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Smallville: The Complete First Season
But Smallville also strikes gold when it takes a turn towards more comic-book territory, as evidenced by the parade of shape-shifting killers and other outlandish antagonists (many generated, in one of the series' most ingenious notions, by the same devastating meteor shower that brought the infant Clark to Earth) that Clark must harness his powers to face and defeat. Gough and Millar, along with their capable cast (which includes Michael Rosenbaum as a young and already bald-pated Lex Luthor, and Annette O'Toole and John Schneider as the Kents) manage to pull off the precarious high-wire act of combining science fiction with coming-of-age drama to create this highly watchable programme. --Paul Gaita
RRP: £56.99
Our Price: £14.97 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The venerable Superman mythos gets a 21st-century updating in the imaginative and engaging TV series Smallville. The premise of the show--Superman as a teenager--takes up just a few pages in Superman's very first comic-book appearance (in Action Comics back in 1938), but producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar flesh out that period by portraying young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) not as the noble Superman-in-waiting, but as an average teen with some not-so-ordinary supernatural powers, including incredible strength and heat vision (Clark hasn't lifted up, up, and away as of yet). Clark's desire to fit in with his peers and make sense of his extraordinary abilities grounds him in very realistic and identifiable terms for the series' primarily under-25 audience, as does his appealing and tentative romance with Kristen Kreuk as Clark's dreamgirl Lana Lang.
Editorial
DVD Description
Episodes:
1. Pilot
2. Metamorphosis
3. Hothead
4. X-Ray
5. Cool
6. Hourglass
7. Craving
8. Jitters
9. Rogue
10. Shimmer
11. Hug
12. Leech
13. Kinetic
14. Zero
15. Nicodemus
16. Stray
17. Reaper
18. Drone
19. Crush
20. Obscura
21. Tempest
Editorial
Special Features
Deleted Scenes "Pilot" and "Metamorphosis"
"Pilot" Storyboard Montage
Interactive Tour of Smallville (multiple clips)
Commentaries -- "Pilot" and "Metamorphosis"
Language Options: English & French
Subtitles: English, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, Arabic
Editorial
Synopsis
The Superman myth has always been magical and heroic, but little has been written about Clark Kent's small-town life as a teenager growing up in Smallville. While he comes to terms with being a high-flying superhero he still has adolescence to contend with and never before has Superman been so cool and hip. Featuring newcomers Tom Welling (in the title role) and Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luther and seasoned actors such as the DUKES OF HAZZARD's John Schneider and Annette O'Toole (SUPERMAN 3) this state-of-the-art special effects packed series satisfies our small screen appetite for comic book heroes. This muscular set contains all 21 episodes from the first season including the pilot episode directed by David Nutter (THE WEST WING, BAND OF BROTHERS).
"I Suppose You Stashed My Spaceship in the Attic." "Actually, It's in the Cellar."
Review date: 2008-08-01 Rating: 8 out of 10
Even those of us who don't read comics know the story of Superman. But what was life like growing up for him? That's the focus of this series. And it is surprisingly addictive.
Set in modern times, we join Clark Kent (Tom Welling) is Smallville, Kansas. He's a teenager attending high school. And he's just starting to develop the powers he'll use to save the world as Superman. His best friends in school are Pete Ross (Sam Jones III) and news hound Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). And he is not so secretly in love with girl next door (okay, a mile away. It is the country) Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). Unfortunately, she's already dating quarterback Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson).
In addition to being a farming town, Smallville has a LuthorCorp fertilizer plant. Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has just been sent there by his father Lionel (recurring actor John Glover). And when Lex hits Clark but both survive, the two form a friendship, much to the dismay of Clark's parents, Martha and Jonathan (Annette O'Toole and John Schneider).
But weird things keep happening in Smallville. Seems that the meteor shower in which Clark arrived 13 years ago left behind all kinds of rocks. And coming in contact with them gives people strange powers. With Chloe's help, Clark has to keep trying to save the day while forging a friendship with Lana. All this leads up to a season ending cliffhanger sure to have you coming back for more.
