I've watched almost all current superhero shows: The Boys, Arrow, Daredevil, Flash, Punisher, Black Lightning, Supergirl, The Defenders, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Agents of Shield, Legends of Tomorrow, and a couple other ones. And I gotta say as good as some of those shows are, they just don't compare to Smallville. I know sounds crazy right? How can a show that premiered in 2001 be better than Daredevil? Well its simple. Smallville has heart. When you think of a superhero the first thing you want is heart and soul and by god this show has it. I know it sounds cheesy but its true. The show if far from perfect and the writing obviously might not be as legendary as The Boys for example. But it is consistent through ten seasons. The best part about this show in my opinion was the character development. Seeing Lex Luthor slowly develop into the villain he is today was phenomenal, Michael Rosenbaum nailed it I thought. Seeing Clark go from an insecure boy to a confident and heroic man was a beauty of a thing. Seeing Lois Lane go from guarded and unsure of herself to an independent and lovable character was awesome. Another thing I loved about this show were the relationships. And no I don't just mean romantic. The relationship between Clark and Lex is amazing to see how it unfolds from being acquaintances, to friends, to brothers, to a disdained partnership, to a nemesis relationship was done very well. The relationship between Clark and his parents (Kryptonian and the Kents) was also handled very nicely. And even more that I won't spoil. All in all this was an awesome show to watch even in 2019. 10 years from now this show will definitely have an impact for me.
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Bored_Dragon18 December 2017My DC adaptations marathon came to Smallville, one of few shows I ever saw completely and even fewer I wanna see again. I just finished rewatching of the first season that shows high-school days of Clark Kent. Tom Welling is great playing young Clark who gradually discovers his abilities and tries to juggle between normal teen life and hiding the fact he's an alien. In first season he discovers his inhuman strength and speed, then he gradually discovers extent of his invulnerability and at the end he finds out about his X-Ray vision. The rest of his powers will come in seasons to follow. Here we meet Lex Luthor, Clark's best friend, who changes into villain in front of our eyes, partially because of his egomaniac father and partially because of distrustful treatment from everyone around him, caused by his wealth and infamous family name. There's also beautiful Kristin Kreuk, playing Lana Lang, Clark's unrealized love, and many more talented young actors. But the most impressive of all is John Glover, playing Lionel Luthor, Lex's father and main villain. Story combines typical teenage show with superhero elements, which slowly grow from season to season until they completely take over the show and change it beyond recognition. But for now special effects are at minimum and show is more teen romance drama than story about Superman. It may not be the best, but it's certainly my favorite DC show so far.
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alan-5067331 December 2022Superheroes like animated shows, are for everyone. This show starts off slow and even if you hate superheroes you will like this. It starts with a couple desperately wanting children who find one from a spaceship. Other than rocks falling to earth and this ship there is very little scifi at the start. Martha and Jonathan are the nice farming couple looking for a child. They have no idea what else to do and raise the boy as theirs. Years later he goes to school, being a teenager named Clark. He thinks he's a normal human until some slightly weird things happen. Clark has three friends his age who go to school with him. Together they investigate weird murders. Some get connected to meteors. This is all to show he cares about saving people, one of Supermans most unique personality traits. The show focuses a lot on Clark saving people and one future villain for Superman.
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Rob133129 September 2022I have to admit that I'm a big superhero fan and love the majority of the superhero shows that I've seen, even some of the ones most consider bad I've still enjoyed. Having said that, I love Smallville. I think most people who've watched this still loves it. While some seasons were better than others, they're all good in their own right and definitely worth watching. Smallville is about the early years of Clark Kent (before he became known as Superman) and how he learns to control his powers and fight against different villains each episode. The entire cast was terrific but Tom Welling is definitely the star here. He was just brilliant as Clark Kent. He's still considered one of the best Clark Kent/Superman characters ever on a tv show. I just watched it all the way through recently and it's still just as good today as when it first came out. Do yourself a favor and go watch this! You won't be disappointed.
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Supermanfan-1328 October 2020I love most of the Superhero shows that are out there (of course there are some that are awful) but Smallville is absolutely one of my favorites of all-time! It tells the story of Clark Kent before he became Superman. Every episode is as exciting as the one before it and I can't say enough about Tom Welling, he was fantastic as Clark Kent! It was on before the Superhero genre exploded but it still absolutely holds up today! If you are a fan of superhero shows then I can not recommend this show enough!
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TheMelancholySpirit19 September 2016There are more than a hundred reasons as to why I personally love this show more than any other. I could go on and on and on, the reasons are quite possibly endless. To keep it short, however, I will just go ahead and say, never in my life have I been or have felt so happy while watching a TV show. From episode one on wards I knew that this was going to be my show, you know? I just had that feeling, that particular, good feeling. I was really looking forward to watching this from the start. When I got into Smallville, it had been off TV for a while, but I used to watch random episodes here and there about ten years back - I just never found the time to get properly into it. When I did, man was I glad. It is simply the greatest series ever made, in my opinion.
