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TV Guide Has Details On February’s Justice Society Episode Of SMALLVILLE & A Picture Of STARGATE’s Michael Shanks As Hawkman!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Interesting details from TV Guide’s excellent new interview with Michael Shanks, who plays Hawkman on the two-hour Justice Society episode of “Smallville” airing Feb. 5.
Excerpt:
TV GUIDE: Is there a glimmer of hope offered that the Society could reassemble?
SHANKS: There will be a debate going on about whether we should have formed in the first place, and whether anyone should do it. We came together for the benefit of mankind, but then we were treated appallingly, so there will be a debate as to whether it would make sense for the Justice League to pick up our mantle and do it again.
Another:
TV GUIDE: What is [Hawkman’s] relationship like with fellow heroes Dr. Fate, Stargirl and Martian Manhunter?
SHANKS: Dr. Fate and Hawkman have a long history. Dr. Fate’s helmet is possessed by an Egyptian deity, which allows his to see into people’s possible futures. He also teleports. Stargirl is brand new to them and I’m not exactly sure what she does. She wasn’t part of the Society with them. And there are some trust issues with Martian Manhunter that are going to need to be dealt with.
Other revelations:
* The Justice Society were active in the 1970s, yet Clark and his associates never heard of them. (Maybe they were only active in Earth II’s 1970s?)
* Many off-screen Society members will be referenced. “You’ll see a ton of references,” Shanks tells the magazine. “This is a fan’s dream. Let’s say there are lots of memories and paraphernalia that people will be familiar with.”
* Hawkman “wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen.”
* We will learn what Hawkgirl Shayera is up to.
Find all of TV Guide’s story, including a photo of Shanks as Hawkman and details on Shanks’ upcoming appearances on Syfy’s “Stargate Universe” here.
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SHANKS: There will be a debate going on about whether we should have formed in the first place, and whether anyone should do it. We came together for the benefit of mankind, but then we were treated appallingly, so there will be a debate as to whether it would make sense for the Justice League to pick up our mantle and do it again.
SHANKS: Dr. Fate and Hawkman have a long history. Dr. Fate’s helmet is possessed by an Egyptian deity, which allows his to see into people’s possible futures. He also teleports. Stargirl is brand new to them and I’m not exactly sure what she does. She wasn’t part of the Society with them. And there are some trust issues with Martian Manhunter that are going to need to be dealt with.
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I would think you would hate this show.
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FINALLY some coverage of the most anticipated episode of the best returning TV show this season. Herc, I feel bad for you, not watching this show this season is a sin.
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Nov 17, 2009 12:58:51 AM CST
No kidding here, if you like DC this show has become a dream thi
by the fly on the wall
I know I know. Unexpected.
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Tons of cannon and they are nailing the Superman attitude and Lois and Clark thing this year.
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Looks like an artists rendering.
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http://www.aintitcool.com/node/42328
Also, I recently and impulsively watched the recent episode in which Lois & Clark became TV hosts. -
I agree.
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I haven't watched this show since the first season or two. Then last year I heard the Legion of Superheroes were going to be on.
I have watched every episode since with increasing excitement and admiration. Someone over there sure knows their DC!!!
I am a long time DC fan (since the early 70's) and stuck with them through thick and thin. Each episode of Smallville plays like a comic book, one from my early memories when comics were fun. Really great great stuff. And this season is crazy. Can't wait for the JSA.
I hope when this it's over they get to do a movie! -
...but is the show still weighed down as much as it was last year (and every year before it) by every character giving Clark the same redundant destiny lecture? That shit is almost as bad as anything they ever pulled with Lana.
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Wow, I need to catch up, cuz I haven't watched Season 8 yet, but damn, I didn't think they were going all out and doing some sick shit like this. Gives me new hope for this show. I've enjoyed it all, up to Season 7, though it does have it's crap moments, I do like the show. Glad to see they are going further into the DCU finally!
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just slowly layering in the DCU? I quit watching several years ago, but what I've seen this year has lots of very traditional non-watered-down comics stuff. I just wish they'd stop calling the guy "the red/blue blur," I mean his symbol is a letter S and he dresses in black. Couldn't they just call him superman?
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I didn't know you forsakened Smallville...Hell, I remember durin' da' days of yore, you were Smallville's biggest stan. Shit done change durin' my absence.
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It's amazing how much this show has changed this season. It just shows how terrible the show runners were before. This show has went from guilty pleasure to must watch TV. They've actually set up a story arc for the season (though it can be an opinion that that arc is going a little slow, but it may not play out that way if you see all the episodes back-to-back). I really feel like I'm watching a really good Superman show. I don't know why they don't just call him Superman. I'm assuming there's some kind of strange legal issue. I wish someone could explain it. But watching this season, I've been afraid that now that they've actually got a good grip on things, they'll cancel it. Or because of the decent ratings (for a Friday) it's built that they'll give it another season, but they'll have blown everything on this season. Of course I thought last season was actually really good, but once they heard they were getting another season, it seemed to meander. It's like they had a direction, realized they were going to get more time, then decided to meander around before going in the direction. Hopefully they won't do that this time, if they get picked up again. Maybe they should just create another show with the same cast/characters. Calling it Smallville is getting pointless. They seem to just throw in a shot of the farm once a week just get make sense of the namesake (or the random Lois calling Clark "Smallville"). Most of the time it's in Metropolis. Maybe Warner Bros. would be smart in just turning Smallville into a Superman movie. It would probably be easier to get made before their contract runs out, than create another one from scratch.
