butterfly | Fandom is wacky: Smallville edition

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Fandom is wacky: Smallville edition

So, I've been reading the TWoP boards for Smallville (which is kinda crazy, but I started going back over there for... Battlestar Galactica and the Supernatural boards are good (though the first season recaps of the show suck -- second season is looking up, because they're being written by the guy who wrote the recap for the pilot and not the Supernatural-hating hack that recapped the rest of the season... dude, at least try to be amusing when you hate)) and ran across this theory called 'Chlois'.

Which baffles me. Did this theory exist back in season three (which is the last time that I visited the Smallville boards)? I don't remember it, though the Chloe-worship is... familiar.

Apparently, there is a group of people who think that Chloe is going to change her name to Lois, dye her hair, change her personality, pretend not to know Clark, and then become the love of Clark's life (because he's not going to notice that Lois has gotten a lot shorter... because he's a "Big Dumb Alien" who isn't worthy of her Radiant Goddess Glow and... why do they want her with him again?).

Or I guess they think that Chloe is already like Lois Lane which... baffles me more. Chloe is soppy. Lois Lane is not soppy. Lois Lane is the opposite of soppy. I mean... I don't have anything against Chloe, I've always mostly liked her (she was my favorite female on the show in seasons 1-3, before Lois showed up and stole my heart (as she does)), but how is she anything like Lois Lane? Chloe is an underdog. She has, like, eighty-gazillion fans (note: number may or may not be exaggerated) because she's an underdog.

Lois Lane isn't an underdog.

I can't ever imagine Chloe staring down her boss and saying that she didn't write a mood piece because she "wasn't in the mood" (I can imagine SV's Lois saying that, though -- only the news that she's interested in, thank you). Lois is confrontational, pushy, and (gasp!) kinda bitchy. She steamrolls over people when she's figuring out what to do and then is annoyed at them for not being fast enough to move out of the way.

Not everyone likes Lois Lane. That's always been true. It amuses me how many people on the "Chlois" thread bash Lois and Clark's Lois, who strikes me as a classic Lois in the tradition of the better comics and the first two movies. Dude, y'all don't even like Lois. Why do you want your favorite character to turn into her? Is the love of Clark that wonderful and amazing?

I love Smallville's Lois Lane. Like the other classic comic characters (Clark and Lex), they took the basic character profile and twisted it so that Lois was actively fighting against her future.

But all three of them have the essence of what will one day make them their Iconic character (It took me forever to figure out that ILL stood for "Iconic Lois Lane", btw.). Lex has the will to power, Clark has that need to help, and Lois has the guts to stand up to both of them. All three of them are coming by those essences differently than the various other versions of themselves, but that's all right. That's comics. There are many worlds, many versions. They don't cancel each other out, nor do they necessarily lead into each other.

The comics are not the movies are not Lois and Clark is not Smallville. There's pre-Crisis and post-Crisis. Silver and Gold Age. Superman Returns and The Adventures of Superman. All different, but all with a few things in common. Superman. Clark Kent. Lois Lane. A little later, Lex Luthor.

Clark and Lois, though, first and always.

Also, I seem to feel the same protectiveness towards Lois that I feel towards Buffy and Rose. That is, I feel that they're strong female characters that I would feel honored to be anything like, so I have a shockingly limited amount of patience for dismissiveness towards them. Not criticism in general, just that particular brand of condescending criticism where I'm told that what I see as strength is really the cold-hearted, smug bitchiness of women who are getting 'above their places' (Want to make my blood boil in ten seconds or less? Mention that someone, particularly a female someone, needs to be 'put in her place'.). When Rose is dismissed as a stupid shopgirl or Buffy is called a heartless bitch or people call SV's Lois various hideously sexist terms and make everything all about her body (And her *omg* huge breasts, which just comes across as hypocritical when they're cooing over "Chloevage" every other post. I guess breasts are only okay if they're Chloe's.), I feel true feminist rage.

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Part of the "Chloe is Lois" stuff started long before Smallville had a Lois. Partly because we were all afraid she'd get killed off, and that was one way she could be "killed" while still being able to stick around. The prevailing theory at the time was that she'd be forced to go into some sort of witness protection program, thus forcing her to pretend not to know Clark. At least at first.

