SMALL thoughts

My blog readers know by now that I can become obsessive about my entertainments. Reference:

Lord of the Rings
Orlando Bloom
Alias
Lost
New England Patriots
Firefly

My latest is Smallville. We didn't have a local affiliate of WB so I never could find the show, though I thought it might be interesting to watch. So I finally got around to it on my Netflix list, and yesterday I set a new record of 6 episodes in a row.

My kids were away for the weekend, so here's kind of how it went:

Saturday I was supposed to get Season 1 Disk 3, and it did not arrive. Monday was going to be a holiday, with no delivery, and my kidless-weekend plans were ruined. So I did what any sane woman with disposable income and a driving need to watch TV shows would do: I rented disk three at Blockbuster.

I got some writing done Saturday afternoon and then tried to go to dinner with my hubby. It was a very nice non-date, as we went to Red Lobster, he decided he didn't want to wait an hour (seven o'clock on a Saturday and he couldn't guess there'd be a long wait?). I didn't want Mexican and he didn't want anything else, so he got a sub to go from the Philly Cheese Steak place and we went home, where I proceeded to watch all four episodes on disk 3.

Sunday we did get to Red Lobster for lunch (to use a gift card we got for Christmas) and then did some grocery shopping. I returned Disk 3 and rented Disk 4...then went back and grabbed Disk 5, too. Just in case.

My writing went pretty well Sunday afternoon, so I started watching at about 6:30, interrupting to switch laundry from washer to drier and throw in new loads (see, it doesn't interfere with my regular life!).

Then, of course, I proceeded to have vague dreams about Clark and Chloe and Lex (my favorite characters) and woke up with "Saaavvvveee meeeee...." wailing through my head. The song is permanently stuck there, on a two-line loop. Damn menu music.

It's amazing how quickly an indulgence can become habit. I can't wait to get back to the TV, even though the show isn't as high in quality as past obsessions. It's comforting to me to curl up on the couch under my Pirates of the Carribbean blanket and hang out in Smallville for a while.

Some of the things I like best:

Clark's bearing of responsibility. He's close to "Mary Sue," though that's rarely something that bothers me about a character, but his major flaw is also his strength. He can save people, and feels he always should, and feels the burden when he can't. It's very similar to Harry Potter's "saving people thing."

Lex's complexity. I know, basically, what happens to Lex in the future. So when he displays his desire to be good, and do good, and help people, and love them, I know it won't survive his darker needs and desires. Flashes of his ruthlessness and power hunger make everything he says and does suspect, because there might be something in it for him that we're unaware of. In the meantime, he's a love, and also kinda sexy. :)

John Schneider turning on the radio to hear, "Just a good old boys, never meanin' no harm..." *Snicker*

Hints at the future. Lex saying he wants to be president. Clark's investigative drive. References to abilities he hasn't discovered yet.

Poignancy. Tom Welling freaks me out with his big grin. Like someone said, "smile...NOW!" But his natural smile is soft and lovely, and often tinged with sadness. The episode where his powers were transferred was the most poignant. He liked being normal, yet being vulnerable wasn't so good. Then the ep where Chloe was "persuaded" by Kyle-the-hermit to reveal her feelings and kiss Clark...and the one with the kid who could read minds who hero-worshipped Clark...there's an element of poignancy in all of those that is touching.

I liked as the season went on the "freak of the week" element faded under the ongoing storylines and the complexities of Lex and Clark's relationship. I like that Whitney is a fairly worthy opponent, someone who's three-dimensional and not a bad guy.

I'm told that I won't like seasons 3, 4, or 5, but I don't always have the same opinion as that person, so I'm glad I have four more seasons to plow through, though I'm probably going to have to wait for 5 and that won't make me happy. I KNOW I won't like that Jonathan dies (which I just read in EW's Must List). I don't like Martha at all, and I love Jonathan, so that sucks. Unless it's a one-episode back-from-the-dead kind of thing. That would be cheesy, but acceptable.

Now, commenters, don't spoil me! I'm still on disk 5 of season 1! Couch your comments carefully, please. :)