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I gave up on Smallville around season 5 but when they announced that the Legion was gonna make an appearance, I had to watch. 30 years of following the Legion and watching them on a live-action show was freakin awesome. I've been watching ever since and I'm glad I did. Here's hoping the Legion will make another trip to Smallville.
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then give welling whatever he wants to play him for the rest of his life and we are all set.
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Have to see it in motion though.
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This season has been epically awesome so far, with near perfect episodes, even the wonder twins worked. Love Smallville.
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Nov 17, 2009 3:27:44 AM CST
I scanned that page for 5 minutes looking for the hawkman photo
by smackfu
before I realized the picture at the top of the page was supposed to be it. Not only does Hawkman look like a posed action figure, but the entire background and lighting look completely rendered. Nothing in that image looks remotely real.
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Nov 17, 2009 5:35:42 AM CST
Where did all these Smallville fans come from?
by isleptwithkathybatesandallthatigotwasthi
State your name, occupation and intention!
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RESPECT!
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where they have gay orgies every night
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im gonna go ballistic. but at least its smallville, and not some BSG type bullshit show.
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Yup, I love it
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Must've missed that one. You said you saw "Crossfire", what did you think?
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It is very possible they tweaked it a bit to help please the fanboys. I think for what we got, it's still a pretty nice photo.
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That photo makes him look kind of slightly built to be Hawk MAN. He's more like hawk LAD. I am looking forward to the 2 parter with equal measures interest and disdain that the excluded two of the coolest: Alan Scott and Jay Garrick. Boo-fucking-ooo for doing that.
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Shanks states he is appearing in Sanctuary, not Stargate Universe.
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I haven't checked out that article, but Shanks is appearing in Sanctuary and two episodes of SGU.
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Seems that every 8 months or so I give it a shot. I suppose it has something to do with being a fan of the DC universe (comics in general) and my hopes of seeing some aspect of that world realized in a live-action tv series. Every time, without fail I am struck by the utterly shitty writing, acting, production value, etc. It just sucks, man. I mean really sucks.
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The premiere and the episodes prior to Kandor were utter shit. Now, that we know that Zod and the others are clones it has gone a long way to make the season better. Of course, they started out well, but hit the skids as soon as Lana came back and Chloe fell in love with Doomsday. I am taking a wait and see approach.
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The image doesn't even match the description that Shanks gives later (no bared chest, big golden chest plate). As for the villain... per Degaton? He seems to fit in with the time travel element they've got going, and is obscure enough that Shanks wouildn't have heard of him.
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Looks hilariously bad. An old man, in a silly costume, on wires. Yippie.
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It sucks that you hung in with this show during its worst years and have moved on just as it has improved vastly. It's like buying high and selling low...
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Always thought Michael Shanks would make a good Hal.
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clark doesn't get his costume, all the other DC people got to wear "awesome" hoodies as their costumes but hawkman gets the full on comic treatment? wow.
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Ok all of them.
Seems that every week or so I give it a shot. I suppose it has something to do with being a fan of the DC universe (comics in general) and my hopes of seeing some aspect of that world realized in a live-action tv series. Every time, without fail I am struck by the utterly excellent writing, acting, production value, etc. It's just great man. I mean really great. -
Like others have said, looks to be an artist rendering to me. When I saw it on TV Guide yesterday I definitely didnt think it was a true photo. Glad to see I am not the only one. As for Smallville itself, I think this season has been great and I look forward to more.
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You may want to reread: "And you’ll be reprising your Stargate character on two more upcoming episodes of Stargate: Universe?
Yes. I made a cameo in the pilot and they’re keeping me alive to pass the torch. The next one coming up is titled Human, and back-references my character first initiating Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) into the Stargate program, but my character exists more as a figment of Dr. Rush’s imagination. And then in Subversion, near the end of the season, we’ll see myself and Richard Dean Anderson helping out with an investigation where sabotage took place back on Earth." -
All that was needed was Brian Blessed yelling out "DIIIIIIIVE!"
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Smallville getting coverage from Herc and it wasn't even hatefull. Up is down black is white, dogs and cats living together.
Smallville has been knocking it out of the park this year and each week's increase in rates show it. I was already convinced by the way they handled the Wonder Twins (they even managed to sneak in Gleek) but it they bring Hawkman looking like Hawkman and not just Carter Hall it will cement it. The new show runners are nerds who love comics and DC. -
Nov 17, 2009 11:41:52 AM CST
I'm actually liking SGU at the moment (even if nobody else is)
by isleptwithkathybatesandallthatigotwasthi
I am not Dioxholster.
