Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Season 3, Episode 13 (14 Jan. 1996): “The Dad Who Came in from the Cold”
by David Simkims, Alan J. Levi

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 3, Episode 13

Title: “The Dad Who Came in from the Cold”

Medium: television series episode

Original airdate: 14 Jan. 1996

Publisher:
Written by: David Simkims
Directed by: Alan J. Levi

5 characters in this story:

Character (Click links for info about character and his/her religious practice, affiliation, etc.)	Religious Affiliation	Team(s) [Notes]	Pub.	# app.
Superman (Clark Kent)	Methodist / Kryptonian religion	Kryptonians; Super Friends...  The Justice League		13,409
Lois Lane	Catholic	Raleigh College [Superman's girlfriend, then wife]		3,859
Jimmy Olsen	Lutheran	The Legion of Super-Heroes [Superman's pal]		1,896
Perry White	Baptist; Elvis worship (ordained)	[Superman's (Clark Kent's) boss; Daily Planet editor]		1,574
Martha Kent	Methodist	[Superman's adoptive mother]		827

Timecode: 42 seconds: Lois Lane and Clark Kent are washing dishes together after eating dinner at Lois Lane's apartment. Lois mentions that she already has received junk mail advertisements for a pre-school, based on her having registered for her wedding. Lois mentions that this particular highly in-demand day care center is accepting applications now from newlywed couples. All people need to do is give them a $200 deposit. She finds this amusing, considering they aren't even scheduled to be married for another three weeks. Clark uses this as an opportunity to bring up a topic he has thought about, but hasn't discussed yet with Lois.

Clark Kent: You know, that's something that we haven't talked very much about.

Lois Lane: Money?

Clark Kent: No. Children. You think we'll make good parents?

Lois Lane: Yeah, I guess so. When the time comes. I mean, you will be for sure, and I'll probably catch on.

[Lois smiles broadly and kisses Clark delicately. But Clark can tell that something is bothering Lois. By her tone and the look on her face, we can see that Lois is less enthusiastic about the subject of children than Clark is. Lois Lane's own home life was disastrous in many ways, and she bears ths scars of having been a child of divorce and abandonment by her father. Clark, on the other hand, had a positively idyllic childhood and wonderful parents. He has stated many times in the past how important it is to him to get married and have a family.]

[Before they can continue their conversation, they see and hear a large explosion outside the apartment window. Superman rushes to help.]

Lois Lane: Oh my God!

[Lois has heard the massive explosion and seen the flash of light coming from outside her window. She turns to Clark to see what he will do, but he is already gone. With super speed he has changed to Superman and is now down on the street, using his super breath to put out the fire. But it is too late to save their friend, Bud Collins, who dies while giving them an important package. Collins was killed by a car bomb. With his dying words, Collins tells Lois about an upcoming meeting, thus setting the stage for this episode's mystery adventure.]

Timecode: 7 minutes, 23 seconds: This episode's principle villains are Trevanian (played by actor Ben Slack), a corrupt high-level N.I.A. official controller and corrupt field agent, Sweet Tart (played by actress Una Damon). Trevanian is Head of Operations for the NIA (National Intelligence Agency, modelled after the real-world CIA). In this scene, Trevanian tells top N.I.A. agent Jack Olsen (played by James Read) that journalists Lois Lane and Clark Kent are selling national secrets obtained from Bud Collins to the nation's enemies. Trevanian orders Jack Olsen (a character who is modelled after James Bond) to retrieve the laptop that Bud Collins delivered to Lois Lane. Trevanian knows that the laptop has secrets on it which implicate him and his corrupt activities within the N.I.A.

Timecode: 7 minutes, 35 seconds: Lois Lane and Clark Kent discuss their story about NIA corruption and Bud Collins' recent death with their boss, chief editor Perry White.

Clark Kent: Trevanian's Head of Covert Operations for the NIA. We think he could be dangerous, willing to use the Agency for his own purposes.

Lois Lane: The NIA's gotten so powerful, they have a blank check to pull of any kind of espionage they want. It's not a good time to have a loose cannon on board.

Perry White: [looking closely at the charred, severely damaged laptop computer Lois and Clark brought to show him[ But, uh, you-- You have no hard proof, uh . . .

Clark Kent: Not unless this [tapping his finger on the laptop[ is it.

Lois Lane: Collins mentioned Saturday, noon. Something big might be happening.

Perry White: Well, that only gives you a couple of days.

Lois Lane: Whatever's in here is locked in the computer's memory. And it's in code, to boot.

