Smallville: The Complete Sixth Season (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)*Possible spoilers within.*
"Smallville" fans continue to perplex me. It seems that the majority of "Smallville" fans consider what I and those with whom I watch the series have deemed the weakest seasons of the show to be the show's best years. Similarly, while I found the show's sixth season to be its best since Season One, most fans have ranked it among the series' worst. I'm not putting down those who think differently from me, but I have thoroughly evaluated each season and I cannot imagine what these viewers are seeing that I am not. There are those who are now dreading the next season and the season which may follow (creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have said that the show will run no longer than eight seasons). After Season Six, however, I am eagerly awaiting more of a show that has, after years of stumbling through piles and piles of mediocrity, finally reached its potential.
In Season Five, Clark Kent found himself without his most beloved "guiding light" when his father died. The feelings of loneliness grew as his relationship with Lex Luthor crumbled, rebuilt as a bitter rivalry, and Clark was forced to push the love of his life, Lana Lang, away. To make matters worse, Lana took refuge in Lex's open arms. By the end of the season, Clark had learned to deal with his grief and had a better sense of who he was, but he still had a long way to go before becoming the Man of Steel. In Season Six, Clark's destiny grows a lot nearer. Season Six revolves around Clark's discovery of who he is through two major storylines: 1) the tormented relationship between he and Lana Lang (which should have ended seasons ago and has now reached the point of absurdity), as well as Lana's potentially strong affections for Lex, and 2) Lex Luthor's rapid loss of morality and Clark's realization that he alone can stop him. There is a third major storyline as well, dealing with a number of alien ghosts which escape from the Phantom Zone in the season premiere; Clark must round them up before they wreak too much havoc.
There are a number of subplots too. The largest and most popular involves Oliver Queen, played by Justin Hartley, who was cast in the title role of "Smallville"'s failed spinoff "Aquaman." Queen is a young, attractive businessman who arrives in Metropolis with a dark secret: he is the Green Arrow (one of DC's most popular heroes), a hooded rogue who protects those who need protection. He is also a sort of Robin Hood - which is bad news for Clark, whose mother is now a full-fledged, popular politician. Queen also has a checkered past with Lex Luthor, which makes for one of the season's more interesting subplots. Others include Chloe's relationship with spunky young photographer Jimmy Olsen (played by Aaron Ashmore, whom I personally find extremely irking) and Lois Lane's beginnings in journalism.
I had a number of complaints about Season Five, and even a few seasons before that. The writing was foolish and predictable and the dialog was just trash. The acting was lackluster. The directing was virtually non-existent. The music was frankly turgid. The sixth season, however, corrects all of that. The writing is, for the most part, excellent. The season's story arcs were intricate and interesting, and more importantly, each individual episode was a blast, well-written and suspenseful. Thankfully, the writers finally focused a lot less on meteor freaks (in fact, they hardly crop up at all!) and a lot more on other foes, in this case the "Zoners" (those who have escaped from the Phantom Zone). The dialog picked up a lot as well, and felt a whole more natural and realistic than it did in previous seasons.
The acting improved as well. Tom Welling's Clark seemed rather oafish in the previous season, but in this season, he is Clark Kent once more: strong, brave, and noble. John Glover is as delectable as ever, and Michael Rosenbaum gets a much-deserved dose of unflinching evil. Erica Durance begins to show promise as Clark's future love - for example, "Crimson," a fan favorite episode in which Clark is exposed to red kryptonite after a kiss from Lois, who herself has been drugged with a love potion. Allison Mack is especially fun, and the writers have mercifully saved us from most of her godawful one-liners. Even Kristen Kreuk, whose character I couldn't stand in previous seasons, improves slightly.
The show picks up some wonderful style from its directors, something it was completely devoid of in Seasons Four and Five. A great example of this is "Wither," which features some stunning visuals. I don't know what happened to Mark Snow, but his music went from cringeworthy and stale to downright fantastic. His score is hip, creative, cool, and grandiose, exactly what it should be. I really enjoyed hearing the music in each episode - even when Snow's theme for the Green Arrow is a painfully obvious rehash of Danny Elfman's theme for Tim Burton's "Batman" movies.
