Saddle up, kiddies. I’m back to being timely just in time to see the shows go away. Spoilers abound. Come for the political bloodletting, stay for the round-up.
SMALLVILLE
Saddle up, kiddies. I’m back to being timely just in time to see the shows go away. Spoilers abound. Come for the political bloodletting, stay for the round-up.
SMALLVILLE
• 
The best moment of tonight’s Angel had to be Illyeria and Durgan discovering the power of video games. I swear this the only show that can pull off a gag like that.
I know this is a little off topic, but seeing as how “Supergirl” might be on Smallville next week, I was wondering what happened to her in the comic books. I haven’t kept up with DC since the Death and Return of Superman and I was wondering what happened to the Supergirl who was around then, the one in love with Luthor. It wasn’t her that PAD wrote a series for, so I was just wondering if they killed her off or something. Thanks if anyone can answer this.
“I haven’t kept up with DC since the Death and Return of Superman and I was wondering what happened to the Supergirl who was around then, the one in love with Luthor. It wasn’t her that PAD wrote a series for, so I was just wondering if they killed her off or something. Thanks if anyone can answer this.”
Well, if you HAD kept up with it, you would have known that she WAS the Supergirl I wrote the series about. Granted, things changed, but it was certainly her, at least to start out. The series ran for six years. It had lots of good stuff in it. A shame you missed it.
Oh: Read “Fallen Angel.” It’s even better.
PAD
An evil politician. Who
I disgree, PAD, I’m positive the blonde WILL be called Kara. First of all, it would tie in nicely to Kara’s reintroduction in that Batman/Superman book, since all they do is emulate Smallville these days anyhow. Secondly, a Supergirl movie may well be in development, but so is Iron Man and Ghost Rider and Green Lantern and a billion other properties. By the time we ever see it, Smallville will likely be in reruns on Nick at Nite.
SEAN
Speaking of
Joseph: Lionel’s blindness back in Season 2 was a temporary thing that healed naturally, but Lionel continued letting people believe that he was blind, which he continued to use to guilt Lex and used it in other ways to his advantage, until Lex saw through (no pun intended…) Lionel’s game, at which point the facade was dropped.
I sent PAD this post but in case he doesn’t recieve it, I wanted to post it here.
I wanted to thank you for responding to my post about what happened to Supergirl. I’m sorry that I never followed that series but I just got back into comics (save Iron Man which I followed through a subscription) a little over a year ago. I do read Captain Marvel and have located as many back issues and trades as I could find. I also have been following Fallen Angel since issue one (the only DC comic I read) and plan to buy the trade even though I own the issues. It’s a great series and between your comics, the New Froniter novels, and the Arthur books, your stuff has become a must read. Keep it up and take care.
I really didn’t think Angel could pull off a convincing finale after the herky jerky way the season had gone so far. Still, I absolutely loved the last episode. I can’t wait for the craziness that looks to come. My only regret is that Lindsey did turn out to be a bad guy in the end. Of all the characters to not be redeemed, it had to be Lindsey dadgummit. And did they ever establish Lindsey going to jail? Because the last I saw was him with Eve, pretty much helping Angel and Co.
Could take or leave much of Smallville, but liked the latest stuff with the Luthors, and loved seeing Emily’s Flash-powers move to the next stage. Wonder if mext time we see her she’ll have a cosmic treadmill.
Loved Angel. Wondered, though, if the senator was meant not as a comment on Hillary but on one of California’s two women senators. (Gotta say that not making one Governor Arnold and W&H joke the whole season was a marvel of restraint.)
One question I’ve had on Smallville is about Lana/Kristin K. Listening to the internet chatter, I get the impression that people think that yo-yo relationship between Lana and Clark needs to stop (and it was nice to see Pete say the same thing), and the trip to France is what’s going to put a stop to it. But they speak as if Lana/Kristin isn’t coming back next year. Have I missed some rumor about casting for next year?
Angel can play cold-blooded despite his soul very well, let’s just hope if he does survive next week’s bloodbath that he can patch things up with Nina, she hasn’t been with Angle as long as the rest of them. Very cold-blooded to sacrifice Captain “Ask me a question and I’ll kill you”, amazing the timing compared to the release of the Iraqi prisoner abuse photos (“We’re only doing what we have to to combat evil”)…
Assuming no one has read any spoilers, who of Angel’s crew do you think dies next week? Who would you prefer it be?
