Why do I still watch Smallville?

This week Smallville actually did a version of the Wonder Twins, which got me thinking a lot about whether or not I should keep watching this show.

In case you don't know, the Wonder Twins were a Hanna-Barbera creation from the late '70s Superfriends cartoon version of the Justice League of America comic book (although I read a few years ago that they were integrated into the regular DC Universe). They were late teenaged twins named Zan and Jayna from the planet Exxor and they had the ability, upon touching rings and screaming "Wonder Twin Powers Activate!" for Zan to turn into any form of water (from an ice cube to a tidal wave, but usually just water) and Jayna into the shape of any animal from a caterpillar to a "space amoaba."

They assisted the Superfriends (who mainly were Superman, Batman & Robin, Aquaman and Wonder Woman) with their adventures, and had their own short stories as well. After a few years they disapeared without explanation, when they introduced a new hero, Firestorm. The twin's sidekick was a "space monkey" named Gleek who half the time caused problems and the other half saved the day (kind of like Mr. Data on Star Trek: TNG). (They replaced two other teenagers without powers named Marvin, Wendy and their pooch Wonder Dog, who were lame beyond belief, not that the Wonder Twins weren't).

I never thought I'd see them on TV. But, alas, I did last week, which made me retrospective about the show and whether or not I should keep on with it since it seems like it will never go off the air. I remember seeing the preview for Smallville the summer of 2001 before it premiered. I was excited and I liked the show (and loooved Tom Welling), although the first couple of seasons' "meteor freak of the week" plots got very old.

As the kids got older and the beautiful, but boring, Lana Lang moved on, the show definitely matured. A little more adult, more interesting and Clark even, very occasionally, has sex. The other characters seem to get some more than him.

Lately, every time I see it listed in my DVR as having a new episode (I never know when shows are on exactly anymore) I don't feel like watching it, but somehow when I do, I enjoy it.

They've gone into the myth of Superman and the DC Universe often for plot ideas. Off the top of my head they've done the following classic or semi-classic comic characters on the show:

• Lex Luthor (of course, who was a main character for most of the series)
  
• Green Arrow (who is über hot)
• Flash
• Aquaman
• Cyborg
  
• Martian Manhunter
• Zod
• Braniac
  
• Doomsday
• Black Canery
• Toyman

I'm sure there are many others. But this week, mysterious occurances are happening all around Metropolis (where the series is really based now) turn out to be the work of two teenagers with strange powers. Their names? Zan and Jayna. Their abilities: one took forms of water and the other the shape of animals (although, unlike the cartoon, they did not appear to need to announce what they were turning into). Because that wasn't enough, Jayna had a pimped out cellphone with a picture of Gleek on it. There's no reference to them being aliens—there is a throwaway line about them being "meteor freaks" (despite the fact that the meteor storm was in Smallville not Metropolis, and they almost never use that plot device anymore). (Incidentally, Zan was played by David Gallagher, who looked very familar—he was the younger son on 7th Heaven, a show I've never watched).

I don't know if there's much more to say about this except, Superfriends characters? really? With over 70 years of DC comics history to pull from, this is where the writers went? I'm not sure I'll be watching this show much longer—they have to do better than this.