Everything's great. The characters are fantastic, the set locations / scenery looks wonderful, the characters who are villains are terrific, the action's good, the effects don't look overdone, the dialogue is really good and each episode is intriguing and very enjoyable to watch. I watched every episode and not once did I get bored. Some episodes I have seen five, six, maybe seven times, and yet, I never, ever get bored of watching them. The only time I was disappointed or sad with this show was when I finished watching it. I was really, really unhappy that it had to end - but all good things must come to an end, right? And it was kinda, well, not good seeing as how we never really got to see Tom Welling in the actual Superman suit - it was CGI. But then again, it's life before Superman/becoming Superman, so it makes sense.
I loved the relationship between Tom Welling as Clark Kent and Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. It was brilliant. They had great chemistry. And it got better and better along the way as they got to know each other more, and knowing how both characters are and were. And the addition of new characters throughout, too, was awesome. Smallville introduced really great people along the way. Particularly, Oliver Queen and Jimmy Olsen.
I love this series! Although I love every episode and every season they made of Smallville, my order from favorite to least favorite (with least favorite still being 10/10) would look like: 6, 10, 9, 5, 8, 4, 3, 7, 2, 1. Like I said though, they're all amazing. I must admit, when it started focusing more on the place of Metropolis, it was even better. I just loved when it started spreading out - it was a great thing to see.
Definitely my favorite show in history. A really good one, and the perfect series focusing on Clark Kent making his ultimate transformation into the Man of Steel. -
m-478268 October 2020The thing I loved the most about this show, was how it managed to stay away from the cheesiness of its super hero series aspect. It was mostly a re-reading of Roswell, with Buffy and Charmed monster of the week format. And it worked. You even have all these up-and-coming TV and movie stars starting out. Which is why season 1 through 4 are those I enjoy rewatching the most. The fact that it is filled with Pop/Rock gems of that time, and Mark Snow's score, helps a lot too. Then after the main plot said seasons touched upon, started developing, that's where I began to lose interest. As I felt the cheesy super hero show, vibe pouring through. And I wasn't wrong. Seasons 5 to 7 start becoming more about comic book stuffs, than characterizations. And the rest of the series is just what I feared it would be, since the beginning. The kind of mindless thing CW is showcasing lately. With plots only DC universe fans can enjoy. I guess it's a no win situation, as people like me only enjoy the first half of the series, and genre fans do the rest. Aside from my personal opinion on this series, I can acknowledge its qualities. The acting was good, and some of the writing was very surprising. And in spite of its flaws, it is still a superior show, from everything else of the same kind, made afterwards.
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mjpetty719 February 2016Smallville is one of those shows that many comic book fans, after a few seasons anyway, loved to hate. They complained about this or that not fitting in just right with how Superman mythology worked, and in the end they were never satisfied. But they didn't get the point of the show. Smallville isn't about Superman. It's not about superpowers. It's not about relationships or about superheroes. Smallville is, and always was, about growing up. Starting off with Clark Kent in high school and sending him off getting married to Lois Lane, Smallville is ten years of finding your way.
I didn't always used to think this, to be honest I watched it starting in Season Six because of the episode "Justice" where I got to see the Justice League in live action for the first time. Superman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, The Flash (I know he's actually Impulse), and Cyborg on the screen together for the first time, not to mention recurring Martian Manhunter throughout that season. As a huge DC Comics fan, and especially a fan of the Justice League, that episode got me excited and in anticipation for more superheroes, I began watching Smallville. I read all the articles on the show's wiki page, I followed KryptonSite for spoilers, listened to Starkville's House of El for reviews on each episode, and even ended up co-hosting a live show on the series finale on the Across the Airwaves Podcast. Even after it ended I couldn't let the show go and I convinced my friend Woo to host a "Smallville Retro Reviews" Podcast with me to go through our favorite episodes. Then the Season 11 comic came out and I held onto Smallville a few more years... But this isn't the point...
Smallville really ushered in the era of superheroes, and the show's creators Al Gough and Miles Miller really made superhero TV and films what they are. Between creating Smallville, making the Aquaman pilot, and writing Spider-Man 2, they did it all. Without Smallville, there would be no Arrow, which means there would be no Supergirl, Gotham, The Flash, and to be totally honest, without Smallville's set up of the Justice League over the course of three seasons, I'm not even sure Marvel would have been able to set up The Avengers with Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, or Captain America. But for me, Smallville really helped me understand who Superman, Clark Kent, Kal-El, was as a character, and in turn I became a huge fan of the Man of Steel.
But that's not all what Smallville is about. When I started watching Smallville during Season Six, I was about eleven years old and in 5th grade. The next year I went to a new middle school and I had no friends. Smallville was huge for me. Watching Seasons 1- 5, I saw Clark go through a lot, be it friendships, relationships, the parent-child dynamic, whatever, I got to see him deal with these real, life problems, and I tried to respond in a similar manner. It wasn't before long when I was a freshman in high school and Clark had made it to adulthood and finally was becoming Superman. I felt lost, I was just starting my high school journey, where Clark started, and he was finishing up ten years of becoming Superman. I didn't know what I was going to do. But I figured it out.
