When I first saw the commercial for Smallville's pilot episode, I just thought it would be OK. However, When I actually started watching the show, however, I was VERY impressed. They kept the Superman references and corny catchphrases down to a refreshing minimum, and then there's the acting. John Schneider and Annete O'Toole lend a sense of quiet, down- home dignity to their roles as Jonathan and Martha Kent. Tom Welling is pretty good, but the best performance is given by Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. He comes off as arrogant and a bit manipulative, but he's essentially a good man and is a lot more altruistic than his greedy snake of a father, who is also excellently played by John Glover. This makes Lex a very intriguing character, whose descent into evil will undoubtedly keep me on the edge of my seat (Those who saw the season finale "Tempest" get a brief glimpse of this transition in one scene). The villains for the episodes are generally great and well- acted, especially the fiendishly corrupt cop Sam Phalen who is shown in the episode "Rogue". However, not all of the antagonists on the show are as cruel and twisted as him. Some of the "villains" are actually nice, decent people (Guys you could see yourself being friends with)who have been thrust into bad situations. Examples are Earl in "Jitters" and Jodi in the highly underrated episode "Craving", which I plan on taping the next time it is shown. Anyways, Smallville is a really great show to watch, and I hope it will continue for many years to come.
Review of Smallville
