Yes, I know Smallville has plenty of things to pick apart, yet I still enjoy watching it. I am willing to look past most of those things, but the one thing that is starting to tick me off is the whole Lana/Clark dance around his secret.
I just watched last week's episode, and I'm starting to feel abused and manipulated by the writers of Smallville. Every other episode it seems, during the last 6 years, has included this same scene, just different dialogue inserted:
quote:Lana: Tell me your secret Clark.
Clark: What secret?
Lana: Don't lie to me Clark.
Clark: I just don't think you and I will work out.
Lana: Don't you trust me?
Clark: .....
Lana: (rolls eyes)
Clark: I would never do anything to hurt you.
Lana: Then stop keeping secrets from me.
Clark: I really hope you are happy.
Lana: I want to be happy with you, but you won't let me in.
Clark: Wanna' look in my telescope?
How many times do they think we can watch that same sequence before suffering from PTSD or some attachment disorder? Either have Clark tell her (and let it last for more than one episode) or just stop it.
posted
I liked the twist this time though. Lana KNOWS that Chloe knows, and that must drive her nuts.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Everyone except Lana and Lois already knows that he's superpowered. So Clark should just tell his secret and admit that he's gay. That way at least Lex won't be ticked off at him for stringing Lana along.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Boy, if Superman had enough baked beans the midwest would end up being a giant, smoldering crater.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: The sad thing is that Dan's amusing post is far more entertaining than all of Smallville after about the middle of season 2.
I don't understand why so many people keep watching that giant, smoldering crater.
Well, since it is emotional abuse, it's for the same reason that abusees can never seem to break away from their abusers.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I watch it with some resignation. I don't expect great things anymore. Dropped characters and plot points, awesome cliffhangers-season premiers whose potential for teh awesome is lost by episode 3 of the new season. I want to see where it is going, though. Just for a sense of closure I suppose. And because it is just entertaining enough. But I don't get excited about it anymore.
And occasionally- occasionally- they surprise me with true awesomeness. Then, 3 episodes after that, it is back to the status quo.
Oh well. There are worse vices.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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I've enjoyed the season so far. I like the Green Arrow, Chloe is still fun, I can't get enough of Lois, and Lionel I think is more interesting then ever. Now if they would just get rid of Clark, Lana, and Lex we might end up with a really good show.
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Lana is the worst character every written. Inconsistant, the virgin-whore, the dream of every male- of this planet and not, the most perfect, self-centered, being in the show. Instead of Superman and Lex being enemies because they stand for polar opposites, at their core, the catalyst for the hatred and enmity, stands the Mother of God, Lana Lang.
I despise her and her presence in the show.
For this Jonathan died?
And Martha/Lionel? Wrong on so many levels. I keep thinking, is everyone stupid? Seriously. The man who killed his parents, tried to kill Chloe (and Lex saved, no thanks to him from anyone- the billionaire whipping boy), has had other people murdered, put hundreds of people out of work (like Chloe's blacklisted father) or cheated them- he's sitting at a table eating with the Kents? And this not even a year after his arch-enemy Jonathan died?
Wrong on so many levels.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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LANA: Clark, I know you have secrets, and I hate it so much I get stomach cramps, but I still want to be friends even though the sexual tension between us is thick enough to hold a spoon. Say, how'd you get here so fast, anyway?
Clark glances away and down, which is how even people watching from neighboring states know he's About to Lie.
CLARK: Gee, Lana, you must have had one of your many blackouts while I was walking over here in a totally normal fashion. Let's just stand here and stare at each other helplessly while the WB plays a reasonably priced pop single, OK?
quote:And Martha/Lionel? Wrong on so many levels. I keep thinking, is everyone stupid? Seriously. The man who killed his parents, tried to kill Chloe (and Lex saved, no thanks to him from anyone- the billionaire whipping boy), has had other people murdered, put hundreds of people out of work (like Chloe's blacklisted father) or cheated them- he's sitting at a table eating with the Kents? And this not even a year after his arch-enemy Jonathan died?
See, I could somewhat understand if this started happening after Lionel revealed his knowledge of things Kryptonian...sort of. A bit of friendship by necessity sort of thing.
But it was going on even before that...and anyways, even after that, don't you think Chloe might at some point say, "Hey, Clark and Mrs. Kent, you do know Lionel murdered his parents with the help of a crime boss, correct? That it was the foundation of his empire?"
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Stephan: I've enjoyed the season so far. I like the Green Arrow, Chloe is still fun, I can't get enough of Lois, and Lionel I think is more interesting then ever. Now if they would just get rid of Clark, Lana, and Lex we might end up with a really good show.