You see, Clark fought metahumans and meteor-freaks every week. He teamed up with superheroes and faced off supervillains. But the real struggle for him was never these physical confrontations and his true happiness was never in his superheroing. It was in helping people. It was in his love for his friends, Lana, Lois. It was in family. And that's what Smallville taught me. It taught me that family is important, and that, like Jonathan Kent himself, it doesn't last forever. That people, friends, like Pete or Lex, move on and become different people. That relationships don't always last and that the one's you don't expect to happen are the ones that do, like Lana and Lois. That your father could suddenly have a heart attack during your first year away from home, like Jonathan, and that your mother will always be there for you, like Martha. These are all real life lessons that I have had to live through, but I got to watch Clark do it first. Growing up, I always wanted an older sibling. Sometimes I wanted a sister who would just hug me, other times I wanted a brother to teach me the ropes.
With Smallville I got both.
Chloe was determined, driven, smart, and loving. She was always an inspiration to me, and although I knew she was not from the comics at all, I loved her anyway because of how she was always there.
And then there was Clark. Everything Clark ever went through on Smallville, emotionally I mean, with a few exceptions (I never had to hold a dead girlfriend like Alicia in my arms...), I ended up going through. And although I didn't always think "What did Clark do?", I do believe that my subconscious mind helped me through a lot of it because of what Clark went through. Clark was the older brother I never had, who made a lot of the mistakes so I didn't have to, who I always felt could protect me, who inspired me.
To be honest, I haven't watched an episode of Smallville in a long while, I mean, not really watched. My younger sister and I are planning on re-watching all 218 episodes this summer. I'm excited. There has never been a show like Smallville since it left. The closest thing to it is The Flash, and I really do love that show too. But Smallville will always have that special place in my heart. Smallville helped me grow up. -
Smallville, the infamous series about the adventures of Clark Kent before he became Superman is almost as big as the legend of the Blue Guy himself. Smash hit would be an understatement to describe the popularity of this series and it deserves more than it's fair share of kudos, but are the fans blinded by hype?
The cast of Smallville is top notch it had to be said. All the younger cast members including the main star Tom Welling are really capturing and play out their parts with a lot of flare and passion, even showing some other sides to their acting abilities in some of the shows stranger 'alternate reality' episodes. Special mention must go to the older members of the cast. Annette 'O Toole (The original Lana Lang) still as beautiful as ever and John Schneider make for two of the most loving parents that any superhero could ask for. On the other side of the coin the tremendously magnificent John Glover plays a truly sinister overlord in Lionel Luthor, Lex's father and has a presence rarely seen outside of Hollywood blockbusters and is a joy to watch him manipulate his son and push him to the twisted villain he will become.
The production values on Smallville are second to none. All the stops have been pulled out to create a believable and comfortable world to view young Clark Kent in. The Kent Farm really looks like a place that anyone would be happy living in and other venues really seal the deal location wise and the special effects, bar a few pieces of dodgy CGI are continuously excellent.
All this said you'd expect it to be the best series ever but Smallville has some flaws and they are pretty big ones to boot.
Firstly, Smallville isn't just a superhero series, it's an American teen drama series and with it comes all the bullshit associated with that genre. The puppy love element get's really annoying after it's used a million times, common sense seems to go out of the window during disaster situations and not to mention the endless drone of whiney indie bands that are shamelessly plugged throughout most of the first 5 seasons, most of which will be out of date in 5 years time so shame on the producers for incorporating such a cheap marketing trick.
The series also suffers from a hefty dose of quantity over quality which is sadly typical of many American TV shows. While most British TV shows are typically 6 episodes per series, Smallville's seasons clock in at a massive 22 episodes each and every idea is stretched to the limit. In reality the whole show could have been 5 or 6 seasons of consistently quality material but it is in reality 10 seasons, awash with awful 'monster of the week' fillers which litter the actual story arcs which are really quite captivating.
Even in the quality episodes the ideas clearly run out and the producers and writers resort to cheap tricks in order to squeeze out as many episodes as they can. Kryptonite is grossly overused throughout the entire 10 season run. Part of Superman's appeal is that he is near invincible with only a few knowing his secret and even fewer knowing the location of said kryptonite. In Smallville it seems to be available to everyone at any time and the constant sight of Clark walking into a room in just about every episode to me met with a green glow and him falling over soon grows very tiresome very quickly. A horribly overused plot obstacle.
Another thing about the show is that the writers and producers are not shy about messing around with the DC canon. Just about every major character and villain from the Superman series has been included in Smallville and has interacted and met with Clark Kent before he's even put on a pair of Blue tights. I'm no comic book fan but even I know Lois and Clark meet AFTER he becomes Superman and while I actually really love Erica Durance's portrayal of the feisty Whitesnake loving Lane, not to mention seeing her in rather revealing outfits throughout her time on the show, it's just one step too far with messing with the canon. This is an obvious sign of a lack of ideas to fill the previously mentioned quota of 22 episodes so a few familiar names were put in to draw attention and once again it completely overdosed just for ratings.
This may sound like a very scathing review but the show does have it's good points. Smallville shows some tremendous attention to detail where it considers the Superman universe and it makes for really fun viewing for comic book fans (which I am not, I just like the films) Another of the shows strengths is the inclusion of actors and actresses who have been involved in Superman film or TV projects before. This is a wonderful touch and really evokes some strong memories which bond you to the show even more. The inclusion of other superhero characters from the D.C. universe is actually one of the shows ratings pulling tricks that actually works, and it works really, really well and for the more grown up feel of the later seasons it's amazing to see a team gathering.
So there you have it. Smallville is one of the now legendary Superman themed TV shows and probably the most successful of the lot. If you can put up with the endless filler episodes and kryptonite plot devices then there are many wonders in this series that in my mind are unsurpassed on TV let alone film. -
When I first heard that the WB was doing a show about Clark Kent in the days before he became Superman, I honestly thought it was going to be an animated series, but when the first episode was first broadcast on October 16, 2001, I was instantly surprised.
The show starts in 1989, where a meteor shower bombards the small Kansas town of Smallville, leaving lots of people with scars and secrets of varying degrees; as such, it has certain emotional impacts on four characters: it leaves young Lex Luthor bald (I would say it traumatized him, but that's more or less mentioned already), it leaves three year-old Lana Lang orphaned, and it brings childless couple Jonathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider and Annette O'Toole) the child they always wanted. Fast-forward 12 years, and Clark Kent (Tom Welling) is just starting to experience the usual troubles of teenage life, something that will be especially difficult since Clark has superhuman strength and abilities that no ordinary teenager could only dream of having. Clark soon learns that he arrived the same time as the destructive meteor shower that besieged Smallville inside a spaceship as a toddler. Now Clark is left with questions about his birth parents and home planet, and manages to start a friendship with Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), who--unknown to Clark--will ultimately become Clark's arch-nemesis.
I can easy say that "Smallville" is an immensely intriguing and highly realistic sci-fi/teen drama. To make things all the more interesting, "Smallville" blends the teen angst-meets-supernatural circumstances theme of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with the "monster-of-the-week" trend of "The X-Files." Apart from dealing with personal and emotional crises, Clark has to use his powers to battle an endless slew of Kryptonite-mutated villains, much like Buffy and the Scooby Gang battle demons that are sometimes drawn in by the mystical energy radiated by the Hellmouth.
Tom Welling is superb as teenage Clark Kent, both in physical and personality-wise ways. He looks almost like Chris Reeve, so much he could easily be Reeve's son. The rest of the cast is fine: Kristin Kreuk as Clark's love interest Lana Lang, Allison Mack as Clark's Lois Lane-type pal Chloe Sullivan, Sam Jones III as the Xander-like Pete Ross, and John Schneider and Annette O'Toole as Clark's adoptive parents, but it is Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover who steal the show as Lex Luthor and Lex's father, Lionel. You can easily tell just by observing Lex and Lionel's rocky relationship that Lionel is the one who will ultimately make Lex evil.
All of the episodes have their ups and downs, but I like to name two episodes that will keep you glued to the screen: the episode guest-starring the late Christopher Reeve as a scientist who reveals the truth about Clark's home planet, Krypton, and the second season finale where the "spirit" of Clark's Kryptonian father Jor-El urges Clark to get ready to conquer the world, but I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to watch the episode to find out what happens next, and why.
In conclusion, I give "Smallville" a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10. -
spasek25 October 2021Upon recommendation from a friend, I got into Smallville at the start of Season 2. I was immediately captivated by the show. I grew up watching the classic, "Adventures of Superman" with George Reeves. I believed that nobody could surpass Christopher Reeve in the films (especially the first two!)
For nearly 7 years, Smallville was my favorite show. I watched the show through the middle of Season 8, quit watching, and then finally decided to finish the series. Such was the joy and angst of Smallville for me.
The Great:
-- The first three seasons of Smallville are pure gold. The genius of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar--with their five year story arc--gave us a young Clark Kent desperately trying to make his way in the world, dealing with finding out who he is, his powers, and the trials of being a teenager.
--Tom Welling is the best Clark Kent of all-time. He was taylor-made for the role. He gave us the most complex Clark Kent to-date.
--Michael Rosenbaum, in turn, gave us the best Lex Luthor of all-time (regardless of some nut fan telling him to his face that Gene Hackman was better). In many ways, the evolution of Lex Luthor was even more compelling than that of Clark's, as we see Lex slowly descend into madness to become the arch-villain we all know. Lex's story is--in fact--a tragic one, and he was sorely missed after leaving the show after Season 7. And John Glover was beautiful as Lionel Luthor!
