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  1. #16
    Extraordinary Member superduperman's Avatar
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    As the show dragged on, it became obvious they started running out of reasons to keep him out of the suit. When he's in his mid-twenties and still not Superman, it's understandable that people were losing patience with it. I kind of wish we'd gotten a movie where he fully becomes Superman.
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  2. #17
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    I've always had mixed feelings with this show:

    PROS
    1) Loved the story arcs of each season (personal favorites was Season 5 with Brainiac, and S7's Veritas arc)
    2) This series had my personal favorite versions of Ma and Pa Kent, and Lionel Luthor.
    3) Made for series characters Chloe Sullivan, Whitney Fordman, and Tess Mercer were welcome additions (shame Whitney didn't stick around, it seemed they were writing a redeeming arc with him, changing from a bully to a well rounded guy)
    4) The Kryptonian and Kawatche Cave (forgive spelling) Lore was interesting
    5) Having Lois learn Clark's identity before he became Superman was a welcome change (a trope added to the DCEU, which I welcomed; she's too good a reporter not to learn from the early years at least)
    6) Lex Luthor was the MVP of the series; his journey from ally to villain was well rounded.
    7) Loved the episodes that showed off other DC Heroes (particularly Aquaman, Zatanna and the JSA)
    8) Though weren't able to get Batman until the S11 comics, Oliver Queen was a worthy replacement.
    9) BEST VERSION OF THE TOYMAN EVER!!!

    CONS
    1) Never been a big fan of villains of the week (on in most cases "Freak-of-the-Week") and I really wish many of the initial seasons villains got to stick around a bit more than just another episode (examples, Bug-Boy Greg Arkin, Lana-Obsessed Tina Greer, duplicate Ian Randall, and leach Eric Summers).
    2) In addition, many other "recurring characters" felt rather wasted in places (I wanted more of Dr. Helen Bryce, Sheriff Nancy Adams, Joseph Willowbrook, Dr. Lawrence Garner, Morgan Edge, Alicia Baker, and Patrica Swann)
    3) Was disappointed with the character treatment of both Pete Ross and Jimmy Olsen (one gets underused, the other gets killed off and retconned as the older brother of the real "Superman's Pal").
    4) Lana Lang's character was rather hit and miss in my opinion. Loved her meetings with her dad in S2, her "Isabel" arc in S4 and the Clark/Lana relationship was at it's best in early S5, but many of her stories made me really dislike the character.
    5) Shame many of the original cast left post Season 7, didn't feel the same afterwards.
    6) Can't believe they never made Clark and Chloe a couple at some point; that always annoyed me to no end. I'd have loved to have seen them in a relationship Season 2, and break up somewhere near the end of the season (would make her alliance with Lionel all the more gut-wrenching).
    7) Clark should have worn his glasses around Season 3; especially after the episode where he went blind, he could have played it off that the incident left his eyes in a blur.
    Last edited by Multiverse; 10-05-2021 at 05:47 AM.

  3. #18
    Astonishing Member Yoda's Avatar
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    The last two seasons are some of my favorite Superman media around. Taking those alone, I think it works as a buildup to Superman, kind of extending the era where he's operated out of the costume ala Birthright or Man and Superman. Homecoming being probably my favorite episode and being complete fan service, but I can watch that whenever. Of the earlier seasons, it does take a dive after the first couple, but 9 & 10 really recover. And it continues into the Season 11 comics which are some fantastic Superman comics.

    Erica Durrance is probably my favorite version of Lois, just kinda nails her attitude and voice for me. I also think it handled the triangle as well as you can in modern times, and the reveal scene where he finally tells her is great. The last two Metropolis seasons just work on their own as a great introduction.

    It did the Green Arrow as a stand in for Batman thing before Arrow made it cool. It does suck that Allison Mack is so heavily involved in it. Only thing that taints it for me.

