Smallville

Is it just me, or is Smallville really, really getting good again? It was so lackluster for so long (it was somewhat trying getting through the Season 5 DVDs over the past couple weeks), but the whole Green Arrow/Justice League buildup is getting good. The whole Lana going bad thing is getting good. Lex being even more duplicitous is getting good. The Chloe/Jimmy arc I don't much care for, but only for reasons of jealousy (damn that Aaron Ashmore!).

Mind you, it still baffles me as to why Aaron Ashmore was cast as Jimmy when his twin brother was a villain in an earlier episode. Can casting in the Vancouver area be getting that desperate already? We've already got (at least) two crossover actors between Battlestar Galactica and Smallville (one far more minor than t' other). At least, that's just in season 5! There are no doubt others I've either not noticed or about which I've already forgotten. Not to mention the plethora of other series produced in the area, all dipping in pretty much the same casting pool.

The season 6 opener bothered me a lot, considering the 5th season was spent building and building and building on the Zod story line, and then we get a crappy Russell T. Davies, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am deus ex machina end in a hurry. It was such a let down. However, some of the things introduced in that same episode (Raya, the phantom zone, etc.) will at least come back into play heavily in this season, and if done correctly can be very interesting plot points. At least, let's hope it's done right.