This has been an interesting thread, though sometimes I found myself banging my head against the desk.
I, too, enjoy Smallville. I don't love it, and it will never be an obsession like L&C, but I find it a fun way to spend an hour each week. It's also one of only two shows my husband and I watch together (the other being NYPD Blue), though the fact that it's on against Enterprise this year means that we've got both VCRs going on Wednesday night.
I adore Lex (he's not evil yet, and in contrast, he's clearly fighting against the evil he's afraid he will become -- his worst nightmare would be to be like his father, who is the true evil Luthor in this universe) and find him incredibly sexy and charismatic, and I love Chloe (and LOL, CC, about Chloe changing her name to Lois -- I've been saying from the beginning that I think Chloe was actually born Lois Lane and had to change her name when her family went into the Witness Protection Program! :goofy)
However, Lana could fall into a black hole and it would suit me just fine ... and it would be even better if she could take Jonathan with her. Oh, yes, and while I do find many of the "young Clark" storylines interesting (especially the whole cave thing -- that was fascinating!), I think Tom Welling has all the sex appeal of a wet sock ... and am I the only one who has noticed that the man cannot kiss? When he first kissed Lana in season 1, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that maybe he was doing it on purpose because he was playing an inexperienced 15 year old boy. He no longer has that excuse now that he and Lana are together, however, so I just hope his wife is understanding.
So I clearly understand why people might not like the show on its own merits -- it's by no means a perfect show.
What amazes me, however, is when people criticize it because various elements differ from L&C. Of *course* it's not L&C -- any more than L&C was the Superman movie, or the Superman movie was the George Reeves series -- or any of them were the comics. It's a new take on the characters and a new take on Clark's beginnings, just as L&C was a new take on the Superman legend in the 1990's.
I'm guessing most of you weren't around when L&C began but you should have heard some of the things the people who loved the comics and the Superman movies said about him -- the fact that Dean Cain had
brown eyes sent them into an absolute frenzy! Not to mention the fact that Dean was 1/4 Japanese ... and looked so young ... and that the Fortress of Solitude was his boyhood treehouse ... and that Lois didn't have a cat ... and Cat Grant was a slut instead of a single mother ... and Lana was a blonde (as has been pointed out, she's a redhead in the majority of the comics) ... see what I mean?
So when I hear people saying "Smallville is so dumb because they put Metropolis in Kansas", I wonder how that can be any worse an offense to "Superman canon" than inventing New Kryptonians or making L&C soulmates or even making L&C partners at the Daily Planet instead of intensely competitive rivals!
Julie Stars wrote:
Plus: Okay, I know Dean Cain is 1/4 Japanese but it's not that visible (to me, anyway). Lana Lang really looks Chinese! The whole idea is that they were both born and raised in Smallville, which would mean they are probably not Asian.
OK, so let me get this straight ... you are saying that because Lana lives in a small town in Kansas, she couldn't have Asian ancestry? How does that work, exactly? My niece is 1/2 Japanese and she lives in El Paso, Texas ... a woman I used to work with is 1/2 Chinese and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Would neither of them be allowed to move to the state of Kansas?
And, for the record, I had no idea the actress was half Asian until it was pointed out on this thread. I don't think she looks any more Asian that than Dean does, but even if she was 100% Asian, how would it possibly matter? She's an *actress* playing a role. Does it matter that Pete Ross is black? He's a blond in the comics, after all ... and married to Lana Lang.
Kathy
