For those of us who have been hanging in there with young Clark Kent and the rest of the Smallville gang, things are getting a bit grim. The last two seasons we’ve watched as the show has not only jumped the shark but slathered itself in blood and leapt headfirst into the shark tank.
The most recent example of this was the oft touted and then incredibly disappointing battle with Doomsday that dominated all of season eight. On September 25th the ninth season of Smallville hits the small screen and sadly I’ll only be watching it because I’ve watched all the other seasons. However all is not lost, I have come up with some things that the show can do to get its mojo back and kick ass like it used to.
First of all season nine needs to be the last season. Rumor on the farm is that Callum Blue the new General Zod has been signed on for two seasons which would push the limping show into a tenth year. The show has not only lost its luster but Tom Welling (Clark/Superman) is starting to look a little long in the tooth to be some crazy kid just out of college. Unless they plan to do a Kal-L Earth 2 angle to explain the grey around the temples it’s time to hang it up for Tom.
The show originally thrived because it had a fresh take on the Superman character, now it’s just Clark fighting super villains with all of his buddies. The key stories about growing up and dealing with the real world while developing super powers is long gone; the show is really nothing more than an Elseworld right now. You can’t go home again so at least end on season nine with a little dignity.
Speaking of Callum Blue, bringing General Zod back is a big mistake. Clark already dealt with him in Season Five so why double dip? Having Zod return shows a real lack of creativity for the creative team especially with such a disappointing Doomsday battle and unresolved issues with the suddenly dead Lex Luthor. In the promo ads Callum Blue seems to be delving a little too deep into a bad Shakespearean vibe for Zod and so instead of sinister he comes of pompous and silly.
Truth be told the next move for the Smallville crew is to drive up to Michael Rosenbaum’s front porch with a giant truckload of cash and beg him to return to the show as Lex Luthor. This last year without him has really taken the punch out of the show mainly because the tension between Welling’s Clark and Rosenbaum’s Luthor was so crisp. Rosenbaum carried the show for seasons six and seven on his shoulders and they need him back.
Superman without Lex Luthor is just silly and trying to bring in some new guy to play Lex if Smallville does bring him back is an incredibly bad idea. Only Rosenbaum can play Lex Luthor correctly for that show and to have him back going one on one with Clark would excite the hell out of old fans and new ones. The other problem is that Luthor’s replacement on the show Tess Mercer is one of the worst villains ever. Actress Cassidy Freeman has an acting range that goes from A to B and that makes Tess Mercer a one note piano that won’t stop playing. No tension, no acting, no emanating true charisma, instead Tess Mercer is reduced to slinky looks and “crazy talk”.
If for some reason Rosenbaum flat out refuses then it’s time for the return of Doomsday. The audience spent all of season eight hearing “Doomsday is coming” and when he finally did it was a most spectacular dud. The fight that had been set up between Clark and Doomsday was supposed to be epic, the one that forced Clark to become the hero he was meant to be. Instead the two slugged each other a few times and then Doomsday was gone. As a fan of the show I felt ripped off so instead of giving us melodramatic overacted General Zod, let Doomsday come around and beat the hell out of everything. When I say Doomsday I mean the monster not his alter-ego Davis Bloome who chews up scenes by looking sad and taking his shirt off.
Smallville also needs to stop with these one off comic character appearances that go nowhere. Zatanna and Bizarro came and went then they brought in Supergirl who stayed a season then got written out. The writers and directors even managed to shortchange Brainiac one of Superman’s greatest foes. In season nine on top of Zod we get to contend with Brian Austin Green as Metallo. Metallo is an awesome character, so why not have him be the main villain and have him portrayed by somebody besides the white rapper on Beverly Hills 90210? Nope, he’ll be on for a few episodes and then toddle off. I even heard they’re bringing in the Wonder Twins, which is really scraping the bottom of the barrel creatively.
Getting fans all excited to see a character they love brought to life and then handled like toss away trash really hurts the integrity of the show. The writers try to hide behind the idea that this is a “different take” on Superman and that’s why these characters are introduced this way but I say that’s a cop out. What it feels like is a desperate ploy to get people to watch and nobody buys it. They even managed to waste two appearances by the Legion Of Superheroes. A failure that epic must have really taken some doing.
While busy tossing us one-off characters Smallville has largely ignored one of the groups it did a great job bringing to life: The Justice League. Ever since they battled Lex Luthor’s goons in season six we’ve only seen these bizarre dribs and drabs of the group. For instance Clark’s longtime buddy Chloe Sullivan becoming the JLA point person and computer expert or Green Arrow (played very well by Justin Hartley) discussing the JLA adventures but not showing us any of the,
In season eight there was supposed to be a throw down between the JLA and Tess Mercer’s forces but that showdown went nowhere. Instead of being coy just bring on the JLA full force. Sure some of the JLA members’ ala Smallville are a little silly (mainly surfer-bro Aquaman) but when they got together as a team even I thought it was awesome. If Clark really is facing off against Zod and his minions then it’s time to bring the JLA back into the mix.
