Smallville

Smallville - The Complete Fifth Season
$59.98
Leading up to this season, Smallville was more "earthbound," in that it really was about a teenager with developing superpowers with only mere glimpses into his true heritage.

Season Five changed the tone of the series forever.

I always viewed this season as the mythology turning point for the series. Huge things happen and we're suddenly thrust from those Twilight Zone-oriented episodes into the DC Comics Universe; things shifted from a "superboy" to Superman.

Significant events go down this season, including the emergence of a certain location and the death of a certain loved one. We're also introduced to a couple more characters from DC Comics continuity.

For me, this was the season where the show grew up and strolled down the Superman road with purpose instead of by happenstance. (Those who've seen the show know what I mean.)

The only thing that irked me about this season and going into the next was the whole Clark and Lana thing was getting played out and it seemed the romantic subplot of the show was going in circles instead of officially stating, "Let's get these guys together for real and keep it that way." But, as per usual TV show fashion, something always has to happen to drive the couple apart. Though romantic tension is good up to a point, Smallville set the bar high in terms of driving the audience nuts--even to the point of bad-TV frustration--with the Clark and Lana relationship. Sometimes we as viewers just want to see things work out, you know?

Other than that, good times to be had in Season Five of Smallville.

Recommended.

A.P. Fuchs

Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season [Blu-ray]
$79.98
Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season [Blu-ray] This is one of the best season Blue-ray dvd movie so far. It keeps getting better and Better! I give it A+++++++. Thanks, John

Smallville - The Complete Fourth Season
$59.98
This season was like a breath of fresh air after Season Three, which was so dark and gritty and full of angst. This season also marked the entrance of one of the critical figures in the Superman mythos: Lois Lane, played by Erica Durance. She's tough as nails, Tomboy-ish and reminded me a lot of Teri Hatcher, who played the character in Lois and Clark.

We also got to meet Bart Allen, on day to become the Scarlet Speedster, the Flash.

The over-arcing storyline of the season involving the three stones was played out nicely and, when I first saw what they were for, was geeking out all over the place. Of course, the cliffhanger season finale didn't help anything and brought yet another long summer as I waited for the Season Five premiere to show what happened next.

The only episode that bothered me--aside from the few that just seemed like filler--was the episode entitled "Blank," where Clark loses his memory and the most recent person to learn his secret has to show him who he really is and what he can do. They did this in Lois and Clark and this episode almost seemed like a repeat despite the story being different.

This was a great season nonetheless. Superman rocks, and looking back and seeing Season Four in the grand scheme of what had gone on before and what has gone on since makes it work really well. This season definitely was a turning point in the series, the first step in taking Clark from teen to adult.

Go see it.

A.P. Fuchs

Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season
$59.98
. . . Green arrows, that is.

Justin Hartley joins the regular Smallville cast as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, billionaire business tycoon by day, daring Robin Hood do-gooder by night.

At first I wasn't sure what to think when I heard Green Arrow was going to have a place in Smallville's continuity. Of course, I was, like, "Hey, cool, another superhero joins the show and this one actually wears his costume!" Whereas the other part of me was, like, "What does Green Arrow have to do with Superman growing up, again?" All I can say without giving anything away is having Green Arrow join the show was a brilliant move. Not only does he demonstrate a good example for Clark, but his past and present conflicts with Lex Luthor also add a nice twist to the storyline.

Of particular note this season was the episode, "Noir," where everything was in black and white and took place in the '30s. Reminded me a bit of the Lois and Clark episode that did the same thing, but Smallville's was much better written and not as cheesy.

The over-arcing storyline of the phantoms that escaped from the Phantom Zone was cool and gave Smallville its trademarked horror-esque twist, but without continually going into Twilight Zone territory like it usually did.

I should add there was one more green element to this season: Martian Manhunter, played by Phil Morris. The only downside, though, was no alien visage but rather his shape-shifted human form instead. Oh well. The budget can only go so far, I suppose. Still, would have been cool if Martian Manhunter had more screen time, but this isn't his series.

The only thing that I didn't like about this season was Lex and Lana getting together. It really bothered me and didn't make much sense when looking back over the first five seasons. This is the reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars.

Recommended.

A.P. Fuchs