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Television
Smallville - The Complete First Season

Smallville - The Complete First Season

List Price: $59.98
Your Price: $44.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy this DVD set it is sure to be a treasure!!
Review: I love this DVD set!! Includes all 21 first season episodes, in a nice box set. Basically, I love Superman, and I love the TV Series "Smallville". Superman as a teenager going through what all of us do with an extra burden - to help people with his alien talents and not let anyone know. Begins with the story we all know so well about the meteors, and "him" finding the Kents. Then it expands brilliantly on that, how Smallville becomes a town "cursed" with people who are infected/affected by Kryponite fallout, but mostly focuses on how Clark Kent/Superman comes to possess and develop each new talent. This series really develops Superman in a new way - we come to understand why he is the way he is. These DVDs explore his hometown, childhood friends (whom include his arch-enemy Lex Luthor), and his parents Jonathan and Martha Kent. You get to care for the characters, know them. You never get bored, always eager for the next episode. Superb acting! Not to mention watching gorgeous Tom Welling as Superman is a definite plus! I wish the DVD set had better bonus features, or at least a music video but, overall it rocks!!! All I have to say is when is the next season coming out on DVD? Whether you are a Smallville fan, just a Superman fan, or just plain "curious", this is the DVD for you! Action, drama, comedy, sci-fi, romance, and suspense!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Legacy
Review: Before battling the forces of evil, Clark Kent faced his greatest challenge: high school. The WB's engaging hit drama has finally arrived on DVD. A devastating meteor shower strikes the peaceful town of Smallville. For most of the townfolk, the event brought great losses and unexplainable results, but for the caring Kent Family (John Schneider & Annette O'Toole), it blessed them with an amazing gift: a son who will become Earth's greatest champion. Producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have developed an original and appealing twist to the Superman myth. The series focuses on Clark adapting to his supernatural powers, his friendship with future archnemesis Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and the developing relationship with sweetheart Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk). The series is a surprising mix of coming-of-age drama and comic-book fantasy. It also features a top-notch cast and stunning visual effects. Smallville Season One definately keeps viewers entertained but too many "Villian of the Week" episodes give the show a repetitive nature.

Fans of the WB drama will be satisfied with Smallville Season One DVD. The episodes are presented in anamorphic widescreen format but the video transfer is somewhat weak. The Dolby 2.0 sound is satisfactory with decent surround effects. The box set includes commentary tracks on Disc 1, deleted scenes from the pilot and second episode, storyboard featurette, TV promos and DVD-ROM extras. "Smallville - The Complete First Season" scores a "B".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Smallville is absolutely the best show ever!!
Review: I am sooooo glad that they came out with a DVD. Smallville is a great show with suspense, action, good plot and storyline, and everything else. SMALLVILLE ROX!!! I LOVE SMALLVILLE!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutly AMAZING !!!
Review: I started to watch the series on TV and I fell in love with it. It's so great. Every kind of tv show is in smallville. Romantic,Drama, Action, Science Fiction !! everything ! It may looks expensive .. but it greatly worths it.. In my case its my first DVD set that I buy of my life and I dont regret it !!

Smallville Rocks and I love it !! Cant wait for Season 2 ! i'll buy it !! Give it a try guys !!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This is nothing but a cheap soap opera....
Review: I tell you. This show is not about Superman. It's just a Day Time soap opera put on prime time television. The writing is so bad (I;ve seen better stories on One Life To Live). The casting is all wrong. This Tom Welting guy does not look like Superman. At least Michael Rosembalm is good as Lex Luthor, I think he will be the only actor to find work after this sorry excuse for a show is over. The only good show on the WB which should come to DVD is the Gilmore Girls.
The only thing Warners has left to offer anyone anymore is Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best superhero show on television!
Review: Ever since the pilot episode of "Smallville" came on, I was instantly hooked. And also ever since then, I've been watching the show every Tuesday night and have not missed an episode. "Smallville" is the story of the teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling), living in the town of Smallville, Kansas, who will one day be known to the world as "Superman". In the first season, we learn that Clark is an alien with super powers. He has amazing abilities such as super-strength, can run as fast as the speed of light, and has X-ray vision. But all Clark wants is to be able to fit in with the rest of his peers. He is also trying to win over the affection of the beautiful Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), who is dating their high school's football star, Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). Clark lives with his human adoptive parents, Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent (Annette O'Toole and John Schneider) on the Kent Farm, and befriends the rich Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), after he saves Lex from a car accident. Clark also has two other friends, Pete Ross (Sam Jones III) and Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), who help him out.

