Happy to relive the old days!

[Kal26]

I just started watching the series again with season 1 for like the zillionth time, and can't believe how good it feels to relive the old days after such a troublesome 8th season. It's good to see the characters so young and untainted by the chaos that's to come. Just wondered if anyone else felt the same way. I still look to season one as one of the best of the series. The pilot was just awesome. It's easy to see how the show got such a big following so quickly.

[Supermania]

Kal26, I completely agree with you. Season One was definitely one of Smallville's finest few hours! The youthful, innocent characters certainly don't seem to be the types to create dual identities, put on manufactured power suits or get involved in dangerous business - it just goes to show how far the show has come since then. A warm, comforting nostalgia encapsulates me whenever I watch Season One.

[SGuthrie27]

It's true that all the characters seem so much simpler and more innocent then, and I always enjoy watching their initial interactions and seeing their first few steps of growth. Season 1 had some awesome moments, that's for sure. At some point, I'm probably going to end up wearing out a couple of discs from that set for all the times that I've watched "Crush," "Obscura," and "Tempest," one of my favorite trilogies of episodes ever. I also LOVE the episodes "Hug," "Leech," "Stray," Pilot," and there are several others that are really cool, too. I'm always up for reliving Smallville's early days!

--SGuthrie ><>' :)--

[Kal26]

I finished the first two discs last night, and was amazed at how many cool things were set up for the future. I miss al/miles. They wrote Pilot, and in my opinion that was one of the best episodes of the series. Watching these old episodes makes me even more and more pissed about what's going on now.

[Eric II]

I finished the first two discs last night, and was amazed at how many cool things were set up for the future. I miss al/miles. They wrote Pilot, and in my opinion that was one of the best episodes of the series. Watching these old episodes makes me even more and more pissed about what's going on now.

When I watch the older episodes, it just reminds me of how much different of a show it is now. It's still good, but it's good for different reasons. Most of what made the early seasons great is gone now.

I wouldn't say it makes me pissed that things are so different. I just wish they would have had a better plan and more of an aim to get from Season 1 to Season 8 (I don't think they intended or expected the show to go this long, so that meant changes, some of them drastic).

[Kal26]

I can deal with changes, I just don't like lazy writing, and half @$$ed story arcs.

[Lex Dance]

Hey Kal26 - long time no "see"! :)
I was just saying on Episode Wars that if Smallville had stuck to telling its story in 5 seasons as intended, we'd have had a fantastic Superman-in-training story. I don't mean that it should have stopped after what we got in S5, but if the producers had stuck to their guns and tried to tell the story over 5 seasons, we'd have got much tighter story-telling that didn't get damaged by retcons and didn't promote certain characters to an importance that belied their status in the mythology. But as with so many US series, the money men get their way and we get a show that limps along before being unceremoniously cancelled.

[Kevin24]

I just finished re-watching the first season of Smallville last night. The major difference between season 1 and season 8 is innocence. In season one they were all carefree and the biggest problems were meteor freaks. The show was lighthearted with brighter colors and more smiles.

In season 8 the story lines are more complicated and the difference between right and wrong are not so black and white anymore. They are finding out there is a gray area when it comes to right and wrong.

I enjoyed both seasons but I do miss the lighthearted episodes and bright colors of the earlier seasons. I would like it if season 9 brought some of those sames themes back.

[Lex Dance]

^^^^^ This is why I think ED as Lois is the resounding success of S8. Her scenes brought some much needed comic relief back into the show. Her vivacity is something that the producers must focus on if S9 is to be a success. She brings the best out of Clark and the dynamic they have could bring those light-hearted, optimistic themes of early Smallville. They only problem I would have then is that Smallville will simply become a Lois and Clark for a new generation. As I said in the previous post, the story of Smallville should really have been told in five seasons.......

[Kevin24]

The first half of season 8 had me excited and full of anticipation for the upcoming week. I was anxious to see where the new found relationship between Lois and Clark would lead and the discovery of who Davis Bloome really was. Almost every single episode had something exciting and revealing before the ending credits.