--John Schneider and Annette O'Toole gave us the best Kent parents to-date! By making them younger (rather than grandparent age), they were easily able to interact with the younger cast and have storylines of their own.
--The special effects were top-notch for its day, and they still hold up extremely well.
--The cliffhangers of Seasons 1-5 are impeccable! It was tough waiting out an entire summer during those years!
--Erica Durance would become my favorite Lois Lane of all-time. She absolutely nailed the part. No one has come close before or since. Not even Margot Kidder.
The Good
-- Seasons 4-6 weren't quite as good. For some reason, and some of this was after Gough and Millar stepped back as Souders and Preston took over. Storylines involving Zod, bringing in Jimmy Olson, and some other stories worked some of the time. Season 4 is almost a limbo season, but it's still quite good.
The Ugly
--Clark/Lana story arc went on for WAY too long. Good God! The back-and-forth was enough to give someone whiplash. Had they resolved things around Season 3 or 4, it would have been much better. Clark and Lana were often painful to watch because they were both so stupid. Tom Welling obviously agreed as he was renowned for walking around the set after shooting one of the Clark/Lana scenes and mumbling, "Clark is an idiot! He is such an idiot!"
--It made no sense that Clark was able to trust Pete and Chloe with his secret, but not Lana. And yet, that point never came up in Season 7 after "the reveal." If I were Lana, I would have been pissed that Clark never chose to confide in her. At the very least, I would have least questioned him about it. Fans got robbed of a serious Q&A after the reveal.
--Yes, Clark did a lot of delporable things, so he wasn't innocent either. But Lana was always so quick to get angry with Clark and not trust him over things he did or didn't do. A good friend will always ask and inquire before exploding. I never thought Lana was good for Clark. She'd be holding a grudge one minute, and then back to like him in the next. She was a serious Jekyll-and-Hyde case! She was way too immature and unstable. And frankly, Kristin Kreuk is a fine actress, but her need to overpronounce her lines was often irritating. People don't talk that way.
--Seasons 8-10 got away from Clark's upbringing and became more about bringing in the next DC hero or Superman villain, which was silly. Doomsday?! Seriously?! Bring him in before Clark has even become Superman? The show lost its punch and its focus under Souders and Preston. And it also lost two of its three best actors in Michael Rosenbaum and John Glover. In short, the show should have stuck with the original Gough and Millar story arc and then ended. Instead, those last three seasons really hurt the show, taking it from "exceptional" to "good."
Despite its last seasons, Smallville is still a good show. I often re-watch Seasons 1-6 and ignore the last four. And then I'll watch the very last episode to round things off. Still, Smallville is disappointing to me for wasting so much time and so much potential. That's often the frustration of seeing greatness being diminished. -
seattlebruin21 January 2023This show is great on so many levels, but none of it works without being cast right. Welling is really the best Superman we have had except MAYBE Henry Cavill. Rosenbaum IS the new Luthor we have ever had....and Erika Durance really captures the essence of Lois Lane. I could go on, but without those 3 it just doesn't work like it did.
This is my first time watching it. My dad loves it. He doesn't have much time left so I am so grateful we got to watch it together. Tears were flowing for me at the end. So many memories flooding my brain. A perfect ending.
Finally, I love how the show is evolved. The first couple of seasons had all the meteor freaks, but then it transitioned into more serious themes without losing its charm. I can't recommend this show strongly enough. Stick with it. It evolves and that is why the ending is so satisfying. Kudos to all. -
The truth about "Smallville" is that it's this generation's "Hercules" and/or "Xena", but with the backstage intrigues of "Game of Thrones". The show follows the life of Clark Kent, better know, to at least half of this planet, as "Superman", and everyone around him.
The first season is filled to the brim with cliché adventures that Clark and 'those meddling kids'(Cloe - the high school journalist and Pete - Clark's best friend) find a way to fix, each one of these being, of course, tied closely to the meteor shower. Kripton, Clark Kent's place of birth exploded years ago and his parents placed him in a ship and send him all the way to Earth, along with his ship however, there were pieces of the planet(meteors), that made it through the atmosphere and are now scattered around the town. The show swirls around this key factor for at least the first two seasons, the meteors and they're effects on people keep Clark and the gang busy for the most part, Lana Lang(love interest) making up for the rest.
It's played poorly and the term cliff hanger doesn't even begin to cover it, but over all it's probably a fun show for teenagers. Yes, it could use better writing and a faster pace, it could use a lot of things including a change of tone(because for the most part the show gives one the impression that it's talking down to you), however if you've got time to kill and above all you're in your early teens, give it a go, especially if you're a comic book fan or a fan of Superman. -
martin_whyte228 July 2008With the renaissance of comic books to movies, a TV show like "Smallville" was destined to be. I initially avoided it, but after several friends telling me it was worth watching, I gave it a look.
