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Why a Sequel Series to 'Smallville' Is a Bad Idea
by Brad Trechak, posted Nov 5th 2010 1:35PM
In a recent review of 'Smallville,' TV Squad's Mike Moody referenced an online article which mentioned the possibility of giving the show an 11th season. Having an 11th season of 'Smallville,' or even bringing the characters back for a sequel series (whether it's called 'The Adventures of Superman' or 'Metropolis' or whatever comes to mind), is a bad idea. And here are four reasons why:
1. The premise. Once Clark has come of age and adopted his superhero identity, you have a show that was already done in the '90s. It was called 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman' and focused on the Lois/Clark relationship (both stars of the aforementioned series, Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, have appeared on 'Smallville'). Granted, 'Smallville' has somewhat developed the relationship since Lana left, but the primary concept behind the show remains Clark's growth into Superman. Once he puts on the tights and cape, we have yet another television remake. While ideas get recycled all the time on the tube, this one seems like a pointless and unnecessary rehash.
2. The actors. Simply getting Tom Welling back to do more Superman would be very costly to the CW, not to mention Erica Durance or any other supporting character. Tom Welling has played Clark Kent (although not Superman) on television longer than any other actor. The 10 years he's played the role even beats the time of Christopher Reeve's first and last 'Superman' movies (1978 and 1987, respectively). The moment he puts on the tights he may be subject to the infamous "Superman curse" (the results of which range from typecasting to death), which has has plagued and/or ended the lives of so many previous actors to take the role -- including Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain and Brandon Routh. Welling might be able to avoid that curse by minimize his screen time as the Man of Steel and sticking with Clark. In short, subjecting him to the possibility of this curse might be cost-prohibitive.
3. The characters. Once Clark becomes Superman, he'll theoretically step out of Jor-El's shadow and become far more competent and confident than he was before. Once that happens, where else can the character go? It would be Superman versus a weekly super-villain and that's been done in a number of cartoons.
4. The plots. Since the show has been relegated to the "Friday night death slot", it has actually gotten better. This is coming from someone who abandoned the show after season 2 only to pick it up again in season 7. The show began as a 'Buffy' clone but grew into its own unique mythology. Once it was moved to Friday nights, the producers knew their audience and made it more geek-friendly with more comics references rather than overemotional teen-angst ... a smart move considering that the characters weren't teens anymore. It would be better in the long run for The Powers That Be if the show ended on a high note. Although, admittedly, the show hasn't been very good at creating satisfying season finales (look at the build-up and let-down of the Doomsday and Zod storylines). I actually dread the series finale given my higher expectations of the later seasons.
If a sequel series is truly desired enough by fans, then have the 'Smallville' cast reunite in the next 'Superman' movie. This would be particularly good timing since this show is ending and Warner Brothers is trying to reboot the movie franchise. With a movie-credit carrot, they might even be able to get Michael Rosenbaum to play the Lex Luthor character again. Just make sure it's a movie, and not an overblown television episode (see any of the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' movies for examples of this bad practice).
Do you want to see a sequel series to 'Smallville'?
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