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Post by geode on Feb 23, 2019 4:39:34 GMT
On Feb. 3rd I wrote:
Javier and Francisco decide to run away from a farm in "Smallville" where they are laboring with other workers that are not allowed to leave. Those who try to do so disappear. Javier came to Kansas to find his mother.
"Subterranian" was more like an episode from earlier seasons right down to having a "kryptofreak" having a special power due to exposure to meteor rocks (kryptonite). In this case to tunnel like a creature in "Tremors"..
Clark finds Javier hiding in the barn and doesn't turn him into the sheriff when Javier tells him that he is not legally resident. Javier asks Clark why he didn't turn him in and Clark responds, "Because I know what it feels like to be out of place. Besides I'm not from around here either." Martha Kent walks in on the discussion and angerly says "immigration" must be called. Clark replies that all Javier wants to do is find his mom and Martha insists proper legal channels must be followed. Clark replies, "Was it legal when you forged my adoption papers? I'm an illegal immigrant Mom. You've been harboring me for over 17 years."
This was "Smallville" exploring its primal theme of Clark as an outsider. This was done with a plot involving human trafficking and illegal immigration using coyotes. It started my pondering when such themes had shown up in past films or TV shows. I remember a "Sea Hunt" episode from the 50s where people were being smuggled underwater into Southern California. Then there was the episode of "The Fugitive" from 1963 with Richard Kimble working with migrant farm workers. I think all of them stressed the "human" element of separated families and the like.
I hadn't thought about similarities between Clark Kent and Richard Kimble before, but in the "Smallville" version of the character they do exist. They both have a major secret they must hide from people.
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Post by geode on Feb 25, 2019 10:17:43 GMT
Doesn't anyone else struggle to stick with Smallville past the first three or four seasons? What kept me going was Tom Welling. As the series weakened, he got better and better. The series started getting better again for me in the last part of the 6th season. After pretty bad 4hh and 5th seasons, with the start of the 6th about the same as them, the last few episodes became more inventive and interesting. It appears I have reached the place where we are supposed to think Lex has gone over to the dark side. He is skirting right on the edge of evil even if he is not mired in it already. In a much earlier episode he told Clark that their friendship was the only thing that kept him from being ruled by his dark side. It was Clark that broke off the friendship and he is now wondering if his giving up on Lex is to blame. I just saw the episode "Noir" with over half in black and white. I have known this episode existed for a long time because it often is on "worst" 10-20 episode lists. I thought it was pretty good, but then again I think the same about "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" when most think it was a misfire. Tom Welling gets to play a nerdy version of Clark with slicked down hair and glasses as well as a macho version. John Glover does a Bogart inspired role without a beard. It referenced "D.O.A." "The Maltese Falcon" (not noir in my opinion) and other classics. The color "regular" finish remains playful, with a touching reference to the end of "Casablanca"...Welling is superb as three versions of Clark. Mark Snow mostly does a Max Steiner score with touches of Bernard Herrmann. He has been the most consistent element of the series, rendering cues far above what I have been hearing in features. Glen Winter's cinematography is also way above average.
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