George Reeves as "Superman" -- Now on DVD!

Why is it that TV theme songs of our youth bring us such happiness?

Take the "Howdy Doody" theme. (Just say, "Hey, kids, what time is it?" and see how many people respond, "IT'S HOWDY DOODY TIME!")

Then there is the rousing theme for "The Adventures of Superman" - the 50-plus-year-old TV series starring George Reeves.

Sure the show lacks production values, sure it looks fake, sure the same actors come back as bad guys week after week. The bad guy in "The Stolen Costume" is killed off at the end of that show and returned a couple episodes later in another episode -- wearing the same suit of clothes, if I'm not mistaken. BUT THAT IS PART OF THE FUN!

It's not unlike the plays your kids put on in elementary school and in church. They are enjoyable even if you don't know all the kids involved, even if the production isn't professional, even if it doesn't always run true to the story.

"Superman" was like that and (here's the pitch) the old shows are now on a set of DVDs!

The 1952 episodes have just been released in glorious black and white ("Superman" wasn't filmed in color until years later.) These episodes are full-length and truly crisp and clear.

The set features all 26 episodes from the first season. Today, it takes TV series two years to produce that many episodes. The set also includes "Superman vs. The Mole Men," a movie released in theaters and later split into two episodes of the TV show; a couple documentaries about the show and a few Kellogg's Frosted Flakes commercials with George Reeves as Clark Kent. Sprinkled throughout the set are a few episodes carrying commentary by Gary Grossman, author of "Superman: Serial to Cereal," and other writers. Grossman's favorite episode is "The Stolen Costume," chronicling what happens when Clark Kent's costume is stolen from a secret closet in his apartment.

I guess that is also my favorite episode from the first season, but my all-time favorites would be the one in which Superman becomes radioactive and the one in which he is frozen. He walks around covered with frost from head to toe and has to find a way to thaw out. But neither of those shows were in the first season.

I was tempted to put the first DVD in and then flop down on the floor, in front of the TV, like I did when the shows were first on TV.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh boy," I told my wife when I found the set of DVDs at the store. "You know I'm going to have to have the rest of the series!"

Always being the good sport, she said, "I know."

Who knows, I may be tempted to tie a towel around my neck and pretend to fly, just like the old days. You see, that was the great thing about the old TV series: viewers were able to just have fun watching.

Today's TV takes itself much too seriously.