Watching Smallville's fiinal season/self harm

[CaptainWacky]

I started watching Smallville with the first season. It was pretty good. It showed signs that it could turn into something really good. Season two was even better and had a really good finale. Season three I think was probably good too. But there came a point where I realised it was never going to live up to its potential. And it started getting worse. Nothing changed. The episodes had always been formulaic but they became painfully so. The acting seemed to get worse. All the interesting characters gradually left (even Chloe's gone in the final season. She did nine years but ten was too much even for her.)

But every year I'd come back. I'd watch "if nothing else is on" sometimes. I'd miss episodes and not care. But I'd always come back. It's not like there's that many tv shows in the world, is there? And there often is nothing else on. And maybe it would get better. Sometimes there were good episodes even in the late seasons. Not many...and even the good ones always had the ten minutes of "here is the lesson of this episode!" at the end, like Thunderkats or He-Man but without the winking to camera and laughing...AND I JUST KEPT COMING BACK.

Ten years is a long time. Was it just that I hate myself? Is that why I'd watch? A form of self harm? I really can't explain it, but I feel I must justify it to myself. I'm watching the final season now. I missed the first few episodes but it doesn't really matter. I don't even pay attention. But I watch it. I don't understand. Help me. Please.

Somebody save me.

 

[Loktar]

I watched every single episode. I must be a masochist or something.

 

[Yub]

That's Superman fandom above and beyond the call of duty, Loktar. I salute you.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

The first couple of seasons with the Freak of the Week were always entertaining. There was some creativity there even if it was constrained by the need to follow the same formula every week. I think it got worse when they started trying to bring in story arcs, because it went against their fundamental writing principles. Story arcs are all about growth and change of characters and for whatever reason they didn't want to change their characters or have them grow, so all the drama and raising of the stakes was hollow and pointless and ultimately not entertaining. I suppose if we were being charitable we could say they had their hands tied by the existing mythology, so they couldn't just decide "oh ok, Louis is annoying and looks like a smoked mackerel, let's kill her off", but they still could've made a lot more from the material. They could've easily jumped forward a few years or diverted from canon to their liking by establishing that this was an alternate history of some sort. As it was, the only things they overtly changed seemed to be done out of inattention rather than intention.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Good point about the story arcs being against the fundamental nature of the show. I think they have gotten slightly braver with changing things over the years, like with finally killing off Lex (even though there's a child clone of him in this last season), having Lana leave for good with no chance of ever getting back with Clark and they've even had Lois figure out Clark is Superman (sorry, The Blur) and he's told her the truth. But then those first two were because the actors wanted to leave the show and the Lois one is just because it's the last season and they had to do it eventually.

There was one episode where they had a highschool reunion...but Clark and Lois were the only people there who had actually been in the show before. Because of the "freak of the week" storytelling there had been no recurring guest stars at highschool and they didn't have anyone to bring back (they just had some people Clark recognised even though we'd never seen them before.) They didn't even mention Pete "The Boss" Ross.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

They could've brought back Dualla!

 

[CaptainWacky]

And Amy Adams.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

And Simba!

 

[StringTheorist]

My grandmother's name is Evgenia.

 

[CaptainWacky]

And Simba!

WELL REMEMBERED.

 

[Tisiphone]

Their best arc was Davis Bloom. But that's because of Sam Witwer and his sexy abs.

 

[CaptainWacky]

They were good abs!

 

[CaptainWacky]

This week's episode has both Colonel Tigh and Gaeta from BSG in it...despite Tigh's character being blown up a couple of weeks ago. But he had an EYEPATCH so that it explained how he survived. I think? The eyepatch was possibly a BSG reference so that was appreciated (unless it's just that the character he was playing has an eyepatch in the comics.)

Hawkman and Tigh had a long (by Smallville standards) fight scene. It was amusing watching Tigh's body double rolling around and doing all the fancy moves. Hawkman's wings looked pretty cool. Hawkman died and Clarke trapped Tigh in a triangle. Somehow.

They had a funeral for Hawkman in Egypt, with all of the heroes (well, the ones who were available for filming) in costume (and Black Canary's costume was really inappropriate for a funeral) but then there was a BRIGHT FLASH and everyone was knocked out! Good unexpected cliffhanger to avoid the usual sentimental Smallville ending.

Definitely a good episode by Smallville standards.

 

[whisky]

I enjoyed the fight between SG1 and BSG.

 

[CaptainWacky]

BSG won. JUST LIKE REAL LIFE.

 

[whisky]

Yeah, but then Clark cancelled BSG.

 

[Gagh]

I watched it last night. It was the first I've watched since early last season. Hawkman's outfit looked like something you could get down the local fancy dress. His wings however, were cool.

It wasn't too bad, though too much Lois (she's annoying).

 

[CaptainWacky]

The logo on his chest reminded me of Thundercats (I'm sure the comic pre-dates that blah blah blah.)

 

[CaptainWacky]

So tonight's featured the knocked out heroes from last week (except the young girl who just disappeared between episodes) trapped in a virtual world which managed to be an exact equal rip-off of The Matrix and Inception. But wait! Chloe suddenly walks out of a wall wearing a white suit! She's an avatar! Loads of other characters are thrown in too and I can't remember which side they're supposed to be on.

We get "And Allison Mack as Chloe" in the titles like she's Anthony Stewart Head or something.

Chloe looks hotter in virtual world than in real world. But Black Canary (played by Fuddlemiff's friend Alaina Huffman) looks a lot hotter in the real world than virtual world. It's confusing.

Clark flies at the end but it's just virtual world so it doesn't count.

Decent episode.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

When the little girl disappeared, did they find the BORG BABY in her place?