segunda-feira, 9 de julho de 2012

10 Needs For Smallville Season 10

It has just been announced that Smallville will be getting its 10th (and most likely final) season in the fall. So let’s take a moment and look at what does and does NOT need to be included at this, the conclusion of the longest running and most inclusive live-action telling of Superman’s story in history.
10. No more Chloe
WHY: Now, I know what some of you are thinking. “But Chloe is the only other original cast member besides Clark.” And while that may be true, it also means she’s the only remaining tether tying Clark back to Smallville. Time was she was Clark’s “tech support,” and she did all his thinking for him. But now that we’ve got an independent Clark, Chloe has become superfluous. She and Clark aren’t even best-friends anymore, so the emotional connection is gone. And since Oliver knows Clark’s secret, he can act as a confidant, further reducing the need for Chloe. Really, at this point, her character seems to be treading water, anyhow. Now, I’m not saying she needs to die. I don’t know why that’s the only way to get rid of a character. She could just move the Watchtower operation to London or Japan or something. Maybe team up with Super-Lana to form their own “Birds of Prey.” Sure, her death could spur Clark to action, but he’s already active. What more motivation could her death add? Just get her out of the way, and let her come back for the last episode of the series, happy and healthy.
9. Make Lois the female lead
WHY: This goes hand in hand with the previous request. Right now, Lois is the #2 female lead, right behind Chloe. In the final year, Lois needs to take her rightful place as a main character. They’ve done a great job of bringing Lois to the forefront in a way I never thought possible during the Lana Years, but she still feels like a supporting character to me at times. What’s more, they’ve been playing up her goofy aspect lately (which is fine, Erica Durance has a flair for comedy) but whatever happened to the brash and almost bitchy Lois from a few years ago? Lois has been great, but in the final year, I’d like to see her toned down to a more realistic level, and maybe gain a few life-goals outside getting the Blur to call her back. She needs to be more 3-dimensional, reflecting her whole history on the show, and she needs to be Clark’s equal in terms of depth and storytelling.
8. Give Kara’s story some closure
WHY: Okay, “Supergirl” didn’t make much sense in Season 7. The main problem then was that Clark hadn’t even got on sure footing himself yet, so the very idea of him “training” his younger cousin was laughable, especially since she had better control of her powers than he did. Despite that, Laura Vandervoort’s Kara was an intriguing character that brought a lot of energy and strength to the role of Supergirl. I’m still not sure how she’d work as a regular cast member, but last time we saw her she was heading off into space to find Kandor, which, it turned out, had been on Earth the whole time. So what’s she doing out there, now? They need to bring her back, if only to ship her off on another mission that gets her out of Clark’s way, just so that we know she’s not left wandering around space, looking for a lost city that she’ll never find.
7. No more Super-Lana/Bring Lana back
WHY: Yes, I know that’s confusing. From what I understand, the reason they ended Lana’s story the way they did, where she is a Superwoman complete with Kryptonite powers, was because they didn’t want to tick off Lana fans. This way, Lana gets to be an awesome superhero all her own, but the Kryptonite in her system means Clark can never be with her, so he just “settles” for Lois. Now, any casual fan will tell you that that simply makes no sense, in the comics or Smallville. I don’t want to see Lana on the show anymore, but if they do bring her back for completion’s sake, I want it to be for a storyline that removes her powers and gets her back on track with the comics. Imagine a story were Lana returns, making Lois nervous because of her relationship with Clark. Lana loses her kryptonite-powers, and Clark… still picks Lois. Not because she’s a consolation prize, but because he loves her for real. The best version of Lana was in the “Legion” episode, where she was Clark’s good friend and trusted ally, but they just knew they didn’t belong together. That’s how they should have ended it, and now they get a second chance to do it right.
6. Make Perry White a regular character
WHY: Back in Season 3, Michael McKean guest-starred as a drunk and washed-up Perry White who, after meeting Clark, decides to turn his life around. Well, it’s been 7 years, Lois and Clark are working at the Daily Planet, and now it’s time for Perry White to take charge. The problem with Perry in some versions is that he occupies the same space as Pa Kent, that of the father figure. But with both Jonathan Kent and Lionel Luthor dead in the Smallville Universe, that wouldn’t be a problem. If nothing else, he could be a new support character primarily for Lois. Rumor has it that Perry will be returning near the end of Season 9, so let’s hope he sticks around next year.