My wife thinks they’re going to off Mr. Alyson Hannigan’s character, Wesley, but I’d hate that, as I’ve really grown to like the little rollercoaster of violence. I HOPE it’s Illyria they kill, but it will proably be Gunn, sacrificing himself.
Unless they’re swerving us and taking out the Order does get them all killed…
They dámņ well better not kill Spike. (except for the hair and the vaguely English mannerisms, he’d make a great Wolverine/Lobo type…
On Angel, I for one thought he made it into the (inner) Black Thorn Circle rather easily. Not a hëll of a lot of an initiation or trial by fire. Play racket ball with one demon, help another’s political campaign, speed the signing of a few contracts…heck, if that’s all it takes, I could be a member of the Black Thorn. Maybe Evil really is just stupid.
Pete Ross’ character is now akin to the last episode of “Star Trek: Voyager.” He gets a great showcase only at the very end. Pete had more character development in one scene than he did in the entirety of his three years on the show. And the subtle “understanding” between Pete and Lex was a great touch. However, it felt rushed and throw in, being part of the fourth act and all. Hope that Pete returns as a recurring character, and used to better effect (unlike Andy McAllister in the late, lamented “Superboy: The Series”).
Kruek’s not leaving the show. The whole “Paris” thing is a cheap plot development, probably to be resolved by season 4, episode 1.
SMallville:Have not been into the show as much this season .I have liked the last few episodes though.Mostly cause i like Micheal Rosenbaum and his portrayal of Luthor.The peek at next weeks finale looks interesting.Was sad and pleased to see the sequence between Pete and Clark.It would be a bit much to have to maintain the secret with the pressure of Luthor and god knows who else wanting the info on the secret.Just a thought,in the future how would Lex not recognize Clark as
Superman??Since Chloe is involved in the info that Lex uses to hang his Dad is she in danger and how does this affect her??Somehow if she is endangered and put in a witness protection program it would help bring her character back when Clark is an adult in Metropolis.But maybe i am looking to far ahead.
ANGEL:Gotta give props to David on his ability to slip from humor(last week )to the cold Angelus like stuff he did last night.When the whole he killed Fred thing was started up i was floored.It ultimately proved a lie but i was thinking just how far we go to get at the senior partners???After the season when he left Darla and drusilla to slaughter W&H staffers at the party a few years ago just cant always tell.
Loved Lorne and the “lets not turn this conversation into a ášš kicking “line.The beatdown Adam Baldwin gave Illyria was pretty bad but i wonder is he that good or was she off her game somehow(maybe Wes ignoring her was throwing her off)
Spike with the insight of her ability to look like Fred is the cruelest power of all,Not a Spike fan but at times he does make brilliant observations.
Next week is the Big Beatdown huh?Should be interesting though i was surprised to see Lorne throw in,not that he is a coward it just he normally is not the aggressive type.Wonder who squares off with who??Who ever takes on Adam Baldwin has there hands full and Spikes enemy is toast.The boy hasnt had a full blown asskicking session in a while where he can just cut loose.As far as who dies im betting on Gunn or Illyria.
She as a last minute sacrifice to save Wes from harm(last bit of Fred left in her saving her man)
Gunn i kinda see as a redemption thing for the whole Fred mess.
As far as PAD “premature cancellation”,I have NEVER HAD THAT PROBLEM ,EVER!!!!Oh you said cancellation i thought you said …..:)
On Smallville, the part that was so telling was the whole scene with Pete and Lex. It opened up a few questions for me. How did Lex wind up on a deserted section of docks in time to save Pete? Also, when Lex said to Pete that he wishes Pete could be as loyal to him as Pete was to Clark in protecting him, doen’t Pete’s lack of a quick response that there is no secret to protect with Clark (as he said with the FBI agent)a big clue for someone like Lex? (Also, which I doubt, but could they be setting up the future when Pete becomes Lex’s VP?)
There are rumors floating on the Internet that Kara will be called Grace now and will only say that Kara is her Kryptonian name. Considering that part of the agreement for the series is that they can’t show any other Krypotonians this becomes interesting as well.
