Triplet...
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Super_Ludacris
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triplet said:
That was one of the best episodes of the year. I mean look I always K-site were SV purists (hence the Lana hate) who always were hard on the show because it could do better but when they hate what was blatantly one of the best episodes this season, man then they just stupid.
triplet
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Yeah, I don't understand it. I thought it was one of the best episodes of the series, makes my top ten anyway.
They get their panties in a bunch about some minutia and forget to see the forest for the trees...
Read the comments on my review here:
http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52438
It got so bad, some dude got banned over what he said about my thoughts on the episode. I loved it, he didn't and took the opportunity to bash the hell out of me. I only saw his first post, not the second one that got him banned.
*shrug*
They get their panties in a bunch about some minutia and forget to see the forest for the trees...
Read the comments on my review here:
http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52438
It got so bad, some dude got banned over what he said about my thoughts on the episode. I loved it, he didn't and took the opportunity to bash the hell out of me. I only saw his first post, not the second one that got him banned.
*shrug*
Super_Ludacris
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Man why is K-site like this? lol I mean I havent browsed it since like 2004 but I remember back in 2002 it was actually a pretty normal message board. Where are all these purists coming from? Matter of fact forget K-site, where all these purists coming from period. I thought they knew what Smallville's agenda was back in Season 1 when it was real light. Its like constantly looking for the show to be something that's it's just not.
triplet
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I don't know...
You take the show for what it is, not hating it for what it isn't.... I can't see watching a show that I hate as much as some people do and yet they don't miss an episode.
I hate a show, I don't watch it. My TV viewing time is limited and I don't have any time to waste on shows I don't like....
You take the show for what it is, not hating it for what it isn't.... I can't see watching a show that I hate as much as some people do and yet they don't miss an episode.
I hate a show, I don't watch it. My TV viewing time is limited and I don't have any time to waste on shows I don't like....
avidreader
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The best time to visit the Ksite Forums, is the day that a new episode airs. Go to the Episode Forums and check out the threads for that night's episode and its one big barrel of laughs.
I even saw a familiar poster from here, make a couple of posts this morning.
I even saw a familiar poster from here, make a couple of posts this morning.
Super_Ludacris
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I painted some badass Spiderman Easter Eggs today....
triplet
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Naw.... I emailed Fade's review yesterday and haven't heard a thing about what was up with him not posting Mercy. I gave it to him late, I had a rough week last week and this week ain't really looking any better, but he's not replying to my emails...
*sigh*
I'll post 'em here....
*sigh*
I'll post 'em here....
triplet
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MERCY:
Wow... this episode was better than I was expecting from the trailer, like "one of the top episodes of the season" better.
Scribe Steven DeKnight delivered one of his best episodes to date. Despite my suspension of disbelief getting stretched to the breaking point on Chloe's extremely high level computer hacking skills, I don't think I had a single problem with the writing in this episode. However, even Chloe's computer-hacking superpower can perhaps be forgiven as a necessary (and time saving) contrivance.
The tease was fantastic and the pace throughout the show kept up the tension really well. I loved the scene between Lex and Lionel. It was funny that while Lionel thought Lex was talking in double entendres, Lex was really just talking about Chess.
I also loved the "games" that Lincoln Cole played with Lionel. The tasks that Lionel was given were highly character revealing. Lionel was stripped down, both literally and figuratively, and the Magnificent Bastard became extremely vulnerable for once. Lionel also explained a lot.
Lionel's contradictory and inexplicable actions since the season premiere now make sense, for the most part. He has helped Clark from afar over and over again yet also plotted a hostile takeover of Luthorcorp and tried to sabotage Lex's senatorial campaign. Lionel knowing Clark's secret, trying to protect him and being in love with Martha explains a lot but I don't think it explains everything. Why was he pressuring Jonathan with images of Clark's superhuman heroics? If he wanted to help Clark and cared for Martha, why hurt Jonathan that badly? Hopefully that part of it will be explained later...