I think Ollie is great. What they need to do is spin off tonight's ep into a real Junior Justice League (or Teen Titans) show. Part of the problem with Smallville is that Clark is boring. He whines, and he disrespects his friends, and he's basically a major pain in the rear. Having a cast of heroes would allow them to move from one to the other without overfocusing on any of them. The success of Heroes might get them to actually do this. Reactions to tonight's ep would help as well. They need more than the one superheroine, though. Acrata was in one ep, and disappeared, and she's a reasonable Batman substitute in many ways. Maybe they could keep Chloe as the "Sue Dibny" non-powered coordinator.
I've been saying for a long time that they should kill off every single character on the show except for Chloe, Lex and Lionel, and give Chloe Clark's powers. Let the only three people who can act their way out of a paperbag act.
But a Teen Titans spinoff... that might be better yet.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I like the show.....When it actually has a story.
Im sick of Lana, and Im sick of a "Meteor Freak" being the villain in every single episode.
Clark does not see Chloe for who she is. She loves Clark unconditionally and is the one person that would never cause him any harm or tell anyone his secret.
But he keeps worrying about that slumbitch Lana. (Credit for the word slumbitch to Uncle O of course Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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I only saw one show, and since I didn't get to see Clark's dad fire dynamite-tipped arrows at him, I was seriously disappointed.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Olivet: I have no idea who Jonathan is (was), and that makes me happy.
I cut and ran by season three. Or four. I forget. I feel so well-adjusted and un-abused! Go me!
I would say I was even less-abused than you (I barely manged to watch most of season 2, and have only watched the occasional episode since), but since I do know who Jonathan is, clearly I bear deeper wounds than you.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: Clark does not see Chloe for who she is. She loves Clark unconditionally and is the one person that would never cause him any harm or tell anyone his secret.
AMEN.
I mean, what does Clark NOT see in her?
Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Originally posted by IanO: Jonathan, of Jonathan and Martha Kent, as per the Superman mythos.
Natch.
quote:Originally posted by Marlozhan:
quote:Originally posted by Geraine: Clark does not see Chloe for who she is. She loves Clark unconditionally and is the one person that would never cause him any harm or tell anyone his secret.
posted
I gotta wonder what that's all about. It can't be coincidence.
I never saw seasons 1 and 2, but now that my kids got seasons 3,4 and 5 for Christmas, I'm living in Smallville Hell.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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The same thing got to me with Smallville as did with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures, and many DC comics. What's the deal with all the secrecy? After a point it just becomes incredibly stupid. And personally I like Lana. I think Lana and Clark make the prettiest couple ever. Lana has absolutely earned Clark's trust. And now they're spreading the elaborate lies in to Oliver and Lois' relationship. How hard would it be to just say, "Yes, I am Green Arrow"?
I much prefer the Buffy approach where they say screw secrecy. Well, after the second season anyways.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I'm about to pee myself laughing at Dan's post. The thing is, I've never seen an actual entire start-to-finish episode of Smallville. Well, maybe one. But generally I come in half an hour in or am flipping through and pause on it for ten minutes or something. And yet, no matter when I tune in, I always come in on the, "Clark, if you loved me you would tell me your secret!" "What secret? I love you and I am completely honest with you!" conversation!
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:What's the deal with all the secrecy? After a point it just becomes incredibly stupid.
I actually liked the way that L&C dealt with that. Mostly. Including the alternate universe episodes.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I agree that all Tempus episodes were awesome. And L&C eventually did let Lois find out, which made the show more fun in my mind. Then of course came the continual postponement of the wedding, the crazy frog eating Lois clone, and Lois' memory loss induced singing life. And then the show got cancelled. Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I really can't understand what all the complaining is about. It's a TV show for gosh sakes. If you don't enjoy it, don't watch it. Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Amanecer: I agree that all Tempus episodes were awesome. And L&C eventually did let Lois find out, which made the show more fun in my mind. Then of course came the continual postponement of the wedding, the crazy frog eating Lois clone, and Lois' memory loss induced singing life. And then the show got cancelled.
*laugh* You left out the entire fourth season -- my favorite season. (Of the ones that actually aired, anyway. Seasons 5 and 6 were even better.)
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Is tomorrow episode really going to show the whole group of them ganging up against Lex's new army or you think it'll just be another episode that leads up to this great war or whatever?
Posts: 871 | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote: But a Teen Titans spinoff... that might be better yet.
No way. Live-action shows where the heroes are in tights just don't work. It just seems too goofy.
They don't have to be in tights, at least not all of the time. Focus on the people, rather than the powers. That could have been the best part of Smallville, had they had a main character who wasn't so lame.
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Before they added Lois to the show, someone wrote a great little fanfic where Chloe went to college, dyed her hair black and grew it longer, and legally changed her name. Then she moved to Metropolis.
One of the only Smallville fanfics I've ever liked.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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"I really can't understand what all the complaining is about. It's a TV show for gosh sakes. If you don't enjoy it, don't watch it."