For those who are worried Kristen K. has a seven year contract and isn’t going any where soon. However, it does seem that Lex is determined to cut Clark off from his friends so that the only one left is him.
ANGEL: I kinda agree with the surprise over Angel’s killing of Drognan. I find it hard to believe that he’d do that to prove a point. Then it occurred to me that Angel seemed to be doing the everything that Illyria said like he was following a script. Okay, he WAS following a script (the writers’) but I mean it was like he was following her script. I keep wondering if Illyria was in on the whole thing.
My first impression was that Drognan was tough enough to survive what Angel did to him. Then I decided that the Black Thorns seemed to know too much about Drognan for him to surprise them by surviving what Angel did to him. But what if he and Illyria pulled some kind of switch and that was really her that Angel bit? She could be a deadly surprise in the final confrontation with the Black Thorns. And he did talk about finding a way to make her part of the team.
As to whose head is on the metaphyical chopping-block next week…Jeez but there’s a lot of canadates. This season has done a wonderful job of taking away the things that made the characters’ lives worth living. Then when they have nothing left to live for, Angel comes along and gives them something worth dying for. Only Angel himself has not had his life destroyed by coming to W&H.
“PAD do you have any thoughts you care to share with us about any of the upcoming comic based movies. Hellblazer, Catwoman, Elektra, Batman, etc.”
Funny story about that.
Years ago, I was on a panel at a convention and the hot topic was the casting of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. We panelists were asked what we thought of the Tim Burton/Keaton pairing, and every other panelist reviled it, stating that the “Batman” movie was clearly going to be a massive campy joke.
And then they got to me, and I said, “I actually have no intrinsic problem with it. Tim Burton is a director. Michael Keaton is an actor. Just because they’re both known for comedy doesn’t mean they can’t do justice to what we want to see for Batman and I’m reserving judgment until I actually see the movie on the screen.”
It was the only time in my life where I was nearly booed off the stage. The fans felt they knew better, you see. They were certain it was going to be pure comedy, and it was clear they felt I was a traitor for not sharing their beliefs.
Several years later I heard two fans talking about the prospect of a sequel to the wildly successful first film, and one of them said, “I’ll tell you one thing, it better be Burton and Keaton or it’s gonna suck.” “Ðámņëd right!” said the other. All I could do was laugh.
Which is a roundabout way of saying that I never have any thoughts on a movie, comic book related or otherwise, until I see it.
PAD
“Assuming no one has read any spoilers, who of Angel’s crew do you think dies next week? Who would you prefer it be?”
I’d prefer it be none of them. My guess? Gunn and/or Lorne.
PAD
Lorne? Really? What makes you guess that?
I admit, that would be a shocker.
“It opened up a few questions for me. How did Lex wind up on a deserted section of docks in time to save Pete?”
That’s a can of worms you really don’t wanna open. But since you have…
You’ll find, if you really pay attention, that movies and television are often told in a sort of visual shorthand. People show up unexpectedly in places that there’s no real logical way for them to have gotten there. But the audience doesn’t care because it’s a dramatic visual. “It’s Lex! Oh, thank God!” Most of the time, no explanation is forthcoming.
I notice it more than many other folks, not because I’m somehow infinitely superior, but because in novelizing screenplays I become keenly aware of just how often visual storytelling depends upon (as the Church Lady said) con-veeen-ience. In those instances, I come up with logical story reasons as to how and why someone managed to show up at just the right time to keep the story going or provide for a dramatic entrance. But audiences really, for the most part, don’t care. They’re so content to keep the story visually moving that they don’t dwell on anything that could slow it down.
Try it some time. Start really asking yourself, in watching movies and TV, Was this entrance set up properly, or did the guy/girl just appear with stupendous dramatic timing?
PAD
“Lorne? Really? What makes you guess that?”
Because he hasn’t had a decent storyline all year.
I’m working it this way in my head:
Spike? They already played a Death of Spike beat, so no.
Illyria? They already played a Death of Fred beat, so no.
Wes? Possible, but because of his background, still the most versatile character in the group and one they wouldn’t want to close the door on for possible future films, so no.
Gunn? They’ve done a lot with him character wise, but at heart he’s a fighter, and they might want to have him go down fighting. 50/50.
Lorne? They haven’t known what to do with him since they joined up with W&H. Which is no knock intended on Andy, who I think is a great guy and a really good actor. But I’m thinking he’s toast.
Again, I’m merely spitballing here. I’m sure they’ll try to shock people with the outcome, which may very well mean they play against logic. But from simply taking a cold look at the characters, how they’ve been handled, and their potential, that’s the call I’d make.
PAD
PAD, what about the possibility of Angel himself dying? You don’t have him on your list.
– Eric
Curse the internet and also my lack of will power. I found the entire ending on this other website. I’ll come back and check your thoughts on it when the show actually airs. It’s a nice ending tho.
Oh and by the way, I’m Georges.
Smallville: For all that Kristin Kreuk may not appear to be Going Anywhere, it seems to me that they’ve gone too far with the storyline to unwrite her art-student exit completely.
Unless they do what they did not do this week, in which case it’s likely that Pete will in fact be gone next season. Namely, Lana finds out Clark’s secret (and I would lay odds on it being “finds out” rather than Clark telling her). That would put the Clark/Lana relationship — and also the Lana/Chloe relationship — on a very different footing next season. And having Lana by herself assume the story functions now split between Lana and Pete would make some sense as well; I like Sam Jones III, but they’ve been having trouble developing that character consistently since Day One.
Angel: I think Wesley will survive next week’s purge for much the same reason PAD gives — he’s got too much spinoff/sequel potential.
OTOH, I think Gunn’s been apparently killed/disabled too often this season, so I think he’ll survive as well.
Lorne as toast is a distinct possibility. But PAD misses, I think, the absolute most likely candidate for toasting….
Harmony. Who has been with the franchise just about since Day One back on Buffy, and who’s had the dubious distinction of being promoted to front-credit status these last few weeks. That last is a very Joss-like bit of fake-out; make the character’s status look more permanent, then toast them.
You’ll find, if you really pay attention, that movies and television are often told in a sort of visual shorthand. People show up unexpectedly in places that there’s no real logical way for them to have gotten there. But the audience doesn’t care because it’s a dramatic visual. “It’s Lex! Oh, thank God!” Most of the time, no explanation is forthcoming.
———————————–
I’ve always wondered why Lex/Lionel are always surprised to see someone walk in to a room at thier place. You’d think the butler or whoever would call up and announce them. It seems anyone can just stroll into the Luthor place.
David
“Crash Bandicoot?”
SMALLVILLE: See, I actualy saw the Pete-Clark stuff as one big waste/cop-out. Despite everything that’s happened the last few years, Pete tells Clark that although it’s tough, in a way it’s cool because “no one ever trusted me that much before”. Then, he gets roughed up a bit, and it’s “always” been too much to bear? And despite having his bacon saved by Lex, Pete STILL doesn’t trust him or even THANK him? Geez.
Also, that is the sole compass clark uses on whether to tell Lana? how Pete feels? Boy has some serious growing up to do. The “Lana might constantly be in danger” angle might actually be an effective rationale for his not telling her if she wasn’t, you know, constantly in danger.
PAD,
Your “supergirl” series ran for nearly SEVEN years. Just to give you a bit more props.
Everyone,
Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joss Whedon, who spoke about future plans for “Angel” and “Buffy”, spinoffs, the “Firefly” movie, plans for “Fray”, his “X-Men” book, writing and directing a Marvel movie, and lots of other cool stuff.
If you would like a full transcript, including a lot of cool stuff that won’t make the story, simply e-mail me at jeromemaida@hotmail.com, request it, and I’ll be glad to send it to you.
Just finished reading a interview DB at the TV Guide site. Part of it had been quoted earlier stating that he would again play Angel should the story be “something special”. Just added was his earlier response of a very definite “No.”
Keeping in mind Sean Connery said much the same thing until his career needed a bit of a boost we should possibly take this with a grain of salt. But as JM also pointed out in his interview at TV Guide, “the clock is ticking”, and he doesn’t feel that he could believably play the never aging Spike after a five year window passes. So both actors have a definite sell by date on them for Mutant Enemy and most of the rest of the cast, both Buffy and Angel, do not.
