Superteen

Be sure to read my review on Smallville season 1. Like the premier of season 2 this review is a continuation of what has come before. Smallville the show and the TVD set the template for the second season. In many ways it’s more of the same, but for the most part it’s all been improved. I thought I MIGHT like the show (which is why I got season one, of course!), but I was surprised at how much I got into it. I had other new DVD’s I could watch, and I figured I’d go through those before buying the next Smallville. Seeing Clark run into that tornado, though, just gave me the itch to see the rest of the story. I didn’t last for half a week before I was making a special trip to the store to get this season. I was then impressed enough with 2 to continue my collection.

Overall the writing is tighter this season. There are certainly still weak spots, but there is less of the meteor freak/Kryptonite formula. Clark faces challenges other than the green rocks (or unusual methods of using them) and has a wider array of villains.

When we left Clark he had chosen to pursue Chloe over Lana. This season he turns away from her to pursue Lana full force. In fact, even his friendship with Chloe is tenuous. The relationships have more ups and downs. Sure any good dramatic series needs some fluctuations, but this is way up and way down over and over. There is some manner of segue in between, but one of the weakest points in the writing is how they deal with severe problems. Lana hates Clark for what he does in one episode, is moderately mad in the following, and is all but falling head over heels for him in the next only to repeat it again. It seemed like half the episodes had people saying “we need to be honest with each other.” Amidst this Clark finds a woman he’s convinced is his destiny only to lose her and be convinced again Lana is it. That would have been more interesting if they had drawn out the other relationship longer.

Lex really seemed like a truly good guy last season. He begins showing a darker side although he still struggles to be good. He and Clark also have some clashes that don’t have a strong enough reconciliation to justify how friendly they act later on - a weakness but serving to show that they remain friends despite disagreements.

The mystery of the caves begins this season. Ancient Native American caves depict a prophetic legend that we know as the future of Superman. While it’s an interesting concept and provides openings for numerous plot points that extend beyond this one season I don’t recall the origins of it ever being explained to my satisfaction which casts a negative light when going back to watch the early seasons again. Jor El’s time on Earth is revealed later on, but it doesn’t date back to the supposed age of the caves. Who else is going to set something up for Clark? To my knowledge Kryptonians are not revealed as being soothsayers making their preparations that far ahead difficult to swallow. Even if the true explanation is that it wasn't prepared at all, it's purpose remains shrouded and therefore unsatisfying.

Speaking of Jor El, Clark meets his father, in a manner of speaking, this season. The mystery of his true intentions begins. This does ultimately come to a satisfactory conclusion, but I don’t recall the line about Clark’s predicted future of being "ruler" of the "third rock" ever being fully explained.

I guess the bottom line is that not everything set up in this season pays off as well as it should. The stories are by and large quite good, though. One of the best moments of the series is Christopher Reeve getting the honor of revealing to Clark the first bit of information about his origins. Ryan returns for an outstanding episode, Clark develops heat vision which has some nice visuals to go with it (and, no, I’m not referring to the sultry woman that initially sets off this power), Pete finds out about Clark and becomes his partner in crime (so to speak), and the concept of different types of Kryptonite is introduced although using the red to change his personality 3 times in one season (with more to come) is overuse.

There are some other overused concepts. With the farm in constant financial trouble I can’t imagine how the Kents manage to pay for all their trucks and hospital visits. Maybe the writers could have mentioned that as the source of the financial problems. These elements are treated like they never happened one episode to the next.

So, yeah, Shakespeare this series is not, but the super-heroic adventures are a lot of fun. Watch Clark outrun and catch bullets, rip off doors, and scope out what’s going on behind closed doors. To make this even better the special effects are improved a pretty good bit from the earlier season. That’s not to say it’s on par with Revenge of the Sith, but it’s believable.

I love Mark Snow’s music especially when he works in the familiar Superman themes. The other songs elicit the same complaint as before, though. Popular songs are used more for the marketing aspects than anything. Sometimes this is fine, but I hate when there is someone singing beneath the dialogue. They also seem to favor bad remakes of songs that I like. They ruined “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”

The show has a lot of teen angst, and though I know we’re watching Clark’s teen years I sometimes wish the stories would get away from the high school more. I prefer the corporate dealings with the Luthors, but I suppose that just me getting old just like preferring Blue Oyster Cult to whatever band TRIED to sing a more contemporary version.

