One of DC's best shows gets a wonderful send-off.
November 28, 2011
After 10 long years,You must be registered for see linkshas finally come to a close. It was a bumpy ride, with a few rough patches here and there (namely in later seasons), but even when the show was in the mud, Smallville was consistently entertaining, with some solid performances, great characters and awesome action. For reviews of the show, be sure to check out ourYou must be registered for see links.
Smallville finally arrives on DVD in a complete series box set filled with 62 DVDs. 62! That's 60 DVDs just for the show, and two discs worth of fresh bonus materials added specifically for this set. The show comes housed in a heavy cardboard case and is split, quite appropriately, into two rectangle cardboard digibooks (Seasons 1-5 in one, 6-10 in the other). The look and feel of this set is rather similar to the case design used for the Alien Saga Blu-ray box set, with glossy photos and cardboard pages, with discs snuggly tucked into the cardboard (perhaps too snug, so be careful and expect to get a few scratches on the discs). There's also a folder in the case, which contains a 32-page episode guide and a 16-page faux issue of The Daily Planet (an awesome read, by the way). The guide also includes hundreds of photos and artwork from throughout the series.
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You must be registered for see linksis presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Transfers here vary in quality, getting better toward the end of the show's run, when the production makes the leap to glossy hi-def. Obviously, the early seasons first came to DVD nearly 10 years ago, and it appears as though the same masters used for those early sets are simply recycled for this release. As such, they're a bit less detailed with minor encode hiccups (mainly artifacting) and often quite a bit of grain. Later seasons look considerably better, especially starting around Season 6. While this DVD collection doesn't quite reach the heights of the original HD broadcast, this set best represents how the show looked in SD.
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Also, for those hoping to own all of Smallville on Blu-ray – to my knowledge, the first few seasons were shot on either film or early digital equipment (IMDb claims HD shooting didn't start until Season 2). Regardless, it would appear that effects were done in post-production and rendered in standard definition (for budget purposes). Unfortunately, this means unless Warner decides to cough up nearly a third of the production budget of the first few seasons to redo those effects, don't expect a double-dip of this series on Blu-ray anytime soon. Still, it's a shame the later seasons (6-10), which did arrive on Blu-ray, couldn't have been presented that way in this set. If I'm going to pay $200 for a complete series of a show I may already own a few seasons of (if not the whole shebang), I want the best. But I digress. This minor hiccup is certainly disappointing, but it probably won't be a deal breaker for some fans.
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Audio is all over the place, but don't fret – none of it is bad. The first three seasons of Smallville are presented in 2.0 stereo. Seasons 4 and 5 are mixed in Dolby Surround. And seasons 6-10 are presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The first season also gets a French stereo dub. Overall, the show has always sounded great, even when it was mixed in stereo. Obviously, things get a pretty big boost when Smallville switches to a 5.1 sound field, but there's rarely a dull moment in any of these mixes. Smallville has always boasted an effective palette that pumps up the action and spectacle of the show's visual effects and set pieces. Dialogue has always been well-mixed and clean, with no crackles or distortions. It's a shame Warner didn't go back and give every episode a 5.1 makeover, but such an endeavor would have likely proved costly, so it's understandable.
For this complete series box set, Warner has collected each and every extra from all 10 seasons. There are 21 commentary tracks, featuring the cast and crew of the show, not to mention a hearty collection of featurettes, deleted scenes, gags, outtakes, promos, documentaries and more – everything from the old sets is here.
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To sweeten the pot, Warner also gives fans two fresh discs created specifically for this complete series box set. Disc 61 starts off with a 13-minute look back at Smallville's presence at San Diego Comic-Con throughout the years. It's a loving tribute to the fans who helped build this series up. This featurette is followed by a 24-minute cast and crew interview shot during Paley Fest in 2004. It offers some insight, but it's really nothing special.
Next up are two pilot episodes. The first is for Adventures of Superboy, from 1961. This pilot is newly uncovered and is presented here on DVD for the very first time. Video quality is very low, so low in fact, that the show is overlaid over a somewhat small picture of a vintage TV. I guess that's as good as it's going to get for now. The other pilot is for the ill-fated Aquaman series. It's not a great pilot, but I wish the network had gone with the show anyway. Imagine what it could have turned into. The crossover episodes and recurring heroes and villains between Aquaman and Smallville could have made for awesome TV, especially for comic book lovers. Oddly missing from this set is the unaired pilot for Smallville, featuring a different actress in place of Annette O'Toole.
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The last extra of disc one is an extended version of Making of a Milestone. This version runs roughly 65 minutes and chronicles the making of Smallville's epic 100th episode (one of my personal favorite episodes). Curiously, this documentary is listed in the episode guide as being on disc 62, not disc 61 (this doc and the retrospective doc are swapped). Also, and this is just a mild annoyance, the documentary is broken into three pieces, yet there's no "Play All" button.
Disc 62 features the lengthy retrospective documentary I covered at NYCC (read my review ofYou must be registered for see links). It's broken up into 10 parts, one for each season. Again, like the Milestone documentary, there is no "Play All" button. And the last extra of disc 62 is Secret Origin, the DC comics propaganda documentary that seems to be included in every major box set they put out. You can read my review of that somewhat disappointing documentaryYou must be registered for see links
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So that's it.You must be registered for see linksbox set. Is this pricey set worth it? Yes, specifically if you own just a part or none of the series on DVD or Blu-ray, or you're a collector or diehard fan of Smallville. If you already own the set on DVD/Blu-ray, that's another story. The collection is incredibly beautiful, and there are some great bonus goodies, especially the retrospective. But I'm not sure it's enough to warrant re-buying the whole series, in standard definition no less. But that call is entirely up to you. If you like what you see here, buy the set. Otherwise, you might just want to stick with your old DVDs. Regardless, I'm going to recommend the set. It's a great showcase piece and awesome way to relive the show. But spend wisely.
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New Update from IGN.
OMG I am a huge fan of Smallville I want this complete seasons
OMG I am a huge fan of Smallville I want this complete seasons
