Post by buffysmglover on Oct 27, 2007 11:13:06 GMT -5
The Longest running Superman show on TV gets better with time
Keith O'Neil, Staff Columnist
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: A & E
The character Superman has had many incarnations on television, like the 1950's series "Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves, "The Adventures of Superboy" in the 1980s with Gerard Christopher and "Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman" starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher as the title characters.
But one television incarnation has stood out above the rest, and that show is "Smallville".
In all honesty, "Smallville" is the best written Superman show so far. It seems to get better and better every season.
The writing is one of the reasons why it is the longest running Superman show on TV. Sure, some of the plots were laughable in the first season with the "Freak of the Week" concept with villains that could suck the fat out of you, or control bee's. But after those stories got out of the way, the show got better with time.
One of the reasons why the show seems to get better is because some episodes are written by comic book writers.
For example, one of the best episodes from season two entitled "Red" shows when Clark is first exposed to red Kryptonite.
That episode was written by Jeph Loeb, the top comic book writer in the industry today. What made that episode stand out is that it seemed like a story from the old "Superboy" comic series, plus it was well written.
Other notable comic writers that have worked on "Smallville" are Mark Verheiden and Steven S. DeKnight.
Another reason why "Smallville" stands out is the acting. Tom Welling has played a young Clark Kent very well.
He has the right charisma and personality for Kent. He also has good chemistry with Kristen Kreuk who plays Lana Lang and Erica Duance who plays Lois Lane.
Another stand out on the show is Michael Rosenbaum who plays future Superman nemesis Lex Luthor. He truly steals the show when he shows Lex's dark side.
What also makes "Smallville" the best Superman show is that it introduces the general audience to other comic characters they normally would not be familiar with.
The show has introduced other notable DC Comics characters like Martian Manhunter (played by Phil Morris of "Seinfeld" fame) and Cyborg (Lee Thompson Young from "the Famous Jett Jackson").
But the notable DC character that made multiple appearances that stood out the most was Oliver Queen aka the Green Arrow (played by Justin Hartley).
The writers did a really good job introducing the character to an audience who had no idea who he was. They made him a very interesting character by making him dark and mysterious.
It was also very refreshing on the show to see someone confront Clark making him realize there are places in trouble other than Smallville, KS.
In addition, Hartley did a great job as the emerald archer. He was clearly the right choice for the character.
Green Arrow's appearance on "Smallville" made him go from a second tier character in the DC universe into one of the most popular ones today.
So if you want to watch a show with good writing and acting, why don't you head on over to "Smallville"?
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