Smallville gets nineteenth wind

     My first article for examiner.com, back in mid-October, complained that the CW's Smallville had lost it's super.  It began the season with a few lame episodes and some less than interesting plots.  But once again, the show is turning itself around.  The last few episodes before the winter break show that the series does still have good storytelling left, and that it can once again become a must-record for your DVR, as it has been many times during it's nine season run.

     The primary plot this season concerns Major Zod (Callum Blue, The Tudors) and his band of Kryptonians.  For long time viewers, you will remember that Clark (Tom Welling) already fought and dispatched the character of General Zod after he escaped from the Phantom Zone, the same character made famous in the movie Superman II.  This, however, turns out to be a clone of Zod and his soldiers made years before the destruction of Krypton.  Not only that, but Jor-El, Clark's Kryptonian father, was among the gang, though he appeared in one short episode before he was taken out.  Lois (Erica Durance) is plagued by dreams of a future that she visited where Zod has turned the sun red and taken Earth from the humans.  Can Clark and the others stop that from happening?  You'll have to wait to find out.

     Meanwhile, the super heroes are coming more and more out of the woodwork.  Adding Oliver Queen, a.k.a. The Green Arrow, (Justin Hartley) to the cast was a good move, and now Chloe (Allison Mack), the only other original cast member left besides Clark, has stepped it up as Watchtower.  Even Tess (Cassidy Freeman), who was Lex Luthor's (Michael Rosenbaum) replacement, has become a gray-area persona, who may be working for either side.  Not to mention, in a recent episode the usually lame Wonder Twins made an appearance, and they were fun and cool this time around!  While Smallville doesn't always stick to the official comic book story, it has found it's own path that is working more often than not, and that's a good thing.  As Clark gets closer and closer to becoming Superman, one can feel the series beginning to wind towards a close, even if it is not currently clear when that close may be.  But when it happens, you can say that's it's been a hell of a ride.

     Smallville will return with new episodes on Friday, January 22nd, and don't miss the two hour TV movie Smallville: Absolute Justice set to air on February 5th.