Season 1 is excusably formulaic. It suffers most heavily from "monster of the week" syndrome (see early Buffy the Vampire Slayer for details). However, unlike Buffy, it hasn't outgrown this feature by season 3 (I haven't watched further than this, as I seriously don't have any reason to keep watching). Furthermore, no plot development really happens. At all. 3 seasons equates to 3 years in the story, yet the structure of the characters' relationships are almost totally static. Given that these characters are teenagers (where 3 years is a lifetime!), a substantial shift in opinions and alliances would be expected. But no, we're presented with the same tired love triangle. By season 3 Pete has been all but written out (given that he's Clark's best friend, this seems a bit lazy).
The writers have managed to create a never ending supply of bad guys by deciding that Kryptonite gives many inhabitants of Smallville crazy powers, which they can never seem to control and always end up doing harm with. They will then get into a tussle with Superman who will gain the upper hand, but then be
* pushed into a Kryptonite rock garden
* fall in Kryptonite manure
* be sprayed by Kryptonite perfume
* eat some Kryptonite gummy bears
unsurprisingly, this mechanic got tedious very quickly.
The characters in this show are, at best, irritating. The "good guys" (Kents, Chloe, Lana) are all hell-bent on being martyrs and will take the blame for anything going wrong, even if they were only vaguely involved (and especially if what happened was out-width their control...for example Clark's persistent "all the trouble happening here is my fault, if I hadn't landed in Smallville everything would be fine" whining). The writers of the show clearly don't like grey area characters, and feel the best way to show someone is a goodie is to make them try to take blame for everything.
Beyond the general self blaming they all tend to have their individual irritating personality foibles. The only one that deserves a special mention is Lana.
Lana wears her heart on her sleeve and gets angsty and upset at the slightest thing. A substantial number of episodes see her going off in a huff with Chloe or Clark for the episode, only for everyone to hug and be best buds at the end. How this whiny bitch can be the girl everyone in school loves is beyond me. She comes across as cold and uninteresting (the fact that she ends up running a coffee house at 16 is also very stupid, but we can chalk that up to stupid teen drama plots).
To be fair the back and forth between Lex and Lionel Luthor is entertaining (despite Lex's persistent pseudo-intellectualism). They manage to keep the power struggle and scheming between themselves quite interesting.
This show had some potential to presenting an interesting perspective on how Superman became what he is. However, the Superman lore is only a thin veneer over a second rate teen drama. If you want superheroes, go watch the 4400. If you want teen drama, watch Dawsons Creek. Only watch Smallville if you want a tedious mix of the two that fails at both.
In summary, I can best describe this as the worst of early Buffy mixed with some Dawsons Creek/The OC/One Tree Hill angsty teen drama. In fact it's mostly angsty teen drama with the occasional moment when Clark has to defeat some unimaginative Kryptonite monster. -
I cannot believe that I didn't catch this outstanding show when it first aired, I am really disappointed in myself for that.
About 16 months ago a friend of mine lent me his copy of the first season to check out, he told me he had watched it already and that I could take my time with it. I had it for a week without touching it, then I decided to pop it in and watch the first episode, I was thrilled! When I first heard that the WB was doing a teen drama about the young life of Clark Kent, I thought "Hell No!!" they wouldn't dare take a legend like Superman and cross it with Dawson's Creek! How wrong I was. This show is intelligent, moving, intriguing and just plain fun to watch!
I am also in the fortunate position to have only experienced the show on DVD on my 96" front projection system, so the show has taken on a cinematic element for me that most people won't get. Because of this, I do not watch the show on television at all, it's strictly a DVD event for me. This of course means that I cannot catch up with the show as it run's on the WB, but i'm committed to watching it only on DVD. For wide-screen purists like myself, the show being open matted from 1.78:1 is the only deterrent I need to abstain from the WB runs of the show.
Sadly, Tom Welling will not be Superman in the up-coming film, that's a real shame, he embodies that character so much. The episode entitled 'Rosetta' with the late Christopher Reeve is perhaps one of the most riveting hours i've witnessed on television since 'The Body' episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Clark's struggle against the wishes of his birth father Jor-El are very mysterious and somewhat disturbing to watch.
Micheal Rosenbaum as Lex Luther brings so many multi-dimensional elements to this iconic (eventual) villain that he even manages to make Gene Hackman's Lex seem downright flat and cardboard-ish. We all know that he will become Superman's arch-enemy, but how and why? This show dares to explore those questions with surprising freshness and intrigue. Though I suspect that he will be Superman's enemy, not Clark's. They have a brotherly bond that I would hate to see broken, but have prepared myself for that.
John Shneider and Annette O'Toole as Clark's Earth-bound parents are so warm and caring that it creates a strong emotional foundation for the show. The Kent farm is ground zero for the show and for Clark's eventual life as Superman. All of his values begin their, the man of steel we all come to know was forged with the guidance of two simple farm folk in Kansas. This show captures that so richly that it makes the short 10 minute sequence in Richard Donner's film seem woefully insufficient.
