The arrival of another gorgeous young woman with the
initials of LL further complicates Clark Kent's (Tom Welling) life
in the fourth season of Smallville, the WB's hip and sexy
reinvention of the Superman legend. In this case, it's Lois Lane
(Erica Durance), a would-be college freshman who's come to the
Kansas heartland to investigate the disappearance of her cousin,
Chloe. What she discovers instead is a naked, amnesiac Clark Kent in
a cornfield, and things take off from there. Durance doesn't appear
in every episode--she was credited as a "special guest star"--but
her tough spirit and crackling wit provide a great, non-romantic
foil to Clark.
That's just as well, because there's plenty of romantic
triangulation--or worse--going on. Clark's former love interest--and
his first LL--Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), has returned from her
summer in Paris sporting a new boyfriend, Jason Teague (Jensen
Ackles), as well as a mysterious tattoo that seems to have something
to do with a set of Kryptonian crystals as well as Jason's sinister
mom, Genevieve (Jane Seymour). Keeping his relationship with Lana a
secret, Jason has signed on as Smallville High's new assistant
football coach. What's surprising is that the team's new quarterback
is none other than Clark, who's grown tired of hiding his
super-strength, super-speed, and invulnerability and wants to be
part of the team. But nothing's easy for Clark, and he goes through
the prom, a marriage, and fatherhood, not necessarily in that order,
as well as his secret being discovered, unknown to him, by one of
his closest friends. (On the plus side, he does uncover a cool new
power.)
But the key to the season is the Kryptonian crystals. They
further deteriorate the relationship between the incarcerated Lionel
Luthor (John Glover), and his son, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum). Lex may
be Clark's best friend, but he reveals more of his dark side in a
revelation about his sexual escapades and a split-personality
(literally) incident. Lana's frightening dreams actually come to
life in a silly Charmed-type episode. Then in the explosive
season finale, the main characters are scattered and another meteor
shower threatens to wipe out the town.
One of the fun things about Smallville is how producers Al
Gough and Miles Millar and their team of writers acknowledge their
place in a 70-year Superman mythos (even if Clark is never referred
to as Superman). His DC Comics origins receive a nod with
appearances by the Flash, Krypto the superdog, and the magical
Mxyztplk. And the cast includes not only regular Annette O'Toole
(Martha Clark), who had played Lana Lang in Superman III, but
guest shots by Margot Kidder (Bridgette Porter) and Terence Stamp
(the voice of Jor-El), and the late Christopher Reeve gets a brief
but touching farewell in an announcement of the passing of his
character, Dr. Virgil Swann.
Extras include 15 minutes with the writing team, a spotlight on
Kidder, Durance, and others who have played Lois Lane, deleted
scenes, and three episodes with commentary from combinations of
Gough, Millar, Durance, Kreuk, Glover and others, but not Welling.
--David Horiuchi
