While I have come to enjoy Smallville quite a bit, and have been looking forward to this particular episode ever since last fall, I must say I was very disappointed by the final result.
Up till now I have seen a smattering of complaints from die-hard Superman fans that argue about the lack of traditional costume-wearing, and following the original story lines, was a problem for them. I have always disagreed, feeling that the show was a fresh look on the characters and concepts. This particular episode has many throwbacks to the original comic book feel, and because of that, I feel that it was a disappointment.
The following has some spoilers about this episode, so be warned.... I don't know how to block out the spoilers without expressing a detailed review of this and expressing my opinion. So I apologize for that... but there are spoilers below, by the way.
As the new heroes go about their business they discover a mysterious villain, called "Icicle" is killing of a whole team of former superheroes. The character of Icicle was, for me, an immediate problem. He looked like a wimpy and comical combination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Spike" and Mr. Freeze from the Batman and Robin movie... in short, both laughable and not the kind of person that could take out a team of superheroes.
Next problem, as Clark and the gang go about the business of investigating the history of the JSA they discover a reel of footage, the footage is meant to be a streaming documentary on the capture of the JSA members, but it seems way too "stylish" and cutting edge for documentary footage, with POV shots and artistically placed camera angles. The attempt to make it look cool actually took away from the action for me because it didn't look realistic it just pulled me out of the story.
The costumes looked very "comic book" like. I think that was a mistake.
I've enjoyed the slow build up Smallville has done so far. Why would some guy just say "I know, as a hero, I'll wear a set of blue tights and red cape... that will scare the villains!" First the red and blue shirt and jacket, then the "S", then a long flowing trench coat... then probably a merger of the bunch in the final episode. But the fact that you see guys wearing tights and goofy looking costumes hurt me, and the fact that all the heroes refer to each other in "code-name" instead of their real names, at least when they're hanging out with each other, made no sense.
Why call Oliver Queen "Green Arrow" when no one is around but two people. Want just call him "Oliver"? The Green Arrow is what the press calls him, not what he calls himself. And even if he did want to use the code name to protect his identity, why bother using it when no one else is around but his friends who know his identity? Also, for the money they invested into this episode, would it have killed them to bring back Impulse, Cyborg, Aquaman, Black Canary, and (for crying out loud) Speedy? After the episode Disciple I was actually thinking that they might have a Green Arrow spin-off in the works, because Speedy has made a great sidekick, but she wasn't in there at all. Face it; she's fun, smart, sexy, sassy, a good balance for Oliver's dark side, forcing him to be good, while making him seem somehow older.
The final insult is that Lex's protégé and the owner of a multi-billion dollar business who is currently dealing with a gang of Kryptonian thugs trying to take over the planet has enough time to be a part of a secret government agency on the side. Yes, Tess Mercer is actually a member of a secret government agency who apparently deals with the elimination of superheroes. Did the writers actually plan this all along, or just figure they'd make Tess an agent now to liven things up? And if they had the money to put Tess in there that week (as opposed to Zod, or whoever), they could have given her the week off and brought in some JLA members,at least for a cameo! This episode could have been better.
What they could have (and should have done), in my opinion, is go for a more muted and somewhat realistic sense of costumes from the Silver Age era, and if they wanted the "comic book" feel they could have at least taken a two minute aside to explain why characters would wear such colorful and somewhat ridiculous costumes.
I really, really think they should have spent a few extra bucks and brought back old favorites like Black Canary, Speedy, Aquaman, and so forth (and Supergirl, anyone?), instead of bringing in expensive actors like Pam Grier who played such a minor role and will most likely not be coming back. How much did it cost to pay a Hollywood actor as opposed to minor actors who need to get the publicity and are fan favorites anyway? Smallville is great because it makes comic books feel realistic without feeling campy (much like Heroes). This episode just showed me the campy side of comic books and how bad they look (with the possible exception of the Martian Manhunter's mysterious flash into his natural appearance... good times).
