(S06E20) Smallville has another "dream" episode, or as I like to call it "the writers take a much needed week off." It might be nitpicking too much, but to me a dream episode is like a clip show, where the character all reminisce about other episodes. Nothing happens that really affects the characters or their storylines, so it kinda seems like cheating, but they pulled this one off pretty well, so I can't gripe too loudly.
Mostly, it's because I'm a sucker for black and white, the 1940s speak, and whodunit stories. Plus Humphrey Bogart as a detective in pretty much anything is tops in my book, kid. One question though, how could they possibly do a black and white version of Smallville set in the 1940s, and not put Jimmy Olsen in a bow-tie? What a missed opportunity.
The main problem I had with the episode was that Jimmy Olsen seems woefully out of place as a Sam Spade / Philip Marlowe character. He looks like a teenager trying to play dress up. Too harsh? Maybe so. Aaron Ashmore is great as young and earnest Jimmy Olsen, but the noir story seemed a bit out of his league. Tough break, spunky. Maybe it's in the chops. Here's a sawbuck. Take it and go drown your sorrows in a cherry phosphate.
John Glover was great as the bartender / joint owner, Erica Durance dazzled as the throaty singer, and Kristin Kreuk was spot-on as the femme fatale. But the two gems of this episode had to be Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum as 1940s versions of Clark and Lex. A lot of credit goes to the really amazing costumes and the perfect era-esque music, but they really nailed these parts thanks to the writing and the acting.
A lot of this episode was about the small details, like how about those stock footage inserts? That one shot of the Daily Planet Building sign looked like it might have come right from the old Adventures of Superman TV show from the 50s. Plus, did you notice some of the things like Clark's cop badge? It was an S-shield, nice touch!
Overall, I have to give this episode a 5. It was an entertaining watch, but not much happened with the main characters, and Jimmy as the main character in the dream sequence just didn't do it for me. The political intrigue / cigarette case was a weak little plot device too. Doesn't it seem too contrived to have Lana get the footage, stick it on a USB flash drive, and then use a cigarette case to carry it around in? Good, but not great.
More Smallville Legends: Justice and Doom. I'm still loving these little mini-comics, but the breakneck speed at which they flash by is starting to get to me. I'd love it if they were a notch slower and no so product-placement oriented. Those conspicuously placed vehicles are just a bit much.
Quote of the show:
- Jimmy: "I didn't peg you as the kind of guy with a secret identity." Clark: "And yer never gonna."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-04-2007 @ 9:54AM
C. Hernandez said...
I can appreciate the detail of the episode, and on a shallow note everyone looked fantastic, but I was just so BORED.
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5-04-2007 @ 10:14AM
Chris said...
The car chase scene was hilarious, and as usual Smallville has the toughest people who just crash cars, and take gun shot wounds like there nothing.
Waiting for next weeks episode, and also I agree those Toyota Yaris' are almost as bad as the Heroes' Nissan Versa.
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5-04-2007 @ 10:35AM
Vince said...
I rated it a 5 as I liked the concept and the actors performed well, but it did not advance the main story arc.
Pleasnat diversion though.
And Chloe was hot as a 40's gopher girl.
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5-04-2007 @ 2:40PM
ac said...
The car chase was hilarious because it was like they were fast forwarding the whole thing. I wish we could have seen Martha in a 40s role though. I didnt have a problem with Jimmy being the main character. After all it was his dream sequence. It his dream he was that the was the hero of the noir stories he seems to love. I hope they bring him back as a regular to replace whoever dies this season.
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5-04-2007 @ 4:11PM
Mandee said...
My Lord, but you people are insightful -- starting with you, Kevin.
ac (3) really nailed it. Failing to advance the story arc this late in the season just made the piece feel like filler (earlier on, it would have been fine) and so, like C.H. (1), I found myself feeling impatient, and bored.
Nonetheless, as a '40s film noir homage, the episode was great, though I agree, Jimmy just didn't have the necessary Bogart gravitas to play the lead.
And Kevin, as far as Jimmy Olsen's lack of a bow tie: you are absolutely right. the writers should be horse-whipped, or turned over the Jack Bauer.
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5-04-2007 @ 5:28PM
DudeBoyz said...
Not so impressed. What we need is for Lionel and Lana to both be bumped off in ways that deepens the rift between Clark and Lex to a point where there is no going back - no positive sentiment at all regarding their past "friendship" - so that Clark can move to the next level and take Luthor on full-force.
Chloe is too undertuilized, imo, and used inconsistently when she is on screen.
They really need to wrap this whole "Clark, Lana, Chloe, Lionel, Lex" thing up - and fast. Let next season be about the full-on emergence of Clark as an adult hero in the form of superman.
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5-04-2007 @ 5:51PM
alana said...
Did anyone else notice Lanas gunshot wound changing side in the beginning?
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5-04-2007 @ 11:26PM
Jon88 said...
The election billboard that Jimmy nicked during the car chase? The photo of the candidate was the actor who played Inspector Henderson on the old TV show. (I think.)
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5-04-2007 @ 11:42PM
Heather said...
Regarding Clark's S-shield badge, it's the badge of the Meteropolis Police Department and they've always looked like that on the show. We first saw it back in S1 with Sam Phelan so it's not really a new touch.
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5-05-2007 @ 1:52AM
Brent McKee said...
While it's true that Jimmy lacks that Bogart style gravitas, it's also a fact that he'd be in the role of the sap who got fooled by a dame into killing someone for her - a standard film noir theme (this dream sequence had a lot more in common with "Double Indemnity" or "The Postman Always Rings Twice" than it did with "The Big Sleep"). People always cast themselves in the lead role in their dreams even when they are woefully inadequate for that lead role.
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5-06-2007 @ 7:16PM
David said...
Man, Smallville Medical Center must be AMAZING. Lana gets shot in Metropolis, and she's MedEvac'd to Smallville to see a specialist? Screw you, Metropolis General!
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5-07-2007 @ 5:45PM
Cold Chilli said...
David,
Lana gets the frequent flyer program at Smallville Med Center.
She must have brain damage y now
Yea, Someone is going to "die"just like when Clark told Lana his secret.Anything done in the finale will be undone in the opener.
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5-09-2007 @ 8:11PM
picadillycircus said...
alana (7): that bugged the crap out of me too. You'd think even if the writers and the director forgot that detail, the actor him/herself (in this case, Kreuk) would remember where the fake blood was placed originally.
I really liked Erica Durance as the singer. Great voice for that kind of music. Clark Kent had some great specs and Tom Welling added the right touch of bumbling fumbling-ness. I'm not too sure I liked the nod to "Citizen Kane" with the 'gardenia' thing but I guess it beats using a rosebud, being too much on the nose.
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5-22-2007 @ 9:24PM
JR said...
what was the name of that song, that Lois was singing? I've been trying to find out for weeks.
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