Thirst

DVD, Smallville S5 (Thirst)

Last season they did witches, this time it's vampires. What's next, werewolves, ghosts and the Mummy? I'd actually seen this episode before, tuning in on the off-chance the series might have got better, and it confirmed my impression that it had turned into a soapy, stupid construct without any of the charm, excitement or truthful characters that I loved. Seeing it a second time wasn't quite so bad - I knew the layout of where each person was and why, and the Professor Fine side of the story was actually very interesting, but as a whole it is a bit demeaning to certain characters, quite graphic in places without earning it and a blatant cash-in on vampires, which have been popular in the last few years. They don't try to disguise the fact, even calling one of the main characters Buffy, ironic, since it also stars James Marsters.

None of the 'adult' characters were in evidence and it's more of a standalone story in some ways. One thing that did attract me was the brutal editor of the Daily Planet played by Carrie Fisher - they've previously had Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder from the 'Superman' films, so why not start on 'Star Wars', though I can't see Anthony Daniels appearing any time soon! And Clark gets a couple of good in-jokes about not liking costumes, and then liking the cape, so it wasn't all bad. Perhaps it was slightly more enjoyable because we're finally let in on the Prof's secret - he is the black slime creature we saw him change out of in the first episode of the season, but why he's so intent on damaging Lex is still a mystery, unless he wants to get his spacecraft going again. Does he know who Clark is, what is it he has against Lex (could it be Lex himself contacted the aliens asking them to come to Earth in the first place? Nah, that's too wacky!), and will he kill anyone else in the rather efficient 'Terminator 2' method he uses in this story? All questions that must be answered.

The device of having Chloe narrate the events in retrospect was underused - the effect of pausing the action for her to continue was actually a good stylistic idea. There does seem to be some inconsistency such as a blurriness around Lex' involvement. Fine says he's doing experiments on campus, and he admits LuthorCorp rescued 'Buffy', but it's not clear what the experiment was, how it had got out of control or why Lex wasn't going after the girls with his antidote in the first place. It doesn't help I have no idea how a sorority works and why 'Buffy' should still be at Met U after six years, but that's just a lack of knowledge in American culture.

As usual Lex gets knocked out, and then Lana wakes up without remembering what happened. If anything it should encourage Clark to confide his secret in her since she was okay about it when finding out in vampiric form. If 'Buffy' wasn't the girl's real name why does everyone call her that, unless none of what we see is exactly real and it's all as told by Chloe, in which case it's objective from each viewpoint. A story like that couldn't have been done before last season when Chloe didn't know about Clark so I suppose they are trying to be different. But it's not a patch on the Season 2 episode 'Suspect' - a similarly experimental narrative style in which different viewpoints are shown. The episode ends quite happily despite all the over the top antics, with Chloe awarded a place at the Daily Planet, and the threads of the mythos drawn tighter. I don't know who Kimberley Regent is, but the episode was dedicated to her.

**