Smallville: A great show with one of the most powerful series finales in recent television history

That journey ended earlier tonight on The CW in one of the most powerful series finales that I’ve seen in recent television history. In fact, I absolutely did not want to write a recap blog post talking about my thoughts on the Smallville season finale. However, the final episode of this show – and really the final half an hour or so – was so powerful that I felt compelled to jump on the blog and at least give a few brief kudos to the entire team at Warner Brothers as well as the team at The CW for producing such a masterpiece.

But, of course, you can’t put together a television masterpiece without the right cast and Smallville has always had the right cast for this show. For my money, Tom Welling has got to be the best Superman in the character’s television history. No offense to Dean Cain, George Reeves, or even the movie-Superman actors (Brandon Routh and Christopher Reeve), but Welling recreated and gave definition to the psychological base that Superman operates from as a superhero. Welling’s performance over the last ten years was absolutely amazing; though I guess if you have ten years to perfect a role, you’re probably going to get it right!

But Welling was only the leader of an ensemble cast that came together tonight to highlight the entire ten year history of the show. From the persistent presence of both Annette O’Toole and John Schneider throughout the final episode as they reprised their roles as Martha and Jonathan Kent to Cassidy Freeman‘s demise as the ill-fated Tess Mercer to the return of Superman’s greatest enemy – Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor – tonight’s cast gave excellent performances.

And there are still so many more players in the game that made tonight’s final episode great. The freeing of Justin Hartley‘s Green Arrow from the grip of Darkseid, the emotional struggle of Erica Durance‘s Lois Lane, the quiet knowledge and knowing look of Allison Mack‘s Chloe Sullivan, the innately evil portrayal of Lionel Luthor by John Glover – it was all done to perfection. Even the scene where Clark Kent realizes that he has powers beyond his knowledge while watching a flashback of the show’s history was well done. On the topic of artfully performed flashbacks, I also liked the very well done scene where a dying Tess Mercer condemned her brother, Lex Luthor, to a future with no knowledge of his horribly troubled past. So much “happened” in the story of Superman during those two scenes and I think that the folks behind Smallville chose the right paths to bring those critical changes in each character’s history to the television audience.

I haven’t heard about or read any reports of a Smallville movie and, frankly, I can’t imagine that this absolutely brilliant series finale left room for a Smallville movie, per se. Sure, there is a seven year gap presented to the audience at the end of the show, but those seven years aren’t really focused on the story of Smallville. Instead, those are the seven years between the end of Clark Kent’s ascent to truly becoming Superman and his marriage to Lois Lane as well as Lex Luthor’s presidential victory. Is there a story to tell in that seven year period? Of course! Would Smallville fans eat up that movie? Yeah! But to revisit any portion of the Smallville universe (i.e. to go back and add additional information to any of the existing series canon) would do a disservice to the power in tonight’s finale.

Anyway, those are my quick thoughts. And a quick final thought on the Smallville series finale for my fellow long-time fans: how absolutely amazing was it to watch Tom Welling‘s Superman run in slow motion on the roof of The Daily Planet as he tore his Clark Kent outfit off and revealed the Superman suit… with the classic Superman theme playing?! It was awesome! That was an absolutely phenomenal payoff for this Smallville fan!

Well done, Smallville!

I’ve been a fan of Smallville on The CW (formerly The WB Network) for a long time. It’s a fun show that gives the whole superhero genre some credibility, if you ask me (much like the Spider-Man and X-Men movies). This episode was a two hour made-for-television movie that focused on the original Justice Society of America’s (JSA) interaction with a young Superman, The Green Arrow, The Martian Manhunter, and the Watchtower (operated by Chloe Sullivan). The members of the original JSA that were in this episode included The Star-Spangled Kid, Hawkman, Stargirl, and Dr. Fate.

Anyway, the episode starts with Chloe being confronted by The Star-Spangled Kid before he’s killed by Icicle. Chloe, The Green Arrow, and Clark Kent then do some research and find out that The Star-Spangled Kid was one of the members of an old group of Superheroes called the Justice Society of America. This group was led by Hawkman, who gave up on leading the group years ago and appears to take pleasure in criticizing the younger generation of Superheroes (Clark and his buddies).

