Now that the series is finished, Jeremy reviews the Superman prelude series "Smallville". See more videos by Jeremy here: / jeremyjahns For more Awesometacularness, Subscribe to Jeremys blog here: www.jeremyjahns.com/
I think Smallville was ahead of its time, I challenge anyone to name a comic or sci-fi show that could pull off the heartfelt moments that this show did. Fantastic cast, the writing had its moments of weakness like any other show but hey it made it ten years.
Challenge accepted. Firefly, The Boys, the Expanse, Star Trek DS9, Babylon 5, Buffy & Angel (if they count as comics or sci-fi), Batman the Animated series, Daredevil, Westworld season 1, Dr Who, during the Tennent years, The Walking Dead (yes, that is comic show)
I watched the entire series of Smallville and I agree the series highs happened when it focused on Clark's development into becoming Superman. LexLuthor played by Michael Rosenbuam was magnificent and added so much more gravitas to the story. I loved Erica Durance as Lois Lane so much better than lana Lang.
Smallville was so great, because when it was good it was really good, and when it was weird high school drama bullshit it was laughably bad, so no matter what it's entertaining.
Season 9 & 10! Some of the worst seasons and worst acting and plot stories. Might have iconic characters, but some short lived fights scenes. This show started to get better, then got worse. They just didn't elaborate enough in certain areas.
Not the greatest show of all time, but still, after watching 10 seasons, and dedicating so much of your time to the show, it's really rewarding! You are left with an intense nostalgic feeling and sort of an emptiness when you are done.
Dude that's exactly how i felt it leaves you empty and wanting more of Tom as Superman and more Erica as Lois to see where that goes whether they do get married or what
I hated Lana too!! They should've moved on to Lois in season 6 or 7 at least, but when they got to it in season 8 it was worth it Clois totally destroyed that Clana crap
At Chloe's wedding in Season 8 when Lana shoes up and interrupts the Clark and Lois kiss I got so infuriated. That's the moment that I was just done with Lana
Chloe was actually a composite of Lois Lane and Lana Lang from the comics, as she has traits from both characters. Lana Lang on Smallville barely resembles the character from the comics.
@@minerpvpgaming2160 Lana Lang in the comics is like Chloe Sullivan, only with red hair. Lana is a country girl next door who is Clark's best friend and has a crush on him. Chloe is also a lot like Lois because she has the same investigative instincts and thirst for the truth. Lana on Smallville played by Kristen Kreuk is more like Catwoman.
I think Season 9 was by-far the best season. A shame you missed out on it, man. It had the best balance of (teen) drama and romance with the Comic-Book elements, what with Lois, the Justice Society, and the Book of Rao/Major Zod storyline. My second favorite season was 3. That one just had great episodes, including "Memoria", "Legacy", and "Shattered"... And agreed, Michael Rosenbaum is far-and-away the best Lex Luthor. I know people disagree, but I think the show REALLY found some fresh footing once Lex and Lana left. After seven years, Clark can only have so much drama with those two. At that point, Lex had become evil, so his story was pretty much done. Lana had put Clark through so much emotionally, her plot pretty much run its course too. At the end of the day, it's about Clark's evolution, and those characters served their purposes. Season 8-10 really saw Clark taking grasp of his destiny, and in many ways, it was worth the wait.
I agree season 9 was the best season, Lex was great as a villain and season 8 suffered without him cuz doomsday wasbt as strong, but zod was such a good villain you almost forget lex
laxdefender23 Season 8 was flawed, no doubt... but I thought it was an interesting way to go with Doomsday; offering a lil more backstory to Kal-El's arrival.... For the first (and if i'm not mistaken, only) time, Doomsday was more than just a random killing machine...... But the pay-off was pretty tame. One of the things that bugged me about the later seasons, was that you can tell the writers wanted to be more ambitious, in terms of really bringing in comic-book characters, ie. Doomsday, Zod, Darkseid..... but it was painfully clear that the budget had been reduced as the series went on. It's hard to pull off these larger-than-life characters on a limited TV budget. It felt like they had to write their way around their limited resources. Zod had an advantage, because he could appear human, and didn't require as much FX... but guys like Doomsday and Darkseid? You can tell they had to work with what they got.