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been dying to talk smallville. First, i've been thinking about how the old showrunners pitched smallville at first. They went to CW, which has a big female demographic, so they probably sold the show like this: "We want to make this show a teen drama, except the twist is that the protagonist is clark kent as a teenager. The girl demographic will watch because of the romantic drama just like they watch any other show with a 'will they/won't they' ongoing arc. Also, we WILL get good ratings for all the superman shows--the females will like the romance, and the males will watch just because ITS SUPERMAN. it doesn't matter what else is going on in the show, if its superman, they will watch. we will cater to the females because the geeky superman fans will watch because its superman." CHA-CHING!
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*for all the superman FANS (not shows)
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SG-1's record for what? Gay orgies?
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Yeah, clark getting the glasses was a big, classic superman moment--but to me, what stood out about this episode was lois suspecting clark as superman, and the biggest, most iconic surperman moment was the classic 'lois hanging on for dear life at the top of a skyrise and needs to be saved.' THAT IS SUPERMAN. Season 7 and before it was a perfect blueprint of HOW NOT TO ADAPT SUPERMAN. Starting from season 8 until now (and likely the future) this show is a MODEL for HOW to adapt superman--MINE THE FUCKING COMICS! THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR! In my opinion, the biggest problem with Singer's superman returns was that I was left wondering if Singer had read an issue of the comics... its like he based his whole movie on the donner movies and there was NOTHING (seriously NOTHING) from the comics--and the lex is infinitely more sinister than the caricature of lex in the movies. Even the old showrunners of smallville managed to get lex right.What sucked about superman returns is what's working in smallville: Use the comics, and now that we have the ability for these crazy special effects, you can adapt things from comics to film that Donner never could have done. Smallville has done what i've never seen a show do: completely fall apart and lose all fan interest, but then they just figure it out and it rebounded into the show alot of us superman fans were dying to see--i'd lost all hope of seeing some real and fresh plot points and characters adapted for the comic books for a long time--like, years until the new superman movie. I NEVER thought i would see the things i was dying to see on Smallville... it gave me no reason to think they'd do what they're doing.
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I completely agree with your take on SUPERMAN RETURNS and SMALLVILLE. Spot-on, brother.
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...I've just haven't watched most of this season yet, they're sitting on my DVR. But I really haven't had much enthusiasm towards getting around to them either, other than the recent good word of mouth the show's been getting. Last season was dreadful with the "Jimmy" angle, el cheapo set design/lack of outdoor locations, and those tedious "destiny" lectures. Plus it was way too serious. The only moments I really enjoyed were bits like when Chloe and Clark got switched around and which led to that great exchange between him and Lois. I miss the lighthearted, fun, Smallville of seasons one through four, I miss the farm/actual locations, I miss Schnieder, I miss Glover (can't stress that enough), and to some extent Rosenbaum. That and recent additions I never warmed up to (Ollie and Tess), as well as too many mistakes over the last four seasons I dwell on everytime I see that opening, kinda led me to not give this show much thought lately. But if this year is as breezy as that rooftop scene from last season, not weighed down by the destiny bullshit, not overly dark, and has no trace of my ex, then yeah, whenever I get around to watching them, I may be back aboard the MELTING OWL fanclub.
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These new show runners get it. I've watched this show since the beginning but this season so far has been the best. Imagine what the show could really be like if they didn't have restrictions put on them by Warner Bros (No flights/no tights, use of DC characters).
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The problem with Smallville isn't necessary that they gave us "Young Clark Kent" and never got into the mythos and the comics. The problem is they spent way too long on the first part. Seasons 5-7 were just... well, padding. Clark was out of high school for 3 years, but he wasn't... doing anything. He kinda wandered into college when the plot called for it (Professor Fine), and wandered out. They padded out the Clark/Lex/Lana triangle interminably. If they had done season 8 in season 5, it would have gone much better.
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I attribute all the destiny talk from season 8 a necessary evil--the old showrunners had spent 7 seasons rarely reminding the viewer that he would be superman--of course, we all know he will one day become superman, but knowing that isn't enough--the story and evolution of the characters need to sell it, but they didn't even try. So season 8 had to get things moving, particularily getting clark to realize that he is meant for much bigger things that the old showrunners refused to acknowledge. They took advantage of the fact that we know he would turn into superman, but the longer it went on, it got worse and worse... it was like they were TRYING to dodge the issue that clark will become superman. so season 8 had to do it and do it fast--the result is this season--no more destiny talk... they did all that last season, so now we get a season where its not about his future destiny--its about him embracing his destiny, and even at the expense of clark kent. So, if the destiny talk bugged you, you'll be relieved that this season they have shown why they had to do that talk, because the result is clark wearing the 's' And green arrow has continued to develop, and if you know anything about the green arrow comics, you would know that smallville's take on green arrow is PERFECT. They have totally captured what makes green arrow green arrow, and what makes oliver queen oliver queen--at first glance you think oliver is basically bruce wayne--billionaire, no superpowers and a costumed hero. The difference is that oliver really is a rich playboy, whereas bruce wayne only acts like a playboy. also, oliver is oliver first and foremost, green arrow is his alter ego. Batman has always been batman first, with bruce wayne the alter ego, and if it was up to batman, he'd be batman 24/7.
