Smallville: Superman The Early Years

[Darren]

I caught an episode from Season 6(!!) on E4+1 the other night. I've never bothered with this after the excrement that was New Adventures of Superman, but it held my attention and was quite enjoyable. Tom Welling makes an excellent Clark Kent.
It was a little glossy and soapy in places, but the invasion story was exciting, even if the resolution was a bit flat.
It felt a bit contrived bringing all the well known Superman characters to one tiny community, even Zod was mentioned , but I think it may be worth exploring further. Any fans out there?

[Alex]

Yeah, I quite like Smallville, it's annoyingly patchy but also quite fun a lot of the time.

There's been a couple of really dodgy seasons imo, like the one where Lana was possessed by a witch(!), and a few poor 'kryptofreak of the week' episodes, but there's also a lot to like as well. The interaction between Clark and Lex is probably the thing I like most about it, as there friendship's slowly gone sour, but also John Glover as Lionel Luther is really great too.

It's also managed the rare feat of making a truly annoying character, Chloe, in to a really cool one, something not that many programmes have done.

I also quite like that they've incorporated various other elements of the DC Universe in to the series, so we've seen The Flash and the Martian Manhunter pop up, and Green Arrow and Aquaman too.

I've seen all of the latest season now and it's got a great cliffhanger, so I'm really looking forward to the new season in September - though rumours are that it could well be it's last unfortunately.

[MacNimon]

After six seasons, isn't it about time than Tom Welling actually got the chance to wear that famous red and blue costume? After all, how long can he be expected to play a 'teenage' Clark Kent?

[SiHart]

I liked The New Adventures of Superman! I never really got into Smallville though.

Si xx

[stuartdg]

Smallville is one of those shows you have to follow from the beginning to fully appreciate,Seasons 2 and 3 are its best.Plaudits to the crew for the use of so many DC characters and the actors involved with them and tying it up within the shows own mythology...

[Alex]

After six seasons, isn't it about time than Tom Welling actually got the chance to wear that famous red and blue costume? After all, how long can he be expected to play a 'teenage' Clark Kent?

I've got a feeling that they've said that will never happen, as that's part of Clark's life when he gets to Metropolis. They've definitely said he'll never fly during Smallville, as that's a power he gains at a later point in his life, anyway, which I think is a bit of a shame.

Plaudits to the crew for the use of so many DC characters and the actors involved with them and tying it up within the shows own mythology...

That's one of the things I like most about it, there's more to come next season too according to a recent news story on Aint It Cool News.

[Martin Penny]

I always liked Smallville, never been crazy about it, but it has some very good episodes and I like all the characters...except Lana, who just seems to moan endlessly. John Glover is particularly good.

I've not seen the first three seasons, I started with Season four and went on from there.

[Perry Vale]

To stop hijacking the 'What You've Been watching' thread, I've dug up this thread....

Well, I finished Smallville S7 last night. I found it very disappointing as a whole, and is my least favourite so far....

Contains Spoilers!

Well, Dean Cain as Jack The Ripper was quite a surprise! And I loved the 'Warrior Angel' episode with Christina Milian, but most of the rest of it didn't do it for me. The main problem for me was Kara, who only seemed to appear in stories that directly needed her, and inbetween those she mysteriously was nowhere to be seen. I wasn't very taken with the whole Veritas/Da Vinci Code stuff either.

Also, as much as I love James Marsters in Buffy, I never really felt he worked as a villian in S5, so I wasn't very thrilled at his return here.

Naturally I don't know what spoiler you were alluding to (which could be in S8?), but I was really disappointed to see the end of Lionel Luthor. John Glover has been excellent from the start, and the character developed in to such a rich one. It was completely fitting though that he died at the hands of Lex.

For the first time since I started watching, plotholes started to surface that really annoyed me (in the same way they do in NuWho). When Clark finds out about the safe deposit box in Zurich, why doesn't he just go there and take it himself? There isn't a safe in the world he can't break in to! Also, after setting up Chloe with the dubious choice of 'life bringer', why do they not use it for Lionel, or even at least suggest it (which as I recall they don't)?

There were still some great moments here and there (I loved that scene of Lex & Clark at Lionel's grave) and after all that of course, it ended on quite a cliffhanger, but even that seemed like something of an anti-climax and a little rushed. That was something else that S7 suffered from, for me, there wasn't as much screentime with Lex & Clark together.

The character of Lois really grew on me in this season, and Jimmy shined in the episodes he featured in. I'm hoping that S8 will pick up, but your earlier comments make me wonder if it will.

