Marvelguy on "Smallville"'s Season Premiere

Marvelguy on "Smallville"'s Season Premiere

Getting to be Super. Spoiler Alert

Review Opinion
By marvelguy - Sep 24, 2010 07:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Smallville



If you haven't watched it yet, this may spoiler it for you. Go to CW's site and get caught up.

Clark's journey is coming to an end as the Blur. Keeping it to the finer points:
Dr. Fate's helmet is a nice touch. Having no explanation why it knocked out Chloe and left no lingering effect (as of this episode) somewhat dulls it down.

Lex clones: Clone stories are superhero stories other over used plot element. The first is time travel. The old Lex clone was really unnecessary and didn't elevate the story. Now, in context, challenging Clark to see how super he is was good. It really appears they will have Clark opening himself to the true potential he possesses. This will more than likely culminate with his flying. He did mention that catching the Daily Planet globe felt like flight.

Oliver being held captive and tortured by unknown seemingly evil forces should have been better explained. They left us with the notion they are out to get all the super powered heroes. It seems probable that Pam Grier as Amanda Waller will make an appearance later.

The suit: It now has a presence. It seems a little strange it was teleported with Clark to the Fortress when his mother made it/had it made. That said, it looks a bit better than the "Returns" togs. The shield is still maroon though and a bit small. At least the "Lois & Clark" suit was truer to the books. Does anyone recall that the "Returns" suit looks like the evil Superman from "Superman 3?"

Death and rebirth: It is a worn plot device that Clark dies and or loses his powers every season. The best version of this was done in season one when Shawn "Iceman" Ashmore leeched them with Kryptonite and lightning in hand. And still clever when he did it again in season three. Not to mention it was obvious that pulling out the blue Kryptonite dagger would return him to normal. It didn't seem apparent why Clark was having the Jonathan Kent vision. Paw Kent's appearance was well written.

The finishing touch is Darkseid. Who knows what to think about this version? One can only hope it is not as silly as Doomsday. That was still hauntingly pathetic.

In all, it was a good start to a season that has a lot of promise. Hopefully, it won't end with someone throwing the S.
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OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 7:39 PM
Thank You! Atleast this review is better than that crap down the bottom post. Oh and it obvious that it was teleported to the fortress because Thats part of him when he turns into wat he is meant to be. Without the suit, the future would never happen with the world of Superman and Jor-El knows this because he seen the future numerous times. Jor-El has even altered it. He took the suit because Clark didnt do as perfect as his father intended. So he didnt want Clark to become the beckon of Hope for Earth. And the suit defines it; defines stepping out the shadows. Sometimes the suit makes the man, lol. I love the Returns suit tho and think it more better like Nolan did with batman. 21st century dude. But I like your review. Thumbs up :)
loganoneil
loganoneil - 9/24/2010, 7:42 PM
I was reather disappointed with CGI Darkseid - is THAT what he's supposed to look like or is it just a teaser? Iive got to say it's about as crappy as their Doomsday.
YourMomNaked
YourMomNaked - 9/24/2010, 7:43 PM
1st off, I apologize for my laziness with cut-n-pasting from comments from another article, but I've started classes this afternoon and time will be at a premium from this day forward.

With that said, I was a little disappointed. It's hard not to get too caught up in the hype and rarely does it meet those expectations. I enjoyed Lazarus, but it was a bit crammed. They tried to cover way too much in one episode! Slow down Smallville, you've got an entire season ahead of you.

Green Arrow and Rick Flag could have been worked into another episode, but was still good.

Chloe was meh.

I REALLY liked the "old" Lex plot. That was classic comic book Luther! I wish they would have stretched it out over a few more episodes, though. Thank god he wasn't acquiring real-estate from old ladies ;) We'll see how future Lex scenes play out. I like that evil [frick]er! They need to bring that creepy actor back!

And considering how peeps @CBM are constantly harping on Welling's acting, I was really paying close attention to it. I was throughly impressed! The "pen" scene had nice dynamics. He's definitely stepped up his acting. For those that question Tom Wellings acting ability really need to reexamine their opinion of him. He impressed the shit outta me! He was convincingly moving during Jonathan Kent's return. How could you not appreciate those scenes?! Prior to last season, I thought Welling was just an average actor. I noticed major improvements last season. He nailed it with Lazarus! He has the potential to really shine this season. I guess those acting lessons paid off ;D

Not sure what to make of Darkseid, yet. The animation looked decent, especially for TV, but he may have been revealed too early.

