(S09E03) Who knew the Smallville zombie episode would turn out to be such a bummer? Our heroes did nothing but whine, brood, and talk about their lonely lives while the almost undead were chompin' on people's limbs. Where were the fun Grindhouse-style action sequences with the good guys firing sawed-off shotguns and revving up chainsaws? Where were the decapitations? And where were the jokes? You'd think a show about Superman fighting zombies would have plenty of jokes.
I understand that every piece of zombie art can't be as fun and clever as Zombieland, or as gloriously gory as 28 Days Later, but I was hoping for something a little more off the wall here.
I'm not sayin' I didn't enjoy watching Tess slice up a pack of brain eaters with her samurai sword. And seeing Lois go all Charlie's Angels on her drooling co-workers was fun. But watching Ollie fall further into the pit of despair and Clark fret about his mistakes didn't mix well with the zombie killin' fun. This thing could've used more crazy carnage and less doom and gloom.
Lois and Clark's romantic development continues to be a treat. Maybe it's just the Supes fan in me, but I loved watching Lois smile as Clark carried her out of the Planet. Hearing Lois call Clark a hero reminded me of their almost-hookup last season (before you know who showed up to spoil everything!). Like I wrote last week, I'm looking forward to seeing how the love triangle between Clark, Lois, and The Blur plays out.
So what's up with Chloe and Dr. Hamilton? These two probably have the strangest relationship on the show. They continue to combine their brainpower to save the world, but they don't really trust each other yet (and they love to give each other dirty looks from across the room). I find their scenes together to be very awkward. Maybe it would help if Allison Mack and Alessandro Juliani actually had some decent onscreen chemistry.
I still think Callum Blue is a good choice for Zod. (But I'm still not sure if making the Kandorians a bunch of mean-spirited dolts was a good idea.) Blue's single scene was more intense than any of the hysterical zombie attacks. I can't wait to see him go on the hunt for Jor-El only to find out that Kal-El is the surviving Kryptonian.
And no good can come of Chloe spying on the Justice League. Something tells me Dr. Hamilton will use that one against her in the future.
And speaking of the future, that crazy movie trailer playing inside of Lois' head is getting pretty intense. I can't wait to see it all play out down the line.
Next week: Look out kids, The Toyman returns!
[Watch episodes of Smallville at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-10-2009 @ 11:46AM
ac said...
This would of been better if it was Tess battling zombies with her samurai sword for 40 minutes. That was the only scene that lived up to the zombie hype.
Reply
10-10-2009 @ 11:52AM
Mike Moody said...
Agreed.
10-10-2009 @ 12:27PM
Jimmy_MO said...
"Who knew the Smallville zombie episode would turn out to be such a bummer?"
Are you seriously asking that question? A better one would be why the writers/producers felt the need to give is this stupid story with one of the worst Deus ex Machina moments I seen in a long time. Bad writing, bad acting. The only interesting thing about the whole episode was the Oliver Queen story.
Reply
10-10-2009 @ 3:13PM
brad456 said...
having been a long time smallville fan, This season is DOA.
give Tess more time, give Chloe more time, get rid of loser Lois. do not get me wrong, I like the actress and have seen her on some Canadian shows where she was hot, but when the Lois character was introduced, she was way too butch. I have never warmed up to Lois. Tess is hot, Chloe is sweet, Lana is hot & sweet, Lois is handsome?
is this show going abstract?
it seems like a bunch of pieces that never became a story. Zombies had so much more potential then what we got. three episodes into this season and I thing smallville may have ended last year, the writers went home without telling anyone else.
Reply
10-12-2009 @ 10:18PM
Ryan said...
For some of us, the show ended with the departure of Gough/Millar, and we've been watching the reanimated corpse of Smallville shamble about ever since.
10-10-2009 @ 7:31PM
Michael said...
"Where were the fun Grindhouse-style action sequences with the good guys firing sawed-off shotguns and revving up chainsaws? Where were the decapitations?"
Hello... this is network television you're watching, not cable! I agree that this show was absolutely "sanitized for your protection" but come on Mike, we're NEVER going to see a bloody head go flying during the 8pm/7pm hour! Given the limitations I thought this show had its moments and I dug the 28 Days Later style craziness myself. I also caught the little smile from Lois as Clark carried her out of the Planet and I'm definitely enjoying the progression of their chemistry this season.
@brad - you're way off base about Lois my friend. I think Erica Durance is smoking hot and I've loved her being cast as Lois from day one. In fact, she's really helped move this show forward in a way that Lana's storyline never could. I think the chemistry between the two actors is authentic and unforced (again, unlike Lana) and I love the pace their "relationship" is taking. Works for me!
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10-11-2009 @ 11:53AM
ceecee said...
Where did that now-dead henchman of Zod's get Clark's blood? I'm thinking that maybe Dr. Hamilton is not all that he appears to be. Chloe tried to stop him when he was taking Clark's blood - she thought he had enough - but he said he didn't. Makes me think that he was taking a little extra for someone . . .
Reply
10-12-2009 @ 12:36PM
Logan said...
At the point that the stuff came down in the rain, and cured everyone, you could have taken any human's blood to get traces of Clark's. That could have been what was in the vial.