Haven't Seen A smallville Thread round these parts in a while...
 

Is anyone keeping up with my favorite show?

After the opener, and "krypt/Tuck" I was tempted to throw in the towel. However, yesterday's episode "devoted" actually ended up being really good, despite the kryptonite insert.

And then there's next weeks episode, "Run" featuring my second favorite DC charecter "The Flash" (Albeit, in a younger form). I was wondering when smallville would get around to doing crossovers... There was some batman theories running around awhile ago... which never panned out, but would still be cool.

On the complaint side, I'm getting sick of the overt sexuality being portrayed (these are high school students INSIDE the highschool in "middle-of-nowhere" kansas. Give me a break.) and also HATING the Lana story arc, what with her semi-pedofilistic relationship with the highschool football coach (although Jason is a really cool charecter... I'd like to see him involved in "smallville" without needing to be attachted to Lana) ... But I think I'll invest that 50 bucks in the third season... and if the forth continues to improve, that too.

Thoughts?

I actually haven't seen a single episode of the new season. Could someone explain to me the scene of Clark flying in the season premiere? I thought the writers said that he would never be able to fly in the course of the series. Are they selling out the authenticity of the story for ratings or what?

Even without seeing the new season, I agree with Nique about the "overt sexuality." I thought they were getting a little too much of that towards the end of the last season. And a pedophilic relationship? Can you say, "EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!"? Hopefully, one of these days I'll have time to sit down and watch an episode and see what's goin' on for misself.

I *HAD* made a post on the season opener http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=6119 , but nobody responded to it. And even in years past, most of my Smallville threads got little attention, save from Mash, but after that opening, I don't blame her for being hesitant to give the show all that much attention.

Last night's episode had its good points & bad points. I liked the overall plot, but I absolutely *HATED* the reset button on Clark/Luthor friendship. Hey, I liked the friendship angle, but the on & off again aspect too it (as well as other sub-plots) has begun to grate on my nerves.

If this episode is supposed to be the saving grace of the season, I'm not totally impressed. I just hope its a sign they're starting to pull out of the season opener nosedive.

Sky Warrior Bob
- As far the overt sexuality, it doesn't bother me, because none of these guys are kids, and they certainly don't look the part. I do find it a bit tad overdone, ala the kinda crap that makes me hate Enterprise with a vengence, but meh.

Dude, pedophiliac? Come on now. Ephebophilic, maybe, but I know we did the math to figure out how old Lana would be in her senior year in one of the old Smallville threads, and she's a grown-up lady by now who can be naked with boys. Not that this whole forbidden heterosexual love angle isn't already really freakin' tiresome -- Lana, cupcake, you at least can, you know, legally marry the guy if you want -- but still. It is a little shady, and pretty lame to boot, but it's not pedophilia.

I find myself really liking Jason too, though, which is a shame because nothing good has ever happened to anyone who's dated Lana without being Superman. It wouldn't surprise me if Lex ends up having something terrible done to him so that he can finally get his own wicked paws on her.

Poor Lex. All he wants is for someone to love him without having to buy them first. The way he tried to buy back Clark, coupled with the way he tried to apologize to Lana for hospitalizing her last season by paying for her medical bills, really struck me as saying that money is all he feels he can give to people he cares about.

Yeah, that's how I feel about it. It's not like they haven't had sexy elements before, but it feels like they've decided to really amp it up lately, I guess in a kind of sad attempt to make very sure we know that this is senior year and They're Not Kids Anymore.

That's really my problem with this season so far -- they're trying to do way too much too soon and too quickly, and they're showing and not telling it at every opportunity. Lois in particular really suffered from that -- it's just such crap writing to have a character literally tell us things about her personality instead of letting us pick up on them through her actions. Not that this is the Sopranos or anything, but y'know, why not try to be, sometimes? (Although, to be completely contrary, I do wish they'd kind of hurry up with this whole spooooky mysterious thing going on with Lana already. A Kryptonian symbol? My stars! Who could have guessed it?!)

Are you ready? Technically they haven't contradicted themselves because technically it wasn't Clark who flew, but Kal-El, who has better command of the powers than Clark does just yet.

Yeah.

...What. The. Fug. I'm guessing they showed that one image 50 billion times before the season started to make everyone think he can fly now only to say, "Ha! Fooled you! It's not really him!"


Bastards.

Authenticity has nothing to do with it. The "smallville" era of superman's life isn't very well chronicled in the *classic* comics, so its kind of free range, save for some basic rules (i.e., pete ross, Lana Lang, Kent Farm, Smallville highschool, "coming of age"/power development... etc). Even if it was, (or you want to consider more modern variations of the comic as Ultimate DC cannon), the story is going to be interpreted differently in any given format, and sometimes within the same format. Personally, I was glad they had him fly, becuase its a power that really makes clark different from the kryptonite infected baddies showcased on smallville, not to mention it kind of establishes an epic quality about the charecter, at least visually.

