# Why don't people like Smallville? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183 "2006-10-20T03:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Composer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Composer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Composer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/41 "2006-10-20T19:09:41Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] That’s Justin Headley, whom I first noticed noticed when he was playing Fox Crane on the NBC soap Passions. I liked him on that show, and I like him as the Green Arrow. [/QUOTE] It’s Justin Hartley. Justin Heatley is a baseball player. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Composer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Composer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Composer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/42 "2006-10-20T19:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=The Composer] It’s Justin Hartley. Justin Heatley is a baseball player. [/QUOTE] Hea **d** ley…gah! ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/43 "2006-10-20T19:45:31Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] I’m middle-aged and I have no tolerance for soapy teen angst. [/QUOTE] I watched the first two seasons, but I finally had to drop it for the above reason. The show became so much about the teen-angst and un-requited loves and everyone was moving in and out of relationships with every other character . . . And oh yeah, once in a great while there’d be something that tangentially in some small way touched on the fact that one of the angst-ridden teens was super-powered. The show really had nothing to do with Superman; the tiniest bit of re-writing (like changing a few words here and there) and the show could be about any set of teenagers. I’ve started watching again in the last two weeks because Green Arrow was always one of my favorite heroes, especially the new, socially-conscious version. So far, I’m enjoying the Green Arrow scenes, he’s nicely true to the comics, and I really like that he’s not super-powered, just really, really good with a bow. But when they get into the crap about Lana and Lex and his father and who’s double-crossing who, I just want to throw a book through my TV screen. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/44 "2006-10-21T01:50:10Z")
Its true, the teen angst cannot be avoided. I think I am just barely young enough that I enjoyed the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which helped me appreciate the genre. Honestly though, I think most of these characters have behaviors that are well beyond their supposed maturity level. I’ve said it before, I think Lois looks and acts like she’s thirty. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/45 "2006-10-21T04:27:51Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] In Hawaii No CW so no Smallville no Supernatural no Saturday morning cartoons ☹ [/QUOTE] How are you managing to go _on_? [QUOTE=Draelin] And that’s why I love you. 🙂 [/QUOTE] :o _swoon_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/46 "2006-10-21T04:42:18Z")
Our “Smallville” drinking game - take a shot every time they say “trust me,” “let’s just say,” or Lana and Clark have a tense, terse conversation in which Lana talks about trust, love, or honesty. 😃 I love the actor who plays Lex, too. And I think Chloe is way hotter than Lana and Lois, and Erika Durant is one of the worst actresses on tv today. But Chloe should stop talking in comic book blurbs, and Clark and Lex should do every episode shirtless. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/47 "2006-10-21T04:50:25Z")
[QUOTE=Draelin] I recall hearing recently (no cite, of course) that comic writers have been specifically forbidden to add Chloe anywhere into a post-college timeline [/QUOTE] Quite contrarily, Buseik has said that [he has ideas on how to bring her in](http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?forumID=29209084&threadID=2000093070&messageID=2002983978#2002983978), and > [@Kurt Buseik](#): > > Everyone up to Didio likes the idea, so we’ll have to see if it gets approved by the next ranks up. After that, we can actually make some plans. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/48 "2006-10-21T16:22:11Z")
Been watching Superman since day one, roughly…and I’m just gonna reply to points here. So Superman is an iconic hero, huh? Not an angsty teen? Was he an angsty middle-schooler? An angsty todder? No, apparelty he was good as gold all the days of his life, no conflicts or problems. Boooring, which is the biggest complaint that he gets from non-fans. Something has to happen to make him turn into that symbol, and that’s what this show tries to create. Similarities aside, Superman wasn’t a “virgin birth”. He’s a paragon of truth, justice and the American dream who’s had to lie to people for most of his natural life and try to save a people among whom he doesn’t belong. I’m not going to lie and say it’s flawless. There are annoying characters and bad episodes; the freak-of the week stuff did get very old, and I’v never liked Lana or Stupid Pete while he was here. But you can’t say that it tries to take some liberties with the mythos and then complain that it’s not going to turn out the way you say it must. if everything fell into place with Lois, Lex and the rest, it’d be pretty boring. Some of the complaints I’ve heard (not from here so much, mind you) sound like the Spider-man “organic web shooters” arguments crapola. John Glover is a god on this show (not literally) and Rosenbaum is a close second. Chloe I love and adore, Lois I endure except for shallow ogling sometimes, and Ma & Pa Kent are inspiring, though I think she’s MUCH better off now that he’s dead, I got tired of his sanctimoniusness Their DC “guest stars” have always been solid and very entertaining, and I think Hartly could carry a show by himself, they write Green Arrow 🆒 very well. Also, \*technically \* Clark Kent hasn’t flown yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/49 "2006-10-21T17:19:20Z")