All the "Chloe is Lois" stuff since then, though, is mostly wishful thinking. Because a lot of people don't like Lois as she is currently, and think Chloe makes a much better Lois than Lois does. This Lois has never been my favorite version (see Margot Kidder or Terri Hatcher), and I do like Chloe better than her, thanks to watching the show from the beginning and falling in love with Chloe from the start. However, I do like this Lois. All the Lois-bashing in this fandom drives me just a tad insane. (Your blood pressure might rise if you go to

sv_live during the show airing, since it seems like a majority of the people who post there hate Lois.)

Part of the "Chloe is Lois" stuff started long before Smallville had a Lois.

Ah, I probably just didn't notice it. I was All About Clark back in seasons one through three (with a side of Lex). And while I didn't like the Clark/Lana relationship, Clark/Chloe didn't thrill me either.

And Chloe lost me a bit in season two, when she pulled the 'just friends' card on Clark and then proceeded to be pissed at him the entire season when he used it. Both Lana and Chloe have that insecurity in relationships, though expressed in different ways (Lana must Always Have A Boyfriend, while Chloe must Always Have Her Best Friend), which is something that I don't associate with any brand of Lois, even in her worst "Superman's girlfriend" phases.

Mostly, I was a Clark fan. I find that I still am mostly a Clark fan. And he's grown up so much while I was gone! When I left, he was still a kid. He's practically a man now!

I think it's Rose's accent, and her background that people, especially in England dump on.

And yet, that's how I started at TWoP.

I think the thing with Chloe may be, well, for my part I'm not sure how Lois is going to become reporter Lois.

Since Chloe is in that ecological niche, they keep having Lois do things that not only aren't all about the investigative journalism, but I don't see her picking that as her career.

Mind you everyone still has fuzz on their cheeks, so I'm hoping they pull it off by the end of the series. Cuz, yeah, I love brash, annoying, sexy, go getter Lois. But then my fav is the Fleisher cartoons Lois.

I adore Lois Lane. (Also a be L&C fan). I think she's a brillant female character. It distresses me that people will still carry the attitude that a woman that is strong enough to stand up for what she believes and what she wants is a smug bitch.

By the way, I'd add Margaret "Hotlips" Houlihan from the series M*A*S*H onto our list. She was a wonderfully strong character and wonderfully human.

Also...I have absolutely no qualms with Lois' breasts...either Smallville or L&C versions. :-D

This might be a minor point, but in one early eps. Chole used her cousin Lois's name when turning in a news report. I think that started the speculation.

I guess this is the part where I admit to being a Chlois fan :P

how is she anything like Lois Lane?

Well from I understand, the originally wanted SV to have Clark, Lex, Lois as young characters together, but they weren't allowed the Lois name for some reason. So they admit to writing Chloe as a sort of proto Lois, just without the name. And then there were was an episode where she tried to submit an article under Lois Lane, and the theory grew in popularity. I become a fan of the theory after Thirst in season 5...

And Chloe lost me a bit in season two, when she pulled the 'just friends' card on Clark and then proceeded to be pissed at him the entire season when he used it.

Not to mention sold him out to Lionel - for which, seriously, she has been totally and completely forgiven for in fandom - because she's Chloe and Chloe always has a good reason for doing what she does.

I don't hate Chloe. I just never thought, even in S1, that she was remotely like my idea of Lois.

Not to mention sold him out to Lionel - for which, seriously, she has been totally and completely forgiven for in fandom - because she's Chloe and Chloe always has a good reason for doing what she does.

Dude, she did do that, didn't she? I really need to rewatch the episodes (which I can do, because all five seasons on dvd at my house, yay!) because I really only remember the bits of 1-3 that Clark was on-screen. She totally betrayed him. Because she saw him kissing Lana, partly, I think, right? Which, hello, 'friend' card.

At this point, the Chloe-love over there is seriously reminding me of the pre-soul Spike-love, in that nothing is actually her fault, no matter what.

I don't hate Chloe. I just never thought, even in S1, that she was remotely like my idea of Lois.

Yes, exactly.

