I realize I’m also contributing to the advertising, but at least I’m not really paying anything to do so.
So the Season 9 finale of Smallville aired last week, and the prologue for that episode featured a flash-forward to the year 2013, where Lois is a full-fledged reporter for the Daily Planet, Perry White is the Chief, and Clark is off to a super-rescue, diverting a plane from a collision course with the Planet building:
A closer look at what’s going on in the reflection, there:
And enjoy it, because that’s probably all we’ll get of Clark Kent in the costume until, as has been stated by folks on the show, the very end. An end that’s finally in sight, as the news is now out that the show is wrapping up next season.
What I am hoping for is that we get an episode or two (or maybe a two-hour series finale) of some honest-to-goodness Superman action rather than just a closing shot of Clark finally donning the familiar togs. That would be, I think, the proper payoff for 10 years of meandering and teasing and hints at his “ultimate destiny.” It’d be nice if Michael Rosenbaum would come back to reprise his role as Lex Luthor for the last episode, but I suspect they couldn’t pay him enough to shave his head again.
And while the show did improve a bit in the last couple of years…yeah, it’s goofy, but it’s a fun goofy, but I think enough’s enough at this point. It was probably enough several points ago. Plus, after this last year with Zod as the primary antagonist, I don’t think I ever need to hear the phrase “kneel…before Zod” ever again. Sorry, General.
Actress Allison Mack, who portrays the popular supporting character “Chloe Sullivan” (who has never made an appearance in the regular Superman comics, despite the occasional announcement), is apparently scaling back her participation in the final season, which may disappoint the folks who made this commercial.* I remember very early on thinking the eventual reveal would be that Chloe, to separate herself from her tabloid-esque beginnings, would change her professional name to “Lois Lane.” Luckily I don’t have a day job doing psychic predictions, though my accuracy rate is about the same.
So anyway…sorry to see you go, Smallville, but not too sorry. It is going to be a bit strange after next season to not have Smallville to kick around anymore, though I imagine there are plenty of people out there who probably thought it ended years ago.
Another superhero show that’s shuffled off this mortal coil is Heroes, which will not be returning next season, and nobody seems particularly torn up about it. Well, I suspect the cast and crew aren’t terribly pleased. And it is a bit of a shame, I think, since this last season was actually pretty good, with a creepy and occasionally oddly sympathetic antagonist (which resulted in this lawsuit, by the way).
I liked the cast, I like the interactions of the characters, and while the plots and events were pretty familiar to anyone who’s ever read a comic book ever, it was still fun to see it all played out in live action. There’s maybe a slight chance of a wrap-up movie to conclude everything, which would be nice (and probably would help the chances of continuing DVD sales, if people know there’s an actual conclusion to the story), but I’m not holding my breath.
Max Huffman, creator of the most excellent webcomic Mocktopus, needs help, as the laptop he uses to produce his comics has kicked the bucket, and needs a new one to continue gifting us with his art. If you go to this Kickstarter page, you can contribute to the cause and, for your trouble, get cool stuff! For a ridiculously low $5, you’ll get a signed custom sketch! (I’m totally asking for Swamp Thing.) So go help the kid out…he’s a good guy who does funny comics, and I’m sure we’d all would like to read more of them.
I actually didn’t spy that reflected image when I saw the prologue, because I was still thinking to myself, “Wait, it’s 2013, and Lex has already declared his presidential bid? We’ll have just finished up the 2012 campaign! He wouldn’t declare until 2015 or 2016!”
I haven’t watched a lot of “Smallville,” but still, I’m amazed that THIS was the thing that finally made me say, “Oh, THAT’S just ridiculous.”
I pretty much agree with everything you say here, Mike. Although you did not emphasize enough how awful this version of Zod is.
I’ve come to enjoy the show for just how much more it has come to resemble bad mainstream comics. Trendy fads viewed through the lens of middle-aged nerds, wild inconsistencies in plotting, basic logic abandoned (how many times has someone seen Clark use his powers and then forget because of all the excitement of whatever danger they were in?), random guest appearances, characters’ personalities retooled until there’s nothing left to do with them…I could go on.
Allison Mack has been the most consistently good part of the show for years. She’s taken a lot of horrible writing and made it look good, although her character has been more interesting on the writing side too. I was actually excited at the end of the episode when the Justice League guys report in and she says “Watchtower online.” In the words of Dave Campbell, it was a “FUCK YEAH!” moment. Then of course the writers didn’t do anything with it until the excitement was gone.
I think, since this last season was actually pretty good
Really? I thought it was boring and convoluted – and I’m one of the few that thought Volumes 2 and 3 were better than Volume 1.
I like the interactions of the characters
It’s a pity they didn’t interact more. The “heroes” should’ve teamed up after the end of Volume 1 instead of having the occasional one-to-one interactions (seriously, why the reluctance to having more than 2 superpowered people in the room at any one time?).
Nice ideas but not very superhero-comicbooky. Smallville was in many ways better (but worse in others).
And someone really tried to sue Heroes for their travelling circus idea? That’s not new. Marvel did the Circus of Crime in the 60s, for starters (keeping it comicbooky).
And someone really tried to sue Heroes for their travelling circus idea? That’s not new. Marvel did the Circus of Crime in the 60s, for starters
No kidding. I think the first X-Men comic I ever read was the one where they fought the Blob who was part of a carnival sideshow.
In fact, when I was watching these ‘Heroes’ episodes I kept wondering: What decade is this supposed to be? Is there anything remotely like that carnival actually around in 2010?
Nowadays circus means ‘Cirque du Soleil’. There you go.
Somebody needs to write a story about a ‘Cirque du Soleil’ OF EVOL!!!!
I enjoyed Heroes from start to finish. Compared to what we had growing up (the original A-Team? Isis?), we geeks are pretty spoiled these days.
I admit I don’t see the point in a wrap-up movie. It seems like they knew the writing was on the wall when they ended the last season. It wasn’t a great ending, but it *was* an ending.
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!:p
Heroes season 1 was fantastic, minus the final episode. Seasons 2 and 3 alternated between great moments and atrocious idiocy. Season 4 was a step up from seasons 2 and 3, but still had a lot of bad ideas in it. Heroes never had consistency or continuity in its writing, and that, I think, was what drove people away.
And then that airplane that Clark Kent super-diverted from the Daily Planet turns out to be Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 and the internets explode…
Smallville is going to have had a run about as long as Lois & Clark, Flash, Birds of Prey (I liked it!), Firefly, and Heroes– *combined*