The Lois & Clark Concordance

"Lethal Weapon"

Episode 12 of Season 4

Airdate January 5, 1997
Written by Grant Rosenberg
Directed by Jim Charleston

Entry transcribed by Kryptozil

episode trivia

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Lethal Weapon, aside from referring to a fatal piece of weaponry, has an extra meaning when referring to Lois & Clark. Back when Lois was being menaced by the Prankster, she showed up on Clark's doorstep with pizza and the Mel Gibson movie series "Lethal Weapon." LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION Brownstone living room Metropolis Mercantile Bank Carter’s house Daily Planet Newsroom Brownstone Bedroom Valente Jewelers Star Labs Brownstone Kitchen Seedy bar where Jerry hangs out Brownstone Living Room The Hall of Justice NAME THAT TUNE Song (title and artist unknown) playing in a bar. Lyrics include "I don't know how to fly. After all, I'm not Superman." CLARK’S LAME EXCUSES Clark to Lois – “It’s the bank alarm, I better check it out besides it will give you time to hone in on that card sense of yours.” POWERS USED AS CLARK Heat vision to warm up the fire while playing poker with Lois Super hearing to hear the bank alarm X-ray vision to see Perry and Jerry at the front door for dinner X-ray vision to peek at Lois in the elevator POWERS USED AS SUPERMAN Flying Super speed to chase after the jewelry robbers X-ray vision to find the generator in the fruit cart Super strength the tear the fruit cart apart Heat vision to blow up the generator Super speed to wrap Carter up in police line tape Self healed after he was grazed with the Kryptonite bullet SUPERMAN DIVERTS DISASTER! Bank alarm Valente Jewelers robbery Saves the Hall of Justice from disintegration NOT SO SUPERMAN Buries 50 feet underground when he comes in to land at the bank Loses control of his super speed and hits a red cross billboard and leaves fire tracks on the street when he finally stops Looses control of his super breath and trashes Star Labs Bruises Lois arm with super strength while he hugs her Loses control of his heat vision while trying to heat up a cold cup of coffee at the DP. Losses control of his heat vision trying to cook the roast for dinner Pulls the door knob out of the door Losses control of his super speed while typing on his laptop His super hearing is super loud when he tunes into a police call Hesitates to spin into his costume to go to the robbery Ploughs through the jewelers windows and rebounds into ‘Metropolis Mattress Co.’ truck on the street Hiccups and trashes the Brownstone Breaks a chair as he stands up Sneezes and trashes Star Labs Trashes the street as he comes in to land to save The Hall of Justice CLARK KENT Would never use buzz buzz to cheat at cards Tells Lois he can’t go running to Dr. Klein for everything Tells Lois that the check up with Dr. Klein was inconclusive Drinks white wine cooking for Perry and Jerry Just when he feels like a normal everyday guy, something like this happens (losing control of his powers) For the first time in his life he feels like he could hurt innocent people Feels like a loaded gun and is unsafe for Lois to be around him Sleeps downstairs even though Lois says he doesn’t have to after he finds out he bruised her arm when he hugged her Lois will tell Perry that he wont be in to work because he doesn’t feel 100% but the problem is he feels 700% Hesitates to spin into superman when he hears the super loud police call Feels that his biggest strength has become his biggest weakness He can’t go out there like this so he asks Lois to go solo (to investigate Jerry) Senses the effects of Red Kryptonite are completely gone and thinks that a little bit of Green Kryptonite counteracts the Red Kryptonite LOIS LANE Calls Superman’s x-ray vision "buzz buzz" Plays solitaire alone while waiting for Clark to get home Makes a joke that Superman is getting slow in his old age Wants Clark to see Dr. Klein Invites Jerry and Perry to dinner to celebrate Perry’s new job Wants Clark to get a second opinion on Dr. Klein’s diagnoses Doesn’t remember Jerry being such a charmer Deals with anxiety in a manic state but makes Clarks worse Forgot she invited Perry and Jerry to dinner and doesn’t even have crackers and cheese to serve and only has a couple of bottles of water a few lemons and half a tuna sandwich in the fridge Tells Clark to heat the frozen roast at the equivalent of 4 hours at 220 degrees Clark bruises her arm when he hugs her Says ‘you know me always running into things’ and Clark says ‘no you’re not’ Says ‘love you’ to Clark when she goes to work and leaves him at home Thinks Jerry is behind everything Saw Jerry talking to a guy at the bar who Lois and Clark helped to bust last year Doesn’t want to break Perry’s heart unless they have hard facts on Jerry Tells Perry she also believes Jerry started to love him Tells Clark that ‘he doesn’t stand a chance at poker’ and he says ‘you’re probably right’ SUPERMAN Spins out of superman into Clark for poker Passes flying, super hearing and super strength check at Star Labs His powers have kicked into overdrive but he already knew it before Dr. Klein told him Dr. Klein explains that he has a medical condition that may not be potentially dangerous to him but to everyone around him Tells the mayor that he will personally take care of the damage he has caused and that it happened while testing a ‘new crime fighting procedure’ Tells the city he has ‘a small health problem’ and the doctor who is treating him expects a complete recovery Tells the Mayor that he isn’t out of control when she refers to him as out of control! The Mayor requests the city handles its own emergencies and that the city is off limits to him Dr. Klein tells him to be patient and stop pacing because he’s wearing a trench in the floor when he is waiting for his results Tells