I'm just now watching this series. The first few episodes were actually rather forgettable. I was already getting tired of the formula of the show. But then around episode 8 or 9, the show began to find itself. True, it often still focused on the freak of the week, but they started telling the story in different ways and involving more of the cast. I especially got hooked on Whitney's storyline in the second half of the season.
And you can't forget the special effects. Even when I was bored with the story, I was still impressed with just how great they looked, especially for a weekly television series. The acting was a little weak near the beginning, but it got better as it progressed as well.
What really got me the most was watching the friendships of the characters. It breaks my heart that Lex and Clark grow up (okay, so Lex is already an adult) to be enemies.
And the show constantly throws in ironic lines about who Clark will become. These jokes always make me laugh.
I've added another TV show to my list of shows to watch. Just what I needed. Give the show a chance to get over its slow start and you just might be hooked as well.
Similar Products
- Smallville: The Complete Second Season
- Smallville - The Complete Third Season
- Smallville : The Complete Fourth Season
- Smallville: The Complete Fifth Season
- Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season
Reviews
can i give it 8 star???
Review date: 2008-05-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
Simple......just buy it.
You dont need to know anything bout superman or even like superman, as this is it's own thing...Really you must buy it..
The story is awesome, and yes it may have a few cheesy we love america and flags around but it makes up for that with the story lines of each episode.
great series!
Review date: 2008-01-24 Rating: 8 out of 10
Fantastic first series, captivating pilot episode had me hooked from the very beginning. I found myself watching the entire season within one weekend! My only criticism would be that first few episodes seem slightly fragmented, all telling a 40/50minute story from start to conclusion without a visible progression of a main storyline. From about episode 5 or 6 onwards though, everything starts to tie in and become a more ongoing and fluent story. The last episode was amazing but also very frustrating as it was "to be continued" so I would reccommend having season 2 close at hand to prevent frustration!!
"Our friendship is gonna be the stuff of legend"
Review date: 2007-08-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
I am in my thirties, so when I was a kid Superman was one of the main cartoons on TV and these comics were available everywhere. Throughout the years there have been many movies and series about this beloved superhero, but I am not aware of any that tackled Superman's life as a teenager. Therefore, "Smallville" fills a gap that fans everywhere love to finally see bridged. In this series we find answers to many questions about Superman, from why kryptonite weakens him to why Lex Luthor was a villain.
In 1989 a meteorite storm hit Smallville, Kansas, killing many people, but bringing joy to a couple of farmers that were not able to have kids. The Kents find a small boy near a strange artifact, or maybe it was the boy that found them. They soon realize that this boy is different from other kids, and what a big difference it is! He has unbelievable strength and speed, and that is just the beginning. But not only the Kents saw their life change on that day in 1989, since Lex Luthor was visiting Smallville with his father and the shock of witnessing the meteorite shower left him bald for life.
The connection between Lex and Clark was established at that first moment, but it is not until years later that they "meet". If that is what you would call Lex unintentionally running over Clark with his car and ending up in a lake from which he has to be rescued by the super teenager. Lex does not remember very well what happened, but he has suspicions; nevertheless, they become very good friends.
Clark is different from other teenagers, but he feels exactly like every other one of them. He is in love with Lana Lang, the girlfriend of the quarterback of the high school's football team. Therefore, he wants to play football himself and upon his parents objections he promises not to use his "natural advantage" in the field. Of course, there are many other situations along these lines throughout the season.
The story has a nice balance between the action and the constant development of the personal stories of the main characters. Also, the meteor shower had a myriad of secondary effects on many people, so we see villains with strange powers surface episode after episode and Clark Kent battling them.