It would be an interesting way to end the series, but I really hope they don’t do it.
At any rate, the series will deserve it’s legacy as a truly fine piece of entertainment.
Smallville: GAHHH! How can anyone handle the stupidity of this show, specifically with reference to the Clark/Lana relationship? What is this, the 100th time Lana is about to find out about Clark’s secret and Clark decides against it because it would put Lana in danger? Uh… she’s already in danger all the time. I mean, they even refer to the yo-yo effect of their relationship and they still use stupid dumb-ášš plot devices to keep the truth from Lana.
I think they have two different sets of writers: one for the Lex/Lionel stuff and another for all the rest, especially the saccharine attack Jonathan/Clark moments. It’s like Charmed: this show has SO much potential but it’s being written for 12-year-olds (the really dumb kind, that is)! It’s disgusting that it has such a huge following when there are any number of shows which are just as interesting and, despite being sci-fi/fantasy, are FAR more realistic in their portrayal of character interaction and plot development than Smallville. It’s like the show’s writers are constantly battling to avoid anything sensible happening. Every time something sensible happens, it has to be wiped out by the end of the episode.
I know, I know: why am I still watching it then? Because it does have flashes of brilliance and I’m an optimist, okay? But this is not a good show for an optimist to watch.
ANGEL:
NOT having read ANY spoilers this season (I’m very proud of myself)– here’s my take on what will happen next week:
I feel very strongly that Wesley will die.
I think that Fred’s soul/mannerisms will become even more prevalent “in” Illyria… Or their souls/essences will prove to be VERY strongly intermingled.
In short, Fred will look like Illyria and still have the superhuman powers– but be more like Fred. I believe this will be revealed and…
…then Wesley will die (probably saving Fred/Illyria).
It’s the Whedon way. Life as the ultimate sacrifice for love.
Of course, it is also the Whedon way to bring dead characters back to life at the drop of a hat (or the insistence of a network)– so those worrying about a possible Wesley death ruining any “spin-off potential”… Don’t worry about it. Death in the Whedon universe normally means a few weeks well deserved off for the actor so he or she can take a much needed Cabo vacation. (And wasn’t Wesley “spun-off” once already? Would 3 different regular series roles– not temporary guest spots– be a record for a TV character?!?)
Of course, this SERIES CANCELLATION thingy has a much more PERMANENT ring to it… and might prove to be the BIGGEST “Bad” of them all…
And, I’ve mentioned this before (and I’ll keep mentioning it until the contracts are signed one way or the other)…
I ‘m hoping that ANGEL’s untimely cancellation means that Fox is strongly considering Alexis Denisof as REED RICHARDS for FF movie!
Joseph,
Since you are interested in comic book movies, I thought I would add my two cents, especially since I have some insight.
Regarding CATWOMAN, I have a very strong feeling it is going to be unwatchable. I say this for the following reasons:
1.) It is a DC project, and their track record in regard to their properties has been abysmal. The last two Superman movies, “Batman and Robin”, “Birds of Prey”, etc. “Smallville” looks like the greatest TV show of all time compared to that stuff.
2.) I just had misgivings about the project, even when Ashley Judd was still attached. They want to use the “Catwoman” name but it’s not really “Catwoman”? Which brings me to…
3.) DC just has no respect for their characters. They’re always trying to change what makes their characters work in the first place. Some of the horrific ideas bandied about for the “Superman” movie – Lex Luthor is from Krypton, for example – prove the point.
4.) The costume looks ridiculous. The fact that they felt this was more “urban, edgy and sexy” has me guffawing. The headpiece alone is an abomination. When I first saw the still of her in costume in Wizard (with them gushingly telling us how hot she looked. Gee, they were hyping something, what a surprise), my thought wasn’t, “Wow! Halle looks hot! (and trust me, that’s a thought I usually have!) My thought was “Ohmygod, she looks absolutely ridiculous!
5.) Halle has been quoted by one source I picked up as being “really embarrassed by it”. Which could be dismissed if not for the fact…
6.) She is doing almost zero publicity for it. She missed last month’s film industry convention ShoWest – even though she was supposed to be honored as Female Star of the Year – presumably because she did not want to have to answer questions about the film.
