So... in last week's Smallville, the cops referred to superheroes as "capes". I get it. That's used a lot in the comics. But... in the comics, most superheroes wear capes. Unless I'm forgetting something, not a single hero in the Smallville universe does. So why on earth would they refer to them as "capes"?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
From Smallville you expect logic or consistency? Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
Maybe the cops read comic books.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: So... in last week's Smallville, the cops referred to superheroes as "capes". I get it. That's used a lot in the comics. But... in the comics, most superheroes wear capes. Unless I'm forgetting something, not a single hero in the Smallville universe does. So why on earth would they refer to them as "capes"?
That episode was in my opinion one of the worst. I caught that as well. How about the fact that Clark managed to get a hold of a police uniform without ANY explanation, AND get assigned to a patrol. There were so many plot holes in that episode.
Of course a 14 year old just pulled that off in Chicago the other day....
KILL OF LANA AND BRING BACK LOIS!!!
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Yeah, while this season has shown a marked improvement, logical consistancy is not a hallmark of the show. I mean running down some dirty cops can't be done using Chloe's hacking and Clark's superhearing and superspeed? Yeah, they wanted a dilemma...the good cop on the cusp. But they could have done that without all the plot holes. And of course, all the Lana crap, just when we were free of her and Lois was moving into center stage. At least she'll only be around for a few more eps. I guess the 5 other break-up moments weren't good enough. We need to see Lana (that great millstone) leave, yet again, so that Clark can finally achieve his destiny.
Oh well, this show has been so much worse and this season has been so much better that my disappointment is actually not too high.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Have they shown the Legion of Super-Heroes episode yet?
Posted by aeolusdallas (Member # 11455) on :
yes 2 weeks ago. I liked the legion.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Yeah, last week's episode was a disappointment compared to most of the rest of season 8, which actually got me into watching the show again after a 2-year gap. (I caught up on the missed episodes...Lana and Clark in season 7 made me nauseous.)
But in the grand scheme of things, a reference to an aspect of superheroes that don't exist in the Smallville universe are just not a big enough problem for me to care about. Now, what in the world LANA is doing back on Smallville when she should be gone already...how they will ever manage to convincingly transfer Clark's feelings to Lois at this point is beyond me.
Posted by manji (Member # 11600) on :
Actually, one hero in the Smallville universe used a cape. Oliver Queen pretending to be the "Blur" or whatever it is they refer to Clark when Jimmy Olsen caught him in his super-speed mode.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
holy crap, you're right. it's actual, honest to god, continuity.
Legion was ok in the one aspect of Clark's unwavering principle on murder....
...too bad this is after he's killed (or at the very least been guilty of negligent homicide or parylization- whats with the superthrow, anyway?) innumerable times in the previous 7 years.
But as I've said, this season has been loads better than the previous 4. If it jumped to this immediately after season 3, with the few explanatory/awesome episodes that appeared in between...well, it would have been awesome.
Posted by Jeorge (Member # 11524) on :
With both of the Luthors gone, and Lana back, I have a hard time watching this show any more.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote: But as I've said, this season has been loads better than the previous 4. If it jumped to this immediately after season 3, with the few explanatory/awesome episodes that appeared in between...well, it would have been awesome.
I stopped watching early in season 4. What are these explanatory/awesome episodes that I would need to pick up again on this season?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
:: also curious ::
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
what, you want me to search through the crapfest that was 4-7 and find them?
Thing is, sometimes the good stuff/explanation happens in the b-story and so you have to suffer in the a-story. And a few times, it was all around teh awesome. I bet, if someone really cared enough (and thats a stretch since I sure don't) they could create a fan version of the show like the ones at fanedit.org.
At the least, I could try to post the names of the few all around good episodes between 4 and 8. Let me think about which ones.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Things I would like to know:
1. Why does Chloe commute 3 hours to work each way every day?
2. How did Chloe, Clark, and Lois all get jobs at the daily planet, after apparantly dropping out of college. (Same thing happened in Buffy, college just sort of vanished)?
3. What is the point of calling this Smallville, when 99% of the time is now spent in Metropolis?
4. What was the purpose behind Clark wiping Chloe's memory of him, if it didn't even work for 5 minutes? Its almost as if the writers are not even talking to each other. One writer decided Chloe should forget, the next one decided she shouldn't. Reminds me of those chain stories we wrote in elementary school.
