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SmallvilleYeah, the red "S" really helps us not think of Superman...
There's no denying the pitch meeting for Smallville probably went something like this: "Dawson's Creek meets the X-Files, but it's Superman!" But as far as its WB predecessors go, Smallville owes more to Buffy the Vampire Slayer than to the soapy waters of the Creek, and not a small amount to 7th Heaven.
Smallville is, like Buffy, a show about a different guy who wants to be normal but is reminded at every turn that he can't really deny who he is. And, like 7th Heaven, it's a show about how important family is and all the ways your family defines a person, whether you like it or not. It's about growing up and learning the difference between can and should.
"When will that x-ray vision kick in? "
It's a show about Clark Kent, who makes Superman unique in the world of superheroes. He has a family. He has a lot to lose. He's human, in spite of being, well, not. In classic mythology, heroes are usually orphans or fosterlings, which frees them of the ties that might prevent their heroic journeys. (In fact, the first episode of Smallville was brought to us by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, another tale starring an orphan hero with nothing to lose and everything to gain.) Batman grew out of the orphaned child Bruce Wayne; Superman is Clark Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha Kent.
This would be the appropriate time to mention that, while not totally ignorant of the Kryptonian mythos, I'm no fanboy. Yes, I know he is also Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara, but at this point in this Clark's life, he doesn't, and that is the crux of Smallville.
The most notable changes since Fanboy Planet first reviewed the pilot include the recasting of Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent, and the on-screen destruction of Smallville in October 1989. Young Lana Lang stands just across the street from her parents when they meet their meteoric maker. The fiery special effects aren't bad, and the art direction echoes the best of the comics world, ranging from dark mystery to bright small-town atmosphere to muted down-home farm-y comfort.
Creating a new show about an established character has to be a challenge, and it must be hard to resist the winking asides of foreshadowing, like young Clark wrapped in a long red blanket, or with a red "S" painted on his chest. (Or a knowing reference to Nietzsche.) They aren't distracting yet, but ask again after a few more episodes and the answer may be different. If the producers don't want viewers to immediately link this chiseled "teenager" with the Man of Steel, they need to stop inviting the associations.
In comparison to The X-Files, Smallville doesn't come out well. Suspense isn't the driving force, and most viewers could be as comfortably ahead of the plot in this first episode as Clark could be ahead of the school bus. But against 7th Heaven and the modern Buffy, it fares better. The dialogue and the symbolism are by no means subtle but not blindingly obvious or overly self-conscious. The cast is strong, the tone is right, and it fits well with lead-in show Gilmore Girls, another show about family that doesn't suck. (The word Girls does not have to be followed by Gone Wild to be enjoyable, you know.)
Smallville deserves the cautious praise it has received. Superman's story may have been too hard to tell right, but maybe that's because they weren't telling the real story. Clark Kent, with his reporter instincts, would know the real story is in Smallville.
