Smallville : The Complete Fourth Season [2004] [DVD]

Ok admittedly season 4 had its faults, but I'm not sure it's the worst season of the bunch; for me that was season 3, I was bored senseless!

But it's a subjective thing and while there is a lot of fluff and quite a few episodes that don't hit the mark, the addition of Lois Lane as a semi-regular character breathes new life into the series, and thus some vitally needed witty humour is injected into the often earnest show. It's a joy to watch her making degrogatroy remarks at Clark's expense whilst helping Chloe out with some investigative journalism, I do wonder how they ever did without her. Though I know with regards to the superman mythos Lois was never meant to be in Smallville, but there's no reason one has to accept this as canon and besides Smallville is just one of many versions of the mythos and even the comics have taken liberties at times! So at the end of the day, this season is easier to enjoy if you just accept that Lois is here to stay (especially since she gets added to the credits in season 5!) The writers also do a nice bit of foreshadowing in relation to Clark and Lois's future relationship, which is even more ironic when we see them really not getting along.

Besides the wonderful Lois, I know another problem people had with this season was the Lana-Isobel witch arc. Now I didn't have too much of a problem with it, it was in the background for me thus I could more or less stand it. But I do feel that magic and vampires etc have no place in Smallville, but these writers do tend to take a lot of artistic licensing; so much so at times that I think the producers just literally make it up as they go along... this is evident this season. It's quite obvious they did not have an overall plan for the season, they just went with it and saw what happened; the result was a lot of light-switching and muddled storylines. Some characters did an entire one-eighty within the space of only a few episodes, most notably Lana. But to be fair they were always consistent with her feelings for Clark, so I can't complain about the sudden change too much!

So while the season is a bit confused, the addition of Lois adds some interesting interactions between all the characters. And the search for the stones could have been very good had the witch arc been dropped, as quite often the search for the stones was pushed to background while there were whole episodes devoted to Isobel; due to the wide dislike for the arc it was dropped without much resolve during the finale; not soon enough for some. However, this left a large amount of unanswered questioned hanging over they events of the season... my theory is that when Isobel's purpose was completed and she thought all of those who had her burned at the stake were dead she could move on and her possession of Lana ended. I think it's also easier to assume that she was being controlled by outside forces (Kryptonians?), thus once all the stones were found she did not seek the Fortress of Solitude. It's a complex one, but some bits of the story are detailed quite nicely, like when blood was spilled on the stone (the air stone in this instance) the meteors were called.

Another redeeming factor about this season is the finale, `Commencement' probably the best episode in the history of the show and the extra ten minutes in length help to steady the exciting pace without losing any momentum. The season opener `Crusade' also gets credit for being one of the best episodes in the whole series; with Kal-El taking flight and Lois meeting him in the middle of a thunderstorm (foreshadowing) whilst stark naked (Kal-El that is!)

Other highlights include: the final scene of `Façade', `Unsafe' and `Pariah' which sees the return of Alicia, `Run', `Transference', `Krypto' because its funny, `Sacred' and `Lucy' where Lois's sister comes to town. Worst episodes of the season are `Ageless', `Spell' (though it's not terrible) and `Forever'.

Underrated because the larger faults overshadow some brilliant episodes! Worth buying.

Season 4 just like with Charmed and M*A*S*H is where Smallville receives a huge makeover. And I, for one, think it's fantastic. In this season there are no stand-alone stories as all 22 episodes provide a piece of the puzzle which is finally revealed in the finale. Tom Welling transcends his previous work on the show as he begins to build his most successful on-screen partnerships - with Allison Mack's Chloe who returns from the dead to become privy to Clark's powers and takes the inital steps towards becoming his sidekick and confidante, and Erica Durance's Lois Lane who crashes into his world and turns it completely upside down. There are sparks aplenty between Welling & Durance - her face when confronted with her naked co-star in the opening episode is priceless - but the enduring Clark & Lana storyline continues to flare so the viewers have to make do with their hilarious banter and feigned dislike of each other. The only lowlight as far as Welling is concerned this year is Clark's bewilderment that Lana could possibly move on from him - a trait resumed in Seasons 5 and 6 as Lana moves on yet again and Clark remains stuck in the "Clana mud". Annette O'Toole also shines this year as Martha Kent steps into the spotlight to save her son. The rest of the cast also continue to shine and the calibre of guest stars keeps on rising, particularly in the season premiere when actress Margot Kidder cameos - ironically in the same episode Smallville's incarnation of Lois Lane is launched. Favourite episodes: Crusade, Gone, Facade, Devoted, Bound, Pariah, Recruit, Krypto, Lucy, Blank & Commencement.

I'm not gonna lie to you. This season was good, but in places VERY weak, which is a first for Smallville. It started off with 'Crusade' the premiere, where Clark emerged from the caves embracing his Kryptonian destiny with the ability to fly, Lois Lane arrived, and it introduced us to Black Kryptonite.
An average episode sadly, but the flying was incredible.
Black K lacked any real purpose, and it seemed very slow paced.
Erica Durance adds a comical, witty and sarcastic spin to the Lois Lane character, but this has pros and cons. In my opinion, she should have been left out of Clark Kent's youth as the painful references to their future together are wearing a little thin. She also fizzles out after the 2nd episode and doesn't bring anything to the show.
Jason Teague, Lana's new boyfriend, is another bizarre introduction. >The final thing that I disliked about this season was the witch arc. The good parts.
We had great special effects as always, Clark and Lionel switching bodies in 'Transference', The Flash stopping by in 'Run', Lex's decline into darkness in 'Onyx' where he is split in two- The evil Lex we've been waiting for and a more friendly Lex, Michael Rosenbaum's (Lex) acting being superb, The Kryptonian stones arc, and the amazing season finale 'Commencement'. This season is the worst yet, but still exciting and fun to watch- I say this to any one who disliked this season- Don't give up hope on Smallville, Season 5 is absolutely amazing and surpasses this season so much it's unbelievable. But I still bought this series to add to my collection, and there are some great episodes, despite there being more bad ones than any other season. Just enjoy it and I'll see you at the Season 5 DVD.