Richest guys in Forbes (e.g. Santa, Lucius Malfoy, more)

[Dina Lerret]

On 12/10/05, Laura Ingalls Huntley <lhuntley at fandm.edu> wrote:

> Or Santa and Lex Luthor.

Forbes apparently thought Santa tops and Lucius bottoms. {g}


> Didn't you see Lexmas?  *g*

Yes, I was actually very curious to see the episode.


> Oh, Smallville is crazy this season.  Craaaa-zy.  Vampires, strippers,
> and senators, oh my.

Just this season?  I dunno... I thought S4 was bad... err, crazy? {g} 
French witches possessing American teens... Hehe, sounds like
something on FF.net.  Super doggie?  Just to name a couple.  Speaking
of vampires, bringing in James Marsters (Buffy's Spike) as Professor
Fine/Brainiac was interesting, but unfortunately, underplayed. 
However, it did set up a stronger basis for Lex/Lana, which I'll talk
about further down.

Now, the stripper episode, Exposed (love how I can remember some
episode titles), wasn't bad partly because Erica Durance, who plays
Lois Lane, has a *nice* body.  C'mon, wasn't it classic for Clark to
fear her 'All American' boobies--though, it depends on how you define
'All American'. {chuckle}  While the Sorority of Vampires did have
some interesting female/female interaction.

Overall, IMO, S5 has so far been better at S4.  I caught bits of
Superman I and II (with Christopher Reeve) on one of the HBO channels
and... gah, 'behold, the power of cheese', indeed.  Fond memories of
watching the movies as a kid but maybe my viewings should've stayed as
memories.  Smallville also has, at times, that weird comical
'caricature' aspect the Superman movies presented.  The same thing
could be said about the Batman series and movies, which might explain
why Batman Begins took less of a comical take on the character.


> Totally unprepared for the level of Lana-hate and Chloe-love.  I guess
> I knew that Lana was not generally adored by the fandom (and she is a
> bit of a Mary Sue, so I can understand that), but who in their right
> mind could like Chloe?

Yeah, there is an impressive level of Lana-hate.  Kristin Kreuk is
very pretty but her character... meh. :-\  As to who in their right
mind would like Chloe, this probably says something about the state of
my mind but I kinda like her... when she's gagged and bound down. {g} 
Seriously, I do like her character *to a degree*.


> the characters mixed up.  *Chloe* is the whiny, manipulative one.  Not

She's kinda like the wannabe Lois Lane, which the SV writers then
decided Lois should be her cousin.


> drives me batty.  And the Trunk O' Sidekickiness?  Lame, lame, lame.

Oh, c'mon, that was funny!  It reminded me of the 'comic'
(questionable in connection to the next name), Carrot Top. :-)  Every
gal should have military grade weapons in her car trunk!


> IMO, she's the perfect example of what happens when new writers in a
> mythology get too attached to their OCs.
>
> . . . Had a bit of a rant there, didn't I?  *blushes*

I've seen worse. {g}  There's a multitude of SV 'fans' who can't say
anything nice about the series anymore and have retreated into fandom
only.  I guess they're SV *fandom* fans?


> Anyway . . . Lexmas.  Definitely delivered on generally holiday
> cheesiness, but Rosenbaum was excellent, as per usual.

http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=LEXLUTHOR-TV-12-07-05

>From the above link, a brief interview with Rosenbaum:
[[
"When I first read page 1 of the script and the title, 'Lexmas,' I
almost vomited," Rosenbaum said. "I didn't want to be the first
Christmas story. I didn't want to be some bald guy in a Santa suit."

But Rosenbaum kept reading and discovered the story was really a
twisted version of the Frank Capra classic "It's A Wonderful Life." "I
kept reading and I couldn't put it down," he said.

He laughed. "I don't know if Frank Capra would have filmed this one."
]]

{chuckle}  Anyway, yes, Rosenbaum managed just fine and his character
revealing how much he felt for Lana opened up new questions (speaking
here as a slasher) of how much patience he had for Clark Kent as he
stood on the sidelines and his own insecurities, aside from the fact
of age issues.  The element of tragedy on the 'what-ifs' and choices
ultimately made by Lex Luthor were presented in such stark comparison
during Lexmas.

Rosenbaum does have the capability for a wide range of acting and I
know I wouldn't enjoy Smallville as much if he weren't on it.  At the
end of S4, Lex was dying as part of the season finale and this was
WB's way of saying 'did you request a pay raise, I don't think so'. 
With the recent airing of the History Channel's documentary on
villains in film, the antagonist/villain can be such a pivotal aspect
to the story and I'm a bit disappointed at how *seemingly*
inconsistent the SV writers have documented Lex's 'descent'.

There's still such a... 'human' aspect to Lex Luthor because he is
capable of kindness and compassion but this becomes steadily buried
under greed and paranoia.  This is why I felt depressed after watching
Lexmas--yeah, the episode had its cheesy moments but, to see Lex so
happy one moment and then so callous at the end, was sad.

I was also disappointed Rosenbaum didn't appear on last Thursday's
Regis and Kelly because I thought it might involve some Lexmas
promoting. :-\  Instead, they had George Clooney.


> I wasn't
> expecting to like the Lex/Lana SHIP, but it actually got to me, a
> little bit (although I think that was largely due to the ever-so-rare
> Happy!Lex, which kills me every time).  Although . . . he's loved her
> since she was fourteen?  Uh, okay, Lex.

Maybe more near fifteen. {g}  And let's say it was more of a...
platonic love that progressed to something deeper as she got older. 
Lex tended to be protective of Lana but also actually encouraged her
to be independent as well (making her think beyond simplistic
nostalgia for the Talon, having her take self-defense courses, giving
her 'loans' to experience France for herself--though, this lead to one
of SV's more 'meh' storylines).

Bringing in the alien ship for S5 gave Lex and Lana a shared 'secret'
because both are curious as to how much the other knows.  Plus, Lana
may feel emboldened from 'knowledge withheld' because of all the years
Clark's been secretive and here's this secret where she believes Clark
has no knowledge of.  Power play.

Hm, for a brief moment, I started thinking of Pygmalion's (AKA My Fair
Lady) Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle.  Lex has 'moulded' Lana
via the experiences he has allowed her to partake of, and along the
way, he's become attracted to her.


> Laura (who doesn't know quite what to make of the new season.)

I'm enjoying the 'ride', so far. :-)  It's like eating chicken:
extract the edible bits and discard the rest.  For slashers in a
multitude of fandoms, this technique is often associated with the
'River of DeNial'.  Smallville... Harry Potter and more... they're
fandoms not really *intended* [by their creators] to be
'intellectualized' but fans still critically examine them.

Though, it's a pity the SV fandom has relocated mostly to forums and
LiveJournal because I'm very bad at keeping up on those formats. 
Also, I'm not forgetting the animosity some feel towards the
Smallville series.  I've tried to have a decent banter about
Smallville but series bashing is very much disheartening.  I've been
in the Vampire Chronicles, Star Trek, HBO's Oz, LOTR, and, of course,
Harry Potter fandoms and I can say Smallville has been the most... :-\
for a new fan, it's been the most 'challenging', especially if you
don't 'friend' *at least* twenty personal LJs and voice how much you
hate *everything* about the series.

Dina