Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season

With series creators Miles Miller and Alfred Gough leaving the show, along with series regulars Michael Rosenbaum and Kristen Kreuk (Lex Luthor and Lana Lang), season eight has some significant obstacles to overcome, especially considering how uneven and increasingly ludicrous the moderate to occasionally strong seventh season was. While the season premiere and finale certainly lived up to expectations, in both an emotional and visceral capacity, and mid-season episodes "Persona” and "Siren” examined both the painful realities of inherently flawed relationships and the excitement of the comic book world, other episodes like "Fierce,” "Cure,” "Action,” "Hero” and "Sleeper” simply rub in the fact that this show is running out of steam. Season seven marks the arrival of Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort) to the world of Smallville, where she immediately sparks attention by saving Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) from almost certain death and flaunting her abilities around town with a little too much abandon. Her presence helps give Clark (Tom Welling) some perspective on his past and his purpose, which sadly impedes on his already fledgling relationship with Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). Supergirl also catches the eye of Chloe’s (Allison Mack) love interest Jimmy Olson (Shawn Ashmore), who finds himself waning in his affections for Chloe while getting inadvertently wrapped up in the affairs of Lex. For most of the seventh season, Lois Lane (Erica Durance) stands by the sidelines, unaware of Clark’s super-powers or Chloe’s newfound mutation. The special features on the six-disc box set include a 17-minute investigation of Supergirl, from comic book to the 1984 feature film to her recent resurgence. It is a fairly thoughtful exploration of gender roles of comic book heroines through the ages. There is also an extremely awkward Jimmy Olson featurette where four of the actors who have portrayed the character over the years sit in a room and make uncomfortable conversation. The "Smallville Legends” featurette may appeal to hardcore fans, being animated mobisodes of Kara’s experiences on Krypton, despite being poorly animated and badly written. Also included are frustrating commentaries on the episodes "Persona” and "Siren,” where John Glover admits to never having seen the opening title sequence after seven seasons.