Dr. Klein he’s not used to being patient Can’t stand the frustration of doing nothing Won’t take extortion LOIS AND CLARK Lois to Clark – “It may be very manly not to show concern but I’m your wife and I share your concerns…so how concerned are you?” JIMMY OLSEN Never met Jerry before Has a picture of Perry and him fishing on his desk Thinks there’s something fishy with Jerry Calls Jerry the boy wonder Did some checking and found out the Amprose (who Jerry supposedly works for) went out of business two months ago Also found out that a gold Rolex watch was stolen from the jewelry store PERRY WHITE Doesn’t think he should be embarrassed by Jerry because people pass bad cheques everyday Admits Jerry and him never got along very well When Jerry was growing up Perry spent all his waking hours at the Daily Planet ‘clawing out a living’ and wasn’t around when Jerry was young The only time he saw Jerry was when he wanted something or when he had to bail him out of trouble Would like to spend time with Jerry while he is in town Perry talks about Jimmy to Perry…A LOT Gives a Cuban cigar to Clark and jimmy Perry doesn’t know what to say when Jerry gives him the Rolex Tells Jerry that the gifts are unnecessary because he has ‘already given him the greatest gift by turning his life around so completely’ Cashes out his retirement for Jerry to pay back his debts He tells Jerry that ‘”Whatever trouble you’re in we can work it out together” Wanted to believe that Jerry had changed He might sound crazy but he really did start to believe the kid started to love him Asks Lois to return the Rolex Calls Lois honey PERRY-ISMS “You should sow what you reap” Clark – “Aren’t these illegal” (talking about the Cuban cigars) Perry – “Its’ nice to bend the rules every once and a while!” To Jerry – “I’m gonna help you out from under.” JERRY WHITE The culprit for exposing Superman to red kryptonite Passed bad checks for a month and went to prison Spent the last couple of years upstate at the Glenfield Springs Prison Gives Perry a tie, Cuban cigars and a gold Rolex watch as presents Cant remember the last time he gave his Dad a birthday or Christmas present Thinks Lois’ hair looks great and the dress she’s wearing brings out the ‘highlights in her eyes’ Thinks Lois orders up a ‘mean pizza’ Doesn’t know how long he will be in town but has a ‘bunch of regional sales meetings and seminars’ Wants to spend time with his Father Did time with a guy that taught him about a ‘rock’ aka red kryptonite Sales trainee at Ambrose Specialties Under debt from passing bad checks Considers Clark to be the dean of American reporting Cuts a deal with Mr Gadget Next time he starts over he’s really starting over MR GADGET Starred in his own kids TV program Living with his son (Carter) Been to prison Paroled on good behavior Drives a blue van license plate RAH 427 Threatens to disintegrates every building in the city unless he gets a billion dollars Will kill Jerry’s father if Jerry doesn’t cooperate with him CARTER Mr Gadget's son Poses as a Police officer Is a disappointment to his father DR KLEIN Will do everything he can to get to the bottom of Superman’s problem Wants superman to go home and relax and soak in a tub…and Superman replies, ‘but I’m Superman!’ Tells Superman his ‘way’ is to act and move forward but he should try turning inward and find that deep mental focus and control you powers and leads him in meditation OTHER CHARACTERS Jerry’s bar friends Mattress truck drivers Mayor of Metropolis DEVICES Red Kryptonite kept in a lead lined suitcase Green Kryptonite bullets Amped up turbo charged low frequency generator – produces high intensity low frequency waves and disintegrates its target Remote control for the generator HINT HINT! Um loosing control of his heat vision at the Daily Planet!!! Blowing up the kitchen at dinner in front of Perry and Jerry duh! NEWS HEADLINES Double Murder Investigation On (Mr. Gadget reading the Daily Planet outside Valentine Jewelers inspecting what Red Kryptonite does to Superman) Perry asks for those ‘Superman destruction photos’ Evening final edition Friday January 17 Metropolis City Edition: “Gadget and Son: Loose Nuts No More!” “Jerry White, Son of Planet Editor Also in Custody” “Stolen goods recovered” SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO Tells Jerry that Superman will put in a good word for him for doing the right thing in the end (for the next time he starts over) SUPERMAN'S ADVICE “Rumors are far more dangerous than the truth and I never hide from the truth.” - Addressing the reporters at the Mayor’s speech “There’s a gadget that needs fixing.” – After Jerry closes the suitcase with the Red Kryptonite and regains control of his powers to save The Hall of Justice BITS AND PIECES Lois and Clark drink red wine while they play poker Perry, Jerry Lois and Clark ordered a pepperoni pizza for dinner License plate of the getaway car is TCM 276 Perry and Jerry eat celery and drink white wine waiting for dinner Lois and Clark take 5 pillows off the bed when they get into bed 2 green screen flying scenes Logo on Mayor’s podium when she addresses the reporters reads ‘City of Metropolis Qui Transtulit Sustinet’ Says ‘WRQE’, ‘4’, ‘LNN’, ‘6NEWS’ on microphones on the Mayor’s podium ‘Sweet and crunchy red delicious apples .99 a lb’ - sign on fruit cart where the generator is stashed outside The Hall of Justice Clock in last scene reads 10.10 in DP American and Metropolis flags flying outside the Hall of Justice Signs that read ‘Downtown’ on poles on sidewalk (I think the downtown sign in AKA Superman are the same ones) CLARK’S TIES Brown metallic Green, white and black patterned LIFE GOES ON “Kiddie show host in brazen heist! Stuns country as popular personality turns to crime” - (newspaper headline that Mr Gadget has saved) Fourth Season Trivia "Lethal Weapon"

