I'm nearly done with Season 2 now and I'm ordering the 3-4 set. There's definitely a shift in tone from Season 1 as Whit Elsworth replaces Bob Maxwell in the producers' chair. Maxwell pushed the noirish, hard-as-nails approach in the first season and continually butted heads with DC/National, who were concerned about the effect on young viewers. I have to agree with Aldous, though, that most of it's fairly harmless by today's standards, with the possible exception of "The Haunted Lighthouse" (nothing graphic, but that voice is creepy!) and some really mean-spirited moments in "The Evil Three" and "the Birthday Letter."
Whether it gets "better" in successive seasons depends on how you like your Superman. Certainly things begin to lighten up with Season 2, although there are still some really nice noirish visuals in several episodes and a few tense moments here and there. But this is where Jimmy and Lois begin to bring a lot more light humor into the proceedings and you have the first villains you could classify as "campy." The highlight, for me, are the scripts where Superman performs some truly super feats, and the episodes where he faces some problems that make even him sweat (like "Panic In the Sky," "Superman In Exile" and "The Defeat of Superman").
I certainly agree that Phyllis Coates is the hottest Lois Lane of all time. And thanks to her relative lack of interest in wooing Superman, easily my favorite. (But then anyone who's read my posts here over the years knows "the romance" is my least favorite aspect of the mythos.) Noel Neill is a classy and beautiful lady, but she's definitely more the "sisterly" type and, it must be said, not the most skilled actress there ever was.
What really impresses me about this show is its overall standards of quality. If you've ever seen other shows from this far back in time, they tend to look pretty slap-dash, especially the kid's shows which often look like they were filmed in someone's garage. TAOS still looks marvelous after 50 years.
Incidentally, the fourth and final box set has been announced for Nov. 14.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6282And yes, George Reeves still rules as the ultimate on-screen Superman. Keep your eyes peeled for the Reeves biopic "Hollywoodland" on Sept. 8.
http://www.hollywoodlandmovie.com/