Basically, the writers did go back on their word (or slightly twisted the truth, depending on if you want to belive their version of the script going-ons or not...)But it wasn't an essential element that was altered or removed, so I think its ok.

Ah, but onto the "why". "Clark" flys, becuase in the opener, he has been "reborn" (Tis assumed, from the phantom zone which he was sucked into during the season three finale) There, he was mentally reconditioned to assume the identity of Kal-El, his kryptonian name. Also, his powers were more fully developed (or he was more aware of how to use them). So AS Kal-El, he flew around, collecting some artifacts that have some connection to krypton. He ripped the door off of Lex's Jet, midair. That was a cool scene. The used "black Kryptonite" (or as I like to call it, "lame plot device" to seperate the Kal-El identity from Clark. He fought himself in that scene, and it looked like you were just on a really bad acid trip when he split into two people... at the waist. Anyway, Clark doesn't know how to fly anymore (yet).

Its not as bad as I made it sound. Its just that... well. Lana Lang started dating this guy in france... who was in school with Lana there. And he somehow qualifies to coach smallville highs football team. The dude is at least 24, and Lana is MAYBE 18 as a senior.

I might've too, if I didn't think that they "ended" the friendship so horribly. Clark's response was, I'm sorry to say, paraniod and very forced. So what Lex has been looking into this stuff? I mean, you're surounded by inexplicable events, and you have the means to find out what is going on, so what do you do...? They should've had Lex either REALLY stop investigating Clark sooner, or made clark be more careful about his powers in regards to Lex. Anything to have averted the unrealistic portrayal of their friendship gone sour. :(

Personal comfortableness with this kinda stuff is just that. But Smallville isn't "The OC" or "90210". Its a superhero show featuring school aged charceters. Some normal teenage behavior is expected in this form, but not so blantently becuase it doesn't fit and is unrealaistic... realism is something that is desperatly needed for people to like this kind of show. It helps connect with the charecters who are in unrealistic circumstances. I mean, even "the new adventures of superman" didn't feature this much provacative material, and the charecters were all adults at that point...

Enterprise has gotten a LOT better lately, so if you haven't watched it in a while, you might want to give it another shot.

EDIT: Hey Mash, sorry ifn I "repeated" any of your points... It took me a long tiem to write this, so there was only two responses when I started... silly me.

I'll have to take your word for it, as my UPN channel broadcasts so poor a signal that pretty much all I get is static ghosts. Things used to better, but now, not so much.

Sky Warrior Bob

We had problems like that too, Bob -- is it just UPN's inherent crappiness interfering with the signal or something?

Back onto Smallville, though, yikes -- it's only going to get worse, y'all. Yesterday I decided I'd go read the season spoilers over at KryptonSite, and...I won't say anything specific, but man, what are they thinking? There was all this great storyline momentum they built up last season, implying that we were finally going to start seeing the total meltdown of Lex and Clark's friendship, and all the events that will eventually lead Clark to leave Smallville, and instead we're going to get stuff that sounds like rejected plot elements from Charmed. Seriously disappointing.

Perhaps they're using a more season 1 layout in preperation for another (5th) season? I mean, there's no written rule saying that smallville has to end at highschool, right?

Although I agree that there should be more (or less in some cases) of the following;

1) storylines that explain current questions such as but not limited too;
What EXACTLY are Jor-El's intentions? What is the point(s) to his "testing" and preperations with clark? Through what means is he doing this? Other than the key, no blatent use of kryptonian technology has been used recently in jor-els communications.

How did kryptonian symbols end up in ancient earth artifacts? What is the connection between them, esspecially the cave? What is the signifigance of the "jewls" that clark was collecting?

How did Dr.Swan (*nod to mr.reeve, since deseased*) get the "key"? (last season)

and I'm sure a slew of others.

2)Less Lana storylines having NOTHING to do with clark. Oh, and Clark revealing his powers to her. That should have happened a LONG time ago.

3)Signifigant use of Clark's powers without the interuption of kryptonite. Just have some plot device in an episode where all the kryptonite in smallville (or most of it) is neutralized somehow. I mean, jeez, seems there's enough of that stuff in town to melt Clark just via taking a stroll down mainstreet. Kryptonite is WAY overused. I can only think of maybe 4 episodes where they fully used it in a way that advanced the storyline or was at least interesting / nessecery.

4)Please. No more Lois Lane. (I know, too late already, but since this is wishful thinking anyway.)

But part of smallville's hook is the never explained elements that you ALWAYS think will be explained next episode. Bah. stupid show.

Does the show have the same writers? I know one or more the writers wrote the script for Spidey 2, and I wouldn't be shocked to learn he/they never looked back after that. Certainly this season, thus far, seems to be a quality control meltdown.

At least I have the Farscape mini-series to look forward too.

Sky W Bob
- My problems with UPN stem from the fact that I live in Vermont, and there be micro mountains here, a lake, and the channel is obviously not making enough money to produce a strong signal.