Smallville Season 9 - DVD

Film: Ten years have passed since young Clark Kent from Smallville realized he was no ordinary teenager, but a true Superman. What at the time began as a fantasy variant of teen dramas like Dawson's Creek, has changed over the years more and more to an action fantasy series, which especially in recent years increasingly takes on the comic character of the template. Although the series takes great liberties again and again, at which the one or the other comic book fan might be extremely annoyed, but the entertainment value is still very high even after nine seasons, which absolutely justifies a purchase of this ninth DVD box set for fans.

In the new episodes, Clark must battle zombies, witnesses the birth of a new supervillain at a comic book convention, meets many new companions from the DC Universe, including Stargirl, Hawkman, and Zatanna, and takes his relationship with Lois Lane to a new level. Lois is plagued by visions of an apocalyptic future she saw during her time travel. Chloe and Oliver Queen, aka the Green Arrow, are growing closer. And Zod gathers his henchmen around him, ready to strike the final blow against Clark Kent. These are just a few of the plotlines of season nine, with some being dealt with within one episode and others running throughout the entire 21 episodes.

Here also lies one of the problems Smallville has struggled with since the beginning: inherently good storylines and constellations are repeatedly overused and unnecessarily drawn out. Of course, this was most noticeable in the relationship between Clark and Lana, about whose departure at the end hardly anyone should have been really sad. Fortunately, the writers didn't make the same mistakes with Clark and Lois and always give the relationship nice little twists that keep this romance tingling. The plotline around Zod and the Kandorians or the relationship between Oliver and Chloe could have definitely been presented a bit more streamlined. But in contrast to previous seasons, this weak point of the series falls much less heavily in weight.

The ninth season is overall clearly noticeable that the whole slowly but surely heading towards the grand finale, which will come at the end of season 10. The action is getting darker and even though there are always lighter, more humorous episodes, the darker, action-packed episodes dominate. Some of the special effects shown in them can really be seen and comfort over some dramaturgical weaknesses. Smallville was never particularly sophisticated entertainment, but always popcorn for the eye. The actors were - with a few exceptions - rather wooden, especially at the beginning, which has not really changed much. Sure, Tom Welling grew well into the character of Clark Kent, but especially in the scenes with Erica Durance he is regularly upstaged by his attractive co-actress. But even if this may sound a bit too negative, Smallville is one of those series where the lack of ambition doesn't really have a negative impact. First and foremost, the series should be fun and offer fans exactly what they want to see. And it has done that quite convincingly for almost a decade now.

Suspenseful episodes, humorous moments, good special effects, a touch of romance and many new superheroes make the ninth season, despite some lengths and hangs, a lot of fun for all fans of the series. Those new to the world of Smallville will always feel a little lost. But those who have remained loyal to the series so far, will be rewarded again with some very entertaining episodes and an exciting finale that makes great desire for the final season.

Picture + Sound: Even if the color mixing at times a little too much emphasis on warm tones and the black levels could sometimes be a little better tuned, the image of the DVD leaves a very good impression overall. Largely clean and with a high overall sharpness, the TV nature of Smallville is barely noticeable at moments. The sound in the German version seems a bit front-heavy and can't really keep up with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. But in most scenes, even the weaker stereo mix cuts a good figure, so the bottom line is a decent good overall for the technical presentation.

Extras: The second DVD features two audio commentaries on the episodes Jor-El's Return, voiced by Zod actor Callum Blue and writers Turi Meyer and Al Septien, and On the Mark of the Hero, with Erica Lois Lane Durance and executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Sounders giving their thoughts into the mic. Even though the conversations are rather casual and accompanied by a lot of laughter, the protagonists also provide the listener with interesting details about the making of the episodes every now and then, so these commentaries are well worthwhile for fans of the series!

There are also cut scenes for eight episodes, but for the most part they are very short and add little to the actual action. Nice is this addition, however, all the same. Finally, the sixth disc has two short documentaries to offer. The first highlights the character of General Zod, who has become a real cult figure in the Superman universe at least since his appearance in Superman II. In this 15-minute feature, the original Zod Terence Stamp, who incidentally lends his voice to Jor-El in the original English version of Smallville, director Richard Donner, series Zod Callum Blue and representatives of DC Comics and makers of the series have their say. Very amusing is the part of the documentary that deals with the cult status of the saying Kneel before Zod, which is also heard again in the series.

The second documentary deals with the making of the double episode Heroes of the Past for 30 minutes and shows the background of the Justice League of America in addition to the construction of the sets, special effects and footage of the casting. A documentary well worth watching!

Conclusion: The ninth season of Smallville entertainingly heralds the grand finale, which is coming soon with the tenth season. Fans of the series will absolutely get their money's worth this season, as not only does the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane take on new dimensions. Also, the appearance of new superheroes breathes a breath of fresh air into the events, which can do a series after nine years just good. Technically, the DVD box is on a good to very good level, the extras are manageable, but worth seeing. So for fans of the series an absolute must!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp