TwistedEncore

Now that fall’s back in full swing, one of the big things we look forward to help get us through our boring day-to-day routine is the return of primetime television. Admit it, after trudging your way through a long day at school and/or work, there are plenty of times you want to do nothing more than sit on your ass and watch the tube.

They see me sittin', they hatin'...

Myself included. However, the number of shows I’ll be devotedly tuning in for has taken a big hit since last year. “24” counted down for the last time. “Heroes” wrapped up its loose ends (as well as they could, anyway). Saddest of all, “Scrubs” had its final finale. Again. Finally.

Yeah, I know the season 9 thing bombed, but I gave it a shot. I mean, come on, it’s “Scrubs”! I’ll always love that show.

So with the new TV season upon us, there’s only a handful of shows I’m going to be making an effort for this year. “How I Met Your Mother” is always quality… even though they dangle the identity of the mother like a carrot they’ll never let us catch. “The Office” is back for one more year with Steve Carell. And then there’s one more show that I’ll be watching with rapt attention. A show I can’t NOT watch. A show that, as bad as it can get sometimes, still manages to bring me back every season and enjoy it. Quite possibly my favorite TV show ever:

“SMALLVILLE.”

"Somebody SAAAAAAAAVE me..."

That’s right, I am a “Smallville” fan. Surprised? As a guy who calls himself a nerd, you’d think something like “Smallville” would seem a little too watered-down and mainstreamed. This isn’t a show about Superman! This is “One Tree Hill” with superpowers.

…Or “Dawson’s Creek” with superpowers. Or “Gossip Girl” with superpowers. Or “90210” with sup- Anyway, you get the point. How can anyone who likes comic book superheroes watch such a teen-drama version of Superman?

Lllllladies.

Only, here’s the thing: if it weren’t for “Smallville,” I don’t think I’d like Superman at all.

Seriously. Say what you will about the actual comics (which can range in quality from good to WTF), but I have consistently HATED every other portrayal of Superman I’ve ever seen. “Lois and Clark,” “Superboy,” every single godawful live-action movie… all of them SUCKED. Especially the movies. Look up the Nostalgia Critic’s “Top 11 Dumbest Superman Moments” sometime to see just why I hate them so much. Flying backwards to reverse time? FAIL!

FULL OF FAIL!

I’ll admit “Superman: the Animated Series” was good, but that’s because Paul Dini and Bruce Timm are AWESOME. Aside from that one bright spot, I’ve never liked Superman.

So then what makes “Smallville” so great? I’d definitely never consider it award-wining, but I honestly hold it to be my favorite show EVER. What makes its Superman better than all the rest? What does it do right that everyone else has gotten wrong?

For me, I think “Smallville” succeeds against all others because it does two things very well. And the first and biggest of which is that it makes Superman relatable. How? Because in the show he’s never seen as Superman. “Smallville” is all about portraying the life of Clark Kent BEFORE he becomes Superman; instead of being an all-powerful superhuman symbol of hope, Clark Kent is just an ordinary teenage guy trying to get through school, family, and the social world. He has doubts. He has angst. He has unrequited love, teenage rebellion, and petty insecurities.

And all of these are GOOD. As the show has moved through its later seasons, we’ve been seeing more and more of Clark Kent picking up the mantle of responsibility, moving towards who he’s destined to be. But it wouldn’t be nearly as compelling if we didn’t show his vulnerabilities first. It makes Clark Kent more human. It makes him more relatable to your average person. Heck, as a viewer who watched “Smallville” while growing up as a teenager, it certainly made him more relatable to me. “Smallville” succeeds by making Clark Kent an actual, identifiable person.

No, not you, Brandon Routh. You're just boring.

The other area that “Smallville” does well is in how it actually portrays the raw power of Superman. And, for me, this is the one I think no other Superman incarnation has gotten right. Everyone likes to portray Superman as this bland, expressionless automation that never really emotes. Sure, he might crack a smile or toss out some forgettable one-liner, but I want more. Superman is a BADASS. He’s supposed to shout, get angry, and kick some serious shit. And when you’re a being as powerful as Superman, that’s lot of serious shit. This means seeing a lot of blood, explosions, and Matrix-like effects where Clark Kent breaks stuff in slow motion.

Fact: walking away from an explosion without looking makes you BADASS.

NOBODY else delivers on this. I think the only time in the movies where Superman got into an actual fistfight was in “Superman II” against General Zod, but even that came off as being more cartoony than epic. “Superman Returns” had that one cool moment when a bullet bounces off his freaking eye, but that was it. Even when the city’s starting to fall apart, it all just comes across as another chore Superman has to check off of his to-do list. But in “Smallville,” you really get a sense of the power and the rage that Superman is meant to have.

Make no mistake, though, “Smallville” is not without its faults. Plotlines can be thin or nonsensical at times. Dialogue can be forced (pretty much always to give exposition). Cliffhanger plot twists are almost always pointless (the Lana that died in the explosion was a clone? WHAT??). And there’s always that feeling of teen drama, especially in the earlier seasons. But when it’s good, it’s really good. For all the times it screws up, “Smallville” will always be my Superman of choice because of how well it “gets” what Superman really is. He’s not about the costume, the secret identity, or the little coif in the hair (why does everyone make an effort to style his hair like that?).

Does the hair give you superpowers?

“Smallville” succeeds because it looks at Clark Kent the man, not Superman.

…That and it has Alison Mack. There, I said it. We’re done here.

- Natron out