As far as the episodes go, this season holds a variety of standouts. The season premiere, "Zod," is great. It's not as epic as the fifth season premiere, but it's very cool anyway. Though I still find the producers' failure to cast an actor as Zod downright despicable, Rosenbaum plays his possession of Lex very well. Hearing Rosenbaum deliver "Superman II"'s classic "Kneel before Zod!" is really a delight, and the splitting resemblance between the disembodied Zod and Terence Stamp in "Superman II" is sure to please fans of the films. "Sneeze" introduces a new power for Clark: super breath. "Justice" is a very fun episode and has been called the best episode of the series by many. I don't agree in that aspect, but it is very neat to see all the show's past superheroes gathered together. The inevitable "It's All In Your Head" episode comes in the form of "Labyrinth," surprisingly a very enjoyable episode (in a twisted sort of way). "Freak" puts forth the revelation that Chloe herself has some sort of meteor power and has become a meteor freak after being exposed to so much kryptonite. That's an interesting and tense episode. "Promise" is a painful, dramatic episode, but its successor, the super-violent "Fight Club"-inspired "Combat," is a real blast. It's probably one of the show's weaker episodes, but it's also one of its most fun. Personally, I loved it: seeing Clark dress up in leather and kick the s--- out a jacked-up wrestler, seeing Lois in tight red leather - grand fun to be sure.
"Nemesis" is one of the series' strongest episodes, in which Clark and Lex are trapped in an underground tunnel and forced to deal with their issues which each other. Kudos to the writers for thinking this one up. The dramatic confrontation between Welling and Rosenbaum, Clark and Lex, good and evil, is just superb. "Noir," unfortunately, is not. What seemed like a brilliant idea - play the show as though it were a film noir in the 1940s - is interesting, but little more than that, and the final product falls flat on its face. As always, the season goes out with a bang, a lot of them, with "Phantom," which leaves one character on his way to jail, three characters possibly dead, one superpower revealed, and introduces a character I have long awaited but thought I would never seen on "Smallville." It also featured a much-advertised "death" of a major character. I would like little more than to see that character actually be killed, but the fact that she's not is ridiculously clear.
At its finish, the sixth season of "Smallville" is a wonderful surprise. It's quite possibly the best season since the show's outstanding first, and it's the first season to truly reach its potential since the series' early years. I have no idea what happened between the end of Season Five and the premiere of Season Six, but everything that was so wrong with the show was drastically improved. Season Six is quality, comic-bookish, fun television, and although the second half of the season is rather lopsided ("Progeny," which features a guest appearance by Lynda Carter, is arguably the most dull episode of the entire show), it's a spectacular season. Clark has yet to fly, and the show hadn't really flown since the beginning of Season Three, but with Season Six "Smallville" soars as it, like its young hero, seemed destined to from the start.

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Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)**I'm going to SPOILER tag this review for anyone who hasn't seen this season yet. Some of the problems that I have with this season, I'll need to reference specific details**
The 7th Season of Smallville, unfortunately, has two fewer episodes due to the writer's strike. Some of the problems in this season could be a direct result of this. Another issue is that the CW renewed the show for an 8th season, but most of the contracts for the cast had ended, except for Tom Welling. In some ways, it seemed that the writers were struggling to come up with a good way to transition into Season 8 while finding a way to make plausible exits for those cast members who will not be returning to the show. Unfortunately, this hurt Season 7 of Smallville to a degree. The show loses some of its cohesiveness that they've enjoyed, especially in comparison to Seasons 5 & 6, which in my opinion, are the show's best seasons.
Of course, most people don't realize how difficult it is to be a show running for 7 years and maintain that high level of quality that Smallville has been. Most shows tend to lose something the longer they are on the air. Stories change, cast members come and go, and it can be very difficult to maintain the show's quality with so many changes.
Okay Smallville fans, we're finally treated to what many people had been waiting for: Lana finding out Clark's secret, AND Clark finding out that Lana knows. Many people, myself included, were expecting something big for this occasion, since, for some people, they had been waiting for this moment for 7 years. The emotional climax is dry. One is almost forced to ask, "Is that it? Is this as excited as they can get? Clark FINALLY gets what he wants, and yet, he doesn't seem as excited as he should be." Okay, we all know that Clark will eventually end up with Lois. But in that moment with Lana, I felt that there needed to be more than what they showed. I would think that Clark would be ecstatic! I would think that Lana would have a ton of questions to ask him, especially given their history.