[stuartdg]

I will be shortly rewatching Smallville,I did up to Season 4 originally,and recently finished Season 1.Looking forward to the inevitable influx of DC Comics characters making their way on to the show!

[duncan]

I have been collecting the Boxsets after catching season 1 on ITV2. I'm about half way through season 4 at the moment and love this show.

[Perry Vale]

I'm one episode away from completing S8 now. Very disappointing, and I think I realise what Alex meant about it in another thread. I'll post more detailed thoughts (spoiler protected) later in the week.

[Perry Vale]

A quick (spoilery) question about S8, maybe someone who's seen the final episode can answer...?

What's up with Chloe's meteor ability for healing people? I don't recall seeing so on screen, but did she have it taken away at some point? If not, why does she not bring Jimmy back to life when he dies?

[Alex]

This is from the Smallville wiki:


She later healed Lex Luthor after he was shot. Clark observed that she had no heartbeat for 18 hours, much longer than her previous recovery period from healing Lois. This suggests that the empathic component to her powers may weaken over time, or that perhaps Lex's injury was just that much more severe than Lois'. In any case, it caused her and Clark to discuss how often she should use her powers. Chloe's healing factor had a remarkable impact on Brainiac. The machine's power reserves were severely depleted after he attacked Chloe at the Talon, as her ability to heal countered Brainiac's attempts to infect and render her comatose like he had done to Lana. After she recovered, Chloe has not successfully used her healing powers. She also didn't attempt to use it save to Jimmy in Doomsday, implying it is definitely gone.

(Spoilered for those who haven't seen S8 yet).

[Perry Vale]

Thanks for that Alex. Sounds like they rather fudged the issue, as I suspected.

[Alex]

Aye, it definitely wasn't made clear - and the whole death of Jimmy Olsen thing was a bit of a mess in my mind too. What's even more bizarre is that they're now claiming that it wasn't even the 'proper' Jimmy Olsen, but his younger brother, who just happened to have the same name, though this has yet to be mentioned in the series.

(Spoilers related to S8 only).

I'll be interest to here your thoughts on S8 as I think we share the same reasoning as to why it wasn't that great... But there is some good news, as reportedly the producers are trying to get Michael Rosenbaum back for S.10 for at least 10 - 12 episodes.

[Perry Vale]

I've watched the first episode of S9 and I don't think it's going to get better. For the first time since I discovered S1 last October, a day has passed where I don't feel the urge to watch an episode....

So, Season 8 thoughts, with obvious spoilers....

Well let's begin at the start, as my heart sank the moment I saw the opening credits. Two brand new faces (one of which doesn't turn up until ep.2, iirc), and......no Lex! I had no idea this was going to happen. I expected there to be no Lana, there seemed little room for any more development to her character, and I assumed the focus should start to shift more on to Clark & Lois. The show was really starting to feel like something else. No Martha (and Jonathan, obviously), no Lionel (a major blow), no Lana, and also it felt more and more, nothing actually happening in Smallvile itself. I guess this is perhaps why they keep insisting Lois calls Clark by the name "Smallvile", to remind viewers where the show used to be set!

Another niggle, no-one mentions Kara at all, until about halfway through the series where she finally returns to suit the plot.

Anyway, I thought the first three episodes of S8 were pretty pants (especially the one where the Green Arrow is poisoned), but then it slowly picks up a better pace and improves quite a lot.....until Lana returns. But it's hard for the show to ever get over the dumping of Lex. As a long time viewer I couldn't help but fell very cheated. After seven years (series) of building up the relationship between Clark & Lex, and Lex trying to find out Clark's secret (which he finally does at the end of S7).....he's gone! Ridiculous. I don't know the ins & outs as to why he left, if maybe he left the makers in the lurch, so they had to make the best of what they had (left)?

There also seems to be a distinct lack of 'lighter' touches, with only 'Infamous' and 'Stiletto' feeling like recognisable Smallville episodes, and probably the two most enjoyable ones for me.

I'd quite warmed to the character of the Green Arrow in earlier seasons, so I wasn't that disappointed to see him join as a permanent cast member, but they seem to have even ruined that one by the end of the run, seemingly trying to turn him into another version of Lex.

I hope the speculation about S10 you mention is true, it really needs it, imo.

And in connection with what we talked about earlier in regards to Chloe, a spoiler from the first episode of S9....Chloe begs Clark to use the time travel ring to go back and save Jimmy. Yet again, neither one of them even mentions her ability, or apparent lack of, so this really annoys me.

[Alex]

Michael Rosenbaum leaving was what I was alluding too earlier on, though I was equally gutted that they killed off Lionel too, which hardly had any repurcussions as well.

