Superman looked at the camera, rugged and symmetrically handsome, if a little wobblier-jowled than when his TV show was on air.
"This is not a joke," he said earnestly. "I know there's a chance I could die."
You couldn't help but sigh at the patronising ridiculousness of it all. In the first night of primetime entertainment after its oft-maligned Olympics coverage, US television network NBC reaped widespread criticism of its new show, Stars Earn Stripes.
This is a reality competition in which machine-gun-toting quasi-celebrities compete in war-themed obstacle courses to raise money for military charities. The cast includes former Superman actor Dean Cain, action stars, a boy band singer, WWE "wrestler" Eva Torres and the husband of former vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. In an extraordinary change of direction from an otherwise illustrious career, it is hosted by the former supreme commander of Nato.
And, as NBC claims, the entire point is to honour the sacrifices and work of America's military personnel.