I am – Hercules!!

Last season’s finale, with Clark’s odd decision to slip on the krypto-jewelry, and the “cliffhanger” plane crash (sure hope Lex comes out in one piece!) left the mighty Hercules glancing at his Timex a great deal.

Will tonight’s third-season opener put things back on track?

Variety says:

… the show kicks off its third season with an action-packed preem that, alas, isn't among this highly underrated program's stronger outings. … there's a thin line between brilliance and absurdity, and exec producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who wrote the opener, dance dangerously close to the latter in a first hour that bites off more than even the boy of steel can chew. Lex's desert-island antics feel particularly strained, and the promising payoff that leads into the next episode -- with Jonathan Kent confronting his adopted son -- will require a deft touch to avoid similar missteps. That said, the series continues to be beautifully produced on a TV budget, with an especially nice touch involving the glowing birthmark that appears on Clark's chest as the red kryptonite assails his system ...

8 p.m. Wednesday. The WB.