Am I the only one who thinks they should slow down?

[Catman]

I'm not the biggest Smallville fan but I check it out whenever it gets interesting. So, I saw the season premiere tonight. It was really good but felt rushed. Everything in tonight's episode could have been stretched into a couple of episodes.

For example, I was interested in exploring the Phantom Zone a bit more. Also, I wanted Zod to do more. To me he didn't do much. He wiped the virus, smacked Lana a few times, and had a quick fight with Clark. It sounds like a lot but it wasn't. I wanted more!

So, I don't know. Think they should start taking their time? Think some stuff are a little rushed? What are examples of other things in the past 6 seasons have you felt that were a bit rushed?

 

[SuperBatman]

The Thing is I read that they didn't have the Budget to have Zod be in more episodes. I don't know if that is true or not but that's just what I heard so they couldn't really end a story with destroying Zod.

 

[The Kid]

some eps feel more rushed out than others sometimes. I missed a few minutes of this because I'd go to the computer room during commercials to say something like "Oooooooooooooooooh wow" and post it here and then go back to watching smallville but by that time the show was already back on, so if it felt rushed I'd have not really known since I never saw it entirely. I will when its er... available again.

 

[Zorex]

Sure, it'd be awesome if they could spend a little more TIME on things. but budgets are budgets...

and as Lana said last season,




"Clark, we've been taking it slow for (..insert #..) years."

 

[phil]

Sure, it'd be awesome if they could spend a little more TIME on things. but budgets are budgets...

and as Lana said last season,




"Clark, we've been taking it slow for (..insert #..) years."

good point, would love to see more but TV budgets suck for a subject like Superman.

 

[AFan 2]

Some things are stretched out longer than they should be(lana and Clark) and other things that need exploring are not.

I wished Smallville was more of a continuation each week, like Dead Zone, battle star or Lost. These shows have continual story threads that continue and it just feels like one big movie. Smallville is too episodic.

 

[Kaboom]

Some things are stretched out longer than they should be(lana and Clark) and other things that need exploring are not.

I wished Smallville was more of a continuation each week, like Dead Zone, battle star or Lost. These shows have continual story threads that continue and it just feels like one big movie. Smallville is too episodic.

Smallville is an expensive show, and the real money for television comes not in the initial broadcast but in syndication. Now its pretty well-established that syndicated shows fare better when theyre self-contained. Thats why most SV shows function as stand alones, with the last act progressing the overall story.

 

[The Kid]

I just watched it again and no way, it wasn't rushed. Though the fight was a little short for my taste. I hope it was just a teaser of things to come.

I think we have to remember this is the second part of a two parter. Watching the season finale first and then this new episode really helps you understand why characters are the way they are and all that...

Also I have to say I'm impressed with welling's development as an actor. Damn.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Some things are stretched out longer than they should be(lana and Clark) and other things that need exploring are not.

I wished Smallville was more of a continuation each week, like Dead Zone, battle star or Lost. These shows have continual story threads that continue and it just feels like one big movie. Smallville is too episodic.

The upside to Episodic television is that people who don't watch a show on a regular basis can follow it, for the most part. Some people give up on shows like lost and 24 if they miss a couple of shows, because at that point they don't know what's going on anymore.

That's why they have arcs like they do, but most of the stories stay self contained, and it's ok.

 

[Catman]

I never said the show should be continual like Lost. I just wanted certain things to be expanded. We could have used more scenes at the Phantom Zone. For once Clark met someone good that knew his father. He could have learned A LOT about his father from her. Secondly, the budget thing on Zod is bull s--t. What did Zod do in this episode that was so expensive? He had a quick fight with Clark and flew a little. Thats it! The whole budget thing was bull.

 

[Batgort]

The whole budget thing was bull.

I agree. I'm sure theyr'e making money hand-over-fist with DVDs, syndication, and sponsors. I personally think they kinda regretted the Zod-possession story arc and wanted to wrap that up pretty quickly. It's all about investment -- they have time, money, and resources to invest and they want to do it in the best way. I think they realized that Lex is great as Lex, and they didn't want to invest further in the Zod possession since there would be better and more interesting stories coming up.

