Here are a few items of interest that are floating around the internet today.

First, the CW has posted their official description of Smallville’s Season 7 premiere, “Bizzarro.”  Check it out over at Krytonsite. Spoilers are present, so beware if you want to remain spoiler free for the season.

 Also, while the news about the Justice League movie that I commented on a few weeks back is still a little up in the air, what is for sure is that George Miller is directing the film and according to Obsessedwithfilm.com the film will be prodeced by Barrie M. Osborne and shooting in Australia. While it’s still not clear if the film is going to be digital animation done with motion capture, or animated, or live action, it is apparent that the thing is underway for sure. By the way, if you are curious as to who Barrie Osborne is, click on his name and check him out. He has produced movies the likes of THE MATRIX and THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY. So, here’s a producer that is used to working on a large scale, we’ll see how he handles the task of tackling this movie.

Superman Homepage has posted screen shots from the upcoming season premier of THE BATMAN, Kids Wb’s Saturday morning cartoon following the adventures of the caped crusader. The pics look pretty cool.

The CW showed the first teaser for Smallvilles seventh season. Check it out:

Oh…and today Paramount released a teaser for IRON MAN. Click here to check it out in quicktime.

I almost feel like since San Diego that there has been a rivalry between the Iron Man property and The Dark Knight. Maybe it’s just me, but Iron Man captured the buzz at the San Diego ComiCon. The Dark Knight walked away with all the buzz from Wizard World in Chicago. We’ve all heard about the incredible footage shown at Wizard World, but the only teaser we got was a voice over. Iron Man took off his Iron glove and used it to slap Batman in the face. This is a teaser to get us geeks excited, and peak the interest of casual movie goers. The Dark Knight teaser feels like Christopher Nolan said, “Well, I have to give the studio something, so here. Use this. You don’t see anything, but at least they’ll hear something.” Compared to Iron Man? Weak. But that’s just petty speculation.

Here at my own person Fortress of Solitude, the League of Geeks has had an interesting discussion about what we would do with a certain property if it were brought to the big screen. So, tomorrow, check out Geek Out Online for the first ever “How I’d Do it…” featuring The A-Team. This promises to be some funny stuff.

The task seems more daunting than ever at this point, so I don’t know if I’ll get every episode of all six seasons in before the season premiere on September 27th, but I’m gonna try and we’ll at least talk about the seasons as a whole before Season 7 gets here.  Speaking of the season premiere, the premiere Smallville website, Kryptonsite, has posted the first images released by CW from the second episode of the season, “Kara.”  Click here to check out the pics.

In today’s installment in the Summer of Smallville, we get three strikes.  Not the bowling kind, the baseball kind.  Understand, each episode has some redeeming qualities, but overall these are my three least favorite episodes of the first season.  From the touch of death to death without touching…oh, and bees, these episodes seem to miss the mark of being interesting.  So let’s begin with….

 Season 1 Episode 17 “Reaper”

Written by - Cameron Litvack

Directed by - Terrence O’Hara

Synopsis - Tyler Randle’s mother is in the hospital and dying. As he goes to visit her, she asks that he help her end the pain that she is in. Tyler obliges with a pillow, and is promptly thrown out of the building. Literally. The dude goes falling out of a window to his demise. At least he would have fallen to his demise had he not been wearing a bracelet with a meteor rock set in it. The meteor rock broke and a shard became lodged in his wrist not only bringing him to life, but giving him the touch of death. Literally the guy touches someone and they turn to a pile of ash. Talk about ashy hands. Anywho, Tyler takes it upon himself to be some type of savior to those in pain. Just like Clark will one day work at a great metropolitan newspaper so he can know whenever there is trouble, Tyler goes and works at Meals on Wheels, an organization in Smallville set up to bring food to people who are bound in their homes because of illness, so that he can know who wants to die. So he can help. What a freak! Meanwhile, Jonathan is all pumped for his and Clark’s annual father/son fishing trip. Clark, on the other hand, is not. When Lex offers Clark and Jonathan tickets to Sharks game in Metropolis tensions rise between the father and son and Clark lets slip that he hates fishing. In the father/son strained relationship department though, Lionel one ups Jonathan once again as he sends his little right hand man. Dominic, to look into the bookkeeping practices at the plant in Smallville. Lex, of course, takes offense at this and makes Dominic’s job tough. While all this is going on, we are force fed one other father/son relationship. Whitney’s dad has gotten worse and is in the hospital. Whitney, not wanting to see his father in such a weak state, refuses to go to the hospital and visit him. Lana gets Clark to step in and talk to Whitney. In the end, Whitney goes to visit his dad and Tyler is there to deliver his ashy touch of death, Clark let’s Tyler know that his mother is still alive and recovering, Tyler touches himself (it sounds dirty, but he was killing himself.), and Lex stuffs Dominic in a truck and takes him back to Lionel. Oh, Jonathan and Clark make up and give us the corniest joke ever in Smallville if not television. This episode just feels drug out. The two most redeeming moments in the show are when Clark tells Tyler that he believes as long as we have life there is hope. Superman fights for life. That’s who he is. He looks at his powers and realizes that he can either use his powers for destruction or for life…he chooses to fight for life.Secondly, is the bit with Lex and Lionel. When Lex shows up in Metropolis with Dominic in the trunk of a car, Lionel’s response is “Well done.” He then closes the trunk with Dominic still in it. Dominic is still alive and it’s just a great moment of how hateful a person Lionel is.Outside of that, this episode feels forced. It drags on and the emotions that are supposed to be there are not there at all. For this reason, I give this episode a 1 out of 5. I hate doing that, it hurts, but it’s really not a good episode.

