# Last night's Smallville - an aneurysm-inducing product of the WB... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343 "2001-10-24T17:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/21 "2001-10-25T02:00:43Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Saltire \* \*\* > [@](#): > > By the way, when Lana and Lex spoke in this episode, they seemed to imply that he was several years older than she. Is he in high school like the rest, or is he college-aged? \*\* I was wondering the same thing! šŸ˜‰ My guess would be that heā€™s supposedly older ā€“ maybe a couple of years out of college ā€“ but no more than thatā€¦ ā€¦which leads me to wonder if his billiard-ball-smooth head is supposed to make us think heā€™s olderā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/22 "2001-10-25T02:33:03Z")
Lex was 8 or 9 when the meteors hit in the premiere. Clark and Lana were toddlers. ā€¦is anyone ELSE going to mention the Gratuitous African-American Chum? The one who seems to be the only Person of Color in this little Kansas town (unless you count half-Asian Lana, and none of her relatives looked half-Asian to me, so I assume the character [as opposed to the actress portraying her] isnā€™t supposed to be half-Asian)? Iā€™ll bet HE has an amazing backstory. Maybe he landed with the meteors, too. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/23 "2001-10-25T02:33:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nacho4Sara \* > \*\*Iā€™m still not exactly sure what the show is about. Every time I see Mr. Fehrā€™s lovely chiseled features, I devolve into a semi-comatose state. > \*\* Odedā€¦ \ ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/24 "2001-10-25T05:24:28Z")
kiz > [@](#): > > ā€¦which leads me to wonder if his billiard-ball-smooth head is supposed to make us think heā€™s olderā€¦ Doesnā€™t _anyone_ know their Superman mythology? Or at least watch the premiere? Lex is bald (in this version) because his hair follicles were destroyed when the meteor struck in the field where he was being scared by the electric scarecrow. In the original, there have been a number of explanations offered and retconned for Luthorā€™s baldness. In one continuity he was bald because Superboy accidentally blew chemicals on him while Superboy was extinguishing a fire in young Lexā€™s lab. At the time of the John Byrne retcon, he was just balding. He apparently started shaving his head after Lois Lane told him his male-pattern baldness made him look like ā€œFred Mertz.ā€ Since then in the comics heā€™s been through at least one cloned body. I havenā€™t read comics regularly for several years so I donā€™t even know if currently heā€™s bald. I would assume so, since Luthor with hair just isnā€™t Luthor. Ike > [@](#): > > ā€¦is anyone ELSE going to mention the Gratuitous African-American Chum? His name is Pete, yes? Clark had a childhood chum named Pete. In the comics he was white. Eventually he married Lana and became a United States senator. I seem to remember a disgraced resignation but Iā€™m hazy. I donā€™t recall comic book Peteā€™s last name so I donā€™t know if theyā€™re supposed to be the same character. Something I keep forgetting to mention. Did anyone else notice that bug boy droveā€¦a VW bug? Itā€™s comedy! Then, right after the crash, there was an ad forā€¦the NEW VW BUG! Itā€™s even more comedy! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/25 "2001-10-25T12:41:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > **Smallville is one dark, sick show. Geez, the villain is a nerdu kid who videotapes the female lead (just like in American Beauty and keeps lepidoptera (like Jamie Gumm in Silence of the Lambs and metamorphoses into a man/insect with greater strength and the ability to stick to walls (like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly). Iā€™m annoyed that you make up the episode by ripping off movies. Plus the villain kills and _eats his mother_!** You forgot to mention Lana Langā€™s 1960ā€™s appearances as **Insect Girl** in the Legion of Super-Heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/26 "2001-10-25T13:00:41Z")
Lana was called Insect Queen, not Insect Girl. Pete in the show is indeed Pete Ross, and he has always been white in the comics. His race change for the show is sheer gratuitous tokenism, much like changing Harvey Dent from white to black for the first Tim Burton _Batman_ movie. Iā€™m wondering if even Peteā€™s parents will be black. The producers probably figure they only need one in the castā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/27 "2001-10-25T14:30:56Z")
Lex is out of college and has taken over his fatherā€™s failing fertilizer business or something to that effect. You can get character bios (including Peteā€™s) at the WB siteā€¦ Unless theyā€™ve already taken the site down because they know the only reason people are watching is to see the pretty people. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/28 "2001-10-25T16:06:28Z")
Last night, after watching the show, I had this thought: ā€œso, every week thereā€™s going to be some new supervillan that gets formed, wrecks half this really small town, goes on a mass killing spree and then life goes back to normal? Why not just drop the drama aspect of the show and call the town South Park?ā€ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/29 "2001-10-25T17:54:49Z")