Perry White: Well, you know, they have a couple of those data recovery outfits here in town--

Clark Kent: Uh, Chief, this material's way too sensitive.

Lois Lane: We need somebody we can trust. Somebody who knows RAM chips from--

[Jimmy Olsen enters the room, offering pastries.]

Jimmy Olsen: Strudel?

[Perry White turns toward the door and smiles broadly upons seeing Jimmy. He then quotes a Bible verse, indicating that just as soon as Lois has asked for something, the answer to her hope has just arrived. Jimmy Olsen, as Perry, Lois and Clark are all aware, is something of a computer whiz (at least on this TV series). Perry knows that Jimmy is exactly what Lois needs to recover the data from the damaged computer, yet do it in a confidential manner.]

Perry White: [to Lois and Clark] "Ask, and ye shall receive."

Perry White here is quoting a well-known Bible verse, although he might not know precisely which verse. These exact words are found in John 16:24:

John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

These words and their meaning are also closely mirrored in other Bible passages, including:

Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Jimmy Olsen: Oh, um, Lois, I lost that little response card, but I'll definitely be at the wedding. I can't believe in three weeks you guys are--

[Jimmy stops talking in mid-sentence, as he sees the serious looks on the faces of his friends, and see how they are are looking at him expectantly.]

Jimmy Olsen: What?

Perry White: Jimmy. Shut the door.

[Jimmy shuts the door so they have some privacy. He sits down at the table. Perry, Lois, and Clark start explaining the situation to him. Meanwhile, we see NIA agent Jack Olsen enter the Daily Planet offices. His target is Lois Lane and Clark Kent. His mission is to recover the laptop computer currently in their possession. But also of critical importance to this episode's storyline is the fact that Agent Jack Olsen also happens to be the father of Jimmy Olsen. Jack Olsen has come to the newspaper offices to secretly plant devices on the computers of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. These are probably high-tech key-loggers which will allow him to know everything they type or view on their computers. But while he is in the office, Jack Olsen also greets Jimmy. He probably does so in order to further his mission as a spy, but, of course, Jimmy does not realize this. Jimmy is very surprised when his father greets him. It makes for a very awkward moment, but Jimmmy's friends are present and he is a professional, so he struggles to retain his composure and be polite.]

Timecode: 9 minutes, 28 seconds:

[Jimmy Olsen gets up from the table after telling Lois, Clark, and Perry that he'll let them know what he finds on the damaged laptop as soon as possible. Jimmy turns to exit the room and sees his father standing in the doorway to the meeting room. Jimmy's tone when he first speaks to his father is accusatory and suspicious, not at all what one would expect a son to sound like when seeing his father.]

Jimmy Olsen: What are you doing here?

Jack Olsen: Hello, Son.

[Lois and Clark look at each other with surprise. Jack pulls out a small gift-wrapped box from his coat pocket and hands it to Jimmy.]

Jack Olsen: How ya' doin'?

Jimmy Olsen: Uh, fine.

[Long pause. Jack shakes Jimmy's hand. Jimmy holds up the gift.]

Jimmy Olsen: Uh, thanks. It's-- It's been--

Jack Olsen: A couple years, I know.

Jimmy Olsen: Four.

Jack Olsen: Four?

Jimmy Olsen: Before that, five.

Jack Olsen: [uncomfortable[ Yeah, um, who's counting?

Jimmy Olsen: Yeah. [smiles, trying to look at ease]

[There is a long pause. Everybody is silent. Finally Jimmy breaks into a friendly, normal-seeming demeanor and introduces his father to his friends.]

Jimmy Olsen: Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, everybody this is-- This is my dad. Um, Jack Olsen. [Pointing to his friends.[ Perry White. Lois Lane. Clark Kent. My friends. My bosses.

Jack Olsen: Very nice to meet you, Miss Lane, Mr. Kent. I've read your work.

[Lois and Clark smile but don't say anything. There is an awkward silence.]

Jimmy Olsen: Well, this is where I work. Um, let me show you around.

Jack Olsen: Great.

[Jimmy takes his father out of the conference room. After Jimmy and his father are gone, Perry White looks at Lois and Clark. His face shows that he feels nothing but disdain for Jack Olsen. He has never met Jack Olsen before, but he knows what the man did to Jimmy.]

Perry White: So that's the prodigal father?

Lois Lane: Jimmy said his parents split up fifteen years ago. I guess it was his father's career that did it.