Hawkman alludes to the DC Comic book universe in the episode by referring to himself and his team as the Golden Age of Superheroes. He then talks about Clark and his team being the Silver Age of Superheroes. If I remember correctly (and I don’t really remember at all), that is the chronology that DC Comics uses in its comic books, too.

What makes the episode interesting is that it lays the groundwork for a lot of future possibilities. For example, the JSA seems to have all of the information on Kent, the Arrow, Sullivan, Aquaman, and a bunch of the younger generation of Superheroes. The writers could spend full seasons detailing the history of the old JSA as well as showing how the remaining members mentor the new generation. Plus, there’s that museum with all of the old Superheroes’ stuff in it – definitely a lot to talk about in that place. I was also intrigued at Tess Mercer’s involvement in this Checkmate group of villains that zeroed in on attacking the JSA as well as the information that Lex Luthor is still alive. There’s a lot of potential here and I hope that the folks at The CW realize that and urge the Smallville writers to explore the background of the JSA in future episodes.

The point of this entry was just to say that for a show in its ninth season, I think that Smallville still has “it” and I hope The CW supports the show and its writers. And if you can get your hands on the Absolute Justice episode, I would suggest giving it a try!

It was completely unimpressive.

Oh, and watching the Slam Dunk contest tonight reminded me of one of the reasons why I hate watching the NBA these days. The commentators are horrendous! I don’t know who was doing the play by play, but when Robinson came out in his green Knicks uniform with the green socks and the green shoes, the commentators lost all self-control and constantly made references to Lex Luthor and kryptonite. Why? Because Howard’s nickname is Superman. Get it? The other guy wore green and was competing against the guy nicknamed Superman. Get it? Green? Kryptonite? Makes Superman not super?

I was mildly amused at the references for the first thirty seconds, but after a few minutes of the mindless babbling it easily became the most annoying thing that I heard all week. Seriously – shut up. We get it. We’re not stupid.

Anyway, I don’t watch the NBA any more and I haven’t in years. But I have to admit that I was impressed by Dwight Howard’s performance tonight. Good job!

Some examples of the stereotypes…

FOX canceled Back to You – the news sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. They put SO much promotional resources behind this show that you have to wonder if someone at FOX is finally going to get canned for wasting so much money. But this is FOX’s way – they start a show, give it two or three seasons (just enough time to build up a core fan base), and then dump the show. Idiots.

Then you have the brain trust at CBS who decided to cancel Jericho – again. If I’m not mistaken, CBS canceled Jericho last season and then was forced to bring the series back after tons of fan outrage. Hey, if that works, then I wonder why Arrested Development hasn’t been brought back by FOX yet!

Our friends at ABC canceled the Cavemen show. You know – the show based off of Geico’s advertising campaign. What a completely stupid…and I mean absolutely dumb…basis for a television show. ABC is only saved this time around because they are acquiring Scrubs from NBC. If you haven’t watched Scrubs, then you have to give it a shot. Lots of humor on that show.

The CW, which may have more problems that they’re not letting on about, gave up on WWE Smackdown! which will certainly go down as the dumbest move in this company’s short history. Why a dumb move? It’s the number one show on the network! I’m glad, though, that they’re bringing Smallville back for another season, but I’d like to see how they move that storyline along without Lex Luthor – especially in light of the large role he played in the season finale last night.

NBC is dropping 1 vs. 100, The Singing Bee, and My Dad is Better Than Your Dad. Good grief! Who gets fired for approving these shows in the first place – really? Alright, so 1 vs. 100 had some potential, but the game show scene is way over saturated right now.

Anyway, I guess there is still a chance that some of these shows will be brought back, but it’s doubtful.

Of course, my schedule screwed me and I started missing shows so I stopped watching completely…which means that I had to wait an entire year for the f’ing DVDs to come out! I bought the DVDs earlier this week, watched them all, and still managed to miss the first episode of Season 7. Thank God I have DVR these days!