So from death dealer to overachiever bee keeper we go with….

Season 1 Episode 18 “Drone”

Written by - Philip Levens and Michael Green

Directed by - Michael Katleman

Synopsis - There are three kids running for class president. Paul, who seems to the be the all around good guy, smart, able to carry himself socially, and well known enough to be a player is Chloe’s favorite. Then there’s Shasha. She’s an overachiever with a “need” to win. She ends up being the story’s villain. Did I spoil that too soon? Finally, Felice is the popular girl who appears to be getting votes based on her status with the in-crowd and her looks. After Paul is attacked in his bathroom by a swarm of bees, Pete throws Clark’s name in the running. Clark is going to bow out at first, but after talking to his parents he decides to stick with it. Thank God for Jonathan Kent’s sage advice that doesn’t sound like a fortune cookie at all. (”Quitting is a hard habit to break son.”) After talking to Lex, Clark comes away with a campaign slogan taken right from the title of a Superman comic book: Clark Kent - Man of Tomorrow. Principal Kwan is leaving the school parking lot (a lot earlier than any other principal I’ve ever known. Most of the time they are among the last to leave the school grounds, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one leave with the students) when he drives up on Felice’s car. She has been attacked by bees. Kwan, like a brave man who cares for his students recoils in fear and almost cries. No wonder the kid in the next episode thinks Kwan ran him down. (Oops. Spoiled that one a little bit too.) Clark and Chloe work together to figure out that it is Sasha who is somehow controlling the bees. When she sics them on Clark in the Talon, he rushes Lana into a closet and sprays the bees down with a freon line from a freezer. (This would have been a great time to develop super breath.) Meanwhile, Lex has a tete de tete with a reporter from a Metropolis news magazine named Carrie Castle. (What is it with the Superman story and alliterated names?) Anywho, we could have done without this little side story, Lex ends up keeping her from publishing an unflattering story about him. In the end, Clark Superman’s up and stops Sasha, Paul wins the election, and we get a cool explosion. Yeah…the best thing about this episode was Sasha’s “Campaign Headquarters” exploding when Clark ruptured a propane tank to kill the bees that were revolting against Sasha. I have to say, I’ve never been in a school where class elections are as big a deal as they are made in these tv shows. Look for a future blog about things we see in television on a regular basis that we never see in real life. Anywho, I give this episode a 2 out of 5 both points come from Clark stepping it up and facing down Sasha. I always love it when Clark hits that place where he is confident that he is doing the right thing and he is resolved in the face of his enemy. He did that well in this episode, so while I was hoping for a swarm of bees to carry me away most of the time, I did enjoy the glimpses of Superman we got in this episode. So, Tyler’s ashy hands, Sasha’s bee keeping, and finally we get Justin played by Adam Brody of “The O.C.” fame. If Lana’s voice annoys me sometimes, this guy just makes me mad every time he speaks. It’s like are you gonna cry? Cry! Just stop talking like you’re on the verge of tears….and tell the gnome rubbing the balloon against the back of your throat to stop.I’m sorry I digress we have to get on to….Season 1 Episode 19 “Crush”