Exit Martha Kent from the show, enter cousin Kara (aka, Supergirl). At first, I was extremely apprehensive about this addition. And yet, newcomer, Laura Vandervroot does a credible job with the limited amount of time that she is on the show. It's difficult to do a proper character development on a character who is only in a handful of episodes. Purists may find a distaste that Supergirl demonstrates more powers than Clark, at this point, as he is still unable AND unwilling to learn to fly.
Kristin Kreuk is also in the show for a limited time, and she even drops down to third billing in the opening credits behind Tom and Michael. She's barely in the last five episodes as Kristin was in Thailand shooting a movie. While it's not her fault, the final moment between Clark and Lana, via videotape is stale and leaves the viewer feeling cheated. Many fans who already seem to despise the character of Lana were given further ammunition when Lana breaks up with Clark via videotape.
James Marsters returns as Brainiac, and he's still as good as ever. I was glad to see them bring the character back.
Chloe is still Clark's faithful sidekick but now she's a "meteor freak;" a type of person that she has spent much of her time trying to expose. Now she's faced with her own dilema of whether or not to tell boyfriend, Jimmy Olson that she now possesses the power to heal. While interesting, one still can't help but wonder how and when Chloe suddenly came upon this power. We are given no explanation or even possible theories.
Lois is as headstrong as ever, but toward the end of the season, her character begins to soften a bit, especially toward Clark. You can't help but think that the writers are laying some groundwork for the future couple. I still think Erica is the best Lois to play the part, and Lois has some great moments with Clark at the end of the season.
Michael Rosenbaum is always fantastic, even though Lex still can't seem to avoid getting shot. The only problem is that Lex doesn't seem to be around as much. There are stretches where you miss him. I certainly did, considering he's one of the strongest actors of the cast. There is a classic moment when Lex finally rids himself of the last trace of good that is left. The scene after he has killed Lionel, and he throws "Alexander" on the fire shouting, "You make me weak!" is classic, vintage Lex, and Michael Rosenbaum has the character nailed cold.
Tom Welling is excellent as Clark. If he has one "weakness" it's his difficulty in showing real, genuine emotion. There are scenes were he appears to be trying too hard, and it loses some punch because it doesn't appear natural enough. His range as an actor has only grown with each season, but I'd love to see him lose his fear of expanding his emotional range to include complete sadness and the sense of loss. He showed real glimpses of this during the time when Jonathan Kent died. He's also still a fantastic director as shown in "Apocalypse" where Clark is given a chance to see how things would be if he never came to Earth. It's sort of a Smallville version of "It's a Wonderful Life."
This season still has some great and memorable episodes. Lana briefly possesses Clark's powers (though at no loss of his own) in "Wrath." It's a great episode, and you really understand why no one but Clark can handle that much power; not just physically but psychologically.
"Descent" may be the season's best episode as Lex and Lionel have their final confrontation that leads to tragic results for Lionel. The final scene with Lex and Clark standing on either side of Lionel's coffin is a classic and powerful Smallville moment that is not to be missed.
As good as many episodes were, the season finale, "Arctic" is bit of a let down, especially when you compare it to past finales that always had dazzling cliffhangers that made you dread the 5 months until you find out what happens! The problem with "Arctic" as well as with the main storyline leading to it, is that it feels rushed. It was as if the writers were trying to quickly get through it as fast as possible (especially with 2 fewer episodes to work with) in order to get things set-up for the next season. Unfortunately, the finale and main storyline suffer as a consequence.
Things might have improved greatly if they had done what other shows have done in the past: shoot a 90 minute finale. This gives them more time for better plot development, and it would not have felt rushed. You have the final confrontation with Brainiac. You have Clark and Lana dealing with their final moments. You have Clark trying to get to Lex to prevent him from using a device that will somehow control Clark (a fairly weak idea on the writer's part. It still seems unlikely from a character standpoint that Jor-El would actually create some device to control Clark that could be used by humans even if they had to find the clues to acquire it. Here Smallville went a little "Da Vinci Code" on us. Besides, I didn't see any concern on Jor-El's part when Clark was on red kryptonite and wreaking havoc in Metropolis).
