What Arrow Through Yonder Window Breaks

Warning: I assume you know which characters go with which super-identity since they are all based on long-established comic history. If you don’t know who is who and want the show to reveal it to you, you shouldn’t read this review.

I got the Smallville season 5 TVD set as soon as it was released and watched the whole thing within a week. I was geared up for the season 6 premier which I watched as it was aired. Except for half of one other episode that was all the Smallville I watched until the next TVD release. Was it because the episode was poor? Quite the contrary, I'm just that fed up with TV, but I won't go into all that. So despite being the Smallville fan that I am I went a year of no new episodes, a year of hearing others' opinions of the season without the benefit of any of my own. Predominately I heard that while it had some good points it was not that great a season. I feel the exact opposite; with a few nitpicks and weak episodes I think it is overall very good.

Off to a good start is the addition of Green Arrow. I am used to the bearded political activist version so it took a while for this one to grow on me, but after seeing him fully in action for a few episodes I knew I would enjoy the portrayal (even if it is still not my favorite). I don't know, maybe "political activist" isn't the best tag for the one I like most. He's just the type of guy that wants to make sure the Justice League doesn't focus so much on the cosmic battles that they forget the little guy. He's a take-it-to-the-streets kind of guy. Smallville's version has some of that, but this one has a slightly different perspective. He's more of a leader than the group conscience, engaging in guerilla warfare against the high and mighty criminals - definitely a modern-day Robin Hood. He comments that the ends justify the means which seems contrary to other versions of the character. Then again, I didn’t read a lot of GA books so I can’t really say which is more faithful to the original.

What I like most about GA is that he has very much a human side. He struggles with balancing a normal life and real relationships against what he feels is his duty as a hero. He makes bad decisions, partially out of jealousy of Clark's abilities, but with the help of his heroic friends he's strong enough to overcome and get back on track. That's a great lesson for people. We so often get going on the wrong track, but we're afraid that going back hinders progress. It's hard to realize that the man who backtracks the wrong path to get on the right one is making more progress than the man that keeps going forward on the wrong path. The man on the wrong path may get to the end sooner, but it will be the other man that ends up where he wants to be.

Sorry to get all philosophical on you, but I just wanted to show the kind of mentality that GA displays which makes him far more interesting than would a hero that is flawless. Don't misunderstand, he's not that deep at all times, but he does have his moments.

Another new hero shows up. John Jones (AKA J'onn J'onzz AKA Martian Manhunter). While this is exciting, he doesn't get much screentime or action. I'm not sure his name is even mentioned at any point (I think it is in a deleted scene if I remember right). Still, his presence has my hopes up for the promise of further adventures. He's drastically changed from the comic version. For one thing he's not green. Instead he's black making him look like a normal human (except for the glowing eyes). Green would have been cool, but I can see how that might look too cartoony. His style is considerably different as well favoring more of a cloak-and-dagger black trenchcoat to his colorful criss-cross attire. While it makes him look less distinctive, it does help him move into the real-world appearances the superhero productions like to portray these days.

The heroes we've seen before all return, and this time donning their superhero names: Cyborg and Aquaman. Flash returns as well, but he's called Impulse. Does someone else have the rights to the name "Flash?" It's the only reason I can think of to not use his real name. Clark is not called Superman yet, and a nod to both of these name changes helps them not be so annoying.

Unfortunately classic villains are fewer. Zod get his moment in the spotlight although it's a vastly different villain from the classic version and in the form of Lex which I think steals a lot of Zod's thunder. Having him embodied in Lex does add a lot of drama since he must die to save the planet. Could you murder a friend if it meant the survival of the entire human race?

One other classic villain makes a very short appearance. The introduction of Bizarro had me more excited than any villain so far. He turns out to be quite different from the classic version, even borderline disappointingly so, but I’m getting ahead of the show. That will come later.

One great big plus for this season is the reinvention of the villain creation process. Up until now the majority of those with super powers have been the result of exposure to kryptonite. This got old and flimsy. I mean Smallville High has to have had its population cut in half by now between the villains that had to be stopped and their victims. Season 6 brings phantom criminals out of Jor El’s prison dimension and scatters them about the planet. Not only is it a good source of villains for Clark to fight, it provides a hindrance for him as he feels responsible for the phantoms and therefore the damage they cause. As we all know, Clark doesn’t deal with those kinds of emotions very well. He becomes obsessed with stopping them which retards his growth towards Superman and therefore provides a believable device to use in drawing out the series.