Written by - Philip Levens, Al Gough, and Miles Millar

Directed by - James Marshall

Synopsis - As I said before, Adam Brody, the guy from “The O.C.” who has a voice that sounds like someone trying to play a violin without having ever SEEN a violin before, plays Justin Gaines, a kid who was the victim of a hit and run accident and lost the ability to use his hands. (How’s that for a long sentence?) This is a problem for him more than it would be for anyone else because not only is he the cartoonist for the Torch (an important job that would carry him for years and years), but he also loves art…it’s all he has. Sad. Somehow…a very conveniently unexplained somehow….Justin develops the ability to move things with his mind. Ready for a vocabulary lesson? I know everyone realizes this, but I have to point out to some of our less geek readers that this ability is called telekinesis. So, he causes the doctor who he thinks botched his surgery to lose the use of his hands, draws a hot little picture of Chloe, finds out it was Principal Kwan who ran him over, kills Principal Kwan, tries to kill Chloe when she finds out the truth, and gets his hand-rubbing-against-an-inflated-balloon voiced butt kicked by Clark. In the end, we learn that it wasn’t Prinicpal Kwan, but his son that ran over Justin, Clark begins to realize his feelings for Chloe, and Whitney’s dad dies suddenly. Really, I don’t mean to make light of the situation, but it was out of left field. I mean his dad was on the mend…getting better….FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! It had to be done though. It also brings the only emotion we get in this episode to the show. Other than the anger I feel because of having to listen to Justin’s voice. This episode wasn’t a total loss, but considering that Al Gough and Miles Millar stepped in enough to have a writing credit on this episode, I expected better. They are the creators. They should want their show to be better than this. I honestly think this was two shows crammed into one because the stuff with Lex and Pamela Jenkins is quite compelling. Pamela is a former caretaker of Lex who disappeared when Lex’s mother died. She is dying of cancer but doesn’t tell Lex, she just wanted to have one last chance to have a relationship with him. When Lionel tells Lex that she’s dying, Lex changes his stance from walled up and pushing Pamela away to having a fairly open conversation about the man he is and wishes to be with her. I’m assuming the Lex stuff was Gough and Millar. The Justin stuff…Levens.Not desiring to be totally negative though, there are a few good things about this show:- Right as the show opens up, Clark is told by Kwan’s son, the Air Force recruiter, “I see you in a uniform flying.” How right you are young Soon-to-jail Kwan. (Soon for short) How right you are! - Chloe and Clark’s relationship has the screws put to it a bit and Chloe is brought to the forefront as a character, and Allison Mack as an acting force to be reckoned with.- I also love Chloe’s ready acceptance of Justin’s powers. This doesn’t change. When she finds out about Clark, the fact that she cares about him more than a story is what drives this character from that point on out…but this moment is where we see that Chloe would be accepting.- In the fight between Justin and Clark, Justin flings Clark into the loft of the barn. He talks a little smack and gets a tap on the shoulder. He turns around to see Clark standing there. Great Superman moment.

- I know I don’t make it a habit to talk about actors on the show, but Michael Rosenbaum plays the reaction to the news about Pamela so well. He is visibly shaken and you know exactly what he is going through emotionally with no words spoken at all.

This episode was not without it’s issues though:

- I can’t say enough about how much I dislike Justin’s voice or Adam Brody’s line delivery. I’m sure Adam Brody is a great guy and would be cool to hang with, I can just do without his acting in this episode. I never watched an episode of “The O.C.” so I don’t know if this was a one time thing or what.

- Little continuity error at the funeral - One moment Clark has an umbrella and the next he’s standing out in the rain.

- How selfish are Clark, Chloe, and Lana all portrayed at the funeral? Here is one of their friends dealing with the loss of his father and they are all looking longingly at one another. At least Clark is looking longingly at Lana and she at Clark. Chloe is looking longingly at Clark with only ten million fan boys looking longingly back at her.

- When Clark deflects the chainsaw with his body, instead of pouring on the attack or running, Justin asks the all important question….how’d you do that?

Ultmately I give this episode a 3 out of 5 because it’s not a bad episode, it’s my own personal problems with the character of Justin. He is a good villain. His motivation is revenge and that adds a “bad guy” quality to him that we’ve only gotten from like one or two other villains in this first season. The storyline with Lex and Pamela is compelling, and anytime we get a glimpse into Lex’s past, it is an engaging tale. So yeah, I’ll admit, an average episode.

