Smallville Series Review

Hi! I am a new reviewer on this site and wanted to explain my review process. For season/series reviews, I will give a overview of the season/series, reviewing it using segments before moving on. I will then discuss the characters one by one before moving on to judge the vfx or other factors. These reviews will be scored out of 10 with series reviews having the possibility of individual season scores. For normal week to week reviews, I will employ a similar style. I will discuss the episode and will highlight characters and performances I find important to discuss instead of reviewing every single character. These reviews will also be out of 10. That's all folks! :)


**Spoilers**
 

A precursor warning to this review: Smallville was a very big part of my childhood and is the reason for my love of comics and superheroes. While some will find this review overly-bias. I will attempt to look at this series pragmatically and critically.
 

When Smallville first aired it had one purpose; to highlight the character of Clark Kent as he was growing up and to show his journey to the ever popular character, Superman. And Smallville achieved that. Through 10 seasons and across 2 separate networks, Smallville has stood the test of time for the longest superhero tv show to date.
 

Storylines:

Smallville started as a teen-oriented show, mainly focusing on Clark discovering his powers and balancing a crush on the girl next door. The accessibility of this format was able to appeal teen audiences and superhero fans. The pilot itself balanced both and set up a story which still remains relevant and accessible today. But during its run, Smallville did go through a transition as it left its small town antics and teen romance storylines in favor of a more superhero focus story in the later seasons. This change was a welcome one and showed true maturity.
 

The writing in the series is something of a peculiar nature. While many people, including me, can easily say that Smallville was very cheesy, the show’s writing rarely crossed over the point of cringe worthy. Rarely is the key word. Throughout the series, there were plot points (ex. Lana’s witch fiasco) which were downright dumb and poorly thought out. But throughout the series itself, the writing was always strong. Even if the storylines might have failed but the writing was mature and really helped support the challenging moments. A perfect example is the Kents. Throughout their years on Smallville, their issues and problems were mature and the writing supported it.

Going back to the actual story aspect of the show, Smallville truly has three chapters. The first chapter is the phase in which Clark discovers his powers and the format of the show is structured as a villain-of the week procedural. Truth be told, I found this format very appealing when I was young, but as I reanalyzed it recently, I found it to be one of the weakest aspects of the show.  The episodes themselves barely had anything to do with Clark, Kal-El, or even superman in those times and rightfully so. But this and the combination of the villains pretty much being ripped right out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was less inclined to go re-watch those old episodes. Thankfully, this slowly changed starting in season 3. This was the second chapter of the show as it was in limbo between a true superhero show and a more family/teen drama. Its superhero nature came through in season 6 as the justice league and more heroes like Green Arrow were introduced which quickly became fan favorites and were welcome additions. But even with these strides in the superhero department, the show struggled with its romances. Which leads me to the next point. Romance was in the DNA of Smallville. The whole teen appeal was with this “will-they, won’t-they” romance in between Lana and Clark. Also the love triangle between them and Chloe kept the drama going but it could only so far before it became infuriating. The time it took for Clark and Lana to get together and the fact that Lana’s character went down the toilet instigated a chain-of-events thus earning Smallville the reputation to be a poor high school knock off of superheroes. Lana in totality was a major cause of some of the worst storylines in the first half of Smallville. But I will discuss that in the characters section. Going back to the story structure, the final third chapter, after season 7,  ditched the high school romance for a more mature romance and accepted its destiny as a superhero tv show. While Lois was introduced in the second stage of Smallville, she truly became her comic book character in season 8 and became the primary love interest for Clark. Their relationship itself was great to watch and the maturity with it showed how much Smallville had grown. Smallville also brought in more justice league members and featured Green Arrow more. This stage of Smallville was ripping pages straight out of comics and providing fan service to long time Superman fans and making new ones at that. My favorite episode in the entire series was “Absolute Justice”, the Geoff Johns written and Tom Welling directed episode which brought the JSA to the small screen. You can probably get that this stage was my favorite. Throughout all of the chapters, one common thread emerges: a explosive and intense season finale. Smallville literally defined the cliffhanger ending with every season ending with some big event. While viewers who watched it live might have gone insane due to the numerous times the show ended in the worst possible way, the finales themselves were very strong. Overall, just like its three chapters, Smallville has its fans who like each corner. Plenty of people enjoyed the first chapter, plenty of people enjoyed the second chapter, and plenty of people enjoyed the third chapter. I’m personally with the latter as Smallville truly became a show I would want to watch in those last couple of seasons. I did not like the first two parts because of the overplayed romance angles and also the high school drama. But there are moments in those episodes which play out so perfectly that the drama is totally worth it.

Now to discuss the finale. The finale for me was a really good episode of Smallville. It had heart, action, and the last scene of Clark on the rooftop made the journey worth it. I completely understand that fans were miffed and disappointed that he was not in the suit more. I truly do wish that they had included more shots of him in the suit but I was completely satisfied with what they gave and respect they reason behind them not including more scenes with the suit. It might not be the best episode of the entire series but it wrapped up a really great show.

