5
(discussions of biblical events)
6
(sexuality, violence)
6
(worth seeing more than once)
Smallville started out with a good first season and improved from there. Season 4 was stronger production-wise but was far weaker in its stories. Season 5 raises the bar again being among the strongest seasons of the series.
A few changes come about this year. Lex is very much on the path to become the villain we know he will be, and he's at odds with Clark. What really makes this interesting is that he is not beyond redemption, yet. He actually teeters on the brink of leaving his darkness behind. I think the reason I like the portrayal so much is that it feels like a payoff to the differences between this incarnation and the classic character. Yes, it's interesting to see Clark and him as friends knowing the eventual outcome, but I think seeing the version we know and love to hate would be even better after seeing him develop into it. He's not there yet, and a transition rather than a sudden change makes for a much better story. He definitely still has good in him, and at one point there's even a suggestion that he is willing to sacrifice himself to evil for love which is an interesting topic for conversation.
There's less relationship rollercoaster for Clark and Lana. They're closer than they ever have been for a short while then farther apart with a note of finality to the relationship. I got tired of the back and forth between them. There's still a little bit of that this season, but it's not to an intolerable point.
Lana has improved as a character and Kristen as an actress. This helps the Lana scenes a good bit. The other regulars are as good as ever. I don't know that I would say it's the best acting on TV, but it sells some odd stories quite well. The guest stars, as usual, vary: some are great and some not so much.
One of the fun things is the inclusion of more familiar names. Milton Fine may not be familiar but Brainiac should be. Brainiac has never been one of my favorite villains although I have liked some of the more recent cartoon incarnations a little more than the old ones, but Smallville's Braniac I like a lot. James Marsters has a strong look about him. It's easy to see the evil we know in him, but it's just as easy to see the possibility of goodness or at least nobility in him. After all, Jor-El's intentions are in question, Lex is Clark's best friend, Flash is a thief, Perry White is a washed-up drunk, and Lois is an unemployed college dropout. Who knows what could happen with Brainiac? Maybe he's not so much evil as misguided or just unsympathetic. Then again, maybe he's the devil scheming as Clark's potential mentor. I won't tell you what he is.
More heroes appear as well. Aquaman and Cyborg both have episodes devoted to them with super-heroic teaming involved. They are reinvented in Smallville fashion with enough comic book ties to titillate us geeks while keeping them predominately in the real world designs for the less enlightened. Unfortunately none of the established names like Bart return this year.
The kids are out of high school now. The focus of the settings shifts to Metropolis and specifically the Daily Planet offices. I like being away from the school, and not having that has opened up the stories a lot. The school's centrality before felt too confined. Though the kids have moved into college there is not a lot of focus on the campuses. We spend time in Chloe and Lana's dorm and see Clark in class, but that's pretty much it. There are a lot more places to visit now.
One of the big new sets is the Fortress of Solitude. Superman fans have no doubt been dying to see it, and we return several times this year. While parts of it look great some shots look obviously fabricated. I don't know if it's the shading or the texture or what, but sometimes it looks more animated than real. The effects in general, though, look great. With a few exceptions all of the super-heroics and odd happenings sell well. Brainiac in particular has a lot of morphing, and while I might not put it on the same level as ILM or Weta’s work, it looks far better than earlier Smallville seasons' effects.
Not everything is perfect in this season. For one thing the whole brink of death thing is overused. How many times did Lana die or Lex end up in the hospital with gunshot wounds or other serious injuries? There comes a point when seeing that yet again begins to sap the reality and impact it has on the viewer.
Another issue is an inconsistency with the distance between Smallville and Metropolis. Sometimes it's made out to be a long trek and sometimes it seems like people are popping over like they were driving ten minutes into town. While this is easily explainable for Clark, who does most of the back and forth, by going between them so much he runs a much greater risk of someone figuring out that he couldn't humanly have been in the places he was. I guess there has to be some give and take to get the plots moving to a 44 minute conclusion, but it does tend to remind the viewer that this is just a TV show.
One potential negative for the stories is that they seem to be what-if-we-put-Smallville-characters-in-this-movie stories a lot. There’s Panic Room, Saw, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Flatliners, and probably others. I don’t think this keeps them from being enjoyable, but there could be more originality in some of them.
I'm undecided about Lionel at this point. His state of mind is ambiguous. If this pays off later on it could be great, but since he has done the swing between good and evil it's hard to know how to view his actions. At one point he's obviously affected by alien influence. After that he has his strange moments so it's difficult to tell how much he's in control of himself outside of the Kryptonian surges. The reason it's difficult to tell is because on the one hand he has his typical harsh and scheming moments, but on the other hand he shows a surprising amount of integrity and selflessness. Maybe he's just that much in love with Martha. Hopefully time will tell. Smallville doesn't always explain its mysteries to my satisfaction, so I can only hope that Lionel is not one of those instances.
Clark spends a couple of episodes without any powers. He's been without them before but always gets them back in time to save the day. Not this time. He's got to win his battles without any advantages. How fun can an unpowered Superman be? It sounds like it should be weak, but it's actually very good. It shows that Clark doesn't need powers to be a hero. I actually wouldn't have minded if this had drawn out over another episode or two, but I'm sure it would get old if it were too long.
So by and large this is a great season fitting of Superman lore. There seems to be a lot of potential for this universe to develop into the kind displayed in Superman Returns (which is not to suggest Smallville is anything like the movie just that the designs could easily exist in the same universe).
Morality
If you’ve seen the other seasons you can expect pretty much more of the same. If it were a movie it would probably be PG13. There's some mild strong language in most episodes. “Lexmas” has Santa Claus using some profanities which strikes me as unnecessary.