Fortunately, the next two episodes are anything but simply average. Not only are they outstanding, they mark the final episodes of this season. So check back soon, for the season finale of the Summer of Smallville. As always, please feel free to chime in with your comments, and if you would like to e-mail me for any reason shoot me a line at bighonkin@geekoutonline.com.

 There haven’t been any updates in the past week because I’ve been on vacation. And when Big Honkin vacates, he vacates. So, after a week of doing as much of nothing as I could do, I’m back with renewed vigor to get done with the Summer of Smallville before Summer is officially over, and more importantly before season 7 gets up and going. Today, we have two great episodes starting with…

Episode 15 - “Nicodemus”

Michael Green’s teleplay of a story by Greg Walker
Directed by - James Marshall

Synopsis - Dr. Hamilton is back. He has successfully used the meteor rocks to revive an extinct plant known as the Nicodemus flower. The flower’s pollen has the strange effect of causing people to lose their inhibitions, become overly aggressive, and eventually slip into a coma before they die. Jonathan Kent, Lana Lang, and eventually Pete Ross all find themselves infected. Meanwhile, Lex, realizing what has happened, works feverishily with Dr. Hamilton to find a cure for those affected. In the end, Lana does a strip tease/water show for Clark, Clark has to save Lex from an angry Pete, and we hear once again of Clark’s fear of heights.

This episode gives a great moment right off the bat when Jonathan Kent turns his radio on. We hear, along with Jonathan Kent, the soothing sounds of Waylan Jennings singing “Good Ole boys,” the theme from the Dukes of Hazard. This is one of Smallville’s greatest strengths, the winks to the audience. They are there throughout the show, but they never break the fourth wall, and they seldom if ever come across as campy or over done.

“Nicodemus” also gives us the first glimpse into Pete’s true feelings about Lex. He doesn’t like him and he’s jealous of Clark’s friendship with him, this also comes into play at the end of the episode when Clark has to save Lex from Pete.

While going through these episodes with a more scrutinizing eye than I have in the past, I have developed a new appreciation for Kristin Kreuk’s ability as an actor and the chemistry she has with Clark, she gives us the two worst fake sneezes ever in the history of television or film…I mean, who sneezes like that? So dainty.

Twice in this episode Lex talks about a team that he has. One is a team of specialists to study the plant, the other is a team of doctors he’s flying in from Metropolis. Hey Lex, here’s an idea to save you some time and money with all those teams, don’t get wrapped up with a scientist who is just a little cooky and brings dangerous flowers back from EXTINCTION!!!!

When Clark discovers that Lex had checked out the book about the Nicodemus plant, Lex gives him some story that he remembered the legend and decided to look into it. This conversation is one of the examples why Lex and Clark’s friendship is destined to fail….neither one will ever be truly honest with the other one.

A few other great things this episode gives us:

-  A great shot of Pete when he’s infected, “You looking for me?”-  Lana tells Clark he’s holding back and says “You’re not made of steel are you?” No, but he is The Man of Steel.-  A wonderful moment for Annette O’Toole to shine as Martha Kent when she tells Clark how she met Jonathan. Tom does a great job of a son being strong for his mom even though the situation is eating him alive.-  I also like the fact that Clark has no way of knowing that those affected by the plant will forget what happened while under it’s influence, and he chooses to let Pete see his powers in action a bit rather than Lex.-  Oh, and I think it’s pretty funny when Clark knocks Pete out by going televangelist on him. I just want to holler, “HEALED!” when Clark slaps Pete’s forehead.The auto mishap count goes to 14 when the truck driven by the guy who runs Jonathan Kent off the road explodes.So a great vehicle explosion, some fun moments of John Schneider doing his own stunt driving, and Chloe cleverly evading Dr. Hamilton’s question of what she was doing at the accident site all add together to make this a great episode. This episode also lays the foundation for the fact that the meteor rocks can be used to do more than just give people powers. Cloning anyone? Oh, it’s coming.I give this episode 4 out of 5 whatever I’m giving five of because it’s just a great episode. So after Clark and Lana share some time at the top of the windmill out in Chandler’s field, we move on to one of the most foreshadowing filled episodes of the first season….

