The "Re-Watching All of Smallville" Club

[Anno_Domini]

Truth be told, I found season 1 to be a bit... iffy, because of the "freak of the weak" X-Files nature of things. Which they got much better at sorting out by season 2 onward.

The Freak of the Week routine was something that made me fall in love with the early seasons of Smallville in the first place as I never wanted to see any hints of Superman's future villains, so having new villains in the form of these kryptonite-enhanced men and women worked perfectly, imo.

That might have gone backseat during season two and up, but we still were given fresh storylines instead of using Superman's future enemies....that is until he left high school

Season 5 was good for Johnathan Kent's death alone.

"alone" is something that makes me laugh because it's very true and that can't honestly keep a season at its best just for that. Bringing in Brainiac and all the Kryptonian background and heritage was all fine, but as I mentioned, I didn't want to see any of Superman's enemies on the show; the villains and the storylines involved needs to only be shown on film.

Season 6... oh the wasted screen time with Lana. But at least it showed Lex truly beginning to turn to the dark side whole-heartedly.

Lexana was completely dreadful and I'm very glad Supernatural started to air to finally keep my interest up on WB.

And what's funny is that, to me, once Lex's downfall and descent began, I stopped enjoying SV. It's like so many things happened to the characters right during the time that I stopped enjoying the show. It's like the writers deliberately made this show awful just because they wanted me to stop watching, lol.

When all is said and done, I think season 10 is my favorite for the simple fact that basically everyone ****ing knew Clark's secret. I disliked the lack of Chloe, but the fact of Lois knowing was just so much of a relief.

I only watched the season premiere and the series finale of season ten, but...seriously? Everyone knew his secret? Gosh dangit that sounds so pathetic with the writers. Why even have dual identity when everyone already knows?

It's the one thing I hate most about live-action Superhero TV shows. They all always make a big to-do about the secret identity aspect. Though I think Smallville was the worst in this department because A) they over-emphasized it forever and B) there is no way in hell people wouldn't have put two-and-two together in a small town like Smallville after the second season of Clark Kent always being around when miraculous saves happen.

People should've been smart enough that when they kept seeing the 'S' on the buildings and looked back on newspaper clippings to see another weird symbol on the Kent farm from back in "Rosetta".

Overall I liked the later seasons a smidge more for their more Superman over-tones and the earlier seasons more for their freshness.

References of Clark becoming the iconic Superman is all I wanted. No Blur, no "Good Samaritan" and no Matrix Superman.

Lex was the only villian who warranted regular status, IMHO.

Him being the anti-hero from the first four seasons was perfectly fine. His mesh with Glover's Lionel was fitting with Smallville until they started to use other famous villains. "Talisman" was an episode that hinted such a future of Lex becoming the main villain to Superman and we never needed to actually see Lex become the true villain.

 

[Frontier]

RE: Freak of the Week

See, my issue with such is that, basically? The first season of Smallville could have just as easily been an early season of X-Files. Almost literally. The teasers for each episode combined with Mark Snow's dubious score that was identical more or less to X-Files and... wow. LOL.

I do see your point on the future enemies thing. We never should have seen Doomsday, or Zod, so on and so forth. Just because... they're Superman's villains. Like you said. But at some point they had to do such, because the new person infected by kryptonite every week angle was tiresome from the first season. They managed to handle it better later, and the 2nd meteor shower -- outrageous as such was -- allowed the creation of all new such creatures, but... still.

The show was really full of problems all around, from day one. But it was the journey and the characters and so on that keep you or don't. I stuck it out for 10 years and am glad I did.

As for season 10, when I say "everyone" I mean all of the main cast. Lois, Chloe, Oliver, Tess, the recurring Justice League elements. Not literally everyone in the show. LOL.

Season 10 just felt so liberating though, because finally, no more lame-ass excuses and a reduction in knock-outs and so on. On Smallville for 9 years, I yelled at my TV "oh just tell him/her already!" and back in the 90s, "Lois and Clark" I did the same thing, and it's always been a chief complaint of mine for superhero live action shows and even occasionally films. "Batman Begins" I felt the same way about Rachel not knowing and was pleasantly rewarded when she got to find out. Because the people you care for in life shouldn't be lied to especially not about something so good.

I was even glad when Lionel Luthor knew as he ebbed and flowed from good to bad throughout his last seasons.

