I've never read a DC comic (or Marvel for that matter) and I've only watched the four "Reeve" Supermans and Superman Returns. Thus I have no idea what does or doesn't contradict Superman mythology when I watch Smallville, which is an advantage I think.
Synopsis: A meteor shower hits a small town in Kansas: Smallville. But with that shower a spaceship arrives and it contains a small boy that is adopted by the Kents. 12 years later. Clark Kent, Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross are freshemens on the Smallville Highschool. And Lex Luthor, son of Lionel Luthor takes over the management of the Smallville fertilizer plant. But then an accident happens where Lex nearly gets killed - if it weren't for Clark. And a man awakes from a coma in which he had laid for twelve years.
My Opinion: I really liked the homage to the first Superman movie, when Clark missed his school bus and ran across the fields again. I also liked most of the cast from the start. I also thought it to be interesting that Clark didn't already possess all of his abilities. But the pilot plot also introduces the scheme of the show for at least the first season: Freak-of-the-Week. But they also have some minor arcs from the beginning.
Metamorphosis
Synopsis: The story continues on the day after the Homecoming. Lex still possesses Lana's meteor rock necklace and intends to help Clark with it. But not only Clark and Whitney are interested in Lana but also Greg. He's stalking her until he's stung by a swarm of meteor-infected bugs. Then he becomes dangerous and only Clark is strong enough to stop him.
My Opinion: An ordinary FotW episode. But also the first where Clark has to accept his fate: He may be the rescuer but often he won't be able to take the credit for it. He has to conceil who he is and that will bring him in as much trouble as facing his opponents will do.
Hothead
Synopsis: The football coach uses a sauna with meteor rocks which gives him the ability to burn things at will. He is also very ambitious and wants his team to win no matter the costs. And Clark wants to join the team even against the will of his father. Meanwhile Lex's father wants his son to fire 20% of the employees in the fertilizer plant.
My Opinion: A good father-and-son-confrontation episode but both confrontations where totally different of course. If I were to imagine Jonathan Kent's early years I can't help but to think of a certain Bo Duke (The Dukes of Hazzard). ;) To watch Lex over the course of the years is also interesting bceause they choose to portray him as "not so bad" guy in the beginning. If he were bad from the start I don't think it would have been that interesting. There's one problem though: Lex is supposed to be 6 or 7 years older than the others (IIRC he was 10 when the meteors hit Smallville) and although Michael Rosenbaum (29 in 2001) is actually 5 years older than Tom Welling (24 in 2001) it doesn't feel that way. When they both face each other they both seem very adult, but Clark is only a 16-year-old Highschool student.
X-Ray
Synopsis: After sudden flashes of headaches, Clark is able to see through things though he can't really control it. But this new ability helps him to uncover a plot to blame Lex for a bank robbery he didn't commit. A girl who has become a bad copy of Lana has the ability to shape-shift and she can fool everybody but Clark. Meanwhile a reporter tries to blackmail Lex with knowledge about his past in Metropolis.
My Opinion: This episode starts several things. Firstly, the tradition to introduce one new ability in every season, in this case his X-Ray vision. Secondly, Lex's obsession with Clark that will presumably never end. And thirdly we see that he has both a past that is at least greyish and that he becomes ruthless when he's threatened. I doubt I would have noticed it before Buffy but that was the second time in only four episodes that had at least one scene in a cemetery. :hmmmm:
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 22, 2008, 08:12:14 PM
Disc 2
Cool
Synopsis: After the football player Sean has fallen into the lake he comes out of it barely alive. But something has happened, he can't keep warm and he needs new sources of heat all the time. The best source seems to be the body heat of a human and Chloe has just given him her phone number. In the meantime Clark is driving to a concert - together with Lana, but "just as friends". But then he learns of the dange Chloe is in and immediately returns to Smallville.
My Opinion: This will also be a recurring theme that Clark has to walk out on someone to save another and of course he can't explain why. I thought it a bit too convenient that Whitney would find Lana in that café when he was supposed to watch a game on a Pay-TV channel, but then again, Clark's and Lana's relationship is as complicated as it gets, it's even worse than the one of Ross and Rachel (Friends). I also liked the remark when Chloe asked Clark if he comes from an ice planet - considering the movie and the place of his Fortress of Solitude that wasn't far from the truth.
Hourglass
Synopsis: Clark does community work in a retirement home where he reads stories to an old, blind lady who claims to be able to foretell the future. But then one of the elders "gets lost" and instead a young man appears in Smallville and he has a score to settle.
My Opinion: I wonder if this old woman Cassandra (what an unimaginative name for a person that can see the future) has seen Clark as himself or as Superman when she looked into other people's future. I also "liked" how they presented Lex's future, they way that sunflower field turned into a wasteland covered with bones. It seemed fitting for the character. What I didn't understand was Harry's motive to kill the descendants. He said he wanted to destroy the future of that teacher und thus he killed his son. He wanted to hurt the teacher, otherwise he would have killed him, too. So why now kill the children of the original jury when they jury members themselves are already dead and can't feel any pain anymore? He simply could have left Smallville and started a new life. Mabye I don't understand because I am not a homicidal lunatic.
Craving
Synopsis: Jodi is obsessed with diets because she is an overweight teenager. But then she finds the perfect shake: vegetables grown in meteor soil. She slims down to a perfect body, but this diet has side-effects: she needs huge portions of fat to survive. And she gets it from wherever she can.
My Opinion: People who are unhappy the way they look are very exhausting, it's no fun to be around them. But one shouldn't define oneself by the looks. But then again I was never a female teenager. Once again Clark can't be with Lana because he has to save a friend and I can understand that she's disappointed. She said a funny thing in a previous episode, that Whitney would always be there when she would need him. Clark will also always be there when she needs him, just not in the way she meant it or expects it.
Jitters
Synopsis: A man claims to have worked on "Level 3" in the Smallville fertilizer plant and he got somehow sick there. Now he demands answers and takes hostages at the plant. Among them: A group of Highschool students. Among them: Lana, Chloe, Pete and Clark. The problem is: This plant has no "Level 3" - at least not official.
My Opinion: This was the first hint, that LuthorCorp conducts research on the meteor rocks and that it isn't entirely legal. And it also showed that Lex isn't involved in his father's plans - at least until now. I also liked the closing scene where Lionel and Lex hugged for the cameras while the Kents hugged as a family. One could see that Lex envied them.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 23, 2008, 10:04:32 AM
Disc 3
Rogue
Synopsis: A corrupt cop who witnessed Clark's powers is now blackmailing him. When Clark refuses he frames Jonathan for a murder. Meanwhile principle Kwan fires Chloe as editor of the school paper "Torch" and installs Lana as her successor.
My Opinion: The frame was so obviously fake I don't believe anyone could have really fallen for it. They get an anonymous tip and then they find a body in the middle of the barn, on the ground, unhidden?!? But apart from that I liked the stunts Clark pulled to get back at the dirty cop.
Shimmer
Synopsis: Lex' castle is haunted. A ghost lives there that can move without being seen. But there's also Amy, the daughter of an employee in the mansion. She has a crush on Lex and dislikes his new girlfriend. When the new girlfriend is attacked by the "ghost", Clark and Chloe put one and one together and get three.
My Opinion: The cool thing about this episode is that I always forget that it is the brother and not Amy herself. It was an ok episode.
Hug
Synopsis: A very persuasive business man comes to Smallville and plans to open a new plant. But for that he would have to buy the Kent farm. There's also a hermit in the woods who wants to be left alone but also doesn't want to have this business man in his town. But Clark's alliance with Kyle the hermit causes a riff between Clark and Lana who suspects to have been attacked by Kyle.
My Opinion: That episode I really liked because I liked Kyle. I like grumpy people because in the end they always have their heart in the right place. While the fight between Lana and Clark felt a bit constructed I really liked the end scene again when Clark (or was it Lex?) claims that the story their friendship will be the stuff for legends. One regrets that it won't end so well. They also used the "forgetfulness plot device" for the first time to make Lex forget that he saw Clark's powers.
Leech
Synopsis: When Clark tries to rescue to a fellow student both are struck by lightning and through the meteor rocks his powers are transfered to Eric. From now on, Clark is normal and Eric becomes "Superboy". But then he begins to abuse his abilities and Clark has to stop him.
My Opinion: "With great powers comes great responsibility" (Ben Parker, Spider-Man) I really liked it that Clark's nature didn't change just because he had no powers anymore. He still tried to help even when that caused him a few broken rips. Episodes where Clark is incapacitated or otherwise limited are always interesting, yet it conveniently happens always when Lex doubts Clark. I also liked Shawn Ashmore (Iceman, X-Men trilogy) in the role of Eric.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 23, 2008, 03:18:29 PM
Disc 4
Kinetic
Synopsis: There's a series of break-ins and no one can explain how the thieves did it. But they run into Clark and Chloe when they try to rob Lex. Clark can't prevent that Chloe falls out of a window and gets seriously hurt. Now Clark does anything in his power to find and stop these guys and he has help from the inside.
My Opinion: I am sure that there are people asking and complaining that Clark didn't save the bad guy, too. From the looks of it it would have been possible to pull both of them out. But from my POV there is s strict order: Good guys first, bad guys later if there's time. And maybe Clark didn't know that the tattoo had worn off. After all he was standing there on his own free will, so: Shit happens.
Zero
Synopsis: Lex's past catches up to him: Three years ago there was an incident at the Club Zero in Metropolis. A man was killed and now this man wants to find out what really happened. But he also endangers the people around Lex. Meanwhile there's a school project going on and this project threatens the secret of the Kent family.
My Opinion: Now Chloe has begun to research Clark's past, that makes the second person around him. I liked this episode because it showed pieces of Lex's past and it didn't reveal too soon the secret of this dead guy. With Chloe's digging another side-story has started which means the stories will become more and more arc-y and less FotW-y. I don't know if it was planned from the beginning but over the last episodes they have scattered a few bread crumps like the mystery of his adoption that will become relevant in later episodes. I like that.
Nicodemus
Synopsis: A man smashes into Jonathan's car and then overturns his own. When Jonathan tries to rescue him he comes in contact with a flower that makes him act out of character. But then he slips into a coma. When Clark, Chloe, Lana and Pete investigate the case, Lana and Pete get also infected and they are going to die if a cure isn't found.
My Opinion: Two words: Lana. Hot. *must concentrate now* I believe that was the first time that Lex lied directly into Clark's faces because he has secrets of his own. I don't count Zero because he bluntly told Clark to stay out of it but here he held back informations because this doctor secretly works for him. It's a long road he has started to go down. :(
Stray
Synopsis: A young boy called Ryan jumps in front of Martha's car in the middle of the night. When he wakes up he claims to have amnesia. But he has also a secret: He can read minds and that's the reason he is hunted by his stepparents who use him for robberies. But for a while he is save on the Kent farm and he bonds with Clark and through his ability he learns about Clark's secret.
My Opinion: I found it funny to see super-hero comics in a series based on a super-hero comic. ;) I liked this episode because I liked Ryan. I think it would be hard to hear other peoples thoughts. It might sound cool in the beginning but I think one can handle only so much honesty and I think such a person would eventually leave all the people to give the mind some rest.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 23, 2008, 07:33:28 PM
Disc 5
Reaper
Synopsis: Tyler's mother wants to die but when her son tries to grant her that wish he is caught and falls out of a window, breaking his neck. But during the autopsy he re-awakes from the death - a meteor rock around his wrist saved him. From now on he has the ability to turn people into ashes and he uses that to help people die. But then he kills someone accidentally and Clark has to stop him.
My Opinion: Euthanasia is always a complicated topic but even if one isn't opposed to the idea in general no one has the right to make that decision for another person. I liked it that Tyler saw the error in his way and ended it his way. It would become boring if Clark always had to put down the bad guy himself.
Drone
Synopsis: Pete convinces Clark to run for class presidency. But then his competitors are attacked by bees one after the other. Clark has a pretty good idea who is behind this. Additionally he has an argument with Chloe who supports another candidate.
My Opinion: There are some parts of the american culture I will probably never understand. This was just a class presidency election, yet there were banners and buttons and flags and flyers and ... all over town. Some villages around here wouldn't put that much effort to it when it comes to the election of the next mayor. I also wonder who would fund such an election since Clark didn't seem to have asked Lex.
Crush
Synopsis: Justin has just come out of recovery. He was injured in a hit-and-run accident the previous year. He lost the ability to use his fingers properly and thus the ability to draw. But instead he can move objects with his mind. He still tries to find that driver and Chloe helps him with that. Clark - who had a major run-in with Chloe - is sceptical about Justin because freak accidents happen around him.
My Opinion: The writers managed to put Clark in a lose-lose situation. Everytime he socializes with either of the girls he has to run off to save the other. And that won't change for quite some time. On the one hand it's understandable that both are disappointed by this behaviour but on the other hand they both should have learned by now that Clark only runs off when he has a very good reason to do so. Before I started this marathon I thought about making a list of people who know about Clark's secret and have "forgotten" it again. Maybe I should make a list of how often he saves Lana's and/or Chloe's life.
Obscura
Synopsis: Lana is knocked out by an explosion on a field. When she awakes she is somehow mentally connected to a kidnapper. She sees that he keeps Chloe as prisoner but nobody believes her because Chloe is supposed to be in Metropolis. Clark - who has experienced stranger things - goes onto a search for Chloe.
My Opinion: Two more notches. This time he had to save both, first Chloe and then Lana. I liked the episode because he finally asked Chloe out for the spring ball. If I were him, I would have gone for Chloe a long time ago. Yes, I admit it, I belong to the Chlark (Chloe + Clark) fraction. It was practically just a side-remark but the discovery of the octagon disc will set many things in motion. It will become one of the most important items of the show.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 23, 2008, 09:06:39 PM
Disc 6
Tempest
Synopsis: Clark goes to the spring formal with Chloe and Lana brings her boyfriend to the bus station because he decided to join the US Marine Corps. But before that happens the reporter that was hired by Lex some time ago blows up the Kent's truck with Clark in it. And he is right, Clark survives without a scratch. After that he learns both about the octagonal disc and the ship in the storm cellar. This will be a stormy day in Smallville.
My Opinion: Great finale. Smallville is a series that uses cliffhangers at the end of each season and the first parts are often great. But sometimes they fail to give it a good resultion in the next season. I never had much interest in Whitney but he was a good reason why Clark couldn't be with Lana. I am not sure if it was a good idea to take him out of the show that early.
The Season - My Opinion: As I said, I've never read a Superman comic, but I liked this show from the beginning. The cast is great and several arcs are set in motion. It wasn't the best of all seasons but that rarely happens and in the league of first seasons it was a good one.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: addicted2dvd on May 23, 2008, 09:09:35 PM
Wow Karsten... you got through the first season really quick! Great job! :thumbup:
Smallville is definitely a great series... but not one I think I will revisit myself just yet. :P Though I have been having some urges to try to do a marathon again... just not quite sure what I am in the mood for yet.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 23, 2008, 09:18:58 PM
Synopsis: Lana's Truck is torn apart by the tornado but Clark is there to protect her. But on the day after the storm he has to go on a search for his father who has run after the reporter that wanted to disclose Clark's secret. While they are searching for him, Chloe makes the suggestion that they should stay "just friends".
My Opinion: This was actually a good resolution. Of course they had to find a way to silence that reporter and this way had an ironic touch. If Lex knew what secret the reporter has taken into his grave, I believe he would have killed Jonathan instead. And when it comes to woman Clark is as sensitive as a wrecking ball.
Heat
Synopsis: The new school year has started and Lex wants to marry! And his fiancé is Clark's new biology teacher. She's so hot that Clark sets the silver screen on fire just by staring at it. But something isn't right with here. She has a strange control over all men, including Lex - but not Clark.
My Opinion: A "new ability" episode. It's always fun to see Clark learning to control it and he always can put it to good use in the same episode. But I didn't care much for the pheromone lady, maybe because I watched a similar story recently on Stargate SG-1.
Duplicity
Synopsis: Pete finds Clark's spaceship (that had been lost since the tornado) in a field and he wants Clark's help to salvage it. But then someone steals the ship and Pete suspects Clark - which isn't far from the truth because Clark and his father actually intended to steal it. Then Clark decides to reveal his secret to Pete.
My Opinion: A really good episode. I've been waiting for it. Clark simply needs someone he can confide to (apart from his parents) and his best friend Pete is the perfect choice. And Pete will prove that he's worthy of that knowledge in the very next episode. The fact that Lionel now knows of the spaceship will also lead to very interesting storylines.
Red
Synopsis: Clark buys a ruby ring for $350. But the stone isn't ruby, it's red kryptonite (not yet) meteor rock. Clark loses all stoppages and becomes a badass guy. But just as the effect of green meteor rocks worsen his condition over time, so does the red one.
My Opinion: Great episode. Loved it. It rarely happens that Tom can play Clark out of character and the red kryptonite (sorry, it's simply easier than "meteor rock") gives him the perfect opportunity. I don't really worry about the end, he will save Lana's live once or twice and they will be friends again. But the episode reminded me of Harley Cat:
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 24, 2008, 03:52:36 PM
Disc 2
Nocturne
Synopsis: Lana has a secret admirer who sends her poems but Clark is overprotective and assumes he is a stalker. Clark and Ross finally find the young man who is held captive in the basement of the house of by his parents. But when they release him, he transforms and not even Clark is able to stop him.
My Opinion: Lana's grudge with Clark didn't even last one episode. ;) I find it always interesting how people manage to hold helicopters on the ground just because they are strong enough - yet they aren't anchored to the ground in any way. It's one of the riddles about superpowers I probably never solve. ;D I liked it, though and it was nice to see Richard Moll (Bull in Night Court) again although it was only a small role.
Redux
Synopsis: Two students die of old age in short succession and that can't be a coincedence. Someone seems to suck the life out of them to stay young. But the Kent family has yet another problem: They need some additional money and there's a person who could help: Martha's father. But Jonathan and he have a long, bad history that Clark tries to mend.
My Opinion: A standard FotW episode where the bad gal died a bit too fast in my opinion. But I liked to see that even the Kents can't solve all their family issues, it makes them more normal.
Lineage
Synopsis: A woman comes to town who claims to be Clark's real mother. She also claims that he is a half-brother of Lex's. Meanwhile Lana tries to find out whether a certain man is her biological father. It is also revealed, how the Kents managed to get adoption papers for Clark.
My Opinion: A "family" episode that I liked a lot. It is interesting to see how the "average television family" has changed over the decades, from the "perfect" housewife, the husband and the two children to what we've seen in recent years (the families in ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, ... and Smallville). I never noticed before that Chloe's mother has been mentioned that early in the show, although her fate hasn't been revealed yet.
Ryan
Synopsis: Ryan calls from the Summerholt Institute where he is held as research object. Clark rescues him but that nearly lands him in prision for kidnapping. Ryan's ability to read minds is based on a brain tumor that will kill him. Clark and Lex try to prevent that.
My Opinion: A very emotional episode and a very sad one. I find it interesting how they made the comic Warrior Angel a forebode of things to come. Funny thing to say about a fantasy series but it makes it more realistic that Clark isn't able to save everyone, especially when there's nothing that he can do personally.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 24, 2008, 08:08:40 PM
Disc 3
Dichotic
Synopsis: Ian is a very ambitious student and he wants to have a scholarship from LuthorCorp. For this he kills one of the teachers after he recieved a "C" and he dates both Lana and Chloe - at the same time. Clark is not the only one with a secret. He tries to warn his friends but they misinterpret it.
My Opinion: I enjoyed that episode, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Improvement) did a good job. But I especially enjoyed that Clark put a foot down. When he warns them about anything, he means it. Unfortunately they didn't really listen as one of the following episodes will show.
Skinwalker
Synopsis: During a motocross race with Pete Clark accidentally falls into the Kawatche caves. The Kawatche are an old indian native american tribe and they have legends surrounding a man coming to Earth in a rain of fire who will protect mankind. Unfortunately LuthorCorp plans to build an office tower on that very spot. Then the foreman get killed by a wolf and the thing gets mysterious.
My Opinion: The Kawatche caves will become a major story location in the future and I like the idea that someone has been on Earth long before Clark. The question remains how that person could possibly know that and how Clark would arrive on Earth. The fact that Clark has fallen in love with someone was unfortunately a dead giveaway of who would be gone by the end of this episode (one way or the other).
Visage
Synopsis: First Whitney is declared MIA then he suddenly appears in Smallville and wants to revive his relationship with Lana. Unfortunately he has lost some memories due to a war injury. Clark is suspicious because some things don't add up and he investigates on his own.
My Opinion: Déjà vu. As I said they didn't really listen (at least Lana didn't). I always like it when characters aren't forgotten and after Ryan was Tina (X-Ray) the second person who has made another appearance. Unfortunately this was the last appearance of Eric Johnson on the show, his character Whitney is now officially KIA.
Insurgence
Synopsis: Lionel has bugged Lex' office to spy on him and now Lex wants to return the favour. But the operation gets out on control, when the "bug team" takes Lionel and Martha hostage and tries to open Lionel's safe. A police squad stands ready but Clark finds his own - and very unique - way into the building.
My Opinion: When I saw this for the first time I hadn't suspected that Lionel had the octagonal disc. I think they never explained how he got his hands on it. But know we know for sure that not only Lex is experimenting with the meteor rocks, but Lionel as well. One wonders how much Lionel knows about Clark at this point.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 25, 2008, 11:02:18 AM
Disc 4
Suspect
Synopsis: Lionel Luthor gets shot twice and a drunk Jonathan Kent is the prime suspect. All evidence points to him but Clark believes in his innocence. In the end there are four people who had a motive to kill Lionel but none of them was the culprit.
My Opinion: I am not too much into crime stories and didn't like this story that much.
Rush
Synopsis: During a cave rave party a student is stung by something and in an adrenaline rush he jumps from a great height and dies. Pete is also stung and starts to behave similarly. When Clark and Chloe investigate in that matter Chloe becomes the third victim and then Pete infects Clark with red kryptonite - and the party begins.
My Opinion: This was a great episode, I liked Chloe's style. Unfortunately it's once again Clark who can't give an explanation for his behaviour. Sometimes the "relationship" of Clark and Lana is a bit annoying because the writers do everything in their power to bring them not together. But the "party" part of this episode was really great so I can overlook this annoyance. Of course they had to draw the forgetfulness card to undo Chloe's knowledge.
Prodigal
Synopsis: Lex has finally found his half-brother Lucas and wants to ally with him against their father. But Lionel has found him first and he and Lucas manage to squeeze out Lex. Lex is broken and has to leave the mansion. There's only one place he can go: The Kent farm.
My Opinion: It was cool to see Lex do an honest job on the farm. And Lucas had a valid point when he asked how much personality of the parents is reflected in the children. Another interesting question is whether or not Lionel could already see again during Insurgence because that would mean that he has witnessed Clark's powers firsthand.
Fever
Synopsis: Martha tries to hide the key to the spaceship - the octagonal disc - in the storm cellar. But there she inhalates meteor-infested spores and gets very ill. When the Disease Control Agency wants to search the farm, Clark has to hide the spaceship at Pete's house. But Clark gets infected, too and they can't bring him to a hospital.
My Opinion: Another episode that I liked a lot, especially the part where Clark was sick and both women had to think about how they feel about him. That's one thing I find interesting about the characters: Both Lana and Chloe don't like that Clark keeps secrets from them yet both aren't totally honest to him either when it comes to their feelings.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 25, 2008, 04:17:22 PM
Disc 5
Rosetta
Synopsis: Clark dreams about putting the key into the lock in the cave wall. He finally decides to take that step and he learns all about the symbols on the wall and understands that language. The very next day he can't control his heat vision and he burns the symbol for "hope" into the barn. When Chloe publishes this he gets a message from a man in New York who claims to know his origins.
My Opinion: It was a really great that they've managed to put Christopher Reeve on the show. One generation meets the next. I also really liked it that they used the original Superman theme (http://tinyurl.com/6dbvah) in that episode. That reminded me of the way they incorporated the original Battlestar Galactica theme into the Colonial Hymn of the new series. And now we know, Clark is Kal-El from the planet Krypton and Krypton doesn't exist anymore. I also liked the appeal for funds after the show - if one can use the popularity of the show for a good cause, why not?
Visitor
Synopsis: A young student claims to come from another planet and he can set things on fire by staring at them and he can heal. Clark takes him under his wings and tries to find out whether he is really an alien or just a boy who needs help.
My Opinion: I liked that episode, one could feel Clark's loneliness and his hope that he might not be alone after all. Funny thing is, his communication tower, the lights and the place deep in the woods, it all reminded me of E.T.'s departure, though I cannot explain why. And I felt sorry for Cyrus when he mentally broke down.
Precipice
Synopsis: Three student harass Lana in the "Talon" but Clark comes to the rescue. He trows one of them directly on the hood of the new Sheriff. He has to do 40 hours of community service but also get sued by this student. He wants to have one million dollars and the Kents could lose everything. Now its Lana's turn to come to the rescue and she does very well on her own. Meanwhile Dr. Bryce is stalked by a former boyfriend and neither Clark nor Lex trust Sheriff Adams enough and they take matters into their own hands.
My Opinion: For more than one season Lanas wishes to leave her image as "fairy princess" behind but now she finally does something about it. Ok, she did re-open the "Talon" but I still had the impression that everyone around her (Chloe, Clark) were standing more on their own feet than she was. It was an ok episode.
Witness
Synopsis: A few guys have developed a way to inhale refined Kryptonite and become super-strong. One night they try to hijack one of Lionel's secret transports and Clark tries to stop them but they match his strength and they escape. When he tries to expose them they endanger his parents, yet Clark still tries to find a way to stop them. But he has other problems as well: After an argument with Chloe he quits his job at the "Torch" and puts his friendship with her on hold. And then Lionel makes Chloe an offer she can't resist.
My Opinion: Yet another appearance from a member of the Tim Taylor family: Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad in Home Improvement). I hated it to see Clark and Chloe to break up especially because I know what Chloe is going to do. The question that remains is whether the destruction of the "Torch" was staged by Lionel (not sure they will answer that question).
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 25, 2008, 11:08:43 PM
Disc 6
Accelerate
Synopsis: Lana sees a former friend of hers. But that's impossible, Emily died six years ago. She isn't a ghost, but she isn't totally real either. Clark tries to help Lana and finds a secret lab - and there's more than one Emily. They are copies of a failed experiment and that experiment now endangers Lana's life.
My Opinion: Although I found it interesting that Lionel Luthor is conducting experiments on human beings, I wasn't much into that episode because I am not much into the horror genre.
Calling
Synopsis: Lana and Clark get closer and closer but then Dr. Walden is awaking from his coma and he claims that "the day is coming". He tries to kill Clark because he has read the same text as Clark, that "the last son will rule the third planet". Meanwhile someone has stolen Clark's blood from Dr. Bryce's office and there are supsects: Lex and his father Lionel.
My Opinion: This was the great begin of a season finale. As I said I've never read Superman comics but I don't like the idea that Jor-El really had the intention that his son should rule mankind and I am glad that he is opposed to that thought as well.
Exodus
Synopsis: Clark and Lana have their very first date but then the ship calls out for Clark again. His biological father demands that he leaves everyone behind and that he has to leave Smallville. But he doesn't intend to follow his father's rule but instead he plans to destroy the ship. Meanwhile Lex walks down the aisle and marries Dr. Bryce. But from there everything changes for both Clark and Lex.
My Opinion: Great finale and an evil cliffhanger. I feel so sorry for both Martha who has lost her baby and Clark who feels responsible for that (ok, he actually is). But personally I also think that Clark made a bad choice when he ran away. This guy saves lifes on a nearly daily basis but he doesn't want to face the consequences of his actions. But then again I am forgetting that he is only 17 years old. I believe that was the last episode I ever watched on television on a regular basis. I missed the beginning of the third season the next fall and then kind of dropped out. I only regained interest in the show after I bought the first seasons on DVD.