Season 6 was great. The show has grown-up so much over the last 5 years that it’s really become a great show with many adult themes. Sex, desire, marriage, lust – all of these play a major part in many of the episodes. This is the season that sees Lana Lang marry Lex Luthor and ultimately “explode” in the final episode. We follow Clark track escaped convicts from the Phantom Zone (which is where Zod exiled Clark at the end of Season 5). In fact, Season 6 ends with Clark fighting against the last – and strongest – escapee from the Phantom Zone.

One thing that really pissed me off about this season was the fact that Lana seemed to wind up in the hospital in the majority of the episodes. At one point, I think she was in there for a few episodes in a row! How long can you play out that storyline before it gets old? We get it, she’s physically weak, emotionally tempered, and sexually strong. We know! Move to the next friggin’ level of her character development!

The introduction of Jimmy Olsen was good for the show – or at least I think so. His interaction with Chloe really brings a different side of her character out for the fans to enjoy. It also clearly puts Clark in his own little world where he’s essentially alone. I mean even his Mother has Lionel Luther to lean on! Oh, and speaking of Annette O’Toole and John Glover, they (once again) steal the season with their acting. As do Chloe and Lois Lane (Erica Durance). Tom Welling is also great as Clark Kent as is Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor.

But honestly, at this point in the show’s history it is unnecessary to go over the excellence of the cast. They’re good – and if you don’t believe me then watch on Thursday nights at 8pm on The CW.

Season 6 was a great season and I’m looking forward to another excellent season!

The most notable “thing” about the movie is that it is really long. One of my friends timed how long it took for the opening credits to go by and it was 6 minutes. There is another scene where Superman is reminiscing about his days as a boy on the Kent Farm and that takes at least 5 minutes – so right there were 11 minutes that we could have done without (these minutes would have been better spent in a longer DVD release). That being said, the time wasn’t completely wasted because Bryan Singer created some good film with that time (except for the opening credits – that was, in fact, a waste). Hopefully, he uses his time better in the already planned Superman sequel for 2009.

What I found unexpected about the story is that it was pretty much a generic Superman vs. Lex Luthor plot. Superman is a good guy and Lex is a bad guy and both Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey are brilliant in their roles. However, the movie sometimes leaves you wishing that there was “more” to it. After the movie, a bunch of us were talking and I compared it to the Spiderman series where there is just so much going on and so many storylines and subplots that every minute of film time is a necessary evolution of the entire story. Singer’s Superman Returns doesn’t have that same feel and although it works for the movie, it will definitely leave you feeling like you’re eating a hollow cake – it tastes good and looks phenomenal, but the yummy insides are no where to be found.

I also take issue with this concept that Superman is no longer an American icon. I don’t like that. Superman’s iconic promo has always been, “truth, justice, and the American Way.” That’s just how it is with Superman – the whole world knows that he stands for these things. The fact that this iconic slogan was reduced to, “truth, justice, and all that stuff,” is offensive. What’s wrong with the “American Way?” What? Because Hollywood hates President Bush they are going to throw the baby out with the bath water? That’s horseshit. But not enough to detract from the actual movie itself.

The fact that there is so much Christian iconography in the movie sorta makes up for the lack of “American Way,” but in a different respect. Anyone who watches this movie and DOESN’T see how Singer tries to make Superman out to be Jesus Christ definitely needs their eyes checked out! But the images play well, although sometimes they tend to become a lot less subtle than the producers and writers may have liked.

Overall, I’d give this movie a solid B+ rating with glimpses of an A- here and there. If I had the time to catch a cheap matinee, I’d probably go see it again. Otherwise, it’s probably a definite DVD buy for me when it’s released. I can’t stress enough how great Spacey is as Lex Luthor or how well Routh fits into the Superman role. My recommendation – go see it in a nice theater with a good sound system so you can appreciate what a great job the folks did in putting this film together. But don’t expect a tantalizingly deep plot – it’s good guy versus bad guy in this film.