The loss of Clark's powers opens the door for Lana and him to begin a sexual relationship. A big deal is made about them crossing that line, and there are some steamy scenes with Lana in various stages of undress. When Clark gets his powers back Lana pesters him about having sex again with his hesitance causing a large rift between them. “Exposed” involves a married man having an affair with a stripper. Lois gets involved and poses as a stripper even going out on stage in a revealing outfit. Her strip show is played for its awkwardness since Lois really doesn't want to be on display like that, but the sexy nature of the situation is still utilized. We spend some time backstage with the strippers during the investigation as well. “Hypnotic” features a particularly steamy scene with a villain using her powers to seduce Clark. She strips down to very little in the course of the scene.
Zombified Lionel is kinda creepy. A story involving vampires involves scenes of brutal physical damage inflicted on a person to show that they can't die. Clark gets violent and very nearly homicidal under the influence of Kryptonite. “Tomb” involves the ghost of a murdered girl and Chloe slashing her wrists.
Spirituality
Lex makes a skewed comment about King David so, of course, I have to set the record straight. I won't nitpick the minor points that he gets wrong (or to be more accurate hypothesizes without evidence yet presents as fact like David and Uriah being best friends). He talks about David's murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah for adulterous purposes. This much is accurate.
The first problem is that Clark says "they" (by which I assume he means Christians or at least preachers) “leave that part out.” Leave it out of what? Sure, we leave it out of the story of David and Goliath (which is what Clark and Lex are initially discussing) because it is a different story. There's a lifetime of other stories left out of that iconic confrontation as well. However, the Bible minces no words about this dark moment in David's life. It neither sugar-coats nor tries to obscure what happened. I've heard numerous sermons and discussions of this story in my lifetime, and detailed studies are readily available on the internet. More recently it has been depicted in the Bible miniseries.
The other issue is that Lex only tells the first part of the story. For your benefit I'll sum up the rest. God sent a prophet, Nathan, to confront David about his actions. David, as king of the land, could have very easily killed the prophet and tried to hide his sin. Instead he threw himself repentant at the feet of God in shame of what he had done and without regard for any appearance of kingly nobility. He was ready to accept punishment and actually expected God to kill him upon his admission of guilt but was spared (see 2 Samuel 12:13). He walked a difficult road of spiritual restoration which ultimately resulted in the birth of king-to-be Solomon.
Milton Fine discusses the relationship between Jesus and Judas briefly. It's presented from a purely historical point of view but is treated as historical fact. There is no mention of what happened to Jesus after the betrayal, but I imagine the writers figured most people would know about that even if they didn't necessarily believe it.
“Fade” brings up an interesting moral discussion. Clark saves the life of a guy who turns out to be a killer. Should he quit saving people because of the occasions when they turn out to be the type of person that goes on to hurt others? I've simplified the question, but it's actually an interesting dilemma. If you save the life of a person who uses his/her second chance to do harm to others do you then bear part of the blame for the harm done to the others? After all they wouldn't have been hurt at the hands of that person if you hadn't gotten involved. Consider that many of the people Clark has helped have gone on to improve their lives and help others. How much good would it have done those people if Clark had refrained from helping because of this negative instance?
God does not command us to show love only to those who like us or who are a benefit to society. In fact, he says that even the wicked love the people that reciprocate that love. He gives us a higher standard to love those that hate us. We are told to pray for our enemies. It's not for us to judge who “deserves” grace.
Final Thoughts
While not flawless, season 5 of Smallville is great TV for comic book fans. If you have liked the series, even if you were let down by season 4, this is worth checking out.
Buying Guide
The first 4 "Smallville" TVD sets carried a similar design theme. Now that we’re out of the high school era in season 5 that doesn’t really fit anymore. Not all of the changes are positive.
Basically you can get season 5 as a set by itself and as part of the series box set. A Best Buy exclusive offered an extra disc with an extended version of the behind-the-scenes feature for “Reckoning.”
If you're reading through the guides for the entire series you already know what I'm going to say in this paragraph. The box set (with more details written out in the season 1 guide) has some positives in the way of exclusive extras and negatives in the way of poor package design and the lack of HD.
Final Recommendation:
By this point you've surely determined if you are going to be buying the series or not. You're sure to enjoy the deleted scenes and Vengeance Chronicles if you're into watching extras at all. I got the Best Buy version of the feature for “Reckoning,” and I'm glad I did since it is more thorough than the standard version. If you like features and can find that available go for it, but don't kill yourself hunting for it.
The Complete Fifth Season is once again a 6 disc set although if you got the Best Buy exclusive you get an additional disc.
Video
1.78 widescreen:
It's clean and sharp but with occasional quick flecks of trash.
Audio
2.0 Dolby:
It's clear and strong but with a few short moments of buzzing with the dialogue.
Packaging
The case is different from the previous sets. It's a folder that stacks 2 discs on top of each other.
If you get the Best Buy exclusive, disc 7 comes in an extra cardboard sleeve.
Earlier seasons appear to have been repackaged in plastic cases so it's possible this one has been as well.
The insert doesn’t have the yearbook theme anymore, or any other creative theme for that matter. It does have the same content, though: an intro by the creators, a cast list, episode summaries, writing and directing credits, airdates, chapter lists, lists of extras, and lots of images.
The interface is similar to the previous ones: a slideshow of images from the season playing with the theme song looping behind it.
Extras
Episodes
We get 22 episodes at about 40 to 43 minutes each.
Chapters are nicely divided with the opening credits at the end of the chapter so it's easy to skip past and get to the story. The play all feature makes it even easier to watch all episode on a disc without pause.