Virgil Swan's Wheels: Tacky or Tribute?

[MidgardDragon]

I kind of liked seeing the wheelchair go by, since we couldn't see the real thing, but at least we got a hint at him. But I can see how it might come across as tacky, so I thought I'd make this poll. Was showing the wheels roll across the screen tacky, or a fitting tribute?

[Kal-El-073]

I didn't think it was tackey at all. A fitting tribute indeed.

[you_smell_terrific]

I thought it was pretty cool that they did that. I figured when the door opened but you couldn't see who it was was going to be the end of it. I'm glad they showed us who it was by that simple wheel chair going by.

[dru-zod2501]

tacky, how? it was supposed to be Swann, they showed him come in. The End.

[alienkinfolk]

I stated it last week, continuity in SV makes me happy. It feels like his whole character (Virgil) wasn't a waste of time. I say tribute!

[Eri-El]

Sad. Very sad.

[MidgardDragon]

tacky, how? it was supposed to be Swann, they showed him come in. The End.

Obviously I agree with you, since I said I think it was good that they showed it. But you can't see how showing a dead-man's (especially with him being dead in real life) wheels because you can't show him COULD have come across as tacky?

Then again if I were someone that ACTUALLY thought it was tacky and posted a hate-thread about how Clark is awful and will never be Superman and that this part actually WAS tacky I'd be getting plenty of hater-love. :lol:

[Jack-El49]

I think it was just continuity, neither a tribute nor tacky. It's what they had to do to have Swann portrayed. I was hoping for a little dialogue edited from segments - just a few words really. That would have really rocked.

[MidgardDragon]

I think it was just continuity, neither a tribute nor tacky. It's what they had to do to have Swann portrayed. I was hoping for a little dialogue edited from segments - just a few words really. That would have really rocked.

They didn't really have to show the wheels. They could have just had Lionel say, "Hello, Virgil." as the door opened. I think it's *great* that they did and it paid tribute to a character we all WISH we could see again, but it's not like they absolutely had to show it.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Those who've watched the whole show will probably feel it was a nice tribute (as I do), but those who've just started watching may not get it and feel it was tacky.

[warriorrenegade]

I don't believe it was either tacky nor a tribute. It was just wheels of a chair, no more. I see it like I saw the bow and quiver Little Ollie was holding. It was to give a wink and nod to who he was, could've easily wore green or whatnot, but we got the jist with the B&Q.

[BIGBLUE10789]

i thought it was a nice touch to show tribute to the character. I love continuity!

[jimmyolsenblues]

broke my heart to see that wheelchair. i love christopher reeve.

[Jack-El49]

broke my heart to see that wheelchair. i love christopher reeve.

Yep, the wheelchair WAS Christopher Reeve, not Swann. Had CR never been paralyzed and appeared as Swann, he would have walked in. It's sad to be sure.

[KSiteTV]

The wheelchair Dr. Swann used in the past on SV was Christopher Reeve's own. For "Veritas" they did as much as they could to replicate the look of it; I think that is quite cool.

[Kal-El-073]

The wheelchair Dr. Swann used in the past on SV was Christopher Reeve's own. For "Veritas" they did as much as they could to replicate the look of it; I think that is quite cool.

That was a very nice touch. The fact is that they didn't even have to put that in at all. I think it was great that they did.

[IamProdigy]

It was a perfect tribute. Lionel, Edward and Robert stopped talking as the door opened and it showed how much of a presence Dr. Swann made.

[krpto]

I didn't see it as tacky Actually I was glad they showed that virgirl was in the wheelchair before the first metoer shower not that he was visiting smallville and became a victim of the meteor shower Actually I think they chould have done a lot worse they could have shown someone walking and pretended that it was Virgil before he was injured.

[SVfan4ever]

I thought of it as a tribute to a man many people adored.

[Jack-El49]

It only would have been tacky if the chair had spinner hubcaps on it.

[Karafan1]

Didn't they have a super bowl commercial a few years ago where computerized Christopher Reeve to look like he was walking? I didn't really like that and I'm glad they didn't do that in "Veritas"

[litew8]

The wheelchair Dr. Swann used in the past on SV was Christopher Reeve's own. For "Veritas" they did as much as they could to replicate the look of it; I think that is quite cool.I couldn't agree more. Also - it was much more than a tribute to Smallville cannon. It showed how POWERFUL of a man Swann was. Notice how quite and astute everone became when they realized who just arived. As powerful as everyone in that room was - they all recognized the real boss had just entered the room. I think it is significant.