Manuel Alanis you do realise they could never do that that's why they couldn't get tom welling to play superman in man of steel because there different universes lex luthor should be mark strong or Joaquin phoenix
Honestly, Gotham is better than both Arrow and The Flash right now. I didn’t think I would ever say that, but with the constant awful humor, backing out of amazing opportunities, and focus on Iris and Felicity instead of the actual protagonists, Gotham is pretty much Game of Thrones quality compared to those two shows.
You stopped watching at the worst point cuz season 6 and 7 weren't good but 8 and 9 is where the series got really good again especially 9 Callum Blue was Zod was great.
what? without lex and Lionel the show dipped and and so did their budget....some of the worst special effects were in those seasons, 6 and 7 were better than 8 and 9
I would recommend people to also watch season 8 and season 9. Yes, they are very different from season 1-7, but that doesn't make it bad. Not at all. They have many qualities. Fx. the Clark and Lois relationship. Even if everything rest was crap, and it is not, the chemistry between Tom Welling Erica Durance make the seasons worth watching. They deliver some of the most funniest scenes in Smallville. Doomsday and Zod were also excellent villains (much better than "Darkseid"). I love have they changed Doomsday into be a creepy Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. I also loved Zod and how they characterized him and the Kandorians. Also season 9's final was amazing. I also loved Tess, and how she really wasn't a real villain.
This is one of my all time favorite shows and paved the way for today's hero shows. Also, when Clark would use his speed, this is what brought super slow mo speed action in the movies (Days of Future Past Quick Silver scenes). Smallville is Awesometacular.
There is a comic series called Smallville season 11, and it takes place after Clark becomes Superman in the series. In my opinion it is a really good one.
Big fan of yours man! Just wanted to say I followed Smallville since the first episode, it was kinda cool growing up with the characters, but I was extremely dismayed by Michael Rosenbaum's departure, and nearly gave up, because for me, he made the show, he was AMAZING (Lionel also pretty cool). However, I ended up sticking with it till the end, and extremely glad I did. Season Ten def had some good moments, but some of my absolute favorite episodes in the show's entirety were actually in Seasons 8 and 9. Zod was cast perfectly, and I loved the twist they put in with the Kandorians. I also thought the trench coat was a good look for a proto-Supes. Other than Lex Luthor, I also think Erica Durance was the ideal Lois Lane. Granted Amy Adams was good in 'Man of Steel', she was a very different version of the character. When I look at Smallville's Lois, I feel like they captured the essence of the character from the comics.
Lana was annoying for the whole series. 95 percent of the time the show felt like a Lana Lang origin story that also happened to include Clark Kent. So out of 10 seasons you really only get the last 2 without her. I hated the character so much that I actually hate the actress now.
I know! Same here. More than half the series is ruined for me bc she was so central. The on again, off again with Clark got so old. They should have written her off after season 5 or 6
I'm sure you're happy to hear then she joined (and left) a sex cult then. She actually recruited Allison Mack (who played Chloe) into it who then became a pivotal member of that very cult- aaaaaand then went to prison for it.
Smallville was my all time favorite show. The cast was superb especially Michael Rosenbaum as Lex he KILLED that role and I agree he was the best Lex to ever be put to screen. Also the fact Michael voiced The Flash on the Justice League animated show made it that much better. The writing for Smallville was also great for the most part. Ultimately it was Smallville that opened the door for the CW superhero shows even though they didn’t even come close to Smallville in quality or execution.
Season 8 had ups and downs but Season 9 brought a lot of redemption, best of the final three seasons to me. Yea, I hated Lana as well. I watched all 10 seasons. Season 5 also probably one of my favourites. The ending scene of the 100th episode is one of the most heart wrenching scenes I've seen on television. Smallville was all about the cast and there were some greats. Michael Rosenbaum as you mentioned, Callum Blue who portrayed a young version of Zod in season 9 (Best Zod ever on screen), John Glover, Allison Mack... OMG Allison Mack, licensed bad-ass. She was so good they actually added her to the comic book universe. Favourite episode would probably be the season 4 finale. That was fucking cool!
noobistproductions I'm not much of a comic reader so the specific comic that Chloe was in, but there was a story that came out around when Smallville was coming to an end where she was added to the comic universe. Her appearances are few but I am not sure where it is, as I said I am not an avid comic reader. It happened about half way through the final season I seem to recall, putting people's fears to rest that Chloe was going to die. Speculation over the years suggested that she would but in the end didn't.
