Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic What is it about Smallville?

I'm starting this thread in the sanguine hope that I won't get lynched by Smallville fans!

Alas and alack, the show stopped being aired by our local TV network after S1, before I could start watcing it. Normally I'd have jumped upon anything that smacked of my beloved LnC, but the Clana storyline and Lex-Luthor-the-mentor-of-young-Clark plot just didn't work for me.
Still, as time went on, I began to think that a show with such a devoted and large fan following must have its merits, so I succumbed to peer pressure and bought myself Smallville S3 (I'd mistakenly thought that was the one with Erica Durance in it). And sat down to watch with a reasonably open mind.
I still don't get it. What's special about Smallville?

One thing that rather bugs me is how they seem to make out that Smallville and Metroplois are right next door to each other.
Smallville: Kansas state, which is in the Mid West. Metropolis: New Troy State, which has always been implied to be in a coastal region.
I'm not a Lana hater at all, but I wish the writers would make up their minds about which girl they want him to end up with and go through with whichever one it is!

I'm not starting this thread to bash Smallville. I just really want to know from Smallville fans, out of genuine curiosity, what I'm missing.

What about Smallville fascinates you?

In the earlier seasons, they actually said that Metropolis was a 3-hour drive from Smallville. So, not quite "right next door," but definitely not coastal either. That actually is kind of weird to me too. I don't even think there is a New Troy state in this show--maybe they're actually going to Metropolis, Illinois in SV?

As for me, my main reasons for watching Smallville are:

1) eye candy (yes, I admit I'm a lonely, 23-year-old girl with hormones to spare)

2) I think it's interesting to see what differences the current culture can bring to a legend such as Superman. It's fascinating (to me) that Clark Kent, if he'd been born only about 20 years ago, would not be as moral and upstanding as we've come to see Superman over the years. Not that I like this less-moral Clark, but it is a bit easier to relate to him, and

3) I'm a sucker for romance (and pretty much any romance), which, as Tank pointed out in one of the fanfic threads, is a state of mind, not of undress. Whether it's Clark/Lana, Clark/Chloe, Clark/Lois, or even Chloe/Jimmy, Lex/Lana, or Lois/Oliver, I can't resist--although I do like to focus on only one 'ship per person (i.e. Lois/Clark and in the case of Smallville, Chloe/Jimmy), it's pretty fun just to wait for that one 'ship and see how the characters get to that point.

I like Smallville, because there are some interesting plot lines.

You named the friendship between Lex and Clark. I have to agree that it's kind of strange to imagine the two as friends. But on the other hand it's an interesting idea that Lex isn't entirely bad. I have seen five seasons of the series now and I sometimes wonder if Lex is really the bad guy. The plot is not so black and white as in LnC. It's more suspense-driven.

As to the girls... Well, I think that Clark and Chloe should end up together... *sigh*

I don't like everything about the series. I find the whole Kryptonian part a bit strange.

I forgot to mention that I also like Lionel. His character is just so ambiguous, I don't know whether I'd rather hug him or hit him.

I started watching Smallville very early, back in the day when the only 3rd or 4th episode of season one aired here in Austria(/Germany). Initially the producers charmed me with a modern tale of a teenage Clark Kent which sounded exciting enough as this wasn't something I experienced previously (outside of fanfiction).

Today's show is of course in no way comparable to the beginning and that is in part what kept me watching. Imagine a show about 14-15 year old kids growing up, in theory they go through the most character development in the following years until they leave home to start their own lives.

Why I'm still watching now? Well, Darcy mentioned it already, there is certainly some eye candy Aside from that Chloe was the one person who I value most in the current cast and as long as she's on the SV-screen I'll keep watching. Why? Because I like to imagine a possible child/youthhood for some AU-Lois

Simply put, it's the suspense. A good suspenseful plot, no matter how infuriating or frustrating it can get, will always hook me.

Besides that, I've always been drawn to anything Superman.

Well, the reason why I don't watch Smallville is simple. The very idea of seeing Clark in love with anyone but Lois is horrible to me.

Ann

I have to say the main reason I watch is it's a "mystery" TV show for the most part, which I kind of like, and then the fact it's Superman connected makes it interesting to watch.

