AllMovie

When Whitney Ellsworth took over as producer of Adventures of Superman for its second season, he commissioned a certain number of scripts that were human interest in subject, instead of straight crime dramas. "The Dog Who Knew Superman" is especially unusual, however, in that it's really a human interest story about Superman. For one of the few occasions in the series, one gets a palpable sense of the isolation that Superman endures, even as Clark Kent -- he must be so guarded in his relations with others, that he cannot even allow himself the simple luxury of having a pet, even for a short time. It's all summed up in the final scene, when he's forced to send the dog back to its owner, and Lois Lane, seeing Kent a few seconds later, remarks that he looks like he lost his best friend. And he agrees, and for the first time one appreciates the almost cosmic loneliness that Superman/Clark Kent must feel every day of his life -- his performance in those few seconds is so perfect and so quietly affecting, that watching it anew in 2006 it moved this reviewer close to tears. Additionally, anyone who's ever had a dog or a cat for a pet will love this episode.