Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Season 1, Episode 13 (2 Jan. 1994): “All Shook Up”
by Jackson Gillis, Bryce Zabel, Felix Enriquez Alcaca

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 1, Episode 13

Title: “All Shook Up”

Medium: television series episode

Original airdate: 2 Jan. 1994

Publisher:
Written by: Jackson Gillis, Bryce Zabel
Directed by: Felix Enriquez Alcaca

9 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
Jonathan Kent	Methodist	[Superman's adoptive father]		816
Martha Kent	Methodist	[Superman's adoptive mother]		827
Lex Luthor	Episcopalian (lapsed); Nietzschean atheist	Injustice League; Secret Six...  Secret Society of Super Villains; The Injustice Gang; The Legion of Doom		1,508
Inspector William Henderson		[police commissioner; police detective]		123
Cat Grant	Catholic (lapsed); promiscuous hedonist	[Daily Planet gossip columnist; co-worker of Clark Kent]		140

Note that the title of this episode - "All Shook Up" - is taken from the lyrics of a famous Elvis Presley song. The life and music of Elvis Presley is a major thematic element in the entire Lois & Clark TV series, driven primarily by the portrayal of Daily Planet Perry White as a devoted Elvis worshipper.

Timecode: 5 minutes, 9 seconds: Scene: the newsroom. In the opening scene, at around 9:00 a.m. in the morning, an unexpected eclipse fell over Metropolis, caused by an asteroid. Perry White is now organizing news coverage of the event.

Perry White: Cat, where were you when the lights went out this morning?

Cat Grant: In bed.

Lois Lane: Quite a surprise.

By this comment, Lois Lane is suggesting that it isn't surprising Cat was "in bed" because she spends so much of her time engaged in promiscuous sexual activity. Lois believes that Cat probably was in bed, but was probably awake and doing something immoral with a stranger or near-stranger, rather than sleeping alone.

Perry White: All right, ladies. Talking sidebar, here. Now, Cat, I want you to call every big name that you have on that Rolodex you keep locked in your office of yours and get me some human interest. If you need some help, ask Applegate.

Cat looks to the man sitting at her left. He is a stereotypical nerd, with a white shirt, bowtie and glasses. Cat whimpers slightly. She isn't interested in working with him.

Cat Grant: I work alone.

A scientist at the observatory asks Clark Kent to contact Superman for him. In his Superman personal, Clark later visits the scientist, who has him look at a giant asteroid through the telescope. The asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. Within days, it will strike the Earth, causing more damage than the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. The scientist, and two military leader who join in on the conversation, tell Superman that he is Earth's only hope.

Timecode: 7 minutes, 48 seconds: At the appointed time the next morning, Superman is at the outside area in front of the observatory, ready to launch himself into space to travel the long distance to try to stop "an asteroid the size of Metropolis." Many reporters are there, including Lois Lane.

Lois Lane: How do you feel?

Superman: This will work.

Lois Lane: That's a relief. Why are you so sure?

Superman: Because it has to.

Lois Lane: The power of positive thinking, huh?

Superman nods his head yes.

Superman flies into space and successfully intercepts the asteroid, striking it at maximum speed at what scientists assure him is its structural weak point. The asteroid is destroyed, but the impact causes Superman to be thrown back to Earth, where he wakes up in a crater created by his impact. His clothes have been burned off by the exlposion and his re-entry. He has lost his memory. He doesn't even know his own nane. A homeless man finds him and gives him something to wear, as well as a pair of glasses so he "won't look so dumb." The homeless man takes Clark (who now looks like Clark Kent, rather than Superman) to a homeless shelter run by a Christian church, the denomination of which is never identifies.

Timecode: 12 minutes, 10 seconds:

Homeless man: You hungry?

Clark Kent: Uh, I think so. Yeah, maybe.

Homeless man: Get a move on. Come on. We can still catch breakfast down at the shelter.

Clark Kent: You go ahead. I--

Homeless man: Oh! Don't be putting down the shelter, man. You sleeping in a hole. You ain't got no clothes on! [Throws a pair of glasses to Clark.] Here, put those on, at least you won't look so dumb. This thing up in the sky hits, we're all gonna be sleeping in holes, I'll tell you that . . . You got a name?

Clark Kent: Uh . . . I don't-- I don't remember.

Homeless man: You is a mess. Come on.

