Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic A Walk in the Dark by Nan Smith - November Fanfic Club Discussion **Spoilers**

Discuss A Walk in the Dark by Nan Smith here.

Okay, read this during lunch. Once again, need to do my bow to Nan for her superb writing. Well written, well plotted, and just plain terrific. I could totally picture this as an episode of Lois and Clark. Actually, I wish I could go back in time and slide this story under the door of the writer's room at Lois and Clark so that they'd make this into an episode. It would have been great to see Clark without his powers in S4, lost in Suicide Slum with Lois worried about her missing husband, out searching for him. Terrific story. Terrific read.

Nan! We miss you! Fates, be kind to Nan, so she can finally have time in RL to come back to us and write some more stories like this.

PS: And a shout out of Thanks to Mike for pointing me in the right direction to the short story this month. I'll get back to reviewing Halloween once I can find time to finish reading it. (I decided not to pick it up at lunch today, or I'd still be reading it now instead of doing what I'm supposed to be doing.)

There was a reason I guess I did not vote for this story...

I have always struggled with how to interpret the story. Was it dramatic with Clark running for his life and in severe danger at every turn or was it a comedic slapstick type of story. Nan writes it in a dramatic fashion as it played out and then lightens the mood at the end after Clark is safe. Like Virginia, played more to the comedic side, I could just see Dean Cain running all over Suicide Slum from muggers, dogs, and irate tenants and it would have made a great episode played that way. As a dramatic story it did not really do much for me. I mean the fates sure did seem to conspire against Clark during his outing. Kryptonite exposure, losing his phone, getting mugged and losing his money, jewelry and clothes, getting chased by more muggers, getting chased by dogs, getting chased by irate tenants, falling into the river, nearly freezing to death, and then by a stroke of pure luck finding a gasoline station about to be robbed, tackling the robbers, getting slashed, just to find a guy who happens to be a friend of Bobby Bigmouth who helps him. Personally I prefer when our heroes work their way out of situations being proactive, thinking their way out of every bad situation, and prevailing in the end instead of just lucking out of them time after time. To me all Clark did here was stumble from one disaster to the next and manage to keep from getting beat to death, torn apart by dogs, or drowning before coming upon Bobby's friend who he did not even know was Bobby's friend.

I guess since Virginia always claims to love to torture our heroes so I can see why she would like it as this story could fit that mode quite nicely but for me it was okay but probably my least favorite of Nan's work.

Mike

Yes, yes, yes, Mike. It was an angsty story, and I did wonder if we were going to end up with one of those endings where Lois finds a hot pink clad Clark floating in Hobs River dead in the morning. Thankfully, she did not (I trusted Nan not to deliver us that sort of ending.) However, it was nice to see Clark having to suffer through what any regular joe reporter would have had to without his super powers. It made him appreciate them and Lois (and what Lois does) all the more, I think. I didn't see it for the comedic points; although, the thought of Clark stumbling through the dark in torn briefs in a hot pink robe, covered in green pain and then to fall into the river does -- as Lois put it -- seem funny afterwards. Sometimes, Clark seems to luck out of situations because of his abilities. I could just pictures the headlines in the National Whisper come morning. In this story, it's Clark's own good qualities -- of not allowing someone to be robbed -- for standing up for the little guy, which saves his day. Most anyone else, by this point in the day, would have held back and not gotten involved. Only Clark would find the good man in Suicide Slums and come to his rescue, therefore, causing himself to be rescued because of it. I stand on my applause. I loved this story, because it's Clark's goodness and his faith in his fellow human being which saves him... whether or not he was friends with Bobby had nothing to do with it. Don't forget: Bobby Bigmouth knows everyone.