The Season - My Opinion: That was a very good season, exploring Clark's origins. We will learn more with every season. This season also had a lot of good stories that came together to several arcs and these will also continue. Of course there were also FotW episodes - and there will always be some in every season - but not so many than in the first season. And more importantly they weren't always bad guys.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 26, 2008, 08:29:45 PM
Synopsis: Clark hides out in Metropolis under the alias "Kal" and has become a criminal in order to finance his lifestyle. The Kents have to sell the farm, they and Lana are still looking for him. There's one person who knows where he is but she's promised him not to reveal it. Meanwhile Lex "lives" on a tropical island with some other guy and tries to get off it.
My Opinion: Great continuation of the story. Though I haven't understood why Jonathan and Pete didn't try to knock him out with Kryptonite. Ok, they did that last time but that proved to be successful. I understand that using the same plot twice is uncreative, yet if it were for real I doubt that they wouldn't have tried it again. I also liked Michael's performance on the island, he did a better job than Tom Hanks (What a boring movie!).
Phoenix
Synopsis: Both Clark and Lex return to Smallville and both have to deal with what happened lateley. That means that Lex has to straighten out what really happened on that plane and if his wife had anything to do with it. And Clark has to deal with a Metropolis crime boss who threatens his parents and he has to apologize to a whole lot of people.
My Opinion: It was a good conlusion to this four-parter. Unfortunately it ends with Clark's break-up with Lana against her expressed wish and he is retreating into his shell again. I liked to see Rutger Hauer in the role of the crime boss, if it were for me, it could have lasted longer than these two episodes but unfortunately he had to share the fate of bad guys who know Clark's secret.
Extinction
Synopsis: A "meteor freak" attacks Lana in the school pool and a secret vigilante shoots him to death. He has killed before and his next target is Lex whom he believes to be a meteor freak, too. Clark can save Lex once again but that makes him also a target. Unfortunately the shooter has found Clark's Achilles' heel and he uses Kryptonite bullets.
My Opinion: I liked the theme of the episode: Are all meteor-infected people murderous freaks? If I were in Clark's position I wouldn't have told her (Lana) my secret either. Her point of view at the begin of the episode was quite firm and although she said that she wouldn't mind if Clark were bullet-proof (i.e. a meteor freak), I wouldn't be sure that she really wouldn't mind. This topic will surface again, especially in one of the key episodes of the fourth season: Pariah. I also liked the Eastwood-y way he protected himself from the bullets and put Lana's mind at rest (at least for a while).
Slumber
Synopsis: Clark has the weirdest day: He somehow can fly, he skinny-dips with Lana, Lex finds out his secret and a young girl is chased by a mysteriously hooded figure in the woods and disappears into the ground. But then he awakes, after he's been asleep for 36 hours. He learns that new neighbours have moved into Lana's old house and that there's a young girl in a coma.
My Opinion: I wonder what insurance company insures the Kent's truck and what garage does the repairing. It had been in several very heavy crashes and was even blown up. Maybe they just like the brand and the colour. ;) I liked the episode because it had a different angle than usual.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 09:41:04 AM
Disc 2
Perry
Synopsis: A solar flares makes Clark's abilities go kablooey. Unfortunately there's a witness to his accidental uses of his powers: Perry White, a former reporter, whose career has been terminated by none other than Lionel Luthor. Now he works for a TV show that deals with paranormal events and Smallville is the Mecca for this.
My Opinion: I didn't like that Perry White that much, most likely because of the way he's portrayed. And I can't imagine that a man like him would ever forget what he has seen in Smallville. So, when one day he is the editor of a certain "Daily Planet" and a young reporter called Clark Kent gets his job there, I doubt he would have forgotten that young man, especially when soon after a certain "Superman" appears. But then again, who says that this Perry White will ever become editor of the "Daily Planet"?
Relic
Synopsis: Lana visits his great uncle, who is convicted of the murder of his wife. It happened back in 1961 but some things don't add up. He claims that there was a mysterious drifter and that drifter looked a lot like Clark Kent. Clark helps investigate this case and finds a "journal" hidden in the Kawatche cave: Jor-El of Krypton had been visiting Earth 40 years ago.
My Opinion: I liked the episode because it made Jor-El much more "human". Before this we just knew his voice and his orders. Now we've learned that he had the same problems as Clark currently has. I also liked that there's a link between Jor-El and Jonathan's father Hiram. Martha said in the pilot that they didn't find him, but he found them. How right she was. :)
Magnetic
Synopsis: A young man is attacked and an infection of his blood with kryptonite and an MRI give him the ability to move metal objects as well as control emotions of persons he touches. He uses this to "persuade" Lana to go out with him but Clark sees through the charade and tries to help.
My Opinion: FotW episode with Lana once again as the victim and Clark once again accused of jealousy.
Shattered
Synopsis: Lex is attacked in his mansion but can escape. He hides out at Clark's and Clark tries to help him. But was Lex really attacked or did he have a mental breakdown?
My Opinion: One thing I have to admit: Michael Rosenbaum is a way better actor than Tom Welling. I really like Tom and I don't know if it's due the role or not, but his range of facial expressions is rather limited (smiling, backing off, lying, looking worried and a few others). Michael on the other hand did a great job in this one. I "loved" to see him go nuts and the end was great.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 02:18:26 PM
Disc 3
Asylum
Synopsis: Lex has been in the Belle Reve Sanitarium for over a month now but he hasn't swallowed the drugs they've given him. He still remembers Clark's secret but promises him that he won't tell anyone. Lionel decides that it's time for more drastic measures. But Clark has other "friends" in Belle Reve, too. It's the guy that had his powers for a short time, the guy that could split himself in two and the freak killer. Together they try to break out and for this they need Clark.
My Opinion: "Freak Reunion" with Clark as the guest of honour. ;) I find it sadly ironic that in the end it was Clark that killed Lex's memories (albeit not knowing it). I also liked to see that Lionel realized that he had to pay a price when he erased Lex's memories.
Whisper
Synopsis: A jewelry store is about to be robbed but Clark interfers. But an accident happens and he loses his sight. It is often said that the loss of one sense sharpens the others: Suddenly Clark becomes the perfect eavesdropper. And he will need that ability because Pete is in mortal danger.
My Opinion: This season he got his ability rather late, but better late than never. ;) The "Ray Charles glasses" didn't really fit him but the later glasses made an interesting change to his face - but I wouldn't fall for that disguise. ;D
Delete
Synopsis: It have been hard weeks for Chloe. She got fired from the "Daily Planet". Her father had been fired from LuthorCorp. The "Torch"'s computers were taken away. She had an argument with Clark and now he tries to kill her with is truck but can't even remember it. Can it get any worse? It can.
My Opinion: And once again the Kent's truck is demolished. ;) I loved the fight between Lana and Chloe, it was excellently choreographed. But the writers still haven't learned to use computers and computer terms correctly. It began with the removal of the hard drive while the computer was running and didn't end with the allegation that an IP address is somehow bound to the hard drive of a computer. :slaphead:
Hereafter
Synopsis: A new student has come to Smallville High. He has the "gift" of seeing the death of the person that touches him. This helps Clark to prevent a suicide but that changes the future of three other persons.
My Opinion: I found this episode interesting for several reasons. It implied that Clark may never die. To be perfectly honest I dislike that idea. Just like mind-reading I consider immortality more as a curse than a blessing. At first it sounds like a cool idea. But when you really think about it, it would only be cool if everyone else would be immortal, too. Or would you like to see you friends die all the time while you live on? At the end of the episode Clark fears that his interferences could make things worse than they are. He's right, they could. What would the world look like if he didn't save Lex? It may be even worse than now. Luckily for us, Clark is like the scorpion from the tale of the frog and the scorpion (in a good way, of course): "I could not help myself. It is my nature.".
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on May 31, 2008, 02:51:51 PM
I found this episode interesting for a lot of reasons. It implied that Clark may never die. To be perfectly honest I dislike that idea. Just like mind-reading I consider immortality more as a curse than a blessing. At first it sounds like a cool idea. But when you really think about it, it would only be cool if everyone else would be immortal, too. Or would you like to see you friends die all the time while you live on?
I haven't been an avid reader of the Superman comics, but I think this has been addressed frequently, and certainly in several graphic novels and collections I have. Kingdom Come for one; Frank Miller's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Strikes Again for others. In those last two, Batman grows very old and grouchy and is pissed off by the fact that the overgrown Boy Scout is still the same and still a pretentious know-it all. He goes to great lengths to get into a fight with Clark and prove that he can still beat him using technology and sheer will. Miller is brilliant at showing all sides of the characters and Superman is shown to be cursed, but contrary to Bruce Wayne's opinion, he is well aware of all the angles and far more gracious.
To put it in context as well, remember that in the Superman stories and movies, there is always the subject of duality, with some religious tones. Smallville and New Adventures both concentrate on the main figure being Clark, while the movies pursue the idea that Superman is like a God, who disguises himself as a human, but will never truly fit in (hence the fact Clark is a bit of a fool). In other words, is Superman what he does, or who he is?
The comics seem to adopt a balance between the two and I think there is an implication that Clark Kent is a real person with a sense of mortality and ambition. He is cursed to outlive his family, his job and his friends, and when they are all gone, Clark Kent himself WILL die. At that point, he will just be Superman and will attain a different level of consciousness and purpose. The God-like figure of the movies perhaps.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 05:57:46 PM
In other words, is Superman what he does, or who he is?
According to Bill/Quentin, it's who he is. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdWF7kd1tNo
Quote
The comics seem to adopt a balance between the two and I think there is an implication that Clark Kent is a real person with a sense of mortality and ambition. He is cursed to outlive his family, his job and his friends, and when they are all gone, Clark Kent himself WILL die. At that point, he will just be Superman and will attain a different level of consciousness and purpose. The God-like figure of the movies perhaps.
The fact remains that I wouldn't want that fate.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on May 31, 2008, 06:15:11 PM
Neither does Clark. And there's the irony. Indestructible in all ways, but cursed and trapped for eternity. They did kill him off at one point. There was a lifeless body, a funeral, the works. But he came back, the explanation was that although he was Superman, in his mind he was Clark and he understood/believed he was mortal. As such, he let himself die until he was persuaded that he wasn't bound by such mortal limits.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 06:54:01 PM
Disc 4
Velocity
Synopsis: Jonathan has had an heart attack and Martha and Clark have brought him to the hospital. When they return from there, they nearly get hit by a car that is participating in illegal car races. The driver of this car is Pete who tries to emerge from Clark's shadow. Clark tries to warn him about the danger but when Pete realizes this danger, it's too late.
My Opinion: Episodes with illegal street races don't work for me because these "dangerous speeds" they are driving (100 mph in this episode) is my average cruising speed on the autobahn. Granted, I wouldn't drive that fast on a country road (and that would be forbidden even here) but still I am not really impressed. The other reason may be that I never was much into cars, for me they are a means of transportation from A to B.
Obsession
Synopsis: During a visit of a LuthorCorp plant Clark is in an elevator with Alicia when the cable breaks and the elevator starts to fall down. Clark has to ram his hand through the wall to stop it. But Alicia has a secret of her own: She "beams" them out. Clark has finally found someone with whom he can be perfectly honest.
My Opinion: "To good to be true" would be the phrase here. I don't understand why Clark isn't allowed to be happy for more than one episode. I like Alicia and think they should have given her more time before she made her obsessed with Clark. But we will see her again and she will be an eye-opener.
Resurrection
Synopsis: Jonathan agrees to get a tripple bypass when Clark meets his friend Garrett in the hospital. Garrett's older brother is waiting for a new liver but then he dies. He is brought to Metropolis but suddenly reappears in Smallville - alive (sort of). But then he collapses again and Garrett takes hostages to get a liver for his brother.
My Opinion: Parents can be cruel. Garrett's actor's name is James Nichol Kirk. James Kirk. I don't want to imagine the childhood of that man. As I said during my Stargate SG-1 marathon, I find it funny how you suddenly stumble over actors once you've come to know them. Back in Obscura Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol in Battlestar Galactica) played a deputy and now Tahmoh Penikett ("Helo" in BSG) played Garrett's older brother. When I watched this episode for the first time (and the others before this) I had no idea that the serum could be connected to Clark's blood. Seems I am good at picking up details but making a line between two points is not my strong side.
Crisis
Synopsis: Clark receives an emergency call from Lana but when he comes to the rescue she isn't in any danger at all. Clark didn't imagine it, there's a tape that proves that call was made. But who called if it wasn't Lana? Or from when did she call if it was (will be?) her?
My Opinion: None of the four episodes on this disc have impressed me very much. In this one I didn't really understood Adam's motivation to kill Lana.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 06:56:03 PM
Neither does Clark. And there's the irony. Indestructible in all ways, but cursed and trapped for eternity. They did kill him off at one point. There was a lifeless body, a funeral, the works. But he came back, the explanation was that although he was Superman, in his mind he was Clark and he understood/believed he was mortal. As such, he let himself die until he was persuaded that he wasn't bound by such mortal limits.
He could leave the solar system and leave the yellow sun behind him. I always understood the sun to be his "battery". His folks wasn't immortal after all.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on May 31, 2008, 08:50:46 PM
I think that was the basis of the conclusion. He "died" on Earth, which isn't possible... I can't remember how he actually got back, but they had a storyline where there were multiple heroes exhibiting Superman powers, but with a different style. Steel was one of them and the only one to carry on after Clark was definitely back.
Damn, American comics are weird!
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on May 31, 2008, 09:12:28 PM
Yes, it can get confusing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_on_Infinite_Earths).
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on May 31, 2008, 09:21:38 PM
Yes, it can get confusing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_on_Infinite_Earths).
Don't even go there. I attempted to keep up with Zero Hour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Hour_%28comics%29). That was bad enough! I don't like them for that sort of thing. I have a Batman book where the second (or third?) Robin was killed off. They dropped a house on him at the end of one issue then gave readers a phone number so they could vote to keep him alive! They didn't get enough... ???
