The Show
Whereas the trend in recent movie adaptations of popular superheroes has been attempt to make the fantastic characters more plausible to modern audiences through clever revision of their origins and so forth, the Smallville approach appears to be to water the characters down and cut as many corners as possible in order to bring them in on a weekly TV budget. And when in doubt, "pay homage to" the classic movies. The many small twists and propensity toward talkiness add a layer of small-screen-caliber drama to a grand and enduring saga.
To be honest, I haven't watched the show in years because, as a lifelong Superman fan, I really don't like it very much, and I gave it many, many chances early on. Season Eight is a lot different than what I remember of Smallville (for one thing, much of it is set in Metropolis, not Smallville), with a host of second-tier-and-lower DC Comics characters routinely popping up in various capacities. This season saw Clark Kent take a job at The Daily Planet, the Legion of Super-Heroes arrive from the 31st Century, while the still-loose "Justice League" evolves further and He's-Not-Superman-He's-Just-an-Indestructible-Flying-Red-and-Blue-Blur squares off against the indestructible Doomsday.
The Picture
From the very first episode I was surprised by the high levels of evident compression artifacts (Discs One thru Three contain six episodes each) with more than a bit of noise regularly on display in the background. The 1.78:1 image is bright and colorful, although it could be a bit sharper, blacks are thankfully detailed and natural, but unfortunately, the digital special effects that run through every episode do not fare well in high-definition, too often exposed as cartoonish and fake-looking.
The Sound
For reasons unknown to me, this Blu-ray only carries a Dolby Digital soundtrack, with no high-resolution audio options. The quality is clear enough I suppose but the 5.1 mix is remarkably front-heavy. There's fill, and some rear-channel use for the musical score, and some directionality to off-camera characters when they speak, but weather, a shower, a gunshot: None of it really pops. Even during a cool 360-degree swirling shot where Clark uses his Super-hearing, all the good stuff is relegated to Left/Center/Right. And the final battle with Doomsday (all three seconds of it) turned up loud is a huge disappointment.
The Extras
A pair of audio commentaries can be found on Disc Three, on the episodes "Identity" by director Mairzee Almas, executive producer Brian Peterson and actress Cassidy Freeman, as well as "Legion" by producers Darren Swimmer and Tim Scanlan and writer Geoff Johns. "In the Director's Chair: Behind the Lens and Calling the Shots with Allison Mack" (19 minutes) is a well-produced look at the longtime co-star's foray into directing, and "Smallville's Doomsday: The Making of a Monster" recounts the different challenges of bringing a major villain to life. Deleted scenes are also included for ten episodes. All extras are in high-definition.
Final Thoughts
Considering our other hour-long choices these days, Smallville's not so bad, with its mix of fantasy, drama and adventure. I'd probably like it more if didn't try to pass itself off as Superman canon. Maybe it helps to think of Smallville as "Superman Light."
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