Thursday, October 14, 2010

Episode Six: Feeding Time

After a crime gone wrong ends in janitor Rudy Johnson's immersion in mysterious toxic waste, he begins terrorizing the city as Parasite.  Parasite realizes the ultimate power lies in draining Superman's abilities, so he chains him up in the basement of STAR Labs for a week.  Superman acts as his battery, recharging a week of unchecked crime until Jimmy decides to play reporter.  He figures out Parasite's location, and frees Superman.  With the help of an anti-kryptonite battlesuit, Superman is able to defeat Parasite.  For now, at least...


Evan:  This show helped fill in some blanks as far as the series was concerned.  We see the interior of Clark's apartment for I think the first time, as well as learn Jimmy's function in the series.  On the first point, I look forward to seeing more of Clark's giant apartment with multiple stories.  On the second, Jimmy apparently does everything Lois would normally do, but also completely removes Lois from the freaking show.  Can we find no balance?

As for this episode's story, it was fine.  We get the set-up for the big fight at the end right at the start with the anti-kryptonite suit, which I somehow missed as the obvious solution to this problem.  Parasite is a nice addition to the show's rouges gallery, and should have a few more solid outings.  I'm not really sure if I want to see another solo Parasite episode, because we may have seen everything he can actually do, but who knows?

I'm just going to say it.  The badass Superman of last episode was completely replaced by a lamer Superman that managed to get chained up in a basement and tortured for a week.  While Parasite scores major points for being the first to do this to Superman, I'm a little concerned that the villain who accomplished this was Parasite... in episode six.  It isn't like Superman lost a fight to Parasite.  That would be fine.  I'm saying that without some fluke deductions from Jimmy, Superman would still be in that basement getting tortured.  Not exactly some epic heroing.

I enjoyed Jimmy as a bluffing reporter acting on a hunch.  In his first episode with a part of any kind, Jimmy managed to save the day.  The only problem with this is that it meant Lois was absent from the bulk of this episode, with only a single line in a lone scene.  While its nice to see the show isn't completely reliant on the dynamic between Lois and Clark, it would have been nice to at least see her wandering around the newsroom or something.  Even Jimmy gets a moment now and then in episodes he's barely in.

This episode was sort of bland for me.  I liked Parasite, liked Jimmy, hated Superman and missed Lois.  We went all in on the new characters at the expense of all the others, which weakened the episode.  I would have liked to have seen a more organic integration, and maybe a less crushing Superman defeat.  His victory didn't really seem to address the fact that HE WAS CHAINED UP IN A BASEMENT FOR A WEEK OF HELLISH TORTURE!

Kristin: I feel like a steak that needs to marinate in the juices of this episode a bit more... however, I am just not sure this episode gave me much juice to start with. I got excited at the set-up of Parasite, as it felt like a new adventure for my Superman experience but was severely let down by the fact that nothing I like about Superman to begin with was working towards solving the problem. And I'm not even sure where exactly the problems begin!

Superman himself felt like he lacked brains... or possibly just creativity. Maybe prowess? A little dash of all three, perhaps. In any case, if he can be outwitted, surprised, and held captive and powerless by a juiced-up janitor, then I'm not sure he's ready for the big leagues. To the show's credit, maybe that's the point. Superman is simply not as experienced yet. He has no idea what to expect with this Parasite problem and certainly no idea how his powers can be used to his best advantage. But to rely on Jimmy? Jimmy is endearing in an "awww, you can't find clothes that fit" kind of way, but he is not really what gets me excited about an episode. It might be the young 90s me coming out to ask why Superman isn't posing, flexing, and charming his way to victory. I'm willing to admit that.

Lois kicks ass. I miss Lois.

That might be all I have to say on this one. A whole lot of mediocrity on behalf of everyone. It's Jimmy's time to shine when everyone else sinks to his level!

Final Thoughts:  Everyone turned into a moron.  Episode sucked as much as Parasite.

Evan's Episode Rating: 4/10 (Lois Lane Ratio: 0 incompetent / 0 insane) - Some parts worked, most didn't.

Kristin's Episode Rating: 3/10 - Boo.

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