Closer to home, I was suposed to find out about a “Catwoman” junket by now to promote the film, yet the studio contact has said they are still not sure of the date, which is very odd at this late date – if it’s a movie a studio believes in they usually make a conscious effort to make their junkets known way in advance, to generate buzz early and avoid potential scheduling conflicts – particularly with competing junkets – for the press.
As for Marvel, while I wouldn’t describe all their films as awesome, they at least seem to have a plan. It starts at the top, with Avi Arad, who realy seems to care about the characters and wants them done right. And he generally gets people who have a love for the material to direct and act in them. Bryan Snger has taled about “X-Men FOUR” already. james marsters has taled about doing five films. hugh jackman enjoys doing Wolverine. Halle Berry really likes playing Storm. Patrick Stewart excitedly talks about the “X-Men franchise. Tom Cruise WANTS to play Iron Man. Wesley Snipes enjoys Blade and WANTS to lay Black Panther. And there is already talk about doing at least SIX Spider-Man films, not to mention Thomas Jane ready to go on a “Punisher” sequel and Jennifer Garner describing Elektra as empowering.
There is a lot of energy and passion at Marvel Studios. Even when they miss the mark, they rarely embarrass themselves.
SMALLVILLE: Has anyone noticed how people will pop up in other people’s homes (the Kent farm or the Luthor mansion) to essentially say a couple lines of dialogue and then leave? Who takes a five-mile drive just to say something in person that would probably work just as well in e-mail or over the phone?
“Wesley Snipes… WANTS to lay Black Panther.”
I guess that role in “To Wong Foo” was a little closer to Wesley than we’d like to think… 😉
Jonathan (The Other One),
Oops! Sliiight keyboard malfunction there:) Obviously, he wants to PLAY “Black Panther”.
Glad I was able to post something to make you smile, though:)
I got achuckle upon rereading it myself.
PAD,
Your Supergirl series ran for nearly seven years and it ROCKED. As for the ‘Ville, as much as I dig the idea of Kara turning up on next week’s show, the “Adam Knight” fake-out has taught me not to get my hopes up. Adam Knight…yeesh!
As for next week’s ‘Angel’, my primary concern is that it gives Amy Acker another chance to amaze. Oh, how they all laughed at me at the academy when I said that the whole death-of-Fred thing was a parting gift to Acker in the form of an opportunity demonstrate serious acting chops. No offense, Fred-fans, but if this is what killing her leads to, than she should’ve been wacked ages ago.
By the way, here’s how it all ends, seriously. The entire cast is transformed into wee puppet men by the Ring of the Black Thorn and transported to a run-down old theater, wherein they are forced to put on a variety show for all eternity while two W & H senior partners—Stadler and Woldorf–mock them from the balcony. They are eventually rescued by Cordelia, who leads them to safety in an invisible plane or a wonderdome or whatever the hëll she gets around in these days…
I think another very real possibility is Angel himself dying. After all, ever since the finale of season 1 we’ve been told that he’ll save the world and regain his humanity, so maybe he’ll just die and then come back as a human, like Spike almost did.
Which is absolutely a possibility Gorginfoogle–
Except the promo voiceover said (paraphrasing): Angel will lose someone close to him… or a member of his team– whatever.
The only “persons” (or personas) Angel can lose himself are “Angel” or “Angelus”– and I doubt the promo meant he’ll lose either.
“By the way, here’s how it all ends, seriously. The entire cast is transformed into wee puppet men by the Ring of the Black Thorn and transported to a run-down old theater, wherein they are forced to put on a variety show for all eternity while two W & H senior partners—Stadler and Woldorf–mock them from the balcony. They are eventually rescued by Cordelia, who leads them to safety in an invisible plane or a wonderdome or whatever the hëll she gets around in these days…”
If Cordelia shows up “dressed” like she is in her Playboy pictorial then I’m on board. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Invisible Plane, Invisible Clothes…
You’ll find, if you really pay attention, that movies and television are often told in a sort of visual shorthand. People show up unexpectedly in places that there’s no real logical way for them to have gotten there. But the audience doesn’t care because it’s a dramatic visual. “It’s Lex! Oh, thank God!” Most of the time, no explanation is forthcoming.
