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Date Posted: 11:01:39 11/05/03 Wed
Author: Grim ,_,_)
Author Host/IP: 66.95.229.84
Subject: Completely OT - Grim's stoopid question of the day.

It turns out that I may be on a panel at an SF convention coming up in December. The panel is on Smallville and whether or not it can be counted as Superman or not.

You all know my opinion of the show and I realize that I am in the minority here. But I want to do a good and fair job.

Do you see Smallville as part of the Superman mythos? Separate from the mythos? Related, but only in name? What do you like and dislike about the show?

Be as long winded as you like and let me know if I may use some of your insights at the panel.

Thanks!

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Replies:

[> Re: Completely OT - Grim's stoopid question of the day. -- Hazel, 11:12:10 11/05/03 Wed (137.21.144.64)

I watch Smallville, but I never really think about that. It makes lots of joking refrences to the future. Things like Lex asking Clark if he thinks men can fly and Clark saying "in an airplane." Recently, they also brought in information about Jor-El and Clark learned his name is Kal-El. So it definatly tries to be part of the legend. In fact, I think they're bringing Perry White in the next episode.

But I just enjoy it as a show. I laugh at the refrences, or take note when they get something right or wrong. But I just enjoy it as a separate entity.


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[> Not a stupid question at all. -- Pouncer, 11:42:33 11/05/03 Wed (198.26.74.99)

As a non-comics reader (we really need to get Anthony's opinion on this) who's only heard about the many variations on Superman through the comics ages, I think that Smallville represents a variation on a theme. As Buffy viewers we all know about alternate universes - to me, Smallville is an alternate Superman universe. It shares characters and certain situations, but presents a new and unique version of Clark Kent's upbringing. It's one I enjoy, but I understand how you couldn't (cf. my feelings about Hercules and Xena and their relation to Greek myths. Horror isn't too strong a label for my reaction).

What I like about the show (not an exhaustive list):

-The inclusion of Lex Luthor as Clark's friend. Every time I think about their future enmity, I get choked up. The series will play out as a tragedy because of their inevitable rift.
-The growing mythology about Clark's origins, Kryptonite, and Lionel Luthor's manipulation of same.
-The close family relationship between the Kents.

What I Dislike:

-The use of Lana Lang. As a character, she's supposed to be perfect, which is boring. And she is also overused to an astonishing degree. The actress is not good enough to add layers or depths to her portrayal, meaning that my teeth ache during many of her scenes.
-Poor execution - too often the show takes good ideas and squanders them due to lack of attention. The quality of continuity, both plot and character, could be much better.
-Overly simplistic moralizing, although this appears to be abating with the new season.

I thought the end of the second season was poor, but they've started out the third season right. As a viewer, I'm now eager to watch instead of wary, which is the way it should be.


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[> I can't improve on Pouncer's reply. -- wwolfe, 12:13:07 11/05/03 Wed (161.149.63.110)

I was going to suggest that "Smallville" is to "Superman" as "Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is to "Hamlet," but I think Pouncer's explanation of it serving as a parallel universe is more concise and less pretentious.

The one point I might expand on a little is: "too often the show takes good ideas and squanders them due to lack of attention." I agree, and I would suggest that one element that the show tends to lack in its execution is the ability - or possibly even the recognition of the potential - to add layers of meaning and ambiguity through the use of metaphor. This is a fairly central failing in a genre show such as this one. To a large extent, this element manages to be visible through the haze, despite the writers' maladroit use of this device, simply because the premise itself makes it unavoidable. The inability to fully exploit this tool, however, means that the show tends to be one-dimensional, and to exert much less pull on one's imagination after any given episode ends, than did "Buffy."

If "Superman" were of great importance to me - and I can see why it is, for anyone who feels that way - I expect this show would bother me, in the same way that the fatuous portrayal of the Fifties and early Sixties in movies like "Grease" bothers me. But since I have only a fondness for "Superman," rather than a passion, this current variation on the story doesn't bother me.


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[> [> I'd like to add... -- wwolfe, 12:16:34 11/05/03 Wed (161.149.63.110)

...that I think a view point like yours, Grim, is a prefectly valid one, and ought to be represented on a panel like the one you'll be on. It's similar to Angharad and me speaking against the prevailing wisdom that "good" music began with the Beatles and Bob Dylan, or that only people who sing their own songs are truly artists.


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[> [> [> Thank you, guys. This is a big help. -- Grim ,_,_), 13:43:25 11/07/03 Fri (66.95.229.84)


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