Smallville less than super

     Smallville, the series about the origin of Superman, was rumored to be nearing a conclusion several seasons ago, and probably should have ended already. The freshman season of the show was rough, a ‘meteor freak of the week’ procedural. By season two the show had found its legs and kept it up through season six with rich, adventure stories, wonderful additions to the Superman back story, two delightfully acted parents, and Chloe evolving from an annoying dweeb to someone truly worthy of sidekick status. After that, things started to take a nose dive, though I admit, getting rid of Lana Lang was the best move made in the last three years.

      First there was Supergirl, Clark’s lame cousin added to the cast merely as eye candy. Then Doomsday appeared, but was only a shadow of the enemy that once killed Superman in the comic pages. Now Jimmy Olsen is ‘dead’, Zod is part of a futuristic army story line, and Clark is known by the uninspired name ‘Red Blue Blur’.

      Last week’s zombie episode entitled “Rabid” was a prime example of unoriginal story telling that has lost the spirit of the original character. Instead of Clark really growing and blossoming into the hero that he needs to be, he’s floundering around, allowing Lois to weaken him, and Oliver, a hero in his own right, is sinking into a deep, dark place that he should never have gone to.

      The only bright spot on the horizon is rumors that Lex Luthor may return to the show, Michael Rosenbaum’s brilliantly portrayed arch-nemesis. If Lex does indeed return in a big way, the show may once again recapture some of its glory. If not, well, Superman has died before. It may be time to do it again.