Lois Lane-related stories
Posted Nov 21st 2009 1:34AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E08) The whole alternate timeline or alternate future concept has been around sci fi for ... well, I don't know how long. The most famous example I can think of is the classic
Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror," though I'm sure there are many more. We've already had alternate timeline stories in
Smallville (such as Lana's "death" in the 100th episode), and now we have an alternate future story.
Although it used an old television and sci fi concept, this particular story served a dual purpose: it let the viewer know what happened to Lois between the 8th and 9th seasons and also let us know the stakes of a potential Zod victory (although we probably could have figured that one out on our own).
Continue reading Review: Smallville - Pandora
Posted Nov 14th 2009 12:32AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E08) Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! Okay, so it wasn't so much the Wonder Twins as an homage to the Wonder Twins. Or Wonder Twins: The Next Generation. You get the idea. The blingy Gleek cell phone was a nice touch. Hell, the ringtone even sounded like an alien monkey.
Of course, the Wonder Twins were just gravy for the actual purpose of the episode: to further the legend of the Blur and heighten the Lois/Clark relationship. Like her predecessor in the 1990's
Lois & Clark series, Lois is a smart cookie but really blind when it comes to secret identities. Speaking of cell phones, her ringtone for the Blur was very cute indeed.
Continue reading Review: Smallville - Idol
Posted Nov 7th 2009 1:08AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E07) If
Smallville continues to produce episodes of good quality like tonight's, I may have to take back some of the things I've been saying about it. Seriously.
Tonight we got a lot of backstory and explanation about some of the stranger aspects of the
Smallville universe. Why is Earth such a magnet for Kryptonians, dead or otherwise? Because Krypton has been observing Earth for a long, long time and designated the planet as a bolt-hole. We also learned more about that Kryptonian artifact that has been a mystery in
Smallville for a few seasons now.
All this and no Lois, too.
Continue reading Review: Smallville - Kandor
Posted Oct 31st 2009 12:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E06) Tonight's episode had everything but the metaphorical kitchen sink. There was a lot going on. We had the rather amusing attempt by Lois to score a morning show job, the start of Green Arrow finding his sidekick Speedy and a little more Tess/Zod action.
In all the years I've watched or read Superman in various forms, I've never seen him go on an online date. I would have enjoyed watching more of that, particularly with Lois whispering in his ear. Isn't it illegal to tape someone without their permission (unless you're the government)? What would Clark write on his profile anyway? " Can lift cars, run real fast and shoot lasers out of my eyes. No Kryptonite, please. Must love farm animals."
Continue reading Review: Smallville - Crossfire
Posted Oct 17th 2009 1:39AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E04) It's when the writers give Clark abilities he's not supposed to have that I begin to worry, like his "reconstruct the Great Wall of China" vision from
Superman IV. Thankfully, in this instance it was yet another of Jor-El's senseless tests and only temporary.
Admittedly, I don't get the title "Echo" for this episode. Is it that Oliver is an echo of his former self? Is it that he's turning the path back to heroism? It certainly seems that way.
Since Clark has switched to the black outfit, I hope people (including Lois) stop calling him the "red-blue blur". Now he's just the Blur. Or maybe the Black Blur, but that could be construed as slightly racist.
Continue reading Review: Smallville - Echo
Posted Oct 3rd 2009 12:20AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E02) And just like that, Clark Kent returned from the dead. And all it took was the impossibly astute observation of a homicidal cyborg.
It's a shame that Brian Austin Green's John Corben, aka Metallo, was relegated to freak of the week status. Seeing him stick around to possibly become Clark's rival at the Planet and on the mean streets of Metropolis would have been fun.
As he proved during his stint on
TSCC, Green's a talented guy who feels right at home kicking ass on a sci-fi show. He did a fine job here, even if the material he was given would make a Saturday morning cartoon script read like high art. But sadly, this ep was less about Metallo and more about Clark learning that dumping his friends and skulking on rooftops probably won't make him a better hero. (More on that in a sec.)
Continue reading Smallville: Metallo
Posted Sep 26th 2009 1:07AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E01) Welcome back to another year of "the show that wouldn't die". This year, we've been given a target in the first episode that in one year, Clark will somehow destroy the world. However, this was told to him by a Kryptonian ninja woman who is apparently from the past and working for this year's big bad, so her word may not exactly be trustworthy.
The writers have turned Chloe into the new Lana. My sympathies to Allison Mack for being given that tragic role. The special effects of the derailed train in the beginning were pretty cool. I hope they didn't blow the entire season's budget on it.
Continue reading Smallville: Savior (season premiere)
Posted Aug 5th 2009 7:01PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Programming, Smallville, Reality-Free
Smallvlle is jumping on the zombie bandwagon.
Yesterday, we told you about the upcoming
Medium-Night of The Living Dead mash-up. Now comes word that Clark Kent will be
dealing with the undead in a season nine episode of
Smallville.
