Smallville

[Krutch]

A Smallville thread? But it's been over for years now!

Yeah, well... sometimes... I just miss this show, okay?

I love how amazingly cheese-but-good-hearted the earlier seasons were all the way up to the sudden shift of "oh crap comic books are cool again but we designed our show to be anti-comic books so... let's just try everything!" in the later seasons.

Anyone else miss this show?

(Haters, feel free to join in. All is welcome.
I know the show got hilariously bad at times.
But I just found that all part of the charm:))

[Spike Spiegel]

I think it should have ended after season 4 or so.

After that, I watched it rather sporadically.

The finale was cool, though.

[Hero]

Smallville paved the way for these other DC shows on right now.

I miss this show too, but it got a generous 10 year run and escaped cancellation many times.

I think there is another main Smallville thread from years ago here somewhere.

Season 10 thread is here (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=30098&highlight=Smallville)
Season 11 comic book thread is here (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=36476&highlight=Smallville)

[Slade]

I think it should have ended after season 4 or so.

After that, I watched it rather sporadically.

The finale was cool, though.

Ehh, go for 5. I love Lexmas. Don't really know why, just my favorite episode.

I love Smallville. Good all the way through the damn terrible.

I rewatch the entire series once a year. I think I hit twice one year.

And I still say Tom wasn't wearing an actual Superman shirt, but it was CGI. :lol:

[ZariusTwo]

Loved Smallville. It's sort of become the butt of jokes now in light of better DC shows, but I loved that it did'nt settle for being just a Superman show, and embraced all corners of the DC mythology, giving equal screen time to Green Arrow. Without Smallville going there with Oliver, I doubt we'd have gotten Arrow at all.

Also it had the Legion AND the League and Justice Society. Plus Booster freaking Gold.

And probably the best Lois and Clark chemistry I've ever seen. And my favourite kind of love story...two buddies who realize they're made for each other.:)

[Candy Kappa]

I watched up to season 3, I think. Kinda lost steam from there, but I did watch some episodes here and there.

The season 9(?) special with Doctor Fate and the Justice Society stuff was pretty nifty of what I remember.

[Krutch]

Ehh, go for 5. I love Lexmas. Don't really know why, just my favorite episode.
And I still say Tom wasn't wearing an actual Superman shirt, but it was CGI. :lol:
Lexmas is an awesome episode. Sure, I'm a sucker for Christmas episodes, but I loved the way they shot that episode. "Lexmas" is on my Christmas playlist of 8 or 9 different X-Mas themed episodes I watch every year. Yay for traditions :)
Smallville paved the way for these other DC shows on right now.[/URL]It's hard to argue that, yeah. Even the same formula of storytelling is lifted from Smallville for the most part(which I guess was lifted from Buffy) but Smallville kept Superman conscious in the public eye for a decade. Despite the hatred the show gets, it's hard to deny its impact.
And probably the best Lois and Clark chemistry I've ever seen. And my favourite kind of love story...two buddies who realize they're made for each other.:)I think Erica pulls the weight but they're undeniably fun to watch. I'll always be a Dean and Terri style Lois and Clark kinda guy, myself.

Funny you mention your favourite kind of love story, since I always enjoyed the Clark/Chloe relationship dynamic. A part of me was annoyed they never pulled the trigger on their relationship, but in retrospect I really like how they never dated. It kind of comes off like a Scully and Mulder kind of bond, and there's just not enough of that on TV. Sometimes people who have the strongest of affinity for each other, even sexually, aren't destined to be together. But they can still carve out one hell of a friendship.

[ZariusTwo]

Yeah, Chole made a better Lana than the genuine thing.

[TurtleTitan97]

Without Smallville going there with Oliver, I doubt we'd have gotten Arrow at all.


At this point, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I kinda blame this show for setting the trend over at the CW that Green Arrow and Black Canary can't be together.

As for Smallville itself, never really had interest in watching it. From what I've read about and seen from clips, it doesn't look like something I'd enjoyed, based on how they interpret the characters (Looking at you, Doomsday).

Plus I've never been too big on the idea of superhero prequels before, and probably never will.

[ZariusTwo]

Plus I've never been too big on the idea of superhero prequels before, and probably never will.

It is somewhat of an oddity, in that by the time it ended it was largely only really a prequel in the sense that he doesn't put the costume on, but he's dealt with everything that he would have dealt with if he had.:lol:

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

At this point, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I kinda blame this show for setting the trend over at the CW that Green Arrow and Black Canary can't be together.

As for Smallville itself, never really had interest in watching it. From what I've read about and seen from clips, it doesn't look like something I'd enjoyed, based on how they interpret the characters (Looking at you, Doomsday).

Plus I've never been too big on the idea of superhero prequels before, and probably never will.

Rage, rage against superhero prequels. I am right there with you.

I blame Smallville for Gotham, which I had to give up after somehow making it through the first twelve episodes.

[Krutch]

Rage, rage against superhero prequels. I am right there with you.

Remember "The Graysons"? :lol: That's still a running joke with my friends and I. Just imagining the kind of foreshadowing dialogue is amazing.

The parents always saying things like...

"Y'know, son, we won't be around to look after you forever."
"You have to get a job, Dick. You think a billionaire is just going to show up and take you away?"

And Dick saying things like...

"My parents are the worst! I wish you were both dead!"
"I used to birdwatch a lot as a kid. Robins are my favourite."

It actually could have been hilarious. Wish they'd at least shot the pilot. Or leaked the script.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Remember "The Graysons"? :lol: That's still a running joke with my friends and I. Just imagining the kind of foreshadowing dialogue is amazing.

The parents always saying things like...

"Y'know, son, we won't be around to look after you forever."
"You have to get a job, Dick. You think a billionaire is just going to show up and take you away?"

And Dick saying things like...

"My parents are the worst! I wish you were both dead!"
"I used to birdwatch a lot as a kid. Robins are my favourite."

It actually could have been hilarious. Wish they'd at least shot the pilot. Or leaked the script.

Y'know what's REALLY sad?

The best live-action Robin we've ever seen was an empty suit after he was killed. :tgrumble:

[Slade]

I wasn't a big fan of Smallville, but I watched bits of it from season 4 onwards. I got tired of the show and stopped watching it after a few seasons until the last season was announced. I watched bits of season ten and the finale (iit was fun to watch, but there was nothing great about it).

I don't remember much about the show, but I have no interest in rewatching the series. I think it went on for too long and should've ended after season four. The later seasons were like a completely different show.

I'm going off memory, but I'm pretty sure they changed show runners after 4.

[Krutch]

Season 6 they changed networks, but kept the same show runners.
Season 8 was new show runners.

I kinda blame this show for setting the trend over at the CW that Green Arrow and Black Canary can't be together.That's Arrow's fault and their fault alone. Smallville did it once, its an oddity. Arrow chose to follow suit. That's on them.
As for Smallville itself, never really had interest in watching it. From what I've read about and seen from clips, it doesn't look like something I'd enjoyed, based on how they interpret the characters (Looking at you, Doomsday).Trust me, I know where you're coming from, but David Bloom was one of the best unique additions to the Smallville lore. The resolution of his arc was handled awfully, but his inclusion was great. A lot of that has to be credited to Sam Witwer, though. The dude has chops.

[ZariusTwo]

What happened with season four is Gough and Miller stopped writing episodes, but were still in charge creatively until season seven, where they departed as showrunners

[Slade]

Ehh I was close.


I have to say, one thing I could not stand about the show was when they would take Clark's powers away and say something about his human side. It always seemed to me like they tried to come across as if he was a half human and that annoyed the hell out of me.

[ABrown]

Was Smallville perfect? Absolutely not. But I've always felt like it nailed every character, especially Clark and Lex. With the new Superman movies, I just don't feel that they've quite gotten Superman right.

[Jephael]

There's a lot to be said about this show. Overall, I enjoyed it but at the same time I kinda wish we had actually gotten to see Clark Kent don the iconic suit (at the very least in season 10). I used to have a major crush on a friend who looks a lot like Lana, though now when I go back and watch the series I can't help but chuckle at how ridiculously obsessed everybody got over her.

[Krutch]

There's a lot to be said about this show. Overall, I enjoyed it but at the same time I kinda wish we had actually gotten to see Clark Kent don the iconic suit (at the very least in season 10). I used to have a major crush on a friend who looks a lot like Lana, though now when I go back and watch the series I can't help but chuckle at how ridiculously obsessed everybody got over her.Yeah, but... wouldn't you be? :lol:

So I've been living in an apartment for over a year now and there's still some boxes I have in the closet I hadn't unpacked. Opened it last night and lo and behold... A small box of 9 Smallville Novels that I bought on Ebay and completely forgot about. Kind of awesome. I started reading one last night before I passed out and it was adorably show-accurate.

Taking place in Season 1, Clark offers to help Lana with a school play she's working on and gets suckered into playing the lead, Cyrano. Meanwhile, the queen-bee lead actress discovers she can turn invisible with kryptonite lipstick and begins to target her former friends. Once she takes an interest in Clark, she sets her sights on Lana to eliminate her competition.

So far it's got all the hallmarks of what made Smallville so charming(and eventually, cliche). I can't wait to read all these.

It'll be like watching a whole new season :)

[Slade]

An early season at that. I wouldn't mind trying to hunt one of those down myself. I tried to get into the Season 11 comic. I have the first volume, but never finished reading it.

[shuriken]

I remember seeing the first few seasons and enjoying it quite a bit. Lost track of a lot of stuff after season 5. Braniac was neat. I really this type of Lex Luthor. Much more than Eisen-Luthor. Also think Tom Welling is a better Superman than Routh or Cavill... without actually being Superman. huh wierd

[JetsAndHeels]

As a Superman fan I watched this show during it's entire run..ten years of my life given to the show so I have an attachment to it. I loved the earlier seasons, mainly 1-4, but there were some good parts to the later seasons. I think the "Justice" episode in season 5 was good. I must say my biggest pet peeve was the constant pining and moping around over Lana. The finale also left a lot to be desired in my opinion..seeing Rosenbaum return as Lex was the best part for me, but other than that it felt rushed, especially the end with the minute or so of him in the cgi suit.

