Friday, November 04, 2005

Does Not Compute

Up there with the Mission: Impossible movie making Jim Phelps a villain is Smallville's choice to make Tom Wopat's guest character inferior to Jonathan Kent (John Schneider). Wopat's appearance purposely calls back memories of the Dukes: Luke was the cool-headed cousin and Bo the rash one. Not to say I didn't believe Wopat as State Senator Jack Jennings, scandalized by an extramarital affair, but the writers could have taken more time to set up the man's flaws.

Aside from the fact that the affair was political suicide, I didn't really see a reason Jonathan and Clark would lose the amount of respect for Jack they apparently did. ("I can't believe I looked up to Jack."). This reminded me they were fictitious characters with simplistic ethics.

Years ago I may have appreciated clear lines of good and evil in comics. Today I prefer characters more complex, situations more difficult to solve, making the triumph of good all the more satisfying.

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