Random Smallville Episode - Infamous

Next up for the month is a return to Smallville. Since I got a bit of a motif this month with the whole “identity revealed” trope, I thought I would find one of those. Quite a few folk knew Clark’s identity on Smallville especially by the 8th season. At this point, the show had two hurdles they had to overcome: the departure of important actors (Michael Rosembaum and Kristen Kreuk) and the executive producers (Miles Millar and Alfred Gough). Still, I thought they were able to overcome them both. Season 8 is fine, but a bit rocky in places especially towards the end. Clark’s finally at the Daily Planet, he’s being more active in the superhero business, and he’s getting closer to Lois. Add the fact that Smallville starts to add more comic lore to the show, and you get a decent season.

Where we’re at during this point isn’t its best time though. At this point, we just got off a five-episode run where Kristen Kreuk returned to the role of Lana Lang. Also add the first appearance of Doomsday, the Legion of Superheroes, some J’onn Jones action, the death of Lex Luthor, and the horrible end of “Clana” in two of the worst episodes of the series (“Power” and “Requiem”). That run was a mixed bag and what we got would be a bit of a mix too. Tonight’s episode is “Infamous”, and it features the return of Erica Durance (was notably absent during the Lana episodes) and Tori Spelling as annoying gossiper Linda Lake.

TV Talk - Smallville: "Delete"

Next up for the month is another love of Clark Kent’s. Unlike the rest on the list, she didn’t originate in comics. It’s Chloe Sullivan from the TV show, Smallville. Yes, she’s on the list since she was a supporting character for Clark. Plus, she eventually made her way to the comics for a bit, so take that, Internet Elite! I got all my bases checked!

Anyway, Chloe was pretty much a mainstay on the show. Other than Clark, she stayed on that show for over nine seasons (she was a guest star in season 10). She was the Lois Lane of that show before Lois showed up. She was a reporter at Smallville High’s newspaper and eventually the Daily Planet. She also filled other roles on the show too. She was Clark’s confidant, a hacker, a healer (she had powers for a while), a vessel for Brainiac, a crush for Clark Kent (and probably a better girlfriend than this show’s Lana), and an Oracle homage. She pretty much did it all except for get Clark’s powers since that would have been a little too far for the Chloe fans.

For today’s post, I’ll be looking at the Season 3 episode, “Delete.” At this point, a lot of stuff has happened. Clark’s and Lana’s relationship has gotten weird. Lex actually found out Clark’s secret, went crazy, and then had his brain screwed with in a mental hospital so he can’t remember it. Jonathan made a deal with the Old Testament God--- I mean, A.I. Jor-El that actually doesn’t come into play here. Then, there’s Chloe who had teamed up with Lionel Luthor to keep tabs on Clark earlier in the season. That did stop after a while, but things have been weird between Clark and Chloe. Lionel is also a bit of an ass, so Chloe’s not doing too well.

TV Talk - Smallville: "Blue"

Supergirl, meet Supergirl.

Next up for the month is the Kryptonian matriarch of the El family: Lara-El  or Lara Lor-Von. Like Jor-El, she too first appeared in 1939. Her name was even a little different too. While she is the wife of Jor-El, that hasn’t been her only occupation. Yeah, she mostly stands around in the movies/TV shows, but the comics tried to make her more than the standard house wife. She’s been a scientist, an astronaut, a historian, and a skilled fighter. Let’s thank Scott Lobdell for the fighting part since that’s probably one of the only cool things he brought to the table. In some iterations, she even helped Jor-El build the ship that Kal-El traveled to Earth in.

Outside of her times with Jor-El, I don’t think there have been many solo stories with her. I could be wrong on that, though. So, it’s to season 7 of Smallville, an okay season for the most part. At this point, Clark is on the farm alone since Martha’s gone to the Senate or something. Luckily, he’s not lonely since he has Lana, Chloe, and a distant cousin named Kara. Yep, we got Supergirl on the show and she can also fly unlike her supposedly younger cousin. Anyway, Lara does show up a couple of times this season, once in a flashback (“Lara”) and once for real (“Blue”). Today, it’s “Blue,” the eighth episode of the season and Lara is being played by Helen Slater (Supergirl).

