MickeySmallville
"Faster than a speeding kitty- more powerful than an HR model train- able to leap the picnic benches with a running start and favorable winds... He's absurd! He's inane! He's Super Francis!"
Decades ago, as a mere tyke donning a cape to go forth and fight evildoers, that was my brother's commentary as I dashed out into the uncertain lurking dangers of the back yard. Like most kids I'd grown up on superheroes, and like most Superman was a favorite- no matter what you wanted to do, the Man of Steel had a superpower to get it done (How often did kids ever volunteer to be Robin?). And this was before the Superfriends cartoons, when he'd invent a new superpower every other week just be using the words "atoms" and "friction" in the same sentence.
Superman was The Man, an action hero, a sci fi adventurer, a romantic figure and mainly a (literally) superhuman powerhouse. Many people wondered why Superman even bothered with the rest of the Justice League, until the noted philosopher Seanbaby explained it thus: Superman has X-ray vision, and being in the Justice League gets him up close and personal with Wonder Woman.
Anyway, one would expect that a few years back when the WB announced the Smallville series, I was highly enthused over it... in fact, I was mildly surprised by the sense of trepidation I felt. I'd seen just about every Hollywood take on superheroes, and was very aware they had the superpower to alienate fans and the general public alike. In fact, I was still remembering the atrocious live-action Superboy series; I was expecting every episode would climax with a cheesy CGI of Superboy taking to the skies to fight off the aliens, monsters, giant robots and giant alien monster robots that invariably made their way to the small village of Smallville.
A few days before the premiere I read an interview with the producers Gough and Millar, who explained that they didn't want to do Superboy. This was to be a show about the young man who will grow up to be Superman. When I read their "No flights, no tights" line I was feeling much better (I'd already decided I'd have to at least catch the pilot- it's sci fi, after all, my lifeblood!)
I enjoyed the pilot immensely. Seeing Bo Duke as Pa Kent put me off at first, but John Schneider has definitely grown since his Dukes of Hazzard days and he pulled it off well. The special effects were effective, not overdone... but what put the show on my Must-See list was the Luthors. John Glover (Lionel Luthor) is easily the best actor in the cast (Remember him as Satan in Brimstone?), but Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) is not far behind. Rosenbaum took a comic book caricature and fleshed him out into a real, believable and even likeable character.
Now I'm not just saying this because I'm the sort of misanthrope who roots for the villains and monsters- I am, especially in the cheesier movies and TV shows, but in this case it was Rosenbaum's ability to portray Lex Luthor as a real person, not a mustache-twirling cliche. That, and the one good idea from the Superboy comics, that Lex and Supes had been friends way back when. At the end of the pilot when Lex told Clark "Our friendship is going to be the stuff of legend," I was sold.
And that is where the producers started to go off-course...
Will Francis explain what he meant by that? Will he conclude this two-part column in any sort of logical fashion? Will the next post even show up? Tune in tomorrow, same Orble-time, same Orble-channel!!
Decades ago, as a mere tyke donning a cape to go forth and fight evildoers, that was my brother's commentary as I dashed out into the uncertain lurking dangers of the back yard. Like most kids I'd grown up on superheroes, and like most Superman was a favorite- no matter what you wanted to do, the Man of Steel had a superpower to get it done (How often did kids ever volunteer to be Robin?). And this was before the Superfriends cartoons, when he'd invent a new superpower every other week just be using the words "atoms" and "friction" in the same sentence.
Superman was The Man, an action hero, a sci fi adventurer, a romantic figure and mainly a (literally) superhuman powerhouse. Many people wondered why Superman even bothered with the rest of the Justice League, until the noted philosopher Seanbaby explained it thus: Superman has X-ray vision, and being in the Justice League gets him up close and personal with Wonder Woman.
Anyway, one would expect that a few years back when the WB announced the Smallville series, I was highly enthused over it... in fact, I was mildly surprised by the sense of trepidation I felt. I'd seen just about every Hollywood take on superheroes, and was very aware they had the superpower to alienate fans and the general public alike. In fact, I was still remembering the atrocious live-action Superboy series; I was expecting every episode would climax with a cheesy CGI of Superboy taking to the skies to fight off the aliens, monsters, giant robots and giant alien monster robots that invariably made their way to the small village of Smallville.
A few days before the premiere I read an interview with the producers Gough and Millar, who explained that they didn't want to do Superboy. This was to be a show about the young man who will grow up to be Superman. When I read their "No flights, no tights" line I was feeling much better (I'd already decided I'd have to at least catch the pilot- it's sci fi, after all, my lifeblood!)
I enjoyed the pilot immensely. Seeing Bo Duke as Pa Kent put me off at first, but John Schneider has definitely grown since his Dukes of Hazzard days and he pulled it off well. The special effects were effective, not overdone... but what put the show on my Must-See list was the Luthors. John Glover (Lionel Luthor) is easily the best actor in the cast (Remember him as Satan in Brimstone?), but Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) is not far behind. Rosenbaum took a comic book caricature and fleshed him out into a real, believable and even likeable character.
Now I'm not just saying this because I'm the sort of misanthrope who roots for the villains and monsters- I am, especially in the cheesier movies and TV shows, but in this case it was Rosenbaum's ability to portray Lex Luthor as a real person, not a mustache-twirling cliche. That, and the one good idea from the Superboy comics, that Lex and Supes had been friends way back when. At the end of the pilot when Lex told Clark "Our friendship is going to be the stuff of legend," I was sold.
And that is where the producers started to go off-course...
Will Francis explain what he meant by that? Will he conclude this two-part column in any sort of logical fashion? Will the next post even show up? Tune in tomorrow, same Orble-time, same Orble-channel!!
Celebrity Obsession
I haven't seen much of this show, but of the little that I have seen, I like Lex.
Passionate Apathy
I'll take your word on Rodenbaum's sex appeal- I'm usually dazzled by Allison Mack (Chloe). Kruek is easy enough on the eyes, but Mack is a major hottie!!
Passionate Apathy
I'll take your word on Rodenbaum's sex appeal- I'm usually dazzled by Allison Mack (Chloe). Kruek is easy enough on the eyes, but Mack is a major hottie!!