Because past seasons of Smallville have all been great or beyond great, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing from this season. It felt rushed. It lacked the emotional depth that Smallville has utilized in the past, and the storyline turned out to be only satisfactory when compared to past seasons.
I still love this show and have since the first season. Since the show has been picked up for another season, I'm really hoping that with a full 22-episode season, Smallville can bounce back and end the series with the efficient capability that the writers have shown in the past. After all, Smallville is about Clark becoming Superman, and I for one, want them to go out in a blaze of glory as Clark finally accepts his destiny and becomes the iconic hero that we all know and love.

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SMALLVILLE:COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON - Blu-Ray Movie

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Smallville - The Complete Seasons 1-7 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)My rating is for the series and not for this particular set of DVDs, which I consider to be appallingly priced. I am a longtime watcher of SMALLVILLE and I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking time to get acquainted with the show. That said, I'm not sure that catching up on the show is best accomplished by buying this set. As I write this review the discounted price is $325. Unless the price drops dramatically, my advice is to buy this set a volume at a time. What I usually do when I want to collect a TV series (and I own around 40 series on DVD) is put all of the individual volumes into my Amazon shopping cart and then save them for later. Then I periodically visit my Cart to see if any of the items I'm watching experience a price drop. For instance, I had all of THE GILMORE GIRLS in my cart, waiting for the price to drop during a sale. One day I logged in to see that the prices for most seasons of GG had dropped to under $20 and I instantly bought all those seasons. Do the same with SMALLVILLE and I think you will get the entire series for a whole lot less than $325. (By the way, an interesting tie-in between Superman and THE GILMORE GIRLS is that the back lot that was used for the filming of GG was adjacent to the one used for THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK [it was also used for the tragically cancelled PUSHING DAISIES]. When Clark visited Smallville in that series, the Smallville town square was the same one used for the Stars Hollow town square.]
The other big question is whether someone will want to catch up on this show. It definitely isn't for everyone. If you enjoy fantasy or Sci-fi it can be a heck of a lot of fun. Comic book purists sometimes get too angry watching it to enjoy it. My daughter, for instance, knows more about Superman comics than anyone I know. She could probably teach a college level course on the history of Superman and his various incarnations. She does not share my enthusiasm for SMALLVILLE. The series is not a canonical version of Superman: The Early Years as much as it is a reimagining of the Superman legend focused Clark Kent of Smallville rather than of Metropolis. There are analogs of nearly everything that you can find in the regular Superman comics, but in a slightly different form. As of Season 8 many of Superman's traditional enemies have put in an appearance on the show, from Lex Luthor (who was through the first seven seasons a series regular) to Brainiac to Doomsday. There have been multiple references to the Justice League and many of Superman's future colleagues have been introduced in the series (but to date no Batman, Wonder Woman, or Green Lantern - though it is interesting that the acclaimed Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns has begun to work as a guest writer on the show - next to Grant Morrison, Johns might be the most respected writer currently working on DC superheroes), with JLA stalwarts such as the Green Arrow (a series regular in Season 8), the Flash, Aquaman, the Flash, and the Martian Manhunter (a recurring character who in Season 8 has made several appearances, though he is temporarily stripped of his powers). In Season 7 Clark's cousin Kara (Supergirl) was a regular. Seriously, the Superman references are too many to attempt to count.
SMALLVILLE, while freely altering elements of the Superman story, is deeply respectful of its source material (though many fans of the comics would undoubtedly disagree). Clark almost always dresses in variations of blue, red, and yellow, the constituent colors of Superman's cape and tights. The producers have brought onto the show as guest stars a large number of actors from previous Superman TV shows and movies. For instance, Christopher Reeve had a recurring role that ended only with his death, Margot Kidder appeared briefly as a guest star, and Christian Kane, the Superman from THE ADVENTURES OF LOIS AND CLARK. The two things that the creators of SMALLVILLE said that we would never see on the show are Clark flying on a regular basis or Clark wearing the Superman uniform. Frankly, I think that was fine for the first several seasons, but I don't think they imagined the show would last for 8 seasons. I'm not keen on seeing Tom Welling put on tights, but I think the show would be well served by allowing him to fly. At this point Clark's failure to gain his last ability has become rather silly.
