Smallville Smallville Underappreciated

[BH/HHH]

I'm sat here watching the episode "Aqua" and something just occurred to me, the way Marvel set up the Avenged with solo movies first, well Smallville kind of did it first. They had single episodes with the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and Green Arrow (well he was in multiple) all before bringing them together in the episode 'Justice' as a team. In in no way saying Marvel stole the idea from Smallville but it's something else that Smallville did first.

 

[STARMAN]

"our friendship will be the stuff of legend"

From Season One, Episode 11. Terrific ending to the episode as they stood side by side and looked out of the loft.

 

[BH/HHH]

Currently sat watching 5x08 ‘Solitude’, one of the best episodes of the entire series. The brief Clark vs Brainiac fight in the Fortress is pure gold!

 

[RomanticPenguin]

 

[BH/HHH]

WTF?

 

[STARMAN]

The end scene of season one episode 16 "Ryan" always had a piece of dialogue I love. Ryan warns Clark about Lex and says there is a lot of darkness inside him and Clark counters, "I like to believe in people's best."

That's what I liked about those early Smallville episodes and what I like about Superman overall.

 

[BH/HHH]

The end scene of season one episode 16 "Ryan" always had a piece of dialogue I love. Ryan warns Clark about Lex and says there is a lot of darkness inside him and Clark counters, "I like to believe in people's best."

That's what I liked about those early Smallville episodes and what I like about Superman overall.

Yeah that’s a great moment, Smallville had so many great Superman moments and dialogue that people are crying out for in the movies.

One of my favourite things about Smallville was Greg (Bug Boy) returning for the episode Homecoming. They make you think he’s back to do bad things again but instead we find out that Clark inspired him to be good. Very powerful stuff.

 

[STARMAN]

Yeah that’s a great moment, Smallville had so many great Superman moments and dialogue that people are crying out for in the movies.

One of my favourite things about Smallville was Greg (Bug Boy) returning for the episode Homecoming. They make you think he’s back to do bad things again but instead we find out that Clark inspired him to be good. Very powerful stuff.

Yeah. Homecoming was a sweet episode ending with Lois and Clark dancing in the barn.

 

[BH/HHH]

Yeah. Homecoming was a sweet episode ending with Lois and Clark dancing in the barn.

Yeah that’s such a great moment.

 

[STARMAN]

It may not be fair to directly compare TV shows to movies but what Smallville was good at is what I feel the last several movies have been missing.

 

[BH/HHH]

It may not be fair to directly compare TV shows to movies but what Smallville was good at is what I feel the last several movies have been missing.

I agree, 100%.

They also seemed to find the right balance between Clark’s insecurity yet still been a hero.

 

[STARMAN]

I'm surprised most of the Smallville writers have vanished into obscurity. Michael Green and Steve DeKnight are the only ones to go on to do features. Green just got an Oscar nomination for Logan.

 

[RomanticPenguin]

ooooooooooooo baby

 

[X Knight]

so I finally finished Season 8 and am starting Season 9. getting into the home stretch of the show.

for me, it feels like S8 is when the show finally started to show its "age." and that's mainly due to how they resolved Lana and Lex - 2 of the 3 original pillars of the show.

it's clear the writers simply ran out of ideas for both Lana and Lex and needed a way to get rid of both characters to make way for other characters ( namely Lois as the main LI and Tess as the standin for Lex ). and that's a shame because both characters were so essential to the show in the early seasons.

yes, they could have phased them out, but done so in a different way, imo. and I don't think you could ever phase out Lex totally.

the Davis Bloom/Doomsday arc was actually more enjoyable than I thought. though the final battle was WAY anticlimactic.

also, my biggest peeve with the show is God Emperor Jor-El AI. That AI is so damn omnipotent ( whenever the plot dictates ). Granting and removing powers - even powers not associated with Superman/Kryptonians ( like psychic powers ). Doing stuff like turning back time. And yet at other times being unable to do anything when a character needs help.

it's inconsistent and the power of the Jor-El AI often borders on the supernatural/magic. not on science/technology/biology. so, it breaks the very rules and logic of the Superman character.

plus, it begs the question. If this AI is so damn powerful, why couldn't it have done anything to save Krypton itself??

