Smallville - The Complete Fourth Season (2004)

Clark's "saved" count, season 4

I hate to say it, but this is my least favorite Smallville season. I like the addition of Erica Durance as Lois; she's really good in that role. Every time I see Jensen Ackles, I think of him as "Dean" from Supernatural; I can't help it. The problem with this season is that it wastes too much time with witches and ancient countesses and curses.. blegh. Boring. Just give Clark his 3 stones and get on with it.
And, to prove I have no life, I watched the season with a checklist in front of me, and here's what I counted as far as who Clark saved this season, and how many times.

Lana=3
Lex=4
Jonathan=0
Martha=0
Chloe=6
Pete=0
Lionel=1
Lois=5
Random Hot Chick=3
Random Guy=7
Someone who was just trying to kill Clark=0
Other (group of people, entire world, etc.) 2
Total individual saves, not counting "other"=29 August 7, 2008

Lost Focus A Bit But Still "Super" Television

In the beginning (seasons 1-3), the concept of Smallville was to chronicle a young Clark Kent through his high school years. After three seasons, however, the character relationships (especially Clark and Lana) that provided the emotional punch to the show became played out. The "on again, off again" Clark/Lana saga was getting a bit old, the evilness of Lionel Luthor was well established, while the inner workings of Lex Luthor's tortured psyche continued to become apparent. Barring a major change, the show looked like it may have been reaching a climax, what with the main characters graduating high school. Yet, as is often a "problem" in televised drama, the show was so popular on its WB (now CW) network that it would surely continue for future change. Thus, major change to the structure of the show is exactly what happened. Let's start with the not-so-great changes (trying not to reveal too many spoilers!) and end on the high notes:

For the first time, the writers/producers constructed a season-long dramatic arc in which Lana (controlled by an ancient medieval witch, as improbably as that may sound), Lex, and Clark race to obtain three Kryptonian stones. Needless to say, this storyline was quite contrived (most likely to give Kristin Kruek (Lana) something to portray) and lacked the punch of the Kryptonian caves or Lex's insanity of earlier seasons. Thus, the "mythology" episodes of this season were subpar.

The other disappointing aspect of Season Four was the introduction of Lois Lane. Though (obviously) an extremely important part of Clark's future, the Lois character struggles to fit into the overall scheme of the show. My personal theory is that she was added to spice up the show's sex appeal (one look at Erica Durance (Lois) will show you why) to appeal to the young WB audience.

Besides those major gaffes, however, Smallville's fourth season provided a number of fantastic moments that kept its fans (young and old alike) tuning in each week:

-The "no flights" rule is temporary lifted in the season premiere.
-Clark is introduced to a certain "speedster" with whom he will later pair with.
-An incredible acting performance from Tom Welling (Clark) after switching bodies with Lionel Luthor.
-A mischevious Russian villian is introduced who continues to torment Clark long into the future.
-Alicia Baker (Clark's former love) is brought back in a very emotional two-part series.
-The Kent family comes across a later-famous pooch with certain "abilities".
-Perhaps the best acting performance from Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) in which his "good" and "evil" sides square off against each other (ala Captain Kirk in Star Trek).
-The final scene of the season, which introduces a critically important piece of Clark Kent's future.

To conclude, the fourth season of Smallville lacked the emotional focus of the three preceding seasons, but still managed enough "wow" moments to continue satisfying the "shipper" (relationship-based) and die-hard comic book Smallville fans alike. May 27, 2008

smallville season 4

half way through the disks and loving them i cant wait to buy the next season May 5, 2008

4th season

This arrived sooner than it said it would. It was brand new and saved me half of what the stores wanted. Great job... April 20, 2008

Smallville Season 4

Great Season. Finally, lois lane is introduced in a very interesting way. Clark Kent comes back from Jor El naked and Lois ends up finding him. Hilarious entrance. I really dont want to spoil the season if you havent seen it. But, this season is well worth the buy. The seasons just keeps getting better April 18, 2008

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