The early seasons (1, 2, 3?)

[sithius]

I just bought season 1 on dvd and am up to episode 16 in only 2 days. I've only seen the odd episode from the early seasons. I've seen most of season 5's and from there on every single episode.

And I've got to say I'm very impressed. I'm not very happy with the direction Smallville is currently going. He is what, 22 now? His father is dead and his mother has moved out. He lives with his psychotic girlfriend who he believes can do no wrong even though she very recently went berserk with Clark's powers that she acquired. He makes excuses for her of course; 'you weren't yourself'. No, she was, she was 100% herself Clark. Mentally, she wasn't different at all.

Anyway what I'm trying to say is that so far Clark, in my view, is nowhere near being Superman. He isn't a kid anymore, he is an adult. His ethics seem to be lowering by the episodes; see the one with Dean Cain guest staring.

'Makes me sick that I had to take a life to save yours'.

Really Clark? You didn't have to throw him into that electric box (or whatever it was) but you chose to instead of just restraining him or knocking him out etc.

The writers have lost track. Are they that ignorant when it comes to Superman? He doesn't kill. You can't make Clark Kent some guy who constantly kills people at the drop of a hat but when dons the tights suddenly stops. He shouldn't be killing full stop. Although he didn't kill in that episode, Clark had little objections to how he handled the situation.

But back to my original point. The reason I like season 1 so much is because it is focused on what the show should be about. Clark as a teenager. He has a loving father and mother who teach him right from wrong and help him adapt to his abilities. He also shows more signs of wanting to help others then in the current season and he also smiles a lot more; a trait I believe Superman should posses (ie he doesn't go around frowning as he helps people. He brings a positive approach to bad things). Infact, he was more close to becoming Superman in season 1 then he is now.

I don't know what AlMiles are thinking. I believe their show has died (because Clark's story has been told) and they don't want to make it Metropolis with Superman. So instead they are just milking the cash cow and hiring writers who haven't picked up a comic on the man of steel in their life.

Anyone else agree?

[cksidekick]

you just quoted 75% of the people who have ever had a problem with the direction of this show after season 3...which I am currently on in my rotation...personaly, i have embraced the changes much more readily than a lot of folks, but even i tend to agree the first three seasons were the best...

[pacofajita]

Totally agree. Smallville has been jumping the shark consistently since season 3.

And as for Lana, having powers was like being drunk. A drunk man speaks a sober man's mind.

[xrayvision]

That's the same thing I have to say. They really screwed up with Clark since season 3. You couldn't blame him for doing what he did to spite Jor-El in those early seasons because Jor-El came off as a vindictive maniac. I said the same thing about Clark always being gloomy since then. They should really make him seem happier. He also needs a male friend/buddy to hang around with. Pete should be brought back permanently.


Originally posted by sithius
He also shows more signs of wanting to help others then in the current season and he also smiles a lot more; a trait I believe Superman should posses (ie he doesn't go around frowning as he helps people. He brings a positive approach to bad things).

You will see a great example of Clark smiling after putting up with a lot of crap towards the end of the episode Truth (season 3, episode 18). I don't wanna give it away in case you have never seen the episode.

You will also see a completely different Clark---one that will make anyone proud---in the episode Shattered. Nothing like the BDA he is now. That episode was something else.

My favorite one out of the 3 is season 2, because that's the most mythos-rich one. And the mythos I'm talking about is the Smallville mythos that is/was being built into the show. It had so many great contributions to that mythos. Episodes like Rosetta, Calling, Red, Exodus, Rush, Prodigal, Insurgence, and others are real gems in season 2. And so is Talisman in season 3.

I'm pretty sure those seasons attracted more fans than any others that followed.

As for the show now, I think the action has finally picked up again along with some mythos. But the biggest problem is the character development. They have really messed up with Clark & Lana. Lex at many times is made into a wuss. Chloe is shown doing all sorts of ridiculous things that a person of her age & training would never know how to do. If they wanted to make her a reporter, they should forget about making her a hacker too. They should have brought along another character to do that. Lionel is the only character they did a great job with. I miss the Kents, who always worked great together.