On top of the appeal from the plot's perspective and the background information on the most famous superhero of all time, the series counts with very good actors. Tom Welling is the best Superman I have seen among all the series and movies, and Michael Rosenbaum is absolutely perfect in the role of Lex Luthor. Most of the other members of the cast do not lag far behind.
This is a must see series for anyone that has ever been interested in Superman. For the people that have been disappointed by previous experiences regarding movies or series featuring this superhero, I can only say that this effort surpasses them all and that you may be pleasantly surprised if you give it one more try. Enjoy!
Freak of the week formula, but an enjoyable one at that
Review date: 2007-07-31 Rating: 10 out of 10
Smallville starts out with an explosively lavish Pilot directed by David Nutter, and quickly propels the viewer into the life of Clark Kent. The future iconic Superman who will one day fight for 'truth, justice and... other stuff' -- as Clark so eloquently puts it in `Drone'. The Pilot is the best episode of the season both visually and contextually with the introduction of the characters and their world. Season one is the least mythos heavy season of Smallville and purely works as a nice introduction to the comic book universe. Having said that however, season one is also the season that draws the least amount of influence from the vast sprawling comic book universe. The superheroes that appear in the latter years of Smallville are missing here and while season one is strong in its originality and freshness the constant formulaic structure of the episodes can become grating after a fashion. Clark himself is the focus of the show with the theme of the show itself being a simple one: `family'. While it deals with the idea of power and the corruption that it brings, it sheds light on the nature of family using the paralleled lives of Lex Luthor (Superman's future nemesis) and Clark Kent. Lex Luthor is saved by Clark and slowly they develop an interesting and rather Machiavellian friendship. Lex and his politically twisted relationship with his father Lionel Luthor acts as the dark parallel to Clarks loving open relationship with his parents; Lex is envious of Clark and this season we begin to see his very progressive fall to darkness which is chillingly foreshadowed in `Hourglass'. This ominous portent is what gives the Lex character such maniacal depth while he still appears to be a good person; there is a distinct sadness to the character in this respect. The future of both characters is heavily foreshadowed during this season; more often than not the writers enjoy the use of irony when alluding to this. Lex's envy of Clark is an intriguing notion in which to build upon their future rivalry; in future seasons we see how far Lex goes in order to essentially possess whatever Clark has or `had', here this idea begins to form. Smallville as a show is incredibly slow to portray and acknowledge character development or story development with the payoff coming much later. `Queen Industries' for instance is referenced in the Pilot episode and is again revisited in season six, as is the growing mystery surrounding Level 3 which is brought to the fore this season, and will consequently be developed as the series continues.
The characters themselves are all nicely portrayed by their respective actors. Chloe and Pete are more in the background than is necessary this season, but when the two are in a scene they tend to steal it with comical ease. Tom Welling does a competent job as Clark and continues to improve leaps and bounds. Lana Lang is a typical Mary Sue character but she is likable all the same here; Clark's parents are well cast and are particularly good at raising the acting bar on the show. However, the acting kudos undoubtedly goes to John Glover and Michael Rosenbaum who play Lionel and Lex Luthor, the sparring authorative complicated duo really are magnificent in every scene. Rosenbaum really was an inspired choice for Lex, he can play the wounded child whilst retaining the inner darkness of the character which makes Lex all the more compelling.
On the whole there is a lot going on underneath this first season of Smallville than there first appears to be, which will all become more evident in the proceeding seasons. Season one introduces us to the characters and the concept delivering some really wonderful character pieces, and narratives. Highlight episodes include: `Pilot', `Metamorphosis', `Hourglass', `Rogue', and the season finale `Tempest'.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tom Welling
Kristin Kreuk
Eric Johnson
Michael Rosenbaum
Sam Jones III
Creators:
Tom Welling (Primary Contributor)
Kristin Kreuk (Primary Contributor)
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900285704
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: Box set, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-10-13
Number of discs: 6
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 882 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001-10-16
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Bulgarian (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Romanian (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Dubbed)