5. Why do I keep watching it, when I want to pull my hair out every episode?
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote: But as I've said, this season has been loads better than the previous 4. If it jumped to this immediately after season 3, with the few explanatory/awesome episodes that appeared in between...well, it would have been awesome.
I stopped watching early in season 4. What are these explanatory/awesome episodes that I would need to pick up again on this season?
I would just go to the wikipedia entry for Smallville and read the plot summaries. It really isn't all the complicated.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:what, you want me to search through the crapfest that was 4-7 and find them?
Yes. Yes I do.
quote:At the least, I could try to post the names of the few all around good episodes between 4 and 8. Let me think about which ones.
That would be much appreciated.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Stephan, all good questions for which there are no answers. Though this season, even with the Chloe-wipe, which is universally thought to be a prickish move, has been better. Yeah, it could try to answer those questions, but they're legacy issues and the focus of the new EP's appears to be working more closely together and creating a slightly higher good-to-suck ratio, which I think they've done.
Wikipedia is where I went to go through the episodes. Wow, when you read all there are once...just some horrible stuff, man. But there were still some good ones. Sometimes, there were even awesome moments in crappy episodes, like Clark's crying for his father in 6-12 "Reckoning", which was, otherwise, a terrible episode and made utterly pointless by the end of the season when Lana found out Clark's secret anyway.
Anyway, here's my list. I didn't include every explanation myth ep because, frankly, some (many) of them sucked. I was thinking of my overall first impression if what I really enjoyed and/or thought showcased good acting, cool storyline, or real drama (and its no coincidence that many of these are Lex episodes). The summaries are good to finish any raised plot points where the resolving episode(s) was (were) not up to par. As I said, this is like 5 minutes of reading summaries and remembering what I liked, for what it's worth:
4-5 Run 4-6 Transference 5-1 Arrival 5-7 Splinter 5-8 Solitude 5-9 Lexmas 6-5 Reunion 6-12 Labyrinth 7-14 Traveler 7-15 Veritas 7-16 Descent
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You know, I find that I'm pretty unforgiving when it comes to serialized TV fiction. When it became unbearably clear that the writers of BSG didn't have any more of a clue what would be happening one or two episodes down the line than I did, I stopped watching. When the first episodes of season 2 of Lost failed to capture me I stopped watching, even though I'd been riveted to my TV for season 1. The maudlin, telegraphing-plot-points-too-obviously second season of Deadwood made me uninterested enough in the final season to not bother watching all of the first episode of season 3. Season 4 of Smallville pretty much killed my interest in that show. If someone were to spoonfeed me the information necessary to get up to speed, and if Jupiter were aligned with Pluto, I might resume watching, but A)this isn't really a reasonable demand, and B)even then, there's a decent chance I'd never get around to Netflixing it.
And yet, when it comes to books, I'm pretty forgiving. Hell, I finished Battlefield Earth! I'm not sure why I'm so much more willing to endure crap when it's in written form.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
Noemon- I drop tv shows pretty easily and stick with awful books. I find books much more convenient then tv. I can bring books to places and read while I am waiting, I can read at 2 am when everyone else is asleep, I can read while watching Monster and not worry about damaging her little psyche. So, for me to do the extra work to keep up with tv, it has to be dang good. But books, if I have the book, I'll read it. I am not reading as much right now, but when the library reopens (hurricane damage apparently takes a long time to clean up), I will read a lot more. And with a toddler, I have to go to the library anyway, so might as well get some for me too.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote: But as I've said, this season has been loads better than the previous 4. If it jumped to this immediately after season 3, with the few explanatory/awesome episodes that appeared in between...well, it would have been awesome.
I stopped watching early in season 4. What are these explanatory/awesome episodes that I would need to pick up again on this season?
Personally, I read through the plot summaries on Smallville Wiki and then watched the episodes that looked the most entertaining or seemed to have the most important things happen in them.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Stephan:
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: So... in last week's Smallville, the cops referred to superheroes as "capes". I get it. That's used a lot in the comics. But... in the comics, most superheroes wear capes. Unless I'm forgetting something, not a single hero in the Smallville universe does. So why on earth would they refer to them as "capes"?
That episode was in my opinion one of the worst. I caught that as well. How about the fact that Clark managed to get a hold of a police uniform without ANY explanation, AND get assigned to a patrol. There were so many plot holes in that episode.
