Hey folks, Valkor here. With Ghosthead’s review of Batman
Arkham Asylum, I thought I’d balance things out with a review
of Smallville’s Season 8: And as it stands, it really is
one of the best shows on television today. But don’t skip
out at the end of the review, because I got somethin I wanna get
off my chest.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Smallville follows the exploits of one Clark Kent aka Kal-el; an alien, who as a baby crash landed on earth from a planet called Krypton, which blew up. Clark went on to be raised by the Kent’s Jonathan and Martha, who also taught Clark right from wrong and helped him in controlling his powers. Now Smallville takes the Superman mythos a bit further, even bending things a bit. Kryptonite (radiated rock from the exploded Krpyton) follows Clark, makes the first couple of seasons “Freak of the Week” show, Clark and Luthor are friends, and other superpower beings, plus non-super powered guys and gals show up, molding the show into the greatness that it is today. Now I’m skimping over a lot of story, but this is not about past seasons, this is about season 8 (which is leading up to a great season 9).
When we left Smallville in Season 7, Kara aka Supergirl is in search of an orb, Clark gets an offer as an intern, and Lex is looking for something in the Arctic. There, Lex finds the Fortress of Solitude where he and Clark face off, ending with the Fortress collapsing.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!
It’s an incredible cliffhanger and one that gets you geared up for the 22 episodes of season 8. And rather than go through ALL of them, let’s just highlight some key moments of the show.
- Season 8 opens with the Justice League (Green Arrow, Aquaman, Black Canary) in search of the missing Clark. Oliver finds him in Russia of all places and buys him back.
- Chloe is embracing her new abilities, having downloaded into her brain some of Braniacs memories and is able to help Clark in numerous ways, even finding out she has knowledge of other planets.
- Maxima shows up in search of “the love of her life” leaving a trail of dead guys behind her. Yes a kiss can be deadly if you mean it.
- Jimmy takes a pic of a “red/blue” blur and goes on the hunt to find his identity (and it’s not the Flash)
- The Legion (Rokk, Imra, and Garth) make an appearance after Doomsday makes an appearance at Chloe and Jimmy’s wedding.
- Zatanna shows up and turns Chloe into Lois.
- Doomsday wreaks havoc and Jimmy bites the dust.
To complete the set, Smallville Season 8 comes packaged with a few extras including deleted scenes, commentary on two key episodes and some behind the scene video one of which is “Doomsday: The making of a monster”. I’m not crazy about the extras, and they’re really nothing special. However the weakness of the extras don’t detract from the greatness of the series.
22 episodes was a lot to sit through, but you know what…it was worth it.
The Good
Of all the seasons, to me, this is the best by far. You get more of DC’s superhero line up making an appearance, also some returning, plus the Legion! I mean it’s not as much as I would like but enough to keep me interested. It’s great to see how well Wellings’ is fitting in his role as Clark. Seriously, he’s come a long way and now he owns the character. It’s only a matter of time before he dons the red and blue, and I can’t wait till the day. Another favorite is Just Hartley’s Oliver Queen/Green Arrow. Dude is super smooth, perfect for the role, and yea I’m gonna go gay for a minute, the guy is damn sexy. (yea I said it). I gotta give big ups to how Doomsday was brought into the tale, though I like the comic version better, Smallville’s use of the character works really well. Finally I love the level of suspense in each episode, even the cheesy ones; it’s really intense and has you sitting on the edge of your seat. Take “Committed”, which has an awesome “Saw” look and feel to it. I could go on and on about how great this set is. I honestly missed a lot of season 8, so it’s great to be able to catch up.
The Bad
A lot of what I feel is bad about this season, is mostly nitpicking, just things that make me uneasy. The first, why is the show still called Smallville if most of the stories take place in Metropolis? Second, I don’t really care for Chloe having powers. It’s almost like the producers (or whomever) felt bad for the character, but really I’m not feeling it. Finally Jimmy Olsen’s death; Yea how’s that gonna work out in the long run? Finally, Clark still can’t fly? I don’t care if they don’t give him the suit, but by now ALL of his powers should be fully developed, let’s stop with the teasing and let’s just give him the ability of flight. Hell season 8 could have been his discovery that he can fly, but learning how to control it. Oh but he can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he still can’t fly? Let’s make this happen in season 9 shall we?
The Ugly
N/A
I’m a comic geek till the end and I’ll watch/read and play anything that is. Smallville season 8 and the series as a whole has been the best investment of my time in watching the series on television and on DVD. It takes the Superman mythos and makes it its own, leading up to something truly awesome that I can’t wait until its glorious end. Out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving Smallville Season 8 5 stars. And it’s been Valkor tested and TOV approved.
But wait, there’s more!
This is just my thoughts on the series, well not the series as a whole, but missing key figures that should be involved; mainly one Bruce Wayne.
I’m not talking Batman, I’m talkin about Batman’s alter ego.
I get a lot of flack in online forums and such where people tell me that Batman does not fit into the Smallville Universe, or that the character might conflict with the Nolanverse of the character. But this goes out to WB/DC and any and all involved with the Smallville stories:
Put Bruce Wayne into the show!
You are missing the biggest opportunity in the face of all missed opportunities by not including Wayne. And post season 8 is the perfect time to introduce the character into the show. Having Wayne in the earlier seasons wouldn’t make sense because he was supposed to be off training. But now that everyone is grown up, a Bruce Wayne post training makes more sense now than before. He can just make guest appearances in Metropolis, regaining his billionaire status, but also testing out his abilities (no Batman persona ever needs to show its pointy ears), plus solidifying his relationship with Kent. Kent and Wayne together are exact opposites: each with the same goals, just different ways of achieving it. The Smallville series is doing well on its own but I would hate to see a series go by without even a nod towards Wayne.
This goes out to DC’s other top characters that are associated with Supes; I’m talkin Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash (not Impulse, though they are the same), Hawkman (though that would be a stretch), hell I’ll take even Shazam!
Rumor has it that there is a Smallville movie in the works titled “Metropolis”. And if anything, please write in a small scene for Bruce Wayne. I think even casual viewers would tune in for just a glimpse of Clark and Wayne side by side. Really WB, don’t pass up on such an opportunity. It’s gold I tell ya! Gold!