Perry White: Hm. What kind of man puts a job before his family?

[Lois Land and Clark Kent think. But they don't say anything. Are they thinking to themselves that Perry White himself put his job before his marriage, which led to the recent breakup between Perry and his wife Alice. Or are Lois and Clark thinking about their plans to marry and have children, thinking about how their own jobs as journalists and (in Clark's case) as a super-hero might interfere withing being a good father. End of scene.]

Timecode: 10 minutes, 50 seconds: Cut to Jimmy talking to his father while showing him around the office.

Jack Olsen: Did you get all the postcards I sent you?

Jimmy Olsen: Yeah.

Jack Olsen: Christmas gifts?

Jimmy Olsen: Yeah. Uh, listen . . . Dad, um . . . Do you think it'd be possible for you to stay in town for a little while?

Jack Olsen: [uncomfortable, shaking his head slightly[ Uh, Jimmy, uh . . . You know how it is.

Jimmy Olsen: Yeah, I know.

Jack Olsen: I sold my soul. I gotta do the time.

Jimmy Olsen: Right.

Jack Olsen: But we can have a great couple of days together. Okay?

Jimmy Olsen: [disappointed, but trying to put on a brave face.[ Okay.

Jack Olsen: You free for dinner?

[Jimmy cheers up at this invitation.]

Jimmy Olsen: Yeah, yeah. [Jimmy's face changes as he remembers...[ Oh! I-- I just got this assignment.

Lois Lane: Well, the assignment can take a dinner break.

[Jimmy Olsen and his father turn to look at Lois and Clark. Jimmy and Jack Olsen didn't realize that Lois and Clark had walked into the area and could overhear some of their conversation.]

Lois Lane: I'm sorry, I couldn't help but--

Jack Olsen: Oh, no, no. That's all right. Say, why don't you two join us for dinner?

Clark Kent: Uh, well, we're-- We're working. And-- And I'm sure you guys have a lot catching up.

Jack Olsen: You gotta eat. Listen, I don't get much of a chance to meet Jimmy's friends. What do you say, Jimmy?

Jimmy Olsen: Uh, sure.

[Jack smiles. He really wants to have dinner with Lois and Clark in order to further his mission as a spy. But Jimmy doesn't realize this. Jimmy does think it a bit odd that his father invited Lois and Clark, rather than wanting to have dinner with him alone, but he will go along with it. End of scene.]

Timecode: 12 minutes, 0 seconds: Clark Kent sits pensively at a table in Lois Lane's apartment, waiting for her to finish getting ready for dinner. She comes out of her room with her hair done up nicely for the evening engagement. She wears a pretty evening dress. She walks up to Clark from behind, puts her arms around his shoulders and kisses his ear, then his cheek, then his lips.

Lois Lane: I guess it'd be bad form to skip dinner and just do this for a couple of hours.

Clark Kent: Probably. I thought Perry was gonna rip Jack Olsen's head off today.

Lois Lane: Well, he's probably just a little sensitive because of his own situation.

Clark Kent: Yeah. Perry's job busted up his family, too.

[Lois Lane continues kissing Clark, but he seems distant, still pensive. She stops kissing him and looks at him.]

Lois Lane: Are you obsessing? Because usually when I kiss you you're a little more focused.

Clark Kent: Sorry. It's just all this talk about having kids.

Lois Lane: Oh, what talk? I got one stupid brochure from the Winky Tink School. Okay, I'll tell you what, if I make it through the next two days alive, we'll have a nice long talk.

Clark Kent: It's just, it's a big decision, that's all.

Lois Lane: I know.

Clark Kent: It's not like getting a dog.

Lois Lane: Oy.

[They leave the apartment, carefully locking the many locks as they go. Moments after the leave, the locks are picked. In walk Jack Olsen and his fellow NIA spy Sweet Tart. They plant bugs in the apartment. Jack says they don't have much time, as he is meeting them for dinner in ten minutes.]

Sweet Tart: Trevanian thinks you've gotten soft.

Jack Olsen: For God's sake, I'm using my own son to get to Lane and Kent. How soft is that?

Sweet Tart: And, if he's involved?

Jack Olsen: He's not. He's an office boy.

Sweet Tart: What if he's more? What if he gets sticky?

[Jack Olsen stands up to face Sweet Tart down with a look.]

Sweet Tart: Just asking.

Jack Olsen: Let's finish the job and get out of here.

[Cut to elsewhere. Ominously, we see Trevanian listening in on the conversation between Jack Olsen and Sweet Tart through one of his listening devices.]

