Smallville: Four Seasons. Yes or No?

[Joe Washington]

Here is a thread for those disgruntled Smallville fans out there.

Years ago, the creators of Smallville said the show was suppose to cover the high school years of Clark Kent and end with him going off to fulfill his destiny. Now let's take a moment to consider how the show would have been if that happened.

The show would have run for four seasons, not five, six, seven, eight, or the ridiculous nine.

Lex becoming the villain he was destined to be would have happened by the end of Season 4 and not in Season 5. Or was it Season 6? Or was it Season 7? I lost count of the slippery slopes.

Lionel would have died in Season 4 or by the end of Season 3.

Mr. Kent would have died midway through Season 4.

Clark and Lana's get together would have happened sooner and ended probably in the series finale.

No Clark going to Metropolis to be a reporter in the Daily Planet when the show is called Smallville. No Clark meeting heroes and villians before his time as Superman. No Lex becoming some cybrog villian.

By what I have listed above, the show would have been better if it ended after four seasons. What do you think?

 

[CorporalClegg]

Hard to say. But things would have to be drastically different. The first seasons were decent, season three was great, but four was just dreadful.

They then made a comeback with five and six (with some of the show's best episodes) and then the train just went off the tracks.

As for Lex, it was clearly suggested at the onset that he'd never really become "bad guy Luthor" and just, at best, be morally ambiguous which is what they eventually tried to do.

 

[Broccoli]

See, I never remember reading that the producers were planning the show for 4 years, outside of this forums. I do remember them saying they had a loose arc for the show and knew where they wanted Clark to be by the time of high school graduation.

If they were just going to plan for only four seasons, then I think things would have been waaay different in the early years.

 

[Joe Washington]

How would things be way different in the early years?

 

[hyzmarca]

The show would have needed to be way tighter, less stagnation and more character development.

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

The show should've ended after season 4. Everyone graduates High School, goes their seperate ways. Clark returns to the Fortress to continue his training with Jor-El. Makes sense doesn't it? 4 years Eath training, 4+ years Kryptonian training. Smallville ends. After Jonathan Kent dies, Clark decides to retreat deep into his Alien heritage. When a seemingly natural disaster threatens Earth years later, Jor-El releases Kal-El from the fortress to investigate. Turns out it was a ruse by Lex to lure Clark, now called Superman out of 'hiding'. Thus paving the way for a new spin-off called 'Metropolis'. Oh so many possibilities. Two more seasons of whining about having super abilities. Yay. Oh well. I'll be in till the very end. Clark should've become Supes in Season 8. After all, that's what one of the Kryptonian symbols looked like on the key to the ship.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

I liked it the way it was. Smallville rules.

 

[Samurai8472]

Scotty-Computer run 21th century entertainment program "Smallville"

Computer- There have been many seasons of Smallville, please specify

Scotty- Season 1 "pilot" no bloody season 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, or 10

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I never heard 4 year plan, but I did hear 5. I sometimes liked to think that it did end in season 5 and that the majority of seasons 6 and 7 were some feverish dream. But then there would come some rare good episode, and I'd be sucked right back in for a little while longer. And really, I've enjoyed season 8 for the most part, the last half of the Lana arc and Failsday notwithstanding. And I am interested in how they're going do Zod for the majority of a season rather than just a 2 part finale and premiere.

 

[RandyS]

How would things be way different in the early years?

Maybe the god-awful "freak of the week" first season wouldn't have happened, and we would've gotten a better beginning instead. The show only became good starting in season two.

Of course, that's just a guess.

 

[Broccoli]

How would things be way different in the early years?

I would speculate that they would downplay the "Freak of the Week" stuff and delve more into the Kryptonian mythology that later seasons have done.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

I think they should have wrapped up all the storylines by season 4, and then made a clean switch to Metropolis (they could still call the show 'Smallville', stranger things have happened). Wrap up Lana, keep her as a secondary but no romance with Clark. Finish villainizing Lex, wrap up Lionel, get Clark into the fortress, etc.

These storylines were thought out to not last forever, dragging them out hurt the show. Season 5 should have been a mini reboot with new plotlines, new character arcs, new romances, etc with no dragging on of old plots and arcs. If the show succeeded or failed after season 4, let it be in Metropolis.

Keep Martha in Smallville, and along with Luthor mansion and the cave there's plenty of reason to go back every few episodes and have a token reason to keep it named 'Smallville'. If they never went back to Smallville but kept the name, fans would have complained, but it wouldn't have been worse than the Clark/Lana arc this season.

 

[Caligula]

By what I have listed above, the show would have been better if it ended after four seasons. What do you think?

I would have much preferred it that way, and for all the reasons you listed.

Starting with Season 5's "Reckoning," the show went on a downhill slide. It recovered briefly during the last half of Season 6. I can't speak for the quality of the show's 8th season, as the show lost me sometime before the end of Season 7.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I've heard about a five year plan as well...I would have liked to seen that Smallville proper wrap up at the end of Season Four during the second meteor shower and have Clark agree to go to the Fortress in order to accept training from Jor-El. Then in September or October the show returns but as Metropolis and we show a more confident, less hesitant Clark return after spending a few months downloading information into his brain via the holo-chamber showin in that one episode and on his way to become Superman. He could still be the Red Blue Blurr but Metropolis would be more mature and less original concept and it would be clear that Clark had already made the choice to have a seperate idenity. Lois inadventedly gives him the idea to call himself Superman and the legend begins anew.