“Smallville: Idol” Exit Poll (Spoiler & Cadillac Jack Alert!)
[Ed. note: Please allow me to introduce college friend, real-life radio journeyman, and my one-time artistic collaborator on the unfinished - but never forgotten - comic-book proposal, "Blanc", the one and only Cadillac Jack. Jack & I have been "facebooking" for a while over TV's "Smallville". He recently sent me a detailed reaction to this past week's episode, "Idol", which brought the Saturday morning cartoon Wonder Twins into "Smallville"s live-action continuity. I am currently three weeks down on "Smallville" - probably really four, since I honestly slept through most of "Roulette" (this season's first bonafide clunker). So, after getting permission, please to enjoy 2,500 plus words about "Smallville" season nine from my thirty-year plus pal, and the dude Mrs. popGeezer and I saw "This Is Spinal Tap" with in 1984, Cadillac Jack.]
popGeezer, since you’re the only person I know who watches this show, you get to be the beneficiary of my geekboy observations and musings. Some might say “it sucks to be you, don’t it?”
Well, I watched the Wonder Twins episode, “Idol” (twice), and I have to say it didn’t suck. Wasn’t bad at all, actually, mainly because that storyline shared equal weight with the Lois and Clark romance storyline. And that balance was just about perfect. The Twins weren’t around long enough to be annoying, the producers wisely dropped all of the “cheese factor” surrounding the characters, and the insider nod to Bleppo (the legendary purple monkey) was actually handled well. As for the Clark and Lois storyline, which seems inseparable from Lois’s three weeks in the future between Seasons 8 and 9, courtesy of Clark’s Legion flight ring – as well as the Major Zod storyline - it seems to be developing nicely as well. I like the fact that Lois suddenly finds herself head over heels about Clark and she has absolutely no idea how to handle it. I also think Erica Durance is handling the role with just the right amounts of naivete and cynicism, and the chemistry between her and Tom Welling is pretty incendiary, except for the moments they actually kiss. This seems totally passionless to me, mainly because it never looks like Welling is really into it. When Welling locked lips with Kristen Kruek, it worked. Kruek was not only hot, but she obviously put everything she had into each kiss. Durance seems to be giving it the old school try here, but Welling seems too self-conscious. Then again, maybe that’s supposed to come from Clark’s not wanting to give himself so totally into his passion that he could hurt Lois physically. Personally, I don’t think Welling has put that much thought into it, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
As for the episode itself, I thought they handled Lois’ gradually growing suspicions about Clark being the Blur (Dumbest. Superhero. Name. Ever.) quite well. I really liked the idea of Lois seeing a shrink about her dreams. But I thought the sudden arrival of the crooked D.A. played by Dylan Neal, was contrived and dropped too completely into our laps. One minute he’s the crusading DA, the next minute we’re TOLD he’s crooked (though we never see evidence of it til the end), and then suddenly he’s trying to kill Lois to frame the Blur. For what??? It’s not like Lois was about to implicate him in anything. Oh, she kept threatening him, but not specifically. Whatever she had on him was obviously more of a feeling than fact, and the DA wasn’t even on Clark’s radar prior to this. They just needed Lois to be in danger so Clark, Chloe and the Twins could do the old bait and switch and protect Clark’s secret.
The crusading/crooked DA is a good idea and should have been carried over multiple episodes to build instead of being used and thrown away in one stand alone ep. However, we know the second half of the season is all about Zod and the requisite showdown between him and Clark, and we couldn’t have anything get in the way of that. And about that…
From what the saw of Lois’ dream this week, Zod seems determined to turn Earth into another Krypton (hence the soon-to-be-Red Sun and the cuts and bruises all over Clark’s face). Why? Causing Earth’s sun to go red would not only shift the entire ecological balance of the planet, but it would also take away all of the powers Zod has been so adamant to get a hold of since the season began. I admit I’m not a fan of this particular storyline. We’ve done Zod before, and while the clone idea is unique, I hardly think it’s something we need to waste time with, especially while the more important stories of Lois and Clark and Clark’s becoming Superman should be taking center stage.