+noobistproductions There's also a Smallville Comic-Book continuation series. Some heroes that didn't appear in the series like Batman and Wonder Woman appear.
Mets7chris I definitely agree but the finale was such a let down that it weakened my view on the rest of the season. Jimmy dying was emotional, but other than that I was expecting an epic fight between Clark and Doomsday, which we never got, maybe even his death which would've been cool to resurrect him in the 9th season
+David Hernandez yes the finale was definitely a big letdown. I wasn't too upset about the fight because this is a tv show with a limited budget. I agree that Doomsday should of killed Clark, that would of been an epic way to end an amazing season. All the signs were pointing to Doomsday eventually taking Clark out, the writers should of pulled the trigger. The whole "Clark Kent is dead" was such a cope out.
+David Hernandez However I'm not going to discredit the whole season based on the finale alone. The whole season was brilliant, ( excluding Lana's arc) particularly the first half. I think Davis/Doomsday is among the best done characters on the entire show.
It's sad that I hadn't heard about Zod until a few years ago but I've known Lex Luthor since I was a child thanks to the old Justice League show. Zod never really appeared. Kal-el has never really interested me as much as Selina Kyle XD
hahahaha was looking for a review of this and saw you did one, as a long time fan of you +Jeremy Jahns this proves to me once again you are my all time favorite channel. in the words of charlie chaplin to black adder, dont ever ever ever ever stop
FYI, if you are watching this review, Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling have a channel Talkville where they go through each episode. They are currently on season 3 as of this writing. It's a must watch. My favorite season was 2 when Christopher Reeve showed up and told Clark his origin. The passing of the torch.
Watching this review in 2019, I’ve binged the whole show on Hulu and it still holds up as one of the best superhero shows to me. From the amazing cast to the music and when the drama is done right, it’s just all out some of the best tv for me. Between Smallville and two shows that have followed with a similar premise, Bates Motel and Gotham, are my 3 top favorite tv shows of all time. That’s my personal opinion, I just love these particular tv shows with these kinds of origin stories.
Smallville will always be one of my favourite series. I have all ten seasons and I just loved the show. The last scene of Clark flying off the top of the Daily Planet as Superman accompanied by the anthem was epic.
I stopped around season 6 and then picked back up at season 8 when Lana pretty much disappeared. She was never meant to be what they did with her, it felt like a clingy ex that wouldn't leave and tried to date your friends to make try and get you jealous.
i saw EVERY episode to the finale and smallville was AWESOME! They made clark's problems feel like problems we ourselves might go thru(minus the superpowers),and when the songs played during certain scenes,like the lightning storm on the bridge when clark transfers his powers to the high school kid(shawn ashmore), you could LITERALLY FEEL the situation as if it was happening to you! and of course clark going thru puberty was funny at times. Smallville set the bar way back when and shows nowadays are still trying to replicate a good formula again! ARROW has NOT figured it out,they went WAY to far with the drama like a REAL soap opera , the FLASH has good CGI & science theories, but some of the main characters are to...goofy?annoying?over acting? not sure,but even supergirl is corny, smallville hit it just right with drama mixed in with superpowers and great acting! Sorry, the only show that kinda had a great formula like smallville was the 1st season of heroes, Everyone else needs to step up their game!
Kristin said "I love the people and it’s a wonderful show to work on but I realized there were things I couldn’t do due to the schedule on Smallville" about leaving.
Top 10s 'N' Tributes I love Kristin but I got so sick of Lana, esp after they brought in Lois. I wonder if Kristin left sooner, Lois and Clark would have been together sooner and longer.
Got the complete box set, watched it all like 4 times. I friggin love Smallville, mostly because it started when I was 10 and I watched it through my formative years, still it's a great show I love to watch... Nostalgia Critic should review it to.
Smallville was awesome. I loved every character on set they all were amazing. I was sad when it finished. Thought there would never be an awesome super hero series but thank goodness Arrow came into my life. Two awesome heroes get a series and both come from DC which I like more than the unoriginal Marvel.
