Booster Screentime Minutes, and Deep-ish Thoughts
I really wonder if my feelings about this episode would've been different without the hyping out the wazoo. Because I sort of think that maybe all these advanced reviewers actually got to see a different cut of the episode then me. A better cut. I mean, don't get me wrong, because I do understand that opinions vary, and the SV fandom is very diverse. And I respect that. But when you have proclamations like "Best Clois Scene EVER!" and "OMG, you can't miss this, because its so awesome", I think you sort of start expecting an episode thats....well, great. And while Booster had some good moments, I just didn't think it was.
But, we'll get to that.
First, lets run the numbers
Booster, running time 41m, 32s
Clark: 24m, 19s
Lois: 17m, 47s
Cat: 7m, 49s
Booster Gold: 20m, 47s
Jamie/Blue Beetle: 11m, 46s
Year to Date
Clark: 383m, 31s (18)
Lois: 292m, 53s (18)
Tess: 132m, 43s (13)
Oliver: 133m, 43s (13)
Cat: 36m, - (4)
Let me start by saying that I very much can see why someone who is familiar with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle might like this episode better then me. Because, in my eyes, I thought both characters were largely one dimensional. Sure, Booster Gold was douchey fun (and Eric Martsoff was terrific), but I don't think I learned enough about him in this episode to give a crap. He's a disgraced sports star, so he steals a legion ring and a suit (no explanation of what the suit did, or who it belonged to, or what its powers were), and a computer, and goes back in time to screw Clark Kent out of becoming Superman. But he really, deep down, wants to be a hero, so I shouldn't think he's a dick? Why?
(And I just resent the hell out of the conceit in the SV writing that viewers should just know stuff thats from the comics, so they only have to do a cursory job of filling in the blanks.)
Same problem with the Jamie/Blue Beetle character. He's a shy, bumbling kid, who is in Metropolis with a bunch of other kids why? Does he have parents? I guess not, because apparently Booster Gold is now going to be raising him, or something. And because this kid was able to control the Blue Beetle suit, which apparently likes to go on murderous rampages for no explained or stated reason at all, that means he's a hero who should remain in control of this powerful technology under the tutelage of the guy who was a douche 5 minutes earlier?
I mean, lets forget for a minute that these are comic book characters, and look at it through my eyes for a second. Don't these characters sound shallow as puddles?
I really think they should've just stuck with the Booster Gold character, and forgot about trying to do the Blue Beetle thing. That would've given them more time to flesh out Booster as a character, and they could've simplified the storyline to focus more on Clark and/or Lois.
And yet, these characters are introduced 4 episodes before this series ends forever, because they are here (allegedly) to serve as catalysts for Clark's struggles to transform his Clark Kent persona into a bumbling, invisible dude who is no longer handsome because he's wearing glasses and a raincoat, and is clumsy.
Let that last sentence wash over you a little. Because its just that incredulous.
Now, I understand the whole glasses wearing, mild mannered Clark Kent at the DP thing. And I also understand that in some versions, like the Chris Reeve movies, he's a bumbler who trips over his own feet. And in some other versions, he's merely a subtle, mind mannered guy, like in the Lois and Clark series, or the old George Reeves version. But here's where I hit the wall with Smallville, and their Clark Kent...he's been working at the DP for 2 years now. You can't remake him now, and expect that its believable that he's suddenly going to become awkward, and clumsy, and full of quirks, and no one is going to think "WTF is going on with him?", and that actually draws attention to Clark. It doesn't make him invisible. This episode was making me crazy with the constant contradictions they were throwing out in regards to this new identity he's forging. Or, should I say that Lois is telling him how to forge, because this episode seems to be telling us that although Clark came up with the glasses/mild mannered disguise in Masquerade, and even though he's actually been to the future and seen this persona in the flesh, he still needs Lois to tell him what to do, and how to do it. Because if she didn't, how could we make sure Lois shared in the credit of helping to create his dual identities? And thats, apparently, more important then showcasing Clark coming up with this, and implementing this.
And if that isn't a testament to how this show is written most of the time in regards to Clark's development I don't know what is.
