The CW
Last spring, many Smallville fans, including myself, were worried about the show’s direction. Let’s admit it, season 7 was not the series’ best, and news that the two front runners, Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk, were leaving after the season finale made some of us worry even more about the show’s fate.
But if you are like me and gave the show yet another chance this season, you have been entertained each week by episodes that are filled with Superman mythology, action, twists and turns. It almost makes us forget that Lex Luthor is not part of the series anymore!
I think part of season 8’s success is due to the change of front runners. Al Gough and Miles Millar did a good job at launching the series and making it a household name at WB/The CW, but they also kept the show back. They always claimed that Clark would never fly in the series (unless under effect of some type of Kryptonite) and they were in no hurry to have Clark really embrace his destiny.
Thing is, fans wanted just that and by not giving them what they wanted after 7 years of watching Smallville, some of them lost fate in the show and found something else to watch on Thursdays at 8 PM. Luckily for us, the new production team – Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer – decided to give us some goods, and it’s paying off.
Here is a short list of the changes that I think help put the show back on track:
I’ve enjoyed all season 8 episodes so far and look forward to the rest of the season, even if Lana will appear in five episodes. What do you think of Smallville this season? What changes do you like best? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.
Note that I will start reviewing the show for CliqueClack starting this week.
Clacked by Isabelle Carreau 
on Nov 09, 2008 @ 14:38 EST5EDT
I think giving Chloe something to do other than being a sidekick. That and the arrival of Doomsday. I’m a little distracted seeing Crashdown on Smallville because I keep expecting Baltar to leap out and shoot him in his back. The fact they are willing to use Doomsday in Smallville shows that Clark is quickly on the path to become Superman.
Sure this season rocks. Finally we get away from the stupid Lex/Clark and Clark/Lana storylines to what made superman great – the two-journalists-getting-close one with one of them having a secret identity. Finally things are back to secrecy. We all know that that is what we all love about superheroes – them having a secret. Just knowing what they are is never fun just as boring as couples (trust me, once Lana and Clark are together things are going to get stupid again).
They should keep Lana where she is now – off screen. The earliest I want to see her is once Clark knows he loves Lois and they had their first kiss – then Lana can pop up.
More Jimmy is a good thing? I agree with everything else you said but Jimmy is the worst character on the cast currently. And Doomsday is playing out great so far I love how they are building up sympathy for him before the monster takes him over completely.
I love this season… it really feels like a whole new show, the new showrunners seem to be re-energize the show completely that even the actors seem to enjoy what they’re doing now.
And, to be quite honest, I’m really loving Tess a lot more than Lex. (Please don’t hit me!)
Hmm, I’m not certain if I agree with you. Is Lana leaving good? Definitely. But, I finally realized why I still have difficulty with season 8: these characters have no lives. In seasons 1-3, we saw an assortment of people of different ages, who had nothing directly to do with the Superman story or creature of the week.
Right now, everyone’s a hot 20-something where both their jobs and free time revolve around the same thing. It’s boring & a bit creepy. The writers took time to build a believable h.s. world, can’t they do the same for the D.P.? Right now, it looks like the paper only has 5 people, who rarely speak, and its main work hours are after 9pm. I thought living in Metropolis was supposed to broaden things. Can’t Clark just go out for a pizza sometime or go to a football game? He’s become too 1-dimensional.
Sure, Clark’s following his destiny, but the point of Superman is that he had a real life and balanced it with his SuperLife compared with the other caped crusaders. I still heart Chloe and think Tom Welling has talent, but I understand why Michael B. left. The writers need to spend more time developing the characters (in human ways) and the D.P. world, in addition to the Superman mythology.
First of all I have to agree that this season is way better than at least the previous one. But still I think this show has to die. There are two major things that bother me (actually there were three but, since Lana is gone, it’s now down to two): First I don’t like the Clark character a bit. It’s way way off, maybe it’s the writers’ fault or maybe Welling’s, I don’t know. It’s like How I Met Your Mother, if the major character is not lovable, the rest can save the show only so far. Second, the show’s tone. Today’s sci-fi or fantasy dramas go in one of two directions. They are either somewhat funny toned (like Stargate series, Supernatural or Doctor Who) or hardcore (like BSG or Sarah Connor C.). This show is neither. It sort of tries to be serious but the characters are very cartoonish. So I think if they want to keep the show alive, they will need a much more major overhaul than this season…