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The Movie:
This 6-DVD box set includes the complete third season of "Smallville". The series, which airs on the WB network, focuses on the teenage years of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), a.k.a. "Superman". As the show opens the season, Clark has found himself living a life of crime in Metropolis, only brought back after his destiny calls once again and he backed away from red kryptonite. However, things aren't ever calm in "Smallville", as Clark's enemy, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) returns. Clark's relationship with Lana (Kirstin Kreuk) starts to falter, as well.
45. 1 Oct 03 Exile (1)
46. 8 Oct 03 Phoenix (2)
47. 15 Oct 03 Extinction
48. 22 Oct 03 Slumber
49. 29 Oct 03 Perry
50. 5 Nov 03 Relic
51. 12 Nov 03 Magnetic
52. 19 Nov 03 Shattered
53. 14 Jan 04 Asylum
54. 21 Jan 04 Whisper
55. 28 Jan 04 Delete
56. 4 Feb 04 Hereafter
57. 11 Feb 04 Velocity
58. 18 Feb 04 Obsession
59. 25 Feb 04 Resurrection
60. 3 Mar 04 Crisis
61. 14 Apr 04 Legacy
62. 21 Apr 04 Truth
63. 28 Apr 04 Memoria
64. 5 May 04 Talisman
65. 12 May 04 Forsaken (1)
66. 19 May 04 Covenant (2)
The DVD
VIDEO: "Smallville" is presented by Warner Brothers in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is really quite excellent, aas the image seemed impressive throughout the episodes. Sharpness and detail remained surprisingly good, as the picture remained crisp and well-defined, with no inconsistencies or softness. Fine details are often visible and there's a nice depth to the image.
The picture did have some minor concerns, such as some slight shimmer and a little bit of edge enhancement. No pixelation or other faults were noticed, though. The source elements remained in pristine condition, with no wear or other flaws. Colors remained bright and well-saturated, with no smearing or other concerns.
SOUND: "Smallville" is presented in Dolby 2.0 by Warner Brothers. The show's audio remains pleasant, with crisp, clear dialogue and well-recorded sound effects. Music has a nice spread around the listening space and the show sounds great when played back in Pro Logic or Pro Logic II.
EXTRAS: "Exile" offers a commentary from actor Michael Rosenbaum, exec producer Alfred Gough, exec producer Miles Millar, exec producer Greg Beeman and exec producer Ken Horton. "Truth" offers a commentary from director James Marshall and actors Allison Mack and John Glover. "Memoria" offers a commentary from actor Michael Rosenbaum, exec producer Alfred Gough, exec producer/director Miles Millar, exec producer Greg Beeman and exec producer Ken Horton.
The "Truth" commentary is informative and enjoyable, but the real fun is on the other two tracks, where the participants seem to be having a ball joking about and remembering some of the details behind shooting the episodes. Rosenbaum leads the humor as he provides some hilarious stories about things he had to encounter (eating bugs) while on-set. The producers certainly get in on the humor and also, provide a lot of good details about working with the actors, shooting on location and working with the show's budget.
"Producing Smallville: Heroes Behind the Camera" is a 22-minute documentary about the show's creators and crew. We get to visit with the effects crew, directors, production staff and others, who talk about their roles on the series. Offering a minimum of clips and just focusing on the good stuff, this is a nicely informative and insightful piece.
There's also the "Chloe Chronicles", a series of animated still adventures, a very funny gag reel and DVD-ROM features. Deleted scenes are available on "Exile", "Slumber", "Shattered", "Velocity", "Obsession", "Resurrection", "Crisis", "Talisman", "Forsaken" and "Memoria".
Final Thoughts: "Smallville"'s third season set is a fine effort from Warner Brothers, offering some good supplements and excellent audio/video quality. Definitely recommended for fans of the series.
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