The SMALLVILLE Thread

[crazy_asian_man]

Smallville took a lot of abuse during its run, much of it was unjustified,

I think Smallville has the unfortunate distinction of being compared to the quality of other scifi/fantasy shows that have been able to go further creatively.... again, that's why I wish the commentaries mentioned what restrictions the showrunners might have been under all along (assuming that they were).

With something like Star Trek: the Next Generation at this point, we know from interviews and the internet what boundaries the writers had under Gene Roddenberry (no conflict between crew members essentially), but I'm certain that either the CW, WB or DC must have had some kind of creative restrictions for how far they could go with the characters.... if we knew what they were, then it'd be easier to give fairer criticism.

(*Though on the flip side, I must give WB/DC big credit when Smallville decided to be 'Brave and the BOld' and showcase other DC heroes....pity they didn't limit Lana's appearances, though or put a limit on how many times characters can come back from the dead or have their memory erased....)

[Valentine Smith]

I don't miss this show one bit. And I was more than tolerant of it during its run, and downright enjoyed a number of episodes. But I have zero desire to revisit it.

[crazy_asian_man]

I don't miss this show one bit. And I was more than tolerant of it during its run, and downright enjoyed a number of episodes. But I have zero desire to revisit it.

I hear you. I don't even mind so much that it deviated unnecessarily so gigantically from the comics- but that even if you accept that... on its own terms, the constant memory wipes and mostly lack of direction makes it hard to totally fall for.

(*This didn't help Lois and Clark either- They were doing pretty good doing their own thing, but then when they did the amnesia and clone thing- it was pretty much the same 'reset' button that killed their own show)

[zarius]

I've had a lot of fun going back to the show for my new fanediting project, and the continuiation comic book is decent material, even if it takes forever to tell one solitary story. I do wish they would have "done in ones" rather than arcs. A season shouldnt last more than a year, it's bad enough Doctor Who gets up to that

[thecolorsblend]

A staggering amount of material comes directly from the comics. What I've found is that the people who complain the loudest about the "deviations" Smallville took from the comics usually know the least about what actually happened in those comics.

Smallville works for me partly because it makes Superboy a sellable concept. Byrne deleted Superboy from the canon and so his Clark had a pretty boring and mundane upbringing. The Pre-Crisis Superboy was basically a younger Superman without too much of anything to distinguish him from his adult self apart from a different supporting cast. Smallville basically combined those two things and the end result is a "Superboy" who has a long way to go before he becomes SuperMAN. Between that, the fact that the show adapted more DC characters into live action than all previous DC adaptations combined times a zillion and it was just FUN, I think Smallville will always be my definitive Superman adaptation into other media (although MOS is looking really good too).