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if i remember correctly, the 'no flights no tights' was the decision of the showrunners, and they were so damn stubborn about it. But if it was due to DC/WB not allowing it, i seriously would start to wonder if they might take away that restriction--the ratings are up, and the newest major development that has led to the ratings boost (instead of freefall which is what you'd expect by moving it to friday) is that clark is now wearing the 'S' and being superman... they've got to see that... plus, since superman returns was a flop, and there isn't really any talk of a new superman movie, the restrictions might be taken away--in the past, they may have banked on the superman movies being as successful as the batman movies, hence, they don't want two costumed supermans at the same time... if smallville only has one more season, there will be at minimum two years until we see a superman in costume in the theatres, possibly even longer... a batman show would overlap batman movies--they probably expected the same for superman, but even if smallville has 2-3 more years, its highly likely that we will not see a superman movie in that same timeframe. plus, they may be warming up to the idea that this is an elseworlds story, and the new showrunners might be the ones emphasizing that to the studio... based on what they've done with the show, i wouldn't be surprised if they would be able to explain this to the studios and sell it for what is--not what the studios worry it might be.
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i rip on herc all the time... but i also give credit where credit is due: people (at times my self included) have been angry at herc for not reporting about smallville--i thought he wasn't going to post a friday ratings talkback, which pissed me off because (as you can see in my posts above) i was dying to talk about friday's smallville. so, herc does two legit smallville talkbacks--one where he acknowledges and credits smallville for season high ratings (which has been the case every week lately--it keeps rising and rising) and then herc actually did a legit report on smallville, and to my utter shock and amazement, he actually WATCHED an episode a couple weeks ago. Maybe herc's evil twin is doing the talkbacks now...
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Zod. I always felt like the whole Zod as a possessing spirit angle they took was fairly lame, but with Callum Blue's performance as Major Zod (the clone thing notwithstanding), you finally have a well-developed badass villain with understandable motivations and some great subtle acting. Just wanted to give credit where it's due. And, yeah, references to the DC universe will never hurt! I'm really excited to see Hawkman and Doctor Fate - two of my favorite Golden Age characters.
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You could not be more spot on and hitting the nail on the head with your posts. As a devoted Smallville fan, through the good, the bad, the worst, and the best, I couldn't agree more. I only wish that Rosenbaum was back as Luthor for these new showrunners. The one thing the old showrunners always got right was Lex, and Rosenbaum played him perfectly. Lex Luthor had never been portrayed in such an evil, manipulating manner. I would love to see him in a new episode with these new showrunners and the new, grown-up Clark facing off with him. Hopefully we won't have to wait for the series finale for it.
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Nov 17, 2009 2:15:52 PM CST
A Smallville hero that actually looks like the comicbook version
by royston lodge
What has the world come to?! ;-)
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I agree, I wish the new show runners had the opertunity to utilized the Lex character as well. I also wish that they would bring back Vandervoort and utilize the Supergirl character too.
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The superhero genre, and perhaps Superman in particular, has always been rich with story telling potential. Smallville also had the potential but the old showrunners either never understood what made Superman a great character or never had the balls to just "go for it" and instead turned it into a weak, generic, teen angst drama. With what they were doing, they might as well have gotten rid of the whole Superman angle.
To be honest, Smallville still has plenty of problems that some aren't going to be able to overlook. But the new show runners have done a remarkable job taking what was a miserable show and re-engineering and transitioning it into something worth watching. They've eliminated most of the glaring problems, repurposed characters, changed relationships, broadened the universe, introduced worthy stories and adversaries and most importantly, they're hitting the right themes and weaving these themes in rather skillfully. Kudos to them for even identifying the themes as being important.
But as I said earlier, Smaaville still has many issues. And just to set proper expectations, it's far from being in the same quality (writing, directing, lighting, acting etc) league as say, BSG. Also to DC purists, this is clearly not in the same 'universe' as the comics. But it's fair to say that Smallville is finally becoming a show about "Superman" and if you can forgive it's faults it's certainly worth tuning in.
Of course, we'll have to wait and see how they handle and resolve all the story arcs and see how they further develop the characters and universe before a fair judgement can be made. All their efforts will have been for naught if the season ends in a whimper. -
I never thought I would see that character on TV, let alone Smallville. This is great. As a boy I was always fascinated by the Golden Age heroes who were cast into limbo (although trotted out on rare occasion) during the Silver Age. The rarity of Dr. Fate and the JSA made them so interesting to me.
There is the possibility of an occult angle here, what with the possession of Nelson by Nabu and possibly the merging of personalities when the new Dr. Fate donned the helmet and cape.
It is too much to expect all that backstory for what will probably just be a cameo. But I will settle for the cameo. This should be fun. -
He better workout if thats the costume. Also when the hell are we going to see Bruce Wayne? Hell at this point i will take any character from Batman. Show come kind of connection.
