The year is 2017. Film makers and writers have been messing with the Superman story every since those two clever Canadian boys first put the story together in the middle of the last century. (The most recent and perhaps most infamous take is Superman vs Batman, a movie I could never "un-see" no matter how many times I might try.)
So, the questions arises, how did this TV series, put together by two young producers almost unknown at the time, go for 10 seasons (!) and build a fan base that almost rivals the Buffy/Angel saga from a decade earlier?
I thought you would never ask. They did it with:
* great production values, virtually technical perfection.
* a clever premise, let's do the boyhood years. No one had done this before.
* good looking actors -- Welling and Kruek look like they have the genetics to make make perfect children, and if you take the time to count, this series has over twice the number of closeups of most dramas. (Ditto for the casting of Ma and Pa Kent, BTW)
* but at the end of the day what sets this series apart of the slow and methodic, almost teasing, construction of the "friendship" between Clark and Lex, which, once established, takes another few seasons to deconstruct. The writing is so good on this arc, it is almost painful to watch -- which is the whole point.
So, the questions arises, how did this TV series, put together by two young producers almost unknown at the time, go for 10 seasons (!) and build a fan base that almost rivals the Buffy/Angel saga from a decade earlier?
I thought you would never ask. They did it with:
* great production values, virtually technical perfection.
* a clever premise, let's do the boyhood years. No one had done this before.
* good looking actors -- Welling and Kruek look like they have the genetics to make make perfect children, and if you take the time to count, this series has over twice the number of closeups of most dramas. (Ditto for the casting of Ma and Pa Kent, BTW)
* but at the end of the day what sets this series apart of the slow and methodic, almost teasing, construction of the "friendship" between Clark and Lex, which, once established, takes another few seasons to deconstruct. The writing is so good on this arc, it is almost painful to watch -- which is the whole point.