[TurtleTitan97]

That's Arrow's fault and their fault alone. Smallville did it once, its an oddity. Arrow chose to follow suit. That's on them.


You mean you don't find it the least bit coincidental that instead of going with the actual canon, they both do the exact opposite?

And why should Smallville get a pass on that?? It's just as guilty as Arrow.



Trust me, I know where you're coming from, but David Bloom was one of the best unique additions to the Smallville lore. The resolution of his arc was handled awfully, but his inclusion was great. A lot of that has to be credited to Sam Witwer, though. The dude has chops.


Meh. Whether he had the chops or not, it still feels like they butchered Doomsday, as well as other characters IMO.

[Krutch]

You mean you don't find it the least bit coincidental that instead of going with the actual canon, they both do the exact opposite? And why should Smallville get a pass on that?? It's just as guilty as Arrow.Smallville gets a pass because it's primarily not a Green Arrow story, its a Superman story. If anything, keeping Oliver on the main cast for as long as they did gave Green Arrow a lot more recognition to the general public than he ever had up to that point. What Arrow did is essentially the same as if Smallville had killed off Lois and Clark ended up with Chloe. One is far more guilty than the other. And honestly, I doubt the producers even looked at Smallville for guidance. They looked to Tumblr and only Tumblr :roll:

Meh. Whether he had the chops or not, it still feels like they butchered Doomsday, as well as other characters IMO.Yeah, I know what you mean. I get ya; it's a far cry from the comic. But I actually really like the story of finding out your just a walking, thinking camouflage for a monster thats beginning to wake up. Seriously, think about that. Everyone you loved, everything you've ever thought, you find out its all just a defence mechanism and you'll soon cease to exist, because you were never real in the first place. And all that will remain is a rampaging killing machine. Pretty scary sh*t if you ask me.

I must say my biggest pet peeve was the constant pining and moping around over Lana.Whaaaaat? You mean you didn't like the 7 years "will they/won't they" even though you know they're destined not to? :D

I tried to get into the Season 11 comic. I have the first volume, but never finished reading it.Apparently its a very good Superman comic, but feels very light on what made Smallville, Smallville. And I get that that's kind of the point, but still... Plus it was around this time that Arrow came out and had them pull Green Arrow from the book. I'll read it eventually, but for now, these novels are wonderful. For instance, I just learned that Clark is a massive Bob Marley fan. Who knew, right?!

[JetsAndHeels]

Whaaaaat? You mean you didn't like the 7 years "will they/won't they" even though you know they're destined not to?

It got a bit aggravating, to be honest. :)

This thread got me to thinking about the cameos/guest stars that we had in Smallville. Off the top of my head I can remember:

-Christopher Reeve
-Margot Kidder
-Marc McClure
-Dean Cain
-Teri Hatcher
-Helen Slater
-Carrie Fisher
-Tori Spelling
-Tom Wopat
-Charisma Carpenter
-Jane Seymour
-Amy Adams
-Lynda Carter
-Brian Austin Green
-James Marsters
-Jensen Ackles
-Pam Grier
-Michael McKean
-Michael Ironside

[Krutch]

Charisma Carpenter was on Smallville?

[JetsAndHeels]

Charisma Carpenter was on Smallville?

You know what, I was thinking about Supernatural. She was in an episode with James Marsters, who was on Smallville. My bad.

[Krutch]

Haha yeah I thought thats what you might have been thinking.

[JetsAndHeels]

Haha yeah I thought thats what you might have been thinking.

Thanks for understanding. :)

[Slade]

I need to contribute to this thread a little better, I'll read through better later. But...


Bob Marley huh? :lol:

[Krutch]

Yeah man! In the book, an invisible girl infatuated with Clark snoops around his room to find out what his interests are. He has a Bob Marley CD collection and in his CD Player was Bob Marley's Greatest Hits. The next day she sits near Clark at the Smallville Beanery(I guess this was pre-Talon) and sings "One Love" to catch his attention. He totally marks out over it :lol: Great stuff.

[Jephael]

In the book, an invisible girl infatuated with Clark snoops around his room to find out what his interests are. He has a Bob Marley CD collection and in his CD Player was Bob Marley's Greatest Hits. The next day she sits near Clark at the Smallville Beanery(I guess this was pre-Talon) and sings "One Love" to catch his attention. He totally marks out over it :lol: Great stuff.

Kinda sounds like that episode from season 1 where Lex's maid's daughter had a crush on him and her brother used some invisibility cream to mess with him.

[Krutch]

Kinda sounds like that episode from season 1 where Lex's maid's daughter had a crush on him and her brother used some invisibility cream to mess with him.According to Smallville Issue 10, "See No Evil" (the novel I'm reading) was eventually turned into Shimmer, the episode you're referring to. Nice catch.

I don't see why they didn't shoot this one, though. Shimmer is a pretty forgettable episode while See No Evil has a bunch of nice moments like Clark performing in a stage play and Lex teaching Clark how to fence. Plus the whole book is indicative of this is where Clark learns how to put on an act. Kind of strange how it morphed into a pretty generic Lex stalker episode.

[Krutch]

So... I wasn't sure whether to post this question in the Arrow thread or this one, but since its mostly a Smallville question, I'll ask here.

After watching Arrow dissolve into a Felicity Ass Kissing showcase, I'm hearing a lot of similar complaints that Smallville had in regards to Lana Lang.

Back in the day over at the ole Kryptonsite Forums, I remember reading post after post about how Lana has consumed the show and the show has become Lana centric, with Clark becoming an afterthought. I never really thought so, though. But here's the thing: I've always liked Lana Lang. I don't like Felicity Smoak. So, was I just blind to it the whole time? Yeah, the back and forth Clark Lana relationship went on for wayyy too long but I never felt like Lana was the main character as Felicity comes off as on Arrow.

So, I guess my question is, was Smallville just as guilty to pandering to it's shipper audience as Arrow is, or has Arrow gone beyond reason?

[Turo602]

Damn, I miss this show. I rewatched it a little over a year ago and it actually held up a lot better than I thought it would after having seen Arrow and Flash. Welling was an amazing young Clark Kent and Erica Durance was perfect as Lois (not to mention extremely hot). Lionel was a great character and Michael Rosenbaum is by far the best live action Lex Luthor.

The show could have been a little cheesy at times and yeah, Lana was an awful and annoying character but the show actually had lots of great stories and plenty of stand out episodes like Rosetta, Memoria, Reckoning, Legion, Pandora, and Homecoming, just to name a few. As much as I enjoyed the early stuff, I never understood what was so bad about the later stuff. I actually really liked how the show started exploring more familiar Superman material. Sure, it was very unfaithful to the source material but it's a damn TV show. It's either that or more made up crap like season 4.

[Krutch]

Welling was an amazing young Clark Kent and Eric Durance was perfect as Lois (not to mention extremely hot). Lionel was a great character and Michael Rosenbaum is by far the best live action Lex Luthor.
Welling is one of those actors that I think plays this version of the character perfectly. I'm not sure if I could see him actually pull off Superman though. Guess we'll never know :cry:

Erica was amazing. It's funny how the fanbase were so crazy against her at first since a) they didn't want Lois in Smallville at all in the first place and b) the popular fan theory was that Chloe would turn out being Lois Lane all along.

The Luthors were the best part of Smallville. (Well, maybe not Lutessa or the clone of Julian, but, y'know :P)

The show could have been a little cheesy at times and yeah, Lana was an awful and annoying character but the show actually had lots of great stories and plenty of stand out episodes like Rosetta, Memoria, Reckoning, Legion, Pandora, and Homecoming, just to name a few.
I already posted my defence of Lana in another thread but I also completely understand everyones annoyance with her.

Nice list of episodes! Memoria and Homecoming are tied as my favourites, though maybe Homecoming gets the win if only because since Lex's mind-wipe makes the bulk of Memoria's storytelling completely pointless.

As much as I enjoyed the early stuff, I never understood what was so bad about the later stuff. I actually really liked how the show started exploring more familiar Superman material. Sure, it was very unfaithful to source material but it's a damn TV show.I don't think people thought the later stuff was bad, but it was a pretty drastic change of tone for the series. They seemed to be very shy about embracing the more "out there" concepts from the comics in the earlier seasons to suddenly outright embracing them.

For example, in Season 4, Mxyzptlk went from looking like this...
http://s33.postimg.org/3toi0097z/Screen_Shot_2016_06_02_at_7_47_10_AM.png to this...http://s33.postimg.org/dnx9n9jn3/Screen_Shot_2016_06_02_at_7_47_22_AM.png

Whereas in the later seasons, "out there" characters like Hawkman didn't go through nearly as much of a make over: http://static.srcdn.com/slir/w450-h350-q90-c450:350/wp-content/uploads/hawkman-best-worst-costumes.jpg
And that's just the visuals. Mxyzptlk went from being a 5th Dimensional Imp with seemingly limitless power to a foreign exchange student poor man's Kilgrave. And yeah, while there's a lot to celebrate and enjoy about them embracing the comic goodness, it does end up losing a bit of its identity by doing so.

It's either that or more made up crap like season 4.Aw, poor Season 4 :lol: It's funny. I remember how much people hated on it (myself included) as it was airing but in retrospect I find it's one of the more enjoyable seasons because its so freaking strange. It's like they couldn't go more than 1 episode without some kind of possession/body swap/personality change episode. Off the top of my head, there's Lana switching with Isabella throughout the season, Lionel pretending to play a changed man, Lex/Alex in Onyx, Lois and Chloe being witches in Spell, Clark having amnesia in Blank, Lionel and Clark switching bodies in Transference, the Prom Queen possessing Lana/Chloe/Clark in Spirit, Clark being brainwashed Kal-El in Crusade, Lana/Chloe/Jason under a love potion in Devoted, Red K Clark in Unsafe... there's probably more but that's just off the top of my head. So yeah, it's a great re-watch season thats gotten better with age but when you watch it immediately following the dark drama that was Season 3 its a huge tonal whiplash.