The plots in every episode keep getting better and better. The storyline is amazing and every actor is superb in their roles. The special effects are great, too. I really hope they bring "Smallville" to complete season DVDs because it really is one of the best shows out there right now. Even beats out "Alias", though "Alias" is a good show, too.

I highly recommend "Smallville".

Score:
100/100
A+

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Before the super, meet the man
Review: No one thought it would work; the concept of Dawson's Creek crosses X-Files crosses Buffy crosses the Superman mythos seemed like typical "inspiration" from the suits at WB. Did TV really need to butcher another famous superhero icon? Fortunately for the viewers and everyone involved, Smallville got the formula right. Appealing to both casual and hardcore Superman fans, the series fleshes out the critical years of Clark Kent's early life. It puts a human face on a hero that has, more often than not, been treated as an icon and not a character.

Smallville rewrites the Superman mythology in several places, most notably by having Clark befriend a young Lex Luthor (note: this actually happened in the old comics, but was wiped out of continuity later on). These alterations work, and a large amount of the credit goes to the actors. Michael Rosenbaum *is* Lex Luthor, and Tom Welling is an equally-impressive Clark Kent. Rounding out the top-notch cast are Kristen Kreuk as Lana Lang, Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent, and Jonathan Schneider as Jonathan Kent. Special mention to Eric Johnson, playing the thankless role of Lana's jock boyfriend.

Season 1 of Smallville could be considered pretty routine; major plot points are sprinkled here and there throughtout the season while Clark battles "freak of the weeks" who have been transformed by kryptonite. However, the cast has great chemistry, the effects are top notch, and even the most cliched of episodes become a guilty pleasure. The first few episodes are generally weak, but the latter half of the season and the cliffhanger finale demonstrate what Smallville is capable of.

WB has done a decent job of releasing season 1. Decent in that audio/video is above average, but the extras are too few. WB basically got lazy and copied the extras over from the Canadian-only single-disc release of Smallville. Great if you've never seen these extras before, but so much more could've been added (disc 6 only houses 1 episode, leaving tons of unused space). Still, for a quality series like Smallville, extras are just icing on the cake. If you have any interest in Superman or have a soft-spot for teenage drama/action shows, I highly recommend Smallville.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Watchable, but not great - comparing Smallville to Buffy
Review: Smallville caught my attention being aired next to Angel, but as I hate jumping in in the middle, I checked the rave reviews here and on that basis decided to get the dvd. An important note here is that I'm a Buffy fan - if you are, too, I'm sure you'll find this review quite helpful. If not, you may want to skip it. Further, I'm 32, and my other favorite shows are Firefly and Angel, but I also enjoy shows like Six Feet Under, early Ally McBeal and (to some extend) Alias. I've enjoyed superheroes comics and movies, but I'm not a superman fan. However, as you can see, the supernatural in fiction appeals to me - though I do find for instance Charmed to be a waste of time - so I thought I might like Smallville a lot.

The Good
I like what they've done with Lex Luthor. He's an interesting character, poised between his corrupt father and wasted youth on one side, and his own aspirations to become a better person helped by his friendship with Clark on the other. Michael Rosenbaum does a good job portraying him. His dysfunctional relationship with his father and the power dynamics at Luthor Corp is by far the most interesting story line in the season.
The first season's structure is basically monster-of-the-week, in many ways similar to Buffy season 1, featuring the mysterious cryptonite rocks instead of the Hellmouth. Occasionally, the show manages to hit a nerve with the monster, in the same way Buffy did - putting the focus on eating disorders, ignored teens becoming invisible (ring a bell?), etc.