John Schneider, Annette O’Toole, and John Glover continue to be excellent as they always were although I think Annette has a few moments that aren’t quite as strong. Michael Rosenbaum is still the best of the younger actors. Tom Welling has improved and is quite good. Lana wouldn’t get a second look from me if Chloe were that infatuated with me; I really like the character and Allison Mack’s portrayal. Kristin Kreuk is still the weakest, but she has improved. Guests and extras are on the whole better than last season but still vary some although considering Reeve is one of them it’s not surprising there’s a gap between him and some of the others.

CONTENT:
We’re definitely reaching into some PG13 material here. The language is not bad although there are some words here and there, and some of them don’t seem necessary. There is some more sexually oriented material including girls not wearing a whole lot and sexual suggestion. The violence seems be increased and more bloody than before. It still pales in comparison to a show like CSI, and if anyone dies in Clark’s presence it is completely accidental. Clark always does everything possible to preserve life even if it would compromise him.

DVD:
The TVD is just like the previous one. The DVD tray is a book style, plastic trays between cardboard covers. It’s more convenient than the old folder style and compact, only the width of about 3 regular DVD cases. The cover with a closeup of Clark’s face is kind of boring, but that’s okay.

The insert is once again designed to look like a high school year book although it is changed up to have its own look. The episodes are listed with summaries, chapters, credits, air date, images, and extras. An introduction to the series and list with images of the regular cast are also included.

Video is 1.78 anamorphic. Audio is 2.0.

Extras include some entertaining outtakes, a behind the scenes feature looking at the creation of a few scenes such as super speed in the rain, the first Chloe Chronicles (a series of videos following Chloe's adventures as she investigates stories for the Torch), and some web links.

In addition there are 4 commentaries (spanning only 2 episodes which is weird to me) and several deleted scenes. I'll mention those in the episode list.

EPISODES:
This season has 23 episodes 42 to 44 minutes. The chapters are done well for this series making it easy to skip past the themes and get right to the story. Using the play all option you can watch each disc like a long movie with barely a pause.

1: Vortex: Jonathan and reporter Nixon are trapped underground facing off over Clark. Clark catches Lex in a lie and they clash as well. Clark's ship vanishes from the basement, and Lionel is rendered blind.
It's an exciting setup to the season to come.

2: Heat: A super hot biology teacher gets Clark’s hormones going which triggers his heat vision. Now he has to learn to control this new power before he burns down the town at every thought of Lana. The teacher turns out to be Lex’s fiancé, but there’s far more to Desiree than what meets the eye.
The introduction to Clark's next big power opens the doors for some great uses for it down the road.

There's a deleted scene that's very much PG13 with a lot of bare skin and sexuality.

3: Duplicity: Pete finds Clark’s missing ship in a field. As Clark tries to subversively get it back he finds Pete sensitive to deception, and their friendship is in danger as a result.

A short deleted scene for this one.

4: Red: Clark unknowingly comes in contact with red Kryptonite. He blows a ton of money, attacks his dad, and becomes a ladies’ man. He hasn't just loosened up though, he's become a true danger, and it's up to his family and Pete to stop him. At the same time Lionel becomes suspicious of what Clark can do.
I think they overuse the personality-altering concept, but it's interesting to see Clark's friends and family have to face off against him.

This is one of the episodes with 2 commentaries. One features the crew. It's informative and sometimes entertaining. The other includes Tom (Clark), Kristin (Lana), and Michael (Lex). Michael is hysterical. Tom does Smeagol. It's great fun.

5: Nocturne: Byron is kept prisoner in his own house sneaking out at night to leave Lana love poetry. She and Clark see his plight and attempt to help. They soon find that there’s a very good reason Byron is kept hidden away in the house. Meanwhile Lionel offers Martha a job which causes tension in the Kent household.
It's a little bit cheesy, but it's a pretty decent episode.

6: Redux: School kids are somehow dying from old age in a matter of minutes. Clark investigates as usual. Meanwhile the Kent farm is in dire financial straits. Martha wants to turn to her dad, and Clark is eager to meet his grandfather. Jonathan doesn’t want the man anywhere near his family.
The villainous part is a little cheesy, but the character moments with the Kent family conflict adds strength to the episode.

7: Lineage: A strange woman approaches Clark claiming to be his mother. Of course the Kents can’t tell her why they’re so sure she’s no relation to him, but she’s willing to kill to make it reality. Meanwhile Lana researches her own lineage which has been called into question. This one explores the mystery of Clark’s earliest days on Earth in more detail.
Coming up with a logical backstory to Clark's adoption is no easy task. I don't know that this one is perfect, but it does a good job with creating emotional conflict. Clark's so-called mother is clearly disturbed, but there's a sad hopelessness to her plight.