In short, if you want a good episode without the camp, this wasn't for you. If you want Smallville to look like a replica of the books from the 50's, you'll probably enjoy it. As for me? Not so much...
peace joe
Up till now I have seen a smattering of complaints from die-hard Superman fans that argue about the lack of traditional costume-wearing, and following the original story lines, was a problem for them. I have always disagreed, feeling that the show was a fresh look on the characters and concepts. This particular episode has many throwbacks to the original comic book feel, and because of that, I feel that it was a disappointment.
The following has some spoilers about this episode, so be warned.... I don't know how to block out the spoilers without expressing a detailed review of this and expressing my opinion. So I apologize for that... but there are spoilers below, by the way.
As the new heroes go about their business they discover a mysterious villain, called "Icicle" is killing of a whole team of former superheroes. The character of Icicle was, for me, an immediate problem. He looked like a wimpy and comical combination of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Spike" and Mr. Freeze from the Batman and Robin movie... in short, both laughable and not the kind of person that could take out a team of superheroes.
Next problem, as Clark and the gang go about the business of investigating the history of the JSA they discover a reel of footage, the footage is meant to be a streaming documentary on the capture of the JSA members, but it seems way too "stylish" and cutting edge for documentary footage, with POV shots and artistically placed camera angles. The attempt to make it look cool actually took away from the action for me because it didn't look realistic it just pulled me out of the story.
The costumes looked very "comic book" like. I think that was a mistake.
I've enjoyed the slow build up Smallville has done so far. Why would some guy just say "I know, as a hero, I'll wear a set of blue tights and red cape... that will scare the villains!" First the red and blue shirt and jacket, then the "S", then a long flowing trench coat... then probably a merger of the bunch in the final episode. But the fact that you see guys wearing tights and goofy looking costumes hurt me, and the fact that all the heroes refer to each other in "code-name" instead of their real names, at least when they're hanging out with each other, made no sense.
Why call Oliver Queen "Green Arrow" when no one is around but two people. Want just call him "Oliver"? The Green Arrow is what the press calls him, not what he calls himself. And even if he did want to use the code name to protect his identity, why bother using it when no one else is around but his friends who know his identity? Also, for the money they invested into this episode, would it have killed them to bring back Impulse, Cyborg, Aquaman, Black Canary, and (for crying out loud) Speedy? After the episode Disciple I was actually thinking that they might have a Green Arrow spin-off in the works, because Speedy has made a great sidekick, but she wasn't in there at all. Face it; she's fun, smart, sexy, sassy, a good balance for Oliver's dark side, forcing him to be good, while making him seem somehow older.
The final insult is that Lex's protégé and the owner of a multi-billion dollar business who is currently dealing with a gang of Kryptonian thugs trying to take over the planet has enough time to be a part of a secret government agency on the side. Yes, Tess Mercer is actually a member of a secret government agency who apparently deals with the elimination of superheroes. Did the writers actually plan this all along, or just figure they'd make Tess an agent now to liven things up? And if they had the money to put Tess in there that week (as opposed to Zod, or whoever), they could have given her the week off and brought in some JLA members,at least for a cameo! This episode could have been better.
What they could have (and should have done), in my opinion, is go for a more muted and somewhat realistic sense of costumes from the Silver Age era, and if they wanted the "comic book" feel they could have at least taken a two minute aside to explain why characters would wear such colorful and somewhat ridiculous costumes.
I really, really think they should have spent a few extra bucks and brought back old favorites like Black Canary, Speedy, Aquaman, and so forth (and Supergirl, anyone?), instead of bringing in expensive actors like Pam Grier who played such a minor role and will most likely not be coming back. How much did it cost to pay a Hollywood actor as opposed to minor actors who need to get the publicity and are fan favorites anyway? Smallville is great because it makes comic books feel realistic without feeling campy (much like Heroes). This episode just showed me the campy side of comic books and how bad they look (with the possible exception of the Martian Manhunter's mysterious flash into his natural appearance... good times).
In short, if you want a good episode without the camp, this wasn't for you. If you want Smallville to look like a replica of the books from the 50's, you'll probably enjoy it. As for me? Not so much...
peace joe