Smallville on DVD

By Jim Bray

The WB series Smallville does a nice job of retelling the Superman legend, remaining true to the original concepts while updating it enough to make it enjoyable to today's kids.

Well, I have no idea how the show's ratings are so can't really say how enjoyable it is to today's kids, but I enjoyed it and I'm a longtime Superman fan…

But I'm not a kid.

This DVD is actually of the first two episodes of the series, where the infant Kal El arrives on Earth after the destruction of his homeworld Krypton (accompanied by a shower of planetary debris that wreaks havoc on Smallville, an event that resonates across the years right up to the time period of the series, some ten years later). It combines two different, but complementary, stories and sets the scene for what could be a very interesting series.

The characters are well drawn and well performed, and there's a tragic side to both the young and frustrated Clark Kent and his budding/potential relationship with school chum Lana Lang, a relationship that is doomed to failure even if it does blossom - because, as everyone knows, he's going to hook up with Lois Lane when he grows up and heads to Metropolis.

Besides, Lana's favorite pendant is made of kryptonite, and there's no better chaperone for Superboy than that! Talk about a girl making a guy weak in the knees!

As this Clark Kent (well and vulnerably played by Tom Welling) grows, he's still learning about his powers and how to use them. Even though he's faster than a speeding bullet he hasn't year learned that he can fly, although we can see it coming when he awakes one morning hovering above his bed. It's really quite fascinating to see this development.

The writing's very good, as are the cast. Besides Welling, we're treated to Kristin Kreuk as Lana, Michael Rosenbaum as a very different Lex Luthor, and Eric Johnson as Whitney (the third angle of the Clark/Lana/ love triangle). Also along for the ride, but pulling their weight very well, are John Schneider and Annette O'Toole as Jonathan and Martha Kent (interestingly, O'Toole played Lana in the horrible theatrical film Superman III).

The DVD is also very good. Fortunately for those with widescreen TV's, the series is shot wide (undoubtedly shot in HD) and the anamorphic picture fills the widescreen from top to bottom and corner to corner. The picture quality is also very good for the most part, though we noticed an unfortunate tendency toward digital artifacts quite often, when the picture cuts from one shot to another. It's annoying, but it doesn't ruin the show.

Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and the quality is also very good. It doesn't quite have the "rumble quotient" (due to the low frequency effects channel) of some flicks, but it's fine overall.

And there are extras, too, beginning with a running commentary from producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, accompanied by episode one director David Nutter. You also get a cutesy, but interesting, interactive map of Smallville, some deleted scenes, and a "Storyboard to Screen" section that shows "before and after" production shots.

Well done, Warners!

Smallville, from Warner Home Video
91 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring Tom Welling, Kristen Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Eric Johnson, Sam Jones III, Allison Mack, Annette O'Toole, John Schneider

Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think