The biggest development mistake though is Clark's. For a show that will either end after episode 15 of this season (if the CW network goes belly up) or last one more season afterwards, Clark is light years away from becoming Superman with all the classic virtues that the character has had in the comics for the past 70+ years. It is amazing all the crap he went through and how irresponsible he is given the tools he has access to. He is so 1 track minded that it's ridiculous. I seriously think Peter Griffin from The Family Guy would make a better Superman and would have learned from his mistakes by now if in the same scenarios as Clark.

This season could be spectacular had they dropped the BDA crap with Clark and actually develop Lana by having her get some serious mental help she so desperately needs.

[InLove_with_Chloe]

S1-S3 were by far the best.

[pacofajita]

Most definitely. The characters were stable. There wasn't an overabundance of Clana. Lionel was the perfect bad guy. Pete.

[Fernandaflima]

I totaly agree but I would say that Smallville lost track after season 4 (S1-S4 were by far the best.)
And I agree with xrayvision season 2 is my fav one for all the same reasons that was really the most mythos-rich one.

[Mar-El]

Although this may not be related or significant, I think season 2 also enjoyed the highest ratings that Smallville has ever seen.

[ClareKent]

The show began to lost track with the whole Lana-witch storyline, if they had just let KK leave at the end of season 3 like she wanted to, maybe it would have been so much better.

[ClarkyBoy14]

S3 is great. Ss. 1 and 2 aren't anything special, especially compared to S7.

[sithius]

One more episode to go and I've finished season 1 in about 3 days. Awesome. Went so fast though.

Found myself welling (no pun lol) up at some parts. I love the way they reference his future self a lot and also make sure to signify the importance of his ethics; something which I feel is lacking in this season.

[pacofajita]

I'm glad you enjoyed what you've seen up to this point. Now comes the disappointment. :( Which is so sad because the show started so strong, then de-evolved into something not great.

[InLove_with_Chloe]

Well said.

[sithius]

Originally posted by pacofajita
I'm glad you enjoyed what you've seen up to this point. Now comes the disappointment. :( Which is so sad because the show started so strong, then de-evolved into something not great.

Yep, I've seen 6, most of 5 and all of 7 so far so I already know.

But luckily I have season 2, 3 and 4 to go.

[Palin Dromos]

I agree with the assertion that after season 4 the show's quality started to roller coaster- up and down, up and down.

My favorite season was 3- actually I pretty much enjoyed everything from "Calling" (season 2) through "Crusade" (season 4). Except "Magnetic"- I get by just fine skipping over that episode.

High points are "Perry, Shattered, and Asylum"

[Vergon6]

I can understand people's problem with the show, but I think the first three seasons may be romanticized. It was still early on in the show, so there was still a number of different ways the show could have developed, and the way they developed the series wasn't to everyone's liking.

There have been a lot of problems I have had with Smallville, but overall I think the level of quality is still pretty good that it keeps me interested. There some episodes or moments, or aspects of character development that make me shake my head, but then there are those episodes or moments that make it seem like the writers do really know what they are doing, and pull of a show that is outstanding. Clark seem to be starting to hit his stride again with the first few episodes of Season 7, but that kind of fell apart once Lana came back into the picture. Not blaming Lana but more how Clark reacts to Lana.

I disliked the emphasis on teenage love angst, but when you look back on the older seasons, its there too as well. The problem is that they aren't in high school anymore. But then again, people in real life can act like children when it comes to relationships too haha.

In all honesty, I felt Season 1 was the weakest but that's understandable considering the show was still finding its feet so to speak. It's very rare to find a show that will have an outstanding first season, and many shows that do don't seem to live up to expectations the next year. It was enough to keep me interested, and I continued to watch, even if it was sporadic. The first three seasons I think it may have conflicted with Buffy's timeslot, which had switched to UPN, so I had to catch up on Smallville in Space's Victoria Day marathons.

I was able to get into Smallville more during Season 4. I see what people are saying about the ups and downs, as there was a mixture of episodes relevant to the episode long arc and so-called filler episodes mixed all together. They probably could have paced the season better (and eliminated Spell lol). I think I am one of the few people who didn't mind the witch storyline so much. It was executed a little better than the Supergirl movie with its witch villain and I think even those horrid Ewoks movies had sorcerers too lol