x

Smallville (Pilot Episode)

The series about the teenage Supes hits DVD, but only in Canada. Our full import review.

When the WB series Smallville was first announced I swore I wouldn't watch it. Being a huge Superman fan, I really had issues with any grand changes to the mythos like what was happening with the series.

Sure, both Marvel and DC like to press the "reset" button in their universes from time to time, which really screws with the backgrounds of the characters, but this series does make some big alterations to Superman.

After it premiered, I caught bits and pieces of the show here and there, but I never sat through an entire episode until this DVD arrived in the office. Despite my initial hatred of the concept behind the series, I liked the pilot enough to become hooked to the show and am now a regular viewer.

This DVD contains the Pilot episode as well as the direct continuation "Metamorphosis".

It's currently only available in Canada, but as such it's a Region 1 DVD release and can be tracked down relatively easy online.

The Movie

The series opens with a very Armageddon-esque meteor shower smashing the town of Smallville to bits. In the chaos, young Lex Luthor loses his hair, young Lana Lang loses her parents, and Ma and Pa Kent (who are now thirtysomething instead of senior citizens) find the Last Son of Krypton.

Flash-forward a few years and Lex has grown into a young man with a lot of money from his father (and a Porsche), Lana Lang has grown into the ultra-hot Kristin Kreuk, and the Last Son of Krypton has grown into Clark Kent who is a freshman at Smallville High.

The Pilot episode deals with a storyline about how the jocks choose one freshman each homecoming night to become the "Scarecrow" in the cornfield. There was one kid out there the night of the meteor shower, and now he's returned to take revenge on those who left him out there on a cross.

Through the course of the episode this guy goes around shocking those who wronged him, Clark becomes this years' Scarecrow, and we start to learn a little bit more about Smallville.

Armageddon? Nope, this is Smallville.


It's a very solid start to the series, and one of the better pilot episodes I've seen in a while.

The Pilot moves on to "Metamorphosis", which is a direct continuation of the story. A geeky boy who is stalking Lana is bitten by radioactive bugs that give him super agility, strength, and web-slinging abilities (sound familiar). Not as good as the pilot, but some minor story elements from the first half are wrapped up here.

7 out of 10

That will leave a mark.


The Video

The show is presented in anamorphic video at 1.85:1 and the quality is initially not the greatest. In the crater scene early in the show there's some bad video noise in the background smoke and some shimmering on Pa Kent's collar.

The Scarecrow from Krypton


As the show goes on, those problems seem to vanish and the transfer ends up to be a pretty impressive job for a television show on DVD with excellent color, detail, and clarity.

8 out of 10

The Audio

If anamorphic video wasn't enough, the DVD features a strong Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. From the helicopter and meteors early in the pilot, to fencers moving from one side of the room to the center later on, it's a very solid mix for a TV show. One of the more impressive moments comes in the "Metamorphosis" episode when a fireball envelops Clark and all channels flare to life.

8 out of 10

Those were some powerful beans!


The Extras

The disc includes a full-length audio commentary by producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and pilot director David Nutter. The three provide a very informative and active commentary with the three of them overlapping throughout the track with very few quiet moments.

You can't ask for a better menu background than this!


They give plenty of details about the production itself, but also explain (and stand up for) some of the changes from the comic to this series and why they did what they did to the various characters (such as making Ma and Pa Kent so young in the series). There is even a little mention about the challenge of living up to the original Superman movie.

Storyboard Comparison.


Seven deleted scenes are available and can be viewed with or without commentary. They run as one featurette that goes for about six and a half minutes and are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with the same picture quality as the main feature itself.

Interactive map of Smallville.


The Interactive Map of Smallville presents you with a map of the town, and when you click on a location you are taken to an anamorphic video clip of that spot complete with commentary describing it.

In the Storyboard to Screen area you'll see storyboard to final scene comparisons for the "Meteors Fall to Earth", "Smallville Wins Again", "Young Lex in Cornfield", "Meteors Hit Smallville", "Clark Finds the Kents", and "Jeremy And Clark Face Off" scenes. All of the video clips are shown fullscreen.

7 out of 10

Kristin Kreuk High-Res Screen Capture Gallery:

IGN Ratings
Rating
Description
7
Overall
Good
(out of 10, not an average)
blog comments powered by Disqus
Become a fan of IGN