I liked the more subtle than usual nods to Superman's future. Martha talking about "truth, justice and the American way" and Clark agreeing that they were "words to live by" was just too cute.
It's fascinating that Lionel has seemingly abandoned Lex in favor of Clark. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. Maybe the rift between the former "best friends" will come in part thanks to Lex's father loving Clark more than Lex.
John Glover was totally awesome in this episode. Lionel went from the height of Magnificent Bastard mode to adept bargainer trying to negotiate his way out of a bad situation to a hopeless wretch to a man totally astounded to have escaped the ordeal alive... What an amazing arc for Lionel to go through and John totally sold it. I'm not sure a lesser actor could have made the changes that Lionel went through believable, but John did.
It's such pleasure to watch him work with Annette O'Toole as well. They're both such charismatic actors. Annette said in a recent interview that she loves to work with John and it shows because their chemistry is amazing. However creepy it might be for Lionel to hook up with Martha, especially given what he's done in the past trying to learn Clark's secret, the way it's being played is fantastic. I can't wait to see where they're going with the storyline.
Speaking of creepy: Lex seemingly has an agenda, but will Lana find out just how bad he really is? I don't think she will discover the truth about Lex this season, after all where would the tension and drama be in that? However, I like what I'm seeing so far. Kristin and Michael have chemistry and their scenes sizzle. It's a more adult relationship for Lana and from how well Kristin is doing with this new storyline that she seems to enjoy playing it. Michael also seems to be having a great time with the new relationship for Lex.
Tom Welling's Clark was very Supermanly in this episode. This was a very Lionel- and Martha-centric episode, so Tom wasn't in it much. However, he made extremely good use of the screen time he did have. I especially loved the final scene where Clark confronted Lionel. Tom perfectly played Clark's growing fury at what he saw as Lionel's manipulation of his mother, culminating in Clark threatening the Magnificent Bastard. It was positively chilling. The way he physically intimidated Lionel and his voice dripped menace was amazing....
Guest star Ian Tracey was perfectly cast as Lincoln Cole. He had a seemingly innocuous appearance yet his voice was so rich... In a role that required the actor to act most of the show with a mask over his face, being able to convey his intent solely with his voice was vital. He did an excellent job.
The episode was beautifully photographed by Barry Donlevy and wonderfully designed by James Philpott. The rooms and elevator where Lincoln put Lionel through the games were all wonderfully creepy and industrial looking. Barry did a great job lighting the sets and locations so that feeling was reinforced. I also loved how Barry filmed the scenes in the monitor. His use of a wide angle lens somehow made the mask-wearing Lincoln seem much more menacing and creepy than he was already was.
I think the only problem I had technically with the show was where Clark broke through the wall before he rescued Martha and Lionel... The way the wall broke and one piece was knocked out perfectly seemed more like something that a cartoon Clark would do in Superman: The Animated Series rather than something Smallville's live action Clark would do. Smallville doesn't usually do cartoonish effects, so that totally broke my suspension of disbelief.
Aside from Chloe's unbelievably good hacking skills and the less than successful Clark-breaking-through-the-wall effect, this episode was close to perfect. It had a great character revealing story that was also exciting and seemed to help the series build up to what I hope will be a huge cliff-hanging season finale.
4.5 falling elevators out of a possible 5
Wow... this episode was better than I was expecting from the trailer, like "one of the top episodes of the season" better.
Scribe Steven DeKnight delivered one of his best episodes to date. Despite my suspension of disbelief getting stretched to the breaking point on Chloe's extremely high level computer hacking skills, I don't think I had a single problem with the writing in this episode. However, even Chloe's computer-hacking superpower can perhaps be forgiven as a necessary (and time saving) contrivance.
The tease was fantastic and the pace throughout the show kept up the tension really well. I loved the scene between Lex and Lionel. It was funny that while Lionel thought Lex was talking in double entendres, Lex was really just talking about Chess.