  4. #19
    Astonishing Member kingaliencracker's Avatar
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    I love Smallville. It's easily one of my favorite all-time shows, and this is coming from someone who was completely resistant to its premise initially.

    Having said that, how I felt about Smallville during its run, upon its conclusion, and in re-watching the entire series a few years ago still holds true today . It had amazing characters with intriguing plots that were consistently derailed by terrible writing. I'm not even talking about the "monster of the week" episodes either because while those episodes were mostly filler, they did flesh out many of Smallville's core characters. There were major plot lines that were developed across an entire season that completely fell apart due to creative. The show might have been better served ending things after 6 or 7 seasons versus 10, although admittedly I felt the 9th season may have been one of its better ones.

    BUT...they definitely hooked me with the characters. As others have stated, it probably had the best live-action versions Lois, Lex, & The Kents we've ever had. And Tom Welling was a great Clark Kent that got much better as the series progressed. It certainly wasn't for everyone and I understand the criticisms from fans who felt it made reinforced the brooding Clark Kent archetype that has become prevalent with today's Superman. But I certainly enjoyed it in spite of its fauts.

  5. #20
    The Man Who Cannot Die manwhohaseverything's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yoda View Post
    It did the Green Arrow as a stand in for Batman thing before Arrow made it cool. It does suck that Allison Mack is so heavily involved in it. Only thing that taints it for me.
    green arrow didn't feel like batman at all. honestly, clark and oliver is a better relationship than clark and bruce can ever manage in modern times.
    Quote Originally Posted by kingaliencracker View Post
    BUT...they definitely hooked me with the characters. As others have stated, it probably had the best live-action versions Lois, Lex, & The Kents we've ever had. And Tom Welling was a great Clark Kent that got much better as the series progressed. It certainly wasn't for everyone and I understand the criticisms from fans who felt it made reinforced the brooding Clark Kent archetype that has become prevalent with today's Superman. But I certainly enjoyed it in spite of its fauts.
    clark wasn't brooding at all.It was just filled with teen angst and drama.Yuck!!!!
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  6. #21
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    Mixed bag. The early seasons in high school were mostly good, but the will they/won't they drama with Lana never worked because we knew he'd end up with Lois, not Lana. As a result Lana was a wasted character for the entire show.

    Also, this show gave me a very bad idea of what teenagers were like when I was a kid. I was too young to realize that Tom Welling did not look like a 14-year-old but more like a 30-year-old.

    After season 4 the show kind of meandered and its strengths and weaknesses switched, with the romance with Lois being the best part of the show instead of the weakest part.

  7. #22
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    I don't think we always knew. When I rewatched it I knew what was going to happen--even though there were a lot of episodes I missed the first time around, which is one reason I wanted to watch the entire thing, so I could fully understand the character arcs. But putting my mind back in time all the way to the early days of the series when it aired, there was no expectation that Lois Lane was ever going to show up--or that, even if she did, she would become the main love interest on the show. It seemed like everyone back then was in love with Clark/Lana (Clana?) or Clark/Chloe (Chlork?) and no one was thinking of Lois. And the heat for Clark to end up with another woman might have been so strong that they didn't dare bring in a Lois Lane for the show.

    It's purely good luck that Erica Durance was such a compelling actress in the role of Lois. But even then they didn't seem to commit to her. The great frustration I had in my rewatch is that I was most interested in following the Lois and Clark romance--yet that was sidelined for a lot of the run and we had to deal with other characters' drama. It was only once they got rid of Lana once and for all and sort of pushed Chloe into the friend zone, that they gave Lois the attention she needed. And even then, they made it seem like Clark only was interested in her because it was impossible for him to be with Lana.

    To be sure, the Lois & Clark relationship was the best thing about the show--especially toward the end. But I felt like they put us on a starvation diet.

  8. #23
    Mighty Member Dr. Skeleton's Avatar
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    Gave up on it after season two and then learning they were gonna complete ignore everything that happened in the comics.

