Dealer Room

So what did everyone think?

I thought it was pretty good, myself. The JSA characters looked great, especially Sandman. They got the look of the gasmask and sleep gas gun very close. Doctor Fate looked great, especially the glowing eyes in/on the Helmet of Fate. The only character who didn't ring true for me was Michael Shanks' Hawkman (winged helmet aside). I couldn't really get his motivation for being so pissed at the Super Friends.

And thanks to Rob Salem for the giveaway about Ma Hunkel in the news reel footage. I would have missed that, more than likely.

32 Comments

Comment by Joe O'Brien on February 8, 2010 at 5:20pm: I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The first half is MUCH better than the second (as a director, Tom Welling makes a pretty one-note actor); visually it was much stronger, and the actors seemed less cheesey.

Comment by James Marshall on February 8, 2010 at 6:01pm: The first half had a nice flow to it, but the second half was really uneven. I don't really know much about the JSA, so I didn't get all of the inside stuff, but that was okay. What I really didn't get was Michael Shanks. He sounded like he was trying to talk like Batman. He came off as purposely playing it for maximum cheese, but when everyone else is trying to be earnest, he just seemed silly. I think the director should have reeled him in a bit, but maybe Welling wasn't up to the task.

It was okay, but that was about it.

Comment by Nanuq on February 8, 2010 at 6:47pm: Wasn't the Black Canary one of the figures in that JSA painting? That wouldn't make any sense considering she's supposed to have an entirely different origin on this show. The idea that Green Lantern or the Flash (the real one) might show up in a future episode is intriguing though.

Comment by Tim Tompkins on February 8, 2010 at 7:00pm: I think it's still on the DVR. So much to watch...

Comment by Archie on February 8, 2010 at 7:02pm: I’ve haven’t watched Dawson’s Creek, er, Smallville for a long time. I enjoyed Absolute Justice. I even accepted the Watchmen motif of the incarcerated JSA members as respectful of the scene upon which it was based.

Although I thought Icicle was a lame character (and performed poorly), I’m intrigued by the show’s take on Checkmate (but I love Pam Grier so I’m a little biased). I look forward to seeing Smallville’s version of the Suicide Squad.

Comment by Archie on February 8, 2010 at 7:03pm: D’oh! Sorry Tim Tompkins for the spoilers! Disregard everything I wrote.

Comment by Jon Marvin on February 8, 2010 at 7:06pm: I don't watch Smallville very much at all, but I do think someone on the show is geeking out, kind of like Star Trek: Enterprise during the last season. I just like seeing the characters brought to life, I guess.

Comment by Joe O'Brien on February 8, 2010 at 7:27pm: I watched it with my wife, Joyce, whose knowledge of the JSA is fairly limited. Every time someone's name was mentioned, I'd explain it to her, and geek out at the same time.

Someone on Smallville: "Blah blah Carter Hall."
Joyce: "Who's Carter Hall?"
Me: "That is merely his Earth name. On his home planet of Thanagar, he is known as Katar Hol. But Earthmen know him by another name as well: Hawkman!"

Swear to God, that's exactly how I said it.

Comment by Ibrahim Ng on February 8, 2010 at 10:18pm: I really liked this two-hour special. For a very long time, "Smallville" existed in this hideous WB/CW world of plastic twentysomethings existing onscreen to sell image-oriented, consumer-driven values. It was the very antithesis of Superman. The eighth season began reorienting the series in a different direction. With this double-sized episode, "Smallville" repositioned itself away from the world of "One Tree Hill" and "Gossip Girl" and in a fictional world of superheroes, with Clark Kent as the frontrunner of a new generation of them.

I felt this spine-tingling sense of myth as Clark unveiled the history of the JSA and watched in the film-reel the legacy of heroes he'd one day live up to. "Smallville", with its eighth season, became a Superman TV series, and now it's moved itself into the DC Universe as well. And I think that's just lovely. I don't deny that the show is cheesy and posturing at times, but it's an aspect of the genre I've come to appreciate.

Comment by Tim Tompkins on February 8, 2010 at 10:23pm: The eighth season began reorienting the series in a different direction. With this double-sized episode, "Smallville" repositioned itself away from the world of "One Tree Hill" and "Gossip Girl" and in a fictional world of superheroes, with Clark Kent as the frontrunner of a new generation of them.

And just in time for it to go off the air. Iiiiiiiirony.

So what did everyone think?

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