[Jephael]

Mxyzptlk went from looking like this...
http://s33.postimg.org/3toi0097z/Screen_Shot_2016_06_02_at_7_47_10_AM.png to this...http://s33.postimg.org/dnx9n9jn3/Screen_Shot_2016_06_02_at_7_47_22_AM.png


I gotta admit I kinda liked how he looked but it really ticks me off they never bothered to reveal him as a dimension hopper or something down the road. He would've fit perfectly in season 10 with the Earth 2 storyarc.

[Slade]

So... I wasn't sure whether to post this question in the Arrow thread or this one, but since its mostly a Smallville question, I'll ask here.

After watching Arrow dissolve into a Felicity Ass Kissing showcase, I'm hearing a lot of similar complaints that Smallville had in regards to Lana Lang.

Back in the day over at the ole Kryptonsite Forums, I remember reading post after post about how Lana has consumed the show and the show has become Lana centric, with Clark becoming an afterthought. I never really thought so, though. But here's the thing: I've always liked Lana Lang. I don't like Felicity Smoak. So, was I just blind to it the whole time? Yeah, the back and forth Clark Lana relationship went on for wayyy too long but I never felt like Lana was the main character as Felicity comes off as on Arrow.

So, I guess my question is, was Smallville just as guilty to pandering to it's shipper audience as Arrow is, or has Arrow gone beyond reason?


Nice, I'm still a member over there.

Anyway, when the show aired, I never saw it either. I liked Lana too though, but after a few rewatches, I actually do see it. It was never as bad as Felicity and Friends has gotten, but there are a good bit of moments it does seem that way.

The same exact thing can be said about Chloe too, who I HATE!! Though I guess thinking about it, in a way, everyone on Smallville was a main character and they all got decent development in my opinion. That's not to say in regards to Lana and Chloe, that their stories didn't take drastic and down right ridiculous turns into left field.

[Krutch]

I gotta admit I kinda liked how he looked but it really ticks me off they never bothered to reveal him as a dimension hopper or something down the road. He would've fit perfectly in season 10 with the Earth 2 storyarc.Season 10 was pretty much anything goes, so, yeah that would've worked.

The same exact thing can be said about Chloe too, who I HATE!! Though I guess thinking about it, in a way, everyone on Smallville was a main character and they all got decent development in my opinion. That's not to say in regards to Lana and Chloe, that their stories didn't take drastic and down right ridiculous turns into left field.I actually really like Chloe. The issue was the show never gave Clark the role of being the investigative reporter; that was always relegated to Chloe. And when Chloe finally stepped away from being a journalist to become Watchtower, Lois just took over the role. That would have been a great time for Clark to learn how to track down leads, work angles, yknow... investigate.

Still, even when Lana and Chloe were getting a good amount of attention, I can't remember a single time either of them saved the day in the end. (Unless you count finding Clark KO'd and they toss away the piece of Kryptonite laying around.) Clark was always the hero who conquered the villain. On Arrow, Felicity has pretty much saved Oliver and the planet ten times over.

So, what do you have against Chloe, anyways? :lol:

[Slade]

Season 10 was pretty much anything goes, so, yeah that would've worked.

I actually really like Chloe. The issue was the show never gave Clark the role of being the investigative reporter; that was always relegated to Chloe. And when Chloe finally stepped away from being a journalist to become Watchtower, Lois just took over the role. That would have been a great time for Clark to learn how to track down leads, work angles, yknow... investigate.

Still, even when Lana and Chloe were getting a good amount of attention, I can't remember a single time either of them saved the day in the end. (Unless you count finding Clark KO'd and they toss away the piece of Kryptonite laying around.) Clark was always the hero who conquered the villain. On Arrow, Felicity has pretty much saved Oliver and the planet ten times over.

So, what do you have against Chloe, anyways? :lol:

Well there was super suit Lana.


As far as Chloe, to me, she always came off as very needy. Especially with Clark. I mean, I get the fact that she had a crush, sure. But look at the episode Fever. Clark's over there on the couch, dying and he calls out to Lana, the girl he's been after for since he was a kid and Chloe got mad about it. Even with that little poem, "The girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend." No, she was never the girl of his dreams. Did she even know Clark at all? She'd betray Clark and then try and say it was for his protection. All the while, it was really because Clark never loved her.

And that's just a little bit of early season stuff. Not even going to get into the super powered Chloe, or the super genius, I can hack anything and have my own little Chloe world where I can do anything with my little avatar or whatever the hell it was. The Dooms or Failsday mess.

Also, a lot of my hate came from Ksite. Her damn fans. She's the original Felicity.

[Krutch]

Well there was super suit Lana.
Yeah, you got me there. Nobody liked that **** :ohwell:

Re: Chloe...

Yeah, I can see what you mean. But she was also, what, 14 or 15 years old during Fever? Alot of girls(and guys) at that age who have huge crushes think they're perfect for each other and the other just doesn't see it yet.

I don't really remember Chloe betraying Clark being a recurring thing... Well, there was Season 2's finale when she went to Lionel but the writers back peddled on that one for the following season. Season 8 she actually was protecting Clark since, y'know, it's Doomsday and killing Clark is his entire shtick. And Season 9 she was going through her "All work, No play" arc where she was her own worst enemy and acting very cold and distant to everyone. Her flaws are what I liked most about her, to be honest. She was prone to jealousy and made a lot of mistakes. But the show made a point to show that her mistakes were actually mistakes, unlike Arrow where Felicity is just always right, and the best, and supreme, and everyone should worship at the altar of Smoak because she can do no wrong.

As far as Chloe being able to hack anything, I just wrote that off as the show expanding into more comic book tendencies the longer it went on. Remember in the first 3 seasons Chloe had to have contacts everywhere for everything? Then suddenly, completely out of nowhere in season 5's "Hidden" Chloe casually hacks a government satellite to intercept a nuclear missile :roll:

Also, a lot of my hate came from Ksite. Her damn fans. She's the original Felicity.Yep! A lot of her fans were the worst. But considering Clark never reciprocates romantic feelings towards her and she stays as a side character throughout the series, I wouldn't go as far to say she's the original Felicity. But both characters share a similar type of annoying fanbase. Difference is the Smallville writers didn't bend over backwards trying to appease them.

[Slade]

Clark did try and have feelings for her, and I think he did, but never as strong as he had for Lana. The writers did kind of give fans what they wanted with Chloe. She married Oliver, she even broke into comics, and not just the Smallville ones. Idk how long that actually lasted though.


Enough about Chloe though..:lol:

I actually just started a rewatch last week. I always forget season 1 is my least favorite.

[Krutch]

Clark did try and have feelings for her, and I think he did, but never as strong as he had for Lana.

Ehhhh.... Out of 218 episodes, I can name 3 where he shows he does: Obscura(when he asks her to the Spring Formal), Tempest(when he takes her to the Spring Formal), and Zod(he doesn't actually say anything here, but the look he gives Chloe after being introduced to Jimmy says he was at least considering it). Maybe you can count him being under Red K influence in Rush, but that'd be it. Yeah, Clark was always far more infatuated with Lana but I think when it came to Chloe he was simply not interested, as he said in Devoted ("Chloe... I wish I felt the same way. But I don't.")

Sidenote: Having wrote all that without looking anything up... God, I need a girlfriend :ohwell:

The writers did kind of give fans what they wanted with Chloe. She married Oliver, she even broke into comics, and not just the Smallville ones. Idk how long that actually lasted though.

That's all true. Though I think what the fans really wanted was for her to end up with Clark, and Oliver was just a consolation prize. But yeah, I remember a small portion of Chlarkers over on K-Site had switched to pioneering a Chlollie relationship when they knew Clark would never end up with Chloe. So I guess in that sense you're right.

I actually just started a rewatch last week. I always forget season 1 is my least favorite.Too cheesy for ya? :lol:

[ZariusTwo]

Clark did try and have feelings for her, and I think he did, but never as strong as he had for Lana. The writers did kind of give fans what they wanted with Chloe. She married Oliver, she even broke into comics, and not just the Smallville ones. e.

I remember when Chloe was gradually introduced to the main timeline, I expect the reason it did'nt last was because of the New 52

[Slade]

Too cheesy for ya? :lol:


Haha, yeah a little bit. There's a few eps I like, but a lot of them just annoy me. I think the finale was really good.

I remember when Chloe was gradually introduced to the main timeline, I expect the reason it did'nt last was because of the New 52

Yeah that sounds like it would be right.

[Krutch]

But just think, you'll soon be able to relive the moment where Man of Steel's Lois Lane eats roadkill and tries to eat Pete! :lol:

[Slade]

:lol: Don't remind me!!! I don't know which I think is worse, that one, bug boy or the guy who can't be in sunlight...wait is that season 1?? Never can remember.

[Krutch]

That'd be season 2, "Nocturne". Yeah, thats a bad one. Sad that it even tries to address issues of abusive parents in such an awful episode. But hey, points for trying?

The bug boy one was a fun one to roast, though. (https://youtu.be/OW2nlXGqUHk)

[Slade]

:lol::lol: those are great! One of them you?

[Krutch]

Yeah, the more obnoxious one with the annoying laugh is me :ohwell:

I hate my voice when I get drunk, but, this was my way of getting over it. I recorded these a few years ago and still have another 30+ episodes recorded on my hard drive that I've yet to cut. I'll get around to it...eventually :lol:

[Slade]

That's awesome. Are they shortened for YouTube? It did seem like it would skip a little bit.

Just thought of something also, does the show ever say why Davis was so drawn to Chloe?

[Krutch]

Yeah, they're shortened because we're drunk and it's either completely inappropriate or makes no sense :P

Davis, if I remember correctly, was attracted to Chloe because he liked her and found she had a calming presence. This was right at the moment his inner beast was awakening, so, he thought being around her was the safest way to keep it at bay. It was later revealed(i think, could be wrong) that Brainiac was using Chloe to lure Davis so he could draw the beast out.

I may have to fact check that but that's what I'm recalling. I'm way better at pulling from the first 5 seasons ;)

[TheCanadiandrome]

I have mixed feelings on this show. On one hand I truely liked it, but on the other, it had moments that made me go wtf am I watchin?!

[Slade]

Yeah, they're shortened because we're drunk and it's either completely inappropriate or makes no sense :P

Davis, if I remember correctly, was attracted to Chloe because he liked her and found she had a calming presence. This was right at the moment his inner beast was awakening, so, he thought being around her was the safest way to keep it at bay. It was later revealed(i think, could be wrong) that Brainiac was using Chloe to lure Davis so he could draw the beast out.