I also loved the "games" that Lincoln Cole played with Lionel. The tasks that Lionel was given were highly character revealing. Lionel was stripped down, both literally and figuratively, and the Magnificent Bastard became extremely vulnerable for once. Lionel also explained a lot.
Lionel's contradictory and inexplicable actions since the season premiere now make sense, for the most part. He has helped Clark from afar over and over again yet also plotted a hostile takeover of Luthorcorp and tried to sabotage Lex's senatorial campaign. Lionel knowing Clark's secret, trying to protect him and being in love with Martha explains a lot but I don't think it explains everything. Why was he pressuring Jonathan with images of Clark's superhuman heroics? If he wanted to help Clark and cared for Martha, why hurt Jonathan that badly? Hopefully that part of it will be explained later...
I liked the more subtle than usual nods to Superman's future. Martha talking about "truth, justice and the American way" and Clark agreeing that they were "words to live by" was just too cute.
It's fascinating that Lionel has seemingly abandoned Lex in favor of Clark. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. Maybe the rift between the former "best friends" will come in part thanks to Lex's father loving Clark more than Lex.
John Glover was totally awesome in this episode. Lionel went from the height of Magnificent Bastard mode to adept bargainer trying to negotiate his way out of a bad situation to a hopeless wretch to a man totally astounded to have escaped the ordeal alive... What an amazing arc for Lionel to go through and John totally sold it. I'm not sure a lesser actor could have made the changes that Lionel went through believable, but John did.
It's such pleasure to watch him work with Annette O'Toole as well. They're both such charismatic actors. Annette said in a recent interview that she loves to work with John and it shows because their chemistry is amazing. However creepy it might be for Lionel to hook up with Martha, especially given what he's done in the past trying to learn Clark's secret, the way it's being played is fantastic. I can't wait to see where they're going with the storyline.
Speaking of creepy: Lex seemingly has an agenda, but will Lana find out just how bad he really is? I don't think she will discover the truth about Lex this season, after all where would the tension and drama be in that? However, I like what I'm seeing so far. Kristin and Michael have chemistry and their scenes sizzle. It's a more adult relationship for Lana and from how well Kristin is doing with this new storyline that she seems to enjoy playing it. Michael also seems to be having a great time with the new relationship for Lex.
Tom Welling's Clark was very Supermanly in this episode. This was a very Lionel- and Martha-centric episode, so Tom wasn't in it much. However, he made extremely good use of the screen time he did have. I especially loved the final scene where Clark confronted Lionel. Tom perfectly played Clark's growing fury at what he saw as Lionel's manipulation of his mother, culminating in Clark threatening the Magnificent Bastard. It was positively chilling. The way he physically intimidated Lionel and his voice dripped menace was amazing....
Guest star Ian Tracey was perfectly cast as Lincoln Cole. He had a seemingly innocuous appearance yet his voice was so rich... In a role that required the actor to act most of the show with a mask over his face, being able to convey his intent solely with his voice was vital. He did an excellent job.
The episode was beautifully photographed by Barry Donlevy and wonderfully designed by James Philpott. The rooms and elevator where Lincoln put Lionel through the games were all wonderfully creepy and industrial looking. Barry did a great job lighting the sets and locations so that feeling was reinforced. I also loved how Barry filmed the scenes in the monitor. His use of a wide angle lens somehow made the mask-wearing Lincoln seem much more menacing and creepy than he was already was.
I think the only problem I had technically with the show was where Clark broke through the wall before he rescued Martha and Lionel... The way the wall broke and one piece was knocked out perfectly seemed more like something that a cartoon Clark would do in Superman: The Animated Series rather than something Smallville's live action Clark would do. Smallville doesn't usually do cartoonish effects, so that totally broke my suspension of disbelief.
Aside from Chloe's unbelievably good hacking skills and the less than successful Clark-breaking-through-the-wall effect, this episode was close to perfect. It had a great character revealing story that was also exciting and seemed to help the series build up to what I hope will be a huge cliff-hanging season finale.
