Second Run TV: Smallville

Smallville: Season 6, Episode 1 "Zod" (F)

I was quite excited when I realized that "Smallville", which I gave up on at the end of last season, was re-airing at least its first few episodes of the season starting last night. Then I remembered how bad "Smallville" had really gotten. I loved the first season, enjoyed the second, and could not believe my eyes as the remaining seasons became progressively worse until the fifth season reached a nadir of terrible badness. This season is not very much different, at least not yet (I think next week's episode is about Clark getting a cold, so not too much hope on the horizon). At least Lois Lane, a great character in the comics/movies made unforgivably dumb on the show, appears for but a moment in this episode. The whole concept of Zod and his being unleashed and inhabiting Lex is far-fetched and, like most of what happens on "Smallville", follows a strict "Clark can easily stop the villain and then no one remembers anything" template. The character of Jimmy Olsen, played by Aaron Ashmore, could be fun, although he looks exactly like his brother, Shawn Ashmore, who guest-starred on the show in its first season as a "leech" who took Clark's powers.