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

Sunday, June 16, 2013

TV Show Review: Smallville - Season 4

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Acting, Luthor storyline, addition of Lois

Cons: Main story arc for the season ultimately falls flat

The Bottom Line:

Super's senior year

Crystal story just okay

Still fun overall

"Wow. Superhero and Journalist. What are the Odds?"

Maybe now that Smallville has ended, I can start getting caught up. I recently made some strides in that by watching the fourth season set. Since I know so little of the Superman mythos outside of the movies and other TV series, I come to this with little in the way of expectations. I found it enjoyable but not quite as good as the previous seasons.

Season four picks up three months after season three ended. Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) is lying in a hospital in a comma while wife Martha (Annette O'Toole) hopes that he will come out of it. Even more, she hopes that their son Clark (Tom Welling) will return to them. No one has seen him since his Kryptonian side took over and he disappeared.

That is until he suddenly appears naked in a cornfield just outside of town. And who is it who finds him? Lois Lane (new cast member Erica Durance) who is in town to investigate the death of her second cousin Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack).

But if that isn't enough, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenaum) is trying to track down some ancient crystals with mythical powers while his dad Lionel (John Glover) sits in jail after being convicted for murder. And it isn't long before Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) returns to town from Paris with new boyfriend Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles) and they become drawn into the mystery of those crystals.

But this is also senior year in high school. Clark goes out for football, trying to keep his superpowers under wraps. Prom is interrupted by a vengeful spirit. And graduation day just happens to be the same day as another meteor shower heads for Smallville.

As you can see, there is lots packed into these 22 episodes. Every character has a story arc and even the stand alone episodes have something that plays into that arc. The most interesting arc involved the Luthor family, which isn't much of a surprise because these are still the best characters on the show. While in prison, Lionel starts to see the light and turn from the path of darkness he's been on for some time. Meanwhile, after repairing his relationship with Clark some, Lex starts to slip further into evil. Lex and Clark have an uneasy relationship in this season, and watching that play out was very interesting.

Not quite as interesting was the crystal storyline. In the commentaries and extras, the producers talk about how this was partially their attempts to draw Lana into more of the action. From that standpoint of things, it worked, and this seems like the season where Kristin Kreuk has the most to do. However, overall the story falls victim to much of the myth of the show. It's interesting, but the reveal in the cliffhanger left me scratching my head. Okay, so we probably won't really know more until season 5, which I haven't seen yet, but so far I am left feeling like there was no point really to that storyline. And once again, some of the twists and turns this story takes seem rather abrupt and forced, like the writers wanted it to go some place but didn't have the time to work it all out.

Among the more interesting episodes are one where Lionel and Clark get stuck in each other's bodies. The acting from Tom Welling and John Glover is amazing in that episode. You can easily see the other character in how they behave, but it doesn't feel forced or mimicked, just real.

Probably the most interesting character arc involves Chloe, who learns Clark's secret part way through the season. But instead of rushing out and telling him, she keeps it to herself. Her hints to Clark that she knows are fun since we get to see him be clueless for a change. Yet she slowly comes to understand why her friend may have been keeping those secrets all these years. The episode that really plays with this is "Blank" which finds Chloe helping Clark deal with his powers after he develops amnesia.

One of the highlights of the season is the addition of Erica Durance as Lois Lane. She brings a much needed dose of humor to the show with her sarcasm and spunky attitude. She and Clark trade barbs when they are on the screen. While she's not in every episode, the ones she is in are that much more fun.

The acting is uniformly great. Most of the cast has had a few years to get into character; they know these characters and it really does show. Erica and Jensen are the new kids on the block, but they don't stumble either and are great additions to the cast. Jane Seymour shows up a few times in a fun small role, and the Christopher Reeve movies' Lois Lane, Margot Kidder, appears in two episodes as well. We also get a one episode visit from Kyle Gallner as Bart Allen, the future superhero The Flash.

All 22 episodes from this season, including the extended finale, are presented on 6 discs in widescreen and stereo sound. Extras include deleted scenes on over half the episodes, commentaries on three episodes, interview clips with most of the women who have played Lois Lane over the years and how they interrupted the role, and a look at the writers room and how they create a story. This last one features lots of stuff from the final two episodes of the season, so be sure to save it for last.

While the season's main story arc could have been a little better, it's a minor quibble for me. Overall, I enjoyed season four of Smallville and am looking forward to see where things go next.

Season 4 Episodes:

1. Crusade

2. Gone

3. Façade

4. Devoted

5. Run

6. Transference

7. Jinx

8. Spell

9. Bound

10. Scare

11. Unsafe