Skyler Burns Arrow is the next generations Smallville it started the Arrowverse and the direction of superheroes on TV and it will always have a special place in my heart after a rough couple of seasons (season 3 and 4) it has returned to greatness with Season 5 and 6 and it gave us some of the greatest supervillains in Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and Adrian Chase / Prometheus
Season 1 - 7 are simply amazing. Such rich character development. In seasons 8 - 10, it definitely feels like they tried too hard to cater to an extremely nerdy demographic. The way they addressed certain arcs felt very cheesy, rushed, and was hard to relate with some of the characters. Don't get me started with the finale, it was a god damn joke in my opinion.
Don't get me started with your review. Was a goddamn joke in my opinion. After your first 2 sentences, the whole review fell apart. Season 9 was actually even the best season of the whole series.
Dude, everything you said have been my exact thoughts on Smallville. I even stopped watching after season 7 and came back the finale season to see Clark become Superman. When I saw Hawkman appear, search torrents for the seasons I missed and binged through them and I'd have to say those were the best seasons of the series, it was like writers just said, 'alright we're doing this' and dropped trying to be Dawson's Creek and embraced its comic book origins. I do feel DC/WB made a mistake by not using Smallville to jumpstart the DC Universe. Producers did tie up a number of items of the series and with a little coordinated effort the series could have gone beyond erasing Lex's memory of Smallville & Clark, giving us the actual Jimmy Olsen (Jimmy was actually James Olsen) and showing how and why he got into photography and his relationship with Lois, leaving the window open for Black Canary & Green Arrow to marry, and several other important items that aligned with comic canon. Tom Welling's first full adventure as Superman should have been the Man of Steel movie. Being as the goal of Smallville was to humanize Superman so he's relatable (as was stated by WB heads back in '01) there would not have been so many complaints and backlash over an overly dark and uninspiring DC cinematic universe. Plus it would have had two built-in audiences, the comic fanboy and the 10.1 million national audience of mostly girls who turned out for the first episode and remained in greater numbers over the 10 year period than the most viewed episode of Arrow, Legends or Flash. And it would have prevented any claims by Marvel and it's fans that DC is only trying to replicate Marvel as its universe came first. Not only that, it would have united the TV and film universes in ways Marvel has yet to do. With DC absolutely killing it with the scraps the WB allows them to play with, imagine what could have been done. Lastly, I do want to say that while yeah, the series gave us the origin of Superman, what I believe the true message and over arching plot of the series was about friendship (and the power of). One can't walk away from watching the entire series and not say it was a story about Clark Kent as it was every bit a story about Chloe Sullivan. It was because of her that he embraced his future and as far as I am concerned there is no Superman without Chloe Sullivan standing at his side
Smallville was absolutely great, the only thing that I wish they could've done better is the action sequences, cause they lasted about 10-30 seconds (at most)
I was very disappointed when Lex left after season 7 but they actually did a fair job with the Doomsday story arc, Zod and eventually Dardseid. I too wish they would have shown Tom in the actual costume head to toe but for what it was it was still a sweet send off to a long running tv series. ***Spoiler*** Also love how Lex came back in the series finale for one more face to face controntation with Clark. Good stuff.
The finale was a huge let down but I agree that smallville was fantastic at making likable villains. I felt so bad for Davis and a little hit for Zod. When I heard that Zod was gonna be young in the show, I was hesitant to watch but that was fantastic. Season 8 was my fave because it began the foundation for the Clark and Lois relationship and by hell was Lois saying she loved Clark in an electric chair satisfying
I’m watching Smallville in full for the first time (I watched season 6-8 and 10 when they first aired) and now I’m looking for retrospectives to watch after and I found this. I haven’t dug deep in your backlog since I’ve started watching you and it’s so weird seeing you how you look here compared to now
"They brought in Darkseid" but... they did nothing with him, really. Like.. Superman flew and everything ended. No fight, ni big showdown, no stakes, he just flew and everything was fine for some reason I still do not understand. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I think I'm not.
noonooslow I liked a lot of the series. I liked brainiac a lot, a Michael Rosenbaum was a great Luthor (imo), but the ending was crap. It pissed me off, and I didn't even know who Darkseid was at the time, so when I found out who it was later, it pissed me off even more.
