1. Lois and Superman's choice/non choice of birth control.
Oh boy, do I ever NOT want to have this conversation, but...
Dr. Ruth Westheimer once wrote in one of her books that if she had Three Wishes, one of them would be for a "perfect" means of birth control, because so far, there isn't one. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of Superman and Lois being so thoughtless as not being on the pill or using a prophylactic, take heart in the observation that they might have been but none of these are ever 100%.
This reminds me of a snippet of dialogue from Alan Moore's SUPREME:
SUPREME: "I just thought that because of...y'know...who I am, we could never really be together." DIANA DANE: "
Uh, does that mean you're anatomically abnormal in some way?" Incidentally, I remember reading in the STAR TREK writers guide that one aspect of the show, that obviously wasn't going to be touched upon, but the writers were to keep in the back of their minds, was the very controversial idea that birth control in the Starfleet on long term missions was mandatory for single women. After all, Man + Woman + Time = Babies.
Some Ayn Rand types have been dismissive of TREK as "liberal pap" because its "utopia" has no money and no religion. The cynic in me wonders if that isn't what makes STAR TREK a utopia in the first place!
2. The American Way. Boy, what a hot topic this was on the other boards. I've always understood the concept to be Liberty, Happiness, Peace and Prosperity. I was disappointed that Perry's line was edited.
I can sort of understand why the writers left that line out. Superman, after all, is a character that is so interesting, because through the ages, he's kept up with the times.
Superman iis always set in "modern day." Compare that to someone like Doc Savage or the Shadow, for whom being in non-period pieces is absolutely unthinkable. The line "...and the American Way" is very much a throwback to the 1950s, an age when we liked our heroes like we liked our steaks: beefy, and All-American. Hey, isn't this site called "Superman Through the Ages," after all?
The only reason that line worked in the 1970s was because it characterized Chris Reeves's character as being a bright-eyed type. That worked BECAUSE it was such a pleasantly idealistic sentiment that was a little out of place. As great a moment as it was, it only worked because Lois snickered at him.
I have to agree with MatterEaterLad too, because it is true: the line is so iconic that you really feel the absence of it.
One of the more amusing expressions of the "keeping things period" phenom for some characters was the old Rankin-Bass DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH cartoon, which was set in "modern day" (meaning the 1980s) and which featured the grown-up SONS of both the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician...but at the same time, had the "original" Flash Gordon! The logic was, hey, Flash Gordon's adventures were set in the future, after all.