You can tell when a series like Smallville is winding toward its ultimate resolution. When the show began back in 2001 - the same season 24 premiered - they made viewers some specific promises. No capes. No costumes. No flying. Just plenty of the human story of Clark Kent, the Superman-to-be coming into his own. A peek behind what made him and those around him who they were.
Actually, Smallville was sort of the second pitch of its kind entertained by the then-WB Network. A year before, a series pitch had set Internet message boards ablaze that promised a very similar treatment of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Whether the deemed the show too dark, or whether it was because the Chris Nolan-directed Batman film was already in pre-production or whatever, The WB never greenlit the pilot. A year later, the same “Superman: The Early Years” concept got the go-ahead and became Smallville.
Basically, the show was Dawson’s Creek with superpowers and the element that soon became the show’s signature was the unique early friendship - which everyone knew was doomed - between a young Clark Kent and his rich pal, Lex Luthor. Seeming to remember the central lesson of all comic books, and the M. Night Shyamalan movie Unbreakable, the show reformulated the Superman mythos so that the two men destined to become the bitterest enemies would start out as friends.
In season six of Smallville, that friendship is now in tatters as Lex is evolving into the villain he is destined to become, and the shows creators are having fun bringing foreshadows of his future into his present. The biggest addition this season was the casting of the Oliver Queen hero Green Arrow, who played prominently in forming a nascent version of the Justice League of America, something mentioned only as a insider joke in season five when Aquaman was featured and was attempted to be launched as a spinoff show, Mercy Reef.
During the season, there was some talk of a JLA spinoff show, but it came to nothing. Still, all the fireworks provided comics fans so serious thrills over the course of the season as Smallville began to look a bit more like a comic book and a bit less like Dawson’s Creek. But a sense of the series winding down continues to hang over the show.
With the Justice League formed, the Clark-Lex friendship beyond repair, Johnathon Kent long dead from season five and Supergirl headed into the picture in season seven, there are serious questions about how much longer the show can go on and maintain its roots; most of the show now takes place in Metropolis rather than Smallville and it just plain feels like the season that comes after this collection, this year’s season seven, could be our final ride, unless the WGA Strike messes things up.
This full-season collection has all the requisite special features one has come to expect from such things; there are episode commentaries, though unfortunately usually by writers and directors rather than Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack and the like. Those are the people most series fans want to hear comment on a favorite episode.
Personally, I would have enjoyed more behind-the-scenes features, but the scattering found here is better than nothing. Then again, I’m usually all about the special features when it comes to collecting series on DVD.
Unfortunately, too many of the special features found in this season collection were actually available on the CW Web site for the show during the season and are only being collected here, rather than being original content in and of itself. Of course, for those folks who don’t subscribe to Verizon Wireless, some of this content will at least seem completely new.
Whether facing off with Phantom Zone creeps or rescuing Lana from a fire while trapped behind fire glass, this collection is a solid addition for series completists. However, while the show is still entertaining, the days when the opening strains of Remy Zero’s “Save Me” really stirred emotions are indeed starting to fade. It’s been a good run; let’s hope they end it classy and before the show really starts to go downhill.
