Customer Reviews

Smallville: The Complete Eighth Season (Special Edition with Steel Packaging)

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I am one of the rare "Smallville" fans that greatly prefer the darker seasons of late to the light-hearted, freak-of-the-week seasons that the show started with. Season 8 introduced the marvelous Tess Mercer (as excellently portrayed by Cassidy Freeman) who filled the shoes of an MIA Lex Luthor with more charisma and grace than, dare I say it, the great Michael Rosenbaum in the past couple seasons. Also among the characters this year is Davis "Doomsday" Bloome, who is taken to the next level by Sam Witwer, who plays the role in such a way that the viewers can actually sympathize for the tortured, lonely murderer that Davis has unfortunately become.

There are only two problems that I have with season 8. The first is that around episodes 8.03-8.05, the show lagged. A lot. The episodes, I thought, were quite boring and just not the best work that the "Smallville" writers have put forth. Specifically 8.03 "Toxic," which could've been a fantastic exploration of Justin Hartley's Oliver "Green Arrow" Queen character but ended up being a bland, practical snorefest.

The second problem is the Lana-arc in episodes 8.10-8.14. While 8.10 "Bride," 8.11 "Legion," and 8.12 "Bulletproof" were all outstanding and Kristin Kreuk delivered on every front in her reprisal as Lana Lang, the storyline of giving Lana super powers was extremely unwelcome to most fans (myself included) and, if anything, ruined what could've been a perfect end to the lengthy Clark/Lana storyline that has haunted "Smallville" since the first episode. 8.14 "Requiem" is a good episode, mind you, but the poorly done super!Lana storyline brings it and 8.13 "Power" down as the worst episodes of the season.

Now, there are definitely some blockbuster episodes that were perfect, in my eyes. The entire slew of episodes from 8.15 to 8.21 were brilliant - specifically 8.15 "Infamous," 8.16 "Turbulence" (a brilliant and emotionally raw exploration of the characters - specifically Jimmy Olsen), 8.18 "Eternal," and 8.21 "Injustice." Watching this season, I was in awe at how much the actors and actresses - and their characters - have grown since they were first introduced to us and I have yet to be disappointed by the work turned in by the fantastic Tom Welling, the outstanding Allison Mack, and the stunning Erica Durance.

Overall, I highly recommend that new viewers catch this season when its on sale and all "Smallville" fans should purchase this boxset as soon as it's released. As we enter season 9, which may very well be our last "Smallville" season, I have high hopes that the show will kick it into high gear and go out with a bang.

Before I get to my review, let me give the run-down of what this DVD set has to offer, according to KryptonSite. The Blu-Ray version may differ.

For starters, the current release date is August 25, 2009.

It'll include all 22 episodes from Smallville's eighth season, as well as the following features: cast & creator commentaries (including Geoff Johns for "Legion"), unaired scenes, a featurette titled "Smallville's Doomsday: The Making of a Monster," and another featurette called "In the Director's Chair: Behind the Scenes and Calling the Shots with Allison Mack."

Awesome features for an awesome season.

Now, on to my review...

I've been a fan of the show since day one, but I wasn't expecting much from Season 8.

This time around, Lex and Lana aren't recurring characters. Also, the original producers didn't return. To say the least, I was fearful.

To my pleasant surprise, however, Smallville's eighth season has become my favorite yet. It's darker. It's edgier. Finally, Clark is making the transition from farmboy to superhero.

Don't get me wrong. This season has its missteps, like any other in Smallville's history. But I'd say that, overall, this has been the most entertaining season yet. Here's why...

- Clark is more heroic than ever
- Chloe gets some spotlight for a change
- The Lois and Clark relationship begins to blossom
- Some loose ends are tied (Lex, Lana, Kara)
- More input from the Justice League
- The introduction of Tess Mercer, a worthy replacement for Lex
- Sam Witwer as Doomsday

And let me repeat that. Sam Witwer as Doomsday.

He successfully turns a 2D character with no personality into one of the most intriguing, exciting parts of Smallville history. I think I enjoyed his performances more than any others this season.

Let those Season 7 wounds heal.

Enjoy Season 8 of Smallville.

I've been tuning into Smallville since Episode 1, and have been a fan of Superman since I was a little kid.
Smallville is one of the greatest interpretations of Superman ever created in any type of medium (comic book, TV, etc.) And I was disappointed to see that Smallville Season 8 only received an average rating of 3.5 stars.
Most of the lower rated reviews include complaints about how the show is starting to lose credibility with it's comic counterpart. In other words it doesn't tie into the comic book that well, the finale of Season 8 was anti climactic, how the writing is starting to dwindle, so on so forth.