Yes, the weakest character is Lana, but it's not the fault of Kristin Kreuk (she's so hot, I could stare into those gorgeous eyes of hers all day), it's in our knowledge that she WILL be cast aside, we know this to be true, we have seen Clark's future and Lana has no place in it. So all of their scene's together have an undercurrent of futility about them. Although to Clark and Lana, at those moment's, they don't know what tomorrow brings for them, so I can tolerate them pursuing their relationship.
I read one very distressful thing in one of the user comments, it said that Tom Welling only agreed to play Clark Kent, not Superman. We NEED to see him become Superman on or about the last episode of the series, it is CRUCIAL! That, after all, is the payoff, to see him in the suit and ready to tackle the world and embrace the destiny we have all seen him struggle to realize and reach. Without that moment, the series will seem anti-climatic with no payoff.
I give this show 10 out of 10 stars. If your a Superman fan, you must see this show! -
foreverrshibby6 December 2020What can I say? The best show of CW so far. Every episode had me on edge. I loved the characters and all that they stood for. This show touched my heart in ways that no show has. The upbringing of Superman!
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IntegrateDan29 May 2018Tom Welling is vastly underrated for his performance as Superman in this captivating performance.
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OK, what do we know for sure? First, it made "players" out of Gough and Millar. Between this, and their "death" franchise, these two became some of the youngest heavy hitters in Hollywood, ever. Second, the re-imagining of a young Kent turned out -- who knew? -- to have way more potential and way more staying power than the re-imagining of the love affair between "Lois and Clark" -- a series that started strong and then imploded. Third, it suffered from the "Buffy" curse (a show it was contemporaneous to) in that it started off all sunshiny and high schooly and jovial, and ended up with dark plots on dark days and invasions from those dreaded Kryptonians (those same beaten-up and used-to-death earth-conquering misfits that turned MAN OF STEEL into an abomination -- see my IMDb review). Fifth, the writers were never sure, season to season, where they wanted to take this, and that's not always a good thing. In Season 1, in the very last few seconds of an episode, a snoring Clark is seen levitating from his bed. You would think this would foreshadow the ability to fly in future segments? Well, you would be right. Sort of. I think we saw a flying Superman in maybe three episodes, tops in the whole run. But my math could be off. But not by much. So clearly the only thing being "foreshadowed" was the indecision of the producers. Also, main characters came and went. What John Schneider did to tick off the producers we'll never know, but he was missed. And we also know that Tom Welling was feeling frisky near the end of the run because he was insisting on "producer" credits. There's bad karma just waiting to happen... Bottom line, a good show with great episodes. Could've been a great show with spectacular episodes.
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biff197029 March 2018The start of the great DC CW shows on tv. I still watch the show. Miss the show making new ones.
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anifanmc23 November 2008I have watched Smallville since its inception on TV, and was immediately drawn to the show simply because of its premise as the origin story of Clark Kent, the boy who grows up to become Superman. It would be the first real take after the horrifying Superboy, and would be set in the modern day - two things I immediately liked. Although I found their depiction of Kansas a little too... well, rosy for reality, the setting was also fantastic (even though it seemed to make Smallville look like the posh center of civilization that it is not). Overall, it started off quite well.
An interesting feature of Smallville is that we don't understand Clark's origin story from the start. We don't know about Krypton, we don't know that his real name is Kal-El, we don't know about his mother, his father, or his alien lineage. All we know is that his parents found him in a cornfield inside of a spaceship and that he began to develop powers from an early age. He grows up on an idyllic farm with a perfect, working class family and attends high school with his close friends.
There's a few interesting twists, of course. He's not the popular kid in class - in fact, he's initially a social outcast, not liked by the jockstraps that roam his school. His traditional comic book love interest, Lana Lang, has a boyfriend and initially won't give him a second glance. His best friends Pete Ross (reimagined as black) and Chloe Sullivan are nerds at best. Perhaps most strikingly, he has a run in with his future archnemesis, Lex Luthor, and ends up saving his life. Lex is about five years older than Clark, but considers him a best friend, and at the start of the series, he starts off as the person whom Clark can trust the most, aside from his parents.
The first two seasons are very formulaic, involving a meteor freak of the week format (meteor freaks being people with powers brought on by kryptonite, the one substance that can weaken Clark), with almost no continuity from episode to episode, and deals with the mundane aspects of Clark's life. However, starting at the end of season 2, the focus shifts to Clark's origins, and we learn that he's Kryptonian and that his destiny was to rule over men.
Initially repulsed by this, Clark delves further into his past and realizes that his father sent him to Earth because his home planet was completely destroyed. Soon, the traditional elements of the Superman mythos are introduced, such as the Justice League, characters such as Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and famous villains such as Zod, Brainiac, and Bizarro. Most importantly, Lex's traditional role as a villain becomes more apparent as the show progresses, and makes a point to explain that his transformation wasn't a result of birth or destiny, but because of the choices he made.
