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'Smallville' Straps on Waterskis; Jumps Zombies 
Or was that the other way 'round?
By Robert Falconer | Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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Back at the end of May, I intimated that Smallville was in danger of crossing that imaginary line in the sand, the one often referred to as "the point of no return." I argued that the series had become annoyingly illogical, straying from the essence of the core mythology as it mined the more obscure elements of the Superman narrative purely in the service of longevity.  


Some agreed with me; a greater number did not, often citing the DC literature trope as an explanation for confused storytelling, convoluted plot points and a seemingly forgotten raison d'être.

From what I've seen of this ninth season, things haven't gotten much better. And now, it's jumped the zombie (more on that in a moment).

Supporting players and entropy
What's going on? The simple answer is that the show has been on the air too long. Most series can't sustain creative innovation and remain fresh for more than five to seven years; that's the sweet spot beyond which entropy usually sets in.

This wasn't helped by the departure of Miles Millar and Al Gough last year, which really jettisoned much of the linear storytelling cohesiveness that was laid out in the first six seasons. It also eliminated much of the enjoyment of watching the main characters interact, trading the familial relationships of those individuals for a reliance on turgid themes being carried far too much by secondary characters. A show succeeds or fails initially based upon an audience's ability to identify and empathize with the original characters that galvanized the show to begin with. Once invested, other regular cast ought to be added sparingly.

The notable exception here was Lana Lang, who mistakenly lingered for far too long within the series mythology.

Yes, Lois was an inevitable and necessary addition. Green Arrow was not. Lex's departure begat Tess Mercer, but the writers can't quite seem to decide if she's a stand-in for Lex, a foil for Clark, or just a royal pain in the ass for everyone. Certainly she exhibits many of Lex's traits: cunning, capricious and power-hungry. Yet she also seems to be the watergirl for the revolving door of supervillains to which the series is playing host.

Which brings us to Zod and his minions...and army fatigues...and alien dog-tags. Nah...I think I'll just leave that alone.

Meanwhile, the recent appearances of Davis Bloome (aka Doomsday) and John Corben (aka Metallo) have been interesting; in that way in which you use "interesting" as a euphemism for Zzzzzzzz. Smallville took these villains, added its own wrinkle to their mythology and threw in a lot of angst and hand-wringing, yet at the end of the day it all felt a bit dissatisfying, like the old cliche about eating Chinese food and feeling hungry again an hour later.

And killing Jimmy Olsen? Nah, I'll just leave that alone, too. Besides, they'll probably compound the mistake of killing him by finding some way to resurrect him before the end of the season.

Darkseid is promised to show up for Season 9.Jumping the zombie
Fortunately, last week rectified the series' over-reliance on secondary characters somewhat with the episode "Rabid", which refreshingly focused more on Clark and Lois' burgeoning relationship. But the story for "Rabid" was distinctly problematical in and of itself, with the arrival of Zod and his soldiers releasing a virus into the air that turns humans into zombies.

Now, on the face of it, this sounds like it might be cool. The episode was well shot, and the "zombies" looked about as good as anything we've seen in the feature film world recently. Doubtless having Zombieland the number one movie in theaters when "Rabid" aired didn't hurt, either; fortuitous timing for The CW. Was it fun to watch the once-and-future Supes lay the smack-down on some flesh-eating freaks? Sure.
      Sure, 'Smallville' may be a story about Kal-El journeying to his ultimate destination...but his foes have already arrived at theirs, it seems.       
More About 'Smallville'
In this, its ninth season, Smallville will introduce yet another wayward character. Elise Gatien (In the Land of Women) will play Mia/Speedy, a street urchin taken under the wing of Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) and trained by him to be Green Arrow's crime fighting partner.


But while I admired the look, I questioned the logic. A Kryptonian virus is the cause of this? And yet the blood of another Kryptonian (Clark, of course) is automatically the source of an antidote? And Chloe now sports multiple degrees in medicine, biochemistry and xenobiology that enable her to assist Dr. Emil Hamilton in synthesizing an antidote in the nick of time? Someone get these two working on the Swine Flu, stat!

Scientifically and geographically challenged
We all know that Smallville takes place in a universe where impossible things happen with regularity; it's fantasy after all (see "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", Larry Niven's amusing tale about Superman's procreative challenges). But in order for an audience to accept supernormal or hyperreal activities from superheroes, aliens, mutant monkeys or what have you, the mundane science of everyday life must adhere to accepted rules. So, sure, Superman can catch that plummeting jumbo jet in mid-air, but the sudden deceleration will invariably result in at least a few minor injuries to the passengers inside.

