Smallville rocks

After a disappointing opening episode, Smallville has become one of my favourite TV shows in recent years. After the debacle of Lois and Clark (more on that in a future editorial), Superman was left in a wounded state, you could say - left to die. Then we have the forever in limbo Superman movie, which finally looks set to happen, probably be released in July 2004.

Anyway, Smallville is the best Superman TV show I have seen. Not to say Superboy and the Reeves shows were bad, but Smallville has a larger canvas to work with and strong character chemistry. Where it fails, and quite frankly, has to be sorted out in the 2nd season, the Freak of the week!!! I'll come to that in a bit, but the big positive for me is that the character arcs are broad and profound. The most intriguing is the friendship between Clark and Lex, you know how it ends up, but for me, the jounrey is just as important. It does help that Lex is played by a talented actor, Michael owns the role and the show. His line delivery and mannerisms are excellent, there's a presence which shadows the set with menace.

Tom Welling's Clark is pretty good, hopefully we'll see more of his frustrations in the 2nd season. Although he hasn't shown the Superman quality, like Gerard Christopher, he's way ahead of Dean Cain in the acting department. I'm really looking forward to seeing the relationship between Clark and Lex grow in the 2nd season, it's certainly my favourite aspect of the series so far.

Lana Lang is hot, but damn annoying at the same time. She just seems so full of herself, like she knows she is IT. The writers are really stretching the story, it can be only a matter of time before she has a fling with Clark. I truly find the Whitney character terribly boring, wouldn't say it's filler because his character is a device to help Clark's story with Lana.

I'm a Chloe fan, I would take her over Lana anyday. Give her one, Clark! :) No, seriously, it will be interesting to see how jealous Lana will become. Will there be a bitch fight? Give her one, Clark!!!

Pete Ross played by Sam Jones III - The character needs some exploration, maybe he should be more involved with Clark, you don't see them hanging around much. There's not much to say, didn't add enough to the show.

The Duke boy playing Jonathan Kent was an inspired choice, it works so wonderfully well. Annette O' Toole is also a great choice, very reliable in the role. Great chemistry between the pair. The casting for the show is nearly perfect.

I think my favourite episode has to be the finale, for once there was genuine suspense, will Lex let his father die? Begun, his trip to darkside has. There was a sense of mystery to the show, a sense of magic which has not been felt since Superman The Movie. Will Clark fly? I hope so, but I want him to struggle to tap into his special skills. Sometime he can fly, sometimes he can't.

The show isn't perfect, it has the typical cliches of modern teen soap operas, bogged down by some terrible plots, but even in the sub-par shows, the character chemistry made those episodes worth watching. The special effects look rushed in some episodes, one has to admire the amount of money that has been poured into the show already. If the f/x team are given more time, then anything's possible. The show is certainly ambitious, the production design is fantastic, the sets feel real, giving the show some class. Glad that the WB backlot isn't used, and if it is, then I've been deceived and deception is a key to success in production design.

Should Tom Welling become the new Superman? No, and I don't think Welling would want to play Superman on the big screen. Someone else should get a chance. Saying all that, Welling isn't Superman material anyway.

As I said earlier, freak of the week is a weakness, and if abused enough, Smallville will be short-lived. Just how many times do we want to see a contrived show where Clark just gets there in time to save the day? For the show to succeed in the 2nd season, we could do with less of the freaks, although totally forgetting about it would render the series incosnistent. I guess we can expect a few more, but maybe emphasis the imperfections of Clark as someone who wants to be normal. I find the freak thing is showcasing lazy and bad writing. I want more mystical shows, I want to learn about Krypton, Jor-El and things like that. What about an Alien from Krypton? Who was told to hunt down Kal-El when his ship left Krypton. Eventually reaches Earth... I'm just making this up as I go...

Okay, if you want to know more about Smallville, then go to www.kryptonsite.com A few of the cast and crew visit the site often.

Back to fawning over Chloe!!!

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