I may have to fact check that but that's what I'm recalling. I'm way better at pulling from the first 5 seasons ;)

Yeah, that's about what I remember from it.



Also, in your drunken roast of Bug Boy:lol:, You guys mentioned a deleted scene of Clark wrecking Whitney's vehicle. Does that take place instead of the pile up? I could probably find out myself, but I'm being lazy.






Forgot to multi quote.
@Canadiandrome...I know what you mean man. There's a ton of WTF moments. I have to admit though, and it may sound cheesy, but the show actually helped me get through a lot during my teen years.

[Krutch]

I have mixed feelings on this show. On one hand I truely liked it, but on the other, it had moments that made me go wtf am I watchin?!That's part of the fun! Just go with it ;)

You guys mentioned a deleted scene of Clark wrecking Whitney's vehicle. Does that take place instead of the pile up? I could probably find out myself, but I'm being lazy.The pile up was what I was referring to, yeah. I have all the episodes downloaded in 720p and for some reason that scene is missing. I've heard that some regions cut it for time reasons so I thought I'd address that for anyone who hadn't seen it.

Pretty sure it was on the DVD, though.

I have to admit though, and it may sound cheesy, but the show actually helped me get through a lot during my teen years.Not cheesy at all and you're not alone. I was Clark's age so it was nice to grow up having someone to look up to when things got me down.

It's strange but I remember when the show ended I was thinking "Man... I've known these characters longer than any of my current friends in my life." Kind of hit me in a big way.

And here we are 5 years later still talking about it :)

[Slade]

The pile up was what I was referring to, yeah. I have all the episodes downloaded in 720p and for some reason that scene is missing. I've heard that some regions cut it for time reasons so I thought I'd address that for anyone who hadn't seen it.

Pretty sure it was on the DVD, though.

Not cheesy at all and you're not alone. I was Clark's age so it was nice to grow up having someone to look up to when things got me down.

It's strange but I remember when the show ended I was thinking "Man... I've known these characters longer than any of my current friends in my life." Kind of hit me in a big way.

And here we are 5 years later still talking about it :)


Ahh okay. Yeah, it's on the DVD. I can't remember if I saw the scene or not when it originally aired. Too long ago.

And yeah, I was about 12 or 13 when the show first aired. Had gotten in a lot of trouble and ended up on house arrest. Matter of fact, the first episode aired the first night my P.O. had to come by the house.:lol:
Anyway, the show ended up becoming my escape from reality every week. So, I'll always be fond of it.

[Jephael]

But just think, you'll soon be able to relive the moment where Man of Steel's Lois Lane eats roadkill and tries to eat Pete! :lol:

Hey that reminds me, you might enjoy this video I did a few years back.

jN3QSwNtbVQ

[TheCanadiandrome]

That's part of the fun! Just go with it ;)



haha yeah. i kinda wish Netflix would pick this darn thing up and air it, but i guess i may have to buy the whole series collection to watch it again

[Krutch]

Anyway, the show ended up becoming my escape from reality every week. So, I'll always be fond of it.Right on, man. It's a great show to zone out to for sure. It's kinda got something in there for whatever mood you're in for taking in: lots of heart, campiness, light and fluffy, overdramatic... sometimes you can get that all in the same episode :P

Hey that reminds me, you might enjoy this video I did a few years back.Nice work, man! I never noticed the Woodward and Bernstein connection. Good catch. Also, bonus fact: That guy you were referring to in the bar was once(possibly still is?) Allison Mack's boyfriend. The connections continue!

(And Gough is pronounced "GOFF" ;))

haha yeah. i kinda wish Netflix would pick this darn thing up and air it, but i guess i may have to buy the whole series collection to watch it againI heard there's something up with the licensing that's causing an issue, which is also delaying any further BluRay releases. But yeah, it'd be nice for it to be on there to introduce to a new audience like Buffy has seemed to have picked up these years.

Whose up for some top 5 lists? Any ideas?
Episodes, characters, quotes...?
I'm gonna head to bed but when work inevitably dies down tomorrow I'll throw up one of my own.

[Krutch]

Alright, since works died down, here's my top 5 episodes.

5: 4.22 "Commencement"
At an elongated runtime of 60 minutes and a ticking clock established at the beginning of the episode, I loved the big movie feel this finale had. Season 4 had its ups and downs and getting to this finale is a bit of a chore, but you'll be hard pressed to find a Smallville fan who doesn't find this as one of the seasons stand out episodes. And it ends with a tease of the Fortress of Solitude. How awesome is that?

4: 5.09 "Lexmas"/5.05 "Thirst"
A tie, but they kind of go hand in hand with my affinity for Holiday themed episodes. Season 6 attempted a Thanksgiving episode with "Rage" but like most of season 6 it felt kind of flat. Lexmas and Thirst on the otherhand fully embraced the holiday spirit filling each frame with tinsel and snow or candy and jackolanterns. Rosenbaum's performance pulls us through the cheery wonderland he imagines if he were to give up his power for the sake of a normal life which just serves to make the ending that much more heart breaking when he learns all the wrong lessons from his experience. The Halloween episode on the other hand was a fun monster mash filled with costumes and kryptonite-powered vampire sorority sisters. Plus, it had Kristin Kreuk wearing leather, so... yeah... easy points for that :D

3: 4.06 "Transference"
The episode that many realized Tom Welling can act charismatically when he needs to. I love body swap episodes and this one didn't disappoint. Lots of little moments like "Clark" seducing Chloe only to break her heart just because he can, quitting the football team, and generally just watching Clark throw his social life down the toilet in the most hilarious and cringe inducing ways possible. I almost died when Lana enters and Clark rolls his eyes and says to himself "Ugh. This one." There was a lot of body-swapping/possessions taking place in Season 4 but this one is easily the best.

2: 1.01 "Pilot"
Not a lot of pilots ever make my top ten lists, let alone the number 2 spot. It usually takes a few episodes for the show to begin to gel with who the characters are and for the actors to get their characters down. But I love the confidence of this pilot. It knew right out the gate what it wanted to be from the actors nailing their characters to establishing the right distictive tone through use of colour and music. This was directed by David Nutter who has a great track record of shooting effective pilots such as Supernatural, Roswell, Arrow, The Flash, and many others.

1: 10.04 "Homecoming"/3.19 "Memoria"
Another tie but I can't choose one over the other. I'm more partial to the early seasons so by the time Homecoming rolled around I was already a bit emotionally checked out. I still loved the show but in a different way; it was a lot less heart-string pulling and more comic-bookiness. Which is great in its own way, but I wasn't prepared for this nostalgic look at everything that's come before it(and what's to come!). At times I still feel like the episode can't help but feel a bit empty without the presence of Chloe, Pete, and Lana at the high school reunion, but then I realize that's the point. So much has changed over the years, and we were to watch it happen with Clark. Memoria, on the other hand, is my vote for the most beautifully shot episode the series has ever produced. On top of the smooth camerawork and cinematography, Lex's tragic backstory is unfolded revealing the truth about his mother and his younger brother Julian. It's sad and touching and changes the landscape of both characters for the remainder of the series. Like a nice bottle of Armagnac, 1963, I don't sample this one too often. But when I do, it hits juuuuust right.

[Jephael]

I never noticed the Woodward and Bernstein connection. Good catch. Also, bonus fact: That guy you were referring to in the bar was once(possibly still is?) Allison Mack's boyfriend. The connections continue!

Aw man I wish I had known that. Aw well, I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind when I made that video. If you notice in the Lana segment I get a little preachy about being respectful towards women. At the time I was going through a bad falling out with a high school friend back home who I was rather fond of and I was just a mess.

Speaking of Lana, one of my favorite moments was in the episode Slumber when Clark was explaining his dream to her and he mentions she was with him at the lake.

LANA: "Really? What were we doing?"
CLARK: *Awkward Pause* "Nothing."

[Krutch]

SMALLVILLE AVAILABLE TO STREAM FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER THIS OCTOBER VIA HULU (http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/09/26/smallville-available-to-stream-for-the-first-time-ever-this-october-via-hulu)

So, at least that's something. Hopefully this will usher in a small, new wave of fans as Buffy did by being present on Netflix.

[Jephael]

SMALLVILLE AVAILABLE TO STREAM FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER THIS OCTOBER VIA HULU (http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/09/26/smallville-available-to-stream-for-the-first-time-ever-this-october-via-hulu)

So, at least that's something. Hopefully this will usher in a small, new wave of fans as Buffy did by being present on Netflix.

Gotta admit, if I didn't already have all 10 season boxsets I'd be pretty miffed since I have Netflix instead of Hulu.

[Krutch]

So after being close friends with the guy for over a decade, I finally convinced my friend John to binge Smallville as he's home from work recovering from an injury that has him laid out for the next few weeks.

He's been texting me tiny observations as it goes on and I realized our text messages have kind of become an amusing commentary on the whole series.

He's just beginning Season 3 now. When he's done the series, I think I'm going to upload our text history to anyone bored enough to check it out for a laugh.

...Yeah, ok, maybe I just wanted an excuse to revive this thread, so what? :roll:

[Slade]

I actually forgot about this thread, but I'd actually be down to read them.

[Jester]

Working through it now. I watched it for several seasons but eventually my work kept me from watching it, so now I'm gonna see what I missed, eventually. So far I loathe Lana and Chloe (used to be a big Chloe fan...not sure why. Maybe it was the high school me.) What makes the show for me is the Kents. Always loved Jonathan and Martha. Also, man I hate that theme song.

[plastroncafe]

How do the Luthors hold up?
(they were always my favorite part)

[TurtleWA]

Not so long ago my GF watched all of the seasons but did struggle to finish the last couple. I wasn’t so dedicated. I did at first watch every episode with her but stopped someplace around season 5 or 6. I think I might have seen some of the episodes from season 7-8. None of 10.

I liked the first 3 seasons the best. I started off not liking Chloe but as the seasons went on I liked her more and more. Lana I never liked. Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling are both really great. The Kent’s are great too.