Is it just me or do all Smallville dating relationships hinge solely on sex? In earlier seasons Lana was all hung up over Clark wanting to keep his pants on. This go around it’s a particular issue with Lois and Ollie. Her life centers around Ollie not doing the undercover monster mash with her, and instead of considering that maybe he has a reason for it (he’s actually running off to go superheroing) she’d rather talk to everybody else about it and is ready to ditch Ollie for keeping his pants on. Maybe it’s just me, but this makes Lois much more shallow than I expected from the show; flawed, yes, shallow, no. It’s a cheap way of creating tension between them. Lex and Lana are also doing the XXX Hokey Pokey but theirs at least leads to some other major plot points that couldn’t come about any other way (not to mention the wedding in their future).

On to other elements. Acting is largely very good. I liked Erica as Lois initially, and I still do usually, but she has more weak moments than the others except maybe Kristen (although she’s better than she used to be). The long-standing cast members have definitely come into their own and have some shining moments. Most of the guests do a fine job. Of those I particularly like the guy playing Bart/Flash/Impulse.

Special effects are not going to give ILM a run for their money. They sometimes look cartoony. However, for the most part they aren’t bad. The super-power moments tend to be the best with some of the creature graphics not holding up quite so well.

Music is something of a sore spot. I love Mark Snow and think the show would benefit greatly from more reliance on him rather than pop songs. I have a particular distaste for the use of those songs as the beds of the closings of so many episodes. The vocals of the songs and dialogue often clash, and the music steals the thunder of the moments more often than not. Item of note: Mark provides a new closing theme making this the third one. It’s good, but I think the second one is my favorite.

CONTENT:
There is a little bit of bad language in many episodes. There seems to be less in the way risqué shots although some do appear, but sexuality abounds. Multiple scenes involving pretty much every couple center on doing the hip hop. Sexually suggestive scenes between Chloe and Jimmy have been cut but are available in the deleted scenes. Violence is variable. The stealing of skeletons is on the disturbing side, and we even get a rather gruesome shot of a guy’s spine being ripped out. Most of the fighting, though, is pretty much akin to a typical comic book. Clark shows high regard for life, even that of villains like Lex. In fact, it’s his reluctance to take life that results in all the trouble at the beginning of the season.

DVD
While in many ways the TVD package follows suit with the previous one, I have more gripes about this one than any before it. For starters it continues the annoying tray design of stacking 2 DVD’s in a single tray. Who keeps thinking this is a good idea? Is there a single DVD collector out there that actually likes this design?
The cover art is as boring as most Smallville sets, but inside is a nice shot of the new Justice League and a pretty good shot of Green Arrow in his hooded getup.

I’m glad we get an insert at all. Fewer releases these days include any sort of printed material. However, it is not up to par with the previous Smallville inserts. This cover features a shot of all the main actors, the young ones, at least, but their styles look nothing like the characters. This photo shoot looks like it was done for a different show which just happened to have the same actors as Smallville. The old yearbook-themed inserts were far more interesting.
Enough griping. Here’s what you get in the insert: an introduction to the season, primary cast list and images, and episode information such as chapters, air date, credits, and extras.

The disc design features blessedly little preamble to the episodes. One logo and some animation and you’re at the interface. From there nothing stands between you and the first moments of the episodes. Each episodes has a number of chapters including one that divides the opening theme from the following story. Want to skip the opening? One tap of the chapter skip button gets you past it without missing a single image of the actual episode.

The set has a few extras to offer. A lengthy documentary hosted by Mark Hamill delves into the history of the Green Arrow, how he was in Batman’s shadow, and his other TV appearances.
Another lengthy bit takes a look at the show’s fans. It’s mostly just a bunch of people saying they like the show at first, but it picks up later on and looks at fansites, podcasts, and such.
The Oliver Queen Chronicles looks like a promising delving into Ollie’s backstory but only proves to be mildly entertaining. It boasts simple animation with weak acting. There are 6 episodes with a play all option. It also features a behind the scenes look at various aspects of its creation. That has 3 chapters with a play all.
An animated comic book is a Justice League tale with a look at Smallville's origins. It’s formatted like comic book frames but with music and simple animation. It’s pretty good but often moves too fast to fully take in each page and all the text. There are 5 episodes with a play all.
Finishing up these features is a Superman Doomsday preview. There are some episode deleted scenes which I’ll list with their respective episodes. Surprisingly there are no commentaries this time.

EPISODES:
This season offers 22 episodes. Most are about 42 minutes long although a few are as short as 40 minutes. So the number of episodes is the same as other seasons, but the average runtime is a bit shorter. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a lot, but I remember when TV episodes were running about 44 minutes. That’s a lot of opportunity to work on the stories more. Anyway, here’s a look at what the episodes offer.
1 Zod
It’s the aftermath of the collapse of society as we know it. Zod is in control of Lex, and Clark is trapped in the Phantom Zone. Quite the bleak beginning. There are several nods to the second Chris Reeve movie here.