They’re taught to do that, but usually there should be a set up earlier on that results in the payoff. I can’t comment on whether there was last night or not because I was flipping channels between Smallville, and Enterprise.
I notice it more than many other folks, not because I’m somehow infinitely superior, but because in novelizing screenplays I become keenly aware of just how often visual storytelling depends upon (as the Church Lady said) con-veeen-ience.
I think it has more to do with time constraints. It’s only so much you can do within 44 minutes when you’re talking about an hour-long tv show, so yeah, some shortcuts are made. And as I’m sure you know, PAD, what a scriptwriter writes may not even make it to the screen. That’s the director’s call.
Smallville: GAHHH! How can anyone handle the stupidity of this show, specifically with reference to the Clark/Lana relationship? What is this, the 100th time Lana is about to find out about Clark’s secret and Clark decides against it because it would put Lana in danger? Uh… she’s already in danger all the time. I mean, they even refer to the yo-yo effect of their relationship and they still use stupid dumb-ášš plot devices to keep the truth from Lana.
I think the writers are afraid of falling into a very old, but prevelent problem in serial TV fiction: when the 2 main characters get together, it’s usually the death keal for the series. So, they’re purposely trying to keep up the tension, only it didn’t work.
I think it didn’t work, because it became Lana pursuing a resistant Clark. When Lana resisted Clark, it made sense. He wasn’t open with her and women tend not to like that. But the idea that Clark became resistant doesn’t work. Yeah, a few episodes about his feeling guilty about running away last summer would fit, but this year long “I’m afraid you’ll get hurt”, doesn’t work. As people said, she gets in enough life-threatening situations as it is. In fact, knowing Clark’s secret would probably be a safer thing for her, because when the “freak of the week” has the “infautation of the week” she knows immediately to go to Clark.
While a big fan of most “Angel” eps this season, I thought this one was fairly weak for our penultimate adventure. Angel’s reasoning just seemed real murky to me, and all the other characters did was pretty much react to this murky reasoning. Makes me slightly leery of the final ep, but I still have high hopes that the conclusion will be something incredible. “Smallville,” in contrast, has had a relatively meandering season this year and yet this ep was, indeed, one of the best. Nice to see the honest emotion between Clark and Pete at the end and, PAD is right, clone chick was CREEPY. I imagine the image we’ll be left with as next week’s cliffhanger will be something along the lines of Clark and (not)Kara floating toward the stars. As cliffhangers go, they could definitely do worse.
I think the writers are afraid of falling into a very old, but prevelent problem in serial TV fiction: when the 2 main characters get together, it’s usually the death keal for the series. So, they’re purposely trying to keep up the tension, only it didn’t work.
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Internal tension (the problems all young couples have) is difficult to depict well on TV — not impossible but difficult. Even CHEERS had to find a physical obstacle to keep things moving (his spinoff just ended tonight).
There’s no logical reason for Clark to put Lana off. As everyone points out, she’s always in trouble — and it usually has nothing to do with Clark (her stalkers of the week). Clark is a positive element in her life because he keeps saving it. That’s why I lost all interest in her when she did her “you’re too dangerous to be around” nonsense. I completely bought Pete deciding to leave Smallville because, unlike Lana, he isn’t constantly menaced by FOTW. Clark’s friendship can easily appear to do more harm than good as far as he’s concerned.
What puzzles me is that no one mentions one of the rational reasons for Clark not telling Lana the truth — he’s partially responsible for her parents’ death. Surely that would have an impact. I’m surprised they dropped that plotline.
Also, it would be nice for Clark to have a real rival — not a nutcase like Adam or a cipher like Whitney. Whitney always looked more like the Pete Ross of the comics. I sort of wish they’d cast him and made him sympathetic — not a dumb jock but a decent kid who was friends with Clark. So, then you have the perfect triangle — Clark loves Lana who loves Clark’s best friend. Whitney’s actions in the pilot made it impossible to sympathize with him, which was dubious character development considering our sympathies were already going to be with Clark.
Lex is an interesting rival idea but Lana is still jailbait. The previews for next season make it seem like Lex might break his first law with Lana but I think that would really be disastrous if they pursued it.