Favorites - Favorite Non-Star Trek Time Travel Stories

If there’s one trope in science fiction that’s been used as well as misused, it’s time travel. Heck, the Star Trek franchise has made time travel into a fine art. I’ve always liked time travel stories whenever they would show up in movies, TV, video games, and books. Sometimes, you’ll get the usual plot where someone is sent back in time to right a wrong. I’ll call that the “For the Future!!!” syndrome. Other times, someone messes up something that changes the present time. Then, we have the awesome “I’m trapped in a loop and I can’t get out!” plot. You get other ones along the way, but those are the ones that I tend to notice.

So, here is my list of favorite time travel stories from movies, TV, video games, and books. I thought about splitting this one up since there are a lot of movies, but I’ll just make this a long one. Besides, I can really only think of one game that really did time travel well. It’s not in any order but I will put the best up at the top. Since I couldn’t stop listing Trek episodes, they’re going on a separate list of their own. With all that said, “Allons-y!”

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The Terminator franchise is pretty much the standard for good time travel stories… well, most of them. While the first movie is really good, T2 stands above it as being the superior movie. It was also the one I saw first since I didn’t see the first one until I was teen. T2 continues the story of Skynet, an AI from a dystopian future, sending a more advanced Terminator into the past to kill John Connor, the leader of the human resistance. This time, the human resistance sends its own reprogrammed Terminator in order to protect John and his mother, Sarah.

Everything about the movie is good. The story is great, the action is awesome, and the characters are cool. This movie showed that Arnold Schwarzenegger could actually emote. Ed Furlong was fun as John and Linda Hamilton rocked as Sarah Conner. Robert Patrick was really cool as the T-1000. He was really imposing villain. T2 did everything a sequel should do and more. If only they stopped there, though.

Random Smallville Episode - Onyx

Don't lose your hand, Lex! Especially that one!

First up for the month is the criminal mastermind of our time: Lex Luthor. If there’s one villain you know will show up in one form or another, it’s Lex. The guy’s shown up in comics, TV, movies, and video games. Ever since his first appearance in Action Comics #23 (1940), he’s been the thorn in Superman’s boot. He’s been a mad genius, a powerful businessman, a self-proclaimed savior of the human race, and everything in between. He’s even been the good guy in some stories.

Today, I’ll take a turn at Albuquerque and look at an episode of Smallville. While Smallville wasn’t perfect, it had more pros than cons. One of them was Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor. While it didn’t completely work with his descent into evil, seeing him go bad was pretty interesting. Today’s episode will be “Onyx” from Season 4 or what Trentus Magnus calls “The Dreaded Fourth Season.” Season 4 was where it got a bit weird for the show and I’m not talking about Sam Winchester either. It wasn’t a horrible season, though. Still, it must be asked: is “Onyx” one of the bad ones?

Favorites - 10 Heroic Characters Gone Bad

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”

This quote from Batman: The Killing Joke says a lot about heroes or good people who go down a dark path. Sometimes, an event will happen in their lives that will irrevocably change them. Mostly, they can find the way to keep their wits and continue to fight the good fight. Heck, how has someone like Spider-Man not gone totally dark after what’s happened to him? Other times, they fall so far off the wagon, you wonder if they were even on the wagon to begin with. You’ll see this trope everywhere in movies, TV, books, and video games. So, here are some good characters that turned dark. They’re not necessarily in order either.

1. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)

That’s right, folks. One of the best villains in movie history was once one of the good guys. It always has to start like that, don’t it? Even though the prequels weren’t perfect, they and Star Wars: Clone Wars showed how a “mostly good” Jedi would go evil. Because of Palpatine’s influence and Anakin’s own fears, he became Darth Vader and helped tighten the Empire’s grip for years. I’ll touch on his ultimate end next time, though.

Trade Tales! - Smallville Season 11: Guardian

Next up for this month, it’s time to revisit something cool. Smallville may not be one of my favorite TV shows, but it is at least in the top 20. The show went from showcasing the early days of Clark Kent to almost becoming a Superman show in itself. It definitely felt like that in the last few seasons when Clark actually got his crap together. I know the series finale disappointed some and I was a little underwhelmed as well. It was less “where is the suit” and more “this should be a little better” for me. I still enjoyed it in the end.

In 2012, DC was getting its digital release schedule together and one of the new series put out there was Smallville Season 11. The comic was released weekly digitally in parts and the whole story would be put into print the next month. The comic ended up getting written by Bryan Q. Miller, one of the show’s executive story editors. He pretty much stuck with the series until its end in 2015. The pencils and inks for this volume was provided by Pere Perez.