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Thank god the original showrunners finally left. 7 seasons of utter shit and now we're drenched in comic mythology, REAL action sequences, strong characterization and general gold. Way to go, new showrunners, and fuck you, Gough and Millar. Please try to avoid poisoning another good concept again.
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i don't disagree with your take on the show... i could be alone on this, but i'd like to think i'm not, but i'm so excited with the vast improvements they've made, and how i finally feel like there's a superman show on tv, that i'm overlooking alot of its issues, but they are still there. however (this is the difference between the old showrunners and the new) most of the time, those flaws ARE OVERLOOK-ABLE. The old showrunners might as well have had a semi transparent layer of their hand giving the viewers the finger during every scene lana was in... or sometimes, the whole episode. You could NOT ignore the problems it had, and an even bigger problem was that you could NOT see it moving in a logical direction... its like they didn't give a shit about superman. its like i said above, their formula for success was about a highschooler with superpowers filled with teen angst and will they/won't they romance for the huge girl demographic and oh yeah, the highschooler just so happens to be superman one day, so the geeks will always watch. I think the most telling comment in this talkback so far has been veritasses actually comparing SMALLVILLE to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. I mean, that says ALOT. 60 minutes of various scenes with edward games olmos weeping in location to location would have been widely considered better than smallville season seven and earlier.
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I've been rough on you too for dissing this most improved show. But now you've given it a little bit of coverage and for that we SV fans say thanks.
The old showrunners, Millar/Gough were great up through season three and in season 5. Season 4 with Jensen Ackles and Lana as a witch, and those mysterious Krypton stones almost made SV jump the shark. But not quite. Never the less, Millar/Gough were so Lana centered that the show ran out of gas. Enter the new showrunners who CPR'd a dying show and made it brand new. If you haven't seen it lately, it's not your teen age Smallville anymore. And they've even managed (in the Kandor episode) to make sense out of those Kryptonite stones that so took up Season 4--they hold all Krypton's knowledge.
And Dr. Fate!--who would have thunk it! One of the coolest of the Golden Age characters. Never thought I'd see him on television. Props to everyone on SV who have made it such a great season. They deserve a 10th. -
The show at this point should have put him in the suit. I liked season 5 and 6 with Clark going after Brainaic, the Phantom Zone prisoners and them starting to sprinkle in heroes like Green Arrow. Season 7 was about Kara's tits, it was an utter waste of time. Season 8 like I said before started out good, but as soon as started the Beauty and Beast storyline it got retarded. It also didn't help they killed Jimmy for no reason and the Doomsday fight they were hyping all season was about a minute long. Even the beginning of this season has been choatic until Kandor explained Zod and the others. The show really should have stopped with the Blur crap and said "Listen, Superman Returns bombed, so we are putting him in the suit, so go fuck yourselves."
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yeah, a doomsday fight would have been awesome, but it is a tv show on the CW, and i'm suprised they have a budget as big as they do have. but that fight wasn't supposed to be the death of superman--it actually set up the doomsday story within continuity of the comics, where doomsday has been underground so long.
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I don't think SMALLVILLE was a waste all the prior seasons. It's just that there were a lot of filler episodes, a lot of self-contained episodes that were never part of Clark's greater destiny and future. Each season had about 5 episodes really worth viewing, and are still worth viewing, and exploring Clark and Lex' relationship was fantastic, and Gough and Millar never failed to foreshadow constantly through dialogue their fates. But the show has shifted from being about them, to being about nothing and prolonging the inevitable, to now being about, full-on, Clark embracing being Supes (or about to be). No more filler episodes and no more BS. But the original Christopher Reeve episode of Smallville where Clark learned he was from a planet called Krypton and the first episodes where he spoke with Jor El, and the Perry White episode, and some of the iconic Lex trying to figure out Clark's secret episodes, are brilliant... well, "Smallville"-Brilliant. But even I, as a devoted fan, wanted the show to die about 3 or 4 years ago. But now... I feel a love and obsession for it I can't believe I'm feeling. It's awesome.
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For a Smallville TalkBack every week?
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The concept of "overlookable-ness" is actually pretty interesting. Ultimately though, it's subjective.
I wanted to give props to the new showrunners for doing a remarkable job of giving the show a successful makeover. That's not an easy thing to do. But I also wanted to be fair and let people who haven't seen the recent episodes that despite all the praise and new reasons to watch, it's still a show with many flaws. It's definitely not going to blow their socks off like the FTL atmosphere jump in BSG or the pilot of Lost. It's honestly not in the same league as those shows. It'll likely gain new fans and well deserves new fans but there will still be many who (understandably) dismiss it. -
Nov 17, 2009 4:58:53 PM CST
Veitasses/Ryanbrau- While I love the new direction of the show
by saluteyourshorts
While I love the new direction of the show, and think it can and will find new followers... for the most part, I think the fans who have always loved the show are still going to be the only ones really into it. As a generalization, of course. Basically, we're getting our pay off, we've grown with the character, and we are seeing what we've been waiting and hoping to see on the show. Again, just a generalization.