Timecode: 12 minutes, 50 seconds. Cut to interior of the police station. Clark Kent has been cleamed up somewhat and is sitting in a police interrogation room, sitting at a table with a woman who works for the government, perhaps for social services. Lois Lane enters the observation room through which people can view the interrogation room through a one-way glass mirror. The woman, we later learn, is Dr. Terri McCorkle, the department "shrink." Dr. McCorkle stands up and leaves the interrogation room. Henderson, a police officer, is also in the observation room.

Lois Lane: Henderson, this better be good. I"m working on the asteroid story with my patner AWOL.

Lois Lane finally notices Clark. She had been told before that Clark was here, and that was why the police had asked her to come down to the station.

Lois Lane: What's he doing here?

Detective Henderson: He' doesn't know. We picked him up at the Fifth Street Mission. I was working when they brought him in, so I gave you a call.

Dr. Terri McCorkle discusses Clark's memory loss with Lois, and they discuss possible causes of this amnesia. Lois recalls that Clark was hit by a car the day before and hit his head. (Lois doesn't know that he actually used his super strength to stop an out-of-control car, and only pretended to be hit by it and then pretended to fall onto the ground and hit his head, all to dissuade suspicion about his abilities.) Timecode: 13 minutes, 38 seconds.

Lois Lane: Will he be okay?

Dr. Terri McCorkle: Physically he's fine. Whether he regains his memory immediately, I don't know. Based on a battery of questions that we ask, it seems that Clark is suffering from what we call the Superman complex.

Lois Lane: Don't we all.

By this comment, it is clear that Lois Lane is now familiar with this complex, which is well known in the psychological profession. Loosely speaking, this complex is known variously as the "Savior complex" or "Jesus Christ complex."

Dr. Terri McCorkle: What I mean is that he's a chronic do-gooder who thinks that he can handle anything. This kind of setback can be very frustrating.

Timecode: 15 minutes, 27 seconds: Lois Lane has brought Clark Kent back to the newspaper offices of the Daily Planet. Dr. Terri McCorkle explained that Clark needs to be around familiar people and situations, which should help him regain his memory. Clark has still not changed out of the worn-out auto repair uniform that the homeless man gave him. Cat Grant walks by and sees Clark for the first time since he lost his memory.

Cat Grant: Clark, what's the fashion statement here?

Lois Lane: The statement is: Clark has amnesia. Clark, this is Cat Grant. She writes the gossip column for the paper. We write the news.

Cat Grant: Is there a punch line I'm missing?

Clark Kent: No, it's true Miss Grant. I really can't remember much of anything.

A nefarious idea occurs to Cat. She decides that she might be able to take advantage of Clark's vulnerable state of amnesia to achieve her long-held goal of getting him to go to bed with her.

Cat Grant: Would you excuse us just a moment?

Cat takes Clark by the shoulder and leads him away a bit so that he can talk to Clark out of earshot of Lois.

Cat Grant: Honey, it's me, Cat. How could you not remember what we meant to each other?

Clark Kent: I guess we work together, right?

Cat Grant: We do a lot more than that.

Clark Kent: We do?

Cat Grant: We kept it a secret. You're so . . . worried about what people think. Especially her. [indicating Lois Lane, now sitting at a desk on the other side of the room] You don't even remember us.

Cat Grant pretends to cry. She hugs Clark tightly.

Cat Grant: Does this refresh your memory?

Perry White and Jimmy Olsen arrive on the scene to re-introduce themselves, thus breaking up Cat's attempts to lie to and seduce Clark.

Timecode: 19 minutes, 52 seconds: We see Lex Luthor pruning a bonsai tree. As the camera zooms out from the tiny tree we see Lex Luthor's South Asian servant Asabi (who may be a lapsed Sikh) standing in the background. Asabi was a mainstay in the first few episodes, nearly always by Lex Luthor's side. The last time we saw him he had abandoned the traditional clothing of his religious/ethnic upbringing and was wearing far more Western attire. Then there were a few episodes during which we never saw Asabi. Instead, Lex Luthor was assisted by an older Caucasian man named Nigel. Now we see Asabi one again wearing a more traditional-style outfit, something reminiscent of what we saw him wear in the first episode of the series.

Lex Luthor: You begin to take it for granted. You assume that every day the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. You assume that every night the moon will be there for your inspiration. You assume that spring will follow winter. But I shall use this moment as a constant reminder for the future. Assume nothing.

Lex Luthor is apparently waxing philosophical about the possible end of life on Earth that could be caused if the remaining chunk of asteroid hits the Earth.

Asabi: Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Lex Luthor: That's always been my credo . . . Asabi, see to it that Miss Lane is invited to our little party. And let's make sure that she has all the comforts of home.