Cast/Characters:

• Clark Kent (Tom Welling)- Tom Welling’s Superman defined the 2000’s as he portrayed a similar but not a carbon copy Clark Kent to the late Christopher Reeve. While in the early seasons, Welling appeared to be a bit wooden but he quickly grew into the role and gave us some extremely great moments. Welling is my superman and I was very glad to have 10 years with him.

• Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum)- I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that Michael Rosenbaum gave the best incarnation of Lex Luthor to ever be on screen. His descent into the comic book villain everyone knows was heartbreaking to see and his relationship with Clark was complex and very gratifying to watch unfurl. He truly is the villain of the story.

• Lois Lane (Erica Durance)- Once again, Smallville has put out a portrayal which could define the character itself. Erica plays this character with perfection, giving her layers and depth which were truly appreciated. Her chemistry with Tom Welling was irresistible and it was clear from day one that she was something special. This is arguably the definitive Lois Lane of the 21st century.

• Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack)- Many people argue that Chloe goes through the biggest transformation in the series, even more than Clark. Chloe starts off as a proto-Lois and transforms into the Watchtower, taking a central role in the Justice League. Throughout these transitions, Allison Mack provides a compelling and entertaining performance.

• Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley)- While he was a later addition, Justin Hartley easily fit into the cast and portrayed a likable Green Arrow.

• Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) and Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole)- I decided to include both of these under the same bullet point as they both had extremely similar qualities to their strength. Jonathan Kent was the perfect father and Martha was the mother we all wanted. Both John and Annette gave impeccable performances and were highlights when they were on screen.

• Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk)- I think Kristin gets a bad rap about her time on Smallville. It is no surprise that Lana was one of the most hated characters in the entire show’s run. But Kristin was given a bad hand in the fact that Lana never really had any depth. She was always a two-dimensional character and when the writers tried to give her something to do, she never had enough compelling screen presence to help support the arc she was in. Her character was set-up to be Clark’s love interest, never anything else. Lois, for example, was set up as a character before she and Clark got together giving her a lot of depth and interesting qualities which Lana lacked.

• Lionel Luthor (John Glover)- From compelling villain to powerful ally, Lionel Luthor had a drastic transformation from being the main villain to a figure of fatherhood to Clark. John Glover excelled through his entire time on Smallville and commanded the screen when he was present.

Other Notable Characters/villains include Supergirl portrayed by Laura Vandervoot. Laura’s inclusion was great and she portrayed a good Kara-Zor-El. Others include Brainiac played perfectly by James Marsters and Tess Mercer played by Cassidy Freeman who filled the void left by Lex in the later seasons.

Best Episodes:

1. Absolute Justice- A fantastic episode from start to finish. Feeling like an actual movie, smallville was able to produce a compelling introduction to the JSA and a well crafted overall mystery.

2. Homecoming- This episode hits home with everything I love about Smallville. With Clark and Lois returning to Smallville High, this episode harkens back to the olden days with a retrospective look at Smallville’s past and the future for all of their characters.

3. Finale- Like I said before, I enjoyed the finale even though we did not see enough of Tom as Superman. It was solid series finale and a just enjoyable episode.

4. Reckoning- The game changer which marked the true end of the Clark we knew and the birth of a more mature one. The constant twists and turns left the episode with a frantic pace which made the anticipation extremely enjoyable and heart-wrenching.

5. Legion- Similar to Absolute Justice, this episode was written by Geoff Johns. Johns artfully balances the weight of the previous episode’s events and introduces the Legion of Superheroes in this exciting episode.

Action/VFX:

Smallville struggled with its action and vfx and that is partly due to the time it was created in. The budget for Smallville was not of movie-quality and the show truly struggled in using its budget wisely to complement its story. Season 10 was a great example of this. Doomsday’s appearance was extremely limited to budgetary restrictions and resulted in a less than stellar confrontation. Action was pretty non-existent as well as the show mainly used Clark-Time to show off the various fights.

That being said, there is no reason to not watch Smallville just because of the lack of good vfx or action.

Season Rankings:

1. Season 1: 7.6/10

2. Season 2: 7.8/10

3. Season 3: 8.3/10

4. Season 4: 7.4/10

5. Season 5: 8.4/10

6. Season 6: 8.0/10

7. Season 7: 7.3/10

8. Season 8: 8.9/10

9. Season 9: 9.5/10

10. Season 10: 8.7/10
     

Conclusion:
Overall Smallville has a charm to it that is indescribable. Maybe it's the time period it was produced it, or the just the story, but the coming-of-age tale told is close to my heart. That being said, Smallville does have its fair share of problems. From boring teen drama, to bad cgi, to poor characters, Smallville encountered many issues throughout its 10 years. That being said, it still had some very good qualities and is a good watch to anyone who is interested in Superman or even just superheroes.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10 (This score is not an average of the season rankings. This score takes into account for time spent, worth of actual watch, and overall satisfaction of the series as a whole after watching the series finale. While the score in the "Our Score" says 8, it is just due to the inability to give .5 scores in the current scoring system)