Tonight’s episode – Odyssey
Here we go again! The show that really should not have come back… is back! Gone is Lana Lang and her lack of storylines! Gone is the best actor (and character) the show had in Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor! Gone are show creators and executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar!
Joining the cast is Justin Hartley’s Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow, and in this premiere episode he’s brought the Justice League (Black Canary, Aquaman, and The Martian Manhunter) back with him to help find a missing Clark Kent. I have to admit, I’m still blown away that I just typed that last sentence in regards to a live action show that is, for the most part, pretty well done. I mean, really, there’s a prime time TV show where Oliver Queen is now a main character. How cool is that?
This season Clark apparently makes the move to Metropolis and starts working at the Daily Planet with Lois Lane and we’re going to see a big time ramp up of the Clark and Lois romantic tension. I have two thoughts on this. Number one, um, isn’t Clark still in college? Chloe too for that matter? They seem to have just forgotten about that aspect. Number two, if they are all in Metropolis all the time now why is it still called Smallvi— ah, fuck it. I give up.
Losing Lex Luthor will be difficult, if not impossible to cope with. He elevated this show far beyond what it should have been and no matter how ridiculous his storylines were, Michael Rosenbaum always sold it.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts, opinions, gripes, live-blogging, etc.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
I don’t think there is another actor, or another character, worthy of Rosenbaum’s position in that show.
However, now that the Lex-Lana storylines are done, I’m hoping Gough and Millar took their "no tights, no flights" rule with them. It seems like Clark should’ve logically became Superman like three seasons ago.
I can’t believe we’ve been watching this show for 8 years
I think there is a chance he will fly, but very little that we will seem him actually as Superman, until the very end. The show changes dramatically once that happens.
I hope he doesn’t fly, to be honest – because at that point there is nothing stopping him from being Superman.
@ronxo – Eight years… ugh, you’re right. Remember when the first trailer premiered at SDCC in 2001? That was awesome.
I miss Jonathan Kent.
Conor – You don’t think they could pull off an actual Superman show in this format? I figure it could work for at least a season…
Of course they *could* pull it off, but that’s not what the show is. It about the journey to becoming Superman, not being Superman.
Regarding the name, you can take the boy out of Smallville, but you can’t take the Smallville out of Superman. Even if they do decide to make this a Superman show, the title would still be relevant.
Considering how weird is Warner Bros is about this stuff, I don’t see them allowing the change to happen.
To me, the whole point of the show was Lex Luthor. With Rosenbaum (and Schneider and Glover for that matter), there’s really no point in watching this show to me. Granted, I bowed out of last season after episode 2, but still… Lex was the lifeblood of this show.
I never really liked Rosenbaum’s Luthor. Maybe it was the way he was written. Liked Lionel though.
I fear my dinner and this show will arrive at the same time… I can’t type with buffalo wing sauced fingers!
Here we go!
(No food yet!)
Mercy? That would be awesome if she was Mercy.
Tess Mercer? I guess it’s close enough.
Woo-hoo! The JLA! I love them, despite their questionable FX and oddly coordinated, purposeful walking.
Haven’t watched in a while. Are those Clark glasses new?
Doomsday… is a regular cast member? That’s interesting.
I never thought I’d live to see a live TV show whose regular cast included both Green Arrow and Doomsday.
@Paul – Clark glasses? Were they in the opening credits?
Seriously, where’s my food? I haven’t eaten all day. I might devour the delivery guy at this point.
I guess after that episode where Lois was undercover as a stripper, Erica Durance is up for any kind of outfit.
Yeah, there’s a scene in the credits where he’s got some Christopher Reeve looking glasses. He pushes them up the bridge of his nose.
@Paul – Ah, yes. Those aren’t regular accessories, that was a special undercover situation. Hopefully they come back this season!
Boxes, trash can fire, barbed wire. Instant Russia.
And the gray filter. Don’t forget that.
It took me 20 minutes to realize that Kara isn’t on the show anymore. I glossed right over that, apparently.
i hate this show. but you made me turn it on. damn you!!!!
I was reading up on the show. Kara’s in the Phantom Zone, yes?
Hey, what a coincidence? *I* taught myself to read in a Louisiana swamp house too!
Also, is Chloe Neo now? She seems to be one with the Matrix.
That was a highly unnecessary Black Canary wire stunt. So awkward.
I believe that those are the dumbest Russian gangsters ever.
I think it’s time for J’onn to show up and sort this mess out.
Has Doomsday been introduced yet or is he just in the credits?