> [@](#): > > You forgot to mention Lana Langā€™s 1960ā€™s appearances as Insect Girl in the Legion of Super-Heroes. I didnā€™t forget it ā€“ I just didnā€™t think it relevant. But I was thinking about it during the show. To tell the truth, Insect Queen (or whatever) always seemed a really odd concept to me even then. But if they tried to do it on **Smallville** theyā€™d have Lana trying to bite someoneā€™s head off after sex. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/30 "2001-10-28T02:42:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\*Pete in the show is indeed Pete Ross, and he has always been white in the comics. His race change for the show is sheer gratuitous tokenismā€¦ \*\* So what? You ask, why does Pete need to be black. I ask, why does he need to be white? Tokenism it may be; thatā€™s still a damn sight better than a whitewash. ā€“Cliffy P.S. BTW, in the comics, Pete Ross is currently Vice-President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/31 "2001-10-28T02:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Cliffy_ > \*\*P.S. BTW, in the comics, Pete Ross is currently Vice-President of the United States. \*\* Nice balanced ticket, that. I sure hope he and Lex carried Kansas. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/32 "2001-10-28T13:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > Since then in the comics heā€™s been through at least one cloned body. I havenā€™t read comics regularly for several years so I donā€™t even know if currently heā€™s bald. I would assume so, since Luthor with hair just isnā€™t Luthor. > \*\* I agree with you but didnā€™t Lex have a full head of curly hair (okay, that didnā€™t sound right at all) in _Lois & Clark_? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/33 "2001-10-28T15:50:35Z")
> [@](#): > > I agree with you but didnā€™t Lex have a full head of curly hair (okay, that didnā€™t sound right at all) in Lois & Clark? I only watched a few episodes of L&C, but yes, at least to start Lex (played by John Shea, now ā€œAdamā€ on Mutant X) had curly black hair. I have a dim memory of seeing a few minutes of a later episode with a bald Lex but it could be my addled mind playing tricks on me. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/34 "2001-10-28T16:45:31Z")
Remember, this happened PreCrisis. There were many paralel realities. The 2 that appeared most often were Earth 1 and Earth 2. Thus, you have Lana Lang 1 and Lana Lang 2. One became Insect Girl and the other became Insect Queen. Iā€™ll go dig out the appropriate volume of DCā€™s Whoā€™s Who for further details. Lois&Clark Lex-IIRC He went into a cryogenic chamber as part of some plot or another(I think it involved faking his death). The process had the unfortunate side effect of making him lose his hair. Smallville-I hated the premiere. I decided not to watch any further episodes. Looks like I made the right call. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/35 "2001-10-28T16:53:47Z")
Both Lanaā€™s were called Insect Queen. The Golden Age Lana of Earth 2 was empowered by a Scarab amulet made by Egyptian sorcerers as protection from locusts. The Lana of Earth 1 rescued a frail, insectoid, alien from beneath a fallen tree. Inspired by her strength and kindness (and possibly by the origin of Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern), he gave Lana a ring that allowed her to transform into various insectoid forms, and use the abilities of that insect. This Lana did journey to the 30th century and became a reserve member of the Legion. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/36 "2001-10-29T00:03:57Z")
Okay, veggie man, I finally watched the whole thing in one sitting. It was contrived and kind of dumbā€¦but I think Iā€™ll keep watching. I donā€™t watch these kinds of shows (Dawsonā€™s Creek, Felicity, et al) often, so I think I donā€™t have to feel bad about watching one. I thought Clarke was cute. As was ā€œBugboyā€ (Greg). Sort of reminded me of Jeremy from ā€œBoston Publicā€ with the oppressive mom, and the, matricide and the coming out of his shell and all that. Lana is a little too creepily perfect. Lex is kind of sexy too, in his way. I love how he controls so much and everyone thinks theyā€™re doing it on their own. Like the lead boxā€¦itā€™s like he knows lead has power over Kryptoninte. Heā€™s the only one with any sense in this whole show. Iā€™m no Superman purist- fact is I know little or nothing about it. I guess that is why I like it. It would be weird if every week something odd happened. How many super villains can they pull off, anyway, without being too unrealistic? (More so that is.) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/37 "2001-10-29T01:58:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nacho4Sara \* > \*\*Oded Fehr is talking, his lips are moving, other people say things, but all I hear is the crashing waves of the ocean as we picnic at sunset in the heavenly beach of my imagination. > > Iā€™m still not exactly sure what the show is about. Every time I see Mr. Fehrā€™s lovely chiseled deatures, I devolve into a semi-comatose state. > > \*\* So youā€™ve finally discovered the wonder of Israeli men! Itā€™s about time the world took note of our perfection. (Seriously, though, itā€™s good Hollywood finally has a good-looking _Sabra_. Topol just wasnā€™t cutting it). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/38 "2001-10-29T03:17:12Z")
Dear godā€¦he looks diabolic. Sorry, but it had to be said. šŸ™‚ Oh I have a question about the music now. In the last episode (the one with the bugs), what was the song that plays in the very end? And that song that plays over the promos for it? The really dramatic one? Re bug boy- I really loved the Papa Roach poster in his room and the fact that he drove a VW bug. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/39 "2001-10-29T05:14:06Z")
I dunno about you all, but Lex Luthor was the sexiest guy on that show. Damn! Iā€™d like to rub his bald head in oilā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343/40 "2001-10-29T05:36:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > \*\*Dear godā€¦he looks diabolic. Sorry, but it had to be said. šŸ™‚ > > Oh I have a question about the music now. In the last episode (the one with the bugs), what was the song that plays in the very end? And that song that plays over the promos for it? The really dramatic one? > > Re bug boy- I really loved the Papa Roach poster in his room and the fact that he drove a VW bug. šŸ™‚ \*\* Well, I know that one of the songs played in the episode was ā€œThe Callingā€, _ā€œWherever You Will Goā€_. It struck me as amusing because _ā€œEnterpriseā€_ used the same song in itā€™s promos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-nights-smallville-an-aneurysm-inducing-product-of-the-wb/89343.md?page=3)