Not sure if any of the following counts as spoilers but didn’t want to take the risk.
I didn’t like when Pete left the show. In the later episodes I didn’t like all the drawn out plots with Green Arrow. And the Chloe Watchtower thing could not hold my interest. I liked the new “meteor freak” every episode thing from the first seasons the best.

[newfan]

I'm not sure if I started watching properly from season 2 or 3 but did catch up on the earlier eps, I then watched it right through to the end. Really liked the show, it had it's stronger and weaker points like others but kept my interest.

I liked the Kent's also and thought the Luthers were well written, I liked how they gradually changed them over time.
Chloe I didn't like as much earlier on, she had her good and bad moments but her character grew a lot and I did like her after that. Lana..... always with the 'I'm hurt' , I liked her at times too but not others, her character had gotten old for me later on. Lois I liked, more so as she got more as time went on.
Clark, bit bias there :) but over all good character with the odd flaw.

I'd have to re-watch it as it's been a while, see if my perspective is still the same,

[Krutch]

I always liked Chloe, I just wish the writers let Clark handle some of the investigating from time to time. Alot of it was him saying "I'm going to go check up on Lana/Lex to see how their doing. Let me know when you find something."

Lana I liked as well until Season 7 when her storylines just started turning into cheesy science fiction episodes. That being said, I completely understand why people couldn't stand her.

I'm not into collecting these, but glad to know there's still something new coming out for fans of the show.
http://i66.tinypic.com/av64jk.png

[newfan]

:lol:, Lex. I'm not big on collecting those either, just have 2.

I need to re-watch to remember properly, as I said, I came to like Chloe, there was only a short time early on that I didn't.

[Krutch]

Overall it's a really strange selection they went with.

Two Clarks, but neither with his red jacket which he wore for 95% of the episodes.
Lois, dressed like Season 6, I'd guess.
Green Arrow. Fair enough.
and Lex, appearing as he did once in a single dream sequence.

Strange how Oliver gets one but Lana and Chloe are left out. I'd honestly put them out before Lois, personally.

Weird assortment, but yeah, happy there's at least something out there representing the series.

[newfan]

Overall it's a really strange selection they went with.

Two Clarks, but neither with his red jacket which he wore for 95% of the episodes.
Lois, dressed like Season 6, I'd guess.
Green Arrow. Fair enough.
and Lex, appearing as he did once in a single dream sequence.

Strange how Oliver gets one but Lana and Chloe are left out. I'd honestly put them out before Lois, personally.

Weird assortment, but yeah, happy there's at least something out there representing the series.

Oh yeah, what the hell? No the red Jacket..
Yeah, Chloe and Lana being more major characters from earlier and Chloe for the whole series too.

[Krutch]

Right??

I think they went with Lois from Season 8's "Plastique" from what I can tell.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e0/4c/bd/e04cbd358bd6f97cee872a99a3a0fd68.jpg

If I had to choose 5 to make from the show I'd probably go with Clark, Lex, Lana, Chloe, and Pete. If you wanted to swap Pete out for someone, I'd probably go with Lionel.

[TurtleWA]

They could do some variants. Seems like Clark had black on a lot, they could do a version of that and also release a Lois as Stiletto, lol. I would think collectors of the show merch would want Pete and Jimmy both. I guess they are just sticking with the really recognizable characters.

[Jester]

How do the Luthors hold up?
(they were always my favorite part)
The Lex/Lionel relationship always confused me. It's a great foil to the Kents, but the constant gaming they do always confused me.

[Krutch]

The Lex/Lionel relationship always confused me. It's a great foil to the Kents, but the constant gaming they do always confused me.

https://media.giphy.com/media/Zvkrh2f4L1dqENJHPh/giphy.gif

[Jester]

What I also never got was how everyone was just able to walk into stately Luthor Manor...and Clark's loft.

[Krutch]

It's like a drinking game. How many times has Clark come home to find someone waiting for him in his barn? How many times has Lex asked "How did you get past my security?" How many times does Lex say "I have my best people in Metropolis..."

[Krutch]

Welling and Rosenbaum would be up for a Smallville: The Animated Series (http://www.kryptonsite.com/rosenbaum-welling-would-be-up-for-more-smallville/)

Rosenbaum mentions he recently had talks with Smallville creators about entertaining the possibility of an animated show.

[ZariusTwo]

SouperboyX, a fan editor, has stitched together "Last Son of Krypton", a 5+ plus hour feature film merging Smallville with Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel", even rotoscoping Tom Welling and grafting him on to Henry Cavils's face.:lol:

ISVpRWme2Ik



Synopsis:



With the imminent destruction of Krypton, their home planet, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara (Ayelet Zurer) seek to preserve their race by sending their infant son to Earth. The child’s spacecraft, accompanied by a meteor shower, lands in a town called Smallville. Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O’Toole) Kent name the baby Clark and raise him as their own son. Clark (Tom Welling) grows up with extraordinary abilities and learns to cope with his alien heritage. While dealing with his relationships with Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) and Pete Ross (Sam Jones III), his high school crush Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), iconic Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Erica Durance), and lone heir of Luthorcorp Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), Clark struggles with finding his rightful place among humanity. As Clark’s path to adulthood begins to rapidly unfold before him, he realizes the secrets of his Kryptonian past may hold the key to his future as Earth’s greatest protector.

hqvCE4Y5YOU

(links to the edit are in the description of the second video)

Souperboy's description of the project

This is a project I conceptualized back in 2013 around the time “Man of Steel” was released. I thought the movie was great and loved the way Zack Snyder, David S. Goyer, Hans Zimmer, and others involved modernized the story of Superman. What they did in my view was present a realistic and gripping narrative on the idea of Superman existing in today’s world, with today’s consequences. Can Superman exist in a world with so much grey area? What is his purpose in the 21st century and was he going to have trouble withstanding the test of time, especially in a world with so many other modern superheroes? I love that DC took risks with Cavill’s Superman and think that there are many great qualities to his interpretation of the character. Themes like isolation, loneliness, identity, public opinion, cultural issues, and more are what make this new Superman exciting and relatable to me. But I also like the way Snyder visually presented this Superman as well. The flight sequences, the action, the grand scale, the musical rhythm, etc. It was great to see a Superman movie exhibit those elements with a big movie budget, and something that I would’ve loved to see “Smallville” do.



“Smallville” is still my very favorite depiction of the Superman story. The social implications of Clark having this humongous secret, the way the Kent’s undying love and support is portrayed, the existential questions Clark faces in nearly every episode about his purpose in the world, the complicated relationship he has with Lex Luthor; Themes of family, strength, destiny, love, and hope against significant odds represent “Smallville” to me. Being a long-running TV show, the creators (Alfred Gough and Miles Millar) really had a lot of emotional areas of Superman’s nature they could explore and they made the most of it. Tom Welling’s portrayal of Clark Kent is what I see as the definitive Superman to this day. We saw him grow up from teenager to hero, struggle with the pressure of having immense responsibilities with his gifts, and also try to adopt meaningful human relationships while being the farthest thing from normal himself. Welling’s Clark was vulnerable, scared, courageous, caring and most importantly, human. That’s what made him so relatable. That’s what brought the charm to “Smallville”. Which is something I wish “Man of Steel” had a bit more of.



I love “Smallville” and “Man of Steel” both in their own ways. My conceit behind this project is to take the best parts of both of them and merge them together to create what would be the definitive Superman story in my mind. I tried this in the past with “Superman: Genesis” and was still hindered by the lack of a grand, thematic Superman movie. Once “Man of Steel” came along I figured many of the elements of that fit in quite nicely to those of “Smallville” and that there could be an opportunity to try again.



So here it is. “The Last Son of Krypton”. 7 years in the making. This is my take on the 21st Century Superman. A 5+ hour fan-edited film that is meant to take you on a ride with the World’s Greatest Hero from A-Z. “Smallville” is the skeleton. “Man of Steel” is the meat. I also loved the style and aesthetic in “Superman Returns” and many elements from that are included as well.

Here are my thoughts, having viewed the whole thing (spoilers)

Let's get the obvious out the way first...WOW

Now onto the meat of the matter.

I've seen edits that alter narratives many a time, but the sheer amount of narrative changes he put together for this is just mesmerising. He took stuff from later episodes, deposited them at earlier points in the series, and somehow it all fits together. This is a testament to not just how diligent he is at episodic research, but also shows Smallville is full of moments that can fit just about any scenario with a few touch-ups.

I was very surprised at how quick you got Tom in the suit, moments after the fortress was formed even...but I suppose that was to be expected considering the pace of the remaining Kryptonian's arrival. We'd had two hours plus of build-up, so by this juncture the audience have licked their lips long enough so serve up the main course!

How you structured Lois and Clark's relationship to begin as work colleagues rather than as close friends from high school was a fine comics accurate-touch, and it allowed Lois to really peak in her element as a feisty, determined intrepid reporter digging as far as she can down the rabbit holes.

Lex's journey was the most consistent from what we know of his tv portrayal, a few minor creative tweeks and omissions, but the themes are all there and the whole story plays out fairly straight forward, right up until the fortress invasion, that was a treat, I felt Lex and Jor-El never truly having a confrontation was a major element Smallville missed taking true advantage of.

I don't think there's too many things to critique, at least things he might already be aware of himself (I noticed a repeated frame in part six during the Crosby and Marth conversation), perhaps there was one too many dream sequences for my liking too, some parts of that confused me, particularly during the Lana and Teague fight, and Lex at the fortress...I know "Arctic" doesn't give anyone a whole lot to work with, but I'm having some issue understanding what Kara rescued him from, I thought it was going to end with him being transported to the Phantom Zone until the scene with Kara.


I've had moments altering narratives in edits where I feel it made more sense in my head than anyone elses', rofl. If he can explain these things, I'll have an easier time understanding the decisions and choices.

Overall, Man of Steel provided some tender meat to a pleasantly functional skeleton, everything fused together, and those little issues noted above aside, I will state with great enthusiasm this guy has stitched together the best fan edit of 2020, and definitely one of the best Superman edits of all time. This is what Smallville was always capable of being, it has the best Superman cast, the best 'young' depictions of the characters, and is a great spin on the hero's journey template.