Asabi: Yes, sir.

Timecode: 24 minutes, 11 seconds: With Superman missing (because Clark still has amnesia, and doesn't know that he's Superman), and with a large fragment of the asteroid still heading toward Earth, people are worried. In front of the train station, we see some people marching with hand-made signs, most of them of a religious nature. The signs declare that judgment day is nigh or the "end is near." We hear some of them shouting spiritual slogans and warnings. The estimated time to impact is 39 hours and 41 minutes, according to big red letters on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Various signs read:
- The sky is falling
- Judgement Day
- Sinners repent
- The End is Near
- Doomsday: Is Your Conscience Clear?

Timecode: 25 minutes, 57 seconds: Lois Lane has just left Clark alone in the Daily Planet offices so she can go meet with Lex Luthor, at his request. Cat Grant arrives on the scene with a collection of items. She is still trying to seduce Clark by taking advantage of his amnesia. Cat puts her bag down and starts taking items out of it, showing them to Clark.

Cat Grant: Clark. Batteries, flashlight, food, water. Survival supplies.

Cat Grant pulls a bottle of wine from her bag, implying that it, too, is a "survival supply."

Cat Grant: Shall I put this on ice for us?

Clark Kent: Can I think about it?

Cat Grant: I don't wanna be alone. If this is, you know, whatever it is.

Clark Kent: But we don't . . . really . . . have a relationship, do we?

Cat realizes that the game is up. Clark has either remembered enough about his past and how he feels (and doesn't feel) about her, or he has figured it out by talking to others. Knowing she isn't likely to get him into bed through her original tact, she tries to salvage some dignity or friendship. For a moment here, Cat almost acts like a genuine human being instead of a giant walking sex organ with legs.

Cat Grant: We're friends. That's a relationship.

Clark Kent: I need to find my own memories. I can't fake 'em with somebody else. I'm sorry.

Cat looks disappointed. She walks away.

Timecode: 26 minutes, 50 seconds: In an attempt to find Superman, Jimmy Olsen goes to consult a psychic. He takes Clark Kent with him.

Jimmy Olsen: We believe this was Superman's. We've had it analyzed. It's emitting very weak cosmic rays, which means it's been in space.

Jimmy hands the psychic lady the fragment from Superman's cape which he found on the site of the crater Superman made when he fell to Earth.

Psychic: I have been feeling Superman's presence strongly.

Jimmy Olsen: Oh? So he's alive?

Psychic: I don't know. I feel his confusion. Often the recently dead are quite rattled by the experience.

Clark Kent: We need to find Superman. Do you have any ideas where we might start looking?

The psychic seems to go into a trance. She says nothing for a moment, then stands up suddenly and dramatically as if she has felt the presence of a ghost.

Psychic: He's here.

Jimmy Olsen: We know he's here, that's why we're here.

By this, Jimmy simply means that he knows that Superman is on Earth, as evidenced by the cape fragment he found in the crater. But he has no idea that Superman is actually Clark Kent, who is sitting right next to him.

Psychic: His life force is very powerful.

The psychic continues to look around the room. Clark quietly says something to Jimmy.

Clark Kent: I think she's confused.

Psychic: Look, hey. I know what I'm feeling here, okay? My senses tell me that he's definitely alive. I feel the vibration and his life force here. Now have one of you just talked to him?

Jimmy Olsen: I think that you might be tuned into the wrong channel.

Psychic: Oh Honey, I know what I'm feeling, okay? Now this is unmistakable.

Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen exchange looks. They simply think the psychic is very strange or delusional. Actually, she's quite correct in all the things she was saying.

Lex Luthor does not know if Superman or the government will be able to prevent the asteroid fragment from striking the Earth and causing massive destruction. But he intends to survive no matter what happens. He has recently felt that he is in love with Lois Lane. He has not told Lois this yet, but in episode 10 he told his aide Nigel that in his own peculiar way, he had fallen in love with Lois Lane. He intends to make sure that if the asteroid strikes the Earth, Lois will survive along with him. He has invited her to an underground bunker which he calls an "ark" after the Old Testament story of Noah.

Timecode: 28 minutes, 21 seconds

Lex Luthor: Now we're standing precisely 500 meters below Metroplis street level. Surrounded by 16-inch reinforced concrete walls originally designed to withstand a nuclear attack.

Lois Lane: A bunker?

Lex Luthor: Well, I prefer to think of it as an ark. We've got room for 200 people, supplies to last three years, tools and implements for farming and manufacture when we reemerge.