Here’s a quick recap or those who don’t remember the finale.  The forces of Apokalips were staging an invasion on Earth. Clark ultimately saved the day when he finally donned the traditional costume and literally pushed Apokalips out of Earth’s orbit. How he did that and how Apokalips was able to do that, I don’t remember. Also, Lex Luthor returned to the land of the living via cloning, Darkseid, and a Lionel Luthor from the alternate Earth. Unfortunately (for him since he knew Clark’s identity), his memories were somehow erased when he killed his illegitimate sister, Tess Mercer. Wow, that show got convoluted in the end. The comic series would take place six months after those events.

Smallville Season 11 Volume 1: Guardian

Writer: Bryan Q. Miller

Artist: Pere Perez

Letters: Saida Temofonte

Colors: Chris Beckett and Randy Mayor

Cover Artist: Cat Scaggs

Favorites - Ten Favorite Prequels

Prequels tend to get a bad rep, don’t they? I guess I can’t blame folk for not liking prequels. There are some that are pretty bad. They tend to be of low quality and not capture what the original was all about. I guess I can say the same thing about reboots, but that’s a list for another time. Today, I’ll be talking about my ten favorite prequels. Why ten? Well, there aren't that many good ones out there.  I won’t be including reboots like Batman Begins and Casino Royale on here simply because they aren’t prequels. I’ve see some lists include them and that’s pretty annoying. Now, there are some I’ll include that are sort of reboots, but they are meant to be prequels.

10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 

ToD is probably my least favorite of the Indiana Jones Foursome. It’s down there with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. While it’s not my favorite, it has its moments. Of course, Harrison Ford rules any role he’s in. Short Pack was cool. It also had some nice quotes (“You betrayed Shiva!”)

9. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 

Yes, I know. It’s a general fact that the Star Wars prequels suck. Luckily, I’m not a general person. There were good things and bad things in those movies. ROTS was the best of the three prequels. It helped set up things in the original trilogy and isn’t a bad movie in of itself. It’s far from perfect but I do like it more than the other two prequels. I will say that the Clone War TV series (I’ll get to it later) did more to expand the universe than the prequels did.

Favorites - Top 12 Sidekicks

Unlike henchmen, sidekicks are another story all-together. Simply, they are there to help and support the protagonist. They usually get more room to shine than the usual henchmen. Sometimes, they are on par with the main hero. There are even some that can outshine the main hero. Other times, they’re the ones that need help. Just look at Robin back in some of those old stories I did last month. That guy got captured a lot! So, here are my Top 12 Sidekicks in fiction. I chose twelve because it’s a magic number.

12. Kato from The Green Hornet

It’s Bruce Lee for a sidekick. That’s all I need to say there. Kato was the sidekick to the Green Hornet. Together, they stopped crime under the guise of being criminals. It’s a pretty weird situation overall. I’ve only seen some Green Hornet episodes and the pretty lackluster movie with Seth Rogen. When Kato isn’t Britt Reid’s driver, he’s the butt-kicking sidekick. In fact, he kicks more butt than that green insect. Overall, it’s Bruce freakin’ Lee and the guy knows martial arts! I rest my case.

11. Chewbacca from The Star Wars Trilogy

He’s the alien who not the best at losing weird games. Chewbacca is Han’s assistant on the Millennium Falcon. He’s also the muscle for our heroes in the trilogy. He’s the guy who’ll be at your side through thick and thin even if you don’t know what he’s saying. Simply put, Chewie’s pretty cool.

10. Chloe Sullivan from Smallville 

Chloe was Clark’s friend, confidant, and helper on the TV show, Smallville. She basically started out as a copy of Lois Lane. She was the news girl who wanted the truth. Over the seasons, she developed into a hero of her own. She learned Clark’s secret and basically became Smallville’s version of Oracle (Barbara Gordon). She even tried to keep Clark on his mission when even he wasn’t ready to do it. She was smart, kind, brave, a little dim-witted (middle of Season 8, ya’ll), and really cute. Chloe is definitely one you want to have at your side. I know I would.

9. April O’Neill and Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yeah, I listed both for this part since they are really the only humans that the Turtles really interact with. While April is usually known as the damsel in distress in some incarnations, she has been known to be an effective part of the team. Just see the 2003 animated series and IDW’s current comic series. Casey is always the sport-equipment-wielding vigilante and he helps the Turtles out from time to time. He’s got a great rapport with Raphael and he’s just cool in my book. April and Casey also make for a great couple and they’re pretty rad in my book.