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 01, 2008, 10:08:16 AM
Disc 5
Legacy
Synopsis: Lex works with the FBI to find evidence of his father's crimes. Lionel once again tries to solve the riddle of the Kawatche caves. For this he visits Dr. Swann in New York and sends fake FBI agents to raid the farm - they are looking for the octagonal disc.
My Opinion: I liked this episode because led to doubts about Dr. Swann's motives and it left the question how the disc came into his possessions. I seriously doubt that the writers intended to make the original Superman a bad guy. Unfortunately due to Christopher Reeve's death we will never find out. :(
Truth
Synopsis: Chloe sneaks into a LuthorCorp plant and gets exposed to a meteor rock gas. From now on everyone in close proximity has to tell her the truth when she asks him/her. While that may be the holy grail to a reporter, it endangers Clark's secret and her own life on more than one occasion. Fortunately for her, Clark is still there to protect her.
My Opinion: Great episode but it confirms my opinion about mind-reading (this was a modification of that theme). But this episode had a ridiculous scene (though other movies and series use this kind of scene, too): Clark finds that scientist in a very battered place but he happens to have a cure in his even more battered refrigerator, even after all these years. If someone would raid my fridge I would be arrested for producing biological weapons. ;D
Memoria
Synopsis: Lex still tries to recover the memories of those seven weeks he's lost (which would include the knowlegde of Clark's secret). Clark and Lionel join forces to prevent exactly this, but Lionel double-crosses Clark. While Lex hasn't remembered those seven weeks, he remembered a part of his past he suppressed for a long time and that memory is about the death of his baby brother Julian.
My Opinion: I wouldn't believe for a second that Clark tried to prevent Lex from getting his memories back just to protect his secret. I still believe that he did it because - as he stated - he feared that Lionel could do something much worse to Lex if he poses a threat again. The flashbacks also explain a lot about the relationship between Lionel and Lex. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for that 12-year-old boy to take the blame for his brother's death full knowing that if he didn't, his mother would be dead in a second.
Disc 6
Talisman
Synopsis: Lionel has found another artefact in the Kawatche caves. It's an ancient knife and it belongs to Naman. Professor Willowbrook still believes that Clark is Naman and thus the knife belongs to him, but one of his assistants steals it and has now the same powers as Clark. It is foretold that the blade can only be destroyed by Sageeth, the friend of Naman who turned into his enemy. The assistant believes that Lionel is Sageeth and tries to kill him but Clark cannot let that happen.
My Opinion: I liked Lex' interpretation of that tale, that Sageeth may be the true hero of that story. Firstly, because it's Clarks fear, too, that he was send to Earth to rule. Secondly, because it presents us with Lex' POV, that he - a human - fights against a superior enemy and anything he does is for the good cause. The end justifies the means. Especially in the fifth and sixth season this will be his major motive for what he does.
Forsaken
Synopsis: Emily has grown a lot over the last months. She escapes from one of Lionel's labs and returns to Smallville. There she impersonates the daughter of the new owner of the "Talon". Lana has sold it because she is leaving for Paris. But that is exactly what Emily wants to prevent. Clark wants to come clean with Lana - he doesn't want her to leave, too - but first he has to rescue her once again.
My Opinion: Pete has left Smallville. :( I liked Pete but his character had always the problem that he was "just" the faithful sidekick. Chloe, Lana and Lex have stories of their own, but what do we really know about Pete? Interestingly Pete was the only character Clark ever told his secret. Everyone else had to find out by himself/herself (At least I think that he was the only one and I'm only talking about events that weren't undone).
Covenant
Synopsis: A girl comes to Clark who calls herself Kara and she knows, that he is Kal-El, because she is from Krypton, too. She urges him, to return with her to the cave where his future is waiting for him. It is revealed, that Jonathan made a deal with Jor-El when he got the powers to return Clark from Metropolis. But first, Clark has to testify in court against Lionel and he wants to bring Lana to the airport.
My Opinion: Great cliffhanger. Imagine the show would have been canceled at this point. :fingerchew: I liked it how they've used Superman mythology to mislead the audience (the real Kara is indeed from Krypton and she is his cousin, she's more commonly refered to as "Supergirl"). They did that a lot this year. It began with the mentioning of Chloe's cousin Lois Lana (who isn't interested in journalism at all) and when Jonathan had his heart problems who hadn't feared that he might actually die? As I said the first part of the cliffhangers are always thrilling and now I want to see how it continues.
The Season - My Opinion: Summa summarum the season was ok. It had its share of good episodes but there were also a number of episodes that didn't interest me that much. But we definitively left the era of FotW episodes and moved into the arc era. The experiments with Kryptonite and Clark's blood have begun and will continue and the Kawatche cave will become an even greater mystery in the next season.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 01, 2008, 04:00:17 PM
Synopsis: Lois Lane comes to Smallville to find out who killed her cousin but then she finds a guy in a field who doesn't know who he his. Jonathan Kent lies in a hospital bed and is brain-dead. Lana is still in Paris and has a new boyfriend. Lionel is still in jail, waiting for his trial. And Lex - who has survived the attempt to poison him - travels around the world to find objects that are connected to the symbols in the Kawatche cave.
My Opinion: Sorry, but that went a bit too fast. Within half an hour Kal-El was Clark again. I am sure that if the writers really wanted to, this could have been an arc that lasted at least 4 episodes, even more. Just because it was a cliffhanger doesn't mean it has to be resolved in the very first episode of the new season. But I like the arrival of Lois, she is refreshingly blunt. And I liked the appearance of Margot Kidder (Lois Lane in the Superman movies), especially her remark regarding Dr. Swann and a "former life". She's now the third person from the movies to appear in the series (Annette O'Toole [Lana Lang in Superman III, now Martha Kent] was obviously the first).
Gone
Synopsis: After they've found out that Chloe's grave is empty, Clark and Lois investigate her disappearance, but there are several obstacles: For one, Lois's father is a three-star General who doesn't want his daughter digging into that mystery. Secondly, he is in league with Lex. And thirdly, there's a T-1000 meteor freak who works for Lionel and wants to kill Chloe for real this time. And Lana has returned to Smallville.
My Opinion: That was a really obvious Terminator 2 rip-off, especially with the end. But I still liked it, the scenes in the Kent house were really funny. Lois's great advantage is, that she has no history whatsoever with Clark. For her, he's simply "Smallville".
Facade
Synopsis: Clark is now in his senior year at high school and he's trying out for the football team against the wishes of his father (again). The new assistant coach is none other than Lana's new boyfriend. It's a relationship they must keep hidden because he could get fired for it. But there's something else that has changed: A student nicknamed "Scabby Abby" is now a real beauty but when she kisses people they get delusional and land in the hospital. While Lois is stuck at Smallville High (she needs a few additional points to get accepted to the university) she helps Chloe and Clark to investigate.
My Opinion: The bitter irony of that episode is in my opinion, that Erica Durance (Lois) has had a "boob job" because someone convinced her that she would have better chances to get a job afterwards. That aside it was a decent FotW episode.
Devoted
Synopsis: The cheerleaders of Smallville High are using meteor rocks to create a love potion. When the football team drinks of it they all become aboulic slaves with the exception of Clark who gets ill from it. Chloe drinks from it, too, and soonafter a new cheerleading star is born.
My Opinion: This was a very funny episode, especially the parts where Chloe hits on Clark and where Clark had to pretend that we was under the love spell. I had a great time.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 01, 2008, 09:49:15 PM
Disc 2
Run
Synopsis: There's someone who can run faster than Clark! But unfortunately he is also a thief. Clark tracks him down in Metropolis but he won't listen to him. Then he steals a priceless page from a book from Lex, but Lex isn't someone you steal from and get away with it. Lex also know how to track down people but he does something stupid and Clark has to save both of them.
My Opinion: The Flash! Cool. I've known the Flash since the short-lived TV show The Flash with John Wesley Shipp. Back than I didn't know that he belonged to the DC universe nor that he was a member of the Justice League. He also happens to be one of the few people (but their number will increase) that has sepcial abilities that aren't derived from the meteor rocks. I really liked it that they referenced the different Flashs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flash) by giving him these fake driver's licenses.
Transference
Synopsis: Another stone is "calling out" for Clark and he finds it in the hands of Lionel Luthor who is just about to do a body-switch with his son. Due to Clark's interference he lands in Clark's and Clark in Lionel's. Lionel is free and he discovers the abilities of Clark's body. And Clark is dying because Lionel's body is dying unless they switch back.
My Opinion: This was a great episode. I liked the acting of Tom as well as that of John Glover. But I also have to admit that I get a bit uneasy when it comes to these stones and their abilities. They've been lost for centuries, if not millennia, nobody has ever mentioned them before but suddenly they are reappearing. It wasn't even mentioned before that the symbols of the Kawatche cave have been found on other places on Earth, too.
Jinx
Synopsis: Clark is still playing football and he is the quarterback now. But in one game he stumbles and hurts another player. The real problem is: Clark never stumbles except when he is in close proximity to Kryptonite. As it turns out, there's a strange bookie who can influence the game without leaving a trace.
My Opinion: Mmh, interesting. Yet another guy who can do "things" and wasn't infected by meteor rocks. While I can understand that they get tired of inventing the next meteor freak, not to explain how he got his powers isn't a good choice either. For me a fictional universe needs consistency. I have no problem in believing the weirdest things as long as it is consistent in itself. Up until now he have meteor freaks and Clark and other visitors from Krypton that have been on Earth. That might not explain how the cave walls can foretell the future, but they could invent a reasonable explanation. But now we suddenly have people that have powers for no obvious reasons and we have witches that were burned at the stake (I will continue this in the next episode review).
Spell
Synopsis: Lana has bought Countess Isobel's spellbook but when she opens it, Isobel snatches her body. After that she uses Chloe and Lois to get two of her fellow witches back from the dead. Isobel is also on the search for the three stones and her magic can hurt even Clark. She defeats him and learns from him that one of the stones is hidden in a secret chamber in the cave wall. But even without his powers Clark doesn't give up.
My Opinion: An out-of-character episode. That's always a thumbs up for me. The three looked really (http://images.wikia.com/smallville/images/0/08/Chloespell.jpg) cool (http://images.wikia.com/smallville/images/c/ca/Spell2.JPG) (especially Chloe if you ask me) and they played really well. I still have a problem with that entire Isobel arc. I don't know how it fits in into the Superman mythology and I don't care. I don't like it. I consider Superman more fantasy than science fiction. But that doesn't mean that witchcraft and wizardry fit into this world. Everything that we've seen so far was either caused by a mutation (caused by meteor rocks) or vastly superior kryptonian technology. Where do spells and enchantments fit in? No, I am not really happy with that particular storyline and probably never will be.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 07, 2008, 10:41:07 AM
Disc 3
Bound
Synopsis: Lex wakes up after a one night stand and finds her slain beside him. Naturally, Lex is the prime suspect but Clark starts an investigation of his own. And he has unexpected help in the form of Lionel who truly seems to have changed since the body-switch (from which he can't remember anything).
My Opinion: I liked the episode because Clark has to see what kind of character Lex is. Clark may have an influence on him but he also must not forget in what kind of environment Lex grew up. I also find it interesting how Clark's relationship both to Lex and Lionel is changing.
Scare
Synopsis: There's an accident at the LuthorCorp plant and a gas is released into the atmosphere. Soon after, people (with Jason being the first) start to collapse and are falling into a "panic mode" coma. Before they fall into that coma they see their worst fears come true. If the doctors and Lex can't stop it all will die when their hearts finally give up.
My Opinion: I always knew that Clark blamed himself for the death of Lana's parents. I just didn't know that he feared that she would, too. I also found the other insights interesting. The make-up of Chloe's mother scaringly reminded me of Heath Ledger's "Joker" make-up in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight. I also found it fascinating that Lex has the same nightmare of what could become of him as the old lady in Hourglass.
Unsafe
Synopsis: Alicia has been released from Belle Reve and she is healed. Clark who hasn't stopped being very fond of her, goes out with her but then she does something very stupid and it involves the usage of red Kryptonite. Meanwhile Lana fears to lose Jason and offers him to bring their relationship to a more "adult level".
My Opinion: I still like Alicia, the episodes with her are very good because Clark can be different (even without red Kryptonite). He's way more open and it seems that the weight of the world is falling off his shoulders when he's around her. The end was interesting for me in a different way: His parents are disappointed because for them marriage is still something very sacred. Maybe that still true in the real Kansas as well but it doesn't really reflect my reality of life where more couples get divorced than get married.
Pariah
Synopsis: Despite what has happened, Clark still cares for Alicia and he goes out with her (again). But them aside nobody is happy about it. Not his parents and certainly not Lana who was nearly killed by Alicia in the previous year. And then Lana is attacked again by someone who can enter and leave a locked room without being seen. Everyone suspects Alicia at once but Clark believes in her. Wouldn't it be easier for her if people knew what Clark can do and has done?
My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes! Chloe finds out and Clark doesn't even know it. I really like that scenario because it gives us a number of good episodes in this season. I like it how Chloe encourages Clark from now on. Unfortunately Alicia is dead. :( I don't blame Clark that he began to doubt her, she was perfectly framed. Therefore I also liked the end fight including the fact that he nearly killed the guy if it hadn't been for Lois. And now the key scene:
Disc 4
Recruit
Synopsis: Clark is about to get accepted to the Metropolis University football team and he gets a scholarship. But there's another player on the field who has an unfair advantage over his opponents. Meanwhile Lois is in serious trouble. After a drinking game she kicks a stalker to the ground but gets arrested the next day - the guy is paralyzed.
My Opinion: As I said, I love Chloe's remarks and her nodding him in the right direction. But that aside the episode was average, they've invented a FotW that said all the right things to make Clark drop football ("In high school it was ok but this is another world ..."). Even so, I found it funny that Lois would compete in a drinking game while wearing her pyjamas and (bunny?) slippers.