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Okay, I haven't followed Smallville in some time but Zod was always my favorite SM villain (bearing in mind I'm not a devoted comic fan and really only have the other media to go by). With all the praise here and my love for Zod (well, the movie Zod really but it's enough to interest me), I might download this season and check it out!
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Zod is more like Khan from Star Trek then Zod from Superman II. If you want to see Zod from that watch the premiere of season 6 where he poses Lex. They even do the kneel before Zod ending from Superman II and did not pony up to give him the Superman theme unfortunately. This season's Zod has a more aristocratic vibe with a need for revenge and wine apparently. I just think they picked the wrong actor for this role.
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I watched last week's episode and it was like 30 minutes of Lois's therapy sessions and five minutes of Wonder Twins. The majority of this season has been centered around Lois, much as previous seasons centered around Lana's romantic angst. I don't see what anyone is talking about the new showrunners being different from the old ones. If anything, the new ones are even worse. They seem to think the only way to make Clark more interesting is to make him Batmanish.
Anyways, ratings hovered around the four million mark last season, and are around 2.5 this season, so obviously not *that* many people are digging this season. -
Otherwise it'll be Flash Gordon all over again.
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You can't really compare the ratings from last season due to the switch to Friday nights. Also, if you only saw 5 min of the wonder twins and mostly Lois you must not have been watch the ame show as everyone else.
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That's right, no powers. Also, Seasons 1-5 of Smallville had their share of filler, but they also had some great episodes that really developed Clark as a hero-in-training and Lex as a burgeoning villain.
Also the current showrunners are not "new". They've been with the show almost since the beginning. They're also the same people who decided Clark and Lana should break up because Lana was infected by Kryptonite, instead of finally letting Clark grow out of her. After years of Lana Lang being the center of everyone's universe, they decided to write her off with SUPERPOWERS. They're also the ones decided that Clark cutting off all human connections save for Lois makes him look Supermanly, but I guess that works for some people. -
You're overlooking some things: First, you can't really comapre the lana romance with the lois romance. There are two reasons for this: One, the lana/clark romance went WAAAAY too long. Second, and most importantly, the reason the Lana romance was incredibly AWFUL was because they spent all that time on a romance we ALL KNOW IS NOT GOING TO LAST. WHY should i care about a love story that drags on for seven years when i have known, since day one, that its nothing more than a highschool sweetheart story. However, the Lois romance is not simply another tired romance... the lois/clark love story is THE love story of comics and superheroes. It is just as iconic as superman wearing the suit. That's why i got so giddy when i see lois dangling on a pole thirty stories high with clark trying to reach her but can't, lois saying she'll fall because she believes he's superman, clark knowing he can save her with his powers but can't reveal who he is (yet). That is SUPERMAN. And any exploration of the character of lois serves a very important role in the superman mythology... and Durance IS LOIS... the lois in superman returns was terrible in just about every way it could be.SECOND, Clark TRIED to be more like batman, by giving up being Clark Kent... but the people around him reminded him that he can't just abandon the person he was... the person the kents raised him to be, the person who cares deeply about the people around them, the loyalty he gets from them, the life he would be missing out on, and there's plenty more. To say he is like batman at this point just does not make any sense... what, is he like batman because he wears all black? that's about the only comparison you can make.Third--as a general rule of thumb for me is that anyone who thinks they can prove their negative opinion of a show with ratings numbers deserves NO credibility.Fourth, I'm not happy that i have to make this post to, like, the second girl i have come across on aintitcool.
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It was explained that Zod and his crew are clones. The reason they don't have their powers is because Jor-El altered their DNA. Did you miss it when Jor-El hid the crystal that would restore them their missing DNA that would give them their powers in the Kent home? "Smallville" is the second most watched show ratings wise on the CW behind "Vampire Diaries" (3rd if you throw in Tyra Banks model show). CW would be dumb not to bring it back for a tenth season. No one is comparing it to a show like "LOST", but it has become entertaining to watch. If you hate it so much, why are you watching it then.
