Such
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A SUPERMAN & PERRY MASON ADVENTURE By Bruce Kanin Originally written October 2016 Revised July 2018 1 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin Disclaimer The original stories presented herein are Copyright © 2018 Bruce Kanin. All rights reserved. With regard to other aspects, such as those related to The Adventures of Superman and Perry Mason, their respective owners own the copyrights and such. These other aspects have merely borrowed here for the purposes of telling a story. 2 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin 3 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin 4 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin INTRODUCTION BACK IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1950S, just before the television series The Adventures of Superman moved from black & white to color, CBS television produced what is termed a “backdoor pilot” for a new lawyer series called Perry Mason. The pilot occurred in two parts, with the first part being a special hour-long broadcast of The Adventures of Superman (normally presented as half-hour episodes) and the second being an hour-long pilot for Perry Mason. Unfortunately, the people behind Perry Mason decided to scrap their pilot after realizing that the intrepid lawyer and his stories should be wholly based on science, not science fiction and fantasy, which is what The Adventures of Superman involved. This also meant scrapping the backdoor pilot – the special hour-long episode of The Adventures of Superman. Of course, none of the above actually happened. No, it didn’t, but it is a “fun” way of imagining how these two beloved television series could be linked with one another. In fact, the two shows barely overlapped from a time period standpoint. The Adventures of Superman began in 1952 and ended its sixth season in 1958. Perry Mason began in 1957 and ended its ninth season in 1966. Also noteworthy is that The Adventures of Superman produced black & white episodes in its first two seasons; the remaining four years were produced in color (although back then, few people had color TVs, so they probably didn’t know that). Perry Mason was, with one exception, shot in black & white for its entire run. The lone exception was its 1966 color episode “The Case of the Twice Told Twist” from the final season of that series. That said, the tale presented herein takes place during the B&W era of The Adventures of Superman. In fact, it occurs sometime between the end of the first season and beginning of the second, which began in 1953. As for Perry Mason, 5 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin since it didn’t premier until 1957, we just have to imagine, as mentioned above, that there really was a pilot created back then that was scrapped, and its filmed reels lost. What a shame, but at least this story remains. J 6 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin Acknowledgements To the men and women that made The Adventures of Superman and Perry Mason, two beloved series that continue live on in the hearts and minds of a great many fans. 7 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: “Murder in Malibu” 8 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin PROLOGUE THERE’S A COMMON MISCONCEPTION that the state of Kansas is devoid of forests. Perhaps what lends to that idea is that this state, smack in the middle of America’s Great Plains, is flat and without mountains. That much is true. Its highest point is Mount Sunflower – the “peak” that gives Kansas its nickname – which hugs the state line with Colorado and checks in at a mere four thousand feet and change. Considering that Kansas itself is a mere two thousand feet or so above sea level, the notion that mountains aren’t in Kansas is a reasonable one. But forests? The Sunflower State has a few million acres of them, with one in particular being outside of Smallville, a medium-size town in the middle of Kansas. It was there that teens Clark Kent and Pete Ross would often walk with their dogs, Shelby, a golden retriever, and Abigail, an Eskland, respectively. Today, a crisp mid-October afternoon, was no different. The two friends and their dogs were out amongst the bright orange hickory trees, trying to get a walk in before a cold front marched through their neck of the woods, so to speak. The teens chatted about their favorite subjects: college sports, high school classes, politics, and … girls. For Clark, his friend Pete was someone he felt close to, like the brother he didn’t have. However, as close as they had become, there was one thing that Clark could not share. His secret. Other than Clark himself, there were only two people in all of Smallville … and Kansas … and, well, perhaps the entire world … that knew how “special” Clark was. Clark himself only figured it out over the past few years. The gradual realization set in that he was “different” from other kids his age. He could run awfully fast at times … faster than anyone had a right to. One time he kept pace with an eastbound 9 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin Union Pacific rail locomotive and its trail of box- and flatcars speeding towards Kansas City. Objects that normal people couldn’t budge seemed light as balsa wood to Clark … such as when Pa’s tractor was once out of control and about to overtake Shelby. Then there was the time that Clark and his friends were playing baseball at school. Clark himself had hit a deep home run into bushes beyond the schoolyard. It was their only ball, so they all went looking for it. The search went on for nearly a half- hour before Clark himself had found it – behind a rock. He didn’t see it immediately, though. As he had later told his foster mom, “all I had to do was look around and there it was behind a rock. I saw right through the rock.” Clark’s foster parents then realized that they could no longer hold back telling him about his origins – that he had come to them as a baby aboard a rocket – and that these strange powers and abilities were likely the result of him being from “somewhere else” – probably from somewhere in outer space, not Earth. It was hard for Clark to accept that, but since that time, with the guidance of his Ma and Pa, he had learned to use his powers discretely and to hide the fact that he had them, lest too much attention be drawn to him and the Kents, disrupting their lives. Pa Kent drove it home to Clark: “Son, one day you’re going to do amazing things for the world. Your Ma and I feel it in our bones…” “…Look at all you can do, and think of everything you’ll be able to do to help people. But once you show people your incredible abilities, they’ll want a piece of you, from the government to everyday folks. While you’re gonna be a – a superman – you’re still gonna be just a man, too. And a man needs his privacy…” “…Plus you’ll needs to protect your loved ones from nasty people that you might cross, Clark. So you’re gonna have to keep your powers a secret - at least, you, Clark Kent, will have to keep’em a secret. I don’t know how you’re gonna do that, but 10 THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN / PERRY MASON © 2018 Bruce Kanin people can’t know that the face of this super-powerful man is the face of you, Clark Kent.” So, even though Clark and Pete were close friends, Clark kept his unique abilities to himself. It was a source of anxiety at times, though, because he longed to use them openly to help people. As such, Clark found it frustrating to read newspapers or listen to the radio when there’d be reports of natural disasters or crimes in which he might have made a difference. Such opportunities to “help” were rare, in Smallville, but as Clark and Pete walked through the forest, one was about to arise. As the pair of teens chatted, Clark’s super-sensitive hearing detected a “click”. He spun around, and at the far edge of the forest saw a man dressed like a hunter aiming his rifle into the woods. Clark then turned his head and followed the direction of the rifle to its target: a majestic reindeer with antlers in full display that was munching on whatever presented itself as food on the floor of the forest. Clark had been taught by his parents to respect life, and that in turn helped him nurture an instinct to protect the lives of others, human or animal. This, in turn, led him to the conclusion that he himself could never kill, no matter what the circumstances. As such, without hesitation, Clark ran to what he perceived to be the midpoint between the man and the deer. Clark stood there, facing the hunter in the distance, and with a hand up, yelled, “No!” But it was too late – the hunter had pulled the trigger – the bullet was on its way toward the deer – and Clark. Pete, seeing this, called out “Clark!” but then watched in horror – and then utter amazement - when Clark remained standing despite the bullet clearly hitting his chest. Pete ran over to his friend and stood there examining Clark.