Regarding the overall show budget, I think that too is a matter of investment. Just because something airs on TV does not mean that it is void of the business process. If something is profitable, the executives have a choice on if they think investing more dollars into it will yield bigger profits. Will more special affects increase the number of viewers, retain viewers, increase sponsors, or sell more DVDs (I think yes to all of the above)? If so, then the investment dollars will come in.

I think the Smallville producers do a great job of getting the most bang for their buck. Look at the sets they use -- the barn, the mansion room, the talon. All sets they have built once and used time and time again. That level of re-use results in savings to the show's budget since if they can do part of the story in those locations, they don't have to build a new set, or shoot on location somewhere.

Likewise, computer graphics are the same way. You create models once, and then create various animation sequences, some of which can be re-used. So, for an up front investment into special affects, you get to use it across different shows and in different story lines at a fraction of the cost later.

 

[AFan 2]

The upside to Episodic television is that people who don't watch a show on a regular basis can follow it, for the most part. Some people give up on shows like lost and 24 if they miss a couple of shows, because at that point they don't know what's going on anymore.

That's why they have arcs like they do, but most of the stories stay self contained, and it's ok.

The down side is that people who watch the show get fed up of the lack of continuity.

Series are perfect for doing great indepth stories i would like to see more of this in Smallville. In season 2 they did why can't they do it now??

I recently watched the whole show back to back and Season 1 and 2 work well as a continuing story, with Hamilton, the reporter, the metal disc, the caves the craft and much more. But then it changed slowely through season 3. Season 4 and 5 are really disjointed apart from a few key episodes that link the main story. I just think the writers have stopped thinking things through.

 

[Catman]

You are probably correct.

 

[AFan 2]

Just watched season 6 premier it was really good.

Like the main poster stated i wish they could expand upon stuff like the phantom zone and other stories that could be expanded on that way you could cut out filler episodes with freaks of the weeks.

Imagine if it took an episode for Clark to get out of the Phantom Zone and then the next week could have been about him bringing down ZOD. We could have found more about Krypton an Jor-el and make more of it. This would also enable them to do a cheap episode one week and then spend more money on an effects heavy episode the next.

 

[Catman]

I think it would have been great to spend more time at the Phantom Zone because it would have allowed Clark to learn more about Jor-El. That girl could have told him everything and the villains could have complained about Jor-El. And, that way Clark could have seen that Jor-El really isn't the bad guy he made him out to be.

 

[Sebastos]

Edit: Nm.

 

[tonytr1687]

Just watched season 6 premier it was really good.

Like the main poster stated i wish they could expand upon stuff like the phantom zone and other stories that could be expanded on that way you could cut out filler episodes with freaks of the weeks.

Imagine if it took an episode for Clark to get out of the Phantom Zone and then the next week could have been about him bringing down ZOD. We could have found more about Krypton an Jor-el and make more of it. This would also enable them to do a cheap episode one week and then spend more money on an effects heavy episode the next.

You're right about Season 4 but 5 had great continuity.

 

[AFan 2]

You're right about Season 4 but 5 had great continuity.

Oh season 5 had great continuity within its own season but it conflicted with things that happened in the seasons that went before.

 

[y2jversion1]

IMO they should slow down in the sense of bringing too many characters on, especially since Clark doesn't have his "disguise" thing happening yet.

I mean it's probably beating a dead horse on my part, but first Lois, Perry White and now Jimmy Olsen - all of them have seen Clark without his "disguise" (glasses, suit etc).

Clark/Superman already had a near to nothing disguise of just the glasses, combed hair and the suit, and thanks to suspension of disbeleif, fans have not 'questioned' it over the years - but now Lois, Jimmy & Perry have seen Clark "in the buck" - how are they going to explain/depict how they can't recognize that Clark is Superman since they've already seen him sans disguise?

I honestly think some more thought should have been put into that aspect of the story before bringing an onslaught of characters from the Superman Universe.