Smallville

As a fan of the superman legend for many years, I waited in anticipation for the new TV series , ‘Smallville'. I have been richly rewarded by it, as we now get to see how difficult life must have been for ‘Kal-el', as an American teenager. Although we never get to see the ‘super-being' fly around in his tights and cape, he is a fascinating character to watch, as he comes to terms with who he is and what he can do. This is the tale of a teenage Clark Kent in the days before he was Superman.

A huge meteor shower destroyed most of the town of Smallville, Kansas. It killed a lot of people, and brought Jonathan and Martha Kent what they have always wanted: a son. In 2001, Smallville has somewhat recovered from the horrible blast. However a popular yet awkward teen Clark Kent, attempts to decipher the meaning of his life and his clouded past. As he struggles with the transition from boyhood to adulthood, his strength and strange abilities set him uncomfortably apart from his peers. Clark must deal with a variety of individuals given powers by mysterious green rocks from the meteor shower, keep his powers a secret, cope with his friendship with a young Lex Luthor, and balance the two girls in his life, Chloe and Lana.

This show, although it is touching on an old and celebrated story, still has very original aspects to it. The storylines that have been presented in ‘Smallville' are of the finest quality, with some pushing the boundary that could reveal ‘what' Clark Kent really is. While it is strange to see it, the friendship that has developed between Clark's future arch-enemy, Lex Luthor, is fascinating. I am looking forward to seeing how Lex keeps turning into a criminal mastermind, while the shows has touched base on this a little. I also like the way that the story integrates seeing that not all of Smallville's individuals have not escaped the dangerous affects of what we get to know later is ‘ Kryptonite', the one thing that can hurt Superman. All of the stories have kept me interested enough to want know what will happen next.

The cast of this show, while it is somewhat unknown, is impressive. The lead role of Clark Kent/ Kal-El, is done perfectly by Tom Welling. In fact the resemblance between Welling and the junior Clark performed in the first Superman movie, Jeff East, is incredible. The other young cast members include the gorgeous Kristen Kruek, who plays the charming innocent Lana Lang. I like most people hope that Clark does end up with Lana, as for some reason, she does not deserve someone as good as Clark is. Michael Rosenbaum plays a quality Lex Luthor, with the two newer characters in this story, Pete and Chloe, performed by Sam Jones III and Allison Mack. I do like the two older cast members who were given the roles of Martha and Jonathon Kent. Martha is played by Annette O'Toole, who if you can remember appeared in the third ‘Superman' movie, as a grown up Lana Lang. I really like her as Clark Kent's mother, but for what reason I don't know. While John Schneider is a likeable Jonathon Kent.

I like the soundtrack that this show has been given. The show's main tune of `Save me', suits it very well. That song is performed by Remy Zero. While the other bands that have been used in Smallville include The calling, with their great hit ‘wherever you will go', and Eve 6's ‘Rescue'. While Enrique Inglesia's smash hit of ‘Hero' also appeared in one episode. The soundtrack this show has really helps keep my interest and gives the program a ‘youthful' feel as well.

All in all this show has given back more than what I excepted. I guess my only criticism of it has to be the corny and contrived love story theme that it continues to bring up, especially between Clark and Lana. I wish they would either be lovers or just friends. Swapping from one phase to the other starts to become confusing and frustrating, well does for me anyway. It will be fascinating to see what happens once Clark Kent realises he has to leave Smallville and pursue what and who he was meant to be, that of course is being Superman. I have found it hard to accept that Clark Kent is growing up in the ‘present', that being the new millennium, as it does not seem to fit the ‘Superman' genre. Perhaps that is a good thing, as Superman might have a different feel in the future. Whatever happens, I will continue to watch ‘Smallville' hoping that it is original in every aspect.