The second off , although enjoyable, lacked the excitement and emotion that the first half set up. Lois and Clark's relationship disappeared in the last 12 episodes. Doomsday didn't leave up to the build up in the season finale. That is the one thing that really disappointed me about the season finale.

Overall Season 8 was a very good season in my book. Season 1 left me exicted for the preimere of season 2. I watched it yesterday and I am exicted to see the preimere even thought I already know the outcome. Both are great seasons in my book :D

[Eric II]

Hey Kal26 - long time no "see"! :)
I was just saying on Episode Wars that if Smallville had stuck to telling its story in 5 seasons as intended, we'd have had a fantastic Superman-in-training story. I don't mean that it should have stopped after what we got in S5, but if the producers had stuck to their guns and tried to tell the story over 5 seasons, we'd have got much tighter story-telling that didn't get damaged by retcons and didn't promote certain characters to an importance that belied their status in the mythology. But as with so many US series, the money men get their way and we get a show that limps along before being unceremoniously cancelled.

This is the kind of thing I was talking about above when I said I wish they'd had more of an aim getting from Point A to Point B.

If they'd followed that plan, they then could have planned a Point B to Point C route for seasons 6 through 8, 9, or whatever. "Meandering" is a word that I think gets overused by movie critics today, but I think that's an apt description for the last four seasons of Smallville.

And I think I dislike the retconning and promotion of characters you mentioned more than anything. For instance, Lois is a breath of fresh air now, and I like the job Erica Durance has done all along, but she should have remained a guest star only in Season 4 and not turned into a regular.

[Lex Dance]

This is the kind of thing I was talking about above when I said I wish they'd had more of an aim getting from Point A to Point B.

If they'd followed that plan, they then could have planned a Point B to Point C route for seasons 6 through 8, 9, or whatever. "Meandering" is a word that I think gets overused by movie critics today, but I think that's an apt description for the last four seasons of Smallville.

And I think I dislike the retconning and promotion of characters you mentioned more than anything. For instance, Lois is a breath of fresh air now, and I like the job Erica Durance has done all along, but she should have remained a guest star only in Season 4 and not turned into a regular.
Welcome to the boards by the way, EricII (mind you, it looks like you've been here a while). I was actually thinking of your post as I was writing my first effort. I will still always watch Smallville, but it frustrates me that we have S6, 7 and 8 at the expense of the fantastic story-telling that's already been discussed. There are parts of those seasons that I've really enjoyed but nothing in recent years compares with the heights of Rosetta, Exile, Shattered, Memoria, Transference, Arrival, Splinter and a good few more I could mention.
As it happens, Lois wasn't one of those characters who I had a problem with regarding promotion (although I think you're right that she was introduced too early). On the one hand she wouldn't make it into my 5 season-long version of Smallville, but on the other she has been the shining light in S8 and without her this season would have been very hard work! :)

[Kal26]

Hey Kal26 - long time no "see"! :)
I was just saying on Episode Wars that if Smallville had stuck to telling its story in 5 seasons as intended, we'd have had a fantastic Superman-in-training story. I don't mean that it should have stopped after what we got in S5, but if the producers had stuck to their guns and tried to tell the story over 5 seasons, we'd have got much tighter story-telling that didn't get damaged by retcons and didn't promote certain characters to an importance that belied their status in the mythology. But as with so many US series, the money men get their way and we get a show that limps along before being unceremoniously cancelled.

Good to see ya!

