DVD : Smallville - The Complete Fourth Season

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Love this series.
I have all five seasons thats out and cant wait till season six comes out next month. I already have mine pre-ordered. All I can say is watch it! You have to be just a little in love with comic book type movies like Spiderman, Xmen and Fantastic 4. Im not saying you have to be a die hard fan of comics or Superman but you gotta at least like this kinda genre. There are some episodes that will make you go "Wow thats just crap." Because they are kinda slow and not really telling you anything or progressing in the story line. You have to bite your lip through those episodes which are few and far between. Season 1 and season 5 I think are the two best. Seasons 2-4 are good but there really just filler I think. Season 1 has some of the cool abilities come to life and also lets you get to know everyone in Smallville. Season 2-4 gets you more and I believe all of his abilities out in the open. (could be wrong on that) New Good Guys and Villains galore! Now Season 5 heats up and has some really good last few episodes that will have you kicking the tv for more! I threw my remote across the room because of how that season ends. All I can say is Cliff Hanger!!!!!! All in all Im bias because I just really fell in love with this TV Series. Im a huge comic fan so like I said Im kinda bias. Worth it? HECK FREAKING YES AND THEN SOME WITH EXTRA EXTRA SOME!!

Rating:

- Last Best Season
Season 4 is awesome, there is more sex, drugs, and rock n roll then the other ones, it has more high tempo episodes, which this is my favorite season, season 3 was awesome but season 4 is better. Season 5 is a big let down. In season 4 Clark gets married, gets Lana back, loses his dad to save Lana. But also which is awesome is Lana Lang in the Superman Movies with Christopher Reeve, Lana Lang is played by the same actress who plays Clark's mom, Martha Kent.

Rating:

- Senioritis does not affect Superman!
The fourth season joyfully continues this beloved Superman saga with plenty of the energy and creativity it is known for. Clark Kent, after an exciting opening episode, is thrown into his final year of high school and all that it brings-- a love life with deeper levels, football, and the appearance of a girl named Lois Lane. Mixed with this is an intense growth from the teenager to the young adult--finally, we see the sparks of the someday Superman there, and it's great to behold.

The episodes certainly keep up an entertaining variance (the aforementioned in both light and darker moments, plus truly dark moments from both Clark and Lex). Here in this season comes the true horror of the man named Lex Luthor. However, this balances out well with the jovialty of Lois--you will never see chemistry as sparkling as those between Tom and Erica.

Sadly this does not keep the season out of its fallen moments. Some episodes came off as downright cheesy or merely too desperate to move along a plot, but all in all it generally puts out a bold effort. Plenty of changes in the Smallville saga that are definitely worth a viewing.

Rating:

- Did the producers loose their minds???
I have been watching smallville for a few months and only the dvds... so I am not sure how the show has been going past season 4. However, from watching the first two seasons the beginning of this season was just crazy, and not in a good way. I really was just shocked at how they tried the whole sex sells to teens... which me being one offends me that they think the only way I'll watch something is if they have half naked chicks. I think the thing that almost made me skip a whole episode was the girl from season three who could teleport gave him a red kryptonite necklace and teleported him to Vegas to elope. That was not the part that got me it was the fact that after they got married they continued to the hotel room and clark attempted to loose his virginity and at the same time Lana was trying to loose hers with someone else. I was just really suprised they made an episode then they for some reason that is beyond me emphasized multiple times that they were loosing their virginity.

That seemed to be how the first ten or so episodes went, it was like a bad american pie movie. Once they got done with their infatuation of freedom to do whatever story line they could from the big ties of the studio the story really picked up. And the ending was entertaining.

Now please do not be turned off to this season because of me. All I am trying to do is give you a heads up, because this is a shock to anyone who has watched the dvds only and never seen it before otherwise. Because the show did take a 180 in parts of this season. I just hope it is different in season 5, I guess I will find out soon.

Rating:

- Krypto to the Rescue!
Season Four of this ground-breaking show proves one thing - not one avatar of Superman before this has done the concept THIS well. At the time of writing, actor Tom Welling is officially the longest-playing Superman in history (be it radio, TV or film), and "Smallville" is well on its' way to being the most revolutionary TV Series ever to be created on a superhero. Nothing else comes close.

