Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: Smallville

Monday, April 22, 2013

TV Show Review: Smallville - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Great acting and special effects

Cons: The first few episodes are very weak

The Bottom Line:

Show finding itself

First few episodes are weak

Better as it goes

"Land of the Weird; Home of the Strange."

Back in the fall of 2001, I watched the first few episodes of Smallville. I thought it was good but unremarkable. At the time it was on opposite the first season of 24 (funny, neither show is in that Tuesday night time slot any more), and I just didn't have the time to watch both. While I don't for a minute regret my decision to watch 24, I've often wished I'd been able to keep up with Smallville, too. I finally broke down and bought the first season on DVD. I think I'm hooked.

The first episode opens 13 years ago as a meteor shower rains down on Smallville, Kansas. In the middle of the destruction, Jonathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider and Annette O'Toole) find a toddler and a space ship.

Flash forward to the present day. That toddler is now Clark Kent (Tom Welling). He's a teenager attending high school. And he's just starting to develop the powers he'll use to save the world as Superman. His best friends in school are jock want to be Pete Ross (Sam Jones III) and news hound Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). And he is not so secretly in love with girl next door (okay, a mile away. It is the country) Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). Unfortunately, she's already dating quarterback Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson).

In addition to being a farming town, Smallville has a LuthorCorp fertilizer plant. Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has just been banished there by his father Lionel (recurring actor John Glover). And when Lex hits Clark but both survive, the two form a friendship, much to the dismay of Clark's parents.

But weird things keep happening in Smallville. Seems that the meteor shower in which Clark arrived 13 years ago left behind all kinds of green rocks. And coming in contact with them gives people strange powers. With Chloe's help, Clark has to keep trying to save the day while forging a friendship with Lana. All this leads up to a season ending cliffhanger sure to have you coming back for more.

The reason I gave this show up so easily all those years ago was because the first few episodes are rather weak. Watching them again, I still feel the same way. That early in the show, they've already slipped in a formula. The plot always revolves around one of Clark's classmates who develops a weird power. And one of Clark's friends or family is always the target by the end. But around 8 or 9, they begin to break the mold. The stories are still pretty much the "freak of the week" as they've been called. But the storytelling is different enough to keep me coming back for more.

There are hints of an on going soap opera here as well. However, things happen very slowly. But just enough hints of things to come are laid down in the second half of the season to make things interesting.

I'm not familiar enough with the Superman legacy to tell you how it departs from the comics. But I know the big picture of where most of these characters go as they age. As a result, I get the little jokes the writers throw in here or there. Usually, they are a reference to Clark's upcoming abilities. In one episode, he states that he wants any job as long as it doesn't involve putting on a suit and flying, for example. And watching Lex and Clark interact knowing what they both become adds a completely different dimension to their scenes.

No matter the criticism leveled at the show, you can't fault its special effects. The writers come up with some pretty bazaar (and creepy) villains for Clark to face here, and you never once feel like they are cutting corners.

By the time the season ends, the acting is great from everyone. I did notice a little shakiness early in the season, especially coming from Kristin Kreuk. But she seems to quickly find her character and settle in. Special praise goes to Michael Rosenbaum. He command attention as Lex. Any scene he is in is great. And Allison Mack brings a great spunk to Chloe.

This DVD set contains all 21 episodes of the first season on 6 discs. The picture is widescreen and it looks great. The sound is in stereo. There are occasional nice effects, but it won't blow you away. In terms of extras, we get commentaries from the producers on the first two episodes and some deleted scenes from those episodes as well. There's an interactive map of the town which allows the behind the scenes people to discuss the locations used to create those sets. Additionally, we get a few promos for this and two new WB shows (that didn't last a full season), a storyboard to screen comparison of the pilot, and a DVD-Rom link that shows off Chloe's "Wall of Weird."

I've added another TV show to my list of shows to watch. Just what I needed. Give Smallville a chance to get over its slow start and you just might be hooked on season one as well.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Pilot

2. Metamorphosis

3. Hothead

4. X-Ray

5. Cool

6. Hourglass

7. Craving

8. Jitters

9. Rogue

10. Shimmer

11. Hug