Of course a 14 year old just pulled that off in Chicago the other day....
KILL OF LANA AND BRING BACK LOIS!!!
Well, I figured that Chloe hacked into the police computers and set him up. This show requires a lot of fanwanking.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
quote:Originally posted by Stephan: Things I would like to know:
1. Why does Chloe commute 3 hours to work each way every day?
She actually works in Smallville now, but Jimmy does commute to work 3 hours each day and Clark seems to (to those who haven't figured out he's not normal). And in answer to why that would be...that's a nagging problem with the show, yes.
quote: 2. How did Chloe, Clark, and Lois all get jobs at the daily planet, after apparantly dropping out of college. (Same thing happened in Buffy, college just sort of vanished)?
At the end of season 5 (I think), there was a huge disaster that kept the college from re-opening. At that time, Chloe was an intern at the Daily Planet and Lois was working for a rag of a newspaper (an enquirer-like paper), but coming up with some great investigative pieces. As time goes on, Chloe becomes more and more disillusioned with her job because she is reluctant to do stories on "meteor freaks" now that she has firsthand knowledge of what it's like to be one. So she leaves (actually, she gets fired), realizing that she will never get out of the basement of the planet. Right around the time Chloe gets fired, Lois's work gets noticed and she gets on at the planet.
So basically, Chloe was never anything more than an intern at the planet and Lois got in through actual work and experience -- which is more important than a college degree.
Now, how Clark got on, I'm not entirely sure. They went to too much trouble early in the series making him dislike journalism and now I'm having trouble with his conversion
quote: 3. What is the point of calling this Smallville, when 99% of the time is now spent in Metropolis?
It's called "Smallville Beginnings" and they call it that because it is the story of how Clark Kent becomes Superman. He isn't Superman yet.
quote: 4. What was the purpose behind Clark wiping Chloe's memory of him, if it didn't even work for 5 minutes? Its almost as if the writers are not even talking to each other. One writer decided Chloe should forget, the next one decided she shouldn't. Reminds me of those chain stories we wrote in elementary school.
Personally, my guess is that they did it, realized it was hugely unpopular, and undid it. Nothing else quite makes sense.
quote:
5. Why do I keep watching it, when I want to pull my hair out every episode?
I'm not a shrink, but as I've done the same thing with this and other shows, maybe we should form a support group. Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: Noemon- I drop tv shows pretty easily and stick with awful books. I find books much more convenient then tv. I can bring books to places and read while I am waiting, I can read at 2 am when everyone else is asleep, I can read while watching Monster and not worry about damaging her little psyche. So, for me to do the extra work to keep up with tv, it has to be dang good. But books, if I have the book, I'll read it. I am not reading as much right now, but when the library reopens (hurricane damage apparently takes a long time to clean up), I will read a lot more. And with a toddler, I have to go to the library anyway, so might as well get some for me too.
Yeah, I'm sure that a large part of it is the convenience of books for me too. Another element is probably that when I was little we didn't really watch TV much. Reading was the dominant form of entertainment in my house when I was growing up, and I was shaped by that.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Smallville Beginnings? Wasn't that what ABC Family called it in re-runs at one point? The CW doesn't have Beginnings anywhere in it.
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
I think a few years into the series the WB started to rerun the first season's episodes on Sunday nights, and that was Smallville: Beginnings.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Yeah, a lot of things in Smallville don't really make sense. Characters travel between Smallville and Metropolis like they're 20 minutes apart rather than like 3 hours. Earlier in the series Chloe acted like just getting an internship at the Planet was a major accomplishment that required beating out many qualified applicants, yet somehow Clark walked into a full time job there without having any experience beyond writing for a high school paper, and not even having completed a full year of college (where I don't think he ever even mentioned studying journalism).
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
I guess I first caught the show on reruns and thought that was what it was called. Oops.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Smallville has disappointed me on so many levels, so many times in a row, there's no way I could go back to it. A show with so much promise and they just... Nope, not starting my rant.
Suffice it to say that by season two it was clear that this show could not possibly produce any Superman I'd ever heard of, and by season 4 they'd just gotten silly. I stopped watching somewhere in there and have never gone back.
Posted by Jeorge (Member # 11524) on :
quote:I'm not sure why I'm so much more willing to endure crap when it's in written form.