5. Bring back “our” Jimmy Olsen
WHY: I’m sorry, Henry James Olsen was just a terrible idea. The decision to kill off “Smallville Jimmy” and make him the real Jimmy’s brother was not only sloppy beyond compare (you can tell even the actors and writers didn’t try too hard to sell it) but it was insulting to fans of the show, who for 3 years saw this as their Jimmy. I don’t care how they do it, time travel, clone, whatever. Bring back Smallville’s Jimmy. Sure, the character was pretty unlikable in his last year what with the drugs and harping on Davis Bloome, but like Clark said, Jimmy was right all along. Plus he was a great sidekick for Lois and he could take Chloe’s place as Clark’s best friend, which is a role Jimmy Olsen deserves anyway.
4. No Season-long villain story arc
WHY: Let me ask you, what was the story arc for Season 1? There wasn’t one, beyond establishing the show and its world. But in the last few years, we’ve had these season-long story arcs surrounding classic Superman villains that show how they got their start. The problem with this method is that the season inevitably becomes about that person, be it Kara, or Doomsday, or Zod, while Clark and his journey is stuck in the background, becoming a part of someone else’s story when it moves at all. I propose that the last season’s only “arc” be about Clark finally becoming the Superman we all know and love, while bringing back famous and already-established villains like Toyman, Metallo, Parasite, and Bizarro to fill out the season. Heck, they could even bring back Doomsday (the monster, not the man) and Brainiac if they want. Just so long as they only take up as much time as normal villains and don’t steal any of the spotlight away from Clark.
3. No more Krypton
WHY:Everything (good and bad) comes from Krypton. Every major villain, besides the Luthors, has had ties to Clark’s home planet. The Meteor Freaks, the Voice of Jor-El, Brainiac, Isabel the witch’s powers, The Phantom Zoners, Doomsday, Major Zod. Not to mention good stuff like the Fortress, the various Supergirls, and the idea of Clark’s destiny. That’s probably what bugs me the most, the idea that being Superman fulfills some kind of Kryptonian prophecy/calculation. Being Superman needs to be Clark’s choice, not something Jor-El twists his arm into doing. Krypton has been done to death on Smallville, and any new villains or heroes or ideas that show up next season need to come from someplace else.
2. Bring back Lex Luthor
WHY: But NOT for the whole season. Otherwise you run the risk of season 10 being about “The Return of Lex.” Just bring him back for the last few episodes to really heighten the tension. Without a doubt, Lex needs to return before the show is over and reclaim his title as King of Metropolis. Now, this would take a little more finesse than, say, returning Jimmy. I don’t want Lex to come back with amnesia, or as a clone, or via a spell from Zatanna, or anything else that rewrites Smallville history or makes him forget Clark’s secret. There has got to be a cool, clever way to return Lex to glory while still honoring his history on the show. Even if it just means that he knows Clark is Superman. I mean, it works for Spider-Man and Norman Osborn. And really, is there any better way to make Lex the most-dangerous villain ever? And at the same time, this might also force Clark to break things off with Lois, in order to protect her from Lex, setting up a variation on the classic scenario where Lois hates Clark and he’s all timid around her. Whatever the case, Lex needs to come back, but it doesn’t need to steal the show.
1. Superman
WHY: But above and beyond all things, Season 10 needs Superman! And it needs him as soon as possible. We’re all thrilled about the show’s early renewal, but the one thing that scares me about season 10 is that it might simply continue the current Zod/Blur storylines, or that it will introduce a whole new villain, and that the season will be all about them. Sure, they could introduce Darkseid and the Fourth World, but wouldn’t it be better to have this last year focus on closing out the story of “Smallville” as a whole. Clark needs to fly, people need to start calling the Blur Superman, and Clark needs to wear red, blue and yellow. And really, Clark doesn’t need to dress up as Superman for every episode. He could save it for special occasions like fighting Zod or Doomsday in public. But after nine years of “the Blur” running around, we deserve a Superman that flies.
That’s what season 10 needs to be about most. That’s what the only “arc” next year needs to be, Clark as Superman. Not Clark BECOMING Superman, we’ve seen that for 9 years, I mean Clark AS Superman. It’s the only territory the show has left to explore.
Smallville is a great show, and it has been getting better and better over these last few years. Season 10 still needs to close out some of the still-running storylines, and drop other stories and characters whose time came and went long ago. But it’s all there. They have the tools at their disposal to make season 10 the greatest Superman story ever told on film.
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