That's why I got into it. The reason I keep watching is because the writer's give little scenes that hint toward things like the Justice League or LnC. And there are little moments that are too cute. (The Lois/Clark kiss and the scene with Lois telling about it.) And then, finally, because of Chloe. She's why I like Smallville in some of the same way Lois was why I joined the Lois and Clark following. She brings that fire and spark, the spontaneity, and even a sprinkling of pure joy.

As for Lana, in some ways I respect this Lana more than any of the others. She did wait for Clark to tell her for awhile, but if she can't trust him to be honest with her, why should she stay with him? You might say the same for her relationship with Lex, but Lex is more skilled at brushing it off and saying sweet nothings to make her forget what she was asking about, or giving partial truths, or making it seem inconsequential. Clark is so bumbling that it's easy for her to tell when he's lying. Lex is playing her so well, and nobody who advises her against him has any proof, so she can't be expected to realize his criminality.

As for the Luthors, I believe both are almost completely amoral. They hesitate at times, but they always go the same way. Lionel has one redeeming thing, he really does love Martha, I believe, but he won't let that change him. The reason he keeps Clark's secret silent is not from any loyalty to them, but from the fact that he knows, especially dealing with Lex, that information is power, and he holds a hidden ace on Lex.

The last two chapters reveal another reason I watch Smallville-the hidden sub-plots.

I like Smallville, but for me it's an average show. Not even really good anymore, all the time.

I tuned in because I like superheroes. I'm not even a Superman fan in particular, though I'm a LnC fan, like Justice League (don't watch JLU, though it seems like it's good), watched a few eps of the animated series and Superboy, and the movies. I also watched Flash and Wonder Woman and Greatest American Hero, and would have at least checked out Aquaman or Green Arrow, had those shows happened.

Lex is quite interesting at the start of the show. He protects those in his circle a lot - but everyone else is pawn. IMO, a lot of people woobiefy him, which made me like him a lot less, and now I don't even care about him. At first, he could do good things and bad things - and you'd cheer for him when he did both. The first season is quite good. I had no objection to Clark/Lana - I liked Superboy. But I fell for Chloe by the third ep. I was a Clark/Chloe fan.

The second season is weaker, IMO, but lots of people like it. There was some interesting stuff with Jor-El, and I thought Eradicator might eventually be brought in, but no dice. I've heard that between the first and second season, the network found out (via audience-testing) that Chloe was more popular than Lana, and so Chloe was in the show a lot less, and Lana became Miss Perfect because it seems the network wanted KK to be the next Katie Holmes. Anyway, after a bit, Lana was treated as though she were perfect, no matter what she did - other people apologized to her when she did bad things to them. She was a lot better when they didn't try to put her on a pedestal. Combined circumstance made me quit watching at the end of season 2.

I got sucked back in by the promise of another ep with Christopher Reeve. The ep was not too good. But I started watching the show again, and watched some of the reruns to catch up. Lex became less-sympathetic, but his fans still loved him and it seemed by then everyone blamed everybody but Lex for every bad thing he did which, annoyed me. By then, he'd done way too many bad things for me to buy the "I want to be different than my father" bit anymore. Which I don't think is a bad thing, since he's the villain. But then, when they tried to make him say that again, he just came off as annoying, probably more so to me because a lot of Lex fans still believed that (and still do), and I think that he pays lipservice to wanting to be better, but almost every time he's faced with the choice of doing bad and getting what he wants or doing good and not getting it, he picks door number one. By the third season, I was hoping Chloe was Lois Lane. Reading spoilers for the fourth season, I decided not to tune in.

But then there was a Chloe-ep that sounded great, so I ended up watching again. Erica Durance wasn't a bad Lois at first. Then they made her have flunked high school to keep her in Smallville. Made her rude and not smart. Made her hate journalism. Made her get into college because Clark asked Lex to pull strings. Made her get kicked out of college for drinking. Made her mooch off the Kents, with no ambition and no attempts to find a job, until Martha offered her a job. I could never accept her as Lois Lane. I became a more ardent Chlois-supporter. Also, the fourth season has lot of Lana. Lana possessed by her ancestor who is a witch. Really poor storyline. But it ended with Clark in the snow - Fortress of Solitude was coming, and I had to tune in to season 5 for that.