It was Rosenbaum's decision to quit the show (at that point it looked like S.8 might be the very last) which was a real shame, and like you I really hope he does return (his movie career hasn't taken off at all, thankfully!) so it may well be possible. I felt really cheated by how they finally killed him off, it really should have been an epic moment between Clark and him at the end of S.7 imo.

The way they handled Kara was bizarre too, as she was popular with the fans (at least the male ones!) and to me the whole Doomsday thing was really poorly done. In the comics, he infamously killed Superman in an ongoing story epic which featured a truly epic battle sequence that went on for several issues, but here he seemed weak and fairly pissy to me.

The first episode of S.9 is an appalling one I agree, though the second episode was a bit better, and I do intend to watch them when I get the chance, as apparently more characters from the DC universe make an appearance...

[Perry Vale]

Yeah, Doomsday the character, and especially the episode itself, was a let down. It was a bit like an RTD Nuwho, when Clark & DD disappear into that big explosion, I had to check the clock, as there was about 10 minutes left to go!

Another thing that makes it feel weak to me also, is the lack of mention of Martha. I understand the actress left, but some mentions onscreen would be nice (if they can't tempt her back to guest star), perhaps at the other end of a phone conversation. After how much weight was given to Clark's relationship in the first few series with his parents, it just seems somehwat odd. Especially given the way they've turned his character after S8's finale, and the first of S9.

Thanks for the info regarding Rosenbaum, I expected as much (and it can't be much fun having to be bald for most of the year!). Like you, if he was leaving, I think a more 'final' showdown with Clark in S7 would have been a better way to go.

[Perry Vale]

Coming to this show late, can anyone (perhaps Alex?) fill me in on where UK terrestrial showings are at? I notice T4 are running S8 at the moment, is this first airing or a repeat run? Also, the episode I just watched on T4 was very visibly 'cut' for the timeslot (as I've seen a US showing of it), does the show get a more watershed-friendly airing where it's uncut?

[Alex]

I know that E4 showed S8 at 9pm on Tuesday nights, so imagine it was uncut then, and I'm pretty certain that the T4 screenings at the moment are the first time it's been on terrestrial tv.

I was talking to Martin about this tonight actually, and he was saying how S9 has really improved on S8, so I must give it another go. Especially as I've given up on 24 and there's not that much new US drama worth watching at the mo...

[Perry Vale]

Thanks for the info, Alex.

I've done the first five episodes of S9 so far, and yes it's been pretty enjoyable probably because it hasn't gotten too stuck in to the season arc yet. I think there'll be worse to come when it does!

Everyone seems to have given up on 24, don't they? Even Fox....

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I think I stopped watching about S4 - we were somewhere with Sky earlier in the year and caught a couple of episodes and were "erm ... I now can't follow this". It's a shame, I did enjoy the earlier series, but alas I was too busy and couldn't keep up with it all. It's not helped with the fact that a lot of the new female cast look like an array of Barbie dolls, difficult to distinguish.

It's one of those things I've always meant to get back into and try and catch up - but never managed it.

[Perry Vale]

Just finished ep.7 of S9, 'twas a pretty bad one....

I mentioned it elsewhere, but the casting of Callum Blue (Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, Sarah Jane Adventures etc.) as Zod is simply awful. No gravitas at all. And to further compound it, in this episode we get to finally meet Jor-El in the flesh.....played by bloomin' Julian Sands! More bad casting, imo. And for silly plots, he wanders in to the Kent farm, and Chloe just believes who he is without question and tells him everything about Clark. After the lengths people have gone to trying to find his secret over the years, this did seem a bit misguided.

[Perry Vale]

Well, the tenth and final season has finally started in the US, with first episode 'Lazarus' airing last friday....

I'd been really looking forward to this, but came away from it a little disappointed. I've avoided cast lists as much as possible, although knew Jonathan Kent was returning from YouTube trailers, but 'old' Lex was a bit of a joke really. If Rosenbaum is still refusing to come back, they should really drop the whole Lex storylines down their priorities.

Still, quite enjoyable overall, and it does raise a few interesting questions as to what's to come. Not sure what they're going to do with 'young' Lex, and I hope they will answer just who took Tess there in the first place. And I hope Lois comes back from the desert soon!

One piece of casting I do know about made me smile, not a major character in the grand scheme of things, but nice to see that Terri hatcher is going to play Lois' mum!

[Perry Vale]

Season 10 Ep.2 - Shield

Well that was much better than the opening episode, I thought, as seems to be the case with a lot of Smallville seasons. The humour was back, as was Hawkman, which is interesting, and the sfx were superb as always. I may be mistaken, but was this the first time we've heard the phrase "Super...Man" in the show?