KenJ wrote:
Personally, I find Herb to be a much underused character in the series.
Obviously I don't agree with you there
but I do agree that Herb had huge
potential in the series. I also wish you much joy in your take on the character. One of the nicest things of LnC fandom is that everyone can focus on their favorite aspects of a show without having to deal with hate or mockery.
To be fair, part of the problem (I think) is that Tempus was such a huge fan favorite that the writers tended to skew events in his direction, to give him a chance to chew up more of the scenery. That may explain why Herb makes so many foolish mistakes in his dealings with Tempus. The peacekeepers from Utopia are equally bumbling, which may lead us to wonder if Utopia is such a great place after all. Perhaps that's why they irritate me so much: I am a huge fan of
competence, and we get precious little of that sometimes.
I do think that the parts of Herb I dislike actually fit quite well to the real Wells, though. He had strong socialist/pacifist tendencies that tended to be disappointed and/or shattered when real-life events proved them unworkable. That does sound like our Herb, doesn't it? There's also his behavior towards Lois, which was perfect: the real H.G. Wells ardently believed in a future of equality for women.
VirginiaR wrote:
Would any of us pro-Lois fans have liked anyone engaged to marry Alt-Clark?
Wait, there are people on the forum that
aren't pro-Lois?
I have this bizarre history of falling into a fandom via transcripts before I have a chance to watch actual episodes. It gives me what I think is a relatively unique perspective, as what you read in a textual medium is often conveyed completely differently when it's translated to actual performance. It gets interesting sometimes.
I guess they could have played "Tempus, Anyone?" from Lana's POV, showing Lana as sweet and loveable, worried what would happen to Clark if he were exposed as an alien, and Lois as the woman out to steal Lana's fiance (even if technically she wasn't). ... I guess it all depends on the story's POV.
Well,
yeah.
Although I assure you that's she's not exactly sweet and lovable. Lana is, of course, the hero of her own story - aren't we all? - but I'm pretty proud of how her personality doesn't change.
Mrs. Mxy has also voiced complaint at how Lana was portrayed on the series.
Hm, I'm not complaining, per se. Every iteration of a mythos is going to change a bit, and if LnC is less sympathetic to Lana than, say,
Smallville, you certainly can't claim that there's no source for it in all the decades of comics!
I love Tempus and wherever he goes, Herb must follow (or be involved, somehow).
I absolutely adore Tempus, too, but keeping Herb out of it was actually my
first rewrite of the ep.
I love all the Tempus eps, like you, although I'm not sure I can point to a specific favorite. Alt-Clark is a delight, because there's no much room to maneuver and still come up with a happy ending. CANON ALTERNATE REALITIES make
any fandom better. Go us!