Smallville is an INTERPRETATION of the comic book story. It is NOT the comic book itself. So to bash Season 8 because it doesn't tie in to the comic that well is pretty silly, cause there have been apparent changes from the comic book since Season 1. And if you are a long time fan of Smallville, why bash season 8 for something that's been going on since .. well .. forever?

Smallville has always stayed true to the basics of the Superman mythos. Clark and Lex are enemies. Lois and Clark will fall in love. Clark will become Superman, etc.
And I don't believe for a second that Lex is truly dead. And if he is then damn the writers to hell. Although it is highly unlikely that Rosenbaum will return to the cast of Smallville, I am for certain we have not heard the last from Lex. He cant be dead ... come on ... he's Lex Luthor.

The writers have done an amazing job picking up from Season 7. Despite the loss of Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), they still do a great job of tying in Lex to the story without actually having him on screen.
Tess Mercer fills in for Lex as the new CEO for Luthercorp. Pretty much the new "bad guy" to give Clark and his friends a hard time. And although Lex is missed (A LOT!!!) She's good. Nuff said.

Also in this season we are treated with the ever growing romance between Lois and Clark. Love is in the air in season 8! (Is love ever NOT in the air?) But I have always admired Smallville for it's character development, especially with Clark's love interests (well mostly Lana). But Lois and Clark are as equally intoxicating to watch as Lana and Clark in previous seasons.
Erica Durance plays the best Lois Lane I have ever seen. She nails her personality flawlessly. Naive, cocky, rude, Clarks opposite ... his perfect match.

And what about the final battle between Doomsday in the Season Finale? What about it? Nothing short of ... awesome can you say? Many complained that the battle was too short and anti climactic. It depends on how you see it. In my opinion, the battle had started the day Clark met Davis Bloome (Doomsday). It wasn't the physical battle so much as it was the emotional battle that Clark went through, and the writers did a superb job presenting it.
Can Clark overcome the beast without killing him?
Time and time again through Season 8, Clark is tempted by his friends, and even his fellow heroes that sometimes the only way to save the day is to kill. That killing is a sacrifice a hero has to make once in a while to benefit the greater good of mankind.
But Clark shows why he isn't a hero. He shows why he is a superhero. He can make the decisions that no one else can make, not even heroes like Green Arrow. That there is always a way to save the world without crossing the line, and that a life is a life no matter who it may be.

Season 8 is awesome, and even after 8 years, Smallville has not lost its quality when compared with previous seasons. The drive of the show, the ambition of the show has remained the same.

If you are a fan of Smallville don't compare it to other mediums of Superman, but cherish as is.

If you do you wont be disappointed. 5 stars.

Al Gough and Miles Millar's departure from the series was palpable in this season. Their departure was so detremental that characters one had been following for the past 7 years up and turn a complete 180 from what you'd been seeing. The writers clearly did not know what to do with the character of Chloe Sullivan, who has become a series fan favorite, and one sees her character that has long held a passion for reporting stumble through the series feigning a relationship with Jimmy Olsen and trying to figure out the arrival of Davis Bloome. Also, the character of Lois Lane is contunually thrown in haphazardly into stories, with no clear arc other than the powers that be having to conform to comic book/movie history of having Lois & Clark pair up. The strangest move yet was to have Clark Kent suddenly be thrown into the Daily Planet as a reporter when he had not even been working at the Planet, even part time. It is a season that is filled with poor attempts to close storylines that had been carrying for the past 7 years while driving towards the train-wreck that was season 9. Truly a sad turn of events for a program that started out with such an independent streak of revamping a character that's been around for decades and giving it new life by taking it back to the drawing board.

Someone here touted the 8th season of Smallville as "inventive." How so? I've watched all the previous seven years of episodes and the first twelve of season 8 but have seen precious few new ideas, just old ones rehashed with different characters. Clark still loses his powers, constantly runs into kryptonite (and even keeps a box in the barn for some strange reason), ends up in the Phantom Zone and inevitably releases another monster, and finds yet another survivor of Krypton. Characters continue to get possessed by alien entities, and love affairs always fall short of success. The pressure for Clark to develop a Superman alter identity is foolish as presented. For seven seasons he has been the football/super hero to whom everyone turns in a time of crisis, including adults. He has saved every Smallville damsel in distress and, while he may be a nice guy, is anything but mild-mannered. The double image Christopher Reeve portrayed so well just isn't possible in the Smallville setting. Worse, the show continues to strain credulity. No, I'm not talking about super powers. You can't watch Superman and not accept that premise. I have trouble with impossible human timelines. I'm weary of seeing characters beaten to a pulp and the next day bouncing around like nothing happened. Lois ends up in the Phantom Zone and - duh! - thinks it was all a dream. How convenient! Just how many times can you get knocked out, possessed, or kidnapped into other-worldly environments before you lose your sanity? And they must develop a new street set. They've doctored that insanely curved city street six ways from Sunday, but it's still obviously the same location. It is not that anything in the eight season is bad, it's just that I've seen it all before in one form or another. Perhaps it's time to let Clark don the cape and tights and let Smallville fade into TV history.

