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96 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Series! (but a shame about the theme song), July 28, 2002
I was mighty skeptical when I first heard about Smallville. Mainly, I was disappointed that Warner Bros. Television decided to go with this instead of the proposed Bruce Wayne series about his world travels before returning to Gotham to become Batman. Aside from that, it looked like (as one of my friends dubbed it) "Dawson's Krypton." To further complicate things, I discovered that Lex Luthor was to be one of the main characters. Basically, it seemed like it would never work. Boy, was I wrong.I began watching the series in the summer, right after the season finale, when WB started rerunning episodes. I was immediately hooked. (I preordered the Canadian import DVD of the first two episodes right after it was announced.) What struck me immediately about the series was its attention to character development. While the series is mainly episodic, there are usually several subplots that continue from week to week that advances the characters' relationships to one another. The ongoing story of Clark and Lana is especially poignant and heartbreaking due to the fact those who are familiar with Superman lore understand that, even if the two of them get together, their romance won't last. (Thankfully, Tom Welling and Kristen Kreuk have wonderful chemistry and are fully capable actors.) The main plots are the show's weakest points. I would imagine it's difficult to come up with a way for Clark Kent to be a superhero from week to week, thus they gave themselves an equivalent to Buffy's hellmouth, the kryptonite rocks. The villains can get fairly ridiculous, such as the bugboy in the second episode (included on the DVD). Fortunately, the writers understand how to turn this into a strength. Rather than focusing entirely on the villain, we get to see how the villain or the situation he/she/it causes affects the characters. (A good example comes later in the series when Clark's powers transfer to another boy and he gets to live a normal life for a short period of time.) As to my iffiness about the inclusion of Luthor, once again, my initial reaction was completely off-base. The makers of the show have managed to make Lex Luthor the most interesting character in the series, thanks in no small part to the outstanding performance of Michael Rosenbaum. I've never seen the character given such depth in a non-comics medium and it is absolutely a breath of fresh air. Watching his transition from hero to anti-hero [to villain?] will be fascinating (providing it happens in the course of the series). Of course this review wouldn't be complete without mentioning the terrific work of John Schneider and Annette O'Toole as Clark's adoptive parents. It is important to understand why Clark decides to use his powers to help those in need. The Kents are honest, hard-working people who have instilled Clark with a strong sense of right and wrong, and Schneider and O'Toole pull it off brilliantly. As the title of my review suggests, I only have one major misgiving about the show, and that's the use of Remy Zero's "Save Me" as the theme song. I normally like watching the opening credits of shows, but since I don't care for the song, I usually fast forward through this one. It's a shame, since Mark Snow composed a great theme for it. (It can be found on the DVD's menu screen and during the end credits.) I hope WBHV decides to start releasing entire seasons on DVD here in the U.S. soon. I'm certain this is a series that will get better over time. (The addition of Jeph Loeb to the writing staff points to this. To those unfamiliar with the name, check out his and Tim Sale's Superman For All Seasons.)
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