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 Three
Things The Third Season Needs (Smallville Rant)
An open letter from Chiriru
To:
Mr. Gough & Mr. Millar
From: Your Local Fangirl
Dear
M&G,
I've written this list to try to help you guys out for your
coming season. Here are three things that you guys should know
or at least listen to:
1.
Missing Normal
It
has come to the attention of this and other fans that a big
thing missing from S2 would be the view point of the normal
Smallville citizen. While Pete with his new knowledge has become
a forum for the actual fan, someone who knows all the characters,
knows Clark's secret, and is always backing our favorite alien
up, what the audience is missing is the counter to Pete's knowledge.
What the show is missing is a steadfast rock of hometown averageness.
Clark obviously can't be the normal one because, well, he's
an alien. Lex, as a future villain, won't be seen as normal
-- plus we already know he's meteorite mutations. Chloe,
as our proto-Lois, has vibes of average but still her quest
for knowledge and curoisity steps her outside of the running.
Martha and Jonathon work good as parents, but they raised a
child and hid his spaceship in the storm cellar -- not so much
with the normal there.
So, in Smallville's second season, who do we have to show us
what normal is?
Lana Lang, the girl who is obsessed with her dead parents and
abandonment issues with others that she is in fact to blame
for. She's a former cheerleader, everyone loves her no
matter what, and according to "Precipice" she can even learn
how to kick ass in under a week.
This is not a very good average character.
The person who played our eyes into the normal Smallvillian
was Whitney Fordman. Everyone had a high school jock in
high school, knew an overprotective boyfriend, or craved so
badly to leave his/her hometown only to never make it very far.
Everyone has made mistakes.
Whitney, whether people realized it or not, was accessible to
the vast majority of viewers. Fans didn't even need to
like him to relate to the character, in fact part of the reason
he worked so well was there was always a little bit of him you
weren't sure if you liked or hated.
Eric Johnson's character gave everyone a check point against
alien Clark, paranoid Lex, or intrepid Chloe. People were
more likely to sympathize with Lana because he loved her, and
it made her actions more understandable because we weren't forced
to try to see Lana as normal person. She's not, and that's
okay that she isn't -- most characters on the show aren't.
But when the check and balance that Whitney gave to keep one
foot in reality gave way, well suddenly plot lines and characterization
drifted. Sure, we gained Lionel a real villain for Clark
to handle, but we lost the stability that the quarterback brought
to the show.
Evil deeds by a Luthor can be done from far away.
Keeping a normal outlook on the teen characters is a much harder,
and much more necessary task for the writers.
I say, bring the normal back! But, oh, you guys...killed...Whitney
for some strange...unknown reason. Having the normal as
Lana's boyfriend won't work. Introduce him as the new
Talon manager now that Nell's gone, as Chloe's Oz-like photographer,
or Pete's new best friend. The character has to interact
and cause forward, organic motion in the plot line.
It was the forward motion and Whitney's full-circle understanding
of Clark that brought a terrific and continuing arc around season
one, a season long arc that was missing and detrimental to season
two. Hopefully, the normal will be back for season three
or else Smallville is going to fall off the map.
2.
Arcs and Other Basic Things
This
is a very simple thing, something that I mentioned earlier that
season 1 had. Season 1 had at least four different arcs
going on through each episode (and we complained about continued
here). The four were:
- The
Episode Arc
- The
Multi-Episode Arc
- The
Seasonal Arc
- The
Series Arc
All
of these are very, very straight forward. The question is
how did parts three and four slip through the writer's fingers?
I mean, we did get a lot more of number 2, with almost 75% of
the episodes drawing off a previous one in some manner or another.
However, despite that there was no major feeling of connection
past episodes in a row. Where season 1 had many organic
changes from the Pilot to Tempest (the change of Luthor power
from Lionel to Lex, the change of friends from only Chloe and
Pete to Lex and Lana, the Chloe/Clark relationship, the Whitney/Clark
eventual friendship, the change in the Kents as parents) when
I look back on season two there are only a few such as Lionel
turning fully evil, Pete finds out, and Whitney is dead.
As for the series arc, it was obvious that season one screamed
potential. There was mythos and drama, at the same time
there many life lessons that were worth hearing -- treasure your
friends, don't be afraid to chase a dream, don't give up.
Season two seemed to cultivate a feeling that the show was no
longer about life lessons or Superman drama, it was more about
some boring Clark/Lana scenes. Correction: some VERY boring
Clark/Lana scenes. And the life lessons are, what?
IF you whine enough you'll get your way?
Get back to story lines that will take many episodes to resolve,
and actually resolve them. LexCorp and the Helen situations
are prime examples, the story lines were there but never used.
Get back to the organic growth of characters. You want Chloe to
investigate Clark? Make her remember bits of her parasite
experience and have her dig rather that make her bitter about
Clark/Lana.
Season one showed a lot 'throw and see what sticks' -- Organic
storylines stick. Lex, Clark, Chloe, even Whitney, stick.
The Luthor family, the Kryptonite and from this year, the
caves, stick. Clark/Lana doesn't stick, it lost a third
of viewers. Claiming your audience is 'here for the soap'
is a lie and the numbers don't support it.
These things are what every good television show needs.
Make these four things tighter, more logical, with everyone in
character and Smallville will be the show everyone knows it can
be. But failing to do so only sends it further down the
downward spiral.
3. Remember the Fans
This
has been key in the other parts of this column, but remember
your fans. You know what they like, the ratings prove
it better than anything else. I'm not saying to give the
audience exactly what they want but treat them with some respect.
The fans are what make you money, they are what keep you on
the air; stop treating us like we are idiots or that you don't
care about us.
We, the fans, are the people who buy your products, who watch
your shows, who see your movies. In essence, we
pay you. And we aren't happy.
And here are some things that fans want in no particular order:
- Plots
that don't contradict other episodes
- More
stories that focus solely the characters and secondary characters
- Less
Clana/Lana in general.
Check out Omar
if you don't believe me, and no he's not just kidding around
- More
back story for everyone, especially the secondary characters
- Women
written as actual women are
- Doris
Egan
- Better
writing all around
- Organic
growth of character and plot
- Stop
the 'mind-altered' episodes. IT's OLD.
- No
more repitious dialog!
We do not need the same Clark/Lana conversation every episode!
Those
are only a few of the long list that's growing, and I can't
remember all of them off the top of my head. But fans
don't appreciate feeling like the show that they watch, that
they support doesn't care about them. Remember that MR and KK
have come out about being unhappy with the show as well -- the
fans aren't idiots. We aren't seeing things. These problems
are real and we want them fixed.
Treat us with a little bit of respect, give us at least some
of what we want, and make it the show we all know it can be.
It's not that hard, just swallow your pride and do it.
You'll be happy that you did.
-- Love, or rather barely-there tolerance,
Chiriru
Note:
The views of Chiriru don't necessarily represent the thoughts
and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite. Chiriru would like
to thank KryptonSite for the hosting of this column and to (in
no particular order) SullivanLane, JollyCynic, MissWindy, Maveness,
LightstarAngel, PaperBkryter, LJC, and HuffyTheCampfireSlayer
among other members of the KSite Message Boards for their views
and discussions for the past two years.
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