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First: You can't dance around it--there are NEW SHOWRUNNERS. Does that mean they went out and hired Geoff Johns? No. It also MAKES SENSE because the show had been on for seven years. But they are new SHOWRUNNERS because (it should be obvious to any sane person) they're new job is RUNNING THE SHOW, hence, showrunners. For all we know, they could have been in the meetings throwing out great ideas, or expressing that they didn't like what the show was doing... now that they are doing things there way, i could give a shit what they did before taking over.Second, i cannot believe you aren't noticing these things... but i defy you to find A SINGLE person who isn't a 17-year old girl who will say that, start to finish, the lana romance played a big factor in why they liked the show for seven years. So, the old showrunners spent SEVEN YEARS dragging out a dead-end romance. What do the new showrunners do? give her a multi episode arc that explains why we will NEVER HAVE TO SIT THROUGH A LANA/CLARK LOVE SCENE AGAIN. Listen, I HATED that arc about lana and felt it killed the momentum the show was building, but ultimately it did its job: NO MORE LANA. I do not give a flying fuck about HOW they wrote off lana, rather, they did what the old showrunners refused to do: write lana of the show--she was distracting and served no purpose for YEARS.Third: yeah, Zod has no powers... YET. They actually have handled zod masterfully: by not giving zod his powers YET, they have made it so we learn who zod is as a CHARACTER... we see his business savvy, we see how he commands his troops, we see how he punishes one of his soldiers for fucking up, we see the rage in him at moments, we've seen how he and jor-el used to be allies... we see the CHARACTER, and that is ALWAYS what makes the best villain: a character who reacts to his circumstances which creates depth and an understanding about why he is how he is. that's a textbook example of how to create a compelling villain... you think his character would be better if he came to earth already with powers? no way... it would make no sense--if he and his soldiers had their powers from day one on earth, they'd fucking rule it and kill clark in the span of a week. And, guess what, there would be people like YOU on these talkbacks saying "This is rediculous... why doesn't zod and his army just go out and find clark, gang up on him, and kill him... or, why are all these characters with power equal to clark sitting around when they could have taken over the world in a day... you come across as a troll who doesn't know jack about storytelling.
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If everyone's favorite talkbacker, Media Messiah, were here (and watched smallville) he'd say something like: CavalierGirl, do you, miss being, a, 'network plant,' bitter, about, getting a pinkslip... the show is better because its like Alias????????????????? NO MORE FREEBIES! Media Messiah-OUT.
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The future Zod was using Lex as a vessel. Says to me this Zod is toast.
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That's why this looks good. He gets it. Read any current DC book he's doing. You'll see. If Johns was a showrunner this show would be even better.
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Two long posts att meacking, and I'm the troll? Just because I think Smallville has outstayed its welcome (and until this season, I had watched until S1) and think this season is a mess doesn't mean I don't understand storytelling. But I guess it makes you feel better to attack me for having a poor opinion of Smallville. Frankly, even in its better seasons, SV has been rife with retcons and lack of continuity. I also don't know what my being a girl has to do with anything.
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Thanks for the smallville talkback Herc. I've been a fan since season 1, and this season knocks it out the park every week! True, there are problems here and there, but this is superman, on tv! I'm sold!
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no, i was not attacking you. you said things i disagreed wtih, or what i thought you were overlooking, and responded point by point to your posts. i wasn't ranting a long post--i wrote small paragraphts that responding to your points. Maybe you're not a troll, but responding to each of the points you made doesn't mean i was attacking you--i was attacking your points. So, instead of trying to paint me as the bad guy, howabout you respond to my points? that's how this whole TALKBACKING thing works... you make points, i make points, you respond to my points etc. painting me as the bad guy, saying i'm attacking you isn't the idea nor was it my intention. instead of saying i'm attacking you, howabout you defend your arguments... I NEVER was getting on your case just because you have a poor opinion of the show, not even a little.
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no, i was not attacking you. you said things i disagreed wtih, or what i thought you were overlooking, and responded point by point to your posts. i wasn't ranting a long post--i wrote small paragraphts that responding to your points. Maybe you're not a troll, but responding to each of the points you made doesn't mean i was attacking you--i was attacking your points. So, instead of trying to paint me as the bad guy, howabout you respond to my points? that's how this whole TALKBACKING thing works... you make points, i make points, you respond to my points etc. painting me as the bad guy, saying i'm attacking you isn't the idea nor was it my intention. instead of saying i'm attacking you, howabout you defend your arguments... I NEVER was getting on your case just because you have a poor opinion of the show, not even a little.
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They didn't kill Jimmy for no reason - it was actually a very good reason. It was one of the new showrunners multiple attempts to make Smallville's continuity actually line up with REAL Superman continuity. The real Jimmy can't be the same age as Clark and friends, so... there you go. They fixed it by making him actually Jimmy's older brother. Which was kind of a copout but apparently Aaron Ashmore said it was always in his contract that they were going to eventually reveal that he wasn't really THE Jimmy Olsen, so he always knew. Anyway, the way they did it might not have been the best, but I can't blame them at all for wanting to be closer to the source material. That's always a good goal.
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They didn't kill Jimmy for no reason - it was actually a very good reason. It was one of the new showrunners multiple attempts to make Smallville's continuity actually line up with REAL Superman continuity. The real Jimmy can't be the same age as Clark and friends, so... there you go. They fixed it by making him actually Jimmy's older brother. Which was kind of a copout but apparently Aaron Ashmore said it was always in his contract that they were going to eventually reveal that he wasn't really THE Jimmy Olsen, so he always knew. Anyway, the way they did it might not have been the best, but I can't blame them at all for wanting to be closer to the source material. That's always a good goal.
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And the ladies do call it The Hammer....
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Look, just because you're a LanaFangurl, dosen't mean the show sucks now. Smallville is much better NOW THAT LANA IS GONE.The same, I suspect, as this talkback when you are.
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I looks like something a super nerd put together in their basement to wear at Comicon. I cringe to think what Batman would look like on this show.
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...shitty outfit Bale wears in his shitty Batmobile while using his shitty Batvoice.