 

[Ryan]

I loved the first so many seasons of Smallville. Its been years since I've seen it (and I've seen them all) but it started to lose its luster for me when they brought lois in, metropolis etc. The stuff when they were actually in smallville was fantastic, I thought john Schneider was amazing as Pa Kent and loved the relationship between him and Clark. Also, I could feel the chemistry with Lana and Clark as well (which I didn't feel with lois and I find has sorely lacked in the new superman movies). The show made up for the lack of special effects by having a lot of heart and some great performances. P.s Marsters was amazing as Brainiac....could have had more of him....and wished they would have done more with Supergirl or given that actress her own spinoff (not a fan of the new supergirl show).

 

[BH/HHH]

I’m rewatching Season 4 in preparation for my upcoming podcast appearance on Multiverse Musings: A DC Comics podcast. Well last night it was over to Onyx. My god I remember really loving it but I loved it even more than I remembered I did. That episode is the one episode that is pure Lex vs Superman. I honestly think if a comic fan who hadn’t watched the show asked me which episode to watch I’d say Onyx.

 

[STARMAN]

Onyx was a very good episode. Written by Steven S. DeKnight. He went on to do Starz' Spartacus series and the last Pacific Rim film.

Good luck with the podcast.

 

[BH/HHH]

Onyx was a very good episode. Written by Steven S. DeKnight. He went on to do Starz' Spartacus series and the last Pacific Rim film.

Good luck with the podcast.

Thanks man, I'll try to post a link once its up t:

 

[BH/HHH]

Here it is my first appearance on Multiverse Musings A DC Comics Podcast to talk Smallville Season 4 (hopefully it’s not my last). Can also be downloaded on iTunes or the Podbean app.

https://multiversemusings.podbean.com

 

[STARMAN]

I listened to the podcast.

I was amused by how different the takes were. One guy loved every episode, even comparing Bound to Nolan's Momento. The other guy seemed not to like much of anything. BH/HHH sounded the most reasonable.

I haven't seen these episodes in their entirety since they first aired. I caught parts of them again a few years ago. Onyx was a great episode. Maybe the best pure Lex Luthor episode of the series. Commencement was a great finale. I liked Run.

Most of the episodes I found forgettable. Never liked Jason or his mother. One guy seemed to love the high school and football stuff but I didn't find that stuff anyone near as effective as the first season. In fact, there were times early on when they seemed to be trying to recapture the feel of the first season with some freak of the week stuff and high school football.

Every season had some bad episodes. I recall Ageless being terrible and Recruit being boring. Some of the episodes I forgot about until you recap them.

I can't believe your accent BH/HHH. Now I will hear that voice every time you post something!

All in All, I enjoyed it. Nice job.

 

[BH/HHH]

Haha thanks, I apologise for my accent it’s terrible haha.

Those two guys are great and I guess it worked that we had three different perspectives on the show t: really happy you listened thanks man.

 

[Karelia]

Rewatching this with my wife currently. Still love this show. Only own the first two seasons on dvd. Sucks to see they never released the earlier seasons on blu ray.

 

[WhoMani]

Smallville is one my favorite shows and it's one of the reason why I'm into the superhero genre. I appreciate that the show was interested in exploring the humanity of Clark Kent and how his parents influences his ideals.

I feel that Michael Rosenbaum is the best Lex Luthor in live action and I love the moral ambiguity of the character. You kind of feel pity for him on how he was raised and Clark constantly lying to him. But he started to become more manipulative and started to control the people in his lives e.g. Clark and Lana. I feel the show missed the character in post Season 7 and it was satisfying to see him become the villain we all hate to love or love to hate in the season 10 finale which they teased in Season 7.

I feel that Smallville is underappreciated and without this show I doubt we would have gotten Arrow (there was rumors of a Green Arrow spin off show with Justin Hartley starring). You can tell that Arrow and Flash borrowed some of the templates from Smallville.

 

[Herofan]

I loved the first three or four seasons, the overemphasis on Lana aside, but season 5 especially its second half was a big step down, in part from the shift to college but more because the Lana and Lionel plots really seemed to be just going in endless circles.

 

[WhoMani]

I loved the first three or four seasons, the overemphasis on Lana aside, but season 5 especially its second half was a big step down, in part from the shift to college but more because the Lana and Lionel plots really seemed to be just going in endless circles.

I felt like the writers didn't know what do with Lionel in season 6 and season 7. They couldn't really decide whether he should still be that same manipulative person from the earlier seasons or whether to redeem him. They really should have ended the Clark and Lana relationship in either season 3 or 4 as it became repetitive and boring.