The Smallville Wait Is Over
In a way, this was the episode that Smallville fans were waiting for - at least, comic loving Smallville fans.
Fortunately, since the last time I wrote about Smallville , the series has tended to move away from the more soap opera-ish elements (and in all honesty, those are still there) towards a slightly campy super hero drama. Clark is finally off the farm, living in Metropolis, romantically involved with Lois Lane, and becoming more established in the superhero community. And as I write this, I've just finished watching "Absolute Justice", the Geoff Johns-written episode featuring the return of the Justice Society of America. There's been a lot of hype about this episode, and many are wondering if this was worth it.
As a TV Party exclusive, I'm here to say....it's close, but it's worth watching, if only to see the televised debut of the Justice Society.
I must admit, I'm biased - I absolutely love the Justice Society, since they were part of my comics reading experience. I own all six trade paperback versions of Crisis on Multiple Earths (both the JLA/JSA team-ups as well as the two smaller team-up books). There's something about those Golden Age heroes, rising from their pulp fiction roots, that still has an irresistable tug on my heart. So when I heard about this episode, I had to see it, if only to see how the show integrates its comic roots into a slightly different context.
First, the bad news - the soapiness and cheese of Smallville makes this episode a little difficult to watch. Some of Johns' dialogue seems a little too purple, too over the top, to make this digestible. Some of the plot seems rather derivative of Watchmen (yes, I know the JSA decided to quit rather than work for the government; however, having them essentially "frame" themselves to work underground strains credulity. Some of the acting borders on just barely over the top (Michael Shanks did a pretty solid job as Carter Hall, although making him a slightly more angry character) to flat-out scenery chewing (I kind of liked the actor who played Doctor Fate more when he was a bat-faced alien who underwent a religious conversion . No, really.) However...this is Smallville, a show that always seems to defy credibility (hence the out-of-nowhere twist towards the end of this particular episode, which I am choosing not to spoil.
However, within the episode there are some really nice touches, and some really cool thematic references that make it a little bit more bearable.
First, in viewing the episode, it seems as if this world's JSA came of age in the mid-to-late 1960s or mid 1970s. Although it might seem a betrayal of the teams' pulp roots, in many ways, this is a clever touch. The team breaks up, seemingly, during one of the more cynical times in our nation's history, choosing to become an "underground" group of superheroes (yet managing to evade media detection for almost ten years) rather than comply with government control. It makes the team seem a little more contemporary, and gives them a rationale for being other than "legacy". In fact, the irony is that the JSA's "current" mantra was we help ourselves, simultaneously celebrating their willingness to collaborate their friendships, as well as cynically dismiss attempts for the "next generation" to help them.
It also helps that there were also some great little character moments - in all honesty, I never thought having Oliver Queen as a semi-regular character would work, but he brings an interesting dynamic to the episode. (Plus, his first "encounter" with Hawkman - although bordering on over the top - is priceless). Even Courtney Whitmore (as Stargirl) is given a little bit more luster - granted, she is one of Geoff Johns' favorite characters (based on his late sister), but as written, Courtney provides a nice glimmer of contrast to the other JSA members' cynicism. (Although admittedly, the belly shirt costume didn't quite work for me in live action, but that's being excessively nitpicky.
But Johns, much like his DC work, peppers the script with subtle (and not-so-subtle) nods to DC continuity within the episode, so much that it helps the episode slightly sparkle despite some bad dialogue and over the top moments. I'm still trying to decide which moment is my favorite - the helmet of Fate turning to stare back at Clark; the "reveal" of the Hawkman costume; Clark's discovery of the momentos of the JSA, the reveal of a bigger bad....but maybe my favorite is when Fate "sees" Clark's future. Without spoiling, in the span of about 45 seconds, we're given a hint of a familiar costume, and the suggestion that Clark's legacy isn't happening right now, but that his future is....well, much more super than he can see at the moment. That moment, perhaps, made everything else much more tolerable for this viewer - it was confirmation that despite all the other goings on, Clark is definitely heading towards a future familiar to comic fans everywhere.
Make no mistake - I'm probably not going to be watching Smallville in the near future. It's like any other CW show - a little soapy, a little excessively dramatic, and with plot holes that you could drive a truck through. But for a brief, shining moment, Geoff John's "Absolute Justice" made this show a little more watchable. It can either be taken straight, or with an MST3K-style riffing with friends. But for comics fans, there's enough fun touches to make it watchable.
And I'm personally glad that Clark is finally off the farm. That's the least I can expect.
Read More! For more of Gordon's writings, insights, and
general information, please visit his blog at blogthispal.blogspot.com.
TV Party Columns: Gordon's previous TV Party columns can be found here
and you can discuss this or anything TV Party related in his TV Party forum.
blog comments powered by Disqus