Your probably right. As you know, I was on board for drawing this show our for as long as possible, but that was dependent on good writing, which I don't think we got at all in season 8 minus a few episodes. We'll see how I feel in the future, but at this point I wish al/miles had just wrapped things up before they left. It seems like the more they draw things out, the lazier the writing gets.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----


Welcome to the boards by the way, EricII (mind you, it looks like you've been here a while). I was actually thinking of your post as I was writing my first effort. I will still always watch Smallville, but it frustrates me that we have S6, 7 and 8 at the expense of the fantastic story-telling that's already been discussed. There are parts of those seasons that I've really enjoyed but nothing in recent years compares with the heights of Rosetta, Exile, Shattered, Memoria, Transference, Arrival, Splinter and a good few more I could mention.
As it happens, Lois wasn't one of those characters who I had a problem with regarding promotion (although I think you're right that she was introduced too early). On the one hand she wouldn't make it into my 5 season-long version of Smallville, but on the other she has been the shining light in S8 and without her this season would have been very hard work! :)

No doubt about that. Lois was probably the only character besides Kara that I was proud of this season. In my opinion every other character was a huge let down. I was actually ashamed of them on a weekly basis.

[Eric II]

Welcome to the boards by the way, EricII (mind you, it looks like you've been here a while). I was actually thinking of your post as I was writing my first effort. I will still always watch Smallville, but it frustrates me that we have S6, 7 and 8 at the expense of the fantastic story-telling that's already been discussed. There are parts of those seasons that I've really enjoyed but nothing in recent years compares with the heights of Rosetta, Exile, Shattered, Memoria, Transference, Arrival, Splinter and a good few more I could mention.
As it happens, Lois wasn't one of those characters who I had a problem with regarding promotion (although I think you're right that she was introduced too early). On the one hand she wouldn't make it into my 5 season-long version of Smallville, but on the other she has been the shining light in S8 and without her this season would have been very hard work! :)

Well, I've been registered for a while, but I'm just now trying to post regularly, so thanks for the welcome.

I agree entirely about recent years not comparing to the highlights from the earlier seasons. Perhaps that's to be expected, but with that kind of precedent, it would have been nice if they'd kept the ball rolling. There have certainly been some good moments for me all along, but they're just not as frequent as they used to be.

As for Lois, she's always the example I point to because she was basically the first that started the trend. She's been great, especially in Season 8, but I think once it worked with her it became an "easy out" for the writers to introduce more characters/ideas. The Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen, Doomsday, etc. are all things I think probably shouldn't have shown up so soon or at all.

I wish they would have done more one-shots for characters like they did with Perry White. And with characters like Lois, they could have introduced her a little later (say, her small role just as it was in Season 4, but wait till Season 6 or 7 to bring her back in).

[Kal26]

I agree that one shots would have been the way to go with some of these characters. Now that Zod is reported to be joining the show as a series regular, I have my doubts about how good the upcoming season will be.

[SGuthrie27]

Yeah, I have a hard time figuring how he could go for an entire season without trying to completely take over the world all the time, unless they're going to throw some silly "amnesia after coming out of the orb" excuse, right? Still, I'm not going to judge the season until I actually see some episodes.

--SGuthrie ><>' :)--

[Kal26]

He and Clark will become best friends, until fate drives them away from each other.:(

[SGuthrie27]

Oh, so THAAAAAT'S how they're going to work it. Now that's a really original idea, isn't it? ;) How much you wanna bet that he'll have a thing for Lana, too, if she makes a guest appearance? :p

--SGuthrie ><>' :)--

[Kal26]

I hope she never comes back, but yeah, I'll bet he will. Considering he wanted to mate with her when he was in Lex's body, I'd say he'll be looking for her.

[Supsfan]

I've been recently rewatching the first 3 seasons, I must say Season 1 was probably the best of the first 3 seasons. It seemed then they didn't need to manufacture "drama" which progressively got worse and worst as each season passes.

[Night_Hawk90]

I've been recently rewatching the first 3 seasons, I must say Season 1 was probably the best of the first 3 seasons. It seemed then they didn't need to manufacture "drama" which progressively got worse and worst as each season passes.

season 1 is easily the most underappreciate season of smallville, i absolutely loved it the writing was consistently good though there was an abundance of fotw i really enjoyed its my second favourite season of the show behind season 2. I think season 1 had clark kent at his finest.