Reading makes you feel smart. Watching TV doesn't. Reading crap makes you feel smugly smart. Watching crap on TV makes you feel like your brain is melting.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jeorge:
quote:I'm not sure why I'm so much more willing to endure crap when it's in written form.
Reading makes you feel smart.
Pretty sure that's not it, Jeorge.
quote: Reading crap makes you feel smugly smart.
Nope.
quote:Watching crap on TV makes you feel like your brain is melting.
Aaaand...no.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: Smallville has disappointed me on so many levels, so many times in a row, there's no way I could go back to it. A show with so much promise and they just... Nope, not starting my rant.
Suffice it to say that by season two it was clear that this show could not possibly produce any Superman I'd ever heard of, and by season 4 they'd just gotten silly. I stopped watching somewhere in there and have never gone back.
Wow. I LOVED the show in seasons 1-3. I recently rewatched them and remembered the reasons I admired the show in the first place. No, it wasn't classic Superman. It was more human and more believable.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: It was more human
No, that would be Lois & Clark.
quote:Originally posted by Christine: and more believable.
Say what? Were we watching the same show?
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka:
quote:Originally posted by Christine: It was more human
No, that would be Lois & Clark.
quote:Originally posted by Christine: and more believable.
Say what? Were we watching the same show?
I also enjoyed Lois and Clark, but on a completely different level. It was intentionally cheesy and meant to be amusing. The romance element of the show was the best of any Superman incarnation.
As far as believability goes...let's face it, Superman in any form requires a serious suspension of disbelief. I mean, come on...he gets his powers from the yellow sun? Kryptonite hurts him? His clothes remain intact? And let's not even consider the physics involved because they never did!
But in terms of characterization (which is really what I was talking to in the human and believable comment...I didn't mean for them to be taken separately), Smallville is the best they've ever done. Especially Lex.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: And let's not even consider the physics involved because they never did!
:: laugh ::
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: But in terms of characterization (which is really what I was talking to in the human and believable comment...I didn't mean for them to be taken separately), Smallville is the best they've ever done. Especially Lex.
I appreciate the clarification. I think I still disagree, though.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
My wife just finished season 7 and just can't stop watching. I watched most of 7 with her and I can still see how Smallville could have been magnificent. Some elements of it are good, but overall it just was not good for me.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
The problem that I have with Smallville is that it has strayed way too far from it's roots. It started out as a show about a teen aged Clark Kent learning about who and what he is long before he was ready to take on the mantle of Superman. It dealt with more down to earth issues, even through Clark always had super-powered enemies to deal with.
But now there's little reason for the show to not just be about "Superman". Clark's finished high school, started his career at the Daily Planet, is already close to Lois Lane, knows all about his Kryptonian origins, has worked with (the precursor to) the Justice League, and even faced Braniac and now Doomsday. The creators of the show have always emphasized that the premise is "no tights, no flights" but I think that that idea once meant more than literally just what it says. At this point it's everything but the tights and the flights, which makes their absence seem contrived. Especially the "flights". Every Kryptonian who spends 5 minutes on Earth masters flying with no effort, but for some reason Clark, who has spent his whole life on Earth, can't do it.
The bottom line is that they should either have ended the show years ago or just revamp it into a show about Superman. The Smallville years are over.
*Edited to correct several typos that resulted from my initial rushed typing.
[ January 28, 2009, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: neo-dragon ]
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
I don't entirely agree. As a matter of fact, the reason I started watching again this season is that I was wanting to see the transition from Smallville to Superman. This is the season is has to happen because all of those things are in place. They're possibly even stretching it out a bit, but maybe only by a season.
Of course, if he doesn't put on tights in the season finale of season 8, that's not good.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
And that, I think, is the biggest problem. The contrived elements holding him back to keep the show going. The no flying is a perfect example of this. That being said, clearly Clark is not Superman yet- not physically and definitely not emotionally. Ultimately, this is the fault of the writers, whose characterization is inconsistant, as it changes to suit the plot and arbitrary drama.
...And yet, there are moments, when Clark exhibits the personality and heroism that makes Superman such an enduring hero. And to see it evolve, especially when it was much more clearly about and from his father, Jonathan Kent it was thrilling.
And to see the opposite, to see Lex sink and fall into the arch-villian, some of it because of his father, and some of it because of Clark's own mistakes...well, just wow.
