So I finally finished watching all of Smallville. And I've decided that I will briefly describe what this show, and its ten seasons, have made me feel.
FUCKING AWESOME.
'Nuf said. Now go watch it. Season 8 is my favourite, 9 and 10 are amazing, and season 4 is for all the Lois and Clark / Superman geeks, just squirming with excitement as the seeds of destiny are laid out for the characters we all know and love.
There are some amazing people in Smallville too, and people who don't have much else in the way of what they're known for. Cassidy Freeman, Erica Durance, Allison Mack and Annette O'toole are some of the most amazing women to watch, all for very different reasons, but they all bring something totally unique to the legends that they have to live up to, in the sense of Martha Kent and Lois Lane being obvious, but with the characters of Chloe Sullivan and Lutessa 'Tess' Luthor, they have to hold their own in a mine-field of destined characters who originally weren't sidled-up with these budding side-kicks.
Their are quite a few lookers too: Tom Welling, of course, trumps all that is holy in my 'Clark Kent' idealisation. Justin Hartley gives the Green Arrow more than just good aim; and Alan Ritchson, Michael Shanks, Brian Austen Green, Kyle Gallner, and Lee Thompson Young all make the Justice League seem like the best group to join. In the world. Ever.
A lot of famous faces had fun little cameos through the ten year run, from Cobie Smulder's one episode (ironically, due to her now being a known face, the twist in the episode was easy to identify as soon as you see Cobie in a room with her hair tied back, so you won't recognise her. Great disguise, guys...), Kyle Gallner's version of 'Impulse' (why not The Flash? something to do with the rights, perhaps?) was noted as he has starred in a variety of films and TV shows, and will no doubt be rising soon, in Shia LaBoeuf-style roles I imagine; the girl from Mean Girls, Lizzy Caplan, appears as Lana's best friend, Shawn Ashmore appears, of X-Men fame, to be followed by his big brother landing the role of Jimmy Olsen, who dies, and comes back in the 'seven years in the future' clip as Jimmy Olsen (again?) - oh wait, his little brother. Why not cast Shawn? No one would remember him from season 3, would they? James Marsters, of Buffy fame, does a good effort at embodying Brainiac, although his half-american-half-British accent is excessively annoying. Jesse Metcalfe has a small part in two episodes, and Robert Picardo plays an un-sci-fi role, Edward Teague. Neil Flynn also has a small part. Although, that's hardly shocking. Even Lucas Grabeel, who is a all-singing all-dancing star from High School Musical, played the devilishly terrifying Alexander/Lex Luthor Mk.8 (long story). Pam Grier had a small role as the White Queen. Then got killed. No loss there.
Annette O'Toole, who plays Martha Kent, played Lana Lang in one version of Superman, I forget which. So, to continue on this theme, those fun-loving producers pulled in the some pretty ironic casting. Teri Hatcher plays Lois' dead mother, Ella Lane. Dean Cain plays Curtis Knox M.D (aka Jack the Ripper), hired by Lex Luthor. An episode dripping with irony. Christopher Reeve plays Dr Virgil Swann, founding member of Veritas.
Also, many of the people cropping up in this show come from or went on to other sci-fi/fantasy shows. Sam Whitwer, Ian Somerhalder and Jensen Ackles are just a few of the names, with Vampire Diaries, Being Human, Supernatural, Lost, and I'm sure the list goes on.
This show has done a lot for the acting community, for sure. The thing that I love most, and I say this not because I have forgotten to mention John Glover and Michael Rosenbaum (trust me, I haven't) - but the most engaging and enticing aspect of this show is it's portrayal of evil. Everyone knows the Clark Kent grows up to be the all-flying, all-spandex-wearing Superman. That isn't what keeps you watching 217 episodes. Lex starts off as a good, ish. He befriends Clark, and all is daisies and sunshine. But then the lies, and the secrets come between them, and Lionel starts poking his nose in, and all it gets a bit tense. And even when Lex has 'died', and even when Lionel has 'died', they literally come back fighting. And Tess, the most amazing of the three, starts out pure evil. She doesn't care what she destroys, and she doesn't want to bother with the mind games and the falsities that Lex spent so long working on. But she slowly but surely stops being evil, and even learning that she's the 'last' heir of the Luthor estate doesn't kick the evil back into her. Because being evil doesn't mean you have red in your eyes and you want to rule the world. Oh no. Evil, in Smallville terms, means having no heart. It was lack of love from Lionel that made both Lex and Tess bad. It was distrust and disloyalty that made Zod bloody barmey. Even Chloe, Lana, Lois at times, are portrayed as bad, or wrong doing, for murdering a man to protect Clark, or keeping secrets, or marrying through fear - they all succumb to the fear of losing someone too. Clark, weirdly, only appears to be evil when on red kryptonite, and those moments are the best. Uninhabited, undeniably sexy red-induced Clark. They should make a spin-off just for that.
And so, to conclude this massive waste of your time - go watch Smallville; if you don't think you can stomach it all, watch the first half of season 1, read up, then season 4, read up, then last half of 7, 8, 9 and 10. The finale is not the most exciting thing in the world, as the show put so much into 9 and 10 that it was hard to do anything more without it being over the top, movie-like, and not what 'Smallville' but nature and name is truly about. Lois and Clark are the best thing since sliced bread, and I hope that when I'm a mother my kids can watch an age-appropriate show about them, like I did both when 9 and when 21. Because I'm cool like that.
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