Krypto
Synopsis: Due to the previous events Lois has been kicked out of the Met U and lives on the Kent farm again. But one night she hits a dog with her car. This dog was stolen from a LuthorCorp lab and has enhanced abilities. It was used for robberies until Lois had hit it and his "owners" want him back.
My Opinion: This was a funny episode with Lois being back on the farm and a dog with superpowers. The dog was of course a hint to "Krypto the Superdog" from the Superman comics.
Sacred
Synopsis: Dr. Swann has died but before that he has returned the octagonal disc to Clark. When he enters it into the cave table his father tells him about the three mystical stones. One of them is already in Clark's possession (thanks to Kal-El) and no human must be allowed to put the three together. The map hidden under the page in Lex's office points to the third stone. Soon Jason, Lex, Clark, Lana and Isobel find themselves on the hunt for the stone - in China.
My Opinion: Plans within plans within plans. While I like the hide-and-seek I still don't like the fact that witchcraft is involved and that Isobal can cast a blade that is able to wound Clark. But Lana looked great in that chinese outfit. :)
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 07, 2008, 09:24:27 PM
Disc 5
Lucy
Synopsis: Lois's younger sister Lucy calls in the middle of the night from Switzerland and heralds her in arrival in Smallville. But this isn't a happy family reunion since Lois and Lucy have never gotten along so well since the death of their mother. Additionally Lucy is followed by a loan shark whom she owns $50,000. Lois and Clark try to help her but she isn't completely honest with them.
My Opinion: Maybe I would care much about this episode and Lucy if I knew that we would see her again. But as far as my knowledge goes (to the first episodes of the seventh season) we will not see her again. Even though it wasn't a regular FotW episode it felt like one because of this one-time-character.
Onyx
Synopsis: During an experiment green Kryptonite is transformed into black Kryptonite and then the entire lab explodes. Somehow the black Kryptonite tears Lex apart into two seperate beings, one that has all his good aspects and one that is purely evil. Evil-Lex imprisons Good-Lex and does all the things Normal-Lex wouldn't do - or maybe he would?
My Opinion: It the classical Star Trek episode The Enemy Within, set in Smallville. But I liked it because Lex's evil side is actually in him. There are few characters that can believably do such a split and Lex Luthor is definitively such a character. I also liked the analogy to The Man in the Iron Mask, it fits into Lex's biography that this was one of his favourite books.
Spirit
Synopsis: Dawn Stiles is bound to become the Prom Queen. But then she drives her car down a ravine and falls into a coma - sort of. Her spirit wanders around until she lands herself into Martha's body and has control over it. From now on she switches bodies at will and tries to make her dream come true.
My Opinion: I loved to see Annette O'Toole as an adolescent teenager and the others were also great. I also liked the fact that Clark didn't ran headless into the fight (as he often does; granted often he has less time than Jack Bauer) but was prepared for the possibilty that Dawn would take over his body. It was also good that Chloe found out about his weakness, she will need that knowledge later.
Blank
Synopsis: A young man who has been treated at Summerholt Institute tries to clean out the register of the "Talon". When Clark tries to stop him, all his memories are erased and he has no clue, who or what he is and what he can do. With Clark's parents being in Metroplis it's now Chloe's job to introduce him to his abilities and along the road she learns about some of them that she didn't know before.
My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes. It's so funny to see how Chloe teaches Clark about his own abilities. Especially funny was the scene when she learns that he has an X-Ray vision and she tries to cover her chest. But I also liked that she's learned that it isn't that easy to keep such a secret.
Disc 6
Ageless
Synopsis: Clark and Lana find a baby in a huge crater and they bring it to the Smallville Medical Center. Even though there wasn't a spaceship Clark believes that this child is special. He takes it with him to the farm and he and Lana care for it. But then it suddenly ages into a 7-year-old and it doesn't stop there. Lex tries to help them but only the biological father can prevent that this child dies within a few days.
My Opinion: Honestly: I loved to see Clark and Lana as parents. It was heart-warming. But I didn't like the part where he met his father. This part wasn't well written and a bad excuse for why he couldn't be saved. Don't get me wrong: I am not mad about the fact that he didn't survive, just about the part where (and how) his father died.
Forever
Synopsis: A high school graduate wants to "freeze time". He wasn't accepted to a college and in his mind everything should stay as it is just now. For this he captures Chloe, Lana and a few others and imprisons them in a "Smallville High" copy. But he leaves too many traces and soon Clark and Lois are on the search for their friends.
My Opinion: Some people have weird ideas. While there are days that I'd like to relive again I wouldn't give up the future for it. The porcelain effects were great, especially the one where Lois tries her karate kick. But it still was just an average FotW episode where the bad guy's abilities mysteriously turn against himself.
Commencement
Synopsis: Lana has been taken over by Isobel and kills Genevieve Teague with one of the stones. As Jor-El has warned his son this sets a chain reaction in motion. The first link of this chain is the second meteor shower over Smallville in 16 years and it wreaks havoc in the city. And the gang is scattered throughout the scenery: Clark tries to put the three rocks together, Lana sits in a helicopter and crashes, Jason tries to kill Martha and Jonathan and Lionel is in some sort of coma.
My Opinion: Another great finale. There's wasn't the smallest space for any more action in it. And finally that "Isobel" storyline is finished (although without a satisfying conclusion). Now I am really eager to watch the continuation - the cliffhanger has done its job.
The Season - My Opinion: Hmm. Sorry, but I couldn't make head nor tail out of this "Isobel" arc. What was the point of it? As suddenly as it arose as suddenly it vanished into nothingness. I am not entirely sure but apart from the mentioning of Jason that story will never come up again. Let's imply forget about it. But this season had some extraodinary developments. For one, Chloe's discovery of Clark's secret and how she influenced him afterwards. But I also found it interesting to see that Lex has also feelings for Lana. The relationship will evolve over the next seasons. From an outside perspective it's interesting to see how simultaneously Clark and Lex drift apart and Lex and Lana get closer. I also liked to see how ambivalent Lionel behaves. It was never clear towards which goals his actions were directed.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 08, 2008, 12:45:36 PM
Synopsis: Accidentally Chloe has been transported to the Arctic where the united stones have just built the "Fortress of Solitude" for Clark. Clark is allowed to rescue her and to fight a new enemy that has arrived with the meteor shower but he has to return until sunset. Meanwhile Lana and Lex meet these newcomers.
My Opinion: Sure, they were lazy, but I still thought that it was too easy for Clark to get rid of those two(!) Kryptonians. I really would have liked a scenario where Lana wouldn't have been knocked out and would have witnessed the entire scene (with or without Clark's knowlegde). But maybe the writers thought it to be too soon to let yet another person in on Clark's secret. I wonder - if this were for real - whether Chloe and Clark have recapitulated their past, unfolding all the events where only Clark knew the whole truth, or if he told her that she already knew his secret (Rush).
Mortal
Synopsis: Three patients can escape from Belle Reve and they take Lana, Martha and Jonathan hostage. They force Clark - who has lost his powers because he disobeyed his father - to break into LuthorCorp and steal an experimental Kryptonite-based drug. In the past this wouldn't have been much of a problem, but this time it turns out to be a good thing that he doesn't have his powers.
My Opinion: It's always funny to hear Clark saying, that he's not to keen with heights. I also liked the comparison of Pete and Chloe in their role as "sidekick". But I also think, that the concept of "Belle Reve" and Lex's influence there is a bit of a plot hole. Lex may not believe one particular loony in there but if he really has spoken with a few of them and promised them something and they would have told him all the same story about Clark Kent's abilities (and there are quite a few in there that could tell such a story) then he wouldn't need to resort to such crude investigation methods - especially when he adds his own experiences with Clark.
Hidden
Synopsis: Clark is still human and he and Lana have slept together and are very happy. Can it get any better? In 60 minutes Smallville gets nuked and Clark lies in the hospital, dying from a gunshot wound. Can it get any worse?
My Opinion: Lionel takes up the role of Jor-El. In a weird way, Lex and Clark are now actually brothers. This episode marks the climax (pun intended) of Clark's and Lana's relationship. From now on it will go downhill. :( What's even more interesting about this episode, are the discussions on the internet about it. For example, people were seriously offended that he didn't tell her about his true nature before they were sleeping together, because he is an alien. There were sentences like "If Lana were my child I would want to know that she's sleeping with an alien.".
Aqua
Synopsis: Lois is back in Smallville and she moves back to the farm. On a warm sunny day she, Chloe, Lana and Clark go swimming in the Crater Lake. Suddenly Lois nearly drowns and gets rescued - by Arthur "AC" Curry. AC can swim fast, even faster than Clark. But his motive to be in Smallville is not to rescue drowning girls but to save the oceans from a terrible weapon, created by LuthorCorp.
My Opinion: After the events in Arrival Lex has gone into full defense mode. It's pretty ironic that he who wants to defend this planet from aliens will become the planet's greatest threat by the end of the season. I really liked the appearance of "Aquaman" and the hints they implanted in the script, especially when AC proposes the foundation of a "Junior Lifeguard Association" and Clark replies that he isn't ready for the JLA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League) yet. And Tom seriously has to reshape his washboard abs, he looked pale in comparison to Alan Ritchson (AC) and he is supposed to be Superman.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Tom on June 08, 2008, 01:22:10 PM
I am not gay, but Tom seriously has to reshape his washboard abs
Ok, Ok. I will try my best :P
:hysterical:
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 08, 2008, 05:57:22 PM
Disc 2
Thirst
Synopsis: Lana tries to get into the "Tri Psi Sorority" at the Met U and gets accepted. But "Tri Psi" isn't like any other sorority anywhere and Clark and Chloe become concerned about their friend.
My Opinion: Great episode! I didn't really notice it before, but this episode was packed with cultural references, especially towards Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It begins with Chloe baptizing the head of the sorority as "Buffy Sanders". James Marsters (Spike in Buffy and Angel) declares in his role as Professor Fine that "there's no such thing as vampires". Then the "Daily Planet"'s editor (Carrie Fisher) calls her "Buffy the Vampire". And when Chloe starts as a reporter in the basement of the "Daily Planet", she declares that she will only go "up, up and away".
Exposed
Synopsis: Chloe investigates in a murder and Lois helps her with it. The trail leads to Senator Jennings who happens to be an old friend of Jonathan's. He claims that someone tries to frame him and not without good reason. Lex has just entered the race for the Senator's seat.
My Opinion: If the previous episode was a homage to Buffy, this one was definitively a homage to The Dukes of Hazzard. But I have to say that time has been more merciful to John Schneider (Bo Duke in TDoH) than to Tom Wopat (Luke Duke in TDoH). I really liked this episode, too. Not only because of the references, but also because that entire scene in the night club. I don't know what I would have done in Clark's place. ;D
Splinter
Synopsis: Clark cuts his finger on a fragment of silver Kryptonite. From now on he's being paranoid that people could reveal his secret and that all people around him will betray him. He attacks his parents, Lex and finally Lana and only Professor Fine seems to be able to stop him.
My Opinion: I like Marsters. He makes an excellent villain. I saw him here on Smallville for the first time. I knew he was Spike in Buffy but at this point I had no real interest in the show. But his acting here convinced me to give it a try. His plot gave him the perfect foundation to gain Clark's trust. Well done. I also liked it how Clark mixed up real events and imagination during his exposure.
Solitude
Synopsis: Martha gets struck by something and Clark finds her unconscious on the driveway. Then she develops a weird bruise and Clark fears that his biological father has come to collect. In his fear that he might lose his mother he turns to Professor Fine who actually can help. But he can't stop the infection, just ease the pain. In order to prevent Martha's death Clark has to destroy the "Fortress of Solitude".
My Opinion: Fine played him perfectly. And if one wouldn't knew who Zod really is, who wouldn't believed Fine? We mustn't forget that Clark destroyed his own spaceship because there was a message that said he was sent here to rule this planet. Too bad that Fine's story has ended so soon (for now). Funny thing is I just found out that the voice of Jor-El belongs to Terence Stamp. Ok, that I knew before now but the name didn't ring any bells until IMDb told me that he was General Zod in Superman II:
But everytime I hear the name "Zod" I cannot help it but to think of Mallrats:
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 14, 2008, 11:14:14 AM
Disc 3
Lexmas
Synopsis: Lex gets shot while he was diiging up dirt on Jonathan Kent. While he's hanging between life and death he sees a possible future where he has left the old ways behind, he has married Lana and has two children with her. Wouldn't that be nice? But what if something would happen in that future that he only could have prevented with the powers he's had in his former life?
My Opinion: It was an interesting insight into Lex's mind. I don't assume that it was really his mother showing him anything, I believe it was his mind showing him his deepest wishes - and fears. But I also liked the "Santa Clark" part of the story even with the mysterious Santa - but hey, it's christmas!
Fanatic
Synopsis: Jonathan hires Lois as campaign manager to help him running for senate. But Lex is a formidable opponent and he has faithful followers. Even so faithful that they would stop at nothing to make sure Lex becomes Senator. Thus they try to threaten Jonathan and even kill them. Meanwhile Lana and Clark have an argument again because both are keeping secrets and their relationship is getting nowhere.
My Opinion: That was an OK episode. I wasn't much interested in the assassination plot and it hurts me to see Lana and Clark breaking apart.
Lockdown
Synopsis: A former deputy takes Lex hostage - sort of. Lex can get into his panic room but he's stuck there. The deputy wants to know the location of the spaceship but Lex isn't giving up. But then he also captures Lana. He knows that she was there at the landing, because he was there, too. And now Lex has to make a choice.
My Opinion: I thought it was sad that the sheriff died, she was an interesting character. The actions in this episode will have great ramifications and they weren't even revealed here - I found that very interesting.
Reckoning
Synopsis: Clark decides that he can no longer lie to Lana. He reveals his secret. Everything, from his origins to the "Fortress of Solitude" and he asks her to marry him. Later that day she says yes and Jonathan wins the election. It's a great day, isn't it?
