Rating:  -
That is, if you liked the first season of Smallville, then your money for the second season will have been well spent. With the second season of Smallville, more of the Superman mythology is revealed. Clark learns about his heat vision and about that red Kryptonite which unleashes his inner James Dean. This series could have easily gone the stale way of Enterprise, where discovering everything about the Star Trek universe for the first time that we already knew about was inheritantly not very interesting, but instead was kept fresh thanks to the continually high performances by Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling. Special mention this season should also go to John Glover's portrayal as Lex's father, Lionel Luthor-picture a jolly reptilian and you have the idea where to go from there. The strengths of Season 2 for me were in Clark's ongoing conflicts with those who continued to get affected by the meteor rock, and the above average special effects, most particularly Clark's speed and heat vision. The unfortunate shortcomings, however, were in the scriptwriting in regards to Clark's emotional/romantic/human status. It almost seems to be an ongoing dilemma with the writers over what to do with Clark and his personal life: is he a normal kid, or a messiah who is above and over the rest of humanity. Isn't the essence of being an agent of goodness also in being an agent of love and compassion? What kind of superhero is he going to be if he can't feel love for anyone? These and other questions will boggle you as you watch Clark screw up just about every potential relationship throughout the series, especially with Lana and Chloe. Although Kristin Kreuk and Allison Mack try very nobly to inject some kind of pathos and verisimilitude to their respective teenage characters, they usually come off as nothing more than emotional yo-yos going back and forth between weepy lovelornedness and girl-done-wrong outrage. If you can get past this frustration, then much fun can be had in this season. The highlight episodes for me were: "Visage"--a very disturbing and psychotic episode; "Insurgence"--a pretty action-packed episode; "Skinwalker"--a very vital episode for the direction of the second season; "Accelerate"--an even more disturbing episode about Lana being visited by her best friend who died when she was 10. The little girl is spot-on creepy; "Fever"--maybe one of the most sublime moments of the whole series is when a very sad and frustrated Chloe reads her feelings out to an unconscious Clark, a scene that almost single-handedly justifies the whole series. The extras for the Season 2 set are very high-caliber: A tribute to Christopher Reeve, arguably the best Superman ever; a great featurette about the visual effects; the Chloe Chronicles delve even deeper into some of the weirdness of Smallville, especially with the Jitter episode.
Rating:  -
First, I'd like to say a few things about how the second season differs from the first season, and then I have somemore general comments about the series so far.
In the second season, the plot lines introduced in the first season are developed even further. Clark's relationships with Chloe and Lana become even more difficult, and the bad guys get even stronger powers from the Kryptonite. We see Lex going even further to protect Clark and his family, but he has even more serious problems as well, both with women and his relationship with his father. Finally, even Clark's character takes a turn toward the dark side at the very end of the second season due to contact with "red Kryptonite," which has an effect on Clark's brain, different from the weakening effect green Kryptonite has on his body.
As a boy growing up in the 60s, I was an avid fan and reader of Superman comics. I didn't catch this series when it first aired, but I found it at my local movie rental store and my curiosity led me to rent it. So far I've seen all of seasons one and two and a few episodes of season three, and was impressed enough that I wanted to make a quick comment.
So far I haven't enjoyed a TV science-fiction series this much since the original Star Trek. The series's strengths are the engaging story ideas and the strong cast, all of whom strike just the right notes in their roles, and are really excellent. And for a TV show that's probably operating on a limited budget, the special effects are impressive. Clark is great and also Lana Lang. But the real show stealer is Michael Rosenbaum, who is terrific as Lex.
I note one dour sounding reviewer here who says it's a terrible show and the acting is horrible, but come on, it's a TV show based on the famous comic book series, and to me it seems just like watching it on the screen instead of reading the comic. The teenagers and adults seem more like real people who might have grown up in a small midwest town like Smallville rather than polished, professional actors, and I liked that. They're not making Citizen Kane or War and Peace here, and if I want to increase my cinema I.Q. a few points, I can always rent those. Personally, I'll take Smallville, which is a lot more fun. :-)
So I think the acting and performances are just fine and strike just the right note, especially Lex's. But this is a Lex with a difference. He isn't the evil mastermind of the comics out to get Superman. Here he's a good guy and Superboy's friend, and although sometimes he does resort to, shall we say, certain morally questionable and expedient means to accomplish his goals, he truly wants to protect Cark and family and friends. There is no doubt he has a dark side, but it's mostly kept in check and when it does come out, it's usually to fight an even more evil bad guy who's out to expose or exploit Clark or to hurt his friends or family. In other words, to fight evil, you need an even sneakier and more ruthless bad guy who's still on the side of good. :-) It's a brilliant concept and one of the ideas that really make the show stand out from the herd.
John Glover as Lex's father is also great, and their continual attempts at one-upmanship create much of the tension and drama in the show, as you wonder who will win this round and what will they be up to in the next episode--which is almost always something. :-) Glover looks like he is enjoying himself more than any other person in the cast, and he is the one indubitable bad guy. I've never considered the matter before, but I think actors enjoy playing bad guys even more than good guys, since that's one thing you can't do in real life without negative consequences.
I've spent a lot of time on Lex and his father so I don't want to overlook the other characters, but as I just wanted to write a brief review, I'll just say they're all really great in their roles too, especially Tom Welling and Kristen Kreuk. I just think that Allison Mack overplays the jealousy thing for Clark and Lana a bit too much, but otherwise she's great as the intrepid reporter for the Torch who has a promising career ahead of her in journalism.
One other interesting idea is that the Kryptonite meteorite fragments are creating strange abilities and talents in different people, aside from its property of being toxic to Superboy. This idea wasn't in the original comics that I can remember, but it's a great idea nevertheless.
So far I think this is great series and the best thing in a sci-fi show to come along in a long time.
Rating:  -
Smallville can get addicting if you watch it enough, but its hard to shake the dirty feeling it leaves you with. You know its bad, even awful at times, but you want to see what happens anyway. The fact that it doesn't make you want to gouge your eyes out compels me to give it two stars, but that's pushing it.
So where to start? For one, the entire production is cheesy without being self-aware, ala Buffy. The acting is hamfisted by just about everyone, especially Lana, whom I want to take a baseball bat to every time I hear her whine about how Clark won't be honest with her. At least she tries though. What Clark does can't even qualify as acting. This man makes Keanu Reeves look expressive. He flits from scene to scene with a blank look on his face halfheartedly delivering generic lines. His emotional scenes showcase his especially sad deer-in-the-headlights look, like some big dumb baby that not sure how its supposed to act, and can only manage a confused, vaguely constipated expression.
If all the episodes seem similar, thats because they are. Every one starts out with some new misterious baddie getting superpowers from evil kryptonite/evil corporate research/evil mystical powers which he inevitably uses for evil. He causes just enough havoc to force Clark to heroicly save the day. Then the episode ends with some sickeningly saccharine emotional scene in the barn where Clark's family pats him on the head and says what a good boy he is. Like I said earlier, it makes you feel dirty just watching it.
Rating: -
Sallville is a good tv show and i hope it is here for good
Rating: -
After getting Season One on DVD, I HAD to get Season Two on DVD. I could NOT miss this show when it played out on TV.
The direction changed in this show just a little; not so many villains, though some return. The love triangles become more apparent, and though I tuned in to see where life would take Lana and Clark (respectively), the other plot twists/lines were just as interesting, especially watching Martha work with Lionel Luthor. And watching Clark develop more powers, while finding out more about himself. And watching some friends become more valued than others. All this in their (meaning Clark, Lana, Pete, and Chloe's) sophomore year!
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