[Kal26]

It definetly had a lot of forshadowing, and lead me to believe they were going to transition Clark into being the Superman I know and love.

[lois346]

Yeah Season One was good. I can't stop watching Season Two and Three. I love them.

[Supsfan]

season 1 is easily the most underappreciate season of smallville, i absolutely loved it the writing was consistently good though there was an abundance of fotw i really enjoyed its my second favourite season of the show behind season 2. I think season 1 had clark kent at his finest.

I would rate S2 better then S1 but the main problem was from the first episode in S2, we started to get the intrusive Lana who put Clark on guilt trips. Beyond that while S1 might have had a few less then spectacular episodes, S2 had a few outright duds(Nocturne, Visitor, Precipice)

[Night_Hawk90]

I would rate S2 better then S1 but the main problem was from the first episode in S2, we started to get the intrusive Lana who put Clark on guilt trips. Beyond that while S1 might have had a few less then spectacular episodes, S2 had a few outright duds(Nocturne, Visitor, Precipice)

while season 1 and season 2 had their duds i think those duds had way less of an impact than the ones shown in later seasons.

[Kal26]

Yeah, those dud, if you want to call them that, personally I don't, didn't cross over from less than spectacular to series tainting. In season eight, it seemed like we got a lot more of the latter. To be honest, I really enjoyed everything about the show right up until Lana came back in season 8. Yeah I could have done without the lame doomsday/davis bloom stuff, but I was genuinely happy until that point. I had been looking forward to thursday nights for so long that once things went south, I really felt like I was left with nothing to look forward to but heart break. It's been all down hill for me from then on. I look at the show completely different, and can't seem to get that spark back. I hate that it has come to that, but I can't help it. I'm hoping they do something is season nine to win me back because I hate this feeling. I hat not completely loving this show, and I can't lie to myself anymore about what it's become.:(

[Night_Hawk90]

Yeah, those dud, if you want to call them that, personally I don't, didn't cross over from less than spectacular to series tainting. In season eight, it seemed like we got a lot more of the latter. To be honest, I really enjoyed everything about the show right up until Lana came back in season 8. Yeah I could have done without the lame doomsday/davis bloom stuff, but I was genuinely happy until that point. I had been looking forward to thursday nights for so long that once things went south, I really felt like I was left with nothing to look forward to but heart break. It's been all down hill for me from then on. I look at the show completely different, and can't seem to get that spark back. I hate that it has come to that, but I can't help it. I'm hoping they do something is season nine to win me back because I hate this feeling. I hat not completely loving this show, and I can't lie to myself anymore about what it's become.:(

i honestly really didnt mind lana returning imo its not what hurt the season, what hurt the season was clark taking a supporting role which annoys me because in the first 3 seasons he was a major part of the story now i dunno anymore. I to used to look forward to this show every week now im at an impasse i just hope season 9 can bring back my joy for tuning in every week.

[Kal26]

It wasn't so much Lana, even though I've grown to hate her, as much as it was what you said. When Lana came back, rather than continuing down the path he was one, which I thought was showing his progression at the time, he fell right back in to the role he had taken on for the last seven seasons. Everything in his life took a back seat to Lana, and now it was literal, because the producers actually thought it would be a good idea to make Lana a hero before Clark. We should have been watching Clark's progression to becoming a hero, and instead he took a step back while she was trying to go forward. That's when things started to go down hill imo. From then on it was back to Clark doing everything except what he was supposed to be doing. The small bits of progression they did give him were far overshadowed by the other character's story arcs.

[rockyshadow]

I liked seaon one. It had many scenes with Clark and his parents, nobody had more screentime than he did, so that means the stories were revolving around him. At this point nobody was really annoying me either. I didn't mind the FOTW aspect since it gave some interesting contrasts for both Clark and Lex perspective of them.

[Nimkong]

Yea i was thinking of the exact same thing when i was watching it! It just seems so sad thinking about half the charcters and the trials there going to overcome in the future.