A Brand New Chapter In The Superman Mythology Unfolds... (Smallville)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	Smallville
Date:	15/07/08 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great characters with indepth analysis into their motives and lives

Disadvantages: Often gets caught in a repetitive rut

Smallville opens its own unique chapter in the Superman mythology. Based on the life and trials of a young Clark Kent [played by Tom Welling] the show focuses on the main inhabitants of Smallville and the ups and downs of typical teenage life balanced against a never ending array of meteor rock induced 'freaks'. Taking the classic characters and villains from its parent the creators of Smallville have given birth to a whole new world which shows the origins of huge villains like Brainiac [greatly portrayed by James Marsters of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame] whilst every season takes one step closer to the ultimate rivalry between Clark and Lex Luthor and the greater destiny awaiting Clark.

Whilst I admit I have never been a fan of Superman, Smallville captured my attention from its very first season due to its likeable characters and the way it deals with issues that teenagers struggle with everyday but at the same time there's still an esscence of true fiction to the show whilst it also provides an air of frustration in the never ending love story between Clark Kent and Lana Lang [portrayed by Kristin Kreuk]. At least a scene at the end of the every early episode was set aside for their 'will they won't they' saga and whilst it was always nailbiting to see if they'd finally get it together it grew tiresome after a while almost as if the writers themselves were unsure of wheter they should allow the characters to be together.

In its early years the show lent itself to a more 'villain of the week' program, with each episode seeing Clark go up against a different student that had somehow had their life altered by Kryptonite however in later seasons the show has expanded and grew into itself creating longer story arcs and more interesting recurring villains though the 'meteor freaks' as they are affectionately dubbed by the show's characters still remain a constant threat.

The show strips down the character of Clark Kent away from the mysterious hero that is well known to the greater franchise and in his place leave a great example of a typical hormone fueled, angsty teenage boy complete with a few extra terrestial power of course. Whilst Welling has a strong and brooding prescence as the main character I find Allison Mack who plays Chloe Sullivan to be the best character in the whole show. Created specifically for Smallville, Chloe acts as the 'Giles' of the show often providing explanations for the town's strange occurances and researching information to aid Clark becoming more and more crucial part of his life in the 5th season of the show when she is the only person away from his parents to know his secret and brings a fresh and bubbly attitude to the show when most of the characters are often sulking or up to no good.

A few things I've picked upon over the show's run is the writer's fondness for hospitals - a character always seems to end up there in some way or another and at times it does get quite boring when there is such a small cast base, that the same events seem to affect the same group of people and they're all responsible for stabbing each other in the back and such.
The Lex and Lionel relationship is the most intriguing in the show as both characters constantly struggle and move between good and bad, each with their own hidden agendas and much of the early seasons of the show revolve around Luthor Corp's experiments and secret projects and their turbulent father-son relationship as they do the meteor freaks. Rosenbaum tries to create sympathy for Lex in everything he does and the addition of the character of Lionel is used to show the contrast between his parenting and that of the Kents and how the way Lex was raised probably accounts for the reasons why he becomes the man he eventually does.

The show loses steam a bit as Martha and Johnathan Kent both leave the show having both bought a great sense of caring and vulnerability to the role of Clark's adopted parents. It seems that the show not only in its later years moves towards a more female dominated cast but also seems hellbent on ridding the show of any character that isn't in their mid 20s.

Smallville whilst being great fun to watch and having some great stand out episodes ['Spirit' being my personal favourite in which the ghost of a bitchy prom queen posesses the majority of the show's characters and Martha Kent dances around to Ashlee Simpson's 'La La'] often loses itself and becomes stuck in a repetitive rut with the situations the characters find themselves in and at times can be quite slow moving but it is worth taking the time to watch every single episode to really get a true feel for this show and be sucked into its world as it is strill one of the best shows on telveions right now.

At the time of writing this Smallville is airing its 7th season on UK Tv and an 8th is planned though I'm unsure how it will fare with Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk both leaving the show and also with the death of Lionel Luthor the number of original characters is starting to shrink though I'm sure it can only open up yet another door in this brand new Superman adventure.

Main Characters over the years:

Clark Kent [Tom Welling]
Lana Lang [Kristin Kreuk]
Lex Luthor [Micheal Rosenbaum]
Chloe Sullivan [Allison Mack]
Martha Kent [Annette O'Toole]
Johnathan Kent [John Schneider]
Lois Lane [Erica Durance]
Lionel Luthor [John Glover]
Pete Ross [Sam Jones III]
Whitney Fordman [Eric Johnson]
Jason Teague [Jensen Ackles]
Kara [Laura Vandervoot]
Jimmy Olsen [Aaron Ashmore]

Summary: Great show to get into though a bit slow moving at times