I’m quite a Smallville fan. It’s one of the very few shows I make a real effort to catch. It isn’t nearly perfect, I’ve caught myself making Scooby-Doo jokes during some episodes, but I was pleased to see them focus on the High School in episode 3 this year. Not only was it a little lighter than the first two, but this is, after all, a series about Clark Kent – In High School! I expect the characters to act like high school kids, hormones, frustration, fragile egos, and all. With developing super powers and kryptonite thrown in to make it interesting.
Kryptonite villain of the week? Well kryptonite has had a huge impact on the region, like it has no where else on the planet, so that’s a natural device for the villains. And it serves to present villains that demand Clark’s attention. There’s been no evidence (IIRC) of kryptonite nobodys of the week, kryptonite good guys but a little busy with other stuff of the week, kryptonite affected me but my family moved away when I was 6 people of the week, etc, because even if they’re around in Smallville they’re not involved in the plot. They aren’t causing problems that demand someone with super powers to help solve. I haven’t done a review to see how many times a non-kryptonite villain has been featured. This is something I’ll have to look into, my curiosity is now up.
I’ve been a huge Superman and comics fan for as long as I’ve been able to read. I don’t mind the liberties the show’s taken a bit. I never minded that Pete Ross was black, Lana wasn’t a redhead, and that the totally invented for Smallville character of Chole was a central character in the show. I’m still not sure how I feel about Lois showing up so early in Clark’s life, but I like the way she’s been written and acted so far. I’m, quite frankly, NOT real fond of the whole – Jor-El visited Smallville in the early sixties and there’s an ancient native prophecy regarding the coming of the super man – bit. That’s my biggest beef with the series, and it honestly hasn’t spoiled things for me.
The Superman story has been told and retold and changed everytime. Some changes have been bigger than others. Sometimes when adapted to another medium it made DRASTIC changes. Like Kryptonite. It was invented for the radio show long before it made an appearance in the comics (an unpublished story nonwithstanding).
So Smallville is making some changes in the general continuity. It’s also gotten a whole lot of folks interested or re-interested in Superman. And I think that’s a good thing.
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