Smallville is the rare show that actually seems to genuinely improve with age, season after season. There was a time when I believed that the life of the show was being artificially extended solely for profit, but the acting and production value is genuinely excellent, and years later this is still one of my favorite shows.

Tom Welling as "Clark Kent" is excellent. I literally do not think they could have chosen a better person for the role. To me he embodies who the character is and he has the acting ability to easily pull off the role and leave the viewer wanting more. As I watch "Clark" go through his highs and lows on the show, it is as if I am experiencing those same events myself, the good and the bad, and I love it.

Erica Durance has become every bit as good in her role as "Lois Lane" as Tom Welling is at being "Clark Kent". She is the penultimate Lois and this season really brings that home. The flirtatious and romantic moments between the two characters are magical and as the viewer you find yourself emotionally tangled up in the drama onscreen, and wondering what's going to happen next.

They have managed to take the essence of the classic Superman movies and comic books and modernize it for today's audience, but at the same time they have perfected the formula, to the extent that this is the version of the mythology that I prefer above all others, this is the Superman that I would want my kids to grow up watching and listening to and admiring.

The special effects are excellent, as always, but as I said, the thing that has made this season for me, so far, are the little details, the story, the great acting, and the interaction between the various characters, the wonderful escalation of character relationships that have been years in the making.

The downside of loving the show this much is that I know one day it will come to an end and I will be heart-broken.

There is a problem accessing the episode menu for these blu-rays, which means that unless you watch each disk all the way through, when you come back later in the day to continue watching, or the next day, you will have to search through each disk, chapter by chapter to find the episode that you stopped at. This is why I rated the blu-ray version of this season 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 out of 5, and this is the only thing that makes this season less then perfect, in my opinion.

I'm in no way a casual viewer of this show but I'm approaching my review as if the reader has very little experience with Smallville.

If you have never seen the show you might enjoy Season Eight as you have no benchmarks established. I personally thought this season to be one big, huge let down. There were episodes that were flat out painful for me to watch, however, there were some good moments too.

If you are a Tom Welling fan as opposed to a Smallville fan I can strongly recommend this season over all others. Tom's just smokin' hot in Season Eight. Five Stars just on this point (shallow as it is).

If you are a fan of Allison Mack/Chloe Sullivan I would recommend this season with a lot of caution. Chloe experiences a lot of ups and downs. Chloe is the second most important character and like Clark, appears in every episode. She interacts mostly with Clark, Jimmy, and Davis. Do not expect sunshine and rainbows for her. The good is quite good and my purchase is exclusively for those good moments, but I'm not sure an average viewer would glean the same appreciation for those moments as I do. Two and a half stars for Chloe.

If you have been asked by your child to purchase this season and you think it's family safe, I would like to point out some things that might concern you. Although not too graphic, there is premarital sex on this show, even with Clark (no, just because he's suppose to be Superman doesn't mean he's held to a higher standard), the episode "Instinct" has some pretty lude sexual references that might be hard to explain to a younger mind, there is drug addiction, and there is a suicide attempt in the episode "Eternal". There is much playing around with Christian religious motiff. Those things might be important to you or you could care less. Three stars for family safe.

I am most definitely not a fan of Lois Lane. I would like to point out though that Lois appears in only twelve episodes, so if you're buying believing she's in every one, that's not true. No stars for Lois.

Lana Lang exits Smallville and Clark's life in a five episode arc. I can recommend this arc if you are a Lana fan. If you're not a Lana fan, you're not going to like it. No stars.

If you are a Lex fan, run and hide from this season as Lex makes only one appearance and that actor is not Michael Rosenbaum. If I could give negative stars, it would be for this sloppy tied up loose end. No stars.

To me $38 dollars is a lot of money to spend on something. I personally don't recommend anyone spend that sort of money unless you're 100% sure you'd be satisfied. Buy with caution is my advice.

I'd give this three stars but the "Doomsday" finale forces my hand and I have to give it two.

My wife and I have enjoyed the series for many years as have our kids, now 16 and 12 so they have really grown up with this.

My wife was dissapointed that Lex is gone. Also she felt that, as do I, that the Justice League needs to come out to play more. They are a large part of the lore of Superman. This season seems like it is becoming something like a One Tree Hill or some other teen angst tv show more then it used to be.

Also, as others have stated the package design is terrible. Mine had SIX broken pieces of plastic and the whole bottom part where the bottom cylinder fits down was totally shattered. The first 4 seasons are great packages, after that the package has gotten terrible.