The early years on the show were largely structured around a meteor-freak-of-the-week format. The idea is that when Clark arrived in Smallville from Krypton he did so in a meteor shower bringing many "meteor rocks" (i.e., kryptonite) with him. While toxic to Clark, the rocks imbue normal humans with a variety of powers. So, each week in the first few seasons Clark would have to struggle against some person with unusual powers created by the rocks. It was pretty consistently the least interesting part of the show.
Thankfully, alongside the meteor-freak-of-the-week were the main relationships in Clark's life: his parents, his friend and then later nemesis Lex Luthor (played marvelously by Michael Rosenbaum), his best friend Chloe Sullivan (again, played wonderfully, this time by Allison Mack), and most of all, the first love of Clark's life, Lana Lang (played by the almost impossibly cute Kristin Kreuk). During all of this many interesting story lines were introduced and developed, though to tell the truth after a certain point keeping Lana the focus of Clark's love life kept the show from developing. Lana left the show at the end of Season Seven, and the result has been in Season Eight a complete resurgence of the show, easily the best season in several years, as the departure of Lana and Lex has allowed the development of an entirely new dynamic for the show. In particular, while Clark and Chloe's cousin Lois Lane have enjoyed a love-hate relationship (with Lois treating Clark with persistent disdain), in Season Eight is definitely more love than hate. The relationships on the show have sometimes led to some atrocious storylines, none worse than in Season Six (the worst season on the show), where things heated up between Lex and Lana.
Over the years I've definitely enjoyed the show more than it has upset me. My main complaint is that I'm not sure that there is an overarching story. The narrative definitely feels like it is being made up as they go along. It isn't like LOST or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, where you feel that the story as a whole is informed by where the series is going to end up. There is an interesting dynamic in the writing, however, that is fairly unique to SMALLVILLE. Most shows tend to end pretty much at the climax of the episode, or at most a minute or two afterwards. Almost every episode of SMALLVILLE climaxes a good 8 or 9 minutes before the end of the episode. You then get a few scenes that shows the main characters reacting to the events of the previous half hour. So you'll always get a scene, say, between Lex and Chloe and then between Lana and Clark. Most episodes have a fairly leisurely feel to them. All in all, a good thing.
In short, this is a good series, though certainly not a great one. If you enjoy fantasy and Sci-fi, you'll probably enjoy it. You'll sometimes be irritated (especially at how thick-headed Clark is, though in most other ways Tom Welling makes a thoroughly enjoyable Clark, and he certainly looks the part), sometimes entertained, and sometimes blown away. The show usually has memorable season finales, more than its fair share of truly awful episodes, and a good number of excellent ones. If it never becomes consistently excellent, neither does it become consistently bad (with the possible exception of the terrible Lex/Lana story of Season Six). It does get better after the first couple of seasons, stays pretty much on the same level after that (with the exception of Season Six), and then gets very good in Season Eight again. All in all, I give this series a thumb's up. I've always looked forward to seeing it each week and I'll continue to do so until they decide to bring the series to an end. Just do yourself a favor and collect the individual seasons individually and not through this very expensive set.

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Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am one of the rare "Smallville" fans that greatly prefer the darker seasons of late to the light-hearted, freak-of-the-week seasons that the show started with. Season 8 introduced the marvelous Tess Mercer (as excellently portrayed by Cassidy Freeman) who filled the shoes of an MIA Lex Luthor with more charisma and grace than, dare I say it, the great Michael Rosenbaum in the past couple seasons. Also among the characters this year is Davis "Doomsday" Bloome, who is taken to the next level by Sam Witwer, who plays the role in such a way that the viewers can actually sympathize for the tortured, lonely murderer that Davis has unfortunately become.
There are only two problems that I have with season 8. The first is that around episodes 8.03-8.05, the show lagged. A lot. The episodes, I thought, were quite boring and just not the best work that the "Smallville" writers have put forth. Specifically 8.03 "Toxic," which could've been a fantastic exploration of Justin Hartley's Oliver "Green Arrow" Queen character but ended up being a bland, practical snorefest.
