1 post tagged “alaina huffman”

Last night's episode of _Smallville_ (titled "Siren") seemed to confirm something that I've been thinking for a long time: the writer's of _Smallville_ do not have any more ideas about what stories to tell about young Clark Kent. Through the past 3 seasons, various "guest stars" have appeared on the show, including: Brainiac, Green Arrow, Black Canary, "impluse" (i.e. The Flash) and the Martian Manhunter. All of these characters have had more compelling story arcs then Superman himself. In addition, other characters such as Lois Lane & Lex Luther have had fairly interesting stories, while Clark and Lana seem to simply tread water in a teen-style angst. I think it's time for a radical change in the direction of the show.

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This is my proposal for _Smallville_ in its new incarnation: _Metropolis_

Step 1: Focus the show in Metropolis
This happens by default anyway, but removing some of the old "Smallville" haunts like "The Talon" and replacing them with new Metropolis versions will be a good way to start updating things.

Step 2: Remove Clark from being the primary protagonist of every episode
With a wealth of characters to draw from, it would be easy to have a Green Arrow-centric episode one week, a Black Canary-centric episode another week and even some Lex-centric episodes here and there. Of course Clark would also have his fair share of screen time, but having some characters with a little more vulnerability and a little less precise moral compass would free the writer's up for new ideas.

Step 3: Develop 3-4 Episode "Mini Story Arcs"
Some of _Smallville_'s charm is that you can watch an episode, miss two, and then watch the next episode not feel like you've missed anything. This is limiting, however, especially as the show moves on to its new, more "mature" state as _Metropolis_. In order to create some sense of tension through the audience, all items of won't be tied up in a nice little package by the 37 minute mark of each episode. Take this week's Black Canary debut as an example: Her character's realization of Lex being a bad guy could have had a lot more strength behind it if she'd spent 2-3 episodes working for him. The first episode in this mini-arc could have been from Green Arrow's point of view, with some mysterious woman messing up operation. The second episode could have been Lex uses his powers of manipulation to convince Black Canary to do more and more questionable tasks. The final episode in the mini-arc would then be Black Canary examining herself and figuring out she was on the wrong side of things. Her ultimate realization could then have been slower to develop and much more powerful than just her getting a stern talking-to from Superman.

Step 4: Have a set of major plot threads that hold the season together
The stand-alone nature of each episode means the only time you really think to yourself "I can't wait to see what happens next week!!" is when the trailer for next week's episode looks cool. Instead of having all items resolved each week (or even ever 3-4 weeks) leave some hanging plot threads that slowly build to a 2-3 part finale. Give the viewer something to look forward to at the end of the season instead of having a final episode that mirrors all other episodes, aside from the fact that it has 4-5 end of season cliffhangers to get you to watch next year. The near complete disappearance of any traces of "good" from Lex and Green Arrow's crusade against various Luthor properties all seem like prime threads that could reach some sort of high impact conclusion at the end of this season if they were handled properly. If the writer's actually plotted out such tactics from the beginning, I'm sure they could come up with some really interesting season-long arcs.

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So that's my 4-part plan to revamp _Smallville_. I think a show like _Metropolis_ would be able to both keep the _Smallville_ audience and draw in new viewers, especially in the ever import "Males: 18-35" demographic.