In Smallville's ninth season opener, "Savior", Clark catches a plunging commuter train by the nose and gently eases it down. Trouble is, while that might work to save the passengers in the forward car, the cars behind would simply disconnect and/or free-fall along their own trajectories. Yet we're led to believe that Clark saved them all.

'Course, it's not just accepted science that gets butchered on Smallville, it's geography, too. Where exactly is Smallville? Last I heard, it was in Kansas. Yet Metropolis has been referred to in at least one episode of the series that I recall as being along the eastern seaboard. Nope, that couldn't be, because in at least two episodes I distinctly recall a CG painting that showed the Kansas farm fields in the foreground, with Metropolis on the horizon. So which is it?

Meanwhile, everyone can understand how Clark can commute in a few seconds...but Lois and Chloe? They  show up regularly at the Kent front door with little regard for distance or travel times.

This seems to be a new trend in Hollywood: writers who are geographically challenged, at least when it comes to "plot convenience." Like Spock looking up to see Vulcan big as life in the night sky from the surface of Delta Vega (actually thousands upon thousands of light years away) in last summer's Star Trek; or the main characters in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen walking into Washington's Air and Space Museum one moment, and then the next, exiting out the back door only to find themselves magically in an airplane boneyard in the middle of the desert (on the opposite side of the continent).

Send in the villains
No matter how hard I try, I just can't get used to the idea of Clark encountering all these fully matured villains before he himself has fully matured and donned the suit. Sure, Smallville may be a story about Kal-El journeying to his ultimate destination...but his foes have already arrived at theirs, it seems.

The Dark Man of Steel
Speaking of suits, this is Superman, not Batman. Watching Metropolis morph into Gotham this year, with its darker, muted palette — as Clark dons his "Punisher" outfit — is interesting...but it's really mixing superhero metaphors. Memo to Warner Bros: I know The Dark Knight was a smash hit; I know some have called for Superman to go darker, but go back and read Richard Donner's original 1970s notes about the historical evolution of the character, and his insistence on verisimilitude. Superman shouldn't be played for camp. He definitely shouldn't be played as Batman. Sure, the times in which we live change, and these characters must evolve to remain relevant. But at the same time it diminishes the core value of the characters to have them simply mirror their surroundings, or be fundamentally altered to suit fickle trends. The tail (or in this case tale) shouldn't wag the dog.

Final thoughts
Two weeks ago, Smallville was down to 2.4 million viewers; a pretty soft rating all things considered. The ratings are continuing the downward slide—a 1.4/3 share last week marks one of the lowest ratings in television.

I'm not surprised. In the opinion of this writer, the series has largely lost its way, relying on the addition of ever-more characters and unbelievable storylines, combined with recent pastiches from other popular genre trends (never a good sign), the net result of which is something that on the surface is occasionally entertaining, but now too far from the accepted mythology to be enjoyed as any kind of Superman origin story. I'm not really sure what Smallville is or is trying to be anymore.

I certainly cannot say that Smallville is the worst genre series on television, partly because I do still watch it, and partly because Heroes is still on the air.

Have Your Say: Commentary, debate and opinion
(2 Comments)
Metropolis on East Coast?? No, they've never said that...
Posted by Jeff on February 22nd, 11:56pm
I've NEVER heard them say that Metropolis was on the East Coast and I've been watching since the Pilot.

I do agree with the inconsistencies of where exactly Metropolis is in relation to Smallville. In 3rd season, Chloe mentions I believe that it's 4 hours round trip.

However, in the 7th season, Lionel mentions to a young Lex in flashback that Smallville "is a small town right on the outskirts of the city".

But NEVER have they said it's on the East coast. Maybe you're thinking of the 2nd season episode when Clark went to NYC to visit Dr. Swann...
Offended Lana fan...
Posted by Rebecca on October 14th, 1:40pm
I agree with your comments EXCEPT your remark on Lana Lang. As a general viewer (not a Superman fanatic) her character was definitely one of the large contributing factors for me tuning in every week. I enjoyed her character immensely despite the overall inconsistent writing that this show has often suffered from. She was an integral part of the show's success and longevity imo and contributed a new and refreshing take on a old tale.
 

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