I hope this edit inspires others, as much as it inspires me, to be more creative with their own editing projects and dare to think and do different.

Hopefully any kind of sequel won't take up another seven years, but then, perfection cannot be rushed!

[Leo656]

F*ck Tom Welling.

[ZariusTwo]

The full five hour edit is now available. It's about 14.8 GB. I've cleared out my disc space and am in the process of downloading it.

In my ongoing correspondence with souperboyx, he did indeed clarify a couple of things for me

1. He's went back and fixed the repeated frame from the Martha and Bridgett conversation for the full release

2. He'll be posting clips from the edit to Youtube. Due to the running time, there are so many sequences from this edit to share that can give everyone a tantalizing glimpse of the film without remotely giving away too much

3. Lana's dream sequences were meant to be her glimpsing "visions", a consequence of carrying the stone around for too long. Due to my confusion (which I conveyed to him), he admitted there may have been a better way of presenting this, I suggested he should stick to the clips that look and feel the most 'lucid'

4. His explanations for what happened with Lex at the fortress largely came down to wanting to preserve some "mystery", and give the audience some ambiguity to think about.

5. He has no plans for a follow-up, which I feel makes the clear set-ups a lot more needless

[ZariusTwo]

Loads of clips have been posted by SouperboyX on his channel:

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SpEgEvGVzYw

lyvcPhSi0JU

_aC7qFGXkSE

7T0Ed2RSisI

[ZariusTwo]

The CW are reportedly interested in reviving the show

https://geekositymag.com/the-cw-wants-to-revive-tom-wellings-smallville/

[Leo656]

Welling got fat and also hates the character. I don't know why anyone would even want this.

Stupid. Superman-related projects should be the sole province of people who understand and appreciate what a gift it is to be working on the character. Not people who think they're "above it" and only doing it for a paycheck.

[Turo602]

I liked Welling in the role but oddly, I could never see him as Superman. Young Clark Kent was fine for him, but he doesn't quite have the Superman look, especially today.

[Autbot_Benz]

how his clark gave up his powers in Crisis on Infinite Earths

[Andrew NDB]

I can't imagine there's an audience for this. Did his cameo on Crisis even move the meter? That whole universe seems like it'd be radioactive after already ruining all of the villains Clark was supposed to later on fight as Superman... long before he was Superman.

*looks at the "source":

Oh, it's "Giantfreakingrobot." They're just another arm of "Wegotthiscovered." Fake movie and TV news, only. Ever.

[Leo656]

The only conversation about his Crisis cameo was 1. "So this Clark barely even got to be Superman at all before he willingly quit to go have kids with Lois? What an asshole!", and 2. "So Tom Welling refused to even show up and do it unless the entire point was that Clark wasn't Superman? What an asshole!"

One or two people thought it was neat just to see him again, and they felt that it was "fitting" with what "Smallville" had presented previously. I guess that much makes sense; after ten seasons of him whining about not wanting to be "Superman", it does make sense that this version of Clark would immediately just figure it was too hard and quit. But I maintain that just like everything else about the character as presented in "Smallville", if you actually think that's a GOOD take then you have some serious fundamental misunderstandings about who Superman is and what drives him.

That show "tricked" a lot of people into liking it by leaning heavily on stuff they liked and remembered from the Chris Reeve movies; visual elements, musical cues, and things like that. But it's a really bad take on the character and they play him like an asshole. That will forever be my opinion. Every single time I try and give it another chance, I'm only reminded just how much they got wrong.

I can't even get into the stuff about how they messed up so much about his villains and the comic book mythology once they started trying to incorporate that into the show. A lot of that WAS pretty bad, but I could forgive a lot of that IF they hadn't also done such a bad job with Clark. How much of it was the writers and how much of it was Welling's own stupid choices, I don't think we'll ever know. Suffice to say, I didn't like it.

[Galactus]

Isn't that kinda the the drawback of these prequel series? Like he's not supposed to be Superman yet but he's encountering Brainiac and Metallo and Bizarro (or at least versions of them) before he's supposed to. Even if you're cool with that I'm not sure that TV quality cgi in the 2000s was up there to really do any of these characters justice.

I dipped in and out of the show over and it seemed like Superboy by way of Buffy the Vampire but not as good. I did make an attempt to watch more of the final season to see how it was all going to come together. At that point Clark was working at the Daily Planet, Lois knew his secret, he was working with a proto-Justice League and generally seemed to Superman in every way other than actually being Superman. It was very annoying.

It wasn't the worst show in the world. It was just kinda there and was just about good enough to stay on the air for a decade.

[Leo656]

I think the biggest drawback and reasoning to all of that was, it was conceived as a four-season show and that was it... and then it kept going. The original creators specifically envisioned it as "Clark in High School" with each Season being a year of school. Once he graduated, the show was supposed to be over. If they had stuck with that, a lot of the show's problems would have never even been a factor.

BUT, as is often the case, it got huge ratings for its network so they refused to let it end. But the point where they ran out of ideas because the long-term plans changed becomes VERY obvious.

I can't even really fault them too much for the bad "TV CGI" and weird costumes for some of the comic book stuff that came in later on, it was the best they could do at the time more or less. Some of it even looked kinda good. But the serious disconnect between what the show originally was and what it became later on hurts the entire thing pretty badly, more than any of the other factors I think.

At some point, they really needed to just let it "evolve" into a straight-up Superman show if they were going to keep it running and use so much of the comic book stuff. And the only real reason they couldn't is because Tom Welling refused to do it, and they couldn't recast him since a lot of chicks loved him and that was most of the audience. Once it was "Superman" in every way except him actually being Superman, the contrivances to extend the show's life without ever putting him in the suit got pretty unbearable.

I get why they cast Welling in the first place and he looks okay, but I cannot stand his indifference/dislike towards the Superman character and so much of what was wrong with the show was entirely because he refused to actually play the Superman character. Like dude, guys with black hair and cheekbones aren't that hard to come by; if he doesn't like the character, find a guy who does and most of your problems go away.

[Turo602]

The only conversation about his Crisis cameo was 1. "So this Clark barely even got to be Superman at all before he willingly quit to go have kids with Lois? What an asshole!", and 2. "So Tom Welling refused to even show up and do it unless the entire point was that Clark wasn't Superman? What an asshole!"

One or two people thought it was neat just to see him again, and they felt that it was "fitting" with what "Smallville" had presented previously. I guess that much makes sense; after ten seasons of him whining about not wanting to be "Superman", it does make sense that this version of Clark would immediately just figure it was too hard and quit. But I maintain that just like everything else about the character as presented in "Smallville", if you actually think that's a GOOD take then you have some serious fundamental misunderstandings about who Superman is and what drives him.

That show "tricked" a lot of people into liking it by leaning heavily on stuff they liked and remembered from the Chris Reeve movies; visual elements, musical cues, and things like that. But it's a really bad take on the character and they play him like an asshole. That will forever be my opinion. Every single time I try and give it another chance, I'm only reminded just how much they got wrong.

I can't even get into the stuff about how they messed up so much about his villains and the comic book mythology once they started trying to incorporate that into the show. A lot of that WAS pretty bad, but I could forgive a lot of that IF they hadn't also done such a bad job with Clark. How much of it was the writers and how much of it was Welling's own stupid choices, I don't think we'll ever know. Suffice to say, I didn't like it.

Honestly, it sounds more like you have a severe misunderstanding about what the show was doing considering a lot of the stuff it did was no different than what Snyder himself did with the character. Welling's Clark Kent wasn't ready to be Superman because of the burden and responsibility that comes with it which was kind of the whole point of Man of Steel, and that Superman didn't even fly or become Superman until he was 33. They even did an episode that touched on the idea of the world eating someone like Superman alive which further highlighted why Clark just wasn't ready to be Superman yet.

I honestly don't understand how exactly his character is an asshole in any way shape or form. He goes through the whole teenage phase in the first few seasons because he IS a teenager but even by teenage standards, he's still very much Clark Kent. The whole Kent family dynamic is as strong here than anywhere else and they get to explore all sorts of situations a teenager would go through as Superman which usually results in Clark sucking it up and suffering for being the good guy because he can't expose his secret.

The show obviously got a lot wrong in terms of characters and villains, but like what is anyone honestly expecting from a show like this? It's not the comics and it's going to lean heavily into the fact that it's its own continuity just like any of the modern CW shows that get just as much wrong. The whole premise of the show was no flights and no tights, which is exactly what they were trying to do with him on film at the time as a way of reinventing the character, except Smallville had the decency to make him young.

Whether you can accept it for what it is or not is totally up to you, but to say they didn't understand the character is just flat out wrong.

[Leo656]

The key difference is, in Snyder's version you have a Clark who absolutely REFUSES to quit being who he is and doing what he does - even if he occasionally has misgivings or feels discouraged; he still perseveres. And in Welling's portrayal, not only does he resist his "destiny" at every turn, thanks to "Crisis" we now know for a fact that he barely even got to be "Superman" before giving it up for "a simple life" on the farm with Lois, shirking his responsibility entirely because "I'd rather be normal".

It's not about how conflicted or anything one or both versions of the character are. It's about how Superman the character would NOT quit being Superman because he knows how important he is to the world. That if he ever gave it up, and something bad happened that he could have prevented, then by proxy it becomes His Fault.

There's an issue Jurgens wrote once - I forget the issue number, but the cover is Superman and Lois on top of a snow-covered mountain - and in it, she asks him why he even bothers. Why he feels so driven to be this "Superman" character, when he could do literally anything else with his life, whether that be King of the World or just hide out and live a life of total leisure. "Why be Superman?" she asks him.

And he simply replies, "Because no one else can."

THAT, to me, is one of the most fundamentally important scenes in the character's entire history, when it comes to understanding who Clark is and what drives him. And I think if anyone would try to write that off as "Just one interpretation" or "Just one story by one writer", that's pretty dismissive. I feel like nothing else has ever really nailed the heart of the character, the way that one scene does. And that if any portrayal of Superman isn't using THAT motivation as its base, then they're already off the mark.

Cavill's Superman follows that central motivational conceit. He's doing the things he does even BEFORE he's Superman "Because no one else can", and he'll KEEP doing them even if the whole world tells him not to bother. "Giving up is never an option."

