Although it tends to be too much about teenage angst and drama (akin to Dawson’s Creek and most other WB shows), Smallville surprised me with a fantastic episode ("Rosetta") on Tuesday, February 25. This episode heralded the return of Christopher Reeve to the Superman genre, and I don’t believe it could have been handled in a better way.
Proving himself a grandee of acting, Christopher Reeve plays Dr. Swann, "a brilliant scientist who holds a message for Clark [Kent] from his home planet." When he sees a Kryptonian symbol on the side of the Kents' farm, Swann is able to finally piece together the information he’s compiled in his search for extraterrestrial life with a significant piece of the puzzle — Clark Kent (Tom Welling). When the two eventually meet and Swann is able to share his information with the teenage Superman, it turns out to be a somewhat enlightening yet confusing experience for Clark.
Although fearful of a cheap reunion story designed solely to draw in viewers with Reeve's return to the Superman universe, I was entirely impressed with the story, production, and role that brought two separate "man of steel" generations together.
The revelations abound in this episode. Clark learns of his lineage, origin, true name, the mystery surrounding Krypton's disappearance, his having been sent to our planet, and the realization that he is — genetically speaking — alone in the universe. Further portions of the message from home are confusing for him, lending the drama we must expect from The WB.
With the Superman theme from the feature films reintroduced magically as background music during the exchange between Swann and Clark, the audience is swept into a moment of realization, discovery, and mystery — even though we already know all of the answers.
The episode ends with a public service announcement about the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation which truly completed Reeve's triumphant return with an important reminder about this important project mixed with a taste of the sense of humor from Christopher that we were all accustomed to at one time (and it was very nice to see that side of him again). There is even special mention on the CRPF site about the Smallville episode.
If you missed this episode on Tuesday, it will replay this Sunday, March 2, at 5:00 PM EST/PST (4:00 PM CST) on The WB. It's definitely worth your time to watch it even if you aren't a Smallville fan. To briefly remember the Superman from the big screen and to experience Christopher Reeve's triumphant return to acting, this episode is worth the investment of one hour of your time.