The second problem is the Lana-arc in episodes 8.10-8.14. While 8.10 "Bride," 8.11 "Legion," and 8.12 "Bulletproof" were all outstanding and Kristin Kreuk delivered on every front in her reprisal as Lana Lang, the storyline of giving Lana super powers was extremely unwelcome to most fans (myself included) and, if anything, ruined what could've been a perfect end to the lengthy Clark/Lana storyline that has haunted "Smallville" since the first episode. 8.14 "Requiem" is a good episode, mind you, but the poorly done super!Lana storyline brings it and 8.13 "Power" down as the worst episodes of the season.
Now, there are definitely some blockbuster episodes that were perfect, in my eyes. The entire slew of episodes from 8.15 to 8.21 were brilliant - specifically 8.15 "Infamous," 8.16 "Turbulence" (a brilliant and emotionally raw exploration of the characters - specifically Jimmy Olsen), 8.18 "Eternal," and 8.21 "Injustice." Watching this season, I was in awe at how much the actors and actresses - and their characters - have grown since they were first introduced to us and I have yet to be disappointed by the work turned in by the fantastic Tom Welling, the outstanding Allison Mack, and the stunning Erica Durance.
Overall, I highly recommend that new viewers catch this season when its on sale and all "Smallville" fans should purchase this boxset as soon as it's released. As we enter season 9, which may very well be our last "Smallville" season, I have high hopes that the show will kick it into high gear and go out with a bang.

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There's a new reporter at the Daily Planet: Clark Kent, who shares a workspace with Lois Lane. There's a new hero in Metropolis, too. No one knows who he is. But Jimmy Olsen was on the scene of one of the do-gooder's exploits, and he snapped a blurred photo of the hero in superspeed action – a hero everyone now calls the Red-Blue Blur. Red-jacketed, blue-shirted Clark Kent draws closer to his Superman destiny in the exciting 22-episode, 6-disc Season 8 of Smallville. Another Kryptonian destiny also takes shape. Davis Bloome begins to realize he is Doomsday. His mission on Earth: kill Clark Kent. So many new events (will Jimmy and Chloe's marriage last?), so many new faces (Tess Mercer, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy among them!), so many state-of-the-art effects – so don\'t miss a single thrill-packed moment!

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Smallville: The Complete Fourth Season (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Season Four of SMALLVILLE saw the major characters all beginning to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood, reflecting the beginnings of the show itself to begin the transition to the next level. The fundamental challenge for the show has been to reinvent the "Superboy" years by conceiving Clark Kent as a work in progress, a profoundly gifted young man gradually gaining use of and control over powers that makes him utterly unique but also alienates him from his friends by the need to keep his abilities secret. During each season he has discovered new abilities, first X-ray vision, then heat vision, then super hearing to go with the super strength, speed, and invulnerability that he has long possessed. Plus the hints of the impending ability to fly. The difference between SMALLVILLE and the Superboy comics I read growing up is that the latter were always utterly ahistorical, intentionally oblivious to everything that would take place for the adult Clark Kent. There was Lana Lang, but no reflection on how things would go with them, how they would fail to forge a permanent attachment, how Clark would later focus his attention on Lois Lane instead. To its credit, SMALLVILLE has always proceeded with one eye cocked towards the future. In this season, the show began what could be a metamorphosis into a more mature show. I would not at all be surprised if in the next year or so SMALLVILLE were cancelled and a new show, perhaps called METROPOLIS, would be taking its place, with a small number of characters making the transition to the new show: Clark, Lex, Lionel, Lois, and perhaps Chloe, with guest appearances by some Smallville regulars. I've thoroughly enjoyed the four seasons of SMALLVILLE, but my own belief is that they are coming close to exhausting the possibilities in the story of Clark Kent's youth in Smallville. Hopefully they will take the story to the next level. Bit by bit they have added elements of the future to the show, and this persisted into Season Four's finale, [...]. And [...] is it unreasonable to assume that he will add the ability to fly at will in Season Five [...]
