My Smallville/Chimmy Story

My Smallville Beginning: Disdain, Luthors, Finales and Fandom

When I first heard about a television show based on teenage Superman I thought, "Why would anyone ever do such a thing?" It sounded like a really dumb exploitative idea. Not only that, but it was a show that would come on the WB and I was a snob when it came to the WB. I wasn't impressed with teenage soap operas. Occasionally when flipping through the channels I would stop to pay homage to the gorgeousness of Tom Welling, but I did NOT watch the show.

Fast forward three years. I'm flipping through the channels and I see Lex Luthor having an argument with his dad. His father Lionel had him trapped in a mental institution and Lex insisted that he wasn't crazy. By the end of the episode Lionel fried Lex Luthor's brain, rendering him forgetful and docile. 0_0!!! I was astonished. I was upset! I was nauseated. THIS gutsy show was Smallville?! I had to check this out. I went on a quest to find the first DVD set on ebay. I found it and bought it.

I watched the first season and was immediately charmed but the beautiful cinematography, the very high quality production values, the small town feel and the strong family values. The cast was wonderful over all. I felt that the Kent Family was the heart of the show. I liked Clark Kent and wanted to see him become Superman. Though I'd originally intended to only watch the first season and continue with Season 4 live, the season finale of season one left me burning to find out what happened next. I ended up buying Seasons 1, 2, and 3 on DVD.

I wasn't too happy the first time I watched Season 4. Lois Lane?! That upset me. Lois Lane had no business appearing in Smallville yet. But I watched the season and ended up buying the Seasons 4 DVD set. Lois grew on me, though I still grumbled about the uncreative writers. Lois and Clark's interactions were funny and refreshing. I drifted during season 5. Lois was still around. She wasn't as bad as I'd thought initially but they really didn't know what to do with her. It was during this time of drifting that I discovered the online Smallville fandom. Wow! There were and are good and bad things about this group of fans. I read reviews and laughed really hard as I saw that lots of fans felt the way I did about the show. I discovered SPOILERS and recaps. At this time also, my sister started watching the show and became my Smallville buddy. So many of the fans were saying "Lois Sucks!" just as my sister was saying, "Lois Rocks!" After a bit of teatering between the two strong opinions. I landed in the middle. I like Lois! I went from a skeptical grumbler to a crazy optimistic person who just laughed at the silliness. I was ready to head into Season 6 - spoilers and all.

ChimmyFan becomes a Cloiser: Shipping, Haters and Trying to Stay Positive Through It All.

So I bought the Season 5 DVDs and was really optimistic about Season 6 once I found out that it was happening. Re-watching seasons 4 and 5 in anticipation of the new season made me a Lois/Clark shipper. Falling in love with Lois and Clark as a romantic couple on Smallville aka Clois meant that I had to find an online home where I could freely express my joy. Most of the online fandom I'd frequented was very hostile toward Lois Lane. The same snarky EVOL-ness that was funny when directed toward Clana, was really hurtful and unpleasant when directed toward my ship. I found an online home and finished the registration process right after the episode "Sneeze." With my new crazy optimism I could endure the barn door epiphany (love it now) with a laugh. It also helped to remember one of my favorite episodes from Season 3: Perry.

I went from trying to understand Lois haters, to having my feelings hurt and hating Lois haters, to enjoying making fun of Lois haters (which I still enjoy from time to time) to just realizing that opinions differ. There's really no right or wrong in an opinion just in the way you express your opinion and how you treat others while expressing it. I guess I had a golden rule epiphany, which is a good thing. There were a lot of fun things about Season Six. I felt that I didn't enjoy them as much as I might have if I'd been spoiler free. So for Season 7 until now... I avoid spoilers as much as possible.

Why Chimmy?

While Season 6 aired I was a spoiler junkie. I heard that Chloe was going to get a new boyfriend, Jimmy Olsen. Some fans were remembering that Chloe mentioned dating someone named Jimmy back in Season 4. I was VERY exicited! Chloe Sullivan has always been one of my favorite characters on Smallville. She was fourth on my list behind Sarah Polley, Kelly Martin and Alison Hannigan as one of those yummy talented actresses that you simultaneously want to eat up, get to know and BE. The moment I met her I thought of Willow. She was a sunshiny blond version of Willow to me. Much more outgoing and fashionable but... the amazingly cute exposition queen behind the computer.

Chloe crushed on Clark. I didn't really get into it much after season 1. Chloe's crush created lots of yummy moments between Chloe and Clark. It make subtext fun. But it also meant that there were a lot of sad, angsty moments as Clark was... deeply in love with Lana Lang. Who knows why. *shrug* As someone who thought Clark should have dated Chloe instead of Lana, it was a LONG five years. I was thrilled that Chloe was FINALLY going to get a boyfriend. I was ready for her to be adored and have some romantic fun.

Jimmy arrived on the scene and I was... unsure. Then Chloe smiled and I was hooked.

Chloe's reunion with Jimmy Olsen and her SMILE!

Screencap from the erstwhile SVfan.com

So I was a Chloe/Jimmy fan because I loved Chloe and wanted some enjoyment for her. I expected that Chloe and Jimmy would date a while, Chloe would have fun but grow out of Jimmy, she'd let him down easy and move on. Little did I know that this quirky little couple would completely steal my heart.