Lois and Clark's wedding is imminent, and everything is going wrong, so to get their minds off the stress they take on an assignment concerning stolen frogs which can be used for cloning. This is of course a major episode, and was positively huge when it came out due to its shock ending. I still remember the cold chill I got when I saw that ending upon the episode's original broadcast; it was pretty harsh stuff for a pre-adolescent, and I dare say it still holds up today for well-planted shock.
The rest of the episode works rather well too. This is probably the best Ellen Lane episode of the series, both for her earnest heart-to-heart with Lois and for her delight with the clone's tranquilizer gun. Beverly Garland and Teri Hatcher are both terrific here, and you wish this series had done more with the down-to-earth dynamic between their characters. Seeing Lois trying her best to build a rapport with her complaining, nagging, utterly human mother is a better testament to the transformative power of Lois and Clark's love than anything said in the wedding ceremony. And for once, Lois's wild theorizing brings her to the wrong answer, which is a fun change-up in the formula, though I think it would have worked better if the viewer didn't learn that her theory was wrong until Lois herself did.
There is one bad scene in here, in which the episode's villain, Dr. Mamba, dances with a frog for no apparent reason other than to reference his last name. Mamba's subsequent over-the-top sexual advances on Lois are meant to be funny but are instead cringe-inducing enough to cost this episode a couple stars.
Overall, though, if you're going to watch this series at all then you absolutely can't miss this one. The human drama and shocking turns are both at their peak.
The rest of the episode works rather well too. This is probably the best Ellen Lane episode of the series, both for her earnest heart-to-heart with Lois and for her delight with the clone's tranquilizer gun. Beverly Garland and Teri Hatcher are both terrific here, and you wish this series had done more with the down-to-earth dynamic between their characters. Seeing Lois trying her best to build a rapport with her complaining, nagging, utterly human mother is a better testament to the transformative power of Lois and Clark's love than anything said in the wedding ceremony. And for once, Lois's wild theorizing brings her to the wrong answer, which is a fun change-up in the formula, though I think it would have worked better if the viewer didn't learn that her theory was wrong until Lois herself did.
There is one bad scene in here, in which the episode's villain, Dr. Mamba, dances with a frog for no apparent reason other than to reference his last name. Mamba's subsequent over-the-top sexual advances on Lois are meant to be funny but are instead cringe-inducing enough to cost this episode a couple stars.
Overall, though, if you're going to watch this series at all then you absolutely can't miss this one. The human drama and shocking turns are both at their peak.
