Smallville

Tom Welling is vastly underrated for his performance as Superman in this captivating performance.

As a fan of the superman legend for many years, I waited in anticipation for the new TV series , ‘Smallville'. I have been richly rewarded by it, as we now get to see how difficult life must have been for ‘Kal-el', as an American teenager. Although we never get to see the ‘super-being' fly around in his tights and cape, he is a fascinating character to watch, as he comes to terms with who he is and what he can do. This is the tale of a teenage Clark Kent in the days before he was Superman.

A huge meteor shower destroyed most of the town of Smallville, Kansas. It killed a lot of people, and brought Jonathan and Martha Kent what they have always wanted: a son. In 2001, Smallville has somewhat recovered from the horrible blast. However a popular yet awkward teen Clark Kent, attempts to decipher the meaning of his life and his clouded past. As he struggles with the transition from boyhood to adulthood, his strength and strange abilities set him uncomfortably apart from his peers. Clark must deal with a variety of individuals given powers by mysterious green rocks from the meteor shower, keep his powers a secret, cope with his friendship with a young Lex Luthor, and balance the two girls in his life, Chloe and Lana.

This show, although it is touching on an old and celebrated story, still has very original aspects to it. The storylines that have been presented in ‘Smallville' are of the finest quality, with some pushing the boundary that could reveal ‘what' Clark Kent really is. While it is strange to see it, the friendship that has developed between Clark's future arch-enemy, Lex Luthor, is fascinating. I am looking forward to seeing how Lex keeps turning into a criminal mastermind, while the shows has touched base on this a little. I also like the way that the story integrates seeing that not all of Smallville's individuals have not escaped the dangerous affects of what we get to know later is ‘ Kryptonite', the one thing that can hurt Superman. All of the stories have kept me interested enough to want know what will happen next.

The cast of this show, while it is somewhat unknown, is impressive. The lead role of Clark Kent/ Kal-El, is done perfectly by Tom Welling. In fact the resemblance between Welling and the junior Clark performed in the first Superman movie, Jeff East, is incredible. The other young cast members include the gorgeous Kristen Kruek, who plays the charming innocent Lana Lang. I like most people hope that Clark does end up with Lana, as for some reason, she does not deserve someone as good as Clark is. Michael Rosenbaum plays a quality Lex Luthor, with the two newer characters in this story, Pete and Chloe, performed by Sam Jones III and Allison Mack. I do like the two older cast members who were given the roles of Martha and Jonathon Kent. Martha is played by Annette O'Toole, who if you can remember appeared in the third ‘Superman' movie, as a grown up Lana Lang. I really like her as Clark Kent's mother, but for what reason I don't know. While John Schneider is a likeable Jonathon Kent.

I like the soundtrack that this show has been given. The show's main tune of `Save me', suits it very well. That song is performed by Remy Zero. While the other bands that have been used in Smallville include The calling, with their great hit ‘wherever you will go', and Eve 6's ‘Rescue'. While Enrique Inglesia's smash hit of ‘Hero' also appeared in one episode. The soundtrack this show has really helps keep my interest and gives the program a ‘youthful' feel as well.

All in all this show has given back more than what I excepted. I guess my only criticism of it has to be the corny and contrived love story theme that it continues to bring up, especially between Clark and Lana. I wish they would either be lovers or just friends. Swapping from one phase to the other starts to become confusing and frustrating, well does for me anyway. It will be fascinating to see what happens once Clark Kent realises he has to leave Smallville and pursue what and who he was meant to be, that of course is being Superman. I have found it hard to accept that Clark Kent is growing up in the ‘present', that being the new millennium, as it does not seem to fit the ‘Superman' genre. Perhaps that is a good thing, as Superman might have a different feel in the future. Whatever happens, I will continue to watch ‘Smallville' hoping that it is original in every aspect.

"Smallville" is an excellent idea for a TV series. I am one of those who grew up in the 1950s with Superboy and Superman comics. I loved the Superman films with Chris Reeves. I loved the "Lois and Clark" TV series. But this one, which chronicles Clark Kent's high school life, the period when he began to realize the extent of his super powers, and began to see his life's mission, has not been depicted before, as far as I can recall. They've done it extremely well, and the actors are very fitting for the parts. And, naturally, good always prevails over evil.

A year 2005 update -- we don't watch "Smallville" as faithfully anymore as we used to. I suppose that is a natural consequence, as old story lines get stale, and the writers try harder for scripts with an "edge." Still, whenever we do watch, we still enjoy the series.

A year 2010 update -- we are again watching "Smallville" every week. In spite of the age now of the series it remains an interesting series. I keep wondering when Clark will learn how to fly.

When I first heard of the idea behind Smallville, I rolled my eyes and thought that is the dumbest idea ever. I mean, who wants to see Superman as a teen? Well after seeing it, I can say I sure as hell do. It has been a long time since I have been glued to the TV screen, waiting anxiously to see what will happen next. The reason this show is so good is because you already know the characters. Unless you were born yesterday, you know the story of Superman, you know who Lex Luther is. Superman is a permanent pop culture icon, like Batman. When I watched this show, I already knew these characters, it was so simple to get into this show. The WB must have dished out the big bucks for this show because for TV, the special FX were amazing. Everything about this show is pure gold, I know I will tune in every week, and watch one of the best shows on TV.

I've watched almost all current superhero shows: The Boys, Arrow, Daredevil, Flash, Punisher, Black Lightning, Supergirl, The Defenders, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Agents of Shield, Legends of Tomorrow, and a couple other ones. And I gotta say as good as some of those shows are, they just don't compare to Smallville. I know sounds crazy right? How can a show that premiered in 2001 be better than Daredevil? Well its simple. Smallville has heart. When you think of a superhero the first thing you want is heart and soul and by god this show has it. I know it sounds cheesy but its true. The show if far from perfect and the writing obviously might not be as legendary as The Boys for example. But it is consistent through ten seasons. The best part about this show in my opinion was the character development. Seeing Lex Luthor slowly develop into the villain he is today was phenomenal, Michael Rosenbaum nailed it I thought. Seeing Clark go from an insecure boy to a confident and heroic man was a beauty of a thing. Seeing Lois Lane go from guarded and unsure of herself to an independent and lovable character was awesome. Another thing I loved about this show were the relationships. And no I don't just mean romantic. The relationship between Clark and Lex is amazing to see how it unfolds from being acquaintances, to friends, to brothers, to a disdained partnership, to a nemesis relationship was done very well. The relationship between Clark and his parents (Kryptonian and the Kents) was also handled very nicely. And even more that I won't spoil. All in all this was an awesome show to watch even in 2019. 10 years from now this show will definitely have an impact for me.