[thehenry89]

I"m glad they did it made me sad though :(

[jrp8907]

Tribute

[svsabbiesv]

i thought it was pretty bold

[MRluvr]

I agree w/ most of you----it was very sad, but it was very cool. I thought it was a tribute to him, cause it added to his legacy (in the show) by showing him to be such a powerful character---the way that the "V" guys immediately stopped talking and gave him their full attention----but it was sad.

[Mar-El]

I thought it was a great tribute. Great stuff, and good continuity.

[IamProdigy]

It was sad, but it was a touching part of the flashback. The door opened and in my head, I was thinking "It's Dr. Swann...", and it was just pretty much amazing to even see that wheelchair pass as little Alexander watches.

And to svsabbiesv, it wasn't bold, it was a great tribute and somewhere CR was watching this and I am most certain he enjoyed it, cuz CR and Tom Welling probably became great friends and I bet CR became a fan to this series.

[Black Man of Steel]

Full out tribute, I'm glad they didn't try to replace him. I would have been upset.

[yosemiteangel]

Tribute. They'd had to do something that would show Swann, and this was the BEST way, IMO.

[jazel]

Tribute......... BUT a subtle one. LOVE Christopher Reeves, MY very FIRST Superman.;)

[wildenchantress_kt]

Tribute. Dr. Swann was definatly the power player in the Veritas group and he had to be shown in the episode. I was actually wondering how they would do it. It would have been totally cheesy if they had of got an actor to portray Dr. Swann before the paralysis.

[Vergon6]

It was a nice touch and a tribute to Christopher Reeve, not tacky at all.

[Silent Kal]

I thought it was a great tribute and respectful to the man and the character.

I have to admit, part of me hoped they'd loop in some of Reeve's old dialogue ("Good evening, gentlemen."), and the other part of me was glad they didn't.

[Krypton935]

a tribute!

[Jaded Wolf]

I won't vote on this poll but I think it was more of a respect thing. They didn't have another actor who might resemble Christopher Reeve show up on camera and no voice work either. They just showed the wheels to show he was there but it would have been disrespectful to replace the actor.

[Showmaster]

Sort of a tacky tribute :p

[Zeburial]

A tribute.. thats for sure! :)

[smallvillelogan]

Wouldn't it have been cool if they could have worked in some lines that he says in the Superman movies into the discussion during the Veritas meeting? Maybe play them while showing young Lex listening?

[Imzadia]

Actually I think they chould have done a lot worse they could have shown someone walking and pretended that it was Virgil before he was injured.

WELL, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I'D HOPED THEY WOULD DO!
:eek::( You know, I already know that there'll be many of you out there who won't Get what I'll try to say here. 1st, let me Declare that I thought that it was TACKY! It may have been written and intended to BE a tribute, but I was SO VERY DISAPPOINTED and OFFENDED by Virgil Swann STILL having to Endure the DAILY TRIALS of being a Quadriplegic in a Motorized Wheelchair even SOME TWENTY YEARS AGO! :( :mad: This was all in the imagination of the writers' heads, and I don't mean to disrespect them and their efforts in any way. I feel that they must not understand all that that visualization and situation implies. Then again, maybe they do, but we just feel differently about it. :\

I AM SO SORRY, FOR WHAT I SAID HERE BEFORE! IT WAS MORE THAN A "RANT", IT WAS "AN EMOTIONAL OUTBURST". I AM EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT, BECAUSE AFTER RE-THINKING MY MOTIVES, I REALIZED THAT IT WAS INAPPROPRIATE TO POST MY 'PERSONAL OPINION ABOUT THOSE WHO ENDURE PARALYSIS HERE. I TRULY, SINCERELY APOLOGIZE TO YOU ALL.

It is a sensitive subject, especially for people who've experienced it in their personal lives. So, hate me if you want to because I felt that it was unfair for Dr. Swann to have been depicted as someone who had suffered paralysis for so long. In that case, Lionel didn't have to kill him. Unless traces of the poison could've been found in Dr. Swann's system, murder couldn't be proven. Lionel could build a great case for his defense. It would have been naturally suspected that Dr. Swann had died from complications due to his long endurance of quadriplegia. :(

[smallvillelogan]

[B]
It is a sensitive subject, especially for people who've experienced it in their personal lives. So, hate me if you want to because I felt that it was unfair for Dr. Swann to have been depicted as someone who had suffered paralysis for so long. In that case, Lionel didn't have to kill him. Unless traces of the poison could've been found in Dr. Swann's system, murder couldn't be proven. Lionel could build a great case for his defense. It would have been naturally suspected that Dr. Swann had died from complications due to his long endurance of quadraplegia. :(

I'm not really sure what you were getting at in this long post.

I think that it adds to the story to have Lionel kill every one of the members of Veritas so he could have all access to the Traveler. It demonstrates his lust for complete control of something so important, before his intentions with Clark were changed when he became the emissary of Jor-El.