The show has some extremely weak detractors, unfortunately. Kristin Kreuk, the actress who plays Lana Lang, does not portray acting versatility and her character and relationship with Clark remain fairly unchanged over the series. Ultimately she becomes a recurring fallback plot device that slows down the plot instead of helping it. Some bad casting choices have also impeded it and lately a lack of creative endeavor and interest in the show are causing it to die, but while it was running stron git served a new, fresh interest in Superman, as the modern face of the Superhero's new look, and as the first show to provide a serious face to the franchise after Superman I. -
Ten years later would bring us to after Lex Luthor's Presidency. All the things they could do with that. His hatred for Lois Lane for always exposing the corrupt and illegal things he did. His hatred for Superman for always stopping him. So many villains that they could bring in true Superman super-villain fashion. The possibilities are endless.
Oh what I'd give to see Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Michael Rosenbaum, Cassidy Freeman, Laura Vandervoort, Aaron Ashmore & Annette O'Toole return for a a continuation on Hulu or Netflix. -
ecwjedi14 January 2008Smallville comes close to being a great show but has yet to ever break to fully achieve the greatness of shows that have inspired it. I really want to like Smallville more than I do. Here is what bother me the most: Smallville has shown signs of greatness over the years and occasionally there are strings of great episodes that make me believe that Smalliville will turn into one of the great TV shows. But alas after three or four good episodes a string of mediocre episodes will follow, killing all momentum that had been building before them.
On the whole, the cast of Smallville is very strong. Michael Rosenbaum, Erica Durance, John Schneider, and John Glover are exceptional in their roles. The cinematography is top notch for a TV show. I always how nice the color palate is and how well the shots are put together. So many shows look dull in comparison. Smallville is a very nice show to look at.
The main detriment of Smallville is the writing. In my opinion, writing is the most important aspect for any TV show. Without good writing a TV show can never excel and Smallville is an example of this. The early years of the show had a countless amount of "Villain of the Week" episodes which added almost nothing to the greater arc of the show. These episodes became the base of what the show was built on. I think this was a great error that the writers made in the early years of the show. There was no central theme. There were no big arcs that carried a season of the show. No long-term villains, only ones who lasted for an episode or maybe coming back for a second of third. When a main character of the show exited in season 5 it could have been a major arc that the season should have changed greatly after that. It didn't. Smallville never seems to have long-term goals and arcs in mind and it drives me crazy! I like Smallville, really I do, but after six seasons it has never reached a level that it could/should have. I like to watch it but don't need to watch it.
10% of the episodes are great, 50% are good, 40% are forgettable in my opinion. -
boychaser200131 July 2019We didn't start watching this until way after the series ended. Now it is our summer series we watch every year. All 10 seasons on DVD. Tom Welling is my favorite Superman - no one else compares. You can't help but fall in love with the cast - even the best friend of our caped hero - Lex Luthor, who's performance has you rooting for him, if not empathizing with him as he seeks to be a better man than his father. There are several fun cameos from the original Superman movies, and a couple of "good ol' boys" that you won't want to miss! In this series, everyone gets to play the hero at some point and I can't think of a character in this show that hasn't snagged my heart - though after watching all 10 seasons every summer for the last 7 years, they all feel like old friends. This is a must watch series! The pilot is meh, but hang in there. In my opinion the show has you hooked after about the 4th episode.
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liamq924 January 2012I've always tried to give this show a chance and for quite a long time i actually enjoyed, but it seems as if they just gave up on life as Clark is SUPERMAN, he seems to talk his enemies out of doing bad thing, I expect and big super fight that last at least a minute but no Clark always seems to defeat his enemies in one hit or talk them out of it(most of the time this happens) it's so boring, needed more action! it could have been so much better. BUT the finale episode just made me sad, there was no build up to it at all, didn't make much sense, the 'darkness' was supposed to be this big powerful thing that could kill Clark but he seems to take it out in one hit and then moves a planet that was crashing into Earth away with his super breath, it is just a shame that they just gave up, could have had so much potential
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sjtowns17 April 2007The story presented in Smallville is a teen/love story/soap opera which is not my cup of tea but I have no problem with it. What I do have a problem with is that it uses the names Clark,Lana,Lois,Lex,Martha,Jonathan,Smallville, etc. I was a boy in the 50's and 60's and these names told me that this was going to be a story about Superman or Superboy. The story is an extreme adaptation of that story. It should be called "Pretty Darned Good Man" or some soap opera title like "Fred's Landing". Superboy was not a dark character filled with doubt and fear, at least not the one in the comic book stories I grew up with. This one is much more like Peter Parker which is fine, but that's another story altogether. I was briefly sucked into this for seasons 1-3, but finally realized the story was not going where I thought it was and bailed out. Fortunately, I discovered the old Superman, the one I read about when I was a boy, and he lives on in "All Star Superman" comics.