Ultimately, I think it was a mistake for them to *ever* put Clark and Lana together. As long as Lana was the unattainable girl whom Clark adored from afar but could never even approach (I thought the kryptonite necklace was a cute idea), it didn’t matter if Tom Welling was in reality model gorgeous, every comic book fan in the world felt his plight. Once it became “I’m too mysterious to be with the woman who wants me so bad,” well, that was tougher to identify with that the guy who can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Jerome Maida: “Halle Berry really likes playing Storm.”
Um, from what I’ve read (and heard and seen), Halle Berry HATED playing Storm. Thought the role to be a waste of her Oscar(tm)-calibre talent. She was especially pìššëd øff that she got so little face time in X2, from what I’ve read.
I remember this because I loved her scenes with Alan Cummings as Kurt Wagner and was pìššëd at her for not recongizing them for the wonderful opportunities to shine which they were.
Please point out a link which proves this wrong (preferably not promotional material, which will be lies padded with deceit). I’d love to see her as Storm for the rest of the X-films, as I actually thought she did a pretty good job of it in spite of her nasty attitude. I’d like to see something acknowledging how good X2 was and not bìŧçhìņg about her Oscar going to waste (like Catwoman and that James Bond flick were frickin’ Ibsen or something).
JOSEPH posted wa-ay back at the beginning of this: “To me, Catwoman seems so off base it might as well be called ‘The Lawnmower Man’. If you read the Stephen King story, you know what I mean.”
To me, a more striking difference can be found between the book and movie version’s of King’s “The Running Man’. Having reading one and seeing the other, the movie was far superior and more entertaining than the book.
As to Catwoman(?):The Movie, I’ll wait till I actually see it before I pass judgement on its merits. After all, Birds of Prey was closer to the original Earth-2 (JSA) and Earth-1 (J. L. of A) canon than the current post-crisis/zero hour continuity, but that did not keep me from enjoying the series.
From ComicsContinuum
Things come to a head in Smallville when Kara, a beautiful girl (guest star Adrianne Palicki) with superpowers, who claims to be from Krypton, comes to entice Clark (Tom Welling) to fulfill his destiny. Overwhelmed, Clark turns to his parents (John Schneider, Annette O’Toole) for advice but is shocked when Kara forces Jonathan to finally reveal the deal he made with Jor-El. Also, Clark makes a discovery that ultimately redefines his relationship with Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), and Clark’s relationship with Lana (Kristin Kreuk) takes a final turn.”
So it is Kara
I show my disdain for the show by not saying anything besides that.
Travis
In theory, Mr. David is right; it’s wrong to judge a film solely on rumors or speculation about whether one of the talents is “right” for the role.
But by the time a trailer is out – mind you, a trailer made from the actual movie – there ought to be sufficient indication for a preliminary guess.
I was unwilling to say anything about the “Catwoman” film until I saw the trailer. Now, I have to agree that the movie won’t be good. They didn’t have a stentorian-voiced announcer saying “In a world…”, but they used similar words in the titles splashed on the screen with the anonymous action footage. An almost certain invitation to Joel, Mike and the Bots.
Something to think about, and this may just be in my area of the US, but the WB network has started advertising the final episode of “Angel” as “The WB Series Finally of Angel”, rather than just stating it is a series finally. This is also what they did when “Buffy” jumped to UPN. Could this mean that there is still hope for
Ultimately, I think it was a mistake for them to *ever* put Clark and Lana together. As long as Lana was the unattainable girl whom Clark adored from afar but could never even approach (I thought the kryptonite necklace was a cute idea), it didn’t matter if Tom Welling was in reality model gorgeous, every comic book fan in the world felt his plight. Once it became “I’m too mysterious to be with the woman who wants me so bad,” well, that was tougher to identify with that the guy who can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
I think they should have come together this year. Last year nicely put them together and they should have gotten over that summer bump in the relationship and then moved on to other storylines, including stories about other aspects of their relationship. Why? Because according to the comics (which I realize the series isn’t faithful to), Lana is his high school girl-friend and he only has one year left.
The only catch I see in this, is that Clark would have to reveal his true identity to her and then we have Clark with 2 friends who know. I’m not sure that would work as well.