[LexLuv180]

I didn't vote because I didn't see it as either. They wanted to show Swann but clearly can't, so they had to use the wheelchair to indicate he was entering the room.

[smallvillelogan]

I didn't vote because I didn't see it as either. They wanted to show Swann but clearly can't, so they had to use the wheelchair to indicate he was entering the room.

Yes, I think they did this to emphasize that it was Dr. Swann coming into the room; having him still be in a wheelchair assures that is indeed Virgil coming in.
However, it would have been cool to have him walking in, but somehow dub in some of his lines from the Superman movies or 'Rosetta' or 'Legacy' that somehow fit in with the Veritas conversation. That would have been amazing, and would have been able to set Dr. Swann as a person who wasn't always in a wheelchair, while proving it is him at the same time because the audience would've been able to hear his voice.

[Honey45]

I didn't think it was either. I figured they needed to show that Swann was coming in the room, and that's really the only way they could have done it.

[ginnyfan]

Both. It was a tacky tribute.

[Hopefulsuicide]

I didn't think it was either. I figured they needed to show that Swann was coming in the room, and that's really the only way they could have done it.

i agree with everyone who said neither... just seemed like a plot device... it was more about swann that it was about reeves imo

----- Added 5 Minutes later -----


Obviously I agree with you, since I said I think it was good that they showed it. But you can't see how showing a dead-man's (especially with him being dead in real life) wheels because you can't show him COULD have come across as tacky?

Then again if I were someone that ACTUALLY thought it was tacky and posted a hate-thread about how Clark is awful and will never be Superman and that this part actually WAS tacky I'd be getting plenty of hater-love. :lol:

why are you trying to hide from the fact that your unsure about something on smallville? it wouldnt make you a 'hater' whatever that means. i think your making a valid point. i personally dont think it was tacky either *shock, a hater like me not posting that i hated it* but you seem so defensive...

i understand you've posted it cause your curious to see what people thought, but it shows that you do understand why someone would make a negative point about the show... so well done, i think your being very open minded and allowing people to vent their frustrations as what could be considered a tacky use of dr swann and his wheel chair

[DreadShamus]

tacky, how? it was supposed to be Swann, they showed him come in. The End.

Exactly. Nothing about it was tacky or a tribute.

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----


Both. It was a tacky tribute.

HAHA! I almost said that, but it really isn't either that I could see. It would have been tacky if they got some younger guy to play his part.

[ginnyfan]

Exactly. Nothing about it was tacky or a tribute.

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----



HAHA! I almost said that, but it really isn't either that I could see. It would have been tacky if they got some younger guy to play his part.

LOL!

Well... just showing the gears of his wheelchair in this menacing way... and all the voices hush as we listen to the humming of the wheelchair... there's something Dr. Evil or Inspector Gadget villain about it. I know neither of them were in wheelchairs but... there's just... something cheesy about it. Thus tacky.

I guess there's nothing that's really a tribute about it. Though Swann has a place in the plot where he is the leader, the wise man, the one they all defer to.

I don't know how else they could do it. They could try and cast someone young who looked like him. He didn't have to be in a wheelchair so many years ago.

*shrug*

[Rose etta]

Jack-El49

It only would have been tacky if the chair had spinner hubcaps on it.
:rotfl:

I can see MR suggesting this on the set. har!

[Welling_is_pretty]

broke my heart to see that wheelchair. i love christopher reeve.
ditto. I thought it was the best they could do since Chris is gone now. It was a bit of a shock (as someone said they didn't have to do that) and I admit I got a bit misty eyed. I was missing Chris all over again....

I note that they even got the 'sound' of the chair worked in there too. A hush seemed to fall over everyone as the chair made it's way across the floor. I wonder how Glover felt doing that scene, since he and Chris knew each other.

But yeah, I thought it was very well done.

[Randy G.]

I thought it was an excellent touch to the flashback. ;)

[ClLaLeChFAN01]

They had to do something and all they had was a wheel chair going across the screen. I think (some)people are making it out more than whats really there.

What would people say if they didnt show anything at all and just mentioned that he was coming in the room?

[Lex Dance]

Personally I don't think it was either; as Hopefulsuicide says.....it was more about Swann than Reeve. I actually thought it was a great way of ending the flashback - very portentous and reverential. I'm glad they didn't use any dialogue, especially not dialogue sampled from elsewhere because I think that would have been tacky (incidentally I didn't like the idea of using Brando samples in Superman Returns).

[Supermania]

It was a clever technique used to represent Dr. Swann in the flashback. So I guess it's a tribute to Reeve in a way too.

[alejandrita439]

i think TRIBUTE :)!