It has been awhile since I have posted anything to this site. With NASCAR underway, the OKC Thunder making amazing moves in the NBA playoffs, and an awesome spring season of television I haven’t watched any movies, Oscar or otherwise. What I have watched though, was the ending of a legacy!
Ten years ago I came home from work and my wife Renea was watching television. I sat with her to finish the program she was watching. It was a silly show about a young woman and her teenage daughter living in a small town just trying to get by in the world. I was caught by the fact that the woman (Lauren Graham) was very attractive and the quick witted, fast talking, overly sarcastic relationship between her and her daughter was compelling . As I watched Gilmore Girls I thought, thank goodness there are some funny aspects to this show cause it is way too chick for me! If I remember correctly this was early October 2001 and Renea was watching reruns of the first season gearing up to the season premiere a few weeks later. During a commercial break, this was long before DVR’s so we actually were forced to watch commercials, The WB showed a preview for an upcoming show. I caught two major points from the trailer, number 1 this was about the origins of Superman/Clark Kent, number 2 it starred a little known Duke boy named John Schneider. I thought this could be something I could get in to. At the time I was simply a movie and sports guy. Television wasn’t something I was really attached to. On October 16, 2001 after Gilmore Girls concluded I saw my first episode of Smallville.
Smallville immediately grabbed my attention. It was so exciting to see this character of Superman that every human knows nearly everything about but he knows nothing about himself. Clark was simply a kid with some strange abilities that nobody else had and he was afraid to let anyone know he had them. He could run awfully fast and he was exceptionally strong. The following episodes take us through the journey that allows Clark Kent to realize he is not an ordinary human in more ways than he could ever imagine. From that first viewing I anticipated the day that the young Clark Kent would accept his destiny and become the Superman we all know and love. Three thousand four hundred and ninety-seven days later (10 seasons) I sat down to watch the series finale of this epic tale and the fulfillment of a nearly ten year anticipation.
Smallville goes down in my history as the greatest television show I have ever seen. This could be because realistically it was the first show I ever bcame completely wrapped up in and dedicate myself to never missing an episode. It set the record for the longest continually running Sci-Fi television show in history in its final season, 218 hours of television over a ten year span. I have had my home wifi network labeled as Smallville for as long as I can remember, my primary ringtone on my cell phone has been “Save Me” by Remy Zero (theme song) for about the same amount of time. I’ve bought DVD’s, listened to podcasts, read articles and websites, anything to give me more Smallville. As of last Friday, May 13, 2011, all of that is over.
This should be the time that I start expressing my anger, depression, and other forms of sadness about my favorite thing on TV being gone. Fortunately you don’t have to read anything that sappy. I am 100% satisfied, and maybe even more fulfilled with the completion of Smallville. Over the years the show had down times I will admit but the characters alone were always worth returning for. The series finale, which I will not go into great detail over with hope you all will watch, was more than I could have ever imagined it could be. For the die hard fan you found closure in so many ways, for the fly by night fan you see the transition we all knew must happen from man to Superman. Did I cry? You darn right I did! The emotions during this final season have been running round my body at a sprinters pace. It’s silly I know, it’s kind of like being sad that the Titanic sank in the movie, or that the astronauts returned safely in Apollo 13, I knew what was going to happen. However, I have grown so fond of THIS Clark Kent, THIS Lois Lane, THIS Lex Luthor, and the many other non traditional Superman characters, that I found myself drying my eyes more than once during the two hour finale. Had the webcams of the world been pointing my direction they also would have seen me leap from my chair and watch a portion of the show standing with my arms raised in a champions V as well! I will miss Smallville but I am so excited that it has ended just as I would have wanted.
If you have never watched the show, and I know many of you have not. I encourage you to do so. Ideally you will start with Season 1 Episode 1 and watch over 200 episodes of AWESOME. You will discover teen angst, young romance, heartbreak, moral dilemmas, life and death situations, out of this world parenting (literally and figuratively), in-depth story arcs, and of course the super hero aspects you would expect from Superman. As I mentioned, the show has it’s lulls, it’s Kryptonite you might say, but if Clark Kent can overcome it then you can too.
Thank you to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar for creating the show. Thank you to Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson for continuing when Al and Miles decided to step away. Thank you to all of the amazing writers and directors over the course of the series. Thank you John Schneider & Annette O’Toole (Johnathan & Martha Kent) for being the most outstanding television parents ever. To Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) for providing the young Clark with all of the teenage angst a boy could ever handle. To every semi-major and minor character to ever appear on the show for adding everything that you did. To John Glover (Lionel Luthor), the glorious bastard, the best, worst father. To Justin Hartley (Oliver Queen) for being the lasting friend and fellow hero who is always overshadowed. To Cassidy Freeman (Tess Mercer) for filling the unfillable shoes of Lex Luthor when he left the show, you were fantastic! To Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan) for being the most underrated, lovable, strong, intelligent character to ever enter the Superman mythos, I might miss you most of all. To Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) not only for being the most awesome Lex I’ve ever seen but for returning in the final season to make the series complete. To Erica Durance (Lois Lane), I was so unsure about bringing the character of Lois into this series but you nailed it. You are extremely funny, talented and beautiful and I can not wait to follow your career in the future. To the late Christopher Reeve (Dr. Virgil Swan), my original Superman, thank you for appearing on this series and virtually passing the Cape, you will never be forgotten. And finally to Tom Welling (Clark Kent) from the scrawny fellow in the corn field to the specimen that eventually dawned the red and blue suit you have grown as not only a man but an actor/director. I will never be able to express how much you have meant to my view of this character and this saga, from now and I hope for always YOU are SUPERMAN!!
Thank you Smallville for ten years of fantastic television entertainment.
“One journey has ended. A new journey is about to begin.” – Jor-El
