Tim’s “Smallville S4 Companion” Review
What did Tim think of the newest Smallville companion book or has it been too long since we’ve had one that it was too disappointing?
Was it a fine addition to the Smallville companion collection?
First off, I would like to say that this book was a real treat to read. For those of you unfamiliar with the history of these Smallville companion books, allow me to give you a brief update. The Smallville Companion book to the first season was released in early 2004, and then the books for season 2 and season 3 were released during the year of 2005. Then, production of subsequent books just stopped for a couple of years, until finally it was announced that the Season 4 Companion book would be released in early September of 2007, for which I was excited for. Not only that, but that it would be written by Craig Byrne, the writer of the Smallville Visual Guide which had come out in the previous summer (and which I have repeatedly enjoyed through many readings of it).
Now that you know the history of these books, I shall proceed to my review of the most recent one, the Official Companion book for season 4 of Smallville. This book, after the long hiatus of Smallville companion books, was like a breath of fresh air. It was fun to go through the season and learn some of the reasons for why certain things were done during the season, including the introduction of two new characters Jason Teague and Lois Lane. This book also answered a few questions I had about season 4, one of which was the departure of Jason Teague from the series. Now I am not a Jason fan by any means, but I am a fan of Jensen Ackles, particularly from his work on the hit CW series, Supernatural, and in subsequent interviews, Jensen was reported as saying that he was taken off so he could film Supernatural, but interviews with executive producer Al Gough confirmed that this was not the case as Jason was always envisioned as a “one-season character.”
This book had many highlights throughout its pages. One of the highlights for me in this book was the foreword by Annette O’Toole (Martha Kent), who is now no longer a regular cast member of Smallville. When I read this foreword, it almost made me kind of miss her a little bit. But that aside, it was a well-written foreword, as Annette shared some of her favorite moments during this past season, and included a nice little “PS” where it documents that Martha had a bit of a crush on Perry White (who is played by Annette’s real-life husband Michael McKean) and had Martha not met Jonathan, she would have pursued that relationship, which was a nice little insert into that very powerful foreword.
Another one of the major highlights in this book was the in-depth inside look at what is arguably one of the greatest premieres in the season’s history, Crusade. In past books, I have enjoyed the in-depth inside looks at Smallville episodes, because they give us just that: in-depth inside look at some very key Smallville episodes. The inside look at Crusade was no exception, as Crusade is one of my all-time favorites, and it was very intriguing. I enjoyed reading of the genesis of the concept of the episode, and what direction they wanted to take with this episode. The producers even wanted Christopher Reeve to reprise his role as Virgil Swann for this episode, but Christopher Reeve was directing a film at the time, and he also felt that the characters from Smallville should come to Swann, not the other way around. Also, in this special in-depth look at Crusade, Al Gough reveals the reason why Clark Kent (and not Kal-El) is not able to fly in the Smallville series. I won’t spoil that here, as you should definitely read this book. But this section alone made the book worth reading.
Another highlight of these books is the in-depth episode guide. Every episode the book covers, from Crusade to Commencement, has interesting little factoids about them that you might not have known going into book. For example, did you know that Sacred is the only Smallville episode to date where all the principal action takes place in another country? The in-depth guide also contained little articles from the newspapers within the Smallville universe, namely the Smallville Torch, the Smallville Ledger, and the Daily Planet, which document the many events and happenings within the season. Another factoid littered throughout this episode guide was the song lists from the various episodes in the season. These were featured in the previous companion books, and I have enjoyed them immensely, but there were some features in this book’s episode guide that differed from the episode guides in the previous books. There were some factoids from the comics, as this season really started to bridge the gap between the series and the comics’ lore. One example of this is in the section about the episode Run, which most fans will remember as the episode where Bart Allen (AKA Impulse) appeared for the first time. It had a little segment about the different “Flashes” throughout the history of the character. As a comic book buff, it was very fun to read. There were also some factoid segments that detailed some series history moments. An example of this is the episode Bound, where it gives a detailed list of the women in Lex Luthor’s life, which was fun to review as a Smallville fan. Also, since this book was released when season six was long over, it also had some foreshadowing trivia, about Level 33.1 and episodes such as Justice. I think future companion books will have this advantage as well, which will make for interesting reads, and definitely was the case here.
Now, apart from the episode guide, the other feature that I love in these companion books is the character sections. In the character sections, there is a subsection on every different main character in Smallville, and kind of the journey that they went on in this season. Those are very fun and interesting to review and go over as you remember how the season affected each character on their overall journey. My favorite character arc for season 4 is the tie between Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. I think both of their individual character arcs that they went through as they tried to repair their broken friendship was very intriguing to watch on screen, as it always is. Clark’s arc was intriguing because he tried to ignore his destiny, but it called to him anyway, and he followed, as if he couldn’t ignore it, and that was really great. Lex’s arc was great, because it continued to show his descent into darkness, and it was magnificent! Previous companion books have had the all the main characters in their journeys, and this book is no exception, but it also does one better by adding to the character section, two fan-favorites: Bart Allen and Alicia Baker. Now, Alicia is one of my favorite original characters in Smallville, and it is truly a shame she was killed off in the middle of the season. So I really enjoyed having a little character section about her character journey not just in this season, but in the season she first appeared as well.
Another section that was a great addition was the Phenomenon section, which is aptly titled. It covers the press and phenomenon that usually accompanies a Smallville season. This one was different though, as Allison Mack traveled with the cast to the 2004 Comic-Con to promote the new season with the grim news that she wasn’t returning to Smallville. This was of course a ploy by the producers in hopes of garnering more ratings for the coming season. This section also talked of the promotions that were used to promote this season, and also the recognition that Smallville received (and continues to receive) at the annual Jules Verne festival. This was a great section to read, and it makes me happy to be a part of this fan phenomenon that is part of Smallville.
Immediately preceding that section, there is a section that I think fit in this season and not so much in any other, was the relationships section of this companion book. No other companion book has had a relationship section, and I think this season’s book deserves one, as it was riddled with relationships and relationship changes. Between Clark and Chloe and Lana and Lex and Lana and Jason (enough relationships to make your head spin), this season was all about that, and I think this book warranted a section about this relationships, so it was definitely needed.
All in all, this book is a great addition to any Smallville fan’s collection. One thing this book really does is give you a newfound respect for season 4. Season 4 is often ridiculed as being the worst season of the series, and that is an attitude that prevails in the mind of almost any Smallville fan. Having this book in your collection will definitely change that attitude. Though not my all-time favorite season, I definitely now have an all-new respect for it after reading this. This season is formed like any other: with ideas for the characters and for the world the characters are in, and some of those ideas just didn’t work. A must-read for any Smallville fan!
RATING: 5/5
November 1st, 2007 at 3:47 pm
i love smallville