I emailed the WB to let them know about my broken package but of course no response, as they already have my money I assume.

So overall would almost give this season a three as it is OK, barely, but the package design knocks it down a star, so 2 stars it is.

As most fans who watch this show are aware, the character Doomsday emerged this season. However if your a fan of the comics, you will most likely wind up scratching your head as to why the writers are bringing in a character that is known the world over for killing Superman. Especially considering this a show that has nothing to do with Superman, but an adolescent Clark.

As usual, Doomsday's origins get the standard Smallville treatment in that it deviates far from the source material. The writers decided that Doomsday would reside within a human host (that "host" being Davis Bloome). Now as much as I would love to say that there was major character development within this season, I'm sorry to say that I am at a loss for words. Aside from a stellar performance from Allison Mack (Chloe), the drivel that is written up about Doomsday/Davis is hokey at best.

As stated earlier, Alison Mack delivers a roller coaster of emotions through her character. Chloe, by far, has her worst season yet. Her character encounters so much tragedy, that I'm amazed that Alison Mack was able to deliver so flawlessly. All this tragedy stems from Chloe's interactions with Davis. The two share quite a bit of screen time together. Not in a romantic way mind you, but more in a hostage kind of way.

We also see the emergence of Tess Mercer, the temporary replacement for Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum left the show last season). Now she may not be as evil as Lex, but she certainly is just as shady. With season nine possbily being Smallville's last, it's obvious that there is little time or incentive to develop this character beyond a season or two. Which is why Tess's actions will continue to speak louder than words. So don't be surprised if this character exits just as quickly as she appeared.

The writers also finally tie up the loose ends left over from Clark and Lana's relationship. We finally find out why Lana taped the "dear john" video for Clark from last season, although I think this explanation arrives a season too late. However it's through the result of that explanation, that the writers finally seal the end of the relationship. Sadly, the writers put Lana in such an over the top predicament, that it comes off as just ridiculous (trust me when I say "you have to see it to believe it"). I would have preferred a coming to terms ending between these two characters that would have resulted in a powerful and emotional pivotal scene, in place of the debacle the writers came up with.

Which leads us right back to Doomsday (which this season was centered around anyway).

Throughout the season we saw much bickering between Oliver and Clark over how to go about ridding the world of Doomsday. Do you kill Davis, thereby making the fight significantly easier, or take the moral high ground and try to save Davis? It's not too difficult to figure out which option Clark chose.

Now as you would imagine, there is a final showdown between Clark and Doomsday. Unfortunately, it was weak at best. The writers teased the audience for nine straight months, only to have this final fight last less than sixty seconds. This was a major disappointment in my book. You don't bring in the one and only character ever known to kill Superman, and have Clark not only win the fight, but have the battle run as short as it did.

There is also a major twist in the season finale involving Jimmy, Chloe, and Davis. The twist mostly involves Davis, but makes no sense based on the characteristic traits we have seen with this character thus far. It's obvious that the writers were pushing for a surprise twist, but all season they kept leading their audience down a narrow path that resulted in the wool being removed from everyone's eyes in the eleventh hour. The problem with this is that there were no visible signs that would have left the audience questioning their assumptions. *SPOILER ALERT* -As if the Davis twist wasn't shocking enough, we learn that Jimmy wasn't really the James Olsen from the comic book. Apparently he was Henry Olsen, Jimmy's older brother. Which begs the question, "Was it really necessary to call him Jimmy?". And given how old the cast now is and looks, I was surprised when they revealed the real Jimmy Olsen to be no older than twelve years of age (I'm totally guessing, but he was a kid regardless). I find it perplexing, yet also humorous that the writers go to great lengths to avoid the actor's ages. For example, Tom Welling (Clark) is 32 years of age, yet in the realm of Smallville we're supposed to believe he's only 21. Look, Tom has aged well, but not that well.

At the tail end of the season finale, we also saw the reemergence of Zod (again). It's safe to say that the well of ideas has run dry for Smallville. When you have an underpowered Clark defeating the likes of Lex Luthor, Bizzaro, Brainiac, Lord Zod, and Doomsday, it leaves little reason for Clark to become Superman. And since Clark has managed to go toe to toe with some of Superman's greatest villains, it wouldn't make sense to bring in a villain of lesser renown into the realm of Smallville for next season. Hence the reason why we have seen Brainiac on more than one occasion.

This show is so far gone that I no longer hold that emotional attachment I once had. I thought the emergence of Doomsday was a bad idea, and my gut was right. I can't speak for everyone, but I could care less about what the next season will bring.

So far I've purchased all seasons of Smallville. Most every episode is full of cliffhanger, nail-biting, shivering affects. Except for season 8 & 9, I've watched every episode twice and starting on # 3.