Smallville, now in its 8th season, sees the viewer get an entertaining insight into the life of a young Clark Kent before he becomes the man of steel.

The purist fans of Superman will lvoe this in many ways but will also be able to pick holes in the historical moments on offer here as they don't fit the true tale of how Clark grew up, but for me, that is not what Smallville is all about. Smallville aims to spice up the early Superman years as there wouldn't be much pointin watching 8 years of Clark run around a farm chasing trains, which is really all that did happen in the true creators version, until he becomes Superman.

The story of Clark, played by Tom Welling, starts off centred around learning his lesser known powers and his relationship with childhood sweetheart Lana. Without giving anything away, this little love interest isn't a fleeting one shall we say.

The introduction of Louis Lane, cousin of Clark's best friend Chloe Sullivan takes the show off into a new angle as she starts work in Metropolis.

The classic battle between good and evil is always evident as Clark and Lex Luthor go through many ups and downs and even the photogrpaher Jimmy Olson makes an appearance.

The story is still unfoldeing to this day and will rumble on no doubt as, for all the skills Clark has picked up, the ability to fly is not yet one of them. There has been no sign of a red cape either.

I don't recommend watching this if you have missed any of the series as practically all episodes are key to the main story and should not be missed. I highly recommend starting from series 1 as this will keep you hooked right till the end.

As a side note, some of the special effects in Smallville are amongst the best I have ever seen, including high budget movies.