While I can totally appreciate how Clark might always carry some insecurities of being an outsider, and feeling different, and so he'd be reluctant to assume the role of the outsider once again, the reality is that Clark was not presented as a bumbling geek in high school, except for briefly in the very beginning of the show. And as we came to find out, that was due to Lana's green k necklace. I wouldn't say that Clark was the most popular, or coolest kid in school (until his senior year). But I would say that the show made a decent case of showing Clark as a well liked kid. This is a guy who had his schoolmates chant his name in the hallways when he ran for student body president in S1. This is the guy that was described as the "hottie in primary colors" by the bad girl exchange student in S2. This is the guy that stood up to bullies for the strange kid in Visitor. Clark was NOT a bumbling geek who was picked on by other students. Aside from the scarecrow incident in the first episode, it just didn't happen.
And this was the guy that lead the high school football team to a state championship, made it into the yearbook as one of the "Most Likely To...", and had enough influence and juice at the school to get Chloe put on the ballot for prom queen.
Look SV writers, don't piss on my head, and tell me its raining.
I really don't mean to dwell on the retcons, but they really bug me, because they are so unnecessary.
Heck, they retcon from episode to episode within the same season. Cat was praising Clark as a hero, better then the Blur in Shield, and she was cozying up to him in Isis as a potential writing partner. Now he's a "fixer upper"? In Masquerade, Clark puts on the glasses and tells Lois he's willing to dial back the hometown hero. In this episode, Lois tells him to slouch and stop being so awesome and Clark actually asks her if she thinks that will help. What? Booster tells Clark that he's never felt the rush of being the miracle that people hoped for...but in Beacon, Clark was shown taped testimonials of people telling how much he's the miracle that people hoped for.
Its enough to give one a headache.
Oh, and just an FYI, if you are trying to make someone invisible, who don't invent allergies for them, or push them into people, or knock over peoples stuff. What you do is fade into the background. Interact as a little as possible. Be bland. Have no characteristics that stand out or draw attention. Hello, Duh!
Now, all this aside, this episode did have some stuff I really liked. Clark was able to be shown as having good instincts (again!), and he was shown as the person who had dug up the information on Kord Industries (for that reason alone, I was glad that Tess wasn't in this ep, because if she was, you know they'd have given that to her), and his scene with Ted Kord was pure genius. TW is absolutely great at playing the more awkward, mild mannered Clark Kent. See, thats when the stammering reporter might come in handy...around people who don't know Clark, and have never met him. And the way Clark listened to the phone conversation, then snatched the information was very smart. I like to see a smart Clark!!
And I do like seeing Clark stick to his guns on his ideas about heroism, and influencing someone else in a positive way. Thats a big part of whats been missing from this season for me, so I really do appreciate it when it shows up. Even when its totally implausible, as it was last week with Clark Luthor, I still appreciate the effort to show this aspect of Clark's character.
I always find Cat Grant pretty entertaining, and she was here too, though I'm not sure this was the very best use of her this season.
I think Lois was written OK, and there was a lot more emphasis put on her reporter stuff, though this just made me wish they had really allowed her a reporter arc this season. This episode kept telling me how incredible a reporter she is, but what we saw was Lois blowing off a story on Booster Gold because she didn't like him (as opposed to, say, writing that story to expose him as the fraud and blowhard she thought he was), her being more focused on "unmaking Clark Kent" then reporting, and ultimately getting the promotion from a story that pretty much fell in her lap. And I'm just not sure all that does justice to Lois Lane, ace DP reporter, in the way it should.
As for Lois and Clark scenes, well, as I said, I'm not a huge fan of Lois telling Clark what to do with the bumbling thing, so that didn't much work for me more on the principle of the scenes, rather then the characters themselves. As for the last scene, it was very sweet, and very cute, and pretty much like most of their other scenes this season. Not particularly hot or passionate or fiery, but very darling and precious.
Though, I have to say, Clark ripping his shirt open was just odd to me. Having read some explanations of this from various fans, I guess maybe I now seeing where they were going with it, but I just don't think it came across.
Still, it was very sweet that he was worried about what people would think about Lois.
Honestly, with the series winding down to a close, I just don't think its the time to be introducing new characters. Especially ones that are going to just disappear again.
Really, this wasn't a bad episode. It was decent. The performances were good, the direction was good, Clark did get to be an inspiration to someone else, and he was allowed to show some investigative smarts. But was this worthy of all that hype? I really don't think so. But I thought much the same thing last season when Absolute Justice aired. I guess there's a certain rush to seeing comic book characters come to life that I can't experience because I don't know who they are.
