Aspects of Smallville you feel improved the Mythology

[LostSon88]

Obviously, Smallville is an alternate universe interpretation of the Superman mythology.

Some things have worked, some things haven't...in the 8 years of Smallville, what are the things you feel are the best ideas they have brought to Superman?

Mine off the top of my head...

-Having the Kents pre-chosen by Jor-EL to be Clark's adopted parents
-The Smallville interpretation of the Phantom Zone and having villians actually being ghostly phantoms
-The Lionel Luthor character.
-Making Martian Manhunter a friend of Jor-EL and Lara
-Portraying Jor-EL as a much more complicated figure.
-The idea of 3 crystals hidden around the world which lead to the creation of the FOS (could've cared for a somewhat better way to do it though as opposed to the Witch storyline...ugh)

There's a couple more but I gotta sleep on it...

You?

 

[Son of Sun]

I stopped watching the show sometime after the Supergirl was introduced and I'm thinking of re-watching the first few seasons - might have more to say after that but I might as well list some pros and cons here that come to mind.

+ Kents and their farm, nice and idyllic
+ Lionel Luthor on Clark's side, the drama between Lex and him
+ Kristin Kreuk, love the wrinkles on her nose when she smiles
- The unused potential of the effect of the meteor shower on the lives of Smallville's people; meaning the non-supernatural stuff
- Pete
- Lex wasn't written good. All they did was spin the initial relationship he and Clark had and that's just plain lazy

Interestingly the series seemed to get smaller and smaller, even if the budget seemed to increase during each season. I like the show quite a bit even if it never was build or written especially ingeniously.

 

[November Rain]

they are so small, they aren't even worth mentioning.

I do like the idea that lana's family died in the meteor shower and she wore some kryptonite around her neck. They should have kept that gimmick for longer.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

not a lot of time this morning, as I could add quite a few things but I will state the one I always thought was awesome was having baby Kal-El's arrival masked by a meteor shower.

With NORAD and everything else in place today (and even in 1989), you'd have Feds on the site of a spaceship crash in mere minutes. The meteor shower is the perfect cover for explaining why only the Kents would have found baby Kal-El and why no one else in the town would've really noticed the crash either. Obviously in the 50's when those things were originally added to the mythos, they didnt have the tech that we have today so they never really had to worry about explaining much, but nowadays we constantly monitor air space, etc. SO I thought that was a pretty solid add by Al & Miles.

Now, having the meteors be filled with kryptonite is another story. It's OK in some doses because it knocks Superman down a peg and helps with having something for him to overcome but Smallville went a bit over the top with just how much landed there.

 

[Brainiac 8]

The introduction of Lionel Luthor, his broken relationship with Lex, his fall, him being used as a vessel of Jor-El, and in turn his attempt at redemption, then ultimately him dieing while protecting Clark was all fantastic.

I thought the journey of Lionel was one of the best aspects of the show. Lex was spiraling downward, all the while his father was finally attempting to right his past, and live up to the high standards that Clark holds dear. He honestly wanted Clark's approval at the end. He finally recieved that when he died protecting Clark.

 

[RakuMon]

- The unused potential of the effect of the meteor shower on the lives of Smallville's people; meaning the non-supernatural stuff

Yeah. In the beginning, Kryptonite had other effects on humans that weren't strictly power-based. If you remember Dr. Hamilton and Earl Jenkins, meteor rocks also affected the health of people who were exposed to it. I wish the writers stuck with this because it shows that kryptonite is more complex than just a secret supervillain ingredient

not a lot of time this morning, as I could add quite a few things but I will state the one I always thought was awesome was having baby Kal-El's arrival masked by a meteor shower.

With NORAD and everything else in place today (and even in 1989), you'd have Feds on the site of a spaceship crash in mere minutes. The meteor shower is the perfect cover for explaining why only the Kents would have found baby Kal-El and why no one else in the town would've really noticed the crash either. Obviously in the 50's when those things were originally added to the mythos, they didnt have the tech that we have today so they never really had to worry about explaining much, but nowadays we constantly monitor air space, etc. SO I thought that was a pretty solid add by Al & Miles.

Now, having the meteors be filled with kryptonite is another story. It's OK in some doses because it knocks Superman down a peg and helps with having something for him to overcome but Smallville went a bit over the top with just how much landed there.

