TV Surveillance’s Worst of 2011: Most Disappointing Veteran Series

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It is that time again folks! The end of the year is upon us and that means it is time to look back on the highs, lows and WTFs in television from the past 12 months. There is a lot to reflect on in regard to television 2011. Charlie Sheen went crazy. Well, crazier. Comedy … Read more

2010-2011 season wrap: Smallville

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With the 2010-2011 television season officially over, I’ll be taking some time over the next week or so to look back on how some of television’s best and worst fared this season. General thoughts: Endings are, of course, difficult to manage. This has to be especially true for a series that has been on the … Read more

Smallville, “Collateral”

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Apologies for the delay in this review, hectic weekend. When it was announced that Smallville‘s 2011 return would be pushed back a week, I wasn’t really upset. For the most part, this final season has been more scatter-brained and problematic than the last two seasons, despite some very, very great moments. Usually the series is … Read more

Smallville, “Luthor”

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Time travel, alternate universes, these storytelling techniques are such gimmicks — gimmicks Smallville uses on a fairly regular basis. However, because the series is so good when they do employ this gimmicks, I’m willing to give them a reprieve for dipping into an elseworlds-type tale in “Luthor.” Plus, the series is based on a comic … Read more

Smallville, “Patriot”

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Sorry for the delay folks, with the holidays and the end of the semester coming up, it’s going to be something of a crazy time for me. After last week’s episode solidified a number of things in the overarching plot, “Patriot” pushes that narrative forward in a very satisfying way, while still dealing with some … Read more

Smallville, “Abandoned”

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This week on Smallville, it’s all about family and family histories. And though his issues with Jor-El are certainly present here, “Abandoned” works well in letting the two ladies move to the front and deal with their pasts in emotional resonant and in Tess’ case, twisty kind of ways. The result is the second fine … Read more

Smallville, “Ambush”

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Sorry for the delay folks, I had to take a few days off to restore some sanity, and not the Jon Stewart variety. That decision is kind of unfortunate, at least in relationship to Smallville, which turned in one of its better episodes of the season. After a few goofy and gimmicky episodes, “Ambush” felt … Read more

Smallville, “Harvest”

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I noted last week that it would be difficult to top the 200th episode, so there was really no reason for “Isis” to attempt to. However, I didn’t really expect or want the trend of mediocrity to continue into “Harvest,” which is unfortunately what happened. “Harvest” is also similar to “Isis” in that it writes … Read more

Smallville, “Isis”

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After a glorious 200th episode, there was no way Smallville could really top that episode’s events, so the best thing to do is continue the plotlines of “Homecoming” in a natural, but less epic way. “Isis”…kind of does that. In one sense, “Isis” has a number of the season’s best emotional and quiet moments. In … Read more

Smallville, “Homecoming”

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Though it certainly has had its high points, Smallville has never been the same since its 100th episode. Travel back to 2006 with me if you will. At that point, the series was right in the middle of its fifth season and arguably was hitting an unmatched creative stride. The opening 11 episodes of season five … Read more

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