I think the writers this season have the end in sight, the final person Clark must become, and are working on this character arc. Ultimately, as annoying as the return of the CLana is, I think it is supposed to be Clark's finally moving passed her...trouble being that I thought he'd already done that when she left and he started to develop feelings for Lois.
But there are still moments and the story is just entertaining enough that I've stuck with it, though I will say that I was just about ready to stop watching it. Last season was the end. But this season has breathed new life into the series that I am not as critical as I was.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
I've been giving the Clana thing a bit of thought and I *think* that one reason to bring her back this season is that last season, it was her choice to leave. I think that to truly move from Lana to Lois, it has to be Clark's choice to leave Lana. At least, I hope that's what's going on. Lana has certainly shown that she has a dark side now and that, I hope, will sever things from Clark's perspective, not just hers.
I do think that Clark's characterization has been somewhat inconsistent and that all of the inconsistencies are due to them trying to stretch out his change into Superman. I'm also not clear on how they're going to hide Clark under glasses, since he's never worn them except in a couple of joke episodes.
But I can forgive some of that because I am still just loving the fledgling Superman story.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
For what it's worth, I think Lana is prettier now. Maybe she just got a better makeup artist.
When is Kal-el the retarded Kryptonian going to learn to fly?
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
quote:Originally posted by neo-dragon: Braniac
With his evil high fiber powers!
I haven't seen any of the Brainiac episodes, though I am a big James Marsters fan. Are they any good?
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ron Lambert: For what it's worth, I think Lana is prettier now. Maybe she just got a better makeup artist.
I agree. The haircut is one thing. Also... she seems to have learned more than just the two expressions she knew when the show started.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
and don't forget the lana-fu between her and Mercy
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat:
quote:Originally posted by neo-dragon: Braniac
With his evil high fiber powers!
I haven't seen any of the Brainiac episodes, though I am a big James Marsters fan. Are they any good?
So I missed a typo, sue me!
That was pretty funny though, so I think I'll actually leave it misspelled. Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ron Lambert: For what it's worth, I think Lana is prettier now. Maybe she just got a better makeup artist.
When is Kal-el the retarded Kryptonian going to learn to fly?
I still don't find her attractive, just too tiny and scrawny.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat:
quote:Originally posted by neo-dragon: Braniac
With his evil high fiber powers!
I understand that he originally had an adorably evil kiddie sidekick named muffin top, but they ended up having to write the character out of the script.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
yeah, Lana still doesn't do anything for me either, even though she's older and not a girl anymore. Lois still takes the cake.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
That's certainly true about Lois. Who needs Kryptonite when she's around?
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Lana getting a supersuit, great premise. Still they managed to make me wish I could somehow get that hour of my life back.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
So I guess I'll have to take back what I've said...maybe. Because it sure felt like we were back to the same old CLana, only this time she's his equal and thus they can be equally lame. I mean, I did like the way the story was told and I didn't actually hate Lana. But it seemed like real character regression...unless they are building to a place where she can leave and he can finally move on.
The only hopeful thing I can really say is that she won't be staying around and that's based on 2 things. She's a special guest star, not a regular. And the previews for next week indicate some kind of sacrifice to save Clark (tho will they have the stones to pull it off? Somehow I doubt it. And it seems a rather anti-climactic legacy for Lana to leave when the Legion-chick went out of her way to say that Lana had a destiny apart from Clark since, oh I don't know, dying to save Clark is Clark-related.) She will be leaving though.
But still, left a bad taste in my mouth.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
I really liked the episode. And I'm actually starting to like Lana as well.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
Super-Lana? Give me a break. It just totally deforms the whole story into an utter monstrosity.
She would not have Clark's sensitivity to Kryptonite. But she may be sensitive to bright sunlight. Just watch, that "alien DNA" they "clothed" her with will wind up turning her into an alien.
If they are determined to turn somebody on the show into a supergirl, it should be Cloe Sullivan. I like her better. And she's already had practice, after being possessed by that "Doom" AI, or whatever it was.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
***SPOILERS***
It would seem to be poignant drama, to have Lana acquire her own super powers so she can finally be with Clark--then discovers her nanite "suit" absorbs kryptonite, so in effect she turns into virtual kryptonite, making it impossible for Clark to get close to her. The one time he forced himself to kiss her, he almost died. But somehow it seems hokey. Sure, they needed some new reason why Lana has to make way for Lois in Clark's life, but turning Lana into virtual kryptonite is really reaching.
And Kal-el the retarded Kryptonian still cannot fly. He doesn't even seem to try. All he needs to do is keep trying to jump higher, until finally he stays up. But no, he's content to be the "red-blue blur."
I wonder if Green Arrow fans appreciate the way they trashed his character, having him cross the line and kill Lex Luthor.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Im sure Lex isnt dead.
But more to the point, with 2 episodes they have single handedly undone all the progress Clark made, have ignored all the other characters or regressed them, have made Lois forever second choice (for who can doubt that if Lana had not been turned into human kryptonite, Clark would have chosen her over and over and over again), all in the glorification of Lana Lang.
Everything I said about this show finally improving and moving forward? Forget it.
I'm done. Clark is a whiney brat who, when it suits the writers, will go to try to kill Lex for keeping him and Lana apart when he couldn't even kill Lionel when he thought he was responsible for his father's death. He is a tool of the writers whenever the fetishization of Lana Lang and her brand of 'girl power' strikes them.
The show really should have been called Lanaville.
I don't think I'll be watching anymore. Amazing what only 2 episodes can do. Because, in the end, they show that this is going no where, even with a 10 episode momentum in a good direction. Nothing changes, no one is as important as Lana. The retarded Kryptonian, the big dumb alien, Clark-one half of a powerfully codependent psychologically unhealthy relationship- will never be Superman, no matter what theatrics, icons, music, tights, flights, or any other lame after-the-fact rating ploy attempts at TELLING us he is Superman because he is not Superman.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Spoilers
Yeah, it was awful. I went back and forth between cringing and rolling my eyes. I kept hoping the writers would figure out that Clark had to choose to leave Lana. By doing it this way, they have made Lana the love of his life and Lois, if and when they develop that romance, will be the second choice.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
Good point, Christine--the writers needed to have Clark choose to leave Lana. Best of all would be for him to simply "outgrow" her. Now, even if Lana were to die, Lois would still be Clark's second choice. And hey, the Superman mythos is about Lois and Clark, not the childhood infatuation of Lana and Clark.
I still watch the show though, mainly for one reason: I just can't wait to see how they figure out some way people can look at Clark Kent, and Superman, with Clark wearing no more disguise than glasses and a business suit, and not recognize that they are the same person. They don't even have Clark wearing glasses yet!
Maybe they'll borrow a trick from the old radio show, The Shadow, and give him the power to cloud people's minds.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Ron, that's basically why I'm watching the show. Well, that and every so often I think they're making significant improvements (like the first part of this season) and then they disappoint me. Plus, I really like the Superman story and I liked the Smallville story for so long...at least the first 3 seasons were great, IMO.
I'm even willing to have them take liberties with the Superman story. They certainly have, and that's fine. But I was not willing to let them ruin the love between Lois and Clark. This is so disappointing.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Honestly, I loved the show. And even in the lamest periods of the show, every now and then, there'd be a glimmer of awesome.
It's just...well, last year ended fairly well (and finally Lana was leaving), but after 8 years, season finales usually have little reprecussion, aside from a casual throw-away reference. Season 6, I think, was the only one and that was because Clark was busy taking care of escaped Zoners. So as cool as the end of last season was (and I liked the retconning device of Veritas and its tying in with the Swanns, Luthors, Teagues and Queens) I was getting to the point where I was tired of getting my hopes up and them being dashed to the ground.
And yet, this season, for 10 or 12 episodes showed so much...promise. What might have been. Even the filler freak of the week eps played a role in fleshing out the main story (Like Lois and Clark being shocked by that nutjob who didn't believe in committment and we saw that she had started to care about him.) And I thought, maybe, maybe with the new EPs, we have a new direction. They know where they are going. They know why it had been failing. And they knew Lana's place in the story (and it's not the heart). I even didn't mind seeing her come back (for a guest spot). She was incidental now, a bringing of closure to that terrible relationship. And so, after 7 years, I was willing to hope, to believe that finally, we'd see some realy character and story development.
And...and yet, in 2 episodes they undid all that and showed that nothing had changed. Things would continue on as usual.
One problem is that the writers are terrified of living with their story decisions, so they use the reset button far too often. And then, when they finally do go through with it, it's been hinted at and done so many times (temporarily- like Lex or Lana finding out Clark's secret) that its rather anti-climactic when it finally does happen.
