Cast

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Kristen Kreuk as Lana Lang
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
John Glover as Lionel Luthor
Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
John Schneider as Jonathan Kent

Written by Mark Verheiden.
Directed by Rick Wallace.

Original Airdate

Witness originally aired on Tuesday, April 29, 2003.

Premise

Clark is witness to the robbery of an unmarked LuthorCorp vehicle.

High Point

The final scene. My brain is still reeling in the implications.

Low Point

The truck that was robbed that everyone kept talking sure looked like a van to me. I suspect that was changed from the original script by the effects crew, but it wasn't updated in the dialogue, possibly because the dialogue scenes were already shot.

The Review

We've seen kryptonite-based freaks before, so that limits the originality. It is nice to see that the intelligent villain actually figured out a way to hit Clark where it counts, though. I give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were limited to stuff we've seen time and again, but they were still well done. I give it 5 out of 6, hurt for not breaking new ground.

The story was well done. Nary a plot hole that I could see, developments of multiple relationships, effective use of every major cast member save Annette O'Toole, and a villain with motivation other than plain old robbery. I give it 5 out of 6, hurt because we didn't see enough of Henry Small in previous episodes for his plotline to work this week.

The acting was good in every shot save one. Zachary Bryan did well enough here (and on Buffy) to make me quickly forget about his character on Home Improvement. Apart from Lana's breakdown, the entire cast was convincing. You can never go wrong with John Glover as Lionel Luthor, either. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was excellent. The moment I hear John Glover's voice, the screen has my complete attention (as if it didn't already.) Mark Verheiden has done excellent work on the show overall; don't be surprised to see him take on the role of showrunner on this or another show at some future point. He can write an episode that builds on the past without referring to it directly (for the most part), making it accessible to people who have and haven't watched the show in the past. The implications of that final scene are still setting in for me here. I give it 6 out of 6.

The production is excellent. The moving camera kept long conversations interesting, the lighting of the foundry scene was exceptionally well done, and the editing and direction kept things moving rapidly throughout the hour. I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it's a very strong episode. It's not quite as good as Insurgence was, but it's close. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Witness receives 35 out of 42.

Next Week

I'll be offline for a week in May, so the next new episode will be reviewed by Hitch.