The ep, called "Rabid," will see a virus infecting the city of Metropolis that turns people into zombies. Click through to find out which two
Smallville regulars will get infected.
Continue reading Zombies attack Metropolis in Smallville's season nine
Posted May 22nd 2009 3:27PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Smallville, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The CW has opted to
move next season's Smallville to Friday nights at 8 p.m. I have long stated that the series should be put to rest and I believe, without actually saying so, The CW is doing just that.
The show hasn't been doing great on Thursdays ratings-wise, and I'll bet The CW is now probably experimenting with it to see if the show garners similar ratings on a traditionally dead night. I think the show's demise is proven even further by its follow-up show being the encore of
America's Next Top Model, because the demographics are soooooo similar (not). I plan to switch over to
Dollhouse at 9.
My question is: if it is the last season of the series, will The CW give the creators adequate notice to have a decent series finale, or will we be left with a cliffhanger a la
The Sarah Connor Chronicles? Just once before the show ends, to give it a sense of closure, I'd like to see Tom Welling don a cape and fly.
Posted May 15th 2009 3:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S08E22) Let me start with the obvious question: why is the middle name of the eldest Olsen boy the same as the first name of the youngest?
Obviously, the creators of
Smallville wanted to create an unseen twist to the myth while at the same time giving a giant middle finger to the comic book geeks who are concerned that the show isn't following established continuity.
I'll give them points on the twist of having the elder Henry James Olsen not be the same James Bartholomew Olsen that later joins the Daily Planet (was the bowtie on the younger enough of a hint?). As much as I hate to admit this, it makes more sense for that because in the comics it is pretty well established that Clark and Jimmy have a far greater age difference than Clark and Henry James.
Continue reading Smallville: Doomsday (season finale)
Posted May 8th 2009 12:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S08E21) So my guess at having a big fight between the Justice League and the Injustice League in the season finale (with Doomsday fighting on the side of Injustice) didn't quite pan out. Still, it was a nice idea.
Let me start by asking: exactly what happened with Tess at the end? She's been working for Jor-El? It will likely be clarified next week, but still...
Continue reading Smallville: Injustice
Posted May 1st 2009 12:58AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E20) When the season began, I had hopes that it would progress the series beyond its high school thinking and emo roots. Sadly, tonight's episode proved me wrong. It also proved that people in their mid-20's (as Clark and Chloe are, supposedly) can still act like self-absorbed teenagers until the correct, or indeed any, circumstances.
I had hoped that some progress was being made in the beginning when Clark's half-eaten carcass was hanging in the Talon basement, but that ended up being a (COP OUT!) dream. I did note the red "S" symbol drawn on his chest as it was on the pilot episode of the series.
Continue reading Smallville: Beast
Posted Apr 24th 2009 2:10AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S08E19) Lois is back, and she's as self-absorbed as usual. However, this time she's fighting crime dressed as a cross between Catwoman and a hooker dominatrix.
Oh, and she calls herself "Stiletto" because of her high-heeled boots. Why is everyone in this town so infatuated with wearing a costume? At least Lois can sew her own leather.
It's nice to see that Jimmy is still around. It's a pity he's taking a job at a criminal-run bar in order to afford his drug habit. Of course, that's not quite as bad as Chloe becoming an accessory to murder. I predict that she will likely meet her demise in the season finale. Or she will hook back up with Jimmy. Same difference.
Continue reading Smallville: Stiletto
Posted Apr 3rd 2009 12:15AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E18) So what did we learn tonight? We learned that Davis Bloome had a pretty crappy childhood. We learned that Doomsday is the Judas to Clark's Jesus. We learned yet again that the cops in Metropolis suck (why can Clark solve mysteries that they can't?). We learned that being an unstoppable monster doesn't necessarily preclude a person from using emotional blackmail to get his way. It's a good thing Davis is unaware of Chloe's link to the Justice League, or I doubt she'd still be breathing.
The episode started very retro with glimpses from the pilot. It was good to see Martha, Jonathan and Lionel again as a reminder of how things were.
Continue reading Smallville: Eternal
Posted Mar 27th 2009 12:20AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E17) Finally, an episode of
Smallville that didn't make me cringe and seemed closer to
Buffy than
90210. There was actual character development, good dialogue, and a decent plot. I haven't enjoyed an episode this much since "Legion." Perhaps that's a sign that in order to get a good episode of
Smallville you need superhero guest stars.
Lots of comic book references in this episode, from the mention of helping Bart in Keystone in the beginning to the appearance of Zatanna, who was speaking her spells backwards just like her comic book counterpart (and the storyline of finding her father does bear similarities to her comic book origin). And for long-time fans of the show, there were plenty of references to previous continuity.
Continue reading Smallville: Hex
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