Smallville

[Trekker4747]

I've begun plowing through Smallville again on DVD and it's amazing to me how much this show has changed over its nine seasons. In tone, in style, in story-telling. I forgot how neat the relationship/firendship between Clark and Lex was, how awesome Bo, er, Jonathan Kent was, how comely of an older woman Martha Kent was, and how much of a dupe Clark was over his love for Lana over Chloe.

Overall, given how much fun I can poke at this series in how goofy and formulaic it can be, I've got to say it's also kind of nifty and has some good fan-service when it comes to Superman-lore references.

 

[Jetfire]

Smallville is pretty solid as a series overall, I do laugh at some stuff and wonder why did they put that in. My biggest problem is the Clana, it wasn't written well. I don't think having Clark and Chloe together would have worked given how the friendship has been better than the Clana ever was.

 

[Trekker4747]

Smallville is pretty solid as a series overall, I do laugh at some stuff and wonder why did they put that in. My biggest problem is the Clana, it wasn't written well. I don't think having Clark and Chloe together would have worked given how the friendship has been better than the Clana ever was.

Yeah, I never "bought" Clana, either, and thought the Clark/Chloe relationship was established better. Personally, I blame Kreuk's vapid acting.

I do kind of wonder if Smallville High had some of the best paid, but over-worked, Grief Counselors in the state, considering almost weekly a student or faculty member is horribly mamed or killed.

 

[Jetfire]

I think they should have given Clark a girlfriend with powers for more than 1-2 episodes...I am thinking like it could have been a year long thing...then do Clark & Lana after both of them have gone through something serious. I miss Mr & Mrs Kent...I watch it with out them and it isn't the same...Season 7 could have used Martha at least in the begining with Kara. Plus it would have been nice to see Martha & Lara meet.

I will say this...Smallville High had better looking girls than my HS.

 

[Gaith]

Oh yeah, Annette O'Toole is definitely hot. Quite possibly still the hottest of the show's regulars. Yep, I just went there.

As I've written before, while the increasing body count was indeed getting ridiculous, the original show's point of no complete return came in 3.2, when Lana KILLED a guy and it was never mentioned again. Clark accidentally killing is one thing; he has a different perspective on life, but it should have had an effect on Lana.

Some good eps followed, including Memoria (the series' single best, as far as I know), but they had an elegiac quality to them; it was clear to me that the show was no longer interested in reconciling the comic book mythos with reality (we only saw one classroom in the first three years), and without that crucial balancing act, I wasn't interested. Legacy should have been great, but barely made sense. The S3 finale was decent enough, but though I may watch 4.1 one day just to see how it ends (I've read the spoilers), I wasn't invested enough to continue.

Maybe I'll watch some of the better-reviewed S8/9/10?s one day, but the emotionally rich and tantalizingly realistic show I'd identified with (I was a high school sophomore during S1, and, like Clark, had an impossible crush) died in 3.2.

 

[Trekker4747]

Oh yeah, Annette O'Toole is definitely hot. Quite possibly still the hottest of the show's regulars.

Bite your tounge!

 

[gastrof]

I don't mean to be a wet blanket here, because I'm a longtime Superman fan and was passionate about the show before it even aired...

But I just HATE IT when someone titles a post with the title of a show or movie and nothing more. This thread isn't about all things SMALLVILLE, as if it were a forum dedicated to the show. This is about one fan's feelings on certain matters related to the show.

Please, people. PLEEZE! Be more informative when you title posts in ANY forum.

On the matter of Lana having "killed" a guy, if you look back at the episode, the guy was holding the Kents and herself against their will in the barn, and threatening their lives. Lana defended herself and kicked the guy in the chest, accidentally sending him backward into (if I remember correctly) the prongs of a pitchfork.

Oh my, the bad murder-threatening man died. How horrid.

If I also remember correctly, the SMALLVILLE LEDGER website (which is now long gone) would fill in the blanks on certain plot points, and it established there was an investigation that totally cleared Lana of any wrongdoing, especially considering the circumstances.

The show hasn't done us as wrong as some think, tho' I will admit it's given me my share of Excedrin headaches. They don't last long, tho'.

 

[cultcross]

On the matter of Lana having "killed" a guy, if you look back at the episode, the guy was holding the Kents and herself against their will in the barn, and threatening their lives. Lana defended herself and kicked the guy in the chest, accidentally sending him backward into (if I remember correctly) the prongs of a pitchfork.

Oh my, the bad murder-threatening man died. How horrid.

