Thoughts on Smallville tv show?

[misslane]

As far as I can remember the interactions in the Kent farm were limited to Jonathan telling Clark how proud he was of him and Martha cooking something for them to eat. I wanted more. It would have been awesome to actually see them doing parenting stuff. Clark actually making mistakes and the Kents helping him and teaching him.

How accurate is your memory of the show? Because the first four seasons were almost entirely characterized by the parenting dynamic you are saying you wished had been portrayed on the show. "Clark actually making mistakes and the Kents helping him and teaching him" was pretty much 50 percent of the show.

[MickB]

Clark didn't whine about having powers. Clark struggled with the burden of concealing the secret of his origins and abilities

Which for the first four seasons I would give you. But the next SIX seasons, where he wasn't in high-school, yet still acted like he was, that was whining. Endless, unbearable constant whining.

[LifeIsILL]

Smallville Season 11 Comics series is what the show should have been.

[misslane]

Which for the first four seasons I would give you. But the next SIX seasons, where he wasn't in high-school, yet still acted like he was, that was whining. Endless, unbearable constant whining.

That is simply not an accurate reflection of the show.

Smallville Season 11 Comics series is what the show should have been.

No, it wasn't. The comics were Superman comics. Smallville was an origin story. The two concepts are fundamentally incompatible. You can't tell the story about how Clark Kent became Superman on a show where he is already Superman.

[LifeIsILL]

That is simply not an accurate reflection of the show.



No, it wasn't. The comics were Superman comics. Smallville was an origin story. The two concepts are fundamentally incompatible. You can't tell the story about how Clark Kent became Superman on a show where he is already Superman.

Season 11 didn't waste any time on the stupid teen drama or some ridiculous love triangle between characters, it got right to the point. It was just sharper.

[MickB]

That is simply not an accurate reflection of the show.

Clearly we're going to need to agree to disagree about this, or we watched two incredibly different shows.

Smallville was an origin story.

That in no way earned the miniscule pay-off it delivered. Although, to be fair, I have not seen the last 13 episodes. I watched every single soul-crushing minute up til then, and could not take it anymore. So those last 13 episodes could be solid gold that in some way mitigate the preceding the disaster, but I doubt it.

[misslane]

Clearly we're going to need to agree to disagree about this, or we watched two incredibly different shows.

Clark was always struggling with keeping the secret of his powers, but it is utterly inaccurate to say that he whined about having those powers. More importantly, during the final three seasons of the show, Clark embraced his abilities and actively crafted a superhero identity for himself. I honestly don't know what show you were watching if you could interpret Clark using his powers to proactively help people while training with Jor-El in the Fortress as "whining" about having powers.

That in no way earned the miniscule pay-off it delivered. Although, to be fair, I have not seen the last 13 episodes. I watched every single soul-crushing minute up til then, and could not take it anymore. So those last 13 episodes could be solid gold that in some way mitigate the preceding the disaster, but I doubt it.

Clark becoming Superman was what saved humanity from Darkseid's apocalypse, caused the public and the government to embrace all heroes, and prevented a nuclear holocaust. He put on his suit, flew, saved a crashing Air Force One, and he moved a planet. He also committed himself to the love of his life, Lois Lane. That's miniscule?

[MickB]

Clark embraced his abilities and actively crafted a superhero identity for himself

If you're referring to his penchant for burning graffiti into public property after having saved the day, then yeah, I suppose that could be construed as 'building' a superhero identity. The red jacket was a step in the right direction.

But that still doesn't address seasons 5-7 where yes, he was whining. Because Lana didn't love him, or he and Lana couldn't be together, or because of terrible plot contrivances in the show were terrible, I still say it was horrible TV at best. However, it really isn't fair of me to judge it as a body of work without having seen the last 13 episodes, so I can desist from the criticism. But of the seasons I did see, 9 and one-half, I would say that six were horrible.

[Agent Z]

If you're referring to his penchant for burning graffiti into public property after having saved the day, then yeah, I suppose that could be construed as 'building' a superhero identity. The red jacket was a step in the right direction.