  9. #24

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    Watched it for the very first time on DVD/Blu-Ray a few years ago. Thought it was a really great show overall. There are definitely things I could nitpick about it, and I've done so in other Smallville threads, but in general, I really do love the show.

    It's probably my favorite Superman show so far. I haven't seen Superman & Lois yet. I'll likely binge the first season when it hits Blu-Ray, but I have high hopes for it, and I'm glad we're getting a public, in-costume Superman

  10. #25
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    Kinda hoping they rerelease a Complete Series Set. Might buy the next one, would be cool to own the series in physical.
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  11. #26
    Astonishing Member kingaliencracker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vordan View Post
    Kinda hoping they rerelease a Complete Series Set. Might buy the next one, would be cool to own the series in physical.
    I assume you mean on blu-ray? Because they released it on DVD.

    However, it's unlikely they'll ever release the complete series on blu ray.

  12. #27
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    I find myself hating the use of surviving Kryptonians (and pretty much everything to do with Krypton) in every live action treatment of Superman. So much so that I might retroactively start to hate the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies for this element in those films. It's probably there that this whole trope of horrible Kryptonians originates in live action. They want to out-stamp Terence Stamp.

    I just hate hate hate these scenery chewing Kryptonians so much.

  13. #28
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    It has its good points and bad ones. I still enjoy it despite its flaws.


    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    I find myself hating the use of surviving Kryptonians (and pretty much everything to do with Krypton) in every live action treatment of Superman. So much so that I might retroactively start to hate the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies for this element in those films. It's probably there that this whole trope of horrible Kryptonians originates in live action. They want to out-stamp Terence Stamp.

    I just hate hate hate these scenery chewing Kryptonians so much.
    It originates from the comics were Zod debuted.

  14. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    It has its good points and bad ones. I still enjoy it despite its flaws.




    It originates from the comics were Zod debuted.

    Evil, scenery-chewing Kryptonians originates further back than that. General Zod first appeared in 1961 (in Adventure 283, also the first Phantom Zone story), but the very first time Superman encountered people from Krypton in the comics, they were bad guys.

    It was in Superman 65 from 1950 where he met 3 evil Kryptonian brothers: Mala, Kizo, and U-Ban.

    In these pre-Phantom Zone days, it was said they were placed in suspended animation and rocketed away from Krypton for their crimes by Jor-El.


  15. #30
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    I kind of see the show as having three distinct phases with different strengths and weaknesses.

    The first part in high school was pretty consistent episodic television with decent stabs at some occasional serialization. The “heart” of this part of the show was Clark and Lex’s fired ship surging forward and then *just*starting to deteriorate. The Lana subplot was tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable at this point. Best “Big Bad” of this era was Zod 1.0, partially because Marston as Brainiac makes a great “herald” with Rosenbaum’s possessed Lex.

    The second part was an inconsistent transition period plagued by being a bit lost for a while, not helped by a writer’s strike that occurred during it. The Veritas story never interested me, and it was about this time that the Lana plotline started to become more of a liability, while Rosenbaum was getting bored with his role, and they didn’t quite handle his transition out fo the show as well as they could have. The Big Bads here are a bit more lackluster - Bizarro remained a more “meh” villain, while Lex’s exit kind of lost some of his gravitas because it was clearly more of a contractural exit than a planned one.

    The third part was better when it focused on being serialized... but had a few hiccups with the villains while the new focus on Lois and Clark was pretty damn good. Durrance did for that storyline what Rosenbaum had done for the Lex and Clark relationship - made it feel so authentic and mesmerizing that it could get patently ridiculous but still work. Zod 2.0 was a the best villain, with Callum Blue devouring the scenery, though the Davis Bloom/Doomsday had a greater run before a very poor ending to cede him the spot, while Earth 2 Lionel is a delight in the final saeason, but not the true Big Bad.
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