Though this was another good season, it was perhaps less consistent than the two previous ones. The season was hurt by two things: 1) a number of weak episodes and 2) a dismal storyline in which Lana Lang somehow channeled the spirit of a dead 17th century French sorceress. It wasn't just that Lana's possession was a bad idea, it didn't lead to any great resolution. As much as I enjoy Kristin Kreuk aka "The Cutest Young Woman in the World" as Lana, she simply doesn't possess the acting chops to pull off multiple persona in convincing fashion. [...] Simultaneously, Erica Durance was introduced to the cast as Clark's inevitable love interest Lois Lane. These were just two of many slight changes that started scooting the series towards the future. Lex, for instance, started more and more showing his willingness to submerge his genuine affection for his friends for his own ambitious ends. In the season finale he even physically assaults Lana to forcibly take from her an object he imagines she possesses.
[...]
I look forward to Season Five. This is clearly a show that is on the verge of exhausting its concept, and I'm profoundly sceptical that they can continue it beyond the coming season. I hope that the show's producers and the WB can negotiate bringing this show to a graceful conclusion and then transitioning several key characters to a new show that continues the adventures of everyone's favorite Man of Steel in the big city of Metropolis.

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Clark Kent will have plenty of reasons to remember his senior year! The thrilling reinterpretation of the Superman legend evolves in Season 4, whose 22 episodes include the quest for 3 Kryptonian crystals and Clark's bold attempt to keep those mysterious stones from destroying Earth. Clark also becomes a highly recruited football star. Lana gets a boyfriend. Lois Lane smart, opinionated and entirely annoying to Clark comes to Smallville. Chloe learns the scoop of the century. Lionel becomes a straight-up nice guy. Lex steps further from the light into darkness. New characters (Krypto, Mr. Mxyzptlk) and a new power emerge. The calling awaits Clark an awakening to a destiny that only he can accept and fulfill.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDVD ROM FeaturesDocumentaries

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Smallville - The Complete First Six Seasons (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)A quick look at each Smallville season (including a star ranking out of five):
Season One (*****): Sets down the roots of an amazing show focusing on the younger (high school) days of Clark Kent, the future hero Superman. In this season, Clark's crush on Lana Lana and friendship (yes, friendship) with Lex Luthor are developed, as well a certain green substance that seems to wreak havoc on the town of Smallville.
Season Two (*****): This season focuses on Clark finding out his Kryptonian heritage, including a very moving guest appearance from a man of Superman movie lore. What I consider to be the best part of this season is all the allusions to the Superman cannon (or mythology)...there are multiple great moments in each episode that will make you crack a smile.
Season Three (*****): What I consider to be the best season of the show, as it explores the potential for evil in Lex Luthor and why he is so troubled. Lex's psychotic break is a high point in the series, while this is also the last season that the Clark/Lana romance remains emotional on a week-to-week level.
Season Four (****): The plot got a little weaker this season (I think the producers needed something for Lana Lang's character to do, thus the "witches" plotline), but it still introduced classic characters from the Superman comics and saw all the main characters graduate Smallville High, taking the show in a whole new direction.
Season Five (*****): This season rebounds from a weaker previous season, as it introduces a new famous Superman villain (at this point much more powerful than Lex Luthor), has an emotional special Christmas episode, and features a 100th episode that will have you reaching for the tissue box on multiple occasions.
Season Six (***): By far the weakest season of the show. Starts out with a bang, but never achieves that kind of success again until the season finale. The Clark/Lana romance is so stretched that it becomes like a soap opera, losing its emotional punch. An evil Lex and a junior Justice League forming are the highlights of this emotional bereft season.

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I Me Wed (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Erica Durance is a "10" in this quirky love affair before her chart topping stardom on Smallville. Her characters determination to stand alone at the alter in defiance of her peers rings true to todays working women. I loved her and the story. A must have!I Me Wed

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Isabel Darden (Erica Durance, Smallville) is an attractive, successful 30-year-old woman tired of her mother and friends insistence that marriage is essential to a woman s happiness. With pressure to find Mr. Right mounting, and a deep-seated desire to prove the women in her life wrong, Isabel plans a wedding ceremony in which she ll marry the one person who knows her better than anyone else...herself. When the news outlets pick up her story, Isabel becomes an overnight media sensation, and with the enthusiastic support of her friend Bill, she quickly begins planning her nuptials. Will Isabel s wedding finally convince her embarrassed mother Lillian, and disappointed best friend Amy, that she truly is better off on her own? It s a question Isabel will have to contend with herself, after a chance meeting with the handsome and intelligent Colin (Paul Popowich) challenges her convictions. How will Isabel tell the man she s falling in love with that she s already engaged and to herself? The unexpected romance with Colin and a leak from the media sends her wedding plans, and her new relationship, into a tailspin. Will Isabel try to regain Colin s trust, or continue on with her wedding?

