{"id":256,"date":"2007-06-03T19:11:55","date_gmt":"2007-06-04T02:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecompany.net\/jason\/posts\/2007\/best-postmodern-show-ever\/"},"modified":"2007-06-03T19:11:55","modified_gmt":"2007-06-04T02:11:55","slug":"best-postmodern-show-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecompany.net\/jason\/posts\/2007\/best-postmodern-show-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Postmodern Show Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Clark
\nWell, maybe Arrested Development<\/i><\/a> is the best postmodern show ever (and Boston Legal<\/i><\/a> would be up there, too), but Smallville<\/i>, my latest television obsession, is probably the second.<\/p>\n

I’ve been plowing through the show for about two months now, and have reached the season four premier. I’ve been meaning to post about the postmodern, self-reflexive greatness for a while, but nothing has compelled me more than this episode.<\/p>\n

For those not aware, Smallville<\/i> basically goes back to the origins of Superman and follows Clark Kent growing up in Smallville, Kansas. The show is set in contemporary times so it’s not like some ’50s or ’70s version of Superman-as-a-kid.<\/p>\n

I myself am not a huge Superman fan (when it comes to comic heroes\/stories, I prefer Batman and X-Men), so I was reluctant to start the show… but after the urging of a couple of friends, I took the plunge. And now, obviously, I’m quite hooked.<\/p>\n

From a television entertainment standpoint, I like the way the show is serialized (like Lost<\/i>) and not many weekly stand-alone episodes. The first season was “monster of the week” (a la<\/i> old X-Files<\/i> episodes), but once season two came around the show did a great job of incorporating those MOTW stories with the overarching mythology of the show.<\/p>\n

What I really love about the show, though, is all the little references and allusions it makes to other pop culture incarnations of Superman. Some of my favorites (in a quick, incomplete list):<\/p>\n