And then there's Welling's Clark. "I don't feel any sense of responsibility to the world. I don't WANT to be their hero. I just want to go dick around on a farm and raise kids with my hot wife. If Brainiac or Darkseid invade, Oh F*cking Well."

THAT'S what I mean about "fundamentally misunderstanding the character". I can't accept any version of Superman who doesn't put his responsibility to use his powers for the good of the entire world ahead of his own self-centered pursuits. This is what I hate about "Superman II", as well; it's a movie about Superman quitting his job to go chase pussy, and how because of that the whole world goes to hell. At least, by the end of the movie, he learned his lesson. Welling's Superman obviously never watched or lived through the events of Superman II. :trazz:

Superman Never Quits. Welling's Superman did. He not only rejected his responsibility at every turn until the show's cancellation "forced" him to finally be "Superman" for at least a minute, thanks to Crisis we know that he eventually just plain quit. Thus, he isn't "Superman" to me.

So yeah, I don't think it's wrong in the least to say that Smallville and Welling completely misunderstood the character. I don't even think that's an opinion at all. I don't think "Superman's sense of responsibility is so great that he'd never, ever give it up" is even an opinion. I think that's 100% of Who That Character Is, and that if you ignore that then you're indeed "getting it wrong."

It's less about the build-up to "Becoming Superman" and everything complicated about the character getting to that point. That's typical "Heroes' Journey" stuff. What I can't abide, is the fact that Welling's version just plain f*cking gives up. We go from him not even wanting to be Superman, to him only being Superman for a very short time, to then just plain saying "Nope, this gig ain't for me."

I know that 100% of that is probably on Welling's personal dislike of the character, but again, F*ck That Guy, then.

[TMNTFanatic4Life]

Smallville wasnt all bad. The best was Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor...he was fantastic. He sold me as Lex, especially when he turned full heel in seasons 5-7. No doubt the show went to thrash with main villains after he left.

Doomsday was a disaster. Zod...Callum Blue was pretty good in the role, props there. And Darkseid.....yeah pretty terrible.


I will also say James Marsters as Brainiac was pretty good in the role and John Glover as Lionel Luthor throughout the series was fantastic as well.

[Leo656]

John Glover is pretty great in everything, though. :trazz:

Rosenbaum was alright for the material they gave him. I'm just never a fan of "sympathetic" Lex. He definitely looked the part more than most so I get why he's a lot of people's favorite. I just thought they made him too much of a Daddy's Boy. But I didn't have a real issue with Rosenbaum himself. Other than he, also, didn't like playing the role and basically quit because his friends made fun of him over it. Like god, grow up and be a professional. That entire cast was such a bunch of petty, whiny kids. I try and separate art from the artist but sometimes it gets tough. Like everyone in that show basically got the break of a lifetime, people mostly liked them in their roles, and come to find out most of them didn't even like doing it, couldn't wait to get out of it... it all reeks of being spoiled and entitled. And it makes it hard to go back and re-watch it. Like I'd always rather see an actor do a job because they WANT to do it, not just because they're paid to be there, even if they're good at it.

I understand that is a Me Problem. :trazz: Nobody needs to try and "correct" me. I'm just explaining how I feel.

As Luthors go I think John Shea is pretty untouchable, even though he refused to be bald. I can easily ignore that since everything else about him was so perfect.

[newfan]

Smallville wasnt all bad. The best was Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor...he was fantastic. He sold me as Lex, especially when he turned full heel in seasons 5-7. No doubt the show went to thrash with main villains after he left.

Doomsday was a disaster. Zod...Callum Blue was pretty good in the role, props there. And Darkseid.....yeah pretty terrible.


I will also say James Marsters as Brainiac was pretty good in the role and John Glover as Lionel Luthor throughout the series was fantastic as well.

Same here, I really liked the Luthor's characters in this show.

I didn't see the Crisis on Earth ep with Welling as this ep wasn't aired here along with the others (and they took their time airing those) I assumed maybe because it was the Batwoman part of the crossover and that show hadn't started airing here at the time. I don't really care to seek it out and watch now.

[Andrew NDB]

And Darkseid.....yeah pretty terrible.

Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. "Darkseid" on Smallville... what a crock.

[ZariusTwo]

Smallville wasnt all bad. The best was Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor...he was fantastic. He sold me as Lex, especially when he turned full heel in seasons 5-7. No doubt the show went to thrash with main villains after he left.

Doomsday was a disaster. Zod...Callum Blue was pretty good in the role, props there. And Darkseid.....yeah pretty terrible.

I thought they missed a trick when they made Tess 'good' and almost 'motherly' too.

Anyone else think Callum is a dead ringer for Wade Barret or is that just me?:lol:

They dropped the ball on Martha running Checkmate too. Bendis would borrow a lot of that for Lois during his Superman run.

[Turo602]

The key difference is, in Snyder's version you have a Clark who absolutely REFUSES to quit being who he is and doing what he does - even if he occasionally has misgivings or feels discouraged; he still perseveres. And in Welling's portrayal, not only does he resist his "destiny" at every turn, thanks to "Crisis" we now know for a fact that he barely even got to be "Superman" before giving it up for "a simple life" on the farm with Lois, shirking his responsibility entirely because "I'd rather be normal".

It's not about how conflicted or anything one or both versions of the character are. It's about how Superman the character would NOT quit being Superman because he knows how important he is to the world. That if he ever gave it up, and something bad happened that he could have prevented, then by proxy it becomes His Fault.

There's an issue Jurgens wrote once - I forget the issue number, but the cover is Superman and Lois on top of a snow-covered mountain - and in it, she asks him why he even bothers. Why he feels so driven to be this "Superman" character, when he could do literally anything else with his life, whether that be King of the World or just hide out and live a life of total leisure. "Why be Superman?" she asks him.

And he simply replies, "Because no one else can."

THAT, to me, is one of the most fundamentally important scenes in the character's entire history, when it comes to understanding who Clark is and what drives him. And I think if anyone would try to write that off as "Just one interpretation" or "Just one story by one writer", that's pretty dismissive. I feel like nothing else has ever really nailed the heart of the character, the way that one scene does. And that if any portrayal of Superman isn't using THAT motivation as its base, then they're already off the mark.

Cavill's Superman follows that central motivational conceit. He's doing the things he does even BEFORE he's Superman "Because no one else can", and he'll KEEP doing them even if the whole world tells him not to bother. "Giving up is never an option."

And then there's Welling's Clark. "I don't feel any sense of responsibility to the world. I don't WANT to be their hero. I just want to go dick around on a farm and raise kids with my hot wife. If Brainiac or Darkseid invade, Oh F*cking Well."

THAT'S what I mean about "fundamentally misunderstanding the character". I can't accept any version of Superman who doesn't put his responsibility to use his powers for the good of the entire world ahead of his own self-centered pursuits. This is what I hate about "Superman II", as well; it's a movie about Superman quitting his job to go chase pussy, and how because of that the whole world goes to hell. At least, by the end of the movie, he learned his lesson. Welling's Superman obviously never watched or lived through the events of Superman II. :trazz:

Superman Never Quits. Welling's Superman did. He not only rejected his responsibility at every turn until the show's cancellation "forced" him to finally be "Superman" for at least a minute, thanks to Crisis we know that he eventually just plain quit. Thus, he isn't "Superman" to me.

So yeah, I don't think it's wrong in the least to say that Smallville and Welling completely misunderstood the character. I don't even think that's an opinion at all. I don't think "Superman's sense of responsibility is so great that he'd never, ever give it up" is even an opinion. I think that's 100% of Who That Character Is, and that if you ignore that then you're indeed "getting it wrong."

It's less about the build-up to "Becoming Superman" and everything complicated about the character getting to that point. That's typical "Heroes' Journey" stuff. What I can't abide, is the fact that Welling's version just plain f*cking gives up. We go from him not even wanting to be Superman, to him only being Superman for a very short time, to then just plain saying "Nope, this gig ain't for me."

I know that 100% of that is probably on Welling's personal dislike of the character, but again, F*ck That Guy, then.

You're looking at the whole series through the lens of Crisis, which was a rather stupid tacked on off shoot "ending" that contradicts the show itself. Lois would never let Clark not be Superman. She didn't want to marry him because she would feel guilty knowing he could be saving lives when he's spending time with her. They didn't even have the farm by the end of the series either, so why they're there and why and how he had to give up his powers to have a family makes no sense. Using that to sh*t on the show's portrayal of the character is just simply dishonest and unfair. You can't dismiss 10 whole seasons of material based on one dumb cameo in a totally different show 10 years later.

The most fundamental element of Superman is his humanity. Superman could spend every waking moment saving lives but he doesn't. He would rather dick around with Lois as Clark Kent in the Daily Planet living a life he doesn't need but he does anyway. That is the core of the character. Not with great power comes great responsibility. That's a different guy.

Clark in Smallville was always Superman, he just didn't have a public persona, so I don't understand how that differs from Man of Steel exactly, which was all about not revealing his secret until he was ready, which is just the condensed version of Smallville. They're both saving lives on the down low before flying and donning the suit. I don't see the difference here. Clark in Smallville never "resisted" his destiny, he just never rejected his humanity which is the whole point of the character. The only thing he resisted was Jor-El who wanted him to abandon his humanity to become the ultimate savior, something Superman can never do because he wants to be human and its his humanity that ultimately made him a hero.

You just seem to be overlapping Tom Welling the actor and whatever personal dislike you have of him with Clark Kent the character he portrays, which couldn't be further apart from each other. His portrayal and characterization were 100% Superman. Crisis doesn't take that away.

[Leo656]

I admit that Crisis has a lot to do with it. But they're the ones who went and did it and insisted that it's canon with the original show. They could just as well not done anything and it actually would have been a lot better. What they did retroactively makes that show worse. But yeah, I'm counting it, sure. Why not? It's there.