Overall, it seemed rushed and crammed, but well acted. It felt very much like a classic comic book Superman story.
OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 7:48 PM
@loganoneil,
I kno right but its not meant to be said if he awesome or not. Its not meant to be said if they pulling another season 8 Doomsday. Its a tease and I think the Darkseid tease could have been better but I hope this wasnt the only time we see his rock form. Shit, we dont want htem to pull anotha Fantastic four which they did to Galactus
StephenJ
StephenJ - 9/24/2010, 7:50 PM
I agree with Mom

Darkseid did seem decent, but Doomsday was horrible. I really hope he is nothing like doomsday. I am sure it was just a teaser and we wont get the final Darkseid until late in the season. I cant remember who said it, but if they do the whole Darkseid in the background with the read eyes until I will be fine. I think he should be revealed in the last two episodes or so! finish it with a 2 hour special event for the series finale and hopefully we can get an AMAZING FIGHT out of those two
marvelguy
marvelguy - 9/24/2010, 7:50 PM
It definitely tried too hard with all the pieces they forced. I think we need to remember that great actors can't make poor writing great and vice versa. Over the years, I think he has done as much as he could with the material.
I think Aquaman, Kristin Kreuk, and Jimmy Olson were the worst. And the human side of Doomsday was pretty frosty too.

And thanks for the compliments, everybody.
OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 8:10 PM
@YourMomNaked,
Right! Thats wat I been saying. He did a [frick]ing bravo job with the Michael Rosenbaum impression. They must of thought they should kill him because fans would be in an uproar. I mean he still could have been in a couple more episodes. Shit he had the face, kinda that voice but u kno since he old, lol. He rocked it!!! I loved it. Shit bring his ass back. Yea Chloe was meh but atleast she wasnt taking up screen time like she do. I like her but yea... I also thought it was like a Superman story
Superman8
Superman8 - 9/24/2010, 8:24 PM
ive never been so hyped for a smallville premie. with that said, i think it was just ok.

it was waaaayy to crammed. the oliver stuff coulda waited, like YMN said.

i dont like how lois takes off to africa suddenly right at the end, i was confused for a bit when i saw her standing in the sand.

i like the lex plot. kinda creepy how tess takes in young lex.

BUUUUUUTT. i think the suit was shown tooo early. i have a feeling this season is going to be alll about clark proving to jor-el that he is worthy of being the great hero. i think the season will lead up to clark fighting darkseid and when (if) clark defeats him, jor-el will reward him with the suit and don him Superman. meaning, we wont see clark in suit until the very end. i think showing us the suit so much so early is the biggest tease EVER.

with all that said, i think this season is going to be epic. give me less chloe and oliver, more lois and clark, waaaayy more Superman, and it will be what i think we all want it to be.
OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 8:58 PM
Actually this is what I think. The actors, producers, etc. have all been saying that Clark's biggest enemy is himself. Maybe that will still apply but in a difference. Like when Darkside deleted Superman's memory and he started working for him; destroying shit. Big evil shit level. Well what if Darkseid's minions fail and he does that but in a different way. Like old lex said, "You have darkness in you. We are brothers" Etc. Well what if Darkseid's uses that small darkness or maybe jus delete his memory like in original. This is when Jor-El continues to degrade him and Blah! Zod retutrns and idk how that will work out. But I do know the Real Zod will possess that body. Lex willl have an important part and he ends up going to jail or either being defeated with no punishment. I think the suit wasnt shown too early. They finally give us what the [frick] we want and look at yal??? Ugh! Oh and if u watch the previews again, you can see him in the suit in the reflection., really. But back to what I was saying... Clark will go to Jor-El after after his memory regains and claim that he is retrieving what is his and what is meant to be his. Goes to Darkseid and I want Darkseid to use that Chess line again. Fights him and defeats him. Goes back and Lex still has more plans up his sleeves to which Doomsday is released as a Cliff Hanger
Creature
Creature - 9/24/2010, 9:07 PM
Not regretting to say this was really tedious.
I see many overused traits of the show
-Someone is done surgery, back from the dead, etc.
-A minor and out of place character, again, for some reason, Green Arrow gets kidnapped...for the 3rd or 4th goddamn time.
-Something is teased at with a bad score and a continuous shot, saying:
"Hey guys it's from the comics! Look! A throwback oh happy days!" but it later on becomes minor.

I'll tune in when there are cool episodes, but I'm definatly not watching this whole season.
And don't even get me started on that terrible lighting....
OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 9:17 PM
@Creature,
lol
Superman8
Superman8 - 9/24/2010, 9:19 PM
physco

you confuse the hell outa me.
redson
redson - 9/24/2010, 9:21 PM
Was hoping for a better intro for Darkseid.
Superman8
Superman8 - 9/24/2010, 9:25 PM
@ RedSon

i was actually hoping theyd hold off on darkseid.
this episode to me felt like the season finale of a season rather than a premiere. idk why they tried to fit soo much into it. they have an entire season.

lois and clark
flight
suit
lex
oliver
darkseid
jonathan kent

all just too much for one episode. i hope every episode isnt like this, trying to fit every little bit that they can in each.