2 Sneeze
New power alert! Clark feels responsible for the destruction wrought by Zod. Why didn’t he listen to Jor El? His stress and non-stop quest to right all the wrongs wear him down to the point of becoming sick. His sneezes pack a super punch. Meanwhile someone is stalking Lex, and when he’s kidnapped Clark is his best hope. Their falling out has made Clark reluctant to help. Clark and Lana are not getting along again, and Oliver Queen moves to town.
A deleted scene shows Clark and Martha reminiscing.

3 Wither
While Chloe and Jimmy work on their relationship boundaries their teen lives are interrupted by finding a murdered girl. Lex and Lana as well as he and Clark start defining their relationships as well. The villain wants a relationship, too, with whomever is unlucky enough to cross her path. This is a nice introduction to the pack of villains coming this season, and the actress has got to be the prettiest villain I’ve seen in a while.
A couple of deleted scenes show Lana dealing with paparazzi and a wrap-up in the hospital.

4 Arrow
Is the Green Arrow a crook? He crashes a party and steals a necklace off Martha’s neck which naturally puts him in Clark’s crosshairs. Meanwhile Lex has people involved with dangerous Kryptonian research, and Lana is pulled into it.
A deleted scene features a plotting session with Clark and Chloe.

5 Reunion
Ollie is revealed to have been quite the bully in his school days. One boy he bullied, Lex’s only friend at school, met a mysterious fate. When others in Ollie’s group of bullies start dying Final Destination style Ollie suspects Lex, but both of them may be on a ghost’s hitlist. Meanwhile Clark turns to Ollie for help (sort of) in tracking down the Zoners (escaped phantoms).

6 Fallout
Another Zoner is loose. It appears to feed on radiation and emits a wicked blast. How well can Clark handle concentrated radiation? Raya arrives on Earth and befriends Clark. Meanwhile Jimmy tries to play reporter and ends up facing off with Lex who is also butting heads with Lana over their respective deceptions.
A deleted scene has Clark and Martha discussing the Zoners.

7 Rage
Jealousy for Clark’s abilities leads Ollie to get addicted to healing serum that is driving him insane. Could it have gone so far as to make him a murderer? Lana, meanwhile, suffers from an unknown medical condition.
This is a key episode in what I was saying earlier about Ollie having a human side rather than being a flawless hero. It’s a great character moment for Green Arrow.

8 Static
Lex vanishes in a burst of static. Instead of investigating Clark goes off to hunt a Zoner. Who else could be removing the skeletons of hapless victims? A victim of mysterious experiments approaches Lana to blow the whistle on a secret lab, and it’s up to the other Smallvillians to unravel what is happening.
Martian Manhunter makes a cameo.

9 Subterranean
Some kids run away from a slave-driving camp only to be pursued by something that travels below the earth. One manages to escape and runs into Clark who, as usual, feels compelled to help. What he finds is horrific: a veritable graveyard hidden in the country.
This episode tries to make the viewer contemplate illegal immigration and slavery, but it fails to do so well. The action part of the episode suffers with a lackluster final battle between Clark and the super villain. If that weren’t bad enough the audio mix is the worst I’ve heard in a Smallville episode. It’s so bad the music sometimes obscures the dialogue. This is easily one of the worst episodes in the history of the series.

10 Hydro
A reporter with no scruples is set after by a man she once destroyed, but she’s not the one that ends up on a cold slab. She has the power to liquefy and sneak into all kinds of odd spots (yes, there is a Spider-Man villain exactly like this except he’s not a reporter). She complicates everyone’s lives, but Lex smells an opportunity and sends her after Clark. Meanwhile Lois suspects Green Arrow’s identity, and she seeks Clark’s help to prove it which, of course, puts Clark in a strange position.
The conclusion of the villain’s story is lackluster, but the other plot brings about a great moment with Clark and Lois. There is a strong and exciting nod towards the future of these two characters. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to have sparked any actual changes in the ongoing storyline.
A deleted scene depicts an early morning at the Talon “hotel.”

11 Justice
Bart is back in town and is in cahoots with Green Arrow to bring down Lex’s research on people with super-powers. When Bart is captured the first unofficial Justice League team takes on Lex full-force.
This is one of my favorite episodes with a great comic book action feel to it. I wish more episodes followed this concept.

12 Labyrinth
Clark wakes up in a mental ward with no powers. He’s told the life he thinks he knows is nothing but a delusion. Trying to reconcile this is one of the toughest challenges Clark has ever faced. He does have an ally, though, a Martian.
This is a very strange, surreal episode with very little super-heroing, but it is outstanding and showcases Tom’s acting abilities more than most.
One of the best deleted scenes in this set introduces Martian Manhunter. It’s a long and great scene.

