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SmallvilleDon't call him Superboy.
This summer the hot new concept has become "re-imagining." Already the word should inspire dread in the hearts of genre fans; Planet of the Apes re-imagined was just so much bad monkey business. The Musketeer? Please. Thankfully, the one re-imagining that could have been the scariest turns out to be pretty good. It helps that most attempts to bring Superman to life have been clumsy. This one isn't.
Smallville marries the Superman mythos with an X-Files vibe. Which makes sense, as David Nutter directs the pilot (he spent some time putting Mulder and Scully through their paces). But even with this darker take on Clark Kent's school days, glimpses of the man he will become shine through.
Jarring as it may be, the creators of the show have chosen to set the adventures of Superman when he was a boy in modern day. Twelve years ago, a meteor shower pounded Smallville, turning it from "the creamed corn capitol of the world" to "the meteor capitol." The town also suffered a lot of damage and lost lives, including (off-screen and only inferred) the Langs. Young Lana (Kristin Kreuk) now lives with her aunt, which jibes with comics continuity.
Also in the meteor shower, as you all know, comes a spaceship. Its landing almost kills The Kents (John Schneider and Cynthia Ettinger), whose truck overturns. But a naked toddler comes to their rescue.
On the other side of town, young Lex Luthor, bored with his father's attempt to buy out a farm, wanders into a cornfield. There he encounters a crucified man with a crude red S drawn on his chest, who begs the boy to help him. Terrified, Luthor runs off, just as meteorites flatten the entire field. His distraught father (John Glover) finds him shivering in flattened corn, all his hair gone.
And so one of the most ridiculous aspects of the original Superboy/Lex Luthor rivalry gets a clever twist. Yes, Lex has lost his hair because of Clark, indirectly. But neither of them realize it yet. Will it be enough to send Lex spinning into evil?
"I'm Clark Kent and I'm dreamy. "
Hopefully not. The show creators, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, seem to have far more up their sleeve. The adult Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), a few years older than Clark (Tom Welling), is merely careless, in the way that a child of privilege might well be. The tragedy stems from his desire to be something different from his ruthless father. Lex really wants friendship, love, and a place in the community. But growing up a Luthor means he has no idea how to attain those things. Pride and frustration may lead to evil.
By contrast, Clark could easily have it all. Broodingly good-looking (and in true WB casting fashion, far older than 15), intelligent, the only thing that holds Clark back is his growing realization that he's not like other men. To make his apparent nerd-dom believable, the writers have provided a kryptonite necklace: whenever Clark approaches Lana, the glowing stone around her neck causes him to grow weak, trip, stammer, and feel like he's going to throw up.
In a moment of destiny, Lex accidentally hits Clark while swerving in his Porsche; both fly off of a bridge and into the river. Naturally, Clark saves Lex, forming the basis for a tentative friendship.
And what of the guy crucified in the cornfield? That would be telling. Suffice to say that that scene comes back to haunt some citizens of Smallville, and establishes the hook of the show. With all that kryptonite radiation around, some people are going to suffer some changes. While we dare not mention the word "supervillains," they will run through the series in all but spandex.
The production seems to want to have it both ways. Obviously, you have to believe a man can fly from the outset, though he may only be leaping the fabled 1/8 of a mile during the series. Welling has publicly distanced himself from being labeled "Superman." Though the creators are trying to take as realistic as possible a look at the character, they still make sly allusions to the larger DC Universe. Barry Allen makes an appearance in a newspaper article, and rumor has it that they will also allude to Green Arrow in a later episode. (But then right now isn't everybody trying to work in Green Arrow?)
Still, superpowers make the characters uncomfortable. Lex thinks he may have imagined them in Clark, but invulnerability troubles Clark himself. Like any high school freshman, he wants to be normal. It's a sticking point in the conception, because he also knows full well that with his super-strength, he could be a great football player, and has no problem racing through the cornfields to beat the schoolbus. Yet he survives getting knocked through a bridge and has a fit. Go figure.
The show makes an interesting choice in giving Clark a tremendous sense of guilt over what has happened to Smallville. He blames himself for the death of the Langs, and feels that he has to fix things.
At first, this motivation seems at odds with the Superman we know. But Clark is still young, and of course takes things personally. With time, we can hope that he grows to understand that his powers are a blessing to share with the world. When the time comes to be Superman, he should do it because it's the right thing, not because he has penance to do.
Overall, the show has been well cast. Rosenbaum plays Lex with an openness tinged by unknowing arrogance, echoing Glover as his father. Relative newcomer Kreuk has little to do right now but be cute and puzzled, but she does it well. The real surprise comes in Schneider as Pa Kent; this Duke boy has turned out to be the perfect incarnation of the dad we'd all like to have, but even better-looking.
As Martha Kent, Ettinger shows appropriate concern, but by the time this pilot makes it to air, she will have been replaced. Her few scenes will easily have been re-shot with Annette O'Toole, a good choice. It's not that Ettinger sucks; she is simply too young. She looks like she undergoes age make-up to be Clark's mother, which looks silly next to Schneider. O'Toole is the right age while still being the attractive mom television demands.
One other crucial "re-imagining" for the show, and we thank the producers for it, is that the rocket that brings Kal-El to Earth finally looks alien. Not a single House of El marking upon it. This Clark Kent will earn and create the "S" shield all by himself.
Smallville sets its mark by respecting the legend without being slavish to it. And it's a heck of a lot better than Lois and Clark.
