Product Description

Before the Legend...Before the Icon...He was a teenager growing up in Smallville. The Complete First Season of the hit series that chronicles the life of the boy who would be Superman is on DVD in a 6-disc collector's set with super bonus features.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Other
Storyboards
TV Spot

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1339 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2003-09-23
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: .75 pounds
• Running time: 922 minutes

Amazon.com
The venerable Superman mythos gets a 21st-century updating in this imaginative and engaging television series from the WB Network, and series fans can celebrate the ratings success of Smallville with a six-disc set that compiles its entire first season. The deluxe package offers a chance to revisit the origins of the characters and their numerous plotlines, as well as view deleted scenes and other bonus features.

The premise of Smallville--Superman as a teenager--takes up just a few pages in Superman's very first comic book appearance (in Action Comics back in 1938), but series producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar flesh out that period by portraying young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) not as the noble Superman-in-waiting, but as an average teen with some not-so-ordinary supernatural powers, including incredible strength and heat vision (Clark hasn't lifted up, up, and away as of yet). Clark's desire to fit in with his peers and make sense of his extraordinary abilities ground him in very realistic and identifiable terms for the series' primarily under-25 audience, as does his appealing and tentative romance with Kristen Kreuk as Clark's dreamgirl Lana Lang. But Smallville also strikes gold when it takes a turn towards more comic book territory, as evidenced by the parade of shape-shifting killers and other outlandish antagonists (many generated, in one of the series' most ingenious notions, by the same devastating meteor shower that brought the infant Clark to Earth) that Clark must harness his powers to face and defeat. Gough and Millar, along with their capable cast (which includes Michael Rosenbaum as a young and already bald-pated Lex Luthor, and Annette O'Toole and John Schneider as the Kents) manage to pull off the precarious high-wire act of combining science fiction with coming-of-age drama to create this highly watchable program.

Smallville: The Complete First Season offers a very complete and attractive DVD package that is rounded out by some highly desirable extras for longtime series fans. The six-disc set offers all 21 episodes of the first season, including the pilot, in widescreen anamorphic format; Gough and Millar are featured on the set's sole commentary track, which appears on the pilot episode. Viewers can also access a number of deleted scenes from various episodes as well as view original pre-production storyboards and WB promotional spots. An interactive "tour" of Smallville rounds out the extras, but DVD-ROM owners can use the discs to access more features via the Smallville web site. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Best superhero show on television!
Ever since the pilot episode of "Smallville" came on, I was instantly hooked. And also ever since then, I've been watching the show every Tuesday night and have not missed an episode. "Smallville" is the story of the teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling), living in the town of Smallville, Kansas, who will one day be known to the world as "Superman". In the first season, we learn that Clark is an alien with super powers. He has amazing abilities such as super-strength, can run as fast as the speed of light, and has X-ray vision. But all Clark wants is to be able to fit in with the rest of his peers. He is also trying to win over the affection of the beautiful Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), who is dating their high school's football star, Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson). Clark lives with his human adoptive parents, Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent (Annette O'Toole and John Schneider) on the Kent Farm, and befriends the rich Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), after he saves Lex from a car accident. Clark also has two other friends, Pete Ross (Sam Jones III) and Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), who help him out.

The plots in every episode keep getting better and better. The storyline is amazing and every actor is superb in their roles. The special effects are great, too. I really hope they bring "Smallville" to complete season DVDs because it really is one of the best shows out there right now. Even beats out "Alias", though "Alias" is a good show, too.

I highly recommend "Smallville".