The first half of the fifth season is great! Clark knows Chloe knows he has powers. He tells her everything (due to her ending up at the Fortress of Solitude). They were very much partners, and it was reminiscent of the Lois&Clark relationship on LnC, IMO. It was a great time. They thought it was going to be the last season, so the show started moving and characters progressed. Everyone had forward momentum. They finally let Clark and Lana be a couple and showed that they wouldn't work out, and both parties were seeming to be responsible. Chloe was working at the DP. Clark was having Kryptonian interaction. Lex was experimenting on people. Lana was standing on her own, and pursuing something without help. It was so good. Then they realized the ratings were good enough for another season, and all forward momentum came to a screeching halt. Suddenly Lana was blameless in the breakup. She handed over everything she was pursuing to Lex and was content to get (or not get) updates from him. The focus went away from the Kryptonian. So sad, the season had such a promising start.

So far this season has been adequate. Lois has a job at the worst rag in town (instead of working to make her article better) and has lied in every single article she's written for them. Again - not my Lois Lane. But they had a good story with the Green Arrow, and I thought he was a great character (others disagree). Chloe has been okay. Mostly not much for her. She and Jimmy do not work as a couple for me. It's like she's an adult and he's a kid - woefully unequal. Clark had some really good stuff earlier. He seems to be growing into the hero thing, now and that's good. I was very annoyed and Raya brushing EvilJor-El under the rug. Lex is continuing down the path of evil, but this Lex/Lana thing is so dull. I just know they are going to make her blameless again. And the fans all make her guilty of everything. The reality reflected by her on-screen actions is somewhere between the two. But it looks like there are at least a couple of good eps coming up.

Now, I tune in mostly because I've watched so long. My primary interest is in Chloe being the real Lois Lane - I'm devoted to that cause. It's a shame it'll never happened. The hardworking, ambitious, faithful, intelligent confidante will not get what she wants. Her lazy, abrasive, lacking-in-journalistic-integrity cousin will instead get Chloe's dream job and dream man. The other things is to see Clark become more proactive and choose to be Superman. I'm really ready for that kind of behavior. And I hope against hope for Eradicator to be brought in to explain Jor-El's erratic and sometimes evil behavior.

I tuned in initially because it was a “Superman” series with a twist, his journey to becoming the world’s greatest hero. I’ve stayed for pretty much the same reason, but to be honest I have been disappointed at times.

Clark has often seemed less than heroic and I haven’t liked some of the liberties TPTB have taken with the legend. Personally, I would have eliminated Chloe (not necessarily the actress, just the character) and combined her character with Lana. It would just have made more sense.

Having lost her parents to the meteor shower Lana becomes obsessed with all things meteor related giving us a reason behind the push toward journalism and “Wall of Weird”. Clark also being interested in journalism (and let’s face it, wouldn’t it be nice if “Smallville” actually had a Clark interested in journalism?) would work on the same school paper and be drawn to this driven girl that he partnered with from time to time, but who looked on him as “just a friend”. That would also have made the reporter character that Chloe has become less of a “Deus Ex Machina” and more of an individual character in her own right while still using the reporting backdrop as a way to push the story forward. I guess to me it would have just seemed less fake and forced. Though that is just my opinion.

I also would have liked the entire series to be framed by voiceovers from Clark’s journal which would have highlighted his interest in journalism beyond just being meteor related and made him a character unto himself defined by more than just his powers and alien origin and having goals rather than just being someone always reacting to the chaos around him (How’s that for a run on sentence, Wendy? ). I also wouldn’t have introduced Lois Lane accept possibly as a very brief guest star unless I was allowed to have a romance develop between the two of them. Otherwise it’s just 3 seasons worth of foreplay (very minimal though fun at times foreplay I admit) with no payoff.

That said you have to wonder why I like the show since I just said I would have changed the whole thing, but truth be told I have enjoyed the whole journey aspect of it especially when the science fiction parts have been brought in. Not so much with the caves and such, but definitely when the ship was involved (of course evil Jor-El was a complete mistake on their parts in my opinion, but I digress) and the key. You can’t forget the key.

As a whole, it’s been enjoyable despite some less than stellar episodes and some very forgettable moments of a less than proudly behaving Clark. I like Erica Durance’s Lois and her interactions with Clark (some of the best moments in the series I think) though I haven’t liked some of the things TPTB have done with her character which I think were ill thought out and done simply to explain her continued presence without really considering how it would affect the character as a whole. Still, the shower episode from “Gone”, the investigating in “Devoted”, the kiss from “Hydro”, and the brief romance in “Crimson” were all worth the other aggravation.