(no subject)

[trinityvixen]

In case anyone cares, there are

Okay, what!? I would have loved the Lex freaking Lana out with his new powers better if she hadn't just immediately gotten over it and they hadn't made Lex say the most un-Lex like crap about luuuuuuurving Lana bestest. We get it--he's being open and honest with Lana unlike that wiiiiiicked Clark, all right, all right. Keeeeeee-rist. Enough. If there could be like, one season where Lana-worship wasn't required of every episode, I'd love it.

Why couldn't they do more bitchy Lana stuff like when she told Clark she couldn't imagine how she ever loved him (maybe because he's cute--dim, but cute)? That was some of the first acting she'd done in a while. I could have killed her if she whispered any more. And, fucking hell, Lana made it through chaotic Metropolis (after like two horus of no internet, apparently all humans revert), but Chloe and Papa Luthor got taken down? Further proof that the creators actually do idolize Lana above all else.

Clark in Phantom Zone, cool. Zod? Kind of a let down. When I figure out what he sees in Lana, I'll let you know if I forgive the creators. Ruin a good eeeeeevil guy like Brainiac and Zod by having them revolve around Lana. Grrreeaaaaat.

Yeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh. Season Five did all right by me for the most part. There were some lows (wow, Aquaman wins at that once again!), some highs (go Chloe with your bad self!), and then there was the finale, a new definition of "What the F?" suck-i-tude. I can't see as season six could be much worse, but then again, I've seen the ads for the show as part of the CW....

Oh, but speaking of Aquaman? Funny, they don't call it "Mercy Reef" on the title card, probably because by the time it hit iTunes, it was pretty obvious what it was. Besides, cutesy names and all the other similarities to Smallville would have been a bit much, I'm guessing.

So, Aquaman is less of a missing link between homo sapiens sapiens and homo neanderthalus in this pilot than he was in "Aqua" on Smallville. Despite being a fish prince, he resembles people more than the other A.C. did (sort of a cross between Johnny Lee Miller, Tom Cruise and someone else I can't quite place). It's Clark Kent all over again with a tad more bite to the doofus' bark--as in Smallville, A.C. is hell-bent on teaching poachers and other mistreaters of the sea's bounty a lesson and less focus on the straight-up rescue (though in the pilot, the straight-up rescue is really the only thing shown, and the eco-terrorism is only implied and mentioned). But when I say "it's Clark Kent all over again" I really mean it--clean-cut looking kid who looks every bit a part of his environment. In this case, being set in Florida, Aquaman is dude-tacularly blonde, tanned, and slovenly dressed, but accurately so, speaking as someone fairly familiar with dive masters in tropical climes. He's not quite Clark Kent stupid, but he's close, and there's definitely that naive dim-bulb-but-righetously-self-righteous attitude. Honestly, it would be nice if he stayed that way--less concerned with protecting idiotic people and more interested in protecting the ocean, but for some reason he has to save the surface dwellers and fight evil Atlanteans and protect the oceans. Can't just do one, hero, sorry.

The similarities don't exactly stop there. A.C. has his very own Chloe and possible Lana (whom he mysteriously saves and then promptly lies to when she says he saved her in an unusual fashion), the supportive-beyond-reasoning parental figure, and the shady individual too interested in his doings than will be ultimately healthy for the hero (played by that guy you'd recognize but never where from; stupid IMDB, though they did confirm for me that Annette O'Toole was the voice-over for Atlaana at the beginning--go hot mama of two super babies!) There's also the cutesy, casual use/abuse of power to have a bit of fun, a few jokes (though, thankfully, NO PUNS) about A.C.'s possibly piscine ancestry (try saying that three times fast), even a trip to the local hospital! I nearly died when they went to Mercy Reef Hospital. Throw a palm tree in front of Smallville Medical Center, and you get Mercy Reef Hospital.

As for story: pathos-ridden, but of course. Aquaman is powerfully lame in the popular mindset, so they need to offset it by making it as dramatic as possible. I'm not current on my origin story, but what I remember seems to gel with what they present--Aquaman as outcast from Atlantis, specifically. Works well enough in a Return of the King kind of way (funniest line in the whole thing because it was truest: upon learning of his birthright, from Ving Rhames no less, A.C. goes "The fact you can call me a prince with a straight face is very impressive" or something along those lines--ahh bless you, jaded American upbringing!). I don't quite think "blame it on the Bermuda Triangle" as an angle would ever have kept, but then again Smallville has made a steady staple of the "blame it on the meteor rocks" freaks, so I could be wrong (oooh, speaking of meteor rocks, when did they first call them kryptonite on that show? I missed it). It was nice that the chick who got saved wasn't immediately A.C.'s friend or even all that interested in him beyond being grateful to him for saving her. Yeah, move on, lady, nothing to see here.