Because of the wasted opportunity. Even as poorly plotted and absurdly acted as this is, it still has some compelling aspects that make you long to go back to the first season and just start slapping everybody. The actors playing Lex and Lionel are two of the finest on television today, packing hundreds of layers into everything they say or do. It's a joy to watch them work.
What this should have been, what I was hoping it would be, was a look at how a super-powered farm boy becomes Superman. How did he develop his powers? How did he find his place in the world? How did he approach his responsibilities? Instead we got the O.C. with special effects. I could have forgiven the careless destruction of the Superman story -- this Clark Kent can't possibly grow up to be the Superman we know, for any number of reasons -- but they took an epic American myth and made it into a substandard soap opera.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Speaking of college, did they all drop out? Lois and Chloe journalists without any degree? Lana just mooching off of Lex?
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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one of the many eternal questions. Along with how many trips poor college students (excepting the LAna of this season) can make between Smallville and Metropolis.
Chris has it right. There was so much potential and greatness. It still has its moments. And it can be fun. The expectation is gone. Like X-Files when you realized that the mytharch storyline was not tight or crafted well, whos buildup and execution was poor, where plot points and potentially great ideas and characters and theories ('O, I see where this is going! This is going to an episode in the 3rd season...'). It's all gone.
But just fun enough. And complaining about it is fun too.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: "I really can't understand what all the complaining is about. It's a TV show for gosh sakes. If you don't enjoy it, don't watch it."
Because of the wasted opportunity. Even as poorly plotted and absurdly acted as this is, it still has some compelling aspects that make you long to go back to the first season and just start slapping everybody. The actors playing Lex and Lionel are two of the finest on television today, packing hundreds of layers into everything they say or do. It's a joy to watch them work.
What this should have been, what I was hoping it would be, was a look at how a super-powered farm boy becomes Superman. How did he develop his powers? How did he find his place in the world? How did he approach his responsibilities? Instead we got the O.C. with special effects. I could have forgiven the careless destruction of the Superman story -- this Clark Kent can't possibly grow up to be the Superman we know, for any number of reasons -- but they took an epic American myth and made it into a substandard soap opera.
Precisely!
Also precisely why it is far too painful for me to actually watch the current travesty.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: "I really can't understand what all the complaining is about. It's a TV show for gosh sakes. If you don't enjoy it, don't watch it."
Because of the wasted opportunity. Even as poorly plotted and absurdly acted as this is, it still has some compelling aspects that make you long to go back to the first season and just start slapping everybody. The actors playing Lex and Lionel are two of the finest on television today, packing hundreds of layers into everything they say or do. It's a joy to watch them work.
What this should have been, what I was hoping it would be, was a look at how a super-powered farm boy becomes Superman. How did he develop his powers? How did he find his place in the world? How did he approach his responsibilities? Instead we got the O.C. with special effects. I could have forgiven the careless destruction of the Superman story -- this Clark Kent can't possibly grow up to be the Superman we know, for any number of reasons -- but they took an epic American myth and made it into a substandard soap opera.
Precisely!
Also precisely why it is far too painful for me to actually watch the current travesty.
My wife cites the fact that I made her watch Lost, Firefly, and Heroes as reason enough for me to start watching Smallville from season 1 to the present with her. She owns seasons 1-5 and I just can't help but be annoyed with everything I've read about it and the few episodes I HAVE seen, I really don't like that the writers seem to have a goal of bringing us super man, with all his powers, and yet he has one of the shakiest moral frameworks I have ever seen.
I honestly respect some of the actors they have in the series, like the guy who plays Lex. But all the different colored kryptonite, the stupid drama fests with Clark and all the girls in the series, and the fact that I just can't look up to Clark just make me see the show as something that had great potential but has already blown it. I'd rather not commit to the series at all.
BTW Heroes is back on come this monday I am excited! Also I read an article at movies.ign.com that said the writers of Lost are going to wrap everything up soon, I really hope they do, I am just annoyed with that show right now, as much as I have loved it in the past.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Thats it. Cancel Smallville, and bring back Roswell with Lex and Chloe as new characters. Kristin Kreuk and Shiri Appleby are basically the same person anyways.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Stephan: Thats it. Cancel Smallville, and bring back Roswell with Lex and Chloe as new characters. Kristin Kreuk and Shiri Appleby are basically the same person anyways.
Geez, I was in Japan for Christmas and was so bored. My youngest sister walked in and wanted to watch the entire first season on Roswell I protested at first and then decided to not bully her in her own house. I sat there for hours watching that entire show, and by the end of it, I concluded that humanity was doomed.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I liked Roswell okay. At least it didn't pretend to be Superman while, as BB says, making Clark so morally ambiguous (not to mention whiney and quite often annoying as heck.)
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