13 Crimson
It’s Valentine’s Day and Jimmy wants to hook Lois and Clark up. (The start of something special after Hydro? Don’t get your hopes up). A red kryptonite lipstick does cause her to fall hard for Clark, though, and a kiss infuses him with its usual effects redefining the pair as a pair, that is until Clark goes postal on the Luthor engagement party.

Does anyone else think they overuse the red kryptonite story basis? Not nearly so bad an episode as Subterranean, but not a great one either.
A short deleted scene shows Martha sending her wedding wishes.

14 Trespass
Lana has begun to suspect Clark’s secret. In the midst of her contemplations she finds herself being stalked by a guy who can get by any measure of security without effort. With Lex out of town she turns to the Kents for help, only Clark is not around to protect her this time.
This episode doesn’t have as strong a mystery as it tries to. They would have been better served to reveal the villainous twist earlier since it’s pretty obvious long before the end. It might have been a decent episode if it weren’t so easy to get ahead of the mystery.

15 Freak
A guy at a bowling alley displays some special abilities and is abducted in front of Chloe’s eyes. She gets Clark to investigate. Luthor wedding preparations are thrown awry when Lex’s people also kidnap Chloe. What could they want with her?
This is a very good episode with some particularly excellent acting out of Allison as well as a shining moment or two for Aaron.
A deleted scene has Clark fretting over being discovered.

16 Promise
As Lex and Lana’s wedding draws closer Clark finds he has a hard time accepting it (oh, there’s a shock. I haven’t focused on it, but he’s been see-sawing between pushing her away and pining for her all season). Suddenly Lana’s whole attitude about the event completely changes. Does she know something? Is she not herself (seeing as how that’s a common occurrence in Smallville)?

17 Combat
An underground cage fight gets out of hand with impossibly strong fighters. Clark is starting down the road of becoming a crime fighter, but at this point he is doing it as much out of anger as justice. When Lois is pulled in Clark must kill her in a cage match in order to get to the latest Zoner he’s hunting. Meanwhile Lana has a health crisis.
A deleted scene shows tension in the locker room.
This one has a nice emotional follow-up to the previous events.

18 Progeny
Flashback: Chloe’s mom is taken away to the insane asylum. Forward: Lex is nearly run down by an unlikely assailant. Chloe is having blackouts which are really starting to freak her out. Lex is after her mother who has managed to put Clark and Chloe on the villain’s trail. But how far is Lex willing to go for what he wants? Lana gets some earth-shattering news.
This episode feels disjointed for a while but comes together nicely though it gets pretty slow towards the end. Lynda Carter plays Chloe’s mom.
A couple of deleted scenes depict a sweet moment with mother and son and another shot of Lana being sweet.

19 Nemesis
A saboteur traps Lex underground and lands Lionel in the hospital. Lionel charges Clark with saving his son with the hidden agenda of stopping whatever nefarious plan Lex has in motion. Sounds easy enough until Clark finds himself trapped underground in a bed of kryptonite. Clark and Lex really butt heads facing difficult truths and lies. Above ground Lana begins discovering some of Lex’s secrets.
This one kicks off a string of episodes that culminates in Bizarro’s appearance.
A deleted scene shows Lionel and Martha in the hospital.

20 Noir
Lana has been shot in the Daily Planet. Jimmy and Chloe are the closest to being witnesses. They actually know very little, but it may be enough to lead them to the truth. Jimmy gets whacked on the head and finds himself in a 40’s black and white movie. He’s the best reporter around and Clark is a bumbling klutz.

It’s not the best episode but it works better than I thought it was going to. Other than some drama over Lana to sober it up it’s mostly a fun story.

21 Prototype
Lex now has a creation that can shrug off bullets as easily as Clark can, but Lex’s senatorial contact threatens both the project and Lex himself. As a witness to a crime Lois is now on Lex’s hit list. Lionel and Clark clash over Lana whose secrets bubble below the surface.

22 Phantom
Lex and Martian Manhunter are both after a phantom-infested man. Lois is obsessed with stopping Lex’s experiments. Clark finds out what Lionel has done and the full truth finally comes out.

This is a creepy and violent episode. J’onn gets a little more screentime, and Bizarro is introduced. Throw all those elements in a big pot and you get a rather exciting episode.
A deleted scene contains a confrontation with Lionel and Lana.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
There are some surprisingly weak episodes, but the season has some outstanding superhero moments and some more chilling villains than the run of the mill meteor freak. The offering of extras isn’t amazing but it’s pleasing. Despite some 1* episodes the season as a whole and the TVD package manages 5* with reservations.