The Bad
Smallville season 1 has such similarities with Buffy season 1 that I can't help comparing them: High school superheroes with secret identities fight supernatural evil, helped and sometimes hampered by friends and family. I think all Smallville's main flaws can be seen more clearly in a comparison between the two. Smallville is like a thin cup Buffy, being inferior in a number of ways:
- Realistic and/or interesting desciption of the relationship to parents. Buffy's living alone with her mother, who has her own stressed life, and while she clearly cares about her daughter, she's often having a hard time understanding and communicating with her. Though Smallville takes place in present days, Clark's parents are taken out of a 50s soap ("Father knows best" springs to mind), and their problems are so small and superficial that any person actually having experienced their teens will be fighting nausea from time to time.
- Gender roles. Where Buffy has a strong positive message about girls with guts and strength of will, Smallville's big on the damselling. The leading lady always keeps her voice down, smiles her little smile and is very accommodating to the various men in her life. Sometimes you want to slap her. Clark's best friend, Chloe, is a fountain of fun in comparison, but her part is more the comic sidekick than a rolemodel.
- Acting. While Buffy had its share of mediocre recurring characters and guest stars, the acting of Smallville's two main characters, Clark Kent and his main love interest Lana Lang, is terrible. They do improve, as is the rule in television shows, but they're still not quite reaching 'adequate' as the season ends.
- Humor. Smallville just takes itself a little too serious. I sorely missed the clever wit of Buffy.
- Character. As you can perhaps already tell from my comments on Superman's parents, there's just a little too much rosy Little house on the Priarie for this season to be truly compelling. Their adventures don't seem to last any lasting mark on these kids. They're just as well adapted and happy as they always were - the contrast to the much more serious problems the scooby gang from Buffy have is notable. There are some hints that Clark feels uncomfortable with his powers, notably in an episode where he loses them. However, there's no real indication of why that is - he's using his strength and speed to help out at the farm, doesn't have any hard training to do, nobody seems particularly intent on killing him, so all in all the worst part is that he has to keep them secret.
- Redemption. Another positive message in the Buffy/Angel verse is that redemption while never easy is always possible. In Smallville, the characters are all goody good guys with loving relatives and no real troubles to speak of, with Lex being the only grey character - and we all know how he'll end up. Not much room left for free will.

In Conclusion
I had actually made up my mind not to get season 2, but as season 1 ended with a cliffhanger, and seeing that there's unanimous agreement that season 2 is better than season 1 showing us more of the interesting Luthors, I ended up getting it anyway - so there were clearly some things I enjoyed in season 1 of Smallville. A thin cup Buffy may still be quite nice. Lots of teenagers love this series, but to anyone older I think you need to be a genre fan to really get into Smallville season 1.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Laughable
Review: I've read through most of the reviews and some of them just crack me up to no end. First off, the one where the reviewer complains saying that Smallville is for 12 year olds....then goes on to explain that he still collects comics. I mean really? So do I, but a collector of comics has no room to make an age reference slur. Then another goes as far as to say how Smallville has ruined the Superman mithos then on to say how much he can't wait for Lois & Clark to be released on DVD. What is your major malfunction? Lois & Clark? Are you serious or just die hard fanboy playing a prank?
With any story there is a begining, and to tell a good story you have to understand the characters. Thats all the first season can do, then on to the thick of it.
Lois & Clark.....ouch!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Too Villain of The Week
Review: As this is the first season of Smallville, it was a little duller than the subsequent seasons. While relationships were being formed and characters being explored, the show tended to become a villain of the week fest. Each week, some villain poewred by kryptonite meteor rocks tended to appear, kill people, and get defeated by the awesome Clark Kent. It got a little boring after a while, but towards the end of the season, the show became veteran enough to do more character involved plots. The first season is a little slower than the awesome seasons afterwards, but its good enough to merit the purchase.


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