The storyline about Lana’s connection to the witch who was burned at the stake and how that witch was sentenced to death by Jason’s ancestors – really interesting stuff! Also, the interplay of how each of the main characters wants the stones of power is very well written. I’m not sure how I feel about the episode where Lex is split in two and thus turns his father back into his old, nasty self, but we’ll see how that plays out in Season 5.

I’m a big fan of Erica Durance and her Lois Lane character. Not just because she’s banging, but she does a good job of being a nuisance to Clark. I’m also a big fan of that crazy girl who transports showing Chloe Clark’s secrets and the episode where Clark loses his memory and Chloe protects him from the outside world. Is it just me or is Chloe getting progressively hotter as the seasons go on? Good for her!

As the rest of the Smallville freaks will tell you, it’s cool that the Flash was introduced to the storyline – there really is endless potential especially since his powers are not a result of the meteor shower. And speaking of meteor showers – what a great final episode, huh? As I said in the Season 3 Review, the Smallville writers have a way of ending each season by blowing up enough of the storyline to start fresh, yet keep some of the more important characters and stories going. Another good job.

I’m not sure I really enjoyed the whole feeling of Clark as a football player. I mean he’s Superman for Christ’s sake – I don’t know if he needed to be a football hero in the story, even if it was only a short-lived fling. I will also say kudos to the writers for handling Christopher Reeve’s death in a classy fashion and for bringing in one of the only guest stars that could have taken his place – Margot Kidder. For those of you that don’t know, Margot played Lois Lane opposite Reeve in the Superman movies.

Though I will say that I don’t think she had a big enough role on the series and I really don’t like how her character was killed off and how her death was only mentioned as a passing note in the Lionel vs. Genevieve dialogue. Oh – how sweet is it that Jane Seymour was brought in to play Genevieve? She’s an excellent actress and she did a hell of a job playing a really tough role.

Anyone else think that the episode where Lana, Lois, and Chloe get possessed by the medieval witches was REALLY hot? Those three are ridiculously gorgeous.

This season also had some stupid high school-ish drama with the weirdo who tried to recreate Smallville High and turned everyone into mannequins. I thought the China episode was good and really showed how great the series can be when it pulls away from these stupid high school storylines. There was also the obligatory tragic death this season with Alicia being killed off, which I guess had to happen since the only way her role in the story could progress is by her becoming more involved with Clark (which is a big no-no with Lana and Lois around).

Season 4 was sweet, but my only problem now is that we’re 7 months away from when Season 5 comes out on DVD…so what the “f” am I supposed to do now?! I can’t start watching the series on TV – they’re already into like the 12th or 13th episode! Maybe I can find a place to buy the episodes from Season 5 online somewhere. Any advice that you folks have is greatly appreciated!

I enjoyed Smallville Season 3. The whole Clark in Metropolis to begin the season was sorta cool, especially since he was in a “Fuck the world, I’ll kill you” type of mode. I thought that Michael McKean’s guest appearance was a great twist to the show, especially when he starts digging into what makes Clark so damn weird.

Did you know that he’s married to Annette O’Toole (the woman who plays Clark’s mom)? Just some interesting trivia that I thought you may enjoy!

One of my favorite episodes was the one that takes place in the 1960’s where Lana and Clark’s families crossed paths once before. Interesting little mythology that they’re building there – that has potential for future storylines. Good creativity by the writers. Oh, and another good creative streak with the entire end of the season/Lionel’s trial. Excellent final episode.

Some good things came out of this season, such as the removal of Pete (the episode where he was a speed racer was pretty much when he started to be a useless character). I also enjoyed how – in true Smallville fashion – they ended the season by blowing up all of the previous storylines just enough so that they can almost start completely fresh in the next season. Sure, there may be some continuity problems with that, but the writers have pulled it off pretty well so far.

The season also had some really creepy moments…like when Clark’s blood was bringing people back to life. That was ridiculous. I mean, it was just weird. This isn’t really a bad thing, but I didn’t like that Dr. Swann was even contemplating talking with Lionel in the episode where they met up. That was just a bit of an awkward scene, I thought.