You make a very good point, **Love Rhombus**. The fresh take on the mythos is what I enjoyed about it at the beginning. The problem I have with the angst is not that young Clark and his friends have some, it’s just that it never seems to get resolved. For how many years now have we been watching Clark moon over Lana? Even when they were actually together there was so much inner conflict expressed in moony eyes and lack of communication. I for one want some resolution once in a while, and movement on to the next conflict. The Clark/Lex relationship was done very well, I think. They started off wary of each other, then became friends, then started to drift apart as Lex began to turn to the dark side. The Clark/Lana thing, on the other hand, just never seemed to go anywhere, just round and round, at least up until I stopped watching regularly, which was sometime last season. Everyone seems to be enjoying this season, maybe I should rent the DVDs? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/50 "2006-10-21T23:14:40Z")
Some seasons are better than others. Last season was, I seem to recall, pretty Lana-heavy and thusly not very good IMHO (or possibly it was the one before that-it involved China?) The way I see it, they realized they only had a limited time i.e. high school and college before it could be realistic that Clark would head off to Metropolis, and so they wanted to put off the cape as long as possible. Also, while I might not always agree with the folks at TWP, I DO agree that they seem to be quite smitten with Lana, to perhaps the detriment of the show at some points. Me, I’d be following Chloe around like a puppy. Lana is eh. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/51 "2006-10-22T08:46:47Z")
From a different angle, unless the show portrays him in a different light, superman is just not a very compelling character. He’s invulnerable! He can do anything! Where’s the drama? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/52 "2006-10-22T10:18:56Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] From a different angle, unless the show portrays him in a different light, superman is just not a very compelling character. He’s invulnerable! He can do anything! Where’s the drama? [/QUOTE] He’s only \*physically \* invulnerable. Mentally, magically, and above all else, emotionally, he’s as vulnerable as any human. Therein lies real drama. ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/53 "2006-10-22T13:31:00Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] Been watching Superman since day one, roughly..and I’m just gonna reply to points here. So Superman is an iconic hero, huh? Not an angsty teen? Was he an angsty middle-schooler? An angsty todder? No, apparelty he was good as gold all the days of his life, no conflicts or problems. Boooring, which is the biggest complaint that he gets from non-fans. Something has to happen to make him turn into that symbol, and that’s what this show tries to create. Similarities aside, Superman wasn’t a “virgin birth”. He’s a paragon of truth, justice and the American dream who’s had to lie to people for most of his natural life and try to save a people among whom he doesn’t belong. [/QUOTE] Hmmm… Wouldn’t faerie tales be better if they were longer, with morally ambiguous characters, multiple unfulfilled love traingles, and a greater attention to realism? How about a Lord of the Rings story about Aragorn’s life as a teenager and how, despite growing up in a small town way out in Eriador (not to mention the myriad timeline inconsistencies), he experiences an early love triangle with teenaged Arwen and Eowyn, and has adventures with young Legolas and Gimli? Oh, and how about a compelling storyline featuring the Witch King being a teen asshole whose always scheming against his father, the Warlock King? How about this: Star Wars is a great story about the conflict between good and evil, told through the experiences of a troubled child of destiny who is taken in by an order of ascetics, but because of their emotional detachment they are unable to give him the support he needs, and he becomes the tool of an enemy who will wipe them out. His son, however, will ultimately become the heir to their legacy, and will not only redeem the father, but go on to establish a new order whose passion tempered with wisdom will fulfill the father’s destiny of bringing balance to the Force. But wouldn’t it be better if it was the [story](http://www.dunenovels.com/) of a young Noble whose father is assassinated, and who will become a false Messiah for a tribe of warriors and engage in machiavellian politics to get revenge, reclaim his holdings, and maintain order, only to walk away from it all because he’s unwilling to take the next step. And wouldn’t it be great if his son took that next step, becoming a giant worm who rules mankind for thousands of years only to be killed by a jealous ex-servant? … My point is; if you like Smallville, fine, great for you. I’m sure it’s a well-made series. But. it. is. not. Superman. Smallville, like Buffy, is 90210+supernatural elements, and is not something I have any interest in, which is why I don’t like it (as per the OP’s question). Like all of my above examples, if that’s what has to be done for someone to like Superman, then they just don’t like Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/54 "2006-10-22T17:23:38Z")
