Smallville

Mercifully, I finished watching Smallville recently  The Wife and I really enjoyed the first season, as well as...probably season two and three.  After that, it became pretty repetitive -- main villain of the season, Lana/Chloe in trouble, Clark struggles with his heritage, etc.  The quality just kind of dwindled as the seasons went on.  We watched every episode of seasons 1-8 and then took a break from watching it.  A long break.

I finally put Season 9 in the Netflix queue a month or two ago.  After watching the season premiere, I felt comfortable enough to skip the majority of season 9, which had General Zod as the main antagonist.  I glanced over the episode descriptions on Wikipedia and just wanted to get it over with.

Season 10 went pretty much the same way.  Darkseid was the villain of the season - a far more interesting choice but I just couldn't bear to watch an entire season of the show.  I watched the S10 premiere, one episode 'cause it had Deathstroke in it and then the two hour finale which also felt like a chore.  I have to say, though, the final 5-8 minutes of the show were really well done.  Spoiler alert!  They bring in some of the classic music from the Superman films, and after 218 episodes, Clark finally embraces his human upbringing and Kryptonian heritage and puts on the freakin' Superman outfit.

Looking back on it, I think what wore me out on the show was not only the repetitive plots but it was more the waiting.  We know where the story is going to end up.  Going into it, we know Clark Kent is going to one day throw on a cape and be a hero.  So when he struggles to find a job at the Daily Planet, or his powers are almost taken away by gold kryptonite, we know it doesn't matter.  We still know he will become Superman.  I know this series was meant to be more about the journey but it felt like so many episodes were just filler.

The Colony

I first wrote about a reality TV show called The Colony in 2009.  Thanks to my good friend Netflix, I watched both seasons  I must admit that I skipped around a bit on Season One but watched all of Two  Beware, there will be spoilers ahead!

As I said in my first post, the deck for Season One was incredibly stacked because the cast had a doctor, nurse, aerospace engineer, scientist, etc.  Season One took place at an abandoned warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and for the most part, the colonists did a good job.  They set up a water filtration system, traded goods, had decent security, used solar panels and kept a goat and two chickens.  They got harassed once in a while by "marauders" and they lost one of their own while out on a scavenging mission.  Season One ends with them receiving coordinates to a save haven, finishing their escape vehicle, and driving off down the Los Angeles "river."  Once they are outside and safe, one survivor abandons the group to return because he wants to be there to rebuild his city, Los Angeles.  Quite cheesy but whatever, dude.

Season Two takes place in Chalmette, Louisiana in an abandoned neighborhood/compound area.  There are a few abandoned shops and dwellings they can scavenge for supplies and resources.  They also have a river and bayou nearby.  They did a more diverse job with casting in this one - yes, there are contractors and carpenters, but they're also a model, a logger and an anatomy teacher.  Also, while Season One seemed to go along nicely (for the most part), the colonists in Season Two get their asses handed to them.  Regularly!

There is an rival encampment nearby with about 20-30 people who show up to steal supplies, antagonize and at one point, kidnap someone.  There is a real lack of security given the large area they are living in.  They finally manage to stand up to the intruders and eventually steal some stuff back.  Towards the end of the season, they repair a boat, paddle out onto the bayou and find an abandoned, isolated house where they can live off of the land.  They work towards getting a bigger boat repaired and making their escape away from the invaders.

Everything seems to work out nicely until they show up at the isolated house...well, the previously isolated house and see a bunch of people standing on the dock.  The series just ends right there on a really weird note.  I looked online and saw fans were furious at the vague/unhappy ending but hello!  It's a reality show about surviving after a global outbreak!!  It didn't end all upbeat and happy, but I think it kind of sends the message that, in this situation, there will always be something to fight against.  Yes, a helicopter air dropped some supplies but then the invaders showed up to get some too.  Yes, you found a new place to live but someone else beat you to it.  It will be a constant struggle.

So anyway, there you go.  Season Three is currently casting and I can't wait to see some more post apocalyptic cheese.  Thank you Discover Channel!