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Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season
R1 - America - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (16th October 2008). |
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The Show
 It's a small caveat of human creativity that it eventually runs out. This pertains in the television business in that creative teams have to keep this creativity going as long as possible, for fear that their show runs out of ideas and thus episodes. I'll say right now that I had never seen any episode of 'Smallville' before reviewing this season. As such, I was somewhat lost at the start of the season. Now, I'm guessing that people watching the seventh season have also mostly watched the first six, and know what's going on. I don't know how Clark (Tom Welling) begat a bizarre version of himself, why Chloe (Allison Mack) injected herself with a weird syringe or what events prompted the police to arrest Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) for the murder of his wife, Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). All I know is that as the seventh opens, Clark has to deal with Bizarro Clark, stop a flood and save various friends (and enemies) of his. How he stops the first two makes it seem like the writers wanted an easy answer for a difficult problem. The solutions to the problems seem to be a shortcoming of the entire season, in fact. One thing I sort of dislike about the show (and the comic book world in general) is that death is never the end. It seems like Lex Luthor is shot every second episode and though they try to explain how he can live through each bullet wound (which, inexplicably, never leave any kind of scar) it gets kind of laughable after a while. If he (or any other character, for that matter) can survive death, then it takes away from the drama. Nobody is never in any danger. By the same token, if the writers have some kind of block, they can always kill off a character to create drama, and when it's convenient, bring that character back, which is done in this season (though I won’t mention any details for fear of spoiling the plot for some people). The show (or, at least, this season) is basically a soap opera with super powers. Take away the Superman angle, and all the family members, clones and double-crosses are just plain overdone. The drama is well done, but without the special powers, I doubt the show would have a lasting appeal beyond the pretty faces. The season, however, is not all bad. The plot and relationships do get interesting from time to time, and the addition of Kara (Laura Vandervoort) brings interesting counterpoint to Clark's mild-mannered superhero. She didn't grow up on Earth and so has different values and different ideas when it comes to getting what she wants. Her arc is also nicely written, and her character is nicely thought-out through this arc. The action is also pretty fun (though sometimes the logic is a bit wonky). Warner spent a lot of money on each episode, and no matter how big or ambitious the plot seems to be, the producers never skimp on effects. The first episode is a good example of this. There are huge explosions and nothing less than a flood of monster proportions to tackle, starting the season off with a bang. The season's arc is well thought-out and there's a nice mix of stand-alone episodes and arc episodes. A nice touch by the writers is that even the stand-alone episodes (such as 'Action' and 'Apocalypse', which, incidentally, was directed by star Tom Welling) always tie back to the overall season arc in some small way. This shows some nice forethought when conceiving the season. A few standouts are 'Wrath' and, in my mind, 'Apocalypse'. They show very good drama along with some good action and the former is pretty important in the development of a few characters. The show has a big following and the seventh season is still a good one. Some decision could have been better done and the show has some flaws in some of the characters choices and arcs. Fans of the show won't mind, but quite frankly, 'Smallville' never interested me much as a television show. I did find the season a nice watch and even after all the years is still seems like the show has a strong foundation. The inclusion of some new characters, and the deep changes in others, also keeps things fresh. It looks like the creative team behind the show still has some surprises left. Here is a breakdown of the season by disc. Disc 1: 1. Bizarro (42:07) The setup of this episode is explained in my review. This episode has the characters dealing with what happened in the season six finale. The hunt to stop Bizarro Clark also starts. 2. Kara (40:31) The search for what was really happening at the dam continues. Kara (aka Clark's cousin) comes into the show now. Lois wants to report on what she saw at the dam, much to Chloe and Clark's dismay, while Lex goes on the search for his wife. 3. Fierce (40:47) Kara has to learn to fit into her new surroundings, and she gets a crush on Jimmy Olsen. She also decides to enter into a beauty contest. There is, however, something sinister about some of the contestants. Clark and Lana meet for the first time since the dam incident. 4. Cure (42:13) An old friend comes back, but Chloe is skeptical about what happened to this friend. Kara's past deepens and the search for the crystal goes on. Someone also seems to have a cure for people infected by the meteor. Dean Cain guest stars. Disc 2: 5. Action (41:36) Clark saves a big Hollywood starlet after a big production decides to shoot in Smallville. Foul play is suspected in the crash that almost killed this starlet. Lois finds out strange things about Lex’s business. 6. Lara (41:30) Kara is becoming a handful, trying to find the crystal she wants. Meanwhile, Lex wants his hands on the same thing. Lana also has some secrets she doesn't want to tell Clark. 7. Wrath (42:01) Those secrets get deeper here. After a freak accident, Lana gets some of Clark's powers, and goes on a rampage going through Lex's private things to get what she wants. This is one of the better episodes of the season, despite the silly device in the first scene. 