Sweet Tart: I'm here to help, Jack.

Trevanian: [probably speaking to himself.[ You certainly are, Miss Tart. If Jack should hesitate to do his duty, you'll do it for him.

[End of scene.]

[There is a revealing scene in which we see Lois Lane and Clark Kent having dinner with Jack Olsen and Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy is clearly bitter about his father's abandonment of him, but he is also pleased to have a chance to see him, and he is polite and cordial. He does get annoyed, however, that his father seems more interested in grilling Lois and Clark about their investigation in to NIA corruption than in asking about his own son. In this scene it becomes clear that neither Jimmy nor Lois and Clark know that Jack Olsen works for the NIA. They all believe his cover story - that Jack is a civil engineer who runs his own international demolitions company. Or at least Clark used to believe this. At dinner time he uses his x-ray vision to see that under his suit coat and pants, Jack is packing some serious spy-type weaponry: guns and knives. Clark realizes that Jack is not being at all honest about his work.]

Timecode: 18 minutes, 26 seconds: While Jack Olsen is still out with his son, Trevanian and Sweet Tart pick the lock on Jack's hotel room door and enter. Sweet Tart admires the electronic surveilance equipment that Jack has hidden in a travel case.]

Sweet Tart: This set-up's very thorough.

Trevanian: Well, Jack was always a good soldier. Completely unprincipled. Not unlike yourself.

[Sweet Tart smiles at this "complement." Within the National Intelligence Agency, it is apparently considered a good thing for high-level spies to be "completely unprincipled," meaning that they lack principles or moral scruples.]

Trevanian: However, lately I've noticed a certain disatisfaction on his part. It's a pity.

Timecode: 19 minutes, 40 seconds: In their conversation, Trevanian reveals Sweet Tart the rest of his plan. They plan to use the information or technology in the laptop (once they recover it) to bring the nation's security crashing down. As a result of the fiasco, it is Trevanian's plan that the current head of the NIA will be forced to resign and he himself will be installed as the new head of the Agency. A major part of their plan is framing Jack Olsen, making him appear to be a rogue agent who was responsible for crippling the nation's security system. Then the plan is for Sweet Tart to murder Jack Olsen and make the killing look like an act of self-defense or necessary to prevent Jack from escaping or doing more damage.

Timecode: 20 minutes, 22 seconds: Late at night, Jimmy Olsen is at the Daily Planet working on retreiving data from the damaged NIA laptop computer. Lois Lane checks up on him and offers to help, but can't really do anything. She walks into the other room where Clark Kent is using the computer to investigate Jimmy's father.

Clark Kent: Whatcha doing?

Lois Lane: Annoying Jimmy. You?

Clark Kent: Checking up on Jimmy's father. Lois, I x-rayed that guy at dinner. He had more hardware on him than the household section at K-Mart.

[Clark proceeds to tell Lois more about what he has learned about Jack Olsen.]

Clark Kent: I scanned his wallet, and I ran his IDs through the computer at super speed, and they basically lead to a guy who does not exist.

Lois Lane: Well, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Clark Kent: Other than the fact that he's completely fake.

Lois Lane: Well, there could be a lot of explanations.

[Clark Kent is baffled by Lois Lane's words. To him, she seems to be acting out of character.]

Clark Kent: Wha--?

Lois Lane: He's the heir to a small European monarchy and he wants to live out a simple life out of the spotlight.

Clark Kent: Hmm.

Lois Lane: Okay, I'm reaching, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's a criminal. And talk about cynical.

[With Lois Lane's look, she indicates Clark. She is suggesting that his suspicions of Jimmy's father mark him as being unnecessarily cynical.]

Clark Kent: Wait a minute. You are Lois Lane. Incisive, tenacious newswoman. And I'm the person whose always looking for the sunny side.

Lois Lane: I've turned an emotional corner. Sue me.

Clark Kent: Uh-huh.

Lois Lane: Look, when a long-gone father comes back into a child's life, it's a chance for them to both forgive the past and move on. And maybe neither one of them are good at it, you know. But other people should just step aside and let them work it out because it's what they had both dreamed of for years.

Clark Kent: Sounds like you're talking about you and your dad.

[Clark Kent kisses Lois Lane's hand gently, to show he understands what she's thinking and feeling, or at least he's trying to understand her.]

Lois Lane: I just want this to work out for Jimmy.

Clark Kent: So we shouldn't tell him about my suspicions until we know more.

