I know most folks watch a fair bit of TV on a daily basis and hit the theaters at least once a month, but I'm just a little bit different. (OK, most parents of small kids don't get to go to the movies unless they have a good babysitter.) My one guilty pleasure is the TV show Smallville.
I think I caught the first show years after I had heard people raving about it. Not being much of a comic books guy, I was slow to make the Superman connection. I had a fairly good idea it wasn't about midgets or anything freakish like that. I caught an episode of season 4 on a rerun a couple of years ago. (The show is currently about to start season 9, I think.) Enjoyable, but since I was not in the TV habit, I couldn't commit to keeping up with the series. And, as with most things on TV--especially on the WB--I thought it best for teenage consumption. (Zit medicine is probably the biggest sponsor.)
Yes, Smallville is very youth-oriented. In the first season, Clark Kent is a freshman in high school. (Never mind that he looks about 21.) Still, the stories and the writing are usually very good to brilliant. The way they spoon-feed you the bits and pieces that make up the Superman myth really help lure you in and keep you hooked. Of course, the guy is no where near putting on tights in the show. That's what keeps it fresh and out of the realm of typical comic book fare. Smallville, KS also must be the most dangerous place to live in the good ol' USA. Not because of the tornadoes, but because of all the kryptonite whacking out the high school kids. There's a higher body count in Smallville than there ever was around Bill Clinton!
I bought a few seasons on DVD really cheap when a local video store went out of business. Then, I discovered that the WB offers free shows online. The shows run in order with old shows going away and 3 subsequent shows appearing on Mondays, I think. I've watched all of season 4 and I am guessing season 5 will follow and then they'll start at season 1 once they've gone through all their shows.
There's a bunch of other shows on theWB.com, including the Lois and Clark show from the 90s. I already told myself I'm just watching this one show, so no "One Tree Hill" or "The O.C." for me. (As if I'd even want to watch those.) OK, maybe a little MadTV every now and then.
Come to think of it, I guess this blog is another guilty pleasure. Oh well. I'm already committed to my post title. :-)
[Just for fun: Quick! How many actors are in that pic above?? The answer: only 3!!]