I saw the whole 10 series great show, yeah there were a couple of weak seasons but great show overall, Apparently they were planing to turn it into superman but Tom welling wasn't a fan and already had enough,
+TOMMY-CYMRU-87 I acted in every episode for 10 seasons all about ONE genre, I'd probably get fed up too lol. Tom Welling was a great actor for clark kent, but I applaud him even more for being able to stick too the ten seasons that came out. I totally understand and respect his decision.
+TOMMY-CYMRU-87 That's usually the problem with the shows that go on for a long run. While there is usually a good reason why shows that go for 10 seasons like Smallville did: It's a fucking good show. However, long-running shows start to fatigue a little bit and get a few weak seasons in before it crosses the finish line.
I am on season 9... It is my favorite show!! I do think Lana was too dramatic, but I liked Chloe, Pete, and Clark in high school. they were really cool together.
They continued the Smallville story in 'Season 11' which is a comic series of Clark being Superman. It features Batman, Wonder Woman, *spoliers* Tess becomes Red Tornado in the finally, and we learn the name of Chloe's son. I hope, and though it won't happen regrettably, but if they made hour long animations with as much as the original cast to portray their characters again (Allison Mack as Chloe, Justin Hartly as Olliver Queen, Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent, etc) it would be perfect. There are even small 'spin off episodes' of Smallville's version of the Teen Titans.
So, I've recently started watching season 1 of smallville. I'm planning to watch the entire series, so should I just skip the shitty seasons and just watch the good seasons?
you should watch all of the seasons may in case you get last. But if you had to skip a season it would definitely be season 6. Season 4 has some good and bad. Other than that, it's a pretty great show. Lana Lang however will wear you down. No matter how much if a crush you have on her at the beginning of the series. The best episode for my money is arguably S5 Episode 100 Reckoning.
Watch season 2, 3, 4(maybe just because lois lane is introduced), 5, 8, 9, 10. Season 6 and 7 have good points as the justice league is introduced in season 6 and there are some good episodes in that season as well. Season 7 is a shit fest but i liked kara. She was under utilized. The later seasons are my favorite as they mirror more recent comic book tv shows. There is less high school bullshit. and the finale makes it all worth it
I hate that everyone hates Lana 😭 was Clark not supposed to fight for love for as long as he could? She was annoying during her time with Lex but the climactic ending of season 6 when she found out how vile Lex really was and Lex got arrested at the dam -- made it well worth it to have put up with their love triangle bs for so long; I literally clapped at those moments. Her S7 story was perfect because it really made it obvious to both of them that they weren't meant to be with each other -- the classic bitter realization for high school sweethearts. And it made moving into Lois feel realistic and adult like, like he finally grew up. She may have been annoying but she was needed. 😭
I im a huge fan of smallville to the point where i downloaded 7 season seasons and watched all of them in just over a week :O yes i did do that and admit it on youtube but smallville is a classic, sure it dropped off from season 7 onwards but it still had that occasional glimpse of greatness and thats why after 10 years i still love this show.
I have a love and hate with Smallville. The ideas were there, but the execution was very poor and some of the ideas were redone too many times, and it was the bad ideas that kept being done over and over.
I like Michael Rosenbaum, but he is such a fool for leaving the show. Also when they were looking for someone to cast as Lex in Batman vs Superman, Rosenbaum wanted to play Lex again, but I was like "Dude, you had your chance, you walked away from it, you can't come back NOW!"
yeah smallville was my favorite show when it was on, but now that i've seen shows like game of thrones and breaking bad, i kinda look back on it as a childhood thing. but i agree that it was a great way to show the origins of superman. and yeah about what jeremy said about lex leaving after 7, what most people forget is that the people who created the show also left after that season, so it was whole new writers and producers as well as no lex luthor. i didn't like season 8, liked season 9 a lot, and season 10 really was the perfect conclusion to it. although i disagree that season 5 was the best, I personally think that season 7 was the best. also jeremy i know this review was like 3 years ago so idk if you've seen more of it by now, but during season 9 they did a two hour special with the justice society, so that was awesome to see Clark and the new generation of heroes with Hawkman and the old generation of heroes, so if you haven't seen it, check it out because that was my favorite part of the whole series
I actually started a screenplay for a new Superman movie with 3 of the original Smallville cast (Clark, Lois, and Lex.) It was another origin story for Superman following very close to the 1977 plot, mixed with segments from Superman Returns with a little of my own plot ideas. And, yes, it does feature the iconic John Williams Superman Theme.
