SMALLVILLE |Season 9 Episode 17 | Checkmate

[Broccoli]

Yep the producers have indeed commented that this season is running on the theme of "Clark's Darkest Hour" and it pretty much started from the events of last season's finale. Indeed most of the good guy characters have been exploring their dark sides this season not just Clark. Also some more interesting tid bits about "Salvation" the season finale were revealed by TV Guide and Ausileo apparently

Spoiler: About Clark

Clark receives a gift of some kind from someone

Spoiler: About that.

I bet it is a red snuggie. Made from the blankets he was wrapped in when he came to Earth and it gives him an idea...

You just wait and see.

I was just thinking about something. Many people are having trouble with how dark this version of Clark Kent/Superman is. How will people take it if Nolan's mentoring of the new Superman film brings us a dark Superman?

They will wet themselves wanting more because Nolan is currently the Obama of superhero movie directors.

 

[mswood]

And what is more clearer is that this incarnation of SUPERMAN isn't the same as any that has come before. Thats the biggest disconnect I think some of the anti-fans of this show have. The same issue with TREK XI and "Spock kissing Uhura".

Its....a...DIFFERENT...version....

Yes, but Superman's core personality is a "sacred cow" of the character. If you change that, he's just another run of the mill superhero with basic powers. It's Superman's boy scout nature and heart of gold that puts him above the rest and makes him the rolemodel of everyone around. And we know that's who he is because everyone from the future marvels at him for that very reason.

He's never been the type of use fear to get what he needs or wants. That's Batman and Green Arrow. Not Superman, and it's certainly nor Clark Kent who's an even bigger boy scout if that were even possible.

Might I recommend dozens of comics during the 50's showing Superman definitely not acting like a boy scout, being bitter, jealous, overall physical and vindictive.

Now it isn't something thats typical with the character, but through his run he hasn't always been this "boy Scout". In fact the early you go in his history the further away you can see the character behaving.

 

[Broccoli]

^ Example 1

 

[Admiral_Young]

^ Clark does have that cape that Christina Millian's character gave him in the Warrior Angel movie episode from last season but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was the case. LOL

 

[Jetfire]

He will be given the suit of the first Superman...before you say no...doesn't this sound like something Smallville would do?

[EDIT] I finally got to see the stupid episode. I gave it Above average. I am too lazy to go back and read...but I know MM is working with someone big...who could it be??? I liked all the action scenes...don't know why people were complaining. Poor Tess...she looked awful in that black wig.

 

[CorporalClegg]

TV shows like Smallville and FlashForward should be prohibited from using chess as a thematic or dramatic device unless they employ technical advisors.

From a purely chess perspective, the Smallville episode was painful to watch. Early in the episode, we saw a chessboard with pawns on the back rank--a clearly impossible position in any game, since pawns do not move backwards. And then later on, we could see that the chessboard in Amanda Waller's HQ was also set up wrong. You could tell because there should always be a white square in each player's lower right corner. These TV shows should stick to checkers, a game they might be able to comprehend.

That was one of the things that made my face hit the palm. Would it have kill 'em to pick up a copy of Chess for Dummies?

But as Admiral Young said, maybe it was intentional--you know, tho show Waller really doesn't know what the fuck she's doing? Not that you couldn't have picked that up after watching five minutes of the show, especially after how badly she got punked.

And about that...

Spoiler: Red Queen's Identity

I think it's Chloevage. The whole thing was a ruse on her part. She does have a precedent for that sort of thing now.

 

[Lt. Trull]

whatever happened to chloe's mutie power... didn't she use to be able to cry on someone and heal them or make them undead or something...
like that potter phoenix

 

[Jetfire]

^
I think she lost it when she was infected by Brainiac.

 

[Bad Bishop]

TV shows like Smallville and FlashForward should be prohibited from using chess as a thematic or dramatic device unless they employ technical advisors.

From a purely chess perspective, the Smallville episode was painful to watch. Early in the episode, we saw a chessboard with pawns on the back rank--a clearly impossible position in any game, since pawns do not move backwards. And then later on, we could see that the chessboard in Amanda Waller's HQ was also set up wrong. You could tell because there should always be a white square in each player's lower right corner. These TV shows should stick to checkers, a game they might be able to comprehend.

That was one of the things that made my face hit the palm. Would it have kill 'em to pick up a copy of Chess for Dummies?

But as Admiral Young said, maybe it was intentional--you know, tho show Waller really doesn't know what the fuck she's doing? Not that you couldn't have picked that up after watching five minutes of the show, especially after how badly she got punked.

I want to retract what I said about Black's pawns on the back rank. After looking at the first scene again in slo-mo, it now appears that Black doesn't have any pawns on the back rank. So the scene wasn't as stupid in chess terms as I first thought. The position is only stupid because Black has placed a bishop on B4 but cut off a possible retreat for the same bishop by advancing a pawn to C5. Meanwhile, White has a potential mating attack using knight and queen and Black is playing no defense whatsoever.

In the remainder of the episode, boards are certainly set up wrong, with black squares in the lower right corner for each side. Chess For Dummies could have prevented such gross errors.

 

[Lt. Trull]

but only a miniscule amount of people whoever watched that episode would care about such trivality... most of the smallville audience are/is going to watch that episode and say.... Chess... O... Cerebral.... No Go There....

they don't care.

 

[Jetfire]

They could have been playing hungry hungry hippo and the general audience would have been oblivious.

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

A 48 minute episode and you guys are obsessing over a 2 second shot of a chessboard?? Who gives a fuck?

This episode was light years better than the piece of crap last week. I like the comic book style action sequences. My favorite was the lights blinking on and off where Clark and Chloe disappear during the blink.
Another cool scene was seeing MM on the screen and Clark whizzing away and appearing there a few seconds later.
Overall, I thought the episode moved along well and kept you interested. The only real disappointment is knowing that the climax of this season will be about the Zod plotline which has been very underwhelming thus far.

 

[Broccoli]

^
I think she lost it when she was infected by Brainiac.

Really? I thought that she lost it when the writers forgot about it.

They could have been playing hungry hungry hippo and the general audience would have been oblivious.

Now, that would be awesome. An shady government organization that center's its theme around Hungry Hungry Hippos. What would they call it?

 

[Bad Bishop]

A 48 minute episode and you guys are obsessing over a 2 second shot of a chessboard?? Who gives a fuck?

I know it sounds silly. I put up with Smallville's numerous departures from Superman tradition, but I go nuts if it gets chess wrong.