Just the credits. We haven’t seen him on the show yet.
Ollie doesn’t have a stripper pole on his jet? He’s been out-Starked!
He did, but Aquaman was always up on it, so he had to take it down. It was awkward.
"Slippery when wet!"
"Just get down. Please."
The LexCorp baddie reminds me of a slightly more douchey version of some other actor whose name I can’t put my finger on. This post was useless. I’m sorry.
Did Chloe just say "I’ve been awaiting for you"?
I think they’re going for Noah Bennet from Heroes.
Well, this was unexpected…
Good thing there’s a healer down the hall.
Lana! Jonathan! J’onn!
That blazer is fucking dope!
See, I know that J’onn was gona swoop in and get these whipper snappers into shape.
Paul is correct, I miss Jonathan Kent too.
Man, this is NOT a good year for J’onn J’onzz.
When will they learn that people don’t walk away and talk in the opposite direction of the listener….unless they’re making fun of scenes like this.
I just realized that Omni-Man and Jor-El have the same MO: an alien sent to Earth to rule it.
It’s a yeti print!
Why is Jimmy wearing a Two and a Half Men shirt?
I bet there were some Easter eggs in those newspaper front pages that flew past Chloe’s screen.
@Paul – Jimmy idolizes Charlie Sheen.
I, personally, wouldn’t have taken "It’s a long story" as an answer.
The JLA always walks in formation. Always.
If they are going to move the show to Metropolis, they are going to need some better street sets.
If Clark’s going to be a reporter now, it’s really time for a new wardrobe.
That was essentially a Smallville after it’s rained set with the lights turned off.
There was really no reason for Aquaman and Black Canary to be in that episode. I enjoyed it, though.
I’ll keep watching. I am curious about their interpretation of Doomsday as a "likable paramedic with inner demons."
I’m thinking you guys should do more viewing sessions like this. If a movie like hellboy or sin city is on tv and you’re planning on watching it, you should let us all know. Have a community viewing party on the website. Maybe you do this for ever smallville episode…I might just be just out of the loop.
@purdueboifer – We do this for every new episode of SMALLVILLE, HEROES and BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA. Come join in the fun!
i think this was not that bad of an episode. i cant wait to see what doomsday looks like and i like the fact martian manhunter came around. it should prove to be an intresting delve into DC lore
@rayclark – Doomsday was in the credits. He looks like a dude with brown hair.
hey guys! I forgot to get online tonight, i was waaay too excited to watch this episode. I got to watch it in HD, and if u haven’t done that yet, I highly recommend it! It was AWESOME! That new credit sequence was so cool. I’m always geeked to see the new one each season. Those are not used much in tv these days and i love the ever evovling smallville version.
I gotta say, for as worried as i was when i first found out that Lex was leaving, i was really impressed with this episode and really encouraged with the direction this show seems to be going. As much as i thought it should end, if it goes like this i wouldn’t mind another season or 2. That said, I don’t think he’ll ever put on the tights. If he doesn’t become Superman soon, it could be kind of hard to explain.
Obviously we’re gonna miss Lex. Lana.. eh… I’m glad she’s gone, she only dragge the show down. I love Kristen, but Lana’s character grew out her welcome long ago. I think this Tess Mercer is promising. I can’t wait to see how she interacts with Clark. For those that aren’t as dorked out on smallville as me, they named her Tess Mercer as a nod to Lex’s 2 most famous femme fatale confidents… Ms. Tessmacher and Mercy. I like it and I like the actress alot. The jury’s still out on Doomsday. Maybe we see him next week.
I echo Connor’s giddyness on having GREEN ARROW as a regular cast member on a live action tv show. I like Hartley’s chacter that he established in season 6. He is a welcome addition. An unwelcome subtraction is that of Laura Vandervoort’s Kara. I liked her alot last season and I know they’re saying they want to focus more on Clark, but they could have kept her around. I dunno, maybe that would be too much, but I do hope that we get to see some sort of resolution and that Clark mention’s her soon and the fact that she’s gone. I hope the writers simply ignore that, cuz i’ll be disappointed.
Finally, did anyone else geek out at seeing Clark and Lois going at it in the Daily Planet??? I LOVED that scene! Erica Durance has slowly crafted a fantastic version of Lois, that rivaling the all time best Lois in live action (in my opinion), Teri Hatcher.
Can’t wait for next week! Plastique decimates Metropolis!?
Oh… did anyone notice what Ollie used as a fake name in Russia????
ROY CONNOR
An obvious nod to Green Arrow’s ‘boys’ – ROY HARPER & CONNOR HAWKE!
HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!!!!
Holy crap! I didnt think this show was still this popular! At least for 66 comments on this site. lol
I wont lie, I was hoping to stop watching this series once I heard Lex was gone for good and I thought that’s where I should end with the series. But if this was as good as you said it was, then I’ll give it a shot on a rereun hopefully soon this week. But man I gotta say: Looking at Aquaman, Canary, and Green Arrow on that screenshot….Maybe their’s a reason why they dont get pick up for films with those outfits. 😛
The Green Arrow costume is pretty dope, honestly.
I like them all. They all work within the context of the show. Standing still for publicity shots makes any super hero outfit look awkward.
@Paul: Okay Arrow does look a little bad ass…in a very Batman and Robin sort of way *shudders*. Plus your right conor, standing still for photos probably isnt the best way to show how cool these guys are. But seriously, that black band (or is it makeup?) across Black Canary is just stupid….and her hair looks like something out of ‘Back to the Future’. Aquaman? Well I guess he wouldnt look so bad either in motion either….
I’m shocked at how much this wants me to keep going with the season… And to go back and read some recaps of last season… Tons of goodness, and I wanna see Johns’s Legion ep cuz that’s going to rock… I’ll keep watching… But some of the things that Smallville’s done (like falling apart in Act IV) really helped sap my enthusement…
Although when they got to the end credits and there was just that block of executive producers where before there was Al Gough and Miles Millar, I laughed…
You all are haters, Smallville is the greatest show of all-time!!!
Who is "hating"?
I wandered away from this show, pretty bored, around season 4, but this comment thread has piqued my interest again. Do I need to play episode-by-episode catch up before I watch this? Or will a wikipedia synopsis hold me over until I have time to go through all the back seasons?
You damn Ifanboys have a serious influence on my willingness to try (or re-try) things.
It’s not just TV, either. I’m saying this with a copy of the Iron West trade sitting on my toilet tank, recently finished, with a huge list of things to buy on my office whiteboard.
What’s this show about?
My love for iFanboy has grown three sizes this day. I figured there would be no Smallville fans here.
I’m kinda bummed. Most of last year, this show brought teh awesome. The script/acting last night was….weak, ala "make it up as you go" and write your way out of it. I hope it gets better, though I’ll still watch if it sucks. It IS the only Superman TV show there is right now.
I can’t wait to watch the episode again this weekend!
What did everyone think of Tess Mercer? I’m impressed!
Ah, I love "Smallville", especially when them hunky Justice League boys come into town! Heck, forget Clark, I’d be happy just watching a Justice League spin-off.
This one was solid but there have been better season openers of this series. It was cool to see Aquaman even if it was a small part. And the whole Clark dying, then being healed with his powers restored was just a little too convienient for me. But I’m very interested to see how they pull off Doomsday.
I liked this episode and loved the look on Chloe and Oliver’s face as Clark was dying. Although I knew he wasn’t going to die, I was drawn in anyway. I also loved the final scene between Clark and Lois, they are perfect in those roles.
If you haven’t heard, SMALLVILLE was FINALLY added to iTunes today!!!!
If you missed the episode, go download it on iTunes now!!
Finally, Smallville on iTunes!
Not a bad first episode, especially after the mess that was left from last season’s finale. I was really happy they didn’t go to the Clark had amnesia route.
If they want to dress Erica up in outfits every episode I have no problem with that. I did find it terrible that the League spent all that time looking for Clark but no one looked for his cousin, how sad/convenient. I hope they don’t just forget all about her and at least mention that Clark is looking for her during the season.
Did the JL meet Kara? I can’t remember.
Clark becoming a reporter is pretty hard to swallow. He hasn’t graduated college nor has shown any proclivity towards journalism up to this point.
The JL never met Kara.
Laura Vandervoort will be returning as Kara around episode 8 or 9 to wrap up her storyline.
Yah, I thought that was funny. The number one newspaper in the world hires a kid in his early 20’s who has never shown any interest in Journalism or even graduated college. Has anyone else completely lost intrest in Smallville? I mean, yes, it was a relatively interesting hour but there is no consequences, who actually thought superman was gonna die? I mean, cheese factor high. How many times has Clark turned mortal and then almost died?
I really liked the Justice League though, with Ollie, AC, Canary, Bart, J’onn, and Cyborg and we go a wicked sweet spin off show.
Anyone watch Supernatural?
One thing though, I did think that it was awesome that Chloe lost her power and took Brainiacs, btw, when is Spike coming back to smallville?