Nancy Dussault, who portrayed the rather bloodthirsty mayor of Metropolis and is best known for her role as Muriel Rush in the 80s sitcom Too Close for Comfort, has a double Superman connection. While Dean Cain was her first brush with the Man of Steel, Tom Welling of Smallville fame, played Rob Meltzer just before he became Clark Kent. So who was Meltzer? He was a recurring character on Judging Amy, a family drama set in Connecticut. Nancy Dussault played a character named Alison Tobey on the series. Well, maybe that's more like six degrees of Superman, but it's an interesting coincidence. Speaking of coincidences, as pointed out by transcriber kryptozil, the mayor's podium displayed the phrase, "City of Metropolis Qui Transtulit Sustinet." If you remove the mention of Metropolis, the Latin phrase is the motto of Connecticut (Judging Amy again?). Roughly translated it means "he who (is) transplanted still sustains." It's a good motto for Superman. He was certainly transplanted and definitely sustains. That pesky red rock returned in "Lethal Weapon." Unlike Smallville, which used red krytonite as a one-note gimmick to cause good boy Clark to become bad boy horny Clark, Lois & Clark used red kryptonite correctly. According to the actual lore of the red cousin of green K, it affects Kryptonians differently each time they're exposed to the rock. The first exposure in "Individual Responsibility" made Superman apathetic and something of a leisure junkie. In his second exposure in "Ultra Woman," his powers were transferred to Lois, and in this final exposure his powers went kerflooey and he became a lethal weapon. A little history of Jerry White, Perry's son, at least from the John Byrne (revamped Superman's origin in 1985) version. It's easy to see why Byrne's version of Jerry White didn't make it into the Lois & Clark back story. While it's true Jerry was a troubled youth and broke the law in both incarnations, Jerry in the comics had a much darker past. He was Lex Luthor's biological son. Before you get too nauseous, keep in mind that Lex in the comics was Perry's peer age-wise. When Perry went overseas to cover the war, Lex seduced Perry's wife Alice. She was vulnerable due to the rumors that Perry, listed as missing, had been killed. To everyone's surprise, a healthy Perry White returned home from the war, but sadly Alice's tryst led to a son fathered by Lex Luthor. However, Perry did not find out Jerry was Lex's son until Jerry reached adulthood. Needless to say the discovery broke Perry's heart, which was compounded by Jerry dying from a gunshot wound. Yes, comic books have become soap operas over the years. Oddly after Byrne went to the trouble of fleshing out Perry White's character and giving him more of a history, the next revamp seemed to take it all away. There was no mention of his son Jerry or Lex Luthor's nefarious affair with Alice. Heck, I'm not even sure if Alice still exists. To end this on a lighter note, I loved the comical kitchen destruction scene. Kudos to the prop department for rigging a hilarious meltdown of appliances and kudos to Dean and Teri for making something so implausible believable. At the time this episode was made, computer generated imagery was fairly new and very time consuming and so was not used a great deal on Lois & Clark (with the exception of "Virtually Destroyed") because the special effects department only had 8 days to produce what amounted to a short movie every week. I'm actually grateful because I think CGI has been overused. It was fine for minor effects like heat vision, but that's about all. Just my opinion. I remember when this episode first aired some fans misinterpreted what Lois shouted when Clark was trying to cook the roast. As you know his heat vision wouldn't stop and so Lois was warning him that the roast was being seriously overcooked. At one point she shouted "Ding!" in imitation of an oven timer. However, some fans thought Teri had shouted "Dean!" and believed it was a blooper overlooked by the editors. ;-)