Lois Lane: So if the world dies, you live?

Lex Luthor: The survival of the species doesn't depend on the survival of all its members. In fact, were the dinosaurs possessed of a somewhat larger brain, they too might've survived their fate. Fortunately for us, they didn't. But now, the chance is ours.

Lex Luthor clips a red flower from a large floral arrangement and hands it to Lois.

Lois Lane: Uh . . . Did you want me to write about this?

Lex Luthor: No. No. I seek no publicity. In fact, considering the circumstances, uh, I think advertising the existence of a place like this might be somewhat cruel.

Lois Lane: So why am I here?

Lex Luthor leads Lois into a room that is a perfect replica of her apartment.

Lois Lane: This is my apartment.

Lex Luthor: Well, at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. I hope you like it.

Lois Lane: Of course I like it, I decorated it. But I'm a little confused.

Lex Luthor: I'm offering you a chance, Lois, to become a passenger on this ark. To be my special guest on mankind's next great adventure.

Lois Lane: Lex, why me?

Lex Luthor: Because I care. And because, I admit, three years will be a long time without . . . companionship.

Lois Lane: Well, I don't know.

Lex Luthor: Think about it. I'll await your decision.

Lex walks away to leave Lois to think about his offer, but she goes after him and stops him. She tells him that whatever happens up on the surface, she has to be there to see it for herself.

Timecode: 36 minutes, 41 seconds: Superman is still missing and an attempt by the military to destroy the asteroid with nuclear missiles has failed. People are increasingly feeling like the end is near. In a rather remarkable scene, we see Cat Grant go to confessional. We can noly dimly see the face of the priest through the screen in the confessional. Cat clearly seems familiar with this Catholic ritual, and it must be assumed that she herself is a lapsed Catholic, not merely a person venturing into a confessional for the first time. Cat says the words for this ritual correctly and makes the appropriate sign of the cross as she announces herself to the priest.

Cat Grant: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. And sinned. And . . . sinned.

Cat performs the sign of the cross in front of her. She is wearing some kind of veil. She hold a Catholic string of rosary beads wrapped around her hands and fingers.

A dissolve indicates a skip forward in time. The entire content of Cat's lengthy confession is not portrayed here - only snippets from it.

Priest: Perhaps you should simply limit your confession to your most recent transgressions.

Cat Grant: I told a man who has no memory that . . . he desires me.

Priest: Does he?

Cat Grant: Well, he ought to.

A dissolve indicates another skip forward in time.

Priest: So . . . You are confessing to the sin of lust by taking advantage of a vulnerable man.

Cat Grant: Yeah . . . Yeah, it's kind of a pattern I see emerging in my behavior.

A dissolve indicates another skip forward in time.

Cat Grant: I guess I've always found meaning in . . . meaningless relationships.

A dissolve indicates another skip forward in time.

Cat Grant: I called everyone I know. They all have someone to be with.

A dissolve indicates another skip forward in time.

We see Cat wiping away tears from her eyes. She is sniffling a little.

Priest: And what you want now is reassurance. Reassurance that you're not alone. You wanna know that you're loved for your soul. Is that right?

Cat nods her head yes.

Cat Grant: Exactly. Thank you.

Cat sniffles some more. The tears have stopped but here eyes are still wet from them. She smiles slightly. A thought occurs to her.

Cat Grant: Aren't there some things . . . that . . . that you passionately wanna experience just once before you die?

We hear the panel door on the priest's side of the confessional booth slide open.

Cat Grant: Father?

We hear the sound of footsteps receding into the background as the priest runs from the sanctuary to get as far as possible away from this temptress.

Cat Grant: Father?

Fortunately, Clark Kent's parents have come from Smallville to see him after the heard about Superman being missing and Clark Kent having amnesia. Clark's parents tell him that he is Superman and an encounter with Lois Lane helps Clark regain his memories. He saves the world by pushing the asteroid fragment so it heads in the opposite direction - away from Earth. The world is relieved.

Timecode: 44 minutes, 57 seconds: Clark and his co-workers are celebrating in the offices of the Daily Planet. Cat Grant approaches Clark and kisses him square on the lips.

Cat Grant: For old times' sake.

Clark Kent: Uh, there were no old times, Cat.

Cat Grant: Um hm. Can't blame a girl for trying.

The process of listing characters who appeared in this source is not yet complete. Webpage for Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 1, Episode 13 (2 Jan. 1994) created 1 January 2008. Last modified 11 June 2014.

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