The Smallville TV show was one of the first TV shows that married the innocent times of the comic book hero’s hay day with the sleek high production value and mature story lines of today. The show explores the teen life of Superman and how his personal character developed during his formative years. The show remains true to the innocent nature of the original Clark Kent, but let’s us see the awkward growing up process of the main character. This brought the show a great deal of appeal across several demographics. Older viewers could connect with the show because it answered questions they had long wanted answered: what was Superman like growing up? The Smallville TV show also drew in new audiences with its young cast and plot lines that younger viewers could relate to. Both genders were drawn to the show because of the story, but females were especially drawn to the show because of the love story angle with Clark and Lois and others. The handsome hunk playing Clark didn’t hurt the female demographic either. With production costs very high for any TV show, there is a risk of trying to reach too many demographics at once, and end up reaching no one. The strong villain character is Lex Luther made for a compellingstory line that could sustain the dramatic tension. The key was the writing of the Luther character as vulnerable and sympathetic as villains go giving him an allure that more purely evil and static villain characters have been stuck with in the past.

The Smallville TV show has not been the only Superman show. The original Superman show of the 50’swas a truer version as far as the comic book series that spawned it is concerned. The plots were radio based and the characters were stock and static as was common in those early days of television. The shows tended to follow traditional radio plot lines which were simple and one dimensional so the listening audience could follow them. Only later did TV writer begin to expand story lines that took better advantage of what their new medium could offer. Another predecessor to the Smallville TV show was Lois and Clark starring Dean and Hatcher. This show focused almost exclusively on the love story of the two main characters. At first, this was the charm of the show because it was a new way to look at a well known character and the woman we all knew he loved, even if he or she didn’t. Unfortunately, this narrow plot focus was also the demise of the show. The love thwarting action could only support the dramatic tension for so long. Eventually, they had to either get married or break up. You couldn’t keep stringing the audience along season after season. The Smallville TV show learned from that mistake and built a plot and cast that could sustain the dramatic tension for several seasons. It allowed for the growth of the characters as well the growth of its audience.

Author Bio: Discover more facts and trivia by visiting Rick’s Smallville TV Show Page or talk about the show with others at Rick’s Smallville Forum.

Category: Entertainment
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