Agree about the meteor shower. That's the most brilliant thing Al & Miles added to the mythology and I bet Kal-El's arrival in a hail of meteors will be standard fare for the Superman origin generations from now.

The creation of Lionel Luthor and the de-aging of the Kents were also great contributions.

I'll also add Dr. Swann to the mix as well. He's a great character that could have been developed a lot more if Reeve's tragic death had not occurred. Still, they succeeded in creating an instantly iconic figure (the shot of the wheelchair in "Veritas" is chilling).

 

[Prison Mike]

the thing I love the most about this show is the relationship between fathers and sons. The relationship between Jonathan and Clark, Jor-El and Clark, and Lionel and Lex always made the show interesting for me. On top of that, the character development of Lionel and Lex was superb. You never knew what side Lionel was on and you got to see Lex's descent into evil gradually and it wasn't like he turned into a lame real-estate tycoon. Rosenbaum's Lex is the BEST live action interpretation of the character to date, IMO. (The animated series interpretation of the character is great as well)

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

As Hulk already said having his arrival masked by a meteor showers is good.

Some other good things are:

• De-Aging the Kents
• Lex rise to power
• Lionel and Lex conflict
• Clark struggle to become Superman (meaning they made him more human that he doesn't want to accept the fact of who or what he is)
• Perry ( I like the fact that they met so early on mainly because it was so brief unlike the rest of them)
• Chloe (she does grow on you after a while)
• The Kent Farm
• Kal-El's Spaceship
• Pete being black
• Adam (Season 3 boyfriend for Lana mainly because he was suppose to be Bruce Wayne and he was great until they revealed he was not Bruce)

 

[Son of Sun]

As Hulk already said having his arrival masked by a meteor showers is good.

Yeah, I liked that a lot too, but unfortunately it wasn't used like I hoped like I said; I would've loved to see Clark helping other farms on daily chores and such if their routines would've been affected by his coming to the planet. I would've loved this quite a lot and I think it definitely should've been vital on Clark's developing compassion and caring for humans and the world - but I guess it wasn't that type of show.

I liked Perry also. Did we see him before the episode where Clark threw that tractor in front of him while he was at the bus stop? That episode was delightful and I liked the actor on the role.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

Yeah, I liked that a lot too, but unfortunately it wasn't used like I hoped like I said; I would've loved to see Clark helping other farms on daily chores and such if their routines would've been affected by his coming to the planet. I would've loved this quite a lot and I think it definitely should've been vital on Clark's developing compassion and caring for humans and the world - but I guess it wasn't that type of show.

so you wanted to see a 3 year old Clark helping out the neighbors with farm chores?

 

[Brainiac 8]

haha...appearantly.

Isn't that what we all look for in a Superman show?

 

[Gmanofsteel]

- Clark Kent and Lex Luthor knowing eachother in Smallville: FANTASTIC idea, It is literally a combination of post-crisis and precrisis mythology. It is this concept that really got me interested in the show.

- the multiple effects of kryptonite on humans: yes sv used the concept to the Nth degree, but it is still a very interesting concept.

- Clark showing reporter interests by working at the torch.

- Mentioning that at time some kryptonians would visit earth: It added an extra level of interest and actually adds to the mythology on why jor-el sent kal-el to earth as well as showing the amount of care and preperation he took to save his son's life.

 

[b24]

i liked about how they developed backstory of superman

that is how superman sacrificed his own happniess and dreams (to live normal life or he can't stay with his loved ones forever) so he can become our greatset saviour

TW does good job in portraying kind of tragic hero who will give up on all things he wants and become a legend

 

[b24]

and yea ofcoures LEX LUTHOR this version beats nodoubt any movies interpratipon of lex luthor

and of course LIONEL LUTHOR

 

[Son of Sun]

so you wanted to see a 3 year old Clark helping out the neighbors with farm chores?

Well, let's see... no

I wasn't talking about picking up the trash or fixing the damage immediately, but doing chores later on sort of to pay back what happened because of his arrival - hell, maybe there'd been a farm in ruins and he'd actually fix that little by little alone and think about... whatever. It might be that the farms wouldn't exactly be in need of help (but there'd of course be those farms which would be deep in debts or something because of a ruined harvest or whatever equipment), but I suppose that by now you know what I meant. I guess that it might be that there's more than enough work running the Kent farm alone... but he's Supes anyway. It would've been interesting if he would start taking too much pride in their thanks and suddenly it would lead to some questions over how he actually manages to help everyone and this would've taught him another lesson on flying under the radar, so to say.