8. Blue (40:15) Clark learns he has to help his mother, thanks to Kara's father’s inventions. Family business gets resolved. This is an episode where you have to know what's going on to understand it. Casual viewers will be slightly lost. Disc 3: 9. Gemini (41:32) Lois is working on a really big Lex Luthor exposé, and gets her own stalker/mad bomber in the process. Lana and Clark decide to focus their attention on Lex, as well. 10. Persona (41:26) Bizarro Clark is back! However, everybody thinks he's the real Clark. There's also some pretty hefty family business to deal with. 11. Siren (42:35) This is a more standard good-vs-evil episode. Chloe has a disc stolen by Siren, a bad girl in an uber-emo get-up, Black Canary, and is helped out by Green Arrow trying to stop her. Things get complicated with Lana and her Isis foundation. 12. Fracture (41:47) The episode starts in Detroit, with Lex and Lois together trying to find Kara, who has amnesia. Things don't go as planned, and it's up to Clark and Chloe to save them. This is the 'Smallville' version of 'The Cell', though not as weird. Disc 4: 13. Hero (42:19) A new gum on the market – green Stride, it would seem – gives an old high school friend superpowers, who doesn't want to keep them a secret. Kara also has to try to remember her past. 14. Traveler (42:03) Clark is hunted and trapped by some shady people in full SWAT gear. More than a few people want in on the research being done on him. His friends back in Smallville try to figure out what happened to him. 15. Veritas (39:55) Lex is again the centre of attention. This time, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane team up for the first time. Lex is also becoming very close to the secret of Veritas, a thing that could give its owner ultimate power. A horrible thing happens to one of the main characters. 16. Descent (42:23) This is the episode where Lex Luthor must make a decision to be sane or insane, and everybody can probably guess the choice he makes. He won't let anything stand in the way of getting his Veritas. Disc 5: 17. Sleeper (40:06) This episode opens with Jimmy Olsen playing some sort of James Bond type. The episode then goes to the past to show you how he ended up like this. It follows Chloe, as she's investigated by the NSA. Clark is also off to try to save Lana. 18. Apocalypse (40:56) Clark gets an SOS message from his mother, and tries to find a way to make things right, even if it means changing the past of everybody he knows. Something bad happens and the Metropolis he knows is completely turned upside down. This is one of my favorite episodes of the season. 19. Quest (42:39) Lex and the Veritas start coming to a head, and everything else is pretty much forgotten. Lex is badly wounded, leaving everybody wondering who did this and why. On a side note, I find it really fun that show actually goes to Montreal (or so they claim), leaving fictional cities to go to a real one. 20. Arctic (41:13) The conclusion of the season is pretty spectacular and fans of the show will be very pleased.
Video
1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The show's palette is pretty varied and the transfer generally has no problems putting the cinematography on screen. Colours are bright without being to vibrant and contrast is very good, showing some nice depth. Skin tones and black levels are also well done. The level of detail, however, is probably not as high as it could be, though there's a very slight sheen of grain that gives the show a nice look.
Audio
There's an English Dolby Digital 5.1 and a Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track to choose from. The main track is a pretty good one. The dialogue is always clear, clean and centered. The music levels are very nice and support the action very nicely without impeding unnecessarily on upon the action. The sound effects also add a nice touch to everything. The mixing is very well done, creating a very enveloping atmosphere. English (HoH), French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai subtitles are provided for both the episodes and the featurettes on disc six.
Extras
Warner gave the set some nice extras, giving out some nice information. Everything starts off with a start-up trailer on disc one, an anti-piracy ad (0:59), using 'Casablanca' as a tool. It's a pretty nice ad. First off are a bunch of Deleted Scenes. Disc one has extra scenes for 'Kara' (1:56), 'Fierce' (2:53) and 'Cure' (3:22), disc two has scenes for 'Action' (1:18) and 'Wrath' (2:39), disc three has scenes for 'Gemini' (2:27), 'Persona' (1:15), 'Siren' (2:01) and 'Fracture' (2:33), disc four has a few scenes for 'Hero' (1:08), 'Traveler' (3:10), 'Veritas' (1:37) and 'Descent' (1:40) and disc five has some cut bits from 'Sleeper' (3:00) and 'Arctic' (2:34). The scenes are all nice on their own, with some funny bits here and thre, but they don't really need to be in the show. They add needless information, mostly. Disc three also sees two audio commentaries one on 'Persona' by executive producer Ken Horton, actor John Clover and executive producer/episode director Todd Slavkin, the other on 'Siren' by creators/executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar, episode writers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson and actor Justin Hartley. Both groups do a nice job, talking about locations, actors, characters and plot. They discuss the importance of the episodes in relation to the characters and the overall season. The second track is a bit more fun, as the people laugh a bit more and are a bit more enthusiastic. Disc six has most of the extras, in the form of featurettes, an animated shorts and a comic book. 'Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton' (17:46), 'Jimmy on Jimmy' (23:16), 'Smallville Legends: Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton' (21:23) and 'Smallville: Visions' fill out the disc. The best extra on the disc is easily the 'Jimmy on Jimmy' featurette, which reunites the actors who played Jimmy Olsen in the various incarnations of the Superman shows and movies. It's very entertaining and a must-see for Superman fans, especially those interested in behind the scenes stories from the sets. The first featurette is a basic making-of with basic information about the season. The animated shorts are fun but more for the younger set, given the quite crude animation. The Visions extra is a comic book show that shows Lex experimenting on somebody for reasons that only Lex would do so. It's a fun read.
Overall
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