Smallville's Big Premiere

I was going to do a new season TV roundup at some point, but since I've already said a few words about The Night Stalker and I'm watching the 5th Season opener for The WB's Smallville right now I figured I'd post some comments on it.

Executive Producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar promised that this season would give viewers everything they've ever wanted to see but since I know that Lana is, once again, a regular cast member and was not, as I would have hoped, devoured by weaponized penguins in the premiere, I take this 'promise' with a pound of salt. All the characters pretty much pick up where they left off last season in the wake of yet another meteor shower: Clark and Chloe are at the North Pole setting up the Fortress of Solitude, Lex is now the bad guy, another Kent family member ends up in the hospital and two Kryptonians have arrived from beyond to raise heck.

sigh

I naively thought that we might see something different from the show this year but it looks like more of the same seems to be in order for for the next 20 odd episodes to come. The melodrama will continue to be laid on pretty thick, Clark and Lex will still be arguing about whether or not they're being honest with each other, Lana will look perplexed and wander through the series seemingly with purpose, people will be in and out of the most poorly lit hispital on television because it's one of their biggest standing sets and they'll continue to shamelessly rip-off Donner's Superman because they can't work out their own spin on the whole mythos.

The one thing I was happy with was Chloe (who is pretty much my favourite character). I'm happy to see her character finally reveal to Clark that she knows his secret and has for some time. Since the beginning of the series their scenes together have been, by far, the only good thing on the show, as far as I'm concerned and this new aspect of their friendship may be enough to keep me watching for a few episodes.

Overall, I still think Smallville is one of the biggest disappointments on television for three years running with all likelihood of making it four. How it stays on year after year while other more brilliant shows languish, I'll never know. Why I bother to keep tabs on it after being repeatedly burned, I have only myself to blame.

mike