What’s this show called … Smallville?

I am, by no means, versed in the comic book universe. More than that, there’s little that I know about even the big three — Superman, Batman, Spiderman — beyond what’s stuck with me from a movie here or there, or items that have become common knowledge these days.

And yet even I can guess that it must be tough to go two hundred plus episodes with a mythology that’s limited to pictures and word bubbles in a slim comic. Superman himself has been through a number of makeovers, deaths, and all sorts of assorted tweaks. Immortality isn’t a cure for all things.

So it was in this mindset that I approached my show for this week’s column, Smallville. The latest episode clearly comes at a significant juncture in a long story, but it was the broad strokes, as opposed to the finer details, that I found the most worth considering.

Coming from my admittedly limited Superman background, I was a bit surprised to discover that the Luthor family includes a daughter on the show. Come to think of it, I wasn’t aware that there even ever was a father in the picture there. But whereas I was never impressed with him as a nemesis for Superman, I did enjoy the young Alexander (Lucas Grabeel); seeing him prior to his going by the name Lex made him seem somehow innocent, and correctable, despite the fact that his actions implied otherwise.

The other world thing disappointed me. It was very Fringe (which I don’t watch), not something that I expected from a show that’s already about a guy from another planet. The idea that versions of people are in and out of the two worlds felt like an easy out for way too many plot points. Lionel (John Glover) died? Yeah, but other-world Lionel is ready to pick up the pieces of his life! The very science fiction-ness of that plot device has never worked for me.

Also oddly familiar was the VRA (Vigilante Registration Act) story, and how it forced heroes to hide. First of all, since when are there more heroes than the one? Is Oliver (Justin Hartley), or Green Arrow, Clark’s (Tom Welling) brother? Anyway, the plot sounded way too much like The Incredibles, which don’t get me wrong was great, but it’s been done. Not to mention Hancock…. Is it a part of human nature that we must eventually revolt against the other-worldly beings sent to Earth to help us?

Also jarring to me was Clark’s mother as a Senator. Nothing against a female senator, but am I remembering incorrectly that Martha Kent, played all big city by Annette O’Toole, was once a simple country gal? It’s a clever update for modern times, but there’s something about Superman, and Clark Kent, that’s supposed to be very small town. That one was very weird.

I’m far from a Superman purist. I’m not sure that I’ve enjoyed any of the movies that have been made, and I don’t think I even bothered watching the last one or two. In fact, my favorite part of the lore is in a book by Brad Meltzer called The Book of Lies, about Mitchell Siegel, the creator of Superman, and one of his original prints.

However, while I’m not rating it good or bad, I’m not sure how Superman of yore meshes with a modern day prime time soap opera from the network that has since brought us remakes of 90210 and Melrose Place. The sentiment at the end, after the election results were announced, was so cheesy that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Hard. “You’re an American hero, Clark.”

He is, but not in quite the same way on a show where he’s known as “The Blur.” Weird.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 14, 2011 @ 18:03 EST5EDT