Which I find so completely baffling (and even more baffling when it's US people who bring up the 'low class' thing). What, are people with 'lower-class' accents sub-humans who don't deserve adventure and fun because someone needs to sling out food and clean floors? I just...

*sigh*

I find it very frustrating.

Even in the first four episodes with Lois, I believed that she would get there one day. Her passion in Facade struck me as very Lois Lane of her, wanting the story because it mattered to her and because she wanted to tell it. She's overly brash and indecisive right now, because she's young, but I can see her toning down and really focusing in the future.

I haven't watched a lot of the episodes in four and five yet, but I did get a chance to see the Lois scenes of the episodes, and there was one scene in particular where Lois rants about how frustrating it is to have leads go dead and how she couldn't imagine ever letting go. Shades of 'Mad Dog Lane' there. And Chloe mentions that that's how it starts sometimes and then Lois looked over her shoulder at the Daily Planet logo and my heart went all pitter-pat.

Honestly, for me, Chloe is too freak-focused and not issue-focused enough. I've never been thrilled with her approach to journalism.

It distresses me that people will still carry the attitude that a woman that is strong enough to stand up for what she believes and what she wants is a smug bitch.

Me, too. We're in the twenty-first century, you'd think that some things wouldn't be an issue any more. It's depressing.

By the way, I'd add Margaret "Hotlips" Houlihan from the series M*A*S*H onto our list. She was a wonderfully strong character and wonderfully human.

Oh! I've never seen the show. Now that I know it has a good, strong female character, I might need to check it out.

Which is kinda odd to me as well, because why would Chloe use her cousin's name full-time when her cousin still exists. I suppose that part of the reason the theory rankles with me is because once we know that a Lois Lane exists in the Smallville universe, she would have to die so that Chloe could yank her name. I don't want to offend anyone but that kinda creeps me out.

I guess this is the part where I admit to being a Chlois fan :P

Hee. But can you explain it to me?

I think that we must just have really different views of what makes Lois Lane Lois, because I can't see LL being compatible with Chloe's personality.

Well from I understand, the originally wanted SV to have Clark, Lex, Lois as young characters together, but they weren't allowed the Lois name for some reason. So they admit to writing Chloe as a sort of proto Lois, just without the name. And then there were was an episode where she tried to submit an article under Lois Lane, and the theory grew in popularity. I become a fan of the theory after Thirst in season 5...

Hmm. I watched the Being Lois Lane documentary on the four season discs (which is another reason why I can't buy the idea -- they did a whole documentary on ED's Lois and how she's similar to and yet different from past Lois Lanes) and they talk about how they always wanted Lois and were trying from early on to get permission to put Lois on the show. I think that they were happy to have Chloe there as an investigative force, but didn't get the impression that they had her as Lois (but they may have been back-tracking). Also, given all the strictures that they have had on using Lois Lane, I can't imagine that they would ever get permission to say, "Oh, BTW, our real Lois is the one that's gotten to mack on Clark every year for the past six -- fooled you, Superman-owning people!".

What happens in Thirst? That's an episode I haven't watched yet!

Yeah, the whole Chlois thing really confuses me. Chloe does not have nearly the self-possession or fortitude that says "Lois Lane" to me. Not to mention that with all of the dubious shit she's pulled, both as a friend and as a journalist, I really don't ever want to see her in that position. Also, her curiosity manifests itself so cartoonishly. I like that Lois' curiosity as portrayed on Smallville is more contained, more driven by justice and the desire to expose wrongdoing. Being an investigative reporter shouldn't mean that one's curiosity level should rival that of a nosy neighbor.

Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. Chloe is also like Lex and Lana in that she can't accept that Clark is just a guy trying to do the right thing (no matter his powers, that really is what he is). As Clark says in Leech, why can't that be enough? Why can't saving their lives mean that he's allowed some measure of privacy?

I must admit though that I really don't like the Lois of Lois & Clark, mostly because I felt that her standard of journalistic ethics was alarmingly low, and that more often she was shrill, humorless, and whiny rather than tough, witty, and take charge.