I thought series 1-5 were really good. Series 6-7 were soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo shit. Series 8-9 were really really good. And series 10 was just amazing
As much as I really enjoyed this show, I couldn't stand Lana!!! Especially with the Lex bull crap! The man is clearly evil and deceptive and everyone warned her about him but she's sooooo dumb! Man season 5 and 6 were the worst! After that Lana bull crap the show did get much better.
I never watched Smallville I miss out on that but thanks to Hulu getting it last month i binge watched all 10 seasons and I must say it was great I love ever season.
Ok, this series was horseshit. Serious, fucking, horse shit. Every single episode, the bad guys would all get hold of Kryptonite (or it was part of the location where he was fighting them, or its what gave them power) and Clark would instantly keel over. Then, every season there was one person who acted AGAINST Clark's interests, but claimed they were doing it to "protect him". It got so bad it almost felt like he was a little child who still believed in Santa, and nobody had the heart to tell him. THEN, they had this SERIES-long game of "teasing" his flight, but it NEVER materialized. Not that he needed it to get around, mind you, his speed did that just fine. But to me, advertising it again and again, then screwing the audience is called screwing the audience. And the ending with no clear shot of him flying or wearing the suit? or how EVERYONE he met the last 10 years wouldn't just look at him and immediately go "Oh, that's Clark Kent, martha's boy"? I have no clue.
Smallville one of the best shows I've seen. How could you not mention Lionel Luthor. He was one of the best thing ablut the show. Also this was a badass show. Not only the male characters but the female characters were all badasses. Tess Mercer was a mean badass bitch and I loved it. Lex was great. Chloe was great as well the best friend who saved Superman time after time. Miss this show so badly.
Smallville's greatness I think comes from the later seasons with more justice league-esque story lines with a focus on adult relationships. Besides the reappearnce of lana, lois and clark are a pair that is never treated like the high school bullshit that was lana and clark in high school. I think that is the main problem with the arrowverse. While cgi and action has improved, every relationship arc is always treated like some high-school romance. (specifically talking about arrow and LoT. the flash has had some mature relationships in season 2 but the love triangle in season 1 was boring).
David Hernandez I haven't watched the series since 2014. They use to show it Syfy channel here in England but they stopped showing it for 2 years. I really want to watch it again but I hate watching TV series online although the first time I watched Smallville back in 2009 I use to watch in poor quality online. Smallville's in my top 5 best shows.
I watched the series ever since It aired and I haven't thought of it much since then. Haven't seen it in years but I jusr spent $70 getting it on dvd (individual seasons on ebay). Looking forward to watch an episode a day for my morning workouts. Its exactly the amount of time I spend on an elliptical before heading off to work.
Really? The ending was satisfying to you!? I guess it's okay for what Smallville became at the end... boring and stupid, and yes I've watched the ENTIRE series! (just because I was so deep in that piece of shit show, and I hadn't learn to stop watching when I didn't like things XD )
Somebody Save Me! (from quitting the series) hey! i began watching from the beginning a little time ago. finished the first season and starded the second. in the beginning i was like 'okay, there's some really nice stuff mixed up with bad teen drama, so it's a silly series to chill'. But then I felt it wasn't worth it... I want to keep watching but I know there's gonna be lots of not really nice moments, more than the good ones. So I'd really like to know if you have any suggestions as of what seasons or episodes should i watch or skip! Thanks a lot!
I am still in the process of watching all of it (Season 8 now). And I agree with you. You said it and I will say it: Smallville's interpretation of Lex Luthor is by far the best one. When you see how actually he evolves from (apparently) a nice guy to one of the biggest villains in history. And when you think about it, he had his reasons, he had his bad things happen to him. And it's kind of understandable for him to become what he becomes.
Jeremy Jahns, hav you read the Smallville Season 11 +, it's an ongoing digital comic series, after Season 11, there are other names to it. from what i've heard, it's apparently really good... it has WW and Bats in it