It should have been absolutely devastating to Lana, or indeed anyone in that situation. It doesn't matter how 'justifiable' you thought a death was, if you just killed someone, it would have a big effect. And yet, it was never mentioned again.

If I also remember correctly, the SMALLVILLE LEDGER website (which is now long gone) would fill in the blanks on certain plot points, and it established there was an investigation that totally cleared Lana of any wrongdoing, especially considering the circumstances.

Just because you're not criminally responsible fro a death doesn't mean it wouldn't haunt you; you'd certainly never forget it, most people wouldn't be the same fro a long time. But Lana just shrugged it off as pretty much nothing.
Also, I maintain that it is very bad form for a show to rely on something external like a website to make it make sense.

 

[Mr Light]

I always felt that Smallville had a good premiere and finale episode each season but aside from that was generally soap opera crap. Hated Lana with a firey vengeance. However I just saw Season Eight on DVD and it was actually pretty watchable. I guess the new writers were an improvement. Clark and Lois at the Planet... new DCU character in almost every episode... me likee. I'm also not missing the pretentious evil of Lex.

 

[Othello]

Love the show. Love the Clark - Lana relationship. After the Luthors Lana was my favorite part of the show. Like Chole as a friend but like that she's finally sticking up for herself with Clark lately. Some great "geek out" moments on the show.

Favorite Episode: Lexmas - I really can understand Lex making the choice he did after seeing the woman he loves die.

Favorite Scene: "Onyx"- "I am the villian of the story!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFOca70UpSA

 

[Gaith]

@ cultcross. Exactly. The constant school and townspeople deaths were just barely plausible up to that point, within the disbelief-suspension of a comic book show, but that was a real fridge-nuking moment. Lana's first kill (with no kills up to then for Chloe, Pete, and possibly Martha and Jonathan also, I don't recall), and no one ever mentions it. Lame beyond words.

 

[Random_Spock]

I used to be a fan of this show... I really love the seasons where Lex Luthor was on. The actor who played him did a really good job. I was really impressed by him.

As for the show itself, there were times where I loved it plotwise and there were times where I just hated it. It all depended on the writing for the most part.

 

[DarKush]

I'm perhaps one of the few Smallville fans, here at least, that liked Lana. I thought Kristen Kruek was hot and in the early years had the right mix of being untouchable, but not arrogant or nasty that you wished that one untouchable girl in your high school was really like.

I like Chloe too, she's a true ride or die chick. But I think its long past time for her character to exit the show. She should've died off in Season 6 or last year when she merged with Brainiac.

Over the years, Smallville has had its ups and downs. I really liked Seasons 1, 2, 5 (spectacular), and 8. Three was so-so, four was a disappointment except for the finale, six I couldn't get into despite the cool premise of the phantoms, and nine hasn't really caught my interest. Don't care for the Major Zod thing. He's just not badass. And they had already screwed up Zod with the Lex-Zod from Season 5/6. I wish they had went with another Kryptonian villain, like JaxOr. At least they could start from scratch with him.

One thing I've always liked about Smallville is there reverence for the Superman films. Unlike Bryan Singer they've known for the most part how to honor those films and not ape them, all while updating the Superman mythos for a new generation. I still wish Smallville had made the leap to the big screen instead of the Superman Returns project.

 

[nx1701g]

^ I'll admit it, and this will shock many, I don't mind Lana and never really did. Mainly because I used to date a girl in High School who was a cheerleader and actually kinda looked like Lana.

 

[Trekker4747]

Was she endlessly vapid?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Did she smell like too much Vaseline?

 

[nx1701g]

Was she endlessly vapid?

Well let's just say she was a Cheerleader after all...

 

[Greg Cox]

Smallville is pretty solid as a series overall, I do laugh at some stuff and wonder why did they put that in. My biggest problem is the Clana, it wasn't written well. I don't think having Clark and Chloe together would have worked given how the friendship has been better than the Clana ever was.

Yeah, I never "bought" Clana, either, and thought the Clark/Chloe relationship was established better. Personally, I blame Kreuk's vapid acting.

I do kind of wonder if Smallville High had some of the best paid, but over-worked, Grief Counselors in the state, considering almost weekly a student or faculty member is horribly mamed or killed.

Maybe they imported some grief counselors from Sunnydale?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Two things.

Alien blood might taste awful.

His blood is full of sunlight.

Kal would have been sitting pretty if he'd crashed in Sunnydale as a Baby.

 

[Trekker4747]

Plus the vampire's teeth would have to be made of kryptonite to penetrate his skin.