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Smallville
Episode 1.06: "Hourglass"
Air Date: November 20, 2001
Written by: Doris Egan
Directed by: Chris Long
Guest Stars: Eric Christian Olsen (Young Harry), George Murdock (Old Harry), Jackie Burroughs (Cassandra)
It tell you, I love Kryptonite. Not only does it give you wacky powers AND clear up acne, but it makes you young again too. That is one powerful glowing green rock crystal thing. Now, if only it could clean lime out of my showerhead, then it would be perfect.
“Hourglass” didn’t really give us the Freak of the Week we’re used to. It gave us an old man made young again. Harry is an old man living in a really swank convalescent home. He’s resigned himself to listen to dusty LP’s and dying, hopefully in that order. Harry isn’t a nice sweet old man. Not really. He’s a nice, sweet serial killing old man who plays a sweet piano. After exposure to what looked like Christmas lights and a non-frozen pond laced with my favorite green rock, Harry gets that second chance every doddering old man prays for. Does he spend his time whoring or drinking? Nope. He just spends his sweet time killing. Toss on top of this a blind woman named Cassandra that can see the future and you have the makings of some nice television.
Yes, this was a Freak of the Week episode. Yes, said Freak does die in the end. However, I liked it. The plot was pretty predictable, but that all went away when we got to see Lex’s future. We all knew it wouldn’t be good, but this was a major money shot if ever there was one. I wasn’t sure how close they were going to stick to current continuity, but no it seems they’re going to use the good stuff. If you read the comics, then you know Lex Luthor is the current President of the United States. If not, then I just spoiled things rotten for you. Sorry, but this is a review.
My main gripe tonight was that Chloe, Pete, and Clark were able to roam around the old folks home freely sifting through Old Man Harry’s things. What? No security? Why wasn’t the room roped off by the police when the old man vanished in the first place? It’s minor, but nits need to be picked or they’ll fester.
The one big shocker for me wasn’t Lex’s future. No sir, it was the Porsche. Yes, that banged up bad boy rears its ugly head again tonight. This time Lex shows it to Clark of all people. It’s obvious Lex wants to know more about Clark. The only question is why. Why is he so interested? Does he want to use Clark? Or is he just curious? That’s what I love about this show. I have no idea why Lex is doing anything. His motivations are murky, and that’s good.
Something else kind of stood out in this week’s episode. There was a surprising absence of any tertiary plot. There was a brief bonding session between Lana and Clark over the Wall of Weird, but the pursuit of Harry and Lex’s curiosity about the future and Clark pretty much sums it up. Kind of light and predictable, but a nice precursor for things to come. I give it:
Episode Rating: 8 out of 10
Steven "drenball" Dougherty is dangerously close to qualifying as Michael Rosenbaum’s stalker.
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