The one named Clark

[UncleRogi]

Who else around here misses Smallville?

There are so many stories they could of told, but DC hamstrung the producers.

I am enjoying Supergirl, but I can tell its aimed at younger Folk. And I honestly enjoy how they
screw with cannon (that dreaded word).

EDIT: And IMO Kristen Kruek is one of the most beautiful human females to walk this Earth...

 

[danellis]

It was good until they finished school - not so much after that IMHO

dJE

 

[CorporalClegg]

I view Smallville much the same way I do Bab5: That is, it was either exceptional or utterly dreadful. And there was a lot more of the latter.

But I still think that, overall, the writing and [especially] the production quality are a good tier above any of the current DCW shows. However, I think the new series are consistently more entertaining. But that's probably due to being made with modern precepts.

Like Enterprise, SV came out right during that transitional period right at the turn of the millennium. And while it did try to adapt, I think it was often too mired in its own procedural mud -- which really shows nowadays

But, as I said, I think the production value was way ahead of what they've got going on now and really holds up, especially the set design. It certainly wasn't on par with something like The Crown, but it was way better than most give it credit for. And I think it should have been given an Emmy nod, especially during the middle years when they were really making bank. Think of it this way: A fucking barn was the hearth/centerpiece set. And they made it work. For ten years.

The writing - structurally speaking - wasn't always very strong. But the dialog was always top notch, even in the bad episodes. It was smart and layered without ever coming across as pretentious (like Trek often does). And the writers definitely had a better sense of theming and symbolism than the current group.

The acting, overall, was a little stronger. Obviously Welling couldn't hold a candle to Amell/Gustin/Benoist. But he was never quite as bad as people made him out to be. But the supporting cast is where the show really shined. And even with some of the heavyweights the new shows have, none of their performances ever reached the sheer excellence of the Luthor tete-a-tete.

And it was clear even back then Hartley was going to be a big deal someday.

 

[Forbin]

EDIT: And IMO Kristen Kruek is one of the most beautiful human females to walk this Earth...

While I abandoned Smallville after a few years, upon this point I can heartily agree.

 

[MacLeod]

Smallville was hit and miss, some of the story threads that spanned multiple episodes or across the season seemed to drag esp. in the later seasons when they moved to Metropolis. But perhaps part of that was down to the fact get we know he will become Superman so get there already.

 

[Tosk]

If it had run for only four or five seasons I'd remember it a lot more fondly. I enjoyed the early years quite a lot, the later ones not so much. By the time it did end, I was kind of glad to see it go.

 

[Gaith]

Agreed that the show's production design was amazing - of course, shooting in rural areas is a lot more expensive than urban ones, so that explains why the new CW Arrowverse shows tend to not be as lavishly designed (though Legends of Tomorrow is pretty damn impressive for a time-hopping series). As I've argued before, I think the show nuked the fridge at the end of 3x02, but there were indeed some excellent eps in those first two years (plus S3's "Memoria", a legitimately outstanding television episode, full stop).

What strikes me as interesting, in retrospect, is that Smallville had much more episode-to-episode writing quality variation than the Arrowverse shows - it'd have an excellent ep followed by an awful one, then a mediocre one, then back again. I imagine a lot of that has to do with the newer shows' much heavier serialization, and thus less time spent on one-off stories of the week which sink or swim depending on how compelling their plots and villains are. This ensures the new shows have far fewer garbage eps, but they also have far fewer stand-outs. Also interesting: despite being heavily serialized as well, Riverdale had its greatest episode last fall, followed immediately by its very worst. Why? Probably because, unlike the Arrowverse teams, which stick to coherent and orderly season-long arcs for better and worse, the Riverdale writing team seems to be as deliberate and focused as a hog on ice.

 

[Forbin]

In 2006, when Superman Returns was released, Tom Welling playing young Clark Kent was actually older than Brandon Routh playing adult Superman.

 

[UncleRogi]

In 2006, when Superman Returns was released, Tom Welling playing young Clark Kent was actually older than Brandon Routh playing adult Superman.

Brandon Routh was a very poor choice. So much so that it takes me out of the movie.

But the plane-saving sequence I can watch again and again!