If this is the last season (and as much as I don’t want it to be, the ratings have really fallen since the move to Friday), do we really want to end the series with bowing before Zod? And what about that bit with Jor-El last week? Clark spends the entire ep winging around the globe, looking for his bio-pop and who finds him? Chloe! Who gets the heart-to-heart that CK has needed for years? Chloe! And when Clark finally does find his dad…the old guy croaks out three lines and then dies. Talk about anti-climax!
I did like Julian Sands as Jor-El though. I just think he should have stuck around for a couple of eps to answer some questions. If it had been me, I’d have gone the BIRTHRIGHT route with this series around season four or five, when Clark first graduated from high school. Lana could have married Lex, and, in his pain and depression, Clark should have left Smallville to begin his tour of the world and his training as a reporter (the way Mark Waid set it up). You could have spent half of each ep (more or less) with Clark in Qatar (or wherever) and the other half with Chloe and the gang in Smallville. Clark could zip back from time to time as needed, but it would have separated him from Lana, which would have moved him a bit more toward Lois. BUT it would have kept him from getting to know Lois, and falling love with Lois too early, BEFORE he became the Man of Steel, the way it’s happened now.
Now, Lois is not only in love with CK before he fulfills his destiny, she’s gonna have to be in on his secret from the beginning. Because, let’s face it, I don’t care how adorable it looked when Clark pulled those glasses out of his pocket last night (is this the second or third time they’ve tried to intro the glasses? I don’t remember), Lois knows him too well now to ever be fooled by such a lame-ass disguise. Lois not only needs to be a part of Clark’s life as the Blur, she needs to help create Superman. Beyond simply naming our hero, she could also help design the costume and everything. ‘Cause, let’s face it, as allergic as this Clark is to any ostentation at all, can you imagine him EVER coming up with the Superman costume on his own?.
Oh, and I would have had Clark flying by now. I honestly believe that when Millar/Gough made the “no flights-no tights” rule, they never imagined the show would go past two or three seasons, tops. Once it had gone five or six seasons and every Kryptonian and his brother had dropped by to show Clark that flying not only was possible, but factory-installed, they should have put him in the sky. Certainly by the time Kara came to stay. The new producers threw a weak pitch at the issue this season when Jor-El told Clark he couldn’t fly as he had yet to fully embrace his Kryptonian heritage, but that was just bullsh*t, wasn’t it?
Still, the show has tried to dig deeply into the “Superman” mythos – mixed with giant helpings of “Dark Knight” seasoning – for a richer experience this year. The producers have made big strides into fleshing out a Metropolis rouge’s gallery, giving us a solid Dr. Emil Hamilton in “Battlestar Galactica”’s Alessandro Juliani, giving Chloe the (not quite) full-scale “Oracle” treatment, and teasing us about the upcoming two-hour, Geoff Johns scripted ”Society” episode. This will bring several golden-age heroes from the Justice Society into the TV universe. Pictured at left is “Stargate SG-1“s Michael Shanks as Hawkman, by the way. It’s not so much cheesy… as a WWII-era surplus costume.
And nine seasons in, with two showrunner turnovers in the mix, any show that is still trying this hard deserves our respect. By the Great Rao, they truly do!
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- Julian Sands Cast As Jor-El On ‘Smallville’ (splashpage.mtv.com)
- Tom Welling snapped wearing Smallville super suit (tvsquad.com)
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November 17th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
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November 22nd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
So, I’ve finally watched season 9 up through “Idol”. I enjoyed the mild camp of the Twins, their phones, and that momentary reference to – of all things – the “Batman” TV series.
I’m also a big fan of the Lois/Clark progression, and am convinced they’ll have to make the big reveal before the show ends. Possibly even a last act for the Zod storyline, even?
Thanks for the awesome recap, and remember you’re welcome here any time, CJ!!