There are a few things to look out for in this series, and I've listed both the good and the bad below:

1. Krypto (Super-Dog) : Yes, that's right. Season Four introduces us to Super-Dog (if you're a comic book fan, you'll know that Superman had a pet dog as well as a pet Super-Cat). Krypto is eventually named `Shelby' in his introductory episode here, but he has super-powers (due to meteor rocks, and LuthorCorp testing). The dog itself is played by a reasonably cute mutt, and the storyline was solid here. In fact, the episode `Krypto' ranks as one of the best in this season.

2. Lois Lane : Season Four officially introduced Lois Lane, and thank God for it. Even though actress Erica Durance claims she is about 29 years old, and is playing an eighteen year old, she actually looks about 40 (honestly), which is a bit unsettling at times. Of the entire cast, only Kristin Kreuk is playing anywhere near her real age. With Lois Lane, I expected someone a little more youthful, but Erica plays this character with so much humor and dark comedy (she also has the best one-liners), that its hard to hate her.

3. Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux : Lana Lang continues to unravel through the season, as she is apparently the descendant of a 15th century witch in Europe. This plot was a bit nonsensical and its clear the writers had nowhere to go with it. However, at least we got to witness some awesome special effects. However, this gave the makers some license to turn Lana's eyes purple every now and then and display a few powers even greater than Clarks.

4. Jason Teague : This fourth season also marked the debut of actor Jensen Ackles (CWs' "Supernatural") in the role of Lana's new boyfriend Jason Teague. Now Jensen is a really good actor, but you will be shocked at the speed of which they turned his character into a `bad guy' and sent him packing. Alongwith his mother Genevieve (played hilariously by Jane Seymour), this was a waste of some fine talent. In fact, I consider Jensen to be even better looking than Tom Welling, so this was a sore point indeed.

5. More nudity/gratuitous sex : We are reminded early on in this season that Clark and Lana are both virgins (which is kind of unbelievable). Tom Welling has a lot more opportunity here to display some skin (not that his fans are complaining). This is one actor who has refused to strip from the waist down (which is why the most undressed you'll ever find him is with his shirt off). Kristin Kreuk is clothed throughout though.

6. Clark Kent gets Married : Yes, that's right. This season has Clark getting married to resident psycho Alicia, but we're told it doesn't mean anything since they're both underage. Also, the marriage is very quickly forgotten about, which I thought was a little too convenient.

7. The CHINA Episode : The episode set in China (or Chinese sets, whatever) was one of the most beautiful and visually stunning episodes I had seen of this show. I've been a fan since Season 1, but this episode, especially the parts set in the monastery with the martial arts, was just spectacular. You have to see it to believe it.

8. Martha Kent possessed by the spirit of a teenager : Yes, that's right, and she lip-synchs to Ashlee Simpsons' "La La". This is much better than it sounds.

Overall though, I have to say this was not the best season. Despite some new inclusions, many episodes felt like a total waste of time. For every episode that stuck to the storyline, we had two-three episodes that went totally off-target and had nothing to do with Clark Kent or anyone. Hardcore fans must feel cheated! However, Tom Welling has improved dramatically as an actor, though the same cannot be said of Kristin Kreuk who plays Lana Lang. The actress, who showed so much growth in Season 2, looked dazed and confused throughout this mess. The poor script didn't help her either. Also, they REALLY tried hard to get some humorous banter going between Clark and Lana, and I was like WHY did they have to bother.

The other wasted actors were the ones playing the parents of Clark. They have less and less to do each season, and it is a disservice to Annette O'Toole that she is being given such woefully small parts to play these days. The only one I can say who came out truly unscathed was Allison Mack (Chloe) who just keeps growing as an actress. At times, you begin to wonder if the entire show should be written around her instead.

However, the Final Episode of Season Four ties up things pretty well, and Clark gets a grip on his destiny and thwarts Lexs' evil plans. The ending is a bit ambiguous, but nothing that Season Five doesn't clarify. I only hope they give Lana Lang a much meatier role in Season Seven (now that they killed her off in Season Six).

All in All, though this was one of the weaker seasons, there is enough for all fans to love and enjoy. And yes, it is monumental that they finally introduced Lois Lane, at long last.

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