Overall I obviously recommend this season. As a new Smallville freak, I have to say that this season really did a lot to push aside some of the corny first and second season dialogue and storylines (anyone remember the coach who made things burn when he got mad?). And as I said earlier, the season ends with a cliffhanger that really makes you want to see the fourth season.

Sorry for that stupid diversion…

Season 1 ended with a very interesting twist, having the storm completely mess up then entire town. I will say that some of the stupid high school drama parts of the first season re-entered during the second season, but that’s also to be expected…especially when young adults is the primary audience of this series. I’m not sure how I feel about the introduction of “red meteor rocks” into the storyline, but I guess we’ll see how that goes. Seems like it might just be a waste of time in the long run – or it could act as one of the only things that turns Clark into a “bad guy” for a little while.

The episode where Lionel’s ex-mistress claims that Clark is her son was a little weird. I don’t know if I even like introducing that into the storyline. I’m sure the writers have it all figured out, though.

The part of season two that I hated the absolute worst was the death of Ryan – that’s ridiculous. There was no reason to have him die. Ooooo…an incurable brain tumor…oooooo, real original! What is this? A weekday soap opera? Weak storyline, really. Oh, but on the other hand – I did enjoy the final removal of Whitney. That guy was a punk and a crappy character. The kid seemed like a decent actor, but what a shit-tastic story he was given, huh?

I liked the ending of the season, with Clark going apeshit and moving to Metropolis. They could really have a good extension on that with the beginning of Season 3 – so we’ll see how they do with it.

Good job, Smallville writers!

I purchased the Season 1 DVD Box Set and I’ve been watching it over the past weekend. Not a bad series. I give it two thumbs up. I do have some questions/issues with the show, though.

One of my roommates mentioned to me before I started watching the box set that a big problem with the series is that it has an underlying teenage love story that goes along with the “Superman as an awkward teenager” plot. He said that this distracts from the episodes sometimes and I would agree with that. There are a few times when you just want to smack Lana Lang (Superman’s love interest) for being a complete idiot and there are other times when you want to hit Superman for not getting with his hot friend Chloe. But I am able to overlook those underlying plots so it doesn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the series (so far).

Another thing that I have a problem with is the believability of the setting. Let me explain. First, isn’t it sorta weird that all of these odd things are taking place in one small town in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, I get the whole “meteor landing twelve years ago causing everyone in town to be messed up” sub-plot and I get how Clark thinks that it’s all his fault and he feels the need to apologize to everyone, but come on. I mean after you have all of these weird kids coming out of that high school, wouldn’t someone in the federal government get wise to it?

Then again, I haven’t seen the entire collection of episodes out there yet so who knows?

The other “believability” problem that I have is a two-part criticism. First, I played high school football in a primarily white-bred, upper class school that wasn’t too far in the middle of nowhere, but wasn’t in the middle of the city, either. So to see all of these typical “jocks” who hate anything that is not-jock is just false. People aren’t really like that in high school these days and if they are like that, then it’s certainly not the entire football team like it is in Smallville! However, this is a TV show, so I can deal with it!

The second part of this particular problem is the characteristics of the kids that make up Smallville High School. No fat kids? At all? In the entire school? Are you serious?

How does a football team not have big, fat, bulky linemen? Come on – this is a farm town! What’s worse about this point is that not only do they not have “big” people in their high school or football team, but they have all jacked up guys and hot girls in the school! Even the episode that dealt with the fat girl who became not fat…she was hot when she was fat! And I find it funny that every guy in Smallville High School has a six-pack and a ridiculously defined torso…and that goes for everyone from Superman to his nerdy friend! Believable? Ha! I think not…

But those are petty criticisms. I really like the show and I think I’ll be purchasing the other box sets that are out (in due time). I’m looking for some of your critiques on the show – be sure to pass them along! Oh, I put a button on the bottom of the righthand sidebar that links to the official Smallville website in case anyone wanted to check it out!