| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | |
| Season 4, Episode 11 | |
 | |
| Air date | December 15, 1996 |
| Written by | Tim Minear |
| Directed by | Mike Vejar |
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When Metropolis is trapped in a time loop on Christmas Eve by Mister Mxyzptlk, Lois and Clark must defeat the imp before all hope is lost.
Summary[]
Clark tries to get Lois to see the magic in Christmas while Mr. Mxyzptlk, a being from the fifth dimension (played by Howie Mandel), plans to take away hope by repeating Christmas Eve day. Clark learns about this by confronting him in the Daily Planet elevator. As the day repeats itself, people's attitudes change (by them becoming less polite and World peace talks called off). As the day repeats itself more and more and Clark gets more and more frustrated, Mr. Mxyzptlk tries to make a bargain with Clark: If he leaves Earth, Mxyzptlk will give the people of Earth back hope, and become their god. Clark refuses to leave and with Lois' help, tries to restore hope before the day repeats itself again. He and Lois discover that to send Mxyzptlk back to the fifth dimension, one must get him to say his name backwards. Clark and Lois restore a little hope, and when Mxyzptlk arrives to repeat the day, Clark has a plan. Clark gives Mxyzptlk a present and gets him to read the tag which says "From: Kltpzyxm" (Mxyzptlk spelled backwards). Mxyzptlk is sent back to the fifth dimension while the people of Metropolis get to enjoy their Christmas with Lois at last seeing the magic.
Plot[]
With Lois stressed out from Christmas preparations, Clark wishes she could see the magic in Christmas. Clark gets his own source of holiday stress when a fire caused by Christmas lights burns an orphanage down; though he saves all the children as Superman, the kids will have to be split up. At noon Lois and Clark drop by The Daily Planet to drop off Lois's latest story, which she says "smells like a Pulitzer". Clark's parents are there, having caught an earlier flight. They face a poor harvest due to an early frost, but are confident the bank will cover their losses. Jimmy has a new girlfriend named Brenda, who overcame a difficult background to become a Rhodes scholar. Lois's mother Ellen also shows up; she was supposed to spend Christmas with her husband Sam at the bed and breakfast they had their honeymoon in, but he stood her up.
Superman is called away to stop a bank robber and save millionaire William B. Caldwell when he falls off his balcony. When Clark returns to The Daily Planet at 4:00, Mr. Mxyzptlk introduces himself in the elevator. He comes from the fifth dimension and so prefers the third dimension that he is determined to never be sent back, as he was in the past when he caused calamity. He plans to take away people's hope by taking away tomorrow, turning back time to noon every time it reaches 4:00.
Each time Mr. Mxyzptlk does this, Clark finds himself again entering The Daily Planet with Lois. For Mr. Mxyzptlk's own ends, Clark remembers that he has already lived through these four hours, but no one else does. However, the repeated failure for time to reach tomorrow takes a gradual toll on everyone: with each iteration, Ralph is more drunk, the tree Perry bought for the office is smaller, Eastern European peace talks which were going well turn to war, Lois is less confident in her story, the Kents are more fearful of foreclosure, Brenda puts less effort into her academic achievements, Ellen goes off the wagon, Metropolis judges stop enforcing justice (leading the bank robber, Mr. Weston, to assert he will be back on the streets in hours), and Caldwell's accidental fall becomes a suicide attempt.
Clark's initial attempts to explain the situation to Lois fail, as his account of the complicated chronology is confusing. On the fourth iteration, he demonstrates it to her more quickly by accurately predicting the events in The Daily Planet office, and asks her to research how to banish Mr. Mxyzptlk. He then gets a head start on his Superman duties. Talking to Mr. Weston before the robbery attempt, he learns he was a security chief for 16 years before downsizing cost him his job; he turned to robbery because he couldn't bear to tell his wife that he was unemployed. Before Lois can tell Clark the results of her research, his father suffers a heart attack and Mr. Mxyzptlk shows up to offer a deal to Clark: If he leaves Earth, Mxyzptlk will give the people of Earth back hope, and become their god. Clark refuses, saying that Mxyzptlk can't eliminate hope entirely, and he intends to find that remaining hope.
Clark's rejection of hopelessness breaks Lois out of the loop, causing her to remember the last iteration after time is reset to noon. She tells him what her research turned up: to banish Mxyzptlk, one must get him to say his name backwards. The two of them prepare for 4:00: Superman gets Mr. Weston a job as head of security at the bank and shows Caldwell a way out of his loneliness by convincing him to open his doors to the displaced orphans and replace their Christmas gifts, while Lois makes her mother drink sodas, teaches the Kents meditation technique, and gets Brenda to take more pride in her appearance. The orphans are invited to The Daily Planet where Perry dresses up as Santa and hands out their presents. To ignite the rekindled hope, Lois leads everyone in a round of Christmas carols.
Mr. Mxyzptlk is irritated but reminds Clark that their efforts will all be undone once the clock strikes 4. But Perry has one last present to give - for Mxyzptlk. Having never received a present before, Mr. Mxyzptlk eagerly reads aloud the tag which says "From: Kltpzyxm" (Mxyzptlk spelled backwards). He realizes the present was a trick from Lois and Clark too late to prevent being sent back to the fifth dimension. The Christmas tree then springs back to its original size. The Eastern European peace treaties are signed, and now that it is finally past 4:00, Sam shows up at The Daily Planet, explaining that he was simply late arriving at the bed and breakfast. He and Ellen have an emotional reunion. Looking around, Lois tells Clark that she now sees the magic in Christmas.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman
- Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane
- Lane Smith as Perry White
- Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen
- K Callan as Martha Kent
- Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent
Recurring role[]
- Beverly Garland as Ellen Lane
- Harve Presnell as Dr. Sam Lane
Guest starring[]
- Brandi Andres as Brenda
- Keene Curtis as William B. Caldwell
- Pancho Demmings as Cop
- James DuMont as Ralph
- Monty Hoffman as Bartender
- Howie Mandel as Mr. Mxyzptlk
- Ben L. McCain as TV Anchorman
- Michael Monks as Bank Robber
- Ian Patrick Williams