Smallville 7.01 Bizarro review

Original US airdate: 27/9/07

Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Written by: Brian Peterson, Kelly Souders

Directed by: Michael Rohl

Rating:

The One Where: Clark battles his “bizarre” doppelganger, Chloe does the resurrection shuffle and Lana proves to be alive and well and living in Shanghai. Oh, and we glimpse a very super girl...

Verdict: After Smallville’s frequently disappointing sixth season it’s good to see the show rally with an explosive and dramatic comeback. There’s a real sense of high-stakes spectacle to the opening dam sequence and some great comic book imagery in the smackdown between Clark and Bizarro (though he’s a cipher of a villain). Kara’s introduction is stylish and intriguing.

Highlight: The brilliantly staged dam sequence, complete with Welling’s Christopher Reeve-channeling look to that awestruck kid.

Influences: The scenes of the bursting dam echo the climax of Superman The Movie, where an earthquake destroyed the Hoover Dam.

Trivia: According to Chloe’s toe tag, she’s 21 and 5’ 3 – four years younger and one inch shorter than Allison Mack.

Did You Spot? Reeves Dam is a nod to George Reeves, the doomed thesp who played the Man of Steel in the ’50s Adventures of Superman show.

Character: Sorry, but I don’t buy Lex’s witterings about being rescued by an angel. “Soft skin... and her hair!” he moons. Come on – the cynical Lex of old would already be plotting her dissection in a secret underground lab.

Best Line:
Chloe (to Clark): "The fact that you’re from a galaxy far, far away just adds character."

Nick Setchfield

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.