Smallville - The Complete First Season

Rating:
Summary: What more television ought to be
Review: First of all, I don't watch much television, partly due to a lack of time but also because there just hasn't been anything that appeals to me. I read Superman comics as a kid and the character still appeals to me, but the pointless "Lois and Clark" series left a bad taste in my mouth for Superman-related programs. I was vaguely aware of "Smallville", but it wasn't until I found myself with nothing else to do but watch television that I finally saw an episode, and I'm glad I did. It was entering its fourth season by then, but suffice it to say that I now watch it every evening in syndication.

So why do I like it? Well, its strengths are the acting, the production values, and (here's the big shock for me) the writing. The characters are likable and believable; they're not the stock characters that populate pretty much every television program, but are interesting and sympathetic. That's particularly impressive when you're starting with such well-known (and potentially one-dimensional) characters as Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. I also have really enjoyed the stories and I think the idea of having Kryptonite endow people with different powers and ability was a very clever one. On the other hand, that theme is also perhaps the series' biggest weakness, as the "Kryptonite-mutated bad guy (or girl)" concept has been overused a bit.

The bottom line in my opinion is this: the people who created this series "get it" with respect to what makes Superman a great hero. It isn't his powers; it's his character. It's not what he can do that makes him great but who he is as a person. That's why the series works: because this show isn't really about a strange visitor from another planet doing super feats, but about how Clark Kent grows up to be a super man.