reviewed by Charity Bishop
     

The moment all of us have been waiting for has arrived: Lois Lane and Clark Kent are a couple, or at least become one in the ninth season of the hit Superman television series, Smallville. All I can say is: “it’s about time!”

Everything has changed in Metropolis. Once dangerous streets are now policed over by a mysterious super hero who leaves behind a burning insignia wherever he goes. The newspapers call him the “Red Blue Blur,” but he is none other than Clark Kent (Tom Welling), fresh off the farm in Smallville. Having embraced his Kryptonian destiny and training, Clark is determined to save people and make a difference in the world – all while continuing with his desk job at the Daily Planet. Without him, the Justice League has fallen apart. Lost in grief and remorse for having unwontedly contributed to the death of a friend, Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) has forsaken his role as the Green Arrow. Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) is desperate to reunite her friends but her relationship with Clark has been shaky ever since his refusal to travel through time and bring her fiancé back to life. Her cousin Lois Lane (Erica Durrance) has also appeared out of thin air on a speeding sky train, months after her disappearance. The momentum propels the train off the tracks and sends it crashing to earth. Just before Lois blacks out, she catches a glimpse of the Blur. When she wakes up in the hospital, she realizes three months have passed … and she cannot remember anything.

Hot on her trail is a time-traveling assassin who warns Clark something he has done is going to create terrible consequences in the future, but he is not the only threat to earth… his father’s greatest adversary, General Zod (Callum Blue), has been reborn in human form. Stripped of his powers and with his authority under question by his Kryptonian associates, Zod cannot help but unite with the diabolical Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) to overthrow his enemies. No one stands in their way, not even when a far more dangerous adversary than either of them can imagine joins the fight…

It’s no secret that the departure of the Luthors has impacted the show in powerful and negative ways, not the least of which being the writers’ mad scramble for a bad guy. Zod in human form is no threat and so fails to engage or intimidate the audience. He does become more formidable as the story unfolds but his constant involvement with Tess is rather bland, especially for non fans of her character *(including me). Fortunately, the pairing and romantic tension between Clark and Lois can make us overlook this significant weakness; the writers incorporate the things we love most about the series: its sense of humor and the on-again, off-again flirtation of Lois and Clark, which progresses from lingering smiles in the elevator to passionate lip-locks when coworkers aren’t looking. It’s a refreshing change from Clark’s infatuation with Lana and allows his character to mature into a super hero at long last. It’s a relationship fraught with complications – not the least of which being her “crush” on the Blur – but it provides some sweet moments in addition to a bit of comic relief here and there. Another romance eventually develops between Chloe and Oliver. At first I did not like it, but then gradually was won over when it became apparent that it wasn’t just a “friends with benefits” arrangement (whatever Chloe’s arguments to the alternative).

The acting is quite good and certain episodes are memorable, including a humor-laced visit to a haunted Bed & Breakfast and a happy accident that allows Clark to temporarily read people’s minds. (It provides the perfect excuse to ask Lois out!) Unfortunately, the maturing of the characters means the content has matured as well – there are no longer innocent relationships and various main characters wind up in bed together. Tess has a short-lived affair with Oliver (that includes implied nudity, when he attempts to distract her from discovering he is the Green Arrow), then becomes intimately involved with Zod (we see them in bed together). The audience is lead to believe that Chloe and Oliver's relationship is purely physical without romantic entanglements (we never see much of it, just the occasional kiss), but later on it becomes more emotional. Clark and Lois are shown sleeping in the same bed in a hotel room. The heroines are sometimes dressed in revealing outfits (including lingerie). In a sequence of images from “the future,” we see Clark and Lois in rather… um, intimate situations. It is not too graphic, but does push the boundaries of good taste. Lois plans for a romantic sleepover with Clark only to have her intentions interrupted when she is possessed by a ghost! In the same episode, a possessed Chloe comes on to Clark, including dropping her towel (the camera shows nothing and he rapidly covers her up). Magic also appears in the form of a sorceress who is enlisted to assist Clark in recovering a stolen comic book that bestows its bearer with unusual powers. The violence is fairly standard, including many fight sequences in which individuals are slammed around, hurled through walls, stabbed, shot at, and knocked unconscious, on occasion in slow motion.

I was not that impressed with the first several episodes but eventually the season strengthened and provided some truly good material. Characters from previous seasons make appearances (Martha Kent, Perry White, and others) along with new faces – including Michael Shanks as a member of the “first generation” of super heroes. If you have been a fan all along, this is a great continuation of the saga and our first inclination that Clark Kent may yet transform into the caped crusader we know and love.