khaosworks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
khaosworks) wrote2009-01-17 03:23 pm
khaosworks) wrote2009-01-17 03:23 pm
Entry tags:
Smallville 8.10: "Legion"
So, how was it?
Being the Legion fanboy I am, they really needed to want to screw this up to get me to dislike it, and with Geoff Johns on script, they at least got someone who knows how to pander to my demographic. I've never really liked Smallville, which has always been too soapy for my liking - the only episode I really watched prior to this season was "Rosetta", which had Christopher Reeve guest-star. The only reason I started watching with this season was because this episode was coming.
Basic catchup: when last we saw Chloe, she was being married to Jimmy at the Kent barn when Doomsday crashes the party, kidnapping her and bringing her to the Fortress of Solitude, where the Brainiac program in her head kicks in and she becomes the baddie's new host. Now she intends to suck Earth and its inhabitants dry of all their information and then sic Doomsday onto the remains. And yes, that sounds as stupid written down as it does when I try to say it out loud.
Clark's sifting through the debris in the barn when suddenly the Persuader shows up and nearly slices him in half with his Atomic Axe. Just when Clark's about to lose his head, literally, the axe is magnetically snatched from the Persuader and lands in the hand of someone wearing a Legion flight ring.
Cue "squee". And pretty much I'm in for the ride.
I usually try to keep my expectations low for television adaptations, and in any case, I know the budget can't support the perfect Legion meets Clark episode I have in my head. The three actors they chose for the parts do look all right for the most part, and I love the way they've done the not-costumes, but Imra seemed a bit flat (and not just because you have the handwave explanation of a telepath being aloof and guarded) and Garth looked and acted like he was 12. I know Garth's supposed to be the hotheaded one, but the actor looked years younger than the other two. Rokk was probably the best of the lot.
I know most people noticed the in-your-face element of this Legion being willing to kill, where this was the core principle of their Code, but it all gets resolved satisfactorily, and is thematically correct since it's Clark who lectures them on it. Aside from that, the story itself was nothing remarkable - I think it's only really cool if you're a Legion fan.
From mentions of the Levitz Museum, Tharr and Winath, Garth's sister, the use of Grife and Sprock, the new origin of Brainiac 5, Persuader being a member of the Earth Supremacists, Rokk calling Garth "Lightning Lad" and Garth calling Rokk "Cos" (I missed it if "Saturn Girl" came up at any point), and the classic, "Garth, you're acting like a Sub!" are all little kisses to us fans. And of course, "Long Live the Legion" and the ring raise always manages to elicit a little chill down my spine.
One plot hole occurs to me, though. When the Persuader comes crashing in, he slices through a box which holds a Phantom Zone crystal that history says Clark used to defeat Brainiac on that very day. Now, if Clark didn't have access to that crystal and Brainiac actually won, then basically the future of Earth goes bye-bye. Did the Persuader intend to destroy the crystal? Seems unlikely for an Earth Supremacist. Maybe it was accidental, but then, why choose to kill Clark on this day which is so vital to Earth history? If Clark died, who would have been there to stop Brainiac? So... who exactly sent Persuader to the past, and why?
Aside from that, what would have made the episode near-perfect was if they had managed to splash out a bit on the budget and, at the end, given Clark a glimpse of the 31st Century. You know, show it to him through the rift in time - in my head, I see them showing him the spires of Metropolis, now having absorbed Smallville, the Legion Headquarters, and a scattering of Legionnaires being seen. Not much. Just a glimpse. I would have been in heaven if that had happened.
Ah well, maybe next time. LLL.
Being the Legion fanboy I am, they really needed to want to screw this up to get me to dislike it, and with Geoff Johns on script, they at least got someone who knows how to pander to my demographic. I've never really liked Smallville, which has always been too soapy for my liking - the only episode I really watched prior to this season was "Rosetta", which had Christopher Reeve guest-star. The only reason I started watching with this season was because this episode was coming.
Basic catchup: when last we saw Chloe, she was being married to Jimmy at the Kent barn when Doomsday crashes the party, kidnapping her and bringing her to the Fortress of Solitude, where the Brainiac program in her head kicks in and she becomes the baddie's new host. Now she intends to suck Earth and its inhabitants dry of all their information and then sic Doomsday onto the remains. And yes, that sounds as stupid written down as it does when I try to say it out loud.
Clark's sifting through the debris in the barn when suddenly the Persuader shows up and nearly slices him in half with his Atomic Axe. Just when Clark's about to lose his head, literally, the axe is magnetically snatched from the Persuader and lands in the hand of someone wearing a Legion flight ring.
Cue "squee". And pretty much I'm in for the ride.
I usually try to keep my expectations low for television adaptations, and in any case, I know the budget can't support the perfect Legion meets Clark episode I have in my head. The three actors they chose for the parts do look all right for the most part, and I love the way they've done the not-costumes, but Imra seemed a bit flat (and not just because you have the handwave explanation of a telepath being aloof and guarded) and Garth looked and acted like he was 12. I know Garth's supposed to be the hotheaded one, but the actor looked years younger than the other two. Rokk was probably the best of the lot.
I know most people noticed the in-your-face element of this Legion being willing to kill, where this was the core principle of their Code, but it all gets resolved satisfactorily, and is thematically correct since it's Clark who lectures them on it. Aside from that, the story itself was nothing remarkable - I think it's only really cool if you're a Legion fan.
From mentions of the Levitz Museum, Tharr and Winath, Garth's sister, the use of Grife and Sprock, the new origin of Brainiac 5, Persuader being a member of the Earth Supremacists, Rokk calling Garth "Lightning Lad" and Garth calling Rokk "Cos" (I missed it if "Saturn Girl" came up at any point), and the classic, "Garth, you're acting like a Sub!" are all little kisses to us fans. And of course, "Long Live the Legion" and the ring raise always manages to elicit a little chill down my spine.
One plot hole occurs to me, though. When the Persuader comes crashing in, he slices through a box which holds a Phantom Zone crystal that history says Clark used to defeat Brainiac on that very day. Now, if Clark didn't have access to that crystal and Brainiac actually won, then basically the future of Earth goes bye-bye. Did the Persuader intend to destroy the crystal? Seems unlikely for an Earth Supremacist. Maybe it was accidental, but then, why choose to kill Clark on this day which is so vital to Earth history? If Clark died, who would have been there to stop Brainiac? So... who exactly sent Persuader to the past, and why?
Aside from that, what would have made the episode near-perfect was if they had managed to splash out a bit on the budget and, at the end, given Clark a glimpse of the 31st Century. You know, show it to him through the rift in time - in my head, I see them showing him the spires of Metropolis, now having absorbed Smallville, the Legion Headquarters, and a scattering of Legionnaires being seen. Not much. Just a glimpse. I would have been in heaven if that had happened.
Ah well, maybe next time. LLL.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Both the comic-book eras you mention are pretty cool, but for my money, the best work on the Legion yet has been the most recent run, which featured Princess Projectra losing her entire homeworld of Orando and its people and a renewed emphasis on inter-generational conflict (the new Legion motto: "Eat it, Grandpa!"). Frankly, I've lost count of how many times the LSH has been re-booted by DC, but this one was worth it.
no subject
I missed the animated series, but will see if Hulu has it. I kind of got disgusted after Arne Starr took over on the art, and by the time the recent reboot started, I had no money for comics.
no subject
Also ... I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for in-character fanboying. Garth was so adorkable.