Plus, the stupidity required for some people not to put two and two together is just too much. Lex Luthor's supposed to be an evil genius, and he was suspicious from day 1, but he took way too long to put it together. Lois and Chloe as well, both reporters who investigate for a living and can't see what's in front of them? Always bugs me.

 

[Webhead2006]

I only got sick of fotw after like season two. When it was pretty much all we got. Thhat is what I liked season 4 and beyond.

 

[Frontier]

Well I just finished season 7... yes, I watched all 20 episodes since Tuesday. What can I say, I'm a freak.

And now? I can't ****ing find my season 8 set! Ahhhhh!!

I know it's somewhere, but when you've got as many DVDs as I do (minimum of 1000) and none of them are organized worth a damn... sigh.

I wasn't even intending to re-watch season 8 this soon, but I hate cliff-hanger finales even when I know the outcome.

Have to say, I must have slept through a lot of season 7. Including when I re-watched it on DVD that August/September following it. Because I must have seen 5 episodes that I had next to no memory of out of the 20 they had that year (it was the year of the writers strike so the season was shortened by 2 episodes).

 

[Webhead2006]

Ya I know that feeling I got a couple hundred myself. Some stacked on a tv stand, others in a couple plastic bins. Blows trying to search through to find film/show u want to watch.

 

[SV Fan]

Last series rewatch I did was last summer, I probably will wait till S10 is out on DVD then do a rewatch some time in 2012

As for some comments in this thread I am probably in the minority but I actually liked the FOTW. While the show could have came up with better bad guys many times the FOTW gave Clark somebody to fight against to make him look good. I prefer my heroes actually doing something then all the drama the show created to replace the FOTW that made Clark look like a Pansy.

Basically I much rather watch Clark go up against a girl with a high metabolism who can eat a deer whole, then sit in his loft all angsty and/or depressed how everything is his fault, how he wants to be with Lana, wanting to hide in his shell, etc. I generally don't care for most of the plots on this show that turn Clark into a maniac depressive guy who does stupid things and only causes more problems(which sadly started at the end of S2, but really took flight in S5-7). In general I find on rewatch it's much easier to watch episodes labeled "filler" by many then ones that tie to a bigger storylines, since I know how the storyline and it usually not good.

Season 5 was good for Johnathan Kent's death alone.

Clark screws up and doesn't show up in time in Arrival, then he dies in Hidden only to get his powers back and have somebody die in his place which makes him all whiny for a bunch of episodes, then for 100 episodes after Reckoning Clark constantly blames himself for his stupidity. Not the greatest plot to be honest.

S5 to me has the least rewatch value(yes even less then S7) because I just found Clark overly depressive that season on a whole and it gets tiring watch Clark be miserable more often then not.

 

[Frontier]

Oh, I definitely grow weary of the whiny and reluctant hero stuff. The self-doubt and blaming as well. I mean I could understand it on and off, and certainly in the earlier seasons, but at a certain point when you have those kind of abilities and realize you're the last true survivor of a doomed race who has the chance to inspire the world with hope... enough, you know?

That said, had he realized and accepted such earlier, the show would have ended earlier. Once they cracked the "destiny" topic open with the Christopher Reeve guest shot... it was either constant doubt and over-whelming desire to be 'normal' in the face of his own greatness, or wrap the show up inside of 4 seasons as the original plan was. I think if WB/CW had any other comparable successes to replace "Smallville" with we might well have seen such a 4-5 season wrap-up. Alas, they had nothing and never really did.

If you can do consistent mediocre ratings on CW with a show that has good DVD sales, you can make it 6-8 or in this case, 10 years.

If CW hopes to survive as a network beyond the next 5 years though, they need to abandon their teen demographic though. Frankly, the younger people are the less they are watching regular TV as the years go by. I don't know many teenagers, but the ones I do certainly don't watch TV much if at all. CW won't be able to survive without offering to other demos soon.

 

[Muzzled Penguin]

I have recently started rewatching the show. When the show first aired, I was only 7 years old so I don't remember much from the first few seasons. I do remember watching it religiously, though. But about a month ago I bought season 1 which lead into buying season 2 and so forth. I literally just watched the season finale of season 3 and tomorrow I'm going to start season 4!

 

[Webhead2006]

Well I am sure the cw will be changing itself soon. We no longer have dawn o in charge. There is a new guy as president he is bound to make changes in the next two yrs.

 

[Prison Mike]

It seems like they are capitalizing on teen supernatural shows now.