Score:
100/100
A+

Legacy
Before battling the forces of evil, Clark Kent faced his greatest challenge: high school. The WB's engaging hit drama has finally arrived on DVD. A devastating meteor shower strikes the peaceful town of Smallville. For most of the townsfolk, the event brought great losses and unexplainable results, but for the caring Kent Family (John Schneider & Annette O'Toole), it blessed them with an amazing gift: a son who will become Earth's greatest champion. Producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have developed an original and appealing twist to the Superman myth. "Smallville" is the popular live-action comic book series that follows the young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) adapting to his superhuman powers, his friendship with future arch nemesis Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and the developing relationship with sweetheart Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk). The series is a surprising mix of coming-of-age drama and comic-book fantasy. "Smallville" also features a top-notch cast and stunning visual effects. The first season of "Smallville" definitely keeps viewers entertained but too many "Villain of the Week" episodes give the show a repetitive nature.

Fans of the WB drama will be satisfied with "Smallville: The Complete First Season". All 21 episodes of the first season are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. Its picture quality is quite bright and reasonably sharp. The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound is satisfactory with decent surround effects. The box set includes two commentary tracks by series creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, several deleted scenes from the pilot and second episode, "Storyboard to Screen" featurette, an interactive tour of Smallville, some promotional material and DVD-ROM extras. Overall, "Smallville: The Complte First Season" scores a "B".

Great Series! (but a shame about the theme song)
I was mighty skeptical when I first heard about Smallville. Mainly, I was disappointed that Warner Bros. Television decided to go with this instead of the proposed Bruce Wayne series about his world travels before returning to Gotham to become Batman. Aside from that, it looked like (as one of my friends dubbed it) "Dawson's Krypton." To further complicate things, I discovered that Lex Luthor was to be one of the main characters. Basically, it seemed like it would never work. Boy, was I wrong.

I began watching the series in the summer, right after the season finale, when WB started rerunning episodes. I was immediately hooked. (I preordered the Canadian import DVD of the first two episodes right after it was announced.) What struck me immediately about the series was its attention to character development. While the series is mainly episodic, there are usually several subplots that continue from week to week that advances the characters' relationships to one another. The ongoing story of Clark and Lana is especially poignant and heartbreaking due to the fact those who are familiar with Superman lore understand that, even if the two of them get together, their romance won't last. (Thankfully, Tom Welling and Kristen Kreuk have wonderful chemistry and are fully capable actors.)

The main plots are the show's weakest points. I would imagine it's difficult to come up with a way for Clark Kent to be a superhero from week to week, thus they gave themselves an equivalent to Buffy's hellmouth, the kryptonite rocks. The villains can get fairly ridiculous, such as the bugboy in the second episode (included on the DVD). Fortunately, the writers understand how to turn this into a strength. Rather than focusing entirely on the villain, we get to see how the villain or the situation he/she/it causes affects the characters. (A good example comes later in the series when Clark's powers transfer to another boy and he gets to live a normal life for a short period of time.)

As to my iffiness about the inclusion of Luthor, once again, my initial reaction was completely off-base. The makers of the show have managed to make Lex Luthor the most interesting character in the series, thanks in no small part to the outstanding performance of Michael Rosenbaum. I've never seen the character given such depth in a non-comics medium and it is absolutely a breath of fresh air. Watching his transition from hero to anti-hero [to villain?] will be fascinating (providing it happens in the course of the series).

Of course this review wouldn't be complete without mentioning the terrific work of John Schneider and Annette O'Toole as Clark's adoptive parents. It is important to understand why Clark decides to use his powers to help those in need. The Kents are honest, hard-working people who have instilled Clark with a strong sense of right and wrong, and Schneider and O'Toole pull it off brilliantly.

As the title of my review suggests, I only have one major misgiving about the show, and that's the use of Remy Zero's "Save Me" as the theme song. I normally like watching the opening credits of shows, but since I don't care for the song, I usually fast forward through this one. It's a shame, since Mark Snow composed a great theme for it. (It can be found on the DVD's menu screen and during the end credits.)

I hope WBHV decides to start releasing entire seasons on DVD here in the U.S. soon. I'm certain this is a series that will get better over time. (The addition of Jeph Loeb to the writing staff points to this. To those unfamiliar with the name, check out his and Tim Sale's Superman For All Seasons.)