My Opinion: This is a very good and emotional episode. It's also another turning point for the show. Superman mythology demanded that sacrifice and from now on Clark has to make the decisions without his father's advice. :( It was sad to see John Schneider leave the show but at one point it had to come to this.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on June 14, 2008, 12:28:18 PM
What's even more interesting about this episode, are the discussions on the internet about it. For example, people were seriously offended that he didn't tell her about his true nature before they were sleeping together, because he is an alien. There were sentences like "If Lana were my child I would want to know that she's sleeping with an alien.".
Everyday the Internet finds a new way to scare me! :hysterical:
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 14, 2008, 02:26:49 PM
Disc 4
Vengeance
Synopsis: Martha is bringing Jonathan's clothes to a shelter but then she's robbed and hurt. A female vigilante is saving her but the robbers can escape. Clark wants to go after them but for this he has to find that woman. He hopes that she can identify them.
My Opinion: A very good episode to show Clark what could become of him if he would "go to the dark side of the force". I liked it how they've used Superman references but didn't simply copy them, e.g. when her glasses aren't just disguise but without them she actually can't see much.
Tomb
Synopsis: After lightning has hit the "Talon" Chloe is possessed by a ghost that has her wrists cut open. She is brought to the hospital because everyone thinks it was a suicide attempt. Lana and Clark try to help her in different ways.
My Opinion: I am really glad that Clark kept his mouth shut. I would have hated to see an episode where he would have told someone about Chloe's mother in an attempt to help her and then see her accusing him because she kept his secret. Writers seem to love such dramas. But we have too much of them in Smallville already. Thus I am glad it turned out the way it did.
Cyborg
Synopsis: A man escapes from a lab and runs straight into Lana's car. The car is a wreck, Lana's is injured and the man has no scratch. He's a cyborg, "made" by LuthorCorp and he should have died in a car crash several months ago. Now he tries to find his girlfriend and to prevent from ever having to go back to that lab. Of course Clark is a big help in achieving those goals.
My Opinion: Interestingly this episode combines the previous episodes into one story. Victor (the cyborg) is of course another reflection of Clark's. And once again I am glad. It would have been easy for the writers to let Victor's girlfriend be scared to death about what has become of her boyfriend and thus confirming Clark's worst fears. But they didn't do that. It also wouldn't be plausible anymore. In a straight timeline it never happened but Clark knows now how Lana would react if she'd ever find out, they can't use that anymore as a reason for not telling her.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 14, 2008, 07:09:07 PM
Disc 5
Hypnotic
Synopsis: A girl hypnotizes Clark and he subsequently breaks up with Lana. He (unwillingly) reveals all his abilities to her and does whatever she wants. What he doesn't know is, that she was hired by Lex, but luckily for Clark she double-crosses Lex and doesn't expose him to Lex but instead tries to kill him (Lex). But Lex has other things on his mind, too. He's located Milton Fine in Honduras and he believes that Milton is a government agent.
My Opinion:Spike Milton is a hard-to-kill kind of guy. It's good that he's back, that means that the Krypton arc is back in the game. I am sorry and relieved at the same time that the relation of Lana and Clark is over. Sorry for obvious reasons and relieved because that entire hide-and-seek was getting tiresome. Of course it won't completely stop but the amount of lies can go down to normal Clark-level.
Void
Synopsis: With the help of a Kryptonite drug, Lana dies and comes back from the dead. But while she's dead she can talk to her parents. The problem is that one can only die so many times before one stays that way. Both Clark and Lex try to help her and get killed in the process.
My Opinion: This is my third attempt to write this paragraph. I don't know why, but somehow it didn't felt right. I've never been religious, yet I've never had any problem with the concept of an afterlife in a fantasy show. Xena has been to several places for the dead (the Elysian Fields, Tartaros, the Amazon afterworld), Buffy was in Heaven and there were several hell dimensions and still I didn't like the idea that Clark could talk to his dead father and that he could give his son a warning. Sorry, I can't really explain why, but that's how I feel.
Fragile
Synopsis: Maddie is the foster daughter of Martha's chief of staff. Then her foster mother gets killed and she lives at the Kents's until new foster parents can be found. But Maddie is special, she can control glass with her mind. Has she killed her foster mother?
My Opinion: The actress of Maddie (Emily Hirst) strongly reminded me of Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) in the first Harry Potter movie. I also found it interesting how they managed to make her the prime suspect just to reveal that her father (Callum Keith Rennie, Leoben in Battlestar Galactica) has the same abilities. The concept of second generation meteor freaks has been mentioned before but it was still interesting.
Mercy
Synopsis: Lionel nearly gets killed when his limo is rammed by a train. But this was no accident, someone has made a game out of the attempts to kill Lionel. But soon it's not only Lionel's life that is endangered, it's Martha's as well.
My Opinion: Everytime I watch that episode, I am sure that Ian Tracey has had a previous appearance on the show, that I've seen him there before. But IMDb tells me, that he hasn't. While I found the tasks to be interesting I nonetheless recognized the obvious television/movies errors, such as a train that doesn't even stop after it has hit a car or Clark catching a falling elevator without hurting the occupants, even though they've just fallen several hundred feets.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 15, 2008, 12:06:37 AM
Disc 6
Fade
Synopsis: Clark saves a man who was about to be hit by a car. Soon after this man - Graham - kills a key witness in an important trial. Then he tries to thank Clark for saving his life by giving him expensive gifts. Clark - who has now idea what Graham has done - can't accept these gift but Graham wants to repay his debt and he believes that killing Lex would achieve exactly that.
My Opinion: This was a good episode to set Clark's moral compass straight. Ok, there was nothing wrong about it, but it ensured the viewer about the things Clark would or wouldn't do. And I liked the comparison to medical personnel or firefighters. Clark wouldn't be Clark if he let someone die just because he might turn out to be a bad person. That's reassuring.
Oracle
Synopsis: Jonathan appears to Clark and demands of him to kill Lionel because Lionel puts the entire planet at risk. Meanwhile Lex has managed to create the most powerful vaccine in the world. With it the human body can withstand practically everything. But he has underestimated Milton Fine, who has double-crossed him. Lex created the vaccine without the knowledge of Fine - or at least he thought so. He did exactly what Milton wanted.
My Opinion: Great opening to the season finale. Lex was played perfectly by Fine just as Clark was earlier this season. Fine is truly worthy of the name Brainiac (=Brain InterActive Construct).
Vessel
Synopsis: "Zod is coming!" When Fine was impersonating Jonathan he demanded that Clark would kill Lionel. But now Jor-El (the real one) is demanding that Clark would have to kill the "Vessel of Zod" and that vessel is Lex. But does Clark really have the guts to kill anyone? If not, the world as we know it will come to an end.
My Opinion: Great finale. Lionel said that sometimes a price has to be paid to achieve a greater good, but I say it again, then it wouldn't be Clark if he would pay that price. But one also has to admit, that everytime he defies his father, a lot of people get hurt in the process. One day it has to boil down to a choice of idealism versus pragmatism. Of course I have to continue watching at once.
The Season - My Opinion: For the characters this might have been a bad season, with Jonathan's death, Lana's and Clark's break-up and so on. From a story-telling POV I liked it much better than the previous one. The preparation for Zod's arrival over the course of the season was much more believable than that entire witch arc and Brainiac was an interesting opponent. And while I might not like the road Lana is going down, I still like it that her character has finally left the "helpless girl phase". Of course there will always be opportunities for Clark to save her, but he saves everybody once in a while.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 15, 2008, 12:41:32 PM
Synopsis: By destroying Brainiac with the kryptonian knife, Clark opened the portal for Zod. Zod has taken over Lex's body and is now trying to conquer the world by removing its technology. And there's no one who can stop him, because Clark was banished to the Phantom Zone.
My Opinion: This was a great conclusion to the cliffhanger, although once again it could have lasted longer. I see the problem that if Clark would have remained longer in the Phantom Zone, Zod would have caused more havoc and probably more people would have seen him, which would be devastating for Lex. But still, two or three episodes would have been cool. I find it funny that Aaron Ashmore is playing Jimmy Olsen, while his identical twin brother Shawn has been a recurring FotW in the early seasons, yet no one seems to see the resemblance. ;)
Sneeze
Synopsis: Clark vigorously tries to repair the damage that has been caused by Zod. But even he gets exhausted at one point and his immune system was weakened due to his stay in the Phantom Zone. Clark has catched the "common" cold and now sneezes barn doors halfway across the county. Meanhwile Lex gets abducted because some people want to find out how he has done the things he has done while he was being possessed by Zod.
My Opinion: They skipped that episode in the last season, probably because there aren't many abilities left and also probably because he has been human during a few episodes. When I first watched this episode I thought Oliver Queen would just be another adversary of Lex's, just as Victoria Hardwick or Jason Teague. How wrong I was.
BTW: When Justin Hartley (Oliver) smiles, don't you think that he has a striking resemblance to the young Ben Affleck?
Wither
Synopsis: Someone - or something - is killing a young woman near a make-out-zone and her friend has mysteriously vanished. But then is found, but he dies at the hospital because a plant is growing out of his stomach. And this plant can hurt even Clark.
My Opinion: Instead of FotWs we will see beings from the Phantom Zone in this season. While I found this episode to be entertaining, I still think that Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Pa'u_Zotoh_Zhaan) was the more interesting plant. ;)
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 15, 2008, 04:39:01 PM
Disc 2
Arrow
Synopsis: During a charity event someone steals a very expensive necklace from Martha. Lionel borrowed it to her for that event and Clark wants to prevent that his family ows him anything. Thus he goes on the hunt for this mysterious thief who was dubbed "Green Arrow Bandit" by Lois. But this Green Arrow is no ordinary thief.
My Opinion: I really liked that episode and I find it always funny when someone gets the impression that Clark and Lois might be an item. I also liked the gadgets that the Oliver possesses. He should team up with Bruce Wayne. :) But I also liked to see that even Clark admits that the world isn't black/white or right/wrong at all times.
Reunion
Synopsis: As it turns out, Lex and Oliver have been together at the same boarding school and Oliver was bullying Lex who in turn had only one friend. Now ten years later they meet there again as alumni. But then a freak accident happens and kills one of Oliver's old friends. And then the next one dies. And then Lex nearly gets killed. It seems that someone wants to settle a score.
My Opinion: It's interesting to see how such a terrible event change a person's personality - or how it didn't. I am asking myself: How much truth was in Lex's words when he said he wanted to found a company with Duncan, when he would betray him the moment would get the chance. Back then Lex decided to switch his allegiance away from his friend towards power. From that perspective I don't understand why he ever wanted to be friends with Clark's.
Fallout
Synopsis: A Phantom Zone being (a "Zoner") is on its way to Smallville, to kill Kal-El. But for this he needs to feed on radioactive energy - or the energy core Zod has used and which is now in Lex's possession. But Clark doesn't have to face this enemy alone. Raya is there to help him. But Raya can do even more. She can tell him about his father and his father's goals and about the Fortress - unless both get killed by the Zoner.
My Opinion: Once again Clark has lost a female friend who knew of his secret. It seems that it isn't meant to be. :( Somehow I like it that Lana questions each and every visit of Clark's. It sharpens her senses and she will need them for Lex. And it also keeps them both apart. This way Clark can focus more on the important issues.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 15, 2008, 09:46:53 PM
Disc 3
Rage
Synopsis: Oliver/Green Arrow gets shot but miraculously heals without even having a scar. Yet he seems different, he is uncaring and aggressive when Clark tries to talk to him. Clark tries to warn Lois that something might be wrong, but she has to learn that first-hand when she encounters the Green Arrow while he is "trying to rob" Oliver.
My Opinion: I think he got a bit too easy out of his addiction but maybe it wears of that easily. After all, it was never intended to function as a addictive drug. But I am also glad that Oliver learned something from Clark.
Static
Synopsis: Lex has been abducted by a man who claims to be a victim of Lex's experiments. Lana, Chloe and Jimmy try to find and rescue him. But Clark must immediately go to Seattle where another Zoner is brutally killing people.
My Opinion: I fully support Clark's decision. Even if it weren't Lex's own doing that has brought this upon him, it still would be a numbers game. And even worse, the Zoners are on Earth because Clark has brought them here. It's his responsibility to get rid of them again. Additionally it was Lex's doing and he can't be expecting to be rescued everytime he screws up. Unfortunately this event will harden his opinion on meteor freaks.
Subterranean
Synopsis: The owner of a neighouring farm has a special ability that allows him to keep his "unregistered workers" under control. If they try to escape they die. But one day a boy actually can escape and he runs directly into Clark.
My Opinion: When I first started to watch movies and shows in english I stumbled across it: "He's an alien.". What? For me, an alien would be someone like E.T. or Kal-El or the Alien alien. But how can a Mexican be an alien? This was an usual FotW episode and it wasn't that interesting.
Hydro
Synopsis: Lana and Chloe have a very private conversation about Lana not being sure about her feelings towards Clark and Lex. How could this leak and being printed on the gossip section of the "Daily Planet"? And the next headline will be: "Clark Kent: farm boy or alien?". Meanwhile Lois thinks that she has figured out that Oliver and the Green Arrow are the same person. Clark helps Oliver to prove her wrong.
My Opinion: This was a great episode. I liked both parts and I can understand that Chloe is frustrated that she is supposed to keep all those secrets and then the people are angry with her because of it. But the conversation in the "Talon" between Lois, Chloe and Clark have more than compensated for this. She had real fun with them. Although Lana always suspected something now there's no doubt whatsoever anymore that Clark has a secret. Now she will begin to dig real deep. I like that.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 20, 2008, 10:16:28 PM
Disc 4
Justice
Synopsis: Bart Allen is back in town. But it isn't a social visit he paying Smallville and Clark. He is working for Oliver/Green Arrow and they are investigating Lex's 33.1 project. And Bart isn't the only one. In the end they have to fight side by side: Oliver "Green Arrow", Bart "Impulse", A.C. "Aquaman", Victor "Cyborg" and Clark "Boy Scout".
My Opinion: I really liked to see them again and together. It was sad though to hear that it didn't work out with Victor and his girlfriend (remember, what I said about them?) and that Oliver is leaving Smallville. He was a great character and I'd like to see him again.
