Smallville: The Complete Second Season DVD Review
Written by Craig Byrne - KryptonSite Webmaster

The second season of Smallville on DVD hits stores on Tuesday, May 18, and for those of you who ordered via Amazon.com, they've already started shipping. I received my copy today and I must say, it's a VERY impressive set.

The episodes are offered in widescreen (just for you, Tom Welling), which in itself is enough reason to pick up a copy. It's such a leisure to be able to pick which episode of the 23 I want without having to go through the less-than-stellar episodes. It's been a while since I've seen some of Season Two, so it's actually a treat to be able to revisit some of the shows I may have forgotten.

Extras on the Season One set were pretty shabby in comparison to this one. Almost as if to make up for what was missing from the first year, Season Two offers many bonuses that will keep a Smallville fan entertained for hours. We're talking deleted scenes here. Commentaries by cast, producers and directors. And a *gag reel.* How can you go wrong there?

There are also special featurettes on the effects of the show and Christopher Reeve that are worth the cost of admission alone. On the Reeve documentary, Michael Rosenbaum makes a comment "Now we have to get Gene Hackman on the show." We have to agree, there.

The full season of "Chloe Chronicles" "webisodes" are also on the season set, which make me hope the currently-running "Chronicles" will be on the Season Three set. Allison Mack is great as always in this bonus.

The commentaries also offer a chance to "get to know" some of Smallville's usually-quiet cast. Of course there's Michael, who is a cut up in any interview you see; but how else would we know that Tom Welling does a great Gollum impression? What does Bill Bixby have to do with "Red?" And what does Saturn award winner Michael Rosenbaum have to say about Clex? It's all here. Oh, and Kristin Kreuk makes a comment about disliking all of the pink that Lana wears... which proves at least in our book that Kristin is much cooler than the character she plays.

You can tell that the actors really get along with the show's directors, particularly Greg Beeman and butt-of-all-their-jokes James Marshall. They also seem to have a lot of respect for their co-stars who were not present for DVD commentary. Hopefully a future season release will utilize the commentary talents of some of the others. (John Schneider on "Talisman," perhaps? Sam Jones III on "Forsaken?" John Glover on "Legacy" and Allison Mack on "Truth?" I know I'd be a happy boy..) One cannot complain *at all* on the commentaries. They're just that good. In addition to the actor/director commentaries, creator Alfred Gough and Miles Millar comment on two episodes, and writer Jeph Loeb joins in for "Red."

Of course, the ultimate highlight aside from the episodes is just having some of the season's best episodes at your fingertips. You can watch the flying leap from "Insurgence" whenever you want (and there's a behind the scenes look at that scene also on the DVD). You can slow motion certain running scenes from "Prodigal" and wonder what the true meaning of the scene would be. And you could watch "Rosetta" - which may very well be one of the best treatments of Superman since the original movie.

I have hundreds of DVD's and many full-season sets, and Smallville Season Two would definitely have to land in my top five. It's a perfect addition to any Smallville fan's collection, and it'll teach you things about the show that you may not have even known. Definitely an A+ collection from me. I hope Season Three follows the same high standards and production value.

You can order Season Two through Amazon and support KryptonSite!

Note: The views of Craig Byrne don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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