And yes, I know a lot of it is because of Welling himself, and I've said as much. He made a lot of demands that eventually influenced the original show as well as his Crisis cameo, all for the worse. I'm willing to lay blame where it belongs but it doesn't ultimately change my opinion that if he hates the character so much then he never should have had the gig. So many of the poor creative choices that were made came from him. First of all, actors shouldn't have that kind of pull, especially in his case because aside from "Smallville" he's a friggin' nobody. Second of all, playing Superman (or even just "Clark Kent" if a person wants to get technical and/or pedantic) is a gift and shouldn't just be handed to people who think they're somehow "above" the material, the way he obviously did and does.

Ultimately, there's two giant problems with Smallville, looking back on it in 2021: First, they really should have just thrown in the towel and let it become a Superman show about halfway through, since it already was at that point in every way except the costume and name, and the contrivances they kept coming up with to prevent it from just being Superman already were more and more ridiculous as time went on. And secondly, thanks to Crisis - which I do count as "canon" because they're the ones who made a point to go there and do that - we know that version of Superman packed it in early. Even if you ignore Problem 2, Problem 1 still exists.

And yes, both of those are Tom Welling-related issues and I know that. It doesn't excuse that those things are bad and there's no ignoring them. And that those things are only like that because the guy doesn't like the character, but was happy to take the paycheck.

I mean, I definitely have a ton - a TON - of other problems with the show itself. Mostly things like plotholes, inconsistencies, and every single character being an idiot most of the time because the plot demanded that everyone be an idiot. But I'm trying to stay focused on Just One Thing, here. :trazz:

Please don't get me started on Smallville. I have stuff I wanna do this week. :lol:

[Turo602]

I admit that Crisis has a lot to do with it. But they're the ones who went and did it and insisted that it's canon with the original show. They could just as well not done anything and it actually would have been a lot better. What they did retroactively makes that show worse. But yeah, I'm counting it, sure. Why not? It's there.

And yes, I know a lot of it is because of Welling himself, and I've said as much. He made a lot of demands that eventually influenced the original show as well as his Crisis cameo, all for the worse. I'm willing to lay blame where it belongs but it doesn't ultimately change my opinion that if he hates the character so much then he never should have had the gig. So many of the poor creative choices that were made came from him. First of all, actors shouldn't have that kind of pull, especially in his case because aside from "Smallville" he's a friggin' nobody. Second of all, playing Superman (or even just "Clark Kent" if a person wants to get technical and/or pedantic) is a gift and shouldn't just be handed to people who think they're somehow "above" the material, the way he obviously did and does.

Ultimately, there's two giant problems with Smallville, looking back on it in 2021: First, they really should have just thrown in the towel and let it become a Superman show about halfway through, since it already was at that point in every way except the costume and name, and the contrivances they kept coming up with to prevent it from just being Superman already were more and more ridiculous as time went on. And secondly, thanks to Crisis - which I do count as "canon" because they're the ones who made a point to go there and do that - we know that version of Superman packed it in early. Even if you ignore Problem 2, Problem 1 still exists.

And yes, both of those are Tom Welling-related issues and I know that. It doesn't excuse that those things are bad and there's no ignoring them. And that those things are only like that because the guy doesn't like the character, but was happy to take the paycheck.

I mean, I definitely have a ton - a TON - of other problems with the show itself. Mostly things like plotholes, inconsistencies, and every single character being an idiot most of the time because the plot demanded that everyone be an idiot. But I'm trying to stay focused on Just One Thing, here. :trazz:

So by your logic, all the Crisis cameos are canon to their respective universes too? Because again, all that Crisis stuff came from a different showrunner who had access to toys they had no role in creating. It's as canon as Turtles Forever is to the Mirage and 87 TMNT, which is not at all. I get Tom Welling is a huge turd for refusing to suit up and whatnot, but the main point I was making is that Clark as depicted in Smallville was still very much in line with the Superman character and not some asshole who resisted his own destiny because the actor was trying to sabotage the role.

Smallville was a great concept that went on longer than it needed to, sure, but I highly doubt the reason it didn't become a Superman show halfway through was because of Tom Welling when that was never the plan for the show nor what Welling signed on for. It's a TV series, it was popular, and it had to do its own thing while staying recognizable as a Superman project just like Gotham did. Ending it with Superman is kind of the whole point. Tom Welling didn't dictate that, but he sure did f*ck up the finale by not wearing the suit.

Please don't get me started on Smallville. I have stuff I wanna do this week. :lol:

Too f*cking bad. This is happening. :lol:

[ZariusTwo]

IDPwAoCQslw

[ZariusTwo]

TVLine interviewed Tom recently.

He gives his opinion on stunts like Lex becoming Zod in season five/six and the duster shirt with the S shield ("they were cheating"), the 'Superman suit' he wore in the very last shot ("it was just a shirt...I don't even know if it had sleeves") and clarifies the circumstances behind the departures of Kirsten and Michael ("they didn't quit, their stories ended")

He hasn't given up on the animated continuation of Smallville, and they are trying to get back as much of the cast as they can for the voice roles, and he also expressed an interest in launching a separate comedy show starring him and Michael as the washed-up double act of a popular show.

https://tvline.com/2021/10/17/tom-welling-interview-smallville-20th-anniversary/

[Leo656]

That runs very counter to things Rosenbaum said publicly back then about not wanting to do the show anymore, that it was going on too long, and that he was sick of shaving his head. Specifically, that he hated playing Lex because his "friends" were making fun of how he looked bald, and sticking his action figure up their butts as a "joke".

Truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but in his case it's probably a lot CLOSER to, "He was just sick of it by then." When he left, a lot of people stopped watching, or at least insisted the show was worse without him. So the whole "his story was over" bit rings a bit false.

[IMJ]

Alex Ross has been posting some pretty awesome Tom Wellington as Superman paintings to his Instagram lately. You guys should check it out.....

[TMNTFanatic4Life]

Yeah, it’s Lex Luthor, there’s plenty of stories for him in a show that lasted 10 seasons. I just always felt he got tired of playing that role and left to purse other opportunities.


I enjoyed Smallville for the most part and his portrayal of Lex Luthor was my favorite part of the show.

[Leo656]

I mean, I'd have to dig around and I don't feel like it, but I know I read several magazine interviews back then in which he was very vocal about not wanting to do the show anymore for multiple reasons, and that he preferred doing VA work like on Justice League because he didn't have to shave his head and could come to work in his pajamas, so he wanted to get away from the show specifically and live-action work in general for a little while.

Kreuk was also getting an expanded role as recruiter/coach in that NXVM cult around the time she left - something she and her "people" have downplayed and distanced from, but multiple people who were in it say she was a LOT more involved in all of that than she claims or lets on, and should probably be in jail with the others. But anyways, she'd already gotten in bed with them (pun intended) before she left the show and her role in their little "club" was growing, so I wouldn't doubt if that was also a factor.

Point being, in either case "their stories just ended" seems like a big fat lie from a guy doing the PR Spin Tour.

[ZariusTwo]

Also, Lex's story 'just ending' is kind of an admission of defeat that one can't tell unique and different Lex and Clark stories now that he knows who Clark is. That's why even the series finale was such bulls*it in that it has that awesome conversation between Lex and Clark, and then Tess erases his memories right after.

This is the kind of status quo preserver they did every season and they couldn't stop even for the FINALE.

[Leo656]

I'll be honest, I've never been at all a fan of Clark and Lex having been friends to begin with. I know that goes back to the damn 60s, but "Superboy" and everything that came with it was a giant retcon, anyways. Plus, we all know how much I "love" anything from the Silver Age! :trazz:

I mean, I usually kind of snicker when people say, "such-and-such makes This Character's World too small and insular," but in this case I think it applies. It all just seems TOO convenient that these two guys would've essentially spent their entire lives intertwined. Statistically, your Mortal Enemy is not the guy who sat next to you in Algebra. It might be, but it usually isn't. :lol:

Plus, as Byrne proved, you can take the connection between them as kids in Smallville out of the equation entirely, and nothing significant about the Lex character changes. You maybe get a few different reasons as to why he hates Superman. But at the end of the day, the contrast between the characters has always been about their respective view of and use of Power - who deserves to wield it, to what ends, and what they'll do to achieve or maintain it. You don't especially need for them to have had sleepovers together, once upon a time, for the point of their story to get across. It makes it a little more "tragic", I guess, but I don't find it altogether necessary.

I really liked the Conduit character for this reason, and was mad that he was killed off in his second comic book storyline. Everything you can achieve with the "Lex and Clark were childhood friends in Smallville" angle, you can do just as well with the Kenny Braverman/Conduit character, with the added benefit of this villain can actually fistfight Superman, and Lex can't (most times).

Of course, DC not knowing how to handle their better "new" villains, whenever they do successfully come up with one, killed him off in like a year. I never understood that.

Anyways, I'unno. Never liked Lex and Clark as childhood friends. Sometimes they try and tinker things so that Bruce and Clark were somehow pals as kids, too, and I don't like that either. It's all just too "Flintstones Kids", for me. Not EVERYBODY on Earth knows each other when they're 5 and are still balls-deep in each others' lives 30 years later, for f*ck's sake. :lol: But sometimes, in comics and stuff, it sure seems that way. Meh!

The only real "connection" between Lex and Clark that I really care for, is that Lex had a flame for Lois once upon a time. That's pretty much it. My preference for that whole "triangle" is, Lex has a torch for Lois, absolutely disdains Superman, and can hardly be bothered to remember Clark's name as Clark Kent is beneath his notice, outside of being "That asshole Lois married instead of Me, the Great Lex Luthor."

I can kinda see why some people like it when they were pals. I just don't.

[Turo602]

You can't really avoid the whole small world concept with a show like Smallville and to be honest, I think they went about Clark and Lex's relationship the right way.

They weren't exactly "friends," seeing as Lex was basically just obsessed with the guy due to the bizzare circumstances in how they met. Lex's intentions were never quite clear as a case could be made that he did want genuine friendship with Clark and wanted to be part of his family due to his daddy issues. But his character still comes across as jealous and devious and only trying to get close to Clark for his own personal gain. There's also a tragedy in there about how the two of them could have been best friends which is generally true about the characters since Lex could be doing a lot of good just like Superman, but instead chooses to obsess over his power.

The show is called Smallville and so everything kinda has to be happening around Smallville or at least Clark Kent, which the show did really well by having the premise revolve around the fact that an alien landed in Smallville and some powerful people took notice.