Labyrinth
Synopsis: Clark is attacked by something and awakes in a mental institution. There they want to make him believe that he is perfectly normal - just a bit schizophrenic. He's just Clark Kent, not Kal-El and he's definitively not from Krypton. Only Chloe believes in him - until she gets killed.
My Opinion: The "everything was an illusion" episode that's quite common among sci-fi and fantasy series. I liked it because it forced Clark to stop kidding himself and it showed once again that he would nearly everything give up for Lana - but only nearly everything.
Crimson
Synopsis: A lipstick composed of red Kryptonite and some herbal oils makes Lois fall in love with Clark. Chloe finds that terribly funny until Lois actually kisses Clark and thus "infects" him with red K. Lex and Lana couldn't have chosen a worse day to rehearse the wedding dinner.
My Opinion: This episode was funny and sad at the same time. They way Lois behaved was hilarious and again I liked the hints that they may become an item. The part of Clark being unleashed was of course sad. In opposition to previous "red K trips" this was not funny. It showed what Clark had to digest over the last months and still there's nothing he can do about it. :( BTW: No way in hell would Lex be able to deform a chisel like that. After all, it's a tool that is built to withstand brute force.
Trespass
Synopsis: Lana has secured the chisel and is wondering about it when she notices that someone is watching her. That person has seen her with the chisel and that means she can't confide in Lex. First she hides out at Chloe's, later at the Kents's farm. But her stalker is following her and threatens to kill her.
My Opinion: Could he or couldn't he catch the guy, too? Did he let him die or was he simply too late to save them both? There are people on the internet that claim that he let the guy die - but we haven't seen what really has happened. The writers decided to not to show it to us. Thus, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. And even if. This Clark Kent isn't the regular Superman guy. Superman is a boy scout, he's perfect. This Clark is far from perfect and he himself admits that freely. Additionally, perfect is boring.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on June 20, 2008, 11:16:49 PM
My Opinion: Could he or couldn't he catch the guy, too? Did he let him die or was he simply too late to save them both? There are people on the internet that claim that he let the guy die - but we haven't seen what really has happened. The writers decided to not to show it to us. Thus, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. And even if. This Clark Kent isn't the regular Superman guy. Superman is a boy scout, he's perfect. This Clark is far from perfect and he himself admits that freely. Additionally, perfect is boring.
I've never watched Smallville, but all the versions have suggested at some point that the young Clark Kent could and would give into to anger. It wasn't explicit in the movie, but he admits to his dad that he wants to use his powers to win. That's a slippery slope right there!
I think the best character for this idea is Doctor Who. His refusal to ever use a weapon or let anyone die (even the Master) makes for some great scripts. Mind you he isn't against a bit of explosive anger from time to time, he's just never ever vindictive.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 21, 2008, 03:16:01 PM
Disc 5
Freak
Synopsis: Lana is having a very special bachelor party: She went out bowling with Chloe. But then Chloe witnesses how a young man is kidnapped. When she starts to investigate this, the young man suddenly reappears without having any memory about this incident. Later he dies in an accident. Someone is tagging and killing meteor freaks - and Chloe is probably one of them.
My Opinion: This was interesting. Chloe a meteor freak? Had she really not known? Did she ever used her power? What power is it? That opens a can of possibilities. I also really like to know whether Tobias could see that Clark was different even though he is no meteor freak.
Promise
Synopsis: This is the day. The great day. The one day. The day of the Lexana wedding and even Clark is invited. But will they actually go through with it? Two don't want that marriage two happen and two want it to happen. By the end of the day, who will have tried to protect who?
My Opinion: The "Lana finds out" episode. I really liked the idea to show this day from the POV of every character involved. And I am wondering what Lionel's true intention was when he threatened Clark's life. He remains a dubious character whose true allegiances remain to be seen.
And here the key scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvs0JS6bAEw
Funny thing is that I've watched this scene so often that I immediately could spot the (small, yet existent) differences in the dialogue when it is shown from Clark's perspective - and that happened before this scene. But Chloe's accusation isn't quite true. He has put his heart on the line before (Reckoning) and it got her killed within a day.
Combat
Synopsis: Lois seriously needs to write a new article in order to receive her paycheck. Luckily for her she finds Clark's and Chloe's research about a Zoner in the trash can. Soon after she finds herself in the arena of a fight club and there they fight to the death. But her opponent is none other than Clark.
My Opinion: This was the "Wrestling" episode. Another kind of script that is to be found in a number of shows (Star Trek: Voyager's Tsunkatse anyone?), for reasons I do not know.
Progeny
Synopsis: Lex uses Chloe's mother to influence other meteorite freaks. But she resists and "contacts" her daughter who in turn tries to find her. Meanwhile Lana learns that her entire pregnancy (which ended in a "miscarriage" a few weeks ago) has been faked. She never was pregnant.
My Opinion: It's fascinating how Lex manages to alienate everyone, even his own wife. It's also fascinating to think about how things could have turned out since Hydro, if Clark hadn't assumed that she was pregnant. Most likely the writers would have found another way to keep them apart. :(
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 21, 2008, 08:34:39 PM
Disc 6
Nemesis
Synopsis: The widow of a former Green Beret doesn't believe that she's a widow at all. She believes that LuthorCorp - Lex - has taken her husband and she wants him back. If not, then Lex will die in the sewer system where he's kept. Clark tries to rescue him but a bomb goes off and they get trapped. Now they have to find a way out - within 20 minutes, before all the other bombs go off, too. And that's not the only problem: The sewer system is swarmed with Kryptonite.
My Opinion: I don't believe that Clark did anything wrong in his relationship to Lex. He tried to help him where he could and he only protected the secret of his origins. But Lex has always been obsessed. First with his father, then with Clark and since the second meteor show with aliens. There wasn't much Clark could have done about it. But it was an interesting conversation they've had.
Noir
Synopsis: Lana gets shot in the "Daily Planet" and is brought to the hospital. Then Jimmy gets attacked and when he wakes up, he's a reporter in the year 1940 with Chloe and Clark being colleagues. There he meets Mrs. Lana Luthor who thinks that her husband is going to kill her. And Clark seems to have a secret second identity.
My Opinion: I was never into these old Hollywood movies nor am I much interested in crime stories. Thus this wasn't my kind of story.
Prototype
Synopsis: When Senator Burke tries to shut down Lex's project, Lex orders an assassination. One of his 33.1 soldier prototypes does the job but leaves a witness: Lois. Lois and the prototype - who was a Green Beret in an earlier life - know each other since he has been the first boy Lois has ever kissed. Confronted with memories of that former life his programming goes haywire.
My Opinion: Too bad that Clark had to kill him, but maybe it's for the best. Now he can rest in peace. Another thing that I have found interesting was the way Martha got the seat on the U.S. Senate. First she inherited the Senator's seat from her husband and now she practically inherited it from Senator Burke. Is that actually possible under U.S. law or is this Smallville fiction?
Phantom
Synopsis: Lex has gotten his hands on a phantom and he hopes that he can use it to build his army. Lana is leaving Lex. Lois gets herself stabbed and bleeds to death. Clark tells Lana everything and loses her again. Martha leaves for Washington. The phantom is mimicking Clark and is at least as strong as he is. Lex is arrested for murder.
My Opinion: Wow. What an end. And they've created a very intersting constellation: Lana is dead. Chloe and Lionel looked quite dead. Martha is leaving for Washington. Who remains? Jimmy, Lois, Lex and Clark. And none of the survivors knows about Clarks secret (Martha excluded). But I never believed for a second that Lana is dead. That explosion looked too fishy. And I didn't want to believe that Chloe simply died - even if it was in such a sacrificing way.
The Season - My Opinion: This was a great season. This one and the fifth are my favourites. The Green Arrow was a great addition to the show and the Zoners were way more interesting than the average FotW. I also liked the more darker tone of this season. The stakes have been raised and Clark's tasks have grown beyond the rescue of the damsel-in-distress.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 21, 2008, 09:07:03 PM
Since the seventh season hasn't been released on DVD yet, I consider any following post a SPOILER!
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 22, 2008, 09:58:50 AM
Season 7
Bizarro
Synopsis: Clark and Bizarro-Clark are still fighting and they break the dam in the process. This nearly drowns Lois, Chloe, Lionel and Lex but all are saved one way or another. Only Chloe is declared dead in the hospital but mysteriously rises from the dead. With Bizarro, everything is in reverse mode: Kryptonite is his power source but the yellow sun is his weakness.
My Opinion: Clark defeated him a bit too easy for my taste, especially since Bizarro was just juiced up with a huge amount of Kryptonite and also because one didn't see what the Martian Manhunter did with him. But at least there are a lot of puzzles left to be resolved, e.g. the new female arrival, Chloe's abilities, Lex's newfound enlightenment and Lionel's disappearance.
Kara
Synopsis: She's been in stasis for 18 years. Her ship lay on the bottom of the reservoir lake until it was emptied due to the battle. She is Kara, Kal-El's cousin and also a member of the house of El. And now she has to learn that her home planet is destroyed and that Kal-El is no small child anymore. And the military has her ship and if they manage to open it, it will self-destruct with the force of a nuclear bomb.
My Opinion: Now he's not alone anymore. I've only seen a few episodes of this season and I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am aware of the fact that Kara will become Supergirl in the Superman mythology. But I hated to see how they stomped over Chloe just to push Lois. That seemed unfair.
Fierce
Synopsis: Lana's back in town - and not so dead as she was presumed to be. Clark is more than happy to see her, but his life has also changed. He has to teach Kara how to "blend in" with the Humans and she does this by entering the "Miss Sweet Corn" beauty pageant.
My Opinion: This was a funny episode to watch. I loved the character "Kara" from the start. She's such a good counterpart to Clark. He needs to see that there are other ways than his own (a lesson Green Arrow also tried to teach him). But I am still missing the "theme of the season". Since the fourth season it has always been clear from the start what the season would be about. Isobel, Zod, the Zoners. I don't believe that it will be a "Kara season" but I have yet to see anything else coming up.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 22, 2008, 03:46:47 PM
Cure
Synopsis: A FotW who should be in Belle Reve reappears in Smallville and claims to be healed. Unfortunately she can't remember anything since the time she became infected. Chloe doesn't see that as a story but as a means to "cure" her, too. But the doctor isn't who he appears to be.
My Opinion: Great appearance of Dean Cain who was Clark Kent/Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a show that I also watched until it was cancelled. What I didn't like was the fact that the Martian Manhunter has become Clark's "waste disposal". The writers have found an easy way out of any kind of plot without needing to think about it.
Action
Synopsis: The "Warrior Angel" movie is being made in Smallville. But someone seems to have a grudge against the lead actress and tries to kill her. Why? Because "if you're destined to save the world, you're destined to be alone". But when Clark saves her (again) he's being watched and now Lana becomes the target for that very reason.
My Opinion: I really liked the talk about the world of Hollywood and the world of comics and how they differ regarding happy ends. But Smallville and other shows like Buffy have shown that happy ends are no automatism anymore. And sometimes I wished for more happy ends again.
Lara
Synopsis: Kara is looking for the crystal that was in her spaceship and she nearly crashes with a plane over Washington. But she gets caught by a government agent who knows her weakness because he analyzed the ship prior to its self-destruction. Now she's forced to relive some forgotten memories about her father and her aunt Lara - Kal-El's biological mother.
My Opinion: Now it gets soap-y. Zor-El (Kal-El's uncle and father of Kara) loves Lara and makes his daughter forget about it... And how fast she's learned to break into high security government computers. Impressive. Not.
Wrath
Synopsis: A "lightning accident" gives Lana Clark's powers without taking his. Now she can experience what he is able to do. And she uses it to "procure" incriminating evidence against Lex and she brings it directly to the "Daily Planet". When they deny to print the story, she tries to finish Lex off once and for all but - surprise! - is stopped by Clark.
My Opinion: Lana is slipping over to the dark side of the force. :( But I really don't think that Clark is the one to blame. Sure, he lied to her over a long time, but he never betrayed her and he never did anything to hurt her (although sometimes he managed to do it anyway). These dark traits have either been there forever or she has picked them up during her time with Lex. But I liked to see that Chloe is watching out for him and that she gave Lana an upfront warning about it.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 22, 2008, 09:38:03 PM
Blue
Synopsis: After she's called out to him, Clark uses Kara's crystal to create a copy of his mother. But he also unknowingly creates a copy of Zor-El. Zor-El wants to create a new Krypton and for that he has to purge mankind from the face of the Earth. And he tricks Clark into accepting blue Kryptonite and suddenly he is mortal again.
My Opinion: I still think that Zor-El is way to cliché. But it's good to see that Clark still can convince people to the right thing instead of what's easy. This was the last episode that I've seen before. From now on, everything is "new".
Gemini
Synopsis: Clark is back from the Fortress where his father held him since the struggle against Zor-El. He joins forces with Lana to bring Lex to justice. Meanwhile someone threatens to blow up Chloe if Lois doesn't write an article about a man who is somehow connected to both Lex and the "Daily Planet"'s editor.
My Opinion: Lex must be a really desperate man to pull a stunt like this. And once again he managed to alienate the person he cares about. But I loved to see Chloe and Jimmy back together, yet I am worried about the look in his eyes when he learned the truth about her being a meteor freak.
Persona
Synopsis: Clark has never returned from the Fortress but instead Bizarro has taken his place and he tries to find a means of protection from the yellow sun. For this he seeks out Brainiac who is still very weak but its mental capabilities are completely unaffected. He points him to a Kryptonian who's been living on Earth for more than a hundred years and who might be able to help Bizarro. But when "Jor-El" learns of Bizarro's return he releases his son.
My Opinion: I have to admit, I didn't see that coming. Clark has had so many changes of heart that I didn't see through it when he teamed up with Lana in the previous episode. And I think it was a great idea not to reveal in the previous episode that Clark wasn't Clark. I also liked to see Brainiac again. Now I am waiting for Gene Hackman to make a "Special Guest Star" appearance. I mean, everyone else has had a guest appearance, with Helen Slater (Kara/Supergirl in Supergirl) as Lara in two episodes of this season and now even Marc McClure as Dax-Ur, who played Jimmy Olsen in the Superman/Supergirl movies.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 27, 2008, 11:58:40 PM
Siren
Synopsis: Oliver is back in town and Chloe helps him stealing data from Lex' computers. But then they are stopped by a new female vigilante. This person believes to do the right thing and stealing even from the rich isn't the right thing in her opinion.
My Opinion: It was totally funny to see how Lois tried to cover for Oliver by "distracting" Chloe and Clark from the not-so-secret-anymore chamber in Oliver's apartment. But I was sad to see that it didn't work out between them. That proves again the statement about the destiny of superheros.
Fracture
Synopsis: After Lois and Lex have found Kara (who has still no idea who she is), Lex gets a bullet directly into his head and nearly dies. The only way to find Lois and Kara is to get into Lex's head and Clark goes on this "journey".
My Opinion: It's good to know that even in Lex is a part that tries to fight against his own destiny. Although the chances are practically non-existant that he will ever win this fight. And the sad irony of this episode was that Lionel told his son that he loves him, but I think Lex is way beyond the point where he cares about that anymore. In the earlier seasons this was the one thing he wished that his father would say.
Hero
Synopsis: Pete's back! And he has meteor-enhanced abilities now. But he has no intention of hiding them. He doesn't want to live like Clark. But publicity comes with a price and sometimes that price can be too high.
My Opinion: I honestly didn't see that coming. I really loved this "special guest appearance" of Sam's. And apparently not everything has changed. Pete has found himself in pretty much the same situation as he was in the episode where he's left the show.
Traveler
Synopsis: Someone stuns Clark with tasers and Kryptonite and puts him in a cell surrounded by Kryptonite. In order to find and help him, Chloe and Lana consider bringing Kara to the Fortress, to have her memory restored. Meanwhile the daughter of Dr. Swann approaches Lionel and threatens him to reveal informations about a secret society called "Veritas" and proof that Lionel murdered the other members.
My Opinion: That didn't quite add up. It sounds unlikely that Lionel has known about a "traveler" since before the first meteor shower. Granted, he always has shown an interest in Clark, but if he actually knew about an alien, it wouldn't have taken him five years to figure it out, especially when it was he who engineered Clark's adoption. Additionally the sudden secret connections between the Queens, the Swanns, the Teagues and the Luthors didn't sound right, especially since meetings between Lionel and Virgil Swann have been onscreen.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on June 29, 2008, 08:50:26 AM
Veritas
Synopsis: Brainiac tries to make Kara work with him, but she refuses and is supported by Clark. But he doesn’t take that refusal lightly. He attacks Lana and thus forcing Kara to accompany him. Meanwhile Lex is remembering long forgotten things, memories from before the day of the meteor shower.
My Opinion: I don’t really know what to think of it. It is actually thrilling but it also feels as if the writers suddenly recognized that they don’t really have a master story for the season and thus came up with this “Veritas” arc.
Descent
Synopsis: Lex throws his father out of the windows and kills him. Now he has both keys to the thing that is in a bank vault in Zurich, which allegedly allows him to control the “Traveler”. And Lex’s right hand has just found out who that traveler actually is. But Clark knows now of this threat to him but he tries only half-heartedly to prevent Lex from getting to it, since he’s just lost the third person who represented a father figure to him and Lana’s still not responding to anything.
My Opinion: I knew that woman signed her death warrant the minute she learned about Clark. I didn’t know who would kill her but I simply knew that she wasn’t one of the persons who would “forget”. And sadly I was right, the good Lex ultimately lost his fight and now Lex has finally arrived on the dark side, from which there’s no coming back. :( It’s also sad to see yet another actor of the original cast being gone.
Sleeper Synopsis: Chloe is a terrorist who infiltrates government computers for an unknown group. Olson, James Olson is a government agent and he has the assignment to find out, what she’s doing and who’s she working with. Meanwhile Clark tries to find out, where Kara and Brainiac have gone and how a new page could have appeared in Dr. Swann’s notebook, dated back to 1989.
My Opinion: This was another great episode which I enjoyed a lot, especially the cloak-and-dagger “game” by Chloe and Jimmy - including the inevitable Tango. And she really looked awesome again in that dress. During her time at the “Daily Planet” she had some questionable hair cuts, but now she’s the total cutie again. Drooling !
Apocalypse
Synopsis: Clark has decided to give up. He knows that Brainiac is on Krypton in the year 1989 and that he will kill baby Kal-El. And Clark has decided that it is the best for everyone if he had never arrived on Earth. And suddenly he hasn’t. No one knows him. Chloe is getting married, Lana lives in France with her husband and her children and all is well. OK, Milton Fine is advisor to President Lex Luthor who plans to start a global thermonuclear war, but who’s nitpicking?
My Opinion: Season’s end comes nearer and it gets better and better. This was a great “what if?” episode. It was a bit sad though, that we didn’t see Jonathan or Martha, it would have been great to seem them on the show again. And I found it a bit unrealistic that both Kryptonians could be shot by Lex. The moment Clark was hit, Kara should have been warned and been able to duck any shots taken at her. But since it was only a dream (or something similar), I will let it slip through. ;)
Quest
Synopsis: Lex may have the Kryptograph but he has no idea what to do with it. Then he gets attacked by a man who carves a kryptonian symbol into his chest. But both Lex and Clark are guided to the Saint Christopher’s Cathedral in Montreal - Saint Christopher is the patron saint of travelers - and there they meet someone who is supposed to be dead.
My Opinion: It’s always fascinating how people try to keep something extremely well hidden, yet they leave a trace of bread crumps to follow. Granted most people would have failed to recognize that music and no one but Lex happens to live in that certain mansion, but why leave a trail when only the wrong people can follow it?
Arctic
Synopsis: Kara damages the plane on which Edward Teague - the last survivor of the Veritas clan - is flying to South America and in the resulting crash he dies. Then she reveals her and Clark’s identity to Lex and finally she points him to the Fortress. But the real Kara has never come back from Krypton, this is Brainiac again. And now Clark wants to stop him once and for all. But can he also make it to the Fortress in time, before Lex starts to control him?
My Opinion: This was a great season finale again and I am wondering what will happen next, considering the news of who will and won’t come back for the next season. I am glad that they didn’t make a killer out of Kara. She also has a destiny to fulfill. On a philosophical level there could be a discussion of whether or not Brainiac/Fine was a sentient life form and Clark did actually kill him instead of just destroying a machine. But sometimes you simply have to make the hard choices, I believe Spike would understand. ;)
The Season - My Opinion: This season had a lot of interesting episodes, yet until the Veritas arc it failed to have a destination to go to and the Veritas arc - as I pointed out - didn’t quite fit. It raises too many questions about the behaviour of the people involved (Lionel and Genevieve Teague for example). What I also noticed about this season is the regular absence of regular cast members. Kara, Lois Jimmy are all in the opening credits yet there were numerous episodes where they didn’t make an appearance. I got the feeling that they didn’t know what to do with them. The following is about the cast of season 8 and thus “spoilered”:
(click to show/hide)
I am not really sad that Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum are leaving the show. As I said, the cast seems a bit overcrowded. And I don’t really see where their stories would be going. Both Clark and Lana, as well as Clark and Lex have been going in round in circles for quite some time now. Yet I hope that Michael will return for the season opener to bring his story to an end. And even without Lana we still have three femal leads: Chloe, Lois and Kara. What we will need is a new villain. But I sincerly hope that they decide at some point to bring the story to an satisfying conclusion and that they don’t continue until either the actors resign or the show gets cancelled.
The End. (for now)
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on July 05, 2009, 09:38:38 PM
Last week I felt the urge to watch some Smallville episodes again and decided to do a theme: "I am an omnipotent being and have the power to show Lana who and what Clark really is, before she marries Lex."
So I watched:
1x01 Pilot - Sets everything in motion, shows Clarks origins and his weakness to Kryptonite. 1x04 X-Ray - Clark gets x-ray vision. 1x21 Tempest, 2x01 Vortex - Lana brings Witney to the airport and gets caught in the tornados. 2x02 Heat - Clark gets heat vision. 2x03 Duplicity - Clark reveals his secret to Pete. 2x04 Red - Clark under the influence of red Kryptonite. 2x10 Skinwalker - Clark finds the caves and is told the story of "Naman". 2x16 Fever - Martha and Clark get sick by Kryptonite spores, Martha is pregnant and a blood sample of Clark is taken. 2x17 Rosetta - Clark understands the kryptonian language and learns about Krypton and Kal-El. 2x22 Calling - Dr. Walden wants to stop "the last son" from becoming the ruler of "the third planet". 2x23 Exodus, 3x01 Exile - Clark destroys the spaceship, Martha loses the baby, Clark goes to Metroplis under red K. 3x02 Phoenix - Clark has to clean up his mess, including the providing of another blood sample. 3x03 Extinction - Lana condemns all meteor freaks but expects Clark to confide in her. 3x10 Whisper - Clark gets super-hearing. 3x22 Covenant, 4x01 Crusade - Clark becomes Kal-El and goes on a hunt for the three stones. 4x08 Spell - Lana becomes Countess Isobel and magicks can hurt Clark. 4x11 Unsafe - Alicia returns and marries Clark under the influence of Red K. 4x12 Pariah - Alicia dies and Chloe learns Clark's secret (partly). 4x19 Blank - Clark loses all his memories and Chloe becomes his tour guide. 4x22 Commencement, 5x01 Arrival - Clark completes the stones, builds the Fortress and Chloe learns his full secret. 5x03 Hidden - Clark dies and becomes super again. 5x11 Lockdown - Two cops hold Lana and Lex hostage to get the ship and Clark knows that his relationship with Lana is falling apart. 5x12 Reckoning - Clark tells Lana everything, proposes and then she dies. 5x22 Vessel, 6x01 Zod - Lex becomes Zod and Clark lands himself in the Phantom Zone. 6x02 Sneeze - Clark gets super-breath. 6x06 Fallout - Clark fights his first Zoner. 6x10 Hydro - Chloe is keeping everyone's secret, Lana is pregnant and Clark has to protect Oliver's secret. 6x11 Justice - Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Cyborg (Victor Stone), Aquaman (Arthur "AC" Curry) , Impulse (Bart Allen), Watchtower (Chloe) and Boy Scout (Clark) fight against Lex's project 33.1. 6x13 Crimson - Clark crashes the wedding rehearsal under the influence of red K. 6x15 Freak - Chloe is a meteor freak, too.
6x16 Promise - The wedding.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on December 12, 2009, 11:08:26 PM
Because I was in the mood I just watched the first season over the last week. Ignoring the obvious Dawson Casting (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DawsonCasting), I never really noticed (until now) how many age problems especially the first season has.
These are the years established in the show: Clark's arrival: 1989. Lex's age then: 9. Beginning of show: fall 2001. Birthyear of Chloe: 1987. School year depicted in first season: Freshman.
Given the school year and Chloe's confirmed BY, everyone was about 14-15 at the beginning of the first season.
Yet everyone is already driving cars on a very regular basis. Lana becomes assistant manager in a café. Lex seems to have never gone to college (he's 21 at the most). Whitney joins the USMC yet it has never been established that he's at least a Junior (but since they are talking about Graduation, I assume he's already a Senior and thus 3 years older than Lana). Chloe and Clark have known each other for years, but it's also established that she moved to Smallville in 8th grade (one year before the show starts). Whitney and Lana have been together for years (likeliness for a 14year-old who just joined the same High School as her boyfriend?).
Still enjoying it, though. ;)
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: DJ Doena on April 16, 2010, 05:05:04 PM
What's even more interesting about this episode, are the discussions on the internet about it. For example, people were seriously offended that he didn't tell her about his true nature before they were sleeping together, because he is an alien. There were sentences like "If Lana were my child I would want to know that she's sleeping with an alien.".
Here we go again: KryptonSite: Major Problem with Clark Kent's Sexual Mentality (http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141078)
For example:
Quote from: Britas15
I can hardly type. That's how angry I am right now.
And what I find to be truly repugnant about what the show's currently doing, is that they're sending the message that since Lois is keeping PROFESSIONAL SECRETS from Clark (secrets that, as an investigative reporter, she has every right to keep), then that somehow makes Clark keeping a SECRET ABOUT WHO THE FRAK HE REALLY IS okay.
Nuh-uh. Not even close. Nowhere near. Not at all.
I cannot even begin to tell you how upset I am right now. I am utterly beside myself.
Title: Re: Smallville Marathon #2
Post by: Najemikon on April 16, 2010, 05:27:45 PM
He shouldn't be sleeping with Lois at all...
Quote from: Mallrats
T.S. Quint: But they're engaged. Brodie: Doesn't matter, can't happen. T.S. Quint: Why not? It's bound to come up. Brodie: It's impossible, Lois could never have Superman's baby. Do you think her fallopian tubes could handle the sperm? I guarantee you he blows a load like a shotgun right through her back. What about her womb? Do you think it's strong enough to carry his child? T.S. Quint: Sure, why not? Brodie: He's an alien, for Christ sake. His Kyrptonian biological makeup is enhanced by earth's yellow sun. If Lois gets a tan the kid could kick right through her stomach. Only someone like Wonder Woman has a strong enough uterus to carry his kid. The only way he could bang regular chicks is with a kryptonite condom. That would kill him. T.S. Quint: How is it that I go from the verge of hot Floridian sex with Brandi to man of steel coital debates with you in the food court? Brodie: Cookie stand isn't part of the food court. T.S. Quint: Of course it is. Brodie: The food court is downstairs. The cookie stand is upstairs. It not like we're talking quantum physics here. T.S. Quint: The cookie stands counts as an eatery, eateries are part of the food court. Brodie: Bullshit. Eateries that operate within the designated square downstairs count as food court. Anything outside, of said designated sqaure, counts as an autonomous unit for mid-mall snacking. Now, if you're going to wax intellectual about the subject...