Alright, I Like Smallville...there, I admit it

I don’t know why, but I’m always slightly embarrassed to admit that I’m a Smallville fan. I think it’s because most people think ‘a TV show about Superman = cheesy’ because that was my first thought when the show premiered 4 years ago. Somehow, I became involved with the storyline and I’ve been a fan ever since. Ok, so I know what drew me in and it wasn’t the storyline—it was Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luther)! Mmmmmhmmm, he is HOT, but I digress.

Despite the humble beginnings of my fan-hood, I have grown to really enjoy the show. Prequels fascinate me because I enjoy trying to figure out how the storyline will eventually match up with what I already know of the original story. I find Smallville particularly interesting because, in the show, Clark Kent and Lex Luther are close friends, while in the Superman storylines, Lex is Clark’s nemesis. I really don’t know much about the storylines in Superman other than the movies I saw when I was a kid, but I remember enough to know that they weren’t friends.

And the show is consistently well-written. Yes, as with all WB shows, they go for the sensational every once in a while, but it’s the ongoing relationship storylines that I really enjoy: Clark and Lex, Clark and Lana, Clark and Chloe, Lex and Lana, Lex and Lionel (his father), etc.

My favorite is that of Clark and Lex. Up until this season, Clark has pretty much been Lex’s staunchest supporter, believing in him when no one else would etc, etc. This season has introduced some subtle differences in their relationship. Tonight’s episode included interesting shift. To give the barest amount of storyline necessary, Clark had lost his memory and Lex, while purporting to help him remember, was basically using Clark’s vulnerable state to get information on some stuff he’s been working to figure out. Clark eventually regains his memory, all except the last 24 hours (of course). When he asks Lex about their interaction, Lex lies to him about what they talked about. With a subtle nonverbal shift in eye-contact, doubt creeps into the relationship—well, it’s been creeping about all season, but the writing and the acting in that interchange was very good. A subtle and understated but evident shift for the discerning viewer. Good stuff. And it didn’t hurt that Michael Rosenbaum was in that scene…have I mentioned that he’s HOT?!?!