Oh, I have no problem with people disliking TH's or ED's take on the character, but that's not at all the same as saying (and I quote from the Chlois thread), "[ED's Lois is the] most slutty incarnation ever".

Disliking an actor's portrayal is one thing, and totally between the show/actor and each member of the audience, but taking cheap (and untrue) shots at the characters is completely different and that's what's pissing me off.

Another thing we agree on!

Do you have any kind of messenger program? MSN, AIM, Yahoo?

She's a very good character. She's a strong women, but she also had her flaws that made her rather human. She also gets better IMHO as the show went on.

If you want to see a strong Margaret in MASH, start in the second season. The first season took off from the movie, where she was simply a foil for the hijinks of the main characters; but she grew out of that pretty quickly in the TV show.

I thought that Chloe was spunky and really liked her in S1. She lost me during S2 with the while “pissy because he let me break up with him” attitude and lost me even more when she turned to Lionel — and yes, it was over watching Clark and Lana kiss.

I was willing to try to forgive her but she lost me again when she tried to renege on her deal with Lionel while trying to keep her column at the Daily Planet and lost me even more when she didn’t own up to what she did with her, “It was a moment of weakness, you of all people should understand!” statement to Clark. And then there are the issues I have with her hint dropping because if the reveal really were about Clark’s needs, she’d let Clark reveal on his own instead of forcing his hand to fit her needs on her schedule.

And let’s not get into Exposed. The future Superman shouldn’t have to marry the woman who was so petty she betrayed his safety for a newspaper column she didn’t deserve. But Exposed just made me boil over with how very anti-Lois Lane she was. (BTW: If you don’t want your blood pressure to rise, don’t read the Exposed thread on TWoP. The feminist in me was fuming in anger with the comments on the episode posted.)

I like Chloe, but only when she’s not doing journalism things or pining over Clark. With Jimmy in the picture, that hopefully takes care of her crush on Clark. As for the journalism, I have so many many issues with that and Exposed and the Chloe Chronicles highlighted just what a bad journalist she is. But I guess I’ll just have to live with it if I’m gonna watch the show. :-x

Because of Chloe, Lois is a refreshing change of what journalism should be. It should be people-focused placing emphasis on how events affect people. She went after Lionel because getting away with murder was wrong and she went after the plastic surgeon because letting girls suffer their self-esteem was wrong. Journalism should be people-focused not freak-show focused which is how I feel Chloe treats the meteor-rock phenomena.

Also, I love Lois because she has a sense of ownership about her mistakes. She goes after Lucy because Lucy is her responsibility and when she babysat the girl in Fragile, she owned up to the girl’s disappearance saying no excuses, the girl was her responsibility.

And I love that Lois is loyal to her friends and family. She didn’t have to go after Chloe’s murderer. She didn’t have to work on Jonathan’s campaign for free. But she did so because wanted to help.

But I think what tips the Chloe vs. Lois to me is in how they deal with Lionel. All throughout S3, Chloe looked like a deer in headlights not knowing what hit her. Lois on the other hand, stared down Lionel and knew exactly what his weakness was and got him to act out on it. That to me is what Lois Lane is about — she knows how to get people to show their hands even as she’s going for the jugular. People shun Chloe just like that and Lionel regarded her an annoying fly and I don’t remember her ever getting information from a hostile source.

Anyways, my fave Lois Lanes are this one and the Justice League (cartoon) one which, I now realize, are the newest and latest incarnations of Lois Lane. I’ve heard good things about Phyllis Coats’ Lois so I’m curious about that. Otherwise, I’ve never been a fan of most Lois Lanes as most of them have been cartoony caricatures of what boys/men fear feminists are like. Though, I will give past Lois Lanes something of a break since women did need to be more bulldog-ish to overcome the sexism of the times.

The slut comments enrage me to no end. Because flirting with future superheroes (instead of ordinary guys) and letting guys definitely know she has limits and wearing a bikini is on par with sleeping with every male that comes along. And it just grates me because it enforces the view that women who are comfortable with their sexuality are uppity.

Very cool. I have heard good things about M*A*S*H, but I'm leery about how much of a war show it is.

Second season, check.

Do you happen to know if it's out on dvd?

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Fandom is wacky: Smallville edition

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