Celebrating 20 years of ‘Smallville’: Ranking the new blu-ray boxset extras

Smallville fans rejoice! It’s been a little while since we’ve had a chance to reminisce and check in on all our favorites. What better reason to start a rewatch than to celebrate the brand-new Smallville Blu-ray box set?

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Smallville premiered on the WB. I didn’t start watching live until somewhere around season 3, but the moment I discovered the show, I was absolutely hooked. Something about the friendships and feelings and superpowers just reached into my tortured teen soul.

And, while I used to rewatch all the time, it’s been a little while since I’ve had a chance to start from the beginning. Thankfully, the new Blu-ray box set comes equipped with digital copy codes and enough extras to have you swirling down the rabbit hole in no time.

I figured the best way to give you a thorough overview of everything the set has to offer is to rank the special features and give a quick description of what you can expect.

Before we get to that, though, I do want to note that if you own the individual seasons on DVD or Blu-ray, almost all those special features are still a part of the box set. The only missing extras I could find from my DVD sets were a deleted scene from Smallville season 5, episode 22, the Smallville Visions digital comic book from season 7, and any of the BD-ROM features from the early seasons (and those were probably left off because the technology is a bit dated these days). All the other deleted scenes, commentaries, and miscellaneous extras should still be right where you expect them to be.

Smallville blu-ray

Okay, so let’s rank the features, shall we?

1. The Main Event

The reason anyone is buying these discs is because they want a tried-and-true way to watch and rewatch all of Smallville again and again. The episodes are all there, waiting for you, and while the quality is exactly what you saw the first time around, this super fan wouldn’t want it any other way.

2. Another way to watch

If you’re more of a streamer and/or keep a digital library of all your favorite movies, then the digital copy of all 10 seasons is going to be an invaluable find. I’m not going to lie, it’s one of my favorite parts. The Blu-rays are great, and the quality is exactly what you’d expect, but if you travel a lot, love to share your collection, or just value the ease of digital, the benefit is clear.

3. ‘Retrospective look at the series with season featurettes’

The individual season featurettes are a lovely way to look back from the finale. It’s clear that most of the interviews for these were done somewhere around the end of the 10th season, but it seamlessly weaves in behind-the-scenes footage from the Vancouver sets and nearby location shoots. If you don’t have time to start a full series rewatch, but want to take a trip down memory lane, these are a fantastic way to do just that. And you’ll probably learn a little something along the way.

4. ‘A decade of Comic-Con’

While I’ve been to San Diego Comic-Con a few times, I was never there when Smallville was. I wish I had been able to sit in that audience as Tom flashed his winning smile, or Kristen explained Lana’s latest motivations. There are a ton of shows I never got to see in attendance at Comic-Con, but Smallville is one of the ones I most wish I could’ve been there for.

5. Paleyfest 2004 event

I had never heard much about this panel, but there’s a lot of great stories told here that Smallville fans won’t want to miss. Stories about Tom Welling’s green-ness at the start, including his first interactions with younger, veteran actors like Alison Mack. It’s a great time, as well as a great look into some of the behind-the-scenes info as well, including how the owners of the farm we now know as the Kent Farm felt about having a major television show take over their property a dozen or more times a year. The whole cast isn’t in attendance here, but Annette, Tom, and Sam provide some lovely stories.

Smallville blu-ray

6. ‘Smallville’s 100th episode: Making of a milestone’

“The Reckoning” was a huge episode for the show, both fictionally and in reality. It marked a seriously impressive milestone for the cast and crew, and changed the characters on Smallville forever. This thorough look into the making of the episode is a must-watch for anyone who wants to see how a big episode of television gets made from start to finish.

The three parts allow you to check out just the ones you want to see most if the entire process isn’t as attractive to you. At the very least, I’d check out the segment about the production itself, as it shows some cool behind-the-scenes moments and gives some background on a few of the unsung heroes behind the camera.

7. The 2006 ‘Aquaman’ pilot

This was one of the extras I was most curious about. An Aquaman pilot starring Justin Hartley? How could I not be. It definitely has a similar style to Smallville, but is far less polished than its predecessor. It was still fun to see the man we know now as Oliver Queen and the guy from This Is Us in the role of Arthur Curry. Especially now that we’ve all gotten used to seeing Jason Momoa as the guy with the superhuman swimming skills.

8. Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics

If you’re a fan of more than just Smallville, but also all of Superman and the DC Comics universe, this is probably a must-watch for you. As more of a Smallville-focused fan myself right now, this didn’t hold my attention for long, but is probably more than worth it for big comic book fans.

9. The 1961 ‘Adventures of Superboy’ pilot

Another feature that’s probably more interesting for DC superfans. It was the least tempting special feature for me, and it ended up being my least favorite, too. While I’m sure it will be appreciated by comic book fans, I wish they had replaced this with an updated interview with the cast or some sort of updated look at what Smallville has done for superhero properties in the last decade or so.