The beginnings of Superman! As soon as "saaaaaaavvvvvveeee meeeeeee" was bellowed during the opening credits as the theme song, I was instantly hooked. For a show that came out in 2001 with lots of fanfare, I was very impressed with how well the first season held up. It has been known the series would often go over budget, but we are telling the story of future Superman after all. The visual effects are top-notch and the meteor shower where young Kal-El comes to Earth seemed very real. Instead of being a serious superhero drama, the show is about teenage angst and small-town drama. It is like a coming-of-age film/series but with more special effects and a superhero background. At least for the first season, the show will combine these elements along with a villain-of-the week story. Just bring me everything you got, Smallville!
In this pilot episode, we learn the origins of Clark Kent aka Kal-El. It is 1989, and Smallville has been bombarded with meteors. Martha (Annette O'Toole) and Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) crashed their car into a cornfield during the storm and are founded by young Clark. They find his spacecraft and adopt him. We flash forward to more than a decade later when Clark (Tom Welling) is in high school. He has a crush on the cute Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk) who is the cheerleader girlfriend of popular jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). He has two very good friends; the young journalist with her Wall-of-Weird Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) and his good buddy Pete Ross (Sam Jones III). He later meets the future villain, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) when Clark saves him from a car accident, and they become fast friends. Lex resides in Smallville where he runs a fertilizer company but is overseen by his billionaire father, Lionel (John Glover) who lives in nearby Metropolis. As the story advances, Jonathan tells Clark about his origins and discovers that he is "allergic" to a green rock called Kryptonite, the same green rock that Lana wears around her neck in remembrance of her parents whom died during the meteor shower. When Clark becomes weakened by the kryptonite, the jealous Whitney beats him up. This all leads to a confrontation with an electric man who received his powers from the rock.
The performances are all fantastic. I loved the family dynamics between Clark, Jonathan, and Martha. Same with Clark and his friends. With Chloe the journalistic snoop she is, I am not convinced Clark will keep his secret from her. Also, we get to see Lex before he turns villainous. It is a good idea to have Clark and Lex as good friends before they become the bitter enemies that we all know and love. Michael Rosenbaum is a great Lex Luthor and I love John Glover's turn as Lex's megalomaniac father even more.
Overall, I became hooked with Smallville right away. It is a straightforward pilot episode with great performances, a captivating story, and visual effects that seem realistic (great for a 2001 television show). It is not just a superhero story, but a series that tackle issues any teenager could relate to. I am very interested to join Clark on his adventures as he becomes the world's greatest superhero in the future.
My Grade: A.
In this pilot episode, we learn the origins of Clark Kent aka Kal-El. It is 1989, and Smallville has been bombarded with meteors. Martha (Annette O'Toole) and Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) crashed their car into a cornfield during the storm and are founded by young Clark. They find his spacecraft and adopt him. We flash forward to more than a decade later when Clark (Tom Welling) is in high school. He has a crush on the cute Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk) who is the cheerleader girlfriend of popular jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). He has two very good friends; the young journalist with her Wall-of-Weird Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) and his good buddy Pete Ross (Sam Jones III). He later meets the future villain, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) when Clark saves him from a car accident, and they become fast friends. Lex resides in Smallville where he runs a fertilizer company but is overseen by his billionaire father, Lionel (John Glover) who lives in nearby Metropolis. As the story advances, Jonathan tells Clark about his origins and discovers that he is "allergic" to a green rock called Kryptonite, the same green rock that Lana wears around her neck in remembrance of her parents whom died during the meteor shower. When Clark becomes weakened by the kryptonite, the jealous Whitney beats him up. This all leads to a confrontation with an electric man who received his powers from the rock.
The performances are all fantastic. I loved the family dynamics between Clark, Jonathan, and Martha. Same with Clark and his friends. With Chloe the journalistic snoop she is, I am not convinced Clark will keep his secret from her. Also, we get to see Lex before he turns villainous. It is a good idea to have Clark and Lex as good friends before they become the bitter enemies that we all know and love. Michael Rosenbaum is a great Lex Luthor and I love John Glover's turn as Lex's megalomaniac father even more.
Overall, I became hooked with Smallville right away. It is a straightforward pilot episode with great performances, a captivating story, and visual effects that seem realistic (great for a 2001 television show). It is not just a superhero story, but a series that tackle issues any teenager could relate to. I am very interested to join Clark on his adventures as he becomes the world's greatest superhero in the future.
My Grade: A.