8. Wang from Big Trouble in Little China 

Wang was Jack Burton’s sidekick in Big Trouble from Little China. In some ways, he’s the main character of the movie. Yes, Kurt Russell the main star, but he is really ineffective at times.  Wang is the guy who has the most at stake in the movie. All Jack loses is his truck. Wang loses a whole girl to David Lo Pan. He can also kick a lot of butt which is something that Jack didn’t excel at that. He does all he can to get his green-eyed woman back and Jack is essentially along for the ride. By the way, Big Trouble in Little China is an awesome movie, just saying.

7. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings 

Sam was a friend to Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. When Frodo decided to split off from the Fellowship, Sam tagged on along even if Frodo didn’t want him to. That worked out great especially since Frodo really needed it. Sam fought Gollum and saved Frodo from Orcs and that that spider. When Frodo was down, Samwise was there to pick him up and end the journey. All in all, Sam’s a cool Hobbit to have as a friend.

12 Greatest Live Action Intros

Well, since I did my favorite animated intros, I might as well do my favorite live action intros. These intros are pretty much gonna be all over the place when concerning TV. So, here we go with my top 11 Greatest Live Action Intros. Why 12? Well, it turns out that there are not many awesome live action TV intros for me to put here, but whatever. Some of these are my favorite shows, while the rest just have awesome intros.So, here we go:

12. The Flash
I vaguely remember this show coming on back in the nineties. From what I have seen on the internet, it wasn't that bad. I do wish it had stayed on longer though. Anyway, why is this intro awesome? Two words: DANNY ELFMAN.

TV Talk - Smallville

Hmm...Symbolism much?

So, today I am going to talk about a show that has been mentioned on this blog before: SMALLVILLE. It's true that Clark didn't become Superman until the last episode, but this is still a Superman show . I gonna try to do this type of format for the tv shows:  background, likes and dislikes of the show. I already did the best episodes in the other post.

Random Thoughts #5

Well, it looks like I may be here a while in the GA room at MTSU. To know how that happened, read on.

Smallville, R.I.P.

Young Clark: Woah! Who Dressed you?

Older Clark: My wife.

YC: What? Lana has more style than--

OC: ....Nope, not her.

YC: Alicia--

OC: ...Dude she died in our arms, man!

YC: Okay, sorry. It's Lois, isn't it?

OC: Yep.

YC: Figures.

Well, it’s finally here: the end of Smallville……Yes, Smallville. You know that show on the CW that showcases a young Clark Kent becoming the Man of Steel. Yep, that one. I have to admit it took a while (a long while), and while I’m happy it’s over, I’m also a little sad. I started watching this show since the beginning (2001) and was hooked when I watched the pilot. They showed the pilot and another episode on a Sunday, and I missed it on it’s normal day Tuesday because of band practice. I stuck with the show, and yes, even through the dark years (the years where the folk had no idea what to do with Lana…just joking …sorta….Just watch Power and Requiem for that @#@$...yes, those episodes get symbols from me). This is probably the only show that me and my sister Marion can watch together. The show had its high moments (seasons 1-3, 5, 6, 9, and some of this season) and its low moments (Lana as I said before in those later seasons, Clark being whiny, and a few other stuff).

When I think about it, there aren’t many shows that I stick with this long. Hmm…let’s see what shows I stuck through with: Stargate Sg-1 (Sorta), Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica (the new one), Avatar (sorta, I haven’t seen some of the last season), Boy Meets World, and there are probably others but I can’t think of them. That’s a real short list.

Now, it’s looks like I’m missing the finale tonight (UPS!!!!! Errr…) but I will be seeing it somehow later. Well, it looks like I will leave you with my 10 favorite episodes of the series (I grouped some of them because a couple of reasons):

• Pilot/Metamorphosis - This is what hooked me to the show.
• Absolute Justice/Legion/ Booster – All of the episodes written by Geoff Johns (You might have heard of him on this blog somewhere…)
• Exile/Phoenix – Clark on red kryptonite + Metropolis = Awesome
• Salvation - Clark vs. Zod, plus a lot of other goodness
• Rosetta/Legacy - The episodes with Chris Reeve, good ones.
• Onyx - We see the EVIL side of Lex
• Homecoming - 200th episode and where the pic from above comes from
• Finale- Well, one can hope that this is a good last episode.
• Reckoning - 100th episode where...something happens
• Justice - all of the heroes featured in past seasons show up in a good episode.

Well time to find something else to look at on TV.