AP RedSmallville looks interesting again
September 25th 2008 20:57
Smallville is probably the first teen/young adult drama type of show that I got into. I'm pretty sure the familiar superhero mythology helped and the sci-fi feel helped. But Buffy was out there also and Roswell too, so it's not like the teen paranormal genre was limited to just Smallville. Dawson's Creek was busy trying to be a younger, smarter 90210 to be entertaining and Felicity was Felicity and I wasn't a 15-25 year old girl. Smallville was just old enough to be relatable to this college kid and had enough action in the background to keep me interested.
It also had an X-Files type of feel at the beginning, replacing the serial monster of the week with a freak of the week. It was nice to know that I could be entertained week to week even if I missed a show in between. Missing one episode wasn't that critical to your enjoyment of the show.
The show grew up as I grew up. By the time I was finishing up college, Clark Kent and company were finishing up high school. And around this time was when the show was less fun.
In the first 3-4 seasons, it didn't seem like there was anything being forced onto the viewer. You had a lot of fun stories with a sprinkling of character development and the gradual yet unobtrusive overall arc of Clark Kent embracing his destiny. There were subtle hints and interesting character interactions that made you laugh or smile or made you go "hmmm".
Then something changed. The wait for Clark and Lana to finally become a couple ended. Smallville started having cameos that seemed to push an agenda. An Aquaman pilot seemed to be pushed as an episode, ditto to Cyborg. Green Arrow's introduction was pushing the overall story forward so I didn't really have a problem with what also seemed like a character they wanted to spin-off into his own series. But most of all, it seemed like almost every episode was related to the overall Kryptonian mythios/which Luthor is evil arcs which dominated the last couple of years. It didn't feel like it was building to something interesting, but felt more like driving along that Alaskan bridge to nowhere.
The first episode of the new season aired last week and I am actually curious to see what will happen next. Michael Rosenbaum was awesome as Lex Luthor, both as the ambiguously motivated Lex and the kind of evil but with a semi-valid reason to be evil Lex. But I think the character leaving brings some life to the show. We get a new arch-villain (villainess no less) and what seems like a Lois & Clark type of dynamic coming up. In place of the freak of the week, it seems like we might get a DC character of the week. If the stories are interesting I'm all for it (Bart Allen's Impulse eps were cool and I actually like Smallville's version of Green Arrow). And I don't think the search for Lex will be consuming most of the plot lines for the season.
This is one of the few network shows I've stuck with for awhile and I hope they found the formula to keep me as entertained as the first few seasons. I'll be more faithfully tuned in at 8pm on Thursdays for the foreseeable future.
It also had an X-Files type of feel at the beginning, replacing the serial monster of the week with a freak of the week. It was nice to know that I could be entertained week to week even if I missed a show in between. Missing one episode wasn't that critical to your enjoyment of the show.
The show grew up as I grew up. By the time I was finishing up college, Clark Kent and company were finishing up high school. And around this time was when the show was less fun.
In the first 3-4 seasons, it didn't seem like there was anything being forced onto the viewer. You had a lot of fun stories with a sprinkling of character development and the gradual yet unobtrusive overall arc of Clark Kent embracing his destiny. There were subtle hints and interesting character interactions that made you laugh or smile or made you go "hmmm".
Then something changed. The wait for Clark and Lana to finally become a couple ended. Smallville started having cameos that seemed to push an agenda. An Aquaman pilot seemed to be pushed as an episode, ditto to Cyborg. Green Arrow's introduction was pushing the overall story forward so I didn't really have a problem with what also seemed like a character they wanted to spin-off into his own series. But most of all, it seemed like almost every episode was related to the overall Kryptonian mythios/which Luthor is evil arcs which dominated the last couple of years. It didn't feel like it was building to something interesting, but felt more like driving along that Alaskan bridge to nowhere.
The first episode of the new season aired last week and I am actually curious to see what will happen next. Michael Rosenbaum was awesome as Lex Luthor, both as the ambiguously motivated Lex and the kind of evil but with a semi-valid reason to be evil Lex. But I think the character leaving brings some life to the show. We get a new arch-villain (villainess no less) and what seems like a Lois & Clark type of dynamic coming up. In place of the freak of the week, it seems like we might get a DC character of the week. If the stories are interesting I'm all for it (Bart Allen's Impulse eps were cool and I actually like Smallville's version of Green Arrow). And I don't think the search for Lex will be consuming most of the plot lines for the season.
This is one of the few network shows I've stuck with for awhile and I hope they found the formula to keep me as entertained as the first few seasons. I'll be more faithfully tuned in at 8pm on Thursdays for the foreseeable future.
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