At least it would've been something different than just another k-mutated freak, and that's what I meant with it. I didn't mean that he'd start helping everyone immediately because that would be just silly. I would've loved for Clark to have some peace and quiet and regular dealings between there being freaks running on the streets every day.

- Clark showing reporter interests by working at the torch

I thought that it would've explained a lot of that goofy Clark Kent seen in the movies and so on if he hadn't actually shown interest in working at the paper - but of course this would've pretty much eliminated his chances on getting a job at the paper later on if he would've just bumped around

 

[Cmill216]

• De-Aging the Kents
• Lex rise to power
• Lionel and Lex conflict

Agreed.

- Mentioning that at time some kryptonians would visit earth:

I've never loved this concept. The idea of Jor-El coming to Earth decades before Clark ever did bothers me to no end.

-Having the Kents pre-chosen by Jor-EL to be Clark's adopted parents

Another idea I loathe. Clark falling into the lap of good wholesome people is what makes the contrast between him and Lex so fascinating. And to have it be pre-determined devalues that, IMO.

-The Lionel Luthor character.

Definitely a major agreement! Lionel's involvement in Lex's life in this version is so pivotal, it's crazy to think he really wasn't overly developed in the comics.

 

[04nbod]

Lionel which the comics have since adopted.
Young Ma and Pa are more realistic to cope with a superpowered son.
Lana coming from asian descent
Lois, really the whole character is far superior to how she has been written in comics. She will kick your ass alone, I like that.

 

[Brainiac 8]

I agree about Lois.

Durance plays my favorite Lois right under Hatcher. (Sorry Hatcher is my Lois forevah!)

 

[04nbod]

I agree about Lois.

Durance plays my favorite Lois right under Hatcher. (Sorry Hatcher is my Lois forevah!)

Hatcher got captured too much and pined too much for Superman. Which is very accurate to how lois has been written but not really great for female empowerment.

 

[Prison Mike]

I like Durance's Lois more than Hatcher's. But Hatcher is a close second, IMO. I never really liked Kidder's version and I hated Bosworth's. Bosworth's Lois treated Clark like ****.

 

[Cmill216]

Oddly enough, my favorite Lois Lane was animated.

Dana Delaney FTW.

 

[Prison Mike]

^that's a good version too.

 

[Webhead2006]

Yes you guys came up with alot of good pros and cons for the show, i might do a pro/cons list later just my mind is running with other things i am thinking about and i cant think on this now.

 

[SpideyVille]

I've never loved this concept. The idea of Jor-El coming to Earth decades before Clark ever did bothers me to no end.

This idea didn't really bother me much, but the idea of Lara, Zor-El, and Kara coming to Earth the year before Clark did, along with the whole love triangle with Clark's parents and his uncle really really really got to me. I hated the idea the moment I heard it, and the episodes didn't do anything to change my mind.

But not everything to come from Krypton was bad. I think the idea of Brainiac trying to trick Clark into releasing Zod, along with destroying the Fortress was a great idea. And using Silver K was an added bonus.

 

[Son of Sun]

I've never loved this concept. The idea of Jor-El coming to Earth decades before Clark ever did bothers me to no end.

I don't think it's far fetched to think that a man like Jor-El with his intellect, skills, position and culture wouldn't have contigency plans - in fact, I'm quite sure that he must've had and quite a bunch at that. It's just not as appealing as simply Clark landing on people who possibly had prayed children of their own and who turn up to be great parents - not forgetting the immediate surroundings of Smallville to grow up at.

Would it change anything for Clark or the Kents if they're indeed picked by Jor-El? Sure Clark would go around blaming himself or his father for all the trouble he's caused them but in the end I don't think it would matter at all.

Still, I cherish the image of a falling world where a man and a woman sends away their son in desperation and determination, blessing him with whatever wisdom they might in the upheaval and praying for the best. While I don't generally like the idea of there being other kryptonians around (besides Zod's troop) who's to say that other kryptonians wouldt've had escape plans or possibly even travelling far from their world already.

the whole love triangle

You can say that again. While admittedly the kryptonians could be slaves to their desires like humans, the whole thing had a stench of an afternoon soap opera.

Writer: "Hey, we haven't done this on the show yet!"
Producer: "Hmm... you're right. We need to fix this asap."