I would actually say fans of Smallville's early years would like this. It's okay, not outstanding, but definitely better than I was expecting and softer on the obvious jokes/references than it could have been (it ended on a cliched line about life being a journey and what not, but to its credit, it did so whilst encouraging the main character to read Shakespeare, which is more education than Clark Kent was ever forced to receive in Kansas). Plus, hey, excuse to play in the water every episode! Talk about gratuitous money shots and excuses to have boobs hanging out all over the place. They had to have an awful episode involving Lois as an undercover stripper to get the boobs out on Smallville.

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Mercy Reef? They're putting unaired pilots on iTunes now?

[(Anonymous)]

Dr. Swann first calls them Kryptonite on the show, I think in mid season three--or possibly two, I don't recall the deliniations between the two that well. But anyway, Clark, the Kents, Pete and Chloe are the only ones who've ever called them that, and there have been a few moments of, "Oh yeah, the rest of the town still calls them meteor rocks."

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Gah. That was me.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

What be this Mercy Reef thing?

Here's a hint...

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

When I figure out what he sees in Lana, I'll let you know if I forgive the creators.

Remember Krypto-Lana the super-witch? Kind of set up the whole "I am the holy vessel" thing don't you think. If you add the whole cave painting thing to the mix you could kind of see the road map for Zod + Lana = the anti-clark. Just hope they don't pull a My Super Ex-Girlfriend aerial scene.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Actually, yes. I heard it was the #1 download on iTunes for at least a week (video download, that is--slow summer). I think they figured that, since they'd shot the pilot already (assuming that it would be picked up based on Smallville's resurgence) they thought they might as well make a little money on it. I'm sure that's also helping them negotiate actually getting the series made now, too, given its popularity. But the trailer really interested people, so they went for the download. I could see this being done instead of testing pilots on air. Maybe throw up passed-over pilots and see what people want to see on the sets as mid-season replacements or something.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. I rather preferred that, just having them be meteor rocks, but since he learned he was from Krypton, I figure that wasn't going to last. Thanks for the heads up.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It's the pilot for a series about Aquaman that was done by the creators of Smallville. The similarities to that show are many because the creators don't want to mess with a good thing (and, even with the eeeeevil witches season, Smallville is a good thing by television standards as it's lasted for five, going on six seasons now).

So, yeah, Aquaman. I can't wait till they do Wonder Woman. She's gonna have a male Chloe and a tension-ridden lesbian frenemy. Awesome.

Re: Here's a hint...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Uh, I don't really know about the super-witchery, I wisely stopped watching season four in the middle because it was a vast hole of suck.

Besides which? Zod wouldn't know any of that happened. Neither would Brainiac, as when Clark took him to the caves, it was his first experience with it (he hadn't known how to get to the Fortress of Solitude then). So, if Zod finds out he wants the caves or they're of some portent relating to him, fine, Lana might be useful (though Chloe would probably be better, as would Papa Luthor, but Papa Luthor's a bit not friendly towards Zod with the whole "being the vessel's father" and "oracle of Jor-El" thing).

But he doesn't know that yet. He's taking Lana on speculation! Thus proving she has the greatest superpower of all: the ability to attract everyone and everything. Black Hole Lang....

Re: Here's a hint...

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure about that. What they implied pretty heavily is that Lana's family line is kind of marked for krytonian purposes. If it goes as far back as the super-witch episodes suggest then there might have been a file on Kryton that read "When on earth, for a good time, find the Lana-family". Jur-el had a fling with a Lana-type in the past (not sure if you saw that flashback episode), and the show does kind of give off a "keep it in the family" type feel. Since it seems like both Zod and Brainiac would have had access to those type files then they would most likely know about Lana and her "potential" (to suck, yes, but they might be into that).

Re: Here's a hint...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

My. God. I am so glad I never finished season four. That all sounds worse than I ever suspected. Yipes. Lana-worship to the nth degree. PUKE.

Since it seems like both Zod and Brainiac would have had access to those type files then they would most likely know about Lana and her "potential" (to suck, yes, but they might be into that).

Yes, men often are, I hear :)