Season 1 Episode 16 - “Stray”
Written by - Phillip Levens

Directed by - Paul Shapiro

Synopsis - Ryan, a boy with the abilities to read minds, runs away from his step dad, who has been using Ryan to help him rob various pawn shops and other places, after seeing him shoot a man in the face. In his escape, he is hit by Martha Kent who is driving home. She promptly takes him to the hospital and when Ryan needs a place to stay, the Kents open their home to him. Ryan, finding an acceptance that he has never known, becomes fast friends with Clark - the one person whose mind he can’t read. Clark, takes to Ryan like the little brother he never had. As Ryan’s step dad tracks him down, Clark has to step up and protect Ryan from being dragged back in to the life he once knew. In the end Ryan’s stepdad uses Ryan to try to get the password to Lex’s trust fund, Ryan goes to live with his aunt, the Kents show us once again why Superman is the man he will be, and a little boy trades a comic book hero for the one he now has in his real life. This episode is chock full of references meant to foreshadow events down the road, using Warrior Angel Ryan’s favorite comic book hero. And away we go with a look at one of the best episodes of the first season.

First, a qualification….hitting a boy running across the road does not count as an auto mishap…if it were a deer maybe, depending on the damage to the vehicle.

Throughout the episode, we see that Ryan isn’t a naïve little boy, he’s a little pushy once he gets into people’s head, but the way he covers for his abilities with the Kents during the breakfast scene, with Lex at the Talon, and the way he plants the seeds of doubt between his step dad and his step dad’s girlfriend in the end shows that he has some street smarts about him.

Warrior Angel is apparently the Superman of the Smallville universe, as far as fictional character in the universe go. Lex describes him as “A strange vistor from another planet.”

I like the way that there is a panel of the comic book that we get to see that is mimicked in the way that Clark saves Ryan in the garbage truck. “You’re safe now” with the light behind Clark shining into the truck looks just like the panel we see just before that seen with Warrior Angel in a similar position saying the same thing.

Speaking of the garbage truck, Clark really did some damage to that thing. Maybe they should do an episode where Clark actually is concerned about cleaning up the mess he causes in one of his rescues or fights.

Another aspect of this episode is Lionel finally asking Lex to come to Metropolis to join him in running Luthorcorp. Lex of course refuses and Lionel says’ “Crap factory.” Not a huge moment, but it’s really kind of funny to hear Lionel say crap factory. The real moment in that subplot though comes when Lionel tells Lex “I’m your future. Join me. Join me in Metropolis. How long have you been waiting to hear those words?” and Lex responds, “Ive been waiting to hear other things for a lot longer. I’ll return to Metropolis when I’m ready.” Lionel shows us a bit of the fear he harbors of his son when he asks, “At the head of an army?” This relationship is one of the dynamics that make this a consistently great show. Whether Lionel is so evil that we want to see him die and Lex is struggling not to become his father, or Lionel is the asset to Clark that he has apparently become and Lex is slipping further and further into the darkness that has been eating away at him, the constant battle of words and psychological chess game is intense and engaging.

On the subject of Lex, he mentions for the first time to Clark of his younger brother Julian who died shortly after his baptism. Are the Luthors church people?

Of course, Lex’s experience with Julian comes into play in a huge way in Season 3.

Then there’s the person that Clark is that reflects the person he will become, he is just a good guy and helps Ryan understand the responsibility he has to exercise with his abilities, also when Ryan warns Clark of the darkness that Lex harbors, Clark tells him, “I like to believe people’s best.” That is Superman, he fights not just to right wrongs and defeat evil, but to inspire people, even bad people to be the best they can be, to look inside themselves and find the good that he believes with all his heart is there.

A couple of questions that this episode raised….

-  Why does Ryan’s step dad try to kill him at the end? Ryan hasn’t given him Lex’ password yet.-  Ryan goes to Edge City. That’s a DC city I know…but I can’t think of what super hero makes it home. Isn’t that where the Mask is fromWith the inclusion of Five for Fighting’s song “Superman” at the end of this episode reflecting perfectly the theme of the episode and the whole series, the neat little foreshadowing bits we get through talk of the character of Warrior Angel, and the blatant look we get at just how good a guy Clark is, this episode is one of the best of a season full of great episodes. I give Ryan a 5 out of 5 whatever I’m giving five of. I know, I ended a sentence in a preposition…sue me.So, there you have it, your post-Labor Day Summer of Smallville update. There will be more tomorrow. Or maybe even later tonight. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on these episodes or other episodes of Smallville we’ve looked at. So please, comment using the link below or e-mail me at geekoutonline@gmail.com.Next time we get a few stinkers, so it could be fun. Thanks for reading.