But the bigger other problem, the one that goes to the core, is that they have inflated Lana to be the center of the show and now, SHE is the one that made Clark into Superman.
There was a time, especially seasons 1-3, when it was clear that what made Clark Superman was his parents, in particular Jonathan. Those were the days, remember? And the Smallville mythos of setting up Kryptonians as being soulless or callous who sent Clark to rule (as shown by the Jor-El AI and ultimately exemplefied in Kal-El in Season 3 and 4), only showed how powerful the human influence- the compassion, the kindness, the self-sacrifice was. Clark becomes Superman because of his dad. His Dad was already Superman.
But the writers/producers continual obsession with Lana- the desire to make love-triangles, to make her into whatever she needed to be- artist, business tycoon (in High School, no less), a witch, a female Luthor- all by just telling us she was this or that way (since when could Lana draw, after all? And whatever happened to it? What business classes did she take that made her capable of running the Talon while still going to school, where's the character creation?). And then overshadowing all that, the need to make her journey as important and world-shattering as his (brought to its ultimate expression by Legion-girl a few eps ago who said she had a great destiny completely untied to Clark's). This is what undid the show and created all the Lana haters, though in all honesty, I liked the CLana all the way up to season 3. But, as Christine said, he would outgrow her. She would be his past, not pined for and lost and 'if he'd had his 'druthers', but he would have left Smallville, moved on, got over her and found new love and life.
Instead, she has been the anchor for him as a character, holding him back, dragging him backwards (the writer's fault- when they want to show Lana's saintly perfection, it is Lana who convinces Clark not to kill Lex, despite Clark's entire putative history up to that point, including not Killing Lex, the vessell of Zod, not killing Lionel tho he believed he killed Jonathan.) She has been an drag on the show, deforming all other characters (like Chloe, newly married with a husband seriously jacked by Doomsday, would stay in Metropolis in order to interact with Lana and tell Clark that Lana's not the liability he thought she was), all the other plots (where is Doomsday? What happened to Clark's finally embracing [for the billionth time] his destiny and being a savior? What happened to Lois and their budding romance? I don't care that it was too soon. I liked how it was being done and where it was going.) All in service to some character whose abilities, whose importance, whose affect has been so grossly warped and distored, all in service to...
to what? Why? Honestly, I have no idea. It has become so much of a joke that I had stopped thinking of why. I mean Kristin Kriek is attractive (and none of this is her fault- she didn't write this crap), though so are other girls- particularly Erica Durance (Lois). So what is it? Why?
The entire Superman mythos been deformed so that, at its heart: Superman and Lex are enemies, and Clark has embraced his destiny and learned how to be the hero, all because of Lana Lang (who will now be her own version of Superman).
And that is why I am disgusted.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
I gave up on the show in season 5 and so this season I had to catch back up. I went back to the beginning (ah, the good old days) and rewatched most episodes (read the plot summaries of a few inconsequential ones) and I realized that if you took LANA out of the story, it's good! In fact, part of the reason I decided to go ahead and watch season 8 was that she wasn't supposed to be in it. Granted, it's hard to separate Lana from the show for all the reasons IanO pointed out -- she became central to it -- but if you try really hard...
Lana should have left the show after season 3. I even thought she would, since she left town for France. When they did that I thought it was perfect. Then the teasers for the premiere of season 4 had an amusing encounter with Lois which I also thought would be nice, though I thought Lois should not have become a regular guest at that point. He needed to meet Lois when he was ready for her. They have now tried to balance Lois and Lana together for 5 years!
I had a few other glimmers of hope that they would do the right thing. When Lana and Lex got together I thought that was a great way to drive the last wedge between Lex and Clark (an aspect of the show that I still enjoy...Lex can't be dead yet). Then Lana got all Luthory and I thought that would be a great way to drive her and Clark apart.
And here again in season 8 I thought they were brining her back for one last chance to show Clark what she'd become -- a power hungry Luthorette with serious hero envy. I thought that would drive him away.
So many missed opportunities!
Posted by Jeorge (Member # 11524) on :
I made a friend (who is a Twilight fan) semi-mad by referring to the Twilight couple (Edward and whats-her-name) as "Clark and Lana".
Do you suppose we get stories like this because people WANT to be entertained by unhealthy, obsessive relationships? Or maybe because that's the sort of relationship that the writers know?
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
quote:none of this is [Kristin Kruek's] fault- she didn't write this crap
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