But that still doesn't address seasons 5-7 where yes, he was whining. Because Lana didn't love him, or he and Lana couldn't be together, or because of terrible plot contrivances in the show were terrible, I still say it was horrible TV at best. However, it really isn't fair of me to judge it as a body of work without having seen the last 13 episodes, so I can desist from the criticism. But of the seasons I did see, 9 and one-half, I would say that six were horrible.

I admit that the pining after Lana got old, but that wasn't all he was doing.

[Agent Z]

If you're referring to his penchant for burning graffiti into public property after having saved the day, then yeah, I suppose that could be construed as 'building' a superhero identity. The red jacket was a step in the right direction.

But that still doesn't address seasons 5-7 where yes, he was whining. Because Lana didn't love him, or he and Lana couldn't be together, or because of terrible plot contrivances in the show were terrible, I still say it was horrible TV at best. However, it really isn't fair of me to judge it as a body of work without having seen the last 13 episodes, so I can desist from the criticism. But of the seasons I did see, 9 and one-half, I would say that six were horrible.

I admit that the pining after Lana got old, but that wasn't all he was doing.

[misslane]

If you're referring to his penchant for burning graffiti into public property after having saved the day, then yeah, I suppose that could be construed as 'building' a superhero identity. The red jacket was a step in the right direction.

He burned his symbol after his saves to give people hope that someone out there was looking out for them. It worked. You claimed that Clark spent every season after the fourth season whining about his powers. You insisted that this was the truth. It is not true. You may not have liked how Clark was using his powers, but that is not the same thing as Clark whining about having them.

But that still doesn't address seasons 5-7 where yes, he was whining. Because Lana didn't love him, or he and Lana couldn't be together, or because of terrible plot contrivances in the show were terrible, I still say it was horrible TV at best. However, it really isn't fair of me to judge it as a body of work without having seen the last 13 episodes, so I can desist from the criticism. But of the seasons I did see, 9 and one-half, I would say that six were horrible.

Seasons 5-7 did include a lot of Clark whining about Lana, but he wasn't whining about his powers. First of all, Clark was with Lana who loved him during half of Season 5 and throughout Season 7, so your three season time frame actually includes half of the material you are criticizing. Second, Clark was upset that he and Lana couldn't be together because she was with Lex Luthor. He was not complaining or whining about having powers. If anything, he was conflicted because he had powers that he embraced using but believed he couldn't be honest with the woman he loved because his heroic lifestyle would endanger her life. While I agree that it's bad from to criticize something you haven't seen, it seems like your recollection of the parts of the show you did watch are seriously skewed.

[MickB]

believed he couldn't be honest with the woman he loved because his heroic lifestyle would endanger her life

This, this is very much what I consider to be his whining about having powers. Because boo-hoo, he couldn't be with Lana, for whatever reason. This is a trope I detest in all manner of superhero shows, Arrow and Flash are also horrible about it, them, the people you love, knowing, doesn't put them in danger. Them, the people that hate you, knowing, that does put them in danger.

Watching the show week to week, Clark's journey to heroism, seemed more like Clark falling ass-backward into heroism. He couldn't wait to give up his powers and stop doing heroic things. How many times was he relieved to be relieved of his powers? From my recollections, flawed though they may be, quite a few. Later seasons, yes that did change, but far too late.

He burned his symbol after his saves to give people hope that someone out there was looking out for them.

Graffiti is graffiti is graffiti. Same goes for property damage. Burning your symbol into the side of a building late at night seems less like 'Here's something to hope for!" and more like gang-tags. Him, personally, his actual, physical self, being the symbol, that would be great. Graffiti, nope. And I think Clark spent all ten seasons whining about his powers, not just the last six. I'm saying it only makes sense in the first four when he was in high-school, because high-schoolers are idiots.

[ssupes]

Smallville Season 11 Comics series is what the show should have been.

If you mean that Science Fiction elements should have been at the heart of the show like within the season 11 comic (and all Superman comics as it should), instead of the teenage love drama that we got season to season that consisted of the most annoying whining possible, then yes I definitely agree with you there.

[Xarek]

Good show for what it was. Lana was annoying as hell but Chloe made up for it. Things kindda took a nose dive once John Schneider and John Glover left the picture (forgot the season). Stopped watching after season 9. Good for nostalgia but it hasn't aged that well.