 

[SV Fan]

It seems like they are capitalizing on teen supernatural shows now.

ie Angsty Vampires

 

[Webhead2006]

Well to be truthful stuff coming in this fall seaosn likely wasn't new guy say but stuff dawn o had on deck and picked before she left position. I would look into how cw demo is next yrs fall season.

 

[Jack Bauer]

I finally gotten around and started watching Smallville from the first season on to Doomsday, since I really watched Smallville from Seasons 9 and 10, and was a minor fan until seeing the Doomsday stuff.

 

[Johnny]

Doomsday is hardly the worst thing that happened on this show but to each his own I guess.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Actually I meant that's when I really started to watch the show. From what I recall, the fight between both of them and the ending of to that one impressed enough to actually start watching it again.

 

[Frontier]

Actually I meant that's when I really started to watch the show. From what I recall, the fight between both of them and the ending of to that one impressed enough to actually start watching it again.

Ironic, as it was really a big disappointment to most of us who had watched the whole run.

I mean, not that I or anyone else expected the sort of epic battle as in Death of Superman, but... Clark never even threw a punch! Doomsday kicked his ass two or three times, then Clark super-sped-leaped him to the center of the earth.

Rip-off!

LOL

That happened a lot with fights though on Smallville. We never really got any good, drawn-out hand-to-hand stuff between Clark and anyone.

It's a testament to the show in a sense, that enough people endured the faults of it for ten entire years. Not to knock it, mind you. I'm just not oblivious to the reality of something I love having failings.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Yeah, even in Season One, at least where I'm up too, the fights are short as hell. But I think what sparked me to watch Smallville again was this guy called Zod or someone.

Actually I watched Season 7, but lost interested when Kara was doing some stupid stuff. I wanted to like Supergirl, but I always felt she was meh.

 

[Frontier]

They did utterly fail to deliver on Supergirl, yes. LOL.

Then again, I think it was a bit of a stunt for eye-candy purposes anyway.

Supergirl is ripe for film purposes...

In case the Image doesn't show up...

http://frontier001.tumblr.com/post/9416142724/why-the-****-cant-they-make-this-a-movie-youd

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

jeez man, tell us how you REALLY feel about the DVD set.

 

[NHawk19]

Did they do a full series blue-ray release?

@ Frontier's Sig - That's why you wait till the series is over to buy the DVD's

 

[Frontier]

LOL

Well, why hold back how I feel?

No, the truth is that part of the shows continuation all those years was based upon those per-season DVD sales. They factor such **** in when they do their bean-counting to decide if it's worth the investment to keep doing a show. If not for people like me who bought the DVDs each year, the odds of Smallville being canceled earlier would have increased more-so. So that 'wait until after to buy the DVDs' mentality... that might be the smarter choice for the individual, but if too many people do it, it becomes a potential liability.

The suits know this. Folks who know the business aspect of Hollywood know this. So when it comes time for the "box set" at the end of things, the suits make a conscious decision to kick the money-where-your-mouth-is fans like me in the teeth. They do so for the same reasons as factoring in the DVD sales into their calculations; infinite greed. Greed is the decider for Hollywood. It's why they do all they do.

Deciding to put the 10 year box set out at the cusp of holiday shopping season? Giving it more bonus features? It's all just math to those idiots. But to real people outside their nickel-and-dime mentality... it's a disloyal kick in the nuts.

Just calling it like it is.

 

[Webhead2006]

Ya the whole doomsday mess wasn't the wrost thing ever. But ya no show is ever totally perfect and each season had its great spots, ok spots, and what the heck where they thinking spots.

 

[BizarroAids]

Waiting for October, so I can start on season 1 (Yeah, I'm doing it like that!)

But for now, I'm skimming through Season 9 for fun as I wait for Season 4 of "The Big Bang Theory" to be released. Aside from Lex, I think Zod was just the coolest villain on the show. He had a charismatic way of convincing you to see his side of things. I'm glad they went with Callum instead of keeping Davis Blooms' clone with a goatee.

 

[Webhead2006]

actually next to lex i thought brainiac was handled very well and marsters was a wonderful addition to the cast.

 

[Jack Bauer]

After finishing season one and two, I kinda liked most of the stuff that happened. Like how season one was the FOTW stuff while Season 2 was more who Clark really is. The only problem is how much of a woobie Chloe is. God, I feel sorry for her. I'm surprised she never snapped.