4.5 falling elevators out of a possible 5
triplet
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FADE:
Writers Al Septien & Turi Meyer in their sophomore effort (the pair had previously written "Vengeance") produced what is, more or less, pretty standard Freak-of-the-Week fare. That said, aside from some typical contrivances (Chloe being able to hack into any computer nearly instantaneously and Clark revealing his weakness in conversation just so the bad guy can overhear), it was a fairly solid episode. It was well paced and the dialogue was better than average and Graham's power was a tad more interesting way for invisibility than had been achieved before in Smallville. (In first season's "Shimmer," a kid used rose oil from kryptonite infected flowers to make a light reflecting lotion.) However, I wish they had explained his power a little more or why Graham wasn't found by Chloe in her usually spot-on google searches... Another misstep was that they laid the hints a bit thick on who Lois' future husband might be.
One thing the writers did do extremely well was to effortlessly advance several of the series' storylines. The Lex/Lana relationship has seriously picked up some steam and Lex's virus work with Fine is starting to get results. Another thing they did well was the way they inserted the AOL product placement into the story. It was more organic than the more ham-handed infomercials the show has had before for the car in "Solitude" and the contact lenses in "Vengeance," so kudos to them on that.
Acting-wise, guest star Alexander Scarlis's less than successful work aside, the cast did a very good job. Tom Welling had Clark being typically Superman-like and added some nice moments when Clark was so hurt by Lana and Lex's relationship. He especially did well when Clark watched from outside Lex's hospital room as Lana and Lex shared an intimate moment. Tears welled up in his eyes in a quiet moment that was also heartbreaking.
Michael Rosenbaum's was also in typical good form as Lex's machinations start to bear fruit. Michael is doing a good job playing the different sides of Lex: a man who is growing closer to Lana even while manipulating her; a man who fundamentally distrusts Fine, and yet continues to work with him in developing the super virus. The depths he is willing to stoop to is seemingly bottomless and will likely burn him in the end.
Erica Durance did especially well with this episode as Lois was being endearingly abrasive toward Clark even while she showed a great deal of concern for Clark's safety. I liked her tender moment with Annette O'Toole as they discussed Lois' less than ideal romantic choices.
Director of Photography Barry Donlevy again shot another beautiful episode. I especially loved the point of view shots for Graham when he was invisible... The soft focus, slightly overexposed, hand-held shots were a wonderfully effective way to indicate we were looking through Graham's eyes.
All in all "Fade" was an enjoyable, even if an average, episode. 3.5 stars out of a possible 5.
Writers Al Septien & Turi Meyer in their sophomore effort (the pair had previously written "Vengeance") produced what is, more or less, pretty standard Freak-of-the-Week fare. That said, aside from some typical contrivances (Chloe being able to hack into any computer nearly instantaneously and Clark revealing his weakness in conversation just so the bad guy can overhear), it was a fairly solid episode. It was well paced and the dialogue was better than average and Graham's power was a tad more interesting way for invisibility than had been achieved before in Smallville. (In first season's "Shimmer," a kid used rose oil from kryptonite infected flowers to make a light reflecting lotion.) However, I wish they had explained his power a little more or why Graham wasn't found by Chloe in her usually spot-on google searches... Another misstep was that they laid the hints a bit thick on who Lois' future husband might be.
One thing the writers did do extremely well was to effortlessly advance several of the series' storylines. The Lex/Lana relationship has seriously picked up some steam and Lex's virus work with Fine is starting to get results. Another thing they did well was the way they inserted the AOL product placement into the story. It was more organic than the more ham-handed infomercials the show has had before for the car in "Solitude" and the contact lenses in "Vengeance," so kudos to them on that.