And then there were 3 (well, really 4, because of the finale smash-up). Next week on....This. Is. Smallville!! (300 joke there)
But, we'll get to that.
First, lets run the numbers
Booster, running time 41m, 32s
Clark: 24m, 19s
Lois: 17m, 47s
Cat: 7m, 49s
Booster Gold: 20m, 47s
Jamie/Blue Beetle: 11m, 46s
Year to Date
Clark: 383m, 31s (18)
Lois: 292m, 53s (18)
Tess: 132m, 43s (13)
Oliver: 133m, 43s (13)
Cat: 36m, - (4)
Let me start by saying that I very much can see why someone who is familiar with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle might like this episode better then me. Because, in my eyes, I thought both characters were largely one dimensional. Sure, Booster Gold was douchey fun (and Eric Martsoff was terrific), but I don't think I learned enough about him in this episode to give a crap. He's a disgraced sports star, so he steals a legion ring and a suit (no explanation of what the suit did, or who it belonged to, or what its powers were), and a computer, and goes back in time to screw Clark Kent out of becoming Superman. But he really, deep down, wants to be a hero, so I shouldn't think he's a dick? Why?
(And I just resent the hell out of the conceit in the SV writing that viewers should just know stuff thats from the comics, so they only have to do a cursory job of filling in the blanks.)
Same problem with the Jamie/Blue Beetle character. He's a shy, bumbling kid, who is in Metropolis with a bunch of other kids why? Does he have parents? I guess not, because apparently Booster Gold is now going to be raising him, or something. And because this kid was able to control the Blue Beetle suit, which apparently likes to go on murderous rampages for no explained or stated reason at all, that means he's a hero who should remain in control of this powerful technology under the tutelage of the guy who was a douche 5 minutes earlier?
I mean, lets forget for a minute that these are comic book characters, and look at it through my eyes for a second. Don't these characters sound shallow as puddles?
I really think they should've just stuck with the Booster Gold character, and forgot about trying to do the Blue Beetle thing. That would've given them more time to flesh out Booster as a character, and they could've simplified the storyline to focus more on Clark and/or Lois.
And yet, these characters are introduced 4 episodes before this series ends forever, because they are here (allegedly) to serve as catalysts for Clark's struggles to transform his Clark Kent persona into a bumbling, invisible dude who is no longer handsome because he's wearing glasses and a raincoat, and is clumsy.
Let that last sentence wash over you a little. Because its just that incredulous.
Now, I understand the whole glasses wearing, mild mannered Clark Kent at the DP thing. And I also understand that in some versions, like the Chris Reeve movies, he's a bumbler who trips over his own feet. And in some other versions, he's merely a subtle, mind mannered guy, like in the Lois and Clark series, or the old George Reeves version. But here's where I hit the wall with Smallville, and their Clark Kent...he's been working at the DP for 2 years now. You can't remake him now, and expect that its believable that he's suddenly going to become awkward, and clumsy, and full of quirks, and no one is going to think "WTF is going on with him?", and that actually draws attention to Clark. It doesn't make him invisible. This episode was making me crazy with the constant contradictions they were throwing out in regards to this new identity he's forging. Or, should I say that Lois is telling him how to forge, because this episode seems to be telling us that although Clark came up with the glasses/mild mannered disguise in Masquerade, and even though he's actually been to the future and seen this persona in the flesh, he still needs Lois to tell him what to do, and how to do it. Because if she didn't, how could we make sure Lois shared in the credit of helping to create his dual identities? And thats, apparently, more important then showcasing Clark coming up with this, and implementing this.
And if that isn't a testament to how this show is written most of the time in regards to Clark's development I don't know what is.
While I can totally appreciate how Clark might always carry some insecurities of being an outsider, and feeling different, and so he'd be reluctant to assume the role of the outsider once again, the reality is that Clark was not presented as a bumbling geek in high school, except for briefly in the very beginning of the show. And as we came to find out, that was due to Lana's green k necklace. I wouldn't say that Clark was the most popular, or coolest kid in school (until his senior year). But I would say that the show made a decent case of showing Clark as a well liked kid. This is a guy who had his schoolmates chant his name in the hallways when he ran for student body president in S1. This is the guy that was described as the "hottie in primary colors" by the bad girl exchange student in S2. This is the guy that stood up to bullies for the strange kid in Visitor. Clark was NOT a bumbling geek who was picked on by other students. Aside from the scarecrow incident in the first episode, it just didn't happen.
And this was the guy that lead the high school football team to a state championship, made it into the yearbook as one of the "Most Likely To...", and had enough influence and juice at the school to get Chloe put on the ballot for prom queen.
Look SV writers, don't piss on my head, and tell me its raining.
I really don't mean to dwell on the retcons, but they really bug me, because they are so unnecessary.
Heck, they retcon from episode to episode within the same season. Cat was praising Clark as a hero, better then the Blur in Shield, and she was cozying up to him in Isis as a potential writing partner. Now he's a "fixer upper"? In Masquerade, Clark puts on the glasses and tells Lois he's willing to dial back the hometown hero. In this episode, Lois tells him to slouch and stop being so awesome and Clark actually asks her if she thinks that will help. What? Booster tells Clark that he's never felt the rush of being the miracle that people hoped for...but in Beacon, Clark was shown taped testimonials of people telling how much he's the miracle that people hoped for.
Its enough to give one a headache.
Oh, and just an FYI, if you are trying to make someone invisible, who don't invent allergies for them, or push them into people, or knock over peoples stuff. What you do is fade into the background. Interact as a little as possible. Be bland. Have no characteristics that stand out or draw attention. Hello, Duh!
Now, all this aside, this episode did have some stuff I really liked. Clark was able to be shown as having good instincts (again!), and he was shown as the person who had dug up the information on Kord Industries (for that reason alone, I was glad that Tess wasn't in this ep, because if she was, you know they'd have given that to her), and his scene with Ted Kord was pure genius. TW is absolutely great at playing the more awkward, mild mannered Clark Kent. See, thats when the stammering reporter might come in handy...around people who don't know Clark, and have never met him. And the way Clark listened to the phone conversation, then snatched the information was very smart. I like to see a smart Clark!!
And I do like seeing Clark stick to his guns on his ideas about heroism, and influencing someone else in a positive way. Thats a big part of whats been missing from this season for me, so I really do appreciate it when it shows up. Even when its totally implausible, as it was last week with Clark Luthor, I still appreciate the effort to show this aspect of Clark's character.
I always find Cat Grant pretty entertaining, and she was here too, though I'm not sure this was the very best use of her this season.
I think Lois was written OK, and there was a lot more emphasis put on her reporter stuff, though this just made me wish they had really allowed her a reporter arc this season. This episode kept telling me how incredible a reporter she is, but what we saw was Lois blowing off a story on Booster Gold because she didn't like him (as opposed to, say, writing that story to expose him as the fraud and blowhard she thought he was), her being more focused on "unmaking Clark Kent" then reporting, and ultimately getting the promotion from a story that pretty much fell in her lap. And I'm just not sure all that does justice to Lois Lane, ace DP reporter, in the way it should.
As for Lois and Clark scenes, well, as I said, I'm not a huge fan of Lois telling Clark what to do with the bumbling thing, so that didn't much work for me more on the principle of the scenes, rather then the characters themselves. As for the last scene, it was very sweet, and very cute, and pretty much like most of their other scenes this season. Not particularly hot or passionate or fiery, but very darling and precious.
Though, I have to say, Clark ripping his shirt open was just odd to me. Having read some explanations of this from various fans, I guess maybe I now seeing where they were going with it, but I just don't think it came across.
Still, it was very sweet that he was worried about what people would think about Lois.
Honestly, with the series winding down to a close, I just don't think its the time to be introducing new characters. Especially ones that are going to just disappear again.
Really, this wasn't a bad episode. It was decent. The performances were good, the direction was good, Clark did get to be an inspiration to someone else, and he was allowed to show some investigative smarts. But was this worthy of all that hype? I really don't think so. But I thought much the same thing last season when Absolute Justice aired. I guess there's a certain rush to seeing comic book characters come to life that I can't experience because I don't know who they are.
And then there were 3 (well, really 4, because of the finale smash-up). Next week on....This. Is. Smallville!! (300 joke there)