Smallville, heres an idea, maybe you should have been doin more of this stuff for like idk the last 3 seasons. instead of dragging out the smallvill/metropolis, clark/superman, friends/JLA storylines.
redson
redson - 9/24/2010, 9:43 PM
@Superman8

I agree.

Since the decided to go the whole Apocalypse route; I was hoping for more of a build up to his entrance. Maybe just keeping Clark busy with his minions for a while until the last few episodes and (BAM!) a portal of some kind with Darkseid standing rock solid, arms behind him and eyes a glowing.

Then make the last one or two episodes one battle royal.

There was a lot going on in just the first episode. I enjoyed it, but it was kind of an overload. Hopefully they can slow the pace a bit.

Granted it's just the first episode ... so here's to hoping.
Superman8
Superman8 - 9/24/2010, 9:49 PM
@ Red

Agree. I think they just overloaded us with all the things we heard and hoped we'd see so that we'd come back. that might sound silly, that some watchers would give up on it if the first episode didnt have all taht, but after reading alot of comments on here the past weeks, it seems like alot of watchers are going to pick and choose which ones they watch. with tonights episode, they gave us everything we wanted to keep us guessing as to which will show up in each episode to come.

i just hope if and when Clark fights Darkseid, we actually see a good fight scene. i know this complaint taht we never see Superman fight anybody is beaten to death, but its so true. smallville has actually showed a good amount of fighting over the years. so hopefully they go all out for the big show.
SandMan101
SandMan101 - 9/24/2010, 10:16 PM
i guess we all know now where the black cloud monster went from lost...he was darksied lol
OriginalPhysco
OriginalPhysco - 9/24/2010, 10:16 PM
@Superman8,
lol
Superman8
Superman8 - 9/24/2010, 10:26 PM
@ physco

lol is right. lol. i will say i agree with alot of your lex comments. i liked the actor and thought the whole 'tess taking in kiddy lex' thing was creepy and cool. im sure the clone lexes and cadmus will play a pretty significant role throughout the season.
LP4
LP4 - 9/25/2010, 3:04 AM
Episode wasn't that great. Darkseid looked lame...the lex clones are lame...and he still hasn't worn the [frick]en suit.

=LAME
JustinMSalvato
JustinMSalvato - 9/25/2010, 3:57 AM


Wow, really surprised at how critical you guys are. I thought the premiere was GREAT! I love the use of Cadmus labs. Wonder if they will bring in Guardian. Was also nice to see Schneider back as Jonathan Kent. He always knows what to say to Clark and Schneider has a very calming presence about him. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Darkseid. Thought that was really cool. However, I doubt he will remain a CGI character, just don't think they can afford that. All in all, this was a great start to a season, MUCH better than previous ones.







Tom Welling/SUPERMAN



MatchesMalone
MatchesMalone - 9/25/2010, 4:05 AM
@tea- Lol!

I agree with YourMomNaked that Welling's acting is improving. I found the cgi Darkseid to be quite cheesy. I know they're working on a tv budget and it's not a multi-million dollar film, but come on guys, Darkseid, as cool as it was to see him, just looked cheap. Overall though, I think this season will play out nicely and give us a satisfying conclusion to the early life of Kal-El.

Nice review, marvelguy!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 9/25/2010, 4:20 AM
MatchesMalone @ EXACTLY... DARKSEID shouldn't be on SMALLVILLE... he should be in the JLA movie or SUPERMAN REBOOT!

Damn shame, yeah I feared DARKSEID would be chunk worthy!

Love all the DC cameos but DARKSEID like DOOMSDAY has no place in SMALLVILLE!

GR8 review @ MARVELGUY though, great stuff!

P.S. Welling's acting should be improving after 10 [frick]ing years lol?!?
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 9/25/2010, 5:24 AM
TEABAG @ Remember the early seasons, edge of your seat writing and cliffhangers.... its a real shame!

Gotta tell ya if it wasn't for the DC Universe cameos (minus Doomsday/Darkseid?) I would've gone long ago too! : p
Wolverine1974
Wolverine1974 - 9/25/2010, 5:42 AM
@Physco If you think you can do any better then go for it you Pete Ross want-a be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 9/25/2010, 6:17 AM
HUSH @ Yeah man, its a real shame tho, and another thing, I still reckon it should be called 'METROPOLIS' now, makes no sense!?

TEA @ Yeah I've noticed that too hehehehehe, same ol room all the time lol!

I truly think if they just stayed in SMALLVILLE and kept from [frick]ing up major SUPERMAN history, this show would have still been top notch, of course with the original writers involved, thats what butt [frick]ed it, once the original writers left, they was legend!

Still wanted Chloe to bite the big one tho, ever since season one! : D
AlReg
AlReg - 9/25/2010, 6:27 AM
People need to lay off the CGI Darkseid bit producers said months ago that the character was the villain and that he would be hinted at before materializing later on which is close to Final Crisis with Darkseid having no body of his own so he possessed people.