8: Ryan: Ryan is in an institution where he’s the subject of experiments. He manages to contact Clark who breaks him out only to have the law come knocking on their door. The law may be immaterial, for Ryan’s life is in danger by a force that Clark is helpless against.
Easily one of the most emotional episodes this season. I was glad to see Ryan come back.

9: Dichotic: Ian has his sights set on a perfect 4.0 GPA and is willing to kill for it. Both Ian and himself (he’s a human Xerox) date Chloe and Lana turning them against Clark.
A true comic book story. It's similar in formula to the standard meteor-freak episode, but begins the trend of breaking away from the rigid rule of events.

A deleted scene reveals Ian's fate.

10: Skinwalker: Caves below Smallville hold secrets that involve Clark. A Native American group is attempting to protect the caves from development by the Luthors. Clark falls hard for youngest leader of the charge, Kyla. When wolves begin attacking specific people Clark has to question Kyla and her people. How far are they willing to go?

11: Visage: Whitney returns home after being MIA. He seems fine except for amnesia, super strength, and a raging temper.

12: Insurgence: Lex discovers Lionel has bugged his office. He decides to fight fire with fire. His infiltration team gets a nasty surprise, Lionel and Martha have made a surprise trip to the office. The criminals now have the pair as hostages high in a secure building. Clark won’t be able to get in by the regular methods. What surprises does Lionel keep in his safe? It’s not money.

13: Suspect: Who shot Lionel Luthor? The prime suspect is Jonathan, and the evidence is daunting. Clark turns CSI to clear his dad.

14: Rush: A parasite is changing people’s personalities. When Pete gets infected he uses red Kryptonite to turn Clark into his unlikable self.

15: Prodigal: Lucas Luthor: gambling addict, action hero, well, not really. Lex finds his brother in the hopes of ousting Lionel. Instead Lex is left homeless begging at the door of the Kents.

A deleted scene provides a good look at the past.

16: Fever: Martha discovers a new disease the hard way, and not even Clark is immune. With both of their lives on the edge Jonathan finds himself giving up Clark’s secret to a doctor that happens to be Lex’s girlfriend.

A deleted scene has some words of wisdom from Clark.

17: Rosetta: The key is calling out to Clark. The result is Clark setting out on a path of discovery. The eccentric billionaire recluse Dr. Swann calls out to him claiming to have those answers.
Easily one of the best episodes this season this begins some of the reveal of Clark's heritage with some strong nods to the Superman movies.

2 commentaries for this one. The first is the creators and contains good info and stories about Chris Reeve. The other includes 3 of the actors and others. It's entertaining though sometimes too loud.
A behind the scenes feature has a lot of focus on Chris Reeve.

18: Visitor: There’s a kid at school claiming to be an alien. He knows the position of Krypton and the design of the ship. Could he have come down with Clark in the meteor shower?

19: Precipice: Clark is nearly arrested for roughing up a bunch of guys that attacked Lana. The leader of the group levels a lawsuit that could ruin the Kent family. Meanwhile Helen’s old boyfriend frames Lex for assault putting him at odds with the law as well.

20: Witness: Clark faces off against super strong thugs, one of whom is a high school baseball hero. They are strong enough to overpower Clark, but when he proves difficult to stop they go after his parents.

21: Accelerate: Lana sees a ghost of the past, her dead childhood friend who tends to appear out of nowhere. She wants Lana to be her friend again, but she has twisted ideas of how life should work.
Kind of a creepy episode. Those tend to be fun. There are some great effects in this episode, maybe the best of the season.

22: Calling: Clark is getting his wish for a relationship with Lana, but his life is never simple. The information from the ship has him worried that he will be a danger to the world. Lionel wants Chloe to investigate the fledgling hero.

23: Exodus: Jor El communicates with Clark in order to push him towards his destiny. Clark is convinced that the only way to live his own life is to destroy the ship.
What makes this one even more interesting is knowing what 5 more seasons have shown us about Jor El. It raises the question of what might have happened if Clark had chosen a different path.

A deleted scene has a strange wedding scene.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Smallville may not have the same merits of the great classic literature, but it has risen to the challenge of being my favorite TV show currently on the air. As much as I like CSI I just don't get as excited about it as I do Smallville these days. Smallville is fun, it's emotional, it has nice visuals and timeless themes. The extras are light, but I like what's there. It may be close to the edge, but I'm going to go ahead and give this one 5*. The main decisive point is that it's not only worth watching every episode, it's worth watching them multiple times making a purchase superior to a mere rental.