[QUOTE=H3Knuckles] But. it. is. not. Superman. Smallville, like Buffy, is 90210+supernatural elements, and is not something I have any interest in, which is why I don’t like it (as per the OP’s question). Like all of my above examples, if that’s what has to be done for someone to like Superman, then they just don’t like Superman. [/QUOTE] So then, what’s Superman? As Christopher Walken would say: “Enlighten me.” ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/55 "2006-10-22T17:43:20Z")
[QUOTE=H3Knuckles] Smallville, like Buffy, is 90210+supernatural elements, and is not something I have any interest in, which is why I don’t like it (as per the OP’s question). [/QUOTE] Sounds like someone’s never watched Buffy with any regularity or seriousness! ---
**Author:** ![H3Knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@H3Knuckles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H3Knuckles)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/56 "2006-10-22T17:53:01Z")
Preface: I’m kind of in a hurry to write this, but I want to get it out while I have my response in mind. Please excuse any typos or weird sentence structure. [QUOTE=Love Rhombus] So then, what’s Superman? As Christopher Walken would say: “Enlighten me.” [/QUOTE] Well, I already said it before, hell, you said it already. Superman is the fairy tail-like pure-good Hero. All-American, always wins, he’s the ideal. Spider-Man and Batman and the X-Men are fun to read, but every now and then it’s great to pick up a story with a main protagonist who’s got his act together, whose morality you can easily get behind, who has crazy, over-the-top fights and stunts because he has awesome powers. Add in the sitcom-like circumstances he often finds himself in because of his desire to maintain a “secret identity,” and the fun back-and-forth between the border-line bad-guy Lex Luthor, and you have an incredibly entertaining (and, more importantly, enduring) work. I draw some of my view of Superman from the more classic interpretations, but I’ll be honest, to me the defining interpretation of Superman has been the various cartoons featuring him starting with The Adventures of Superman in the mid-late 1990’s right on up to Justice League Unlimited. I linked some of those shows in my initial post in this thread. Maybe I am way off base, but it has always seemed to me like Superman series are more succesful, more well-received, and generally more striking when they stay true to form. IMO this is true of many of DC’s more successful works; Batman should be dark and brooding, but he can’t be some psychotic vigilante either, there has to be an underlying ethic to him, etc. Marvel’s always been better at re-inventing or re-interpreting their works, I think (but even then, it’s a very risky gambit). The real fault is that no story can be told continuously for 30+ years without either becoming over-done and tired, or loseing what made it special in the ongoing effort to stay fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/57 "2006-10-23T18:11:51Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Man, you gotta be kidding me. I had to be google her to figure out which actress you were talking about. I never imagined you could be referring to the fugly mom with the bad teeth… :eek: [/QUOTE] Did you google it yourself, or have your seeing-eye dog do it for you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/58 "2006-10-23T19:46:04Z")
[QUOTE=Roadfood] I’ve started watching again in the last two weeks because Green Arrow was always one of my favorite heroes, especially the new, socially-conscious version. [/QUOTE] Ditto. > [@](#): > > So far, I’m enjoying the Green Arrow scenes, he’s nicely true to the comics, and I really like that he’s not super-powered, just really, really good with a bow. But when they get into the crap about Lana and Lex and his father and who’s double-crossing who, I just want to throw a book through my TV screen. That’s why I watch on the DVR. I cut the show length by about 10-20 minutes. If Lex and Lana are alone on screen together, then I hit the FF button. I really don’t think I’ve missed anything. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/59 "2006-10-23T20:40:28Z")
I enjoy Smallville- I watch every new episode. That said, I hate Clark. Actually, “hate” is too strong- I’m just ambivalent towards him. Lex Luthor, however, is fascinating- I really wish the show was The Lex Luthor Show. Watching him descend into evil is incredibly fun. Oh, and Chloe is incredibly hot. I keep hoping she’ll somehow turn into Lois, and that the “real” Lois will die some horrible death… right along with Lana, who I truly despise. At this point I’m actually quite enjoying watching Oliver Queen- he’s got a lot of potential. I really can’t wait to see the Flash again- he was a real hoot. Another fun drinking game for the show is to take a drink every time someone gets knocked unconscious. I swear, half that damn town should be suffering from some form of brain damage thanks to all the cranial trauma they’ve suffered over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183/60 "2006-10-23T20:50:35Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] Another fun drinking game for the show is to take a drink every time someone gets knocked unconscious. I swear, half that damn town should be suffering from some form of brain damage thanks to all the cranial trauma they’ve suffered over the years. [/QUOTE] But now that Chloe knows Clark’s secret, she seems to get knocked out a whole lot less. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-like-smallville/377183.md?page=4)