@LEEE777

I actually think allot of the shows bigger flaws happened with the old writers he did the damage and this new regime has had to pick up the pieces I still do not forgive Doomsday but allot of stuff crippling them happened in the older seasons.
YourMomNaked
YourMomNaked - 9/25/2010, 7:01 AM
I think so many people are basing their opinions on their own expectations. Nothing can deliver at such a level. It wasn't the best ever nor was it the worst ever, either. Some fanboys would have creamed themselves by Darkseid if it were DCUO. While others (LEEE777) were looking to criticize it before even having seen it. It wasn't so much a stand alone episode as it was "a day in the life of" type episode. They covered a lot, which will likely take a while longer to be fully explored.

As I said earlier, overall, it seemed overloaded. But the bottom line is it was a well acted classic Superman tale.
Vandal
Vandal - 9/25/2010, 7:32 AM
I've been an enthusiest of this site for a very long time. Until now, I've always been just a reader, but I can't believe the slack that Smallville gets.

I was scepticle of last night's premiere, for as much as I love Smallville, I've been let down by a certain cheese factor more than a couple of times too. Last night premiere was outstanding, granted there was a lot squeezed in but that was the jumping off point for what I'm expecting to be a very ambitious season.

I think they wanted to give the naysayers a taste of what to expect this year, plus had to explain why Chloe wasn't going to be seen much this year since Allison Mack left Smallville high and dry in my opinion by only appearing in a hand full of episodes. As much as I enjoy her in the series I can't see why she's in a rush to leave. I very much see a similar career path as Sam Jones III, which is what maybe a sex tape.

Anyway, I think Smallville is an extremely under rated series. I think Tom Welling is as good as it gets for Superman. And though its not perfect, and has had many many holes, and drawn out problems I'm going to really miss the show.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 9/25/2010, 7:57 AM
I was disappointed.
JustinMSalvato
JustinMSalvato - 9/25/2010, 8:19 AM
Episode was great. Ok, I do think they need to make the Green Arrow bad-ass again, like he was when he first showed up. Seems to be getting in bad situations too often.
MatchesMalone
MatchesMalone - 9/25/2010, 8:52 AM
@Vandal- Welcome to CBM!
blueorangeny
blueorangeny - 9/25/2010, 9:01 AM
I thought the episode was great. A lot of great moments. Regarding the old clone Lex, I believe it was nice. It's possibly hints that Michael will return, perhaps he has already but it's being kept closed for some reason. But the old clone Lex did play a good part, he showed how evil Lex can be.

Now regarding Pa Kent showing up out of the blue. I believe it's Jor-El pretending to be Pa Kent. He wants Clark to prove him wrong. That's why the suit is in the FOS. The suit is waiting for him until he is ready. Clark just needs to overcome his human emotions of pride and wrath before he finally becomes MOS. Jor-El understands that Clark will listen to Jonathan more than he will listen to him. So he can be the bad cop, kick in the pants father while Jonathan can be the good cop, motivate him to become what the world needs him to be.

Regarding the Darkseid, people complain the Doomsday version and now people complain about the CGI. It is what it is. I'll prefer Darkseid behind the scenes, possibly only seeing glimpse of him like they did and only hearing him. That's possibly the road they'll take. Now the CGI look, the only thing missing was the red eyes but besides that his face was spot on. Look at it again, now add the red eyes and you got Darkseid.
blueorangeny
blueorangeny - 9/25/2010, 9:05 AM
@ Superman 8 - Lois said in the beginning the trip was postponed. The situation with the old cloned Lex is was convinced her to go on. The old cloned Lex told her that she is his weakness so rather then cause harm she took the job in Africa. I don't see what's so confusing. Now in the next episode you'll understand it more. That's when she speaks to Hawkman, he'll explain his situation with Hawkgirl and she comes back yada yada. I also think this is the episode she names him Superman.
blueorangeny
blueorangeny - 9/25/2010, 9:09 AM
@ grif - You're right, I laugh at the Smallville fans claiming fail on the premier. lol, the stuff you guys are bitching is funny. Everything of episode is a lot better. Regarding the suit, it's the same [frick]ing suit from returns. The producers in SDCC confirmed it only difference minor details changed.
billnye69
billnye69 - 9/25/2010, 9:12 AM
People who are complaining about the effects of DarkSeid and Doomsday and ignorant idiots. You know how hard it is to CGI and 3D animate? I'm in a 3D animation course right now and to get things looking as good as possible takes ass loads of time and experience. It takes Pixar 3 years and 3000 people to do a 2hour animated movie.

So STFU thinking the CGI was bad cuz it was great.
WeekendAvenger
WeekendAvenger - 9/25/2010, 9:15 AM
i missed it anyone know where i can watch it online
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