Acting-wise, guest star Alexander Scarlis's less than successful work aside, the cast did a very good job. Tom Welling had Clark being typically Superman-like and added some nice moments when Clark was so hurt by Lana and Lex's relationship. He especially did well when Clark watched from outside Lex's hospital room as Lana and Lex shared an intimate moment. Tears welled up in his eyes in a quiet moment that was also heartbreaking.
Michael Rosenbaum's was also in typical good form as Lex's machinations start to bear fruit. Michael is doing a good job playing the different sides of Lex: a man who is growing closer to Lana even while manipulating her; a man who fundamentally distrusts Fine, and yet continues to work with him in developing the super virus. The depths he is willing to stoop to is seemingly bottomless and will likely burn him in the end.
Erica Durance did especially well with this episode as Lois was being endearingly abrasive toward Clark even while she showed a great deal of concern for Clark's safety. I liked her tender moment with Annette O'Toole as they discussed Lois' less than ideal romantic choices.
Director of Photography Barry Donlevy again shot another beautiful episode. I especially loved the point of view shots for Graham when he was invisible... The soft focus, slightly overexposed, hand-held shots were a wonderfully effective way to indicate we were looking through Graham's eyes.
All in all "Fade" was an enjoyable, even if an average, episode. 3.5 stars out of a possible 5.
TKodami
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Thanks for posting your reviews here, Triplet. Once again, I'm in complete agreement with you about both Mercy & Fade. Mercy is easily one of my top-10 favorite Smallville episodes (no wonder, since the number one ep on that list is Insurgence). Following on its heels, Fade did well advancing the overall plot lines, but it just seemed to lack a sparkle that otherwise might have made it a good episode on its own merits.
triplet
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Red X said:Thanks trip
Any reason why the Fade review was a bit shorter than normal?
I just didn't have anything else to say, I guess.
*shrug*
It was good, not great, but my head wasn't really in the right place to do a review. I've been having some RL issues that made writing what little I did very difficult...
I needed to get out of my own brain a bit and Fade just wasn't good enough to do that.
triplet
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Red X said:
It's up now...
www.kryptonsite.com/oraclereview.htm
Vessel should be up tomorrow. Once it is it will no doubt be here:
www.kryptonsite.com/vesselreview.htm
triplet
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BaK said:good..
you sort of ask/imply there that zod's plan ain't clear..
I thought he said revenge.. with big R..
Oh, I"m sure there's more to it than that since putting Clark into the Phantom Zone is probably revenge enough on Jor-El...
Or maybe it isn't, it could be just part one of a multipart scenario, but Craig doesn't like it when I theorize on future storylines in my reviews so I have to keep that stuff to a minimum...
avidreader
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triplet said:
Is that right?
triplet
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avidreader said:
Yeah, that's right.
I did include a theory about an upcoming storyline in a review once last season and he cut it and suggested (nicely) that I not do that again.... He doesn't mind spoilers about the episode itself, but spoilers about a future episode based on my own speculation isn't really reviewing the episode.
He has a point...
triplet
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Red X said:
He was great, as always... that was an oversight on my part.
*shrug*
I had to get it done by Sunday (self-imposed deadline) and I had one hell of a saturday, so some things maybe didn't get mentioned that I shoulda talked about.
Several K-siters seemed shocked that I didn't mention the *KISS*....
*sigh*
avidreader
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triplet said:
That was my major complaint about that other review, so in my opinion I guess he is right.
triplet
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You talking about Scarlett's? I haven't read it and have decided to not to.
I really don't like reading other people's reviews anymore, except maybe for Hulk's.... most turn into rips on the show lately, especially when shipping biases are added into the mix, and I don't really want to read that.
Of course, a lot of people over on k-site think I'm too positive on the show so maybe I'm not the kind of reviewer some people want to read.
*shrug*
I really don't like reading other people's reviews anymore, except maybe for Hulk's.... most turn into rips on the show lately, especially when shipping biases are added into the mix, and I don't really want to read that.
Of course, a lot of people over on k-site think I'm too positive on the show so maybe I'm not the kind of reviewer some people want to read.
*shrug*