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Devil Winds (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)I rented this movie with Net Flix and it is a great movie. I'm definitely going to buy this in the future. I love storms and I found this an entertaining movie. You can tell the tornados were computer generated and didn't look like they do in real life, but I'm not a picky person and I still found them to look real enough. The movie "Twister" that everyone is familiar with had more realistic looking tornados, but "Devil Winds" is still a great movie. I liked the characters, the story, etc. Great movie!

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Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's hard to believe that this show has gone on for 9 years, but the writing and the acting just keep getting better. Just like the last season, Clark Kent is one step closer to his destiny as Superman. The big overarching plot this season was the threat of the Kandorians, led by Major Zod. Smallville fans will recognize the name, if not the rank, of the big bad guy. That's because he's a clone of the evil traitor who tried to overthrow Krypton around the time Kal-El (Clark) was born. So he's going to be the worst villian in Kryptonian history, maybe. It's the reoccuring Smallville theme of destiny and fate. If you are destined to do something, do you do it or make your own destiny? Clark has been told since season 1 that he is destined to be this great hero and champion and symbol of hope. Most of the main plots of every season are about Clark finding out about his destiny and what he does to either embrace it or fight against it. So it is with the bad guys. Lex Luthor is destined to be Superman's arch-enemy. So even though we saw 5-6 seasons of Lex trying to overcome his dark nature and maintain some kind of friendship with Clark, we knew he was eventually going to be bad. Same with Davis Bloome, aka Doomsday. He was trying to fight his nature of being the ultimate destroyer. But ultimately, he, too, had to succomb to his destiny. In this season, it is Zod. This "Major Zod" has not made all the bad choices that "General Zod" did back on Krypton. But we know what he is to become. Will he make the same choices or will he change his fate?
The main highlights for me were the so-called "filler" episodes that focused more on Lois and Clark's budding relationship than on the threat of the Kandorians. What I like about the writing is the continual shout-outs to fans of Superman, comics, and TV/Movies. Like the "Resident Evil" episode (#3 Rabid), the "What a Woman Wants" episode (#4 Echo), "the Game" episode (#5 Roulette), the "He said/She said" episode (#6 Crossfire), and the "Big" episode (#12 Warrior). For comic book fans, they converted an old Hawkeye story for Green Arrow (#10 Disciple) and brought Metallo, Silver Banshee, and the JSA all into the Smallville story.
Something must be said about the black costume. Clark has embraced his heroic destiny by saving people, just not openly. So he is no longer the "Red-Blue Blur", just "the Blur". The Black costume represents his keeping to the shadows. When he finally reveals himself to the world as "Superman", he will likely change his costume into the red, blue, and gold costume we are familiar with. He's close, but not quite there yet.
As with any long running show, there are elements that some people don't like. Some people dislike the unique elements where Smallville differs from regular Superman lore. They want the show to move faster towards the classic tales that we know and love. Others dislike rehashing the old Superman mythos and want Smallville to remain true to the unique stories they created and not cave to pressure to become "the Adventures of Superman" or "Lois and Clark". I think Season 9 balances those two viewpoints well. Fans of the show will enjoy most, if not all of it. And if you haven't watched Smallville before, go back and watch all previous 8 seasons. It is well-worth the investment of time and money.

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Great planet, Earth is. So great that other survivors of Planet Krypton wouldn\'t mind making it home and taking control. But fellow Kryptonian Clark Kent has a warning for Zod and his followers who cross the line, especially if they seek to enlist Lois Lane in their schemes: I will destroy you all! Hearts grow fonder (Clark & Lois) and dangers grow stronger (Clark vs. warriors of Zod) in this 21-Episode Season 9 Collection. Plus, unexpected characters from DC Comics lore add exciting new layers to the adventures of the man who will become Superman. Among them: the shape-shifting Wonder Twins, magical Zantanna, and Justice Society of America\'s Dr. Fate, Hawkman and Stargirl. May justice prevail – and Earth survive!

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