Adventures of Superman, The - The Kryptonite Saga Vol. 1

Fantastic job, trimming away exposition and repetition, and blending in later soundtracks. I love OTR so its a easy sell for me, but there is no doubt that OTR serials -- like movie serials -- can really benefit from this sort of editing. Smoother, more immersive, clear narrative, all boosted by addition of a nicely chosen soundtrack.

One problem that usually makes me shy from radio drama is the very thing cut from this: recaps. And intros and outros. We in the twenty-first century like to consolidate entertainment experiences, meaning anyone listening to a radio drama these days is likely to listen to one episode after another.

The Scarlet Widow is intelligent, experienced, and crafty, all while being a believable villain. She bests Superman and it is earned.

We see Superman in an interesting position. For the first time he's frightened by the real prospect of death, but faces the threat bravely, proving his bravado transcends super-powers. Once again, believably so. All the while his civilian identity is in danger. He has to keep his behavior as Clark Kent in check constantly.

The music was a welcome addition. I wish there had been more Zimmer, because the MoS soundtrack would fit even better with the eerie/nostalgic atmosphere than Williams' score (as preposterous as that may sound).

This is a film of the mind. Listen and enjoy.

I'll make this short and sweet. I really enjoyed this edit. It's different than anything else in the fanedit community, completely worth your time. The music sucks you right into the narrative and is never overpowering. The dialogue is, at times, clunky, but that's a consequence of the medium. I'm very impressed with this edit. It really sounds professional, as though DC decided to breathe some new life into the old stories. Well done, sir.

Tasteful adaptation of lengthy radio serial.
All the intro music and closing music was removed, as well as those pesky recaps.
The discreet overlayering of recent music cues definitely enhanced the soundscape.
All audio editing struck me as seamless.

This would make a nice introduction to OTR (old time radio), and it is just short enough to listen to on a commute. Say, 40+ minutes each way.
Bear in mind, however, Superman was a childrens program, so the plot was simplistic and many characters are adult juveniles.
While not a kiddie show, it still seemed aimed toward 8-12 year olds. Nothing wrong with that, especially since recent movie action fare targets 14-22 year olds.

I certainly recommend this for the curious, and hope Siebener continues with a part 2, since the next section details Superman's fight with Atom Man, the most highly regarded section of the series.
Well done.

Superman was always my favorite superhero growing up, and probably still is. That's why I was intrigued by Siebener's edit based on a Superman radio program from the 1940s. I had no idea it existed! But I'm glad I had the privilege of listening to his work, as it provides not only a new perspective on the "Man of Steel" for modern-day audiences, but also serves as a well done enhanced version of this long forgotten but still entertaining material.

AUDIO/VISUAL QUALITY - 10

As usual, I rate quality compared to the original source. All the "defects" one can hear are from the original (I did listen to some of the original recordings to compare!). But Siebener actually enhances the quality by reducing the background static in places so it is never overpowering. The original voices and sound effects are very clear. Siebener also integrates music from the modern movies of Superman, and the quality of these additions is top notch.

AUDIO EDITING - 9

Siebener's audio editing is terrific, to say the least. He has taken 11 separate episodes, each with a canned beginning, canned ending, as well as "catch up" material that would be repetitive in a single edit, and reduced that to a single cohesive story. With regards to his editing, I could detect absolutely no hard edit points at all, and the same is true for the musical score he added. Truly a stupendous job considering the task at hand!

I have very few criticisms in this area. Perhaps in a few places the audio levels could have been tweaked just a bit more; and while there were no hard edit points, once in a while I could tell where there was a joining of two different episodes, or an early fade out. Finally, while the added music was generally outstanding and nicely varied, one particular musical selection (to me) felt just a bit overused.

But I must emphasize how small these few issues factor into the overall superb editing job that is on display here. Excellent work, Siebener!

VISUAL EDITING - 9
N/A - set to the same as AUDIO EDITING per instructions by the admins.

NARRATIVE - 8

Siebener does a commendable job piecing together a story that spans across 11 episodes so that it becomes one tale, told without repetition, and without plot holes.

Siebener also includes a couple commercial breaks, which I found to be fun and entertaining. Nice touch!

That said -- and this is no fault of Siebener's -- due to the nature of the radio program itself, there are parts that for me seemed to drag on a bit. I'm sure this is because for each installment, a specific length had to be met. Thus we get some areas that have a bit more exposition than I'd prefer. But generally speaking, the story moves along just fine. I just would have liked it to move a bit faster. :-)

ENJOYMENT - 8

The best part for me was experiencing the Superman universe from a whole new perspective, that in many ways is very different than all other mediums. Siebener's added music really helped me get into the story. Of special note is the introduction, where Siebener expertly synchronizes the most famous of Superman themes from John Williams' fantastic score with the narrative beginning, which for me was quite exhilarating to listen to! But throughout the edit, the added music really serves to pull the listener in; without it, I think this would have been a completely different (and not nearly as enjoyable) experience.

As this show was primarily meant for kids, I cannot take too much off for the fact that I found the story a bit one-dimensional. While it is not a comic book, I felt the story was similar in terms of depth and plot development. That's not a bad thing; it's sometimes fun to re-experience one's youth (as I did read Superman comic books all the time!), and in a different way (e.g., audio vs visual).

Additionally, one cannot help but notice how the radio show was influenced by the current events of WWII; this story takes place soon after the end of the war, and the idea that Nazi's were still a menace plays a part. I found this to enhance the listening experience, as it was similar to watching a movie in a specific period.

Finally, I found it interesting to hear how all the characters (Clarke, Lois, Perry, Jimmy, Superman) interact differently than what I'm used to. As Siebener points out, most of the events that take place in the radio show predate the comic books (and of course, the movies!)

OVERALL RATING - 8.5 (8.4 auto-calculated)

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable listening experience, and I have to say Siebener did an excellent job all around; his attention to detail is truly amazing, and I applaud him for introducing this site to a whole new category of fan edits.

I am definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series!

Great job, Siebener, on your first of what I hope to be many edits!

RECOMMENDATION

I can definitely recommend this edit to anyone who has a remote interest in Superman, and/or what radio programs were like in the 1940s. Also, given the uniqueness of this edit on fanedit.org (being the very first audio-only edit!), I would encourage everyone to give it a try. :-)

Again, well done Siebener!