Lois Lane: That would be my suggestion.

[Jimmy Olsen enters the room.]

Jimmy Olsen: So, what do you guys think of my dad?

[Lois and Clark look at each other. They hadn't decided precisely what to say. Jimmy breaks the silence.]

Jimmy Olsen: He's kind of colorful, right?

[Lois and Clark chuckle and stumble over each other's words.]

Lois Lane: Yes, colorful. You can say that again.

Clark Kent: Absolutely.

[Jack Olsen was not a good father to Jimmy, but he was never a villain, and he was never a part of Trevanian's nefarious plans. Once he finds out what Trevanian is up to, he helps Lois and Clark. Trevanian wants to use a high-tech electromagnetic pulse weapon to cause an airplane to crash - an airplane carrying the heads of all of America's intelligence agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA). Simultaneously, he plans to use the technology in the laptop to spread a virus that will destroy all of the computer records held by those intelligence agencies. Thus, he will become head of the NIA and will be the only intelligence chief whose data is still intact, making him supremely powerful. Trevanian manages to use his electomagnetic weapon to disable the airplane, but Superman saves the plane. Superman, Lois Lane, and Jack Olsen apprehend Trevanian and Sweet Tart.]

Timecode: 42 minutes, 29 seconds: Perry White looks at the latest headline, which reads: "Superman Saves Plane!"

Perry White: Trevanian's downfall was the perfect topper to the Planet's N.I.A. series. [to Lois and Clark] Good work, you two. [indicating Jimmy Olsen and his father] Well, actually, I should say all four of you. Jack, I had you pegged as a pretty rotten egg. Please, accept my apologies.

[Perry holds out his hand to Jack Olsen. Jake smiles and takes Perry's hand so they can shake.]

Jack Olsen: Don't apologize, Perry. I am a rotten egg. It's helpful in my line of work.

Perry White: Ha ha! Mine, too.

[Perry walks away. Jack Olsen pats Jimmy on the shoulder and starts to walk away.]

Jack Olsen: I'm afraid I gotta run.

Jimmy Olsen: Uh, yeah.

[Jimmy walks with Jack Olsen across the floor of the Daily Planet office area.

Jack Olsen: You know, I feel like I'm finally getting to know you after all these years, and now I gotta dash off to--

Jimmy Olsen: Where?

[Jack Olsen tips his head but says nothing.]

Jimmy Olsen: You can't tell me.

Jack Olsen: Jimmy, they offered to bring me inside. Give me a desk job. Now, that's something I could--

Jimmy Olsen: No, Dad, that's not you. It's somebody else's dad. Not mine.

Jack Olsen: But I could try.

Jimmy Olsen: [smiling] Listen, you just try to be my Dad. That'll probably be enough.

Jack Olsen: Okay.

[Jimmy Olsen and his father embrace with real love and emotion. This is a very tender moment.]

Jack Olsen: Take care, Son.

Jimmy Olsen: I will.

[Jack Olsen darts to the elevator to leave. From across the room, Clark Kent and Lois Lane have been watching this moment between Jimmy and his father. Clark looks pensive.]

Lois Lane: You're obsessing again.

Clark Kent: Lois, Jimmy grew up without a father because his . . . his dad's work took over his life. I mean, the guy helped keep the free world together, but he couldn't do the same thing for his family.

[By the look on Clark Kent's face it is apparent that he is deeply concerned about this issue, as he thinks about his own life and his desire to be a good father for his future children.]

Lois Lane: And you think the same is gonna be true for you and me and our child?

Clark Kent: Our child will barely be able to pick me out of a police line-up because he hardly recognizes me. [sighs] Maybe I oughta learn something from Jack.

Lois Lane: Well, I'll tell you what you can learn from Jack. Not all men are cut out to be fathers. It's not the job. It's the man. And piano tuner or spy, Jack just wasn't ready for the responsibility of a family. And you are.

Clark Kent: [smiles slightly] Trying to convince yourself?

Lois Lane: No, lunkhead, I'm trying to convince you.

[Clark Kent smiles, chastened.]

Lois Lane: The very fact that we're having this conversation, that you care so much, proves it.

Clark Kent: You are good . . . Always [or "Lois."]

Lois Lane: Oh, true. [Puts her arms around his neck.] Hug.

[Lois Lane and Clark Kent kiss each other and hug.]

Clark Kent: Lunkhead?

Lois Lane: [laughs slightly] In the best sense of the word.

[Fade out. End of scene. End of episode.]

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