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You might be right. It's always hard to gauge how well a show's going to do. And the odds are stacked heavily against it being in the death slot and with disenchanted viewers who've written it off and all.
But I think there are several things working in it's favor now. They've given a reason for people to watch and stay loyal. They're finally giving us something closely resembling the important, central spirit/themes/heart of "Superman" (or as close as we've ever gotten). And the stuff about the Justice Society (by Geoff Johns?) should help considerably. It should be enough to keep existing viewers and gain a few new ones. We won't see any huge swing for sure but hopefully the small upticks the past two weeks represent a trend and not an anomaly -
"you respond to my points etc. painting me as the bad guy, saying i'm attacking you isn't the idea nor was it my intention."
And yet, you called me a troll and said I had no credibility because I mentioned the ratings. This, in spite of the fact that other posters brought up ratings in defense of the show in other posts. So yeah, those are attacks. Did you notice that you said I know nothing about storytelling in the same post you said you didn't care how they wrote Lana off, so long as they did it? That's exactly what my problem is with SV: The WAY they write their stories out.
I don't post often, but I've been readings AICN for many years, so I am not new to talkbacks. Talkbacks can get very ugly, so I don't know where anyone's getting the idea that I'll go away because of a few rude people. This is nothing.
Although to the person who said my gender meant I was a Lana fangirl: Go back and read my post. I was not a Lana fan. I hated Lana and the whole Clark/Lana angsty relationship. Of course, with Lana gone TPTB have made Lois more Lana-like, complete with her "Secrets and lies" angst. I'm not seeing this show as really moving beyond the romantic angst that plagued it before.
Now getting back to Smallville, a lot of fans were disappointed by last season's Doomsday finale, myself included. It's why I'm not watching this season live. It was their worst finale in terms of expectations, I really expected a big heroic moment for Clark, and was sorely disappointed. And I hated that they focused so much of the finale on Jimmy, only to kill him off and say he wasn't the real Jimmy anyway. So why did you just waste the finale on him??! Doomsday, coupled with the way they handled Lana's exit, killed any sort of hope I had for this show. Of course, I never imagined the show would ever last this long. I thought it'd go five seasons, and S5 was actually really good. Oh, and S5 also was the first time they brought in Zod.
All that said, I'm sure the Society episodes will be pretty good. Legion last season was a real bright spot, and one of my all-time favorite Clark episodes. Geoff Johns certainly sounds excited about it on Twitter. Will these episodes save the show or get it a S10? Who knows, but I think Smallville could still leave a decent legacy if it wrapped up now and just had a killer final batch of episodes. Another season is just going to be more filler eps with the occasional forward movement ep in between. -
But he will by the end of the season, not that he cant still cause trouble for Clark.
Has anyone seen the trailer for this weeks episode, whats with all the Doomsday imagery?.... -
Entertainment Weekly reports that the two-hour Justice Society-centric "Smallville" TV movie coming to The CW now has a title - Smallville: Absolute Justice.
The event combines two episodes -- "Society" and "Legends." The magazine adds that the pic will air as a seamless two-hour event with only one set of credits.
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all fair points. Geoff Johns is a god, as far as i'm concerned. if you see his name on ANY comic, i don't care how big or small, it is gold. every single time. What i liked about the legion episode he did was that it was very, very similar to his fairly recent run on Action Comics where alot of the same plot points were used in the smallville episode. They also gave us reason to believe that the smallville clark will still ultimately wear the suit and cape, as one of the members of the legion made a comment about his red cape. How awesome would it be if the justice society includes the kingdom come older superman like the early arcs of the latest run of justice society.
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I, for one, haven't any problems with your posts, opinions, or that you are female. As it should be, everyone has the right to be 'heard' in the TBs.But it would be easier to read your long posts if you use paragraph breaks. Type in without any spaces to make a break. Thanks, and keep posting away.
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has been a delight.. sure, it's not perfect, but it is WAY better than season 8... and I hope Zod and his crew don't get their powers.. if there are 20 "supermen" on the planet, Clark's toast (and pointless).. they really need to get to the red/blue suit at some point though..
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Nov 18, 2009 9:31:19 PM CST
Well this formerly disenchanted viewer is now enjoying it.
by flickchick85
I certainly like it now more than I ever did back when I was watching it in the 1st two seasons - back then, I didn't exactly love it, and it certainly wasn't appointment TV. But now that I've caught up on S8 (since that's when people told me it got better) and the current season, it does seem clear that these new show runners really do seem to get it. I mean, they're not perfect (that S8 finale was quite anti-climactic, but it took the show in an interesting direction), and they are CERTAINLY limited by their budget constraints...but I think they are doing a FANTASTIC job under the circumstances. They're telling a "Clark Kent becoming Superman" story that's actually, FINALLY, worth watching, imo.
And for the record, it is SO MUCH BETTER with Lana gone. The Clark/Lois dynamic is truly a breath of fresh air after that teen-soapy garbage. -
Well at least of GLs ring and the other two's faces.
http://tinyurl.com/y9v6m43
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