'Smallville' Complete Series Blu-Ray Set Arriving Later This Year

Smallville celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and to celebrate the occasion, The CW superhero series is coming to Blu-ray for the first time ever. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing all 218 episodes of the beloved drama on Blu-ray in a shiny new box set this fall — and the only downside is that it will not include any new bonus features filmed specifically for this set. Still, if it's bonus features you're after, this set comes with over 28 hours of 'em that were originally released on the seasons 1-10 DVD sets.Smallville: The Complete Series 20th Anniversary Edition will retail for $179.99 on Blu-ray and $154.99 on DVD, and it will be available on October 19, 2021, which is just three days after the official 20th anniversary of the show's premiere on the now-defunct The WB network. Here's the official synopsis for the new set:

The groundbreaking, Emmy®-winning 10-season hit that redefined the origins of the world's greatest super hero is all here — from Krypton refugee Kal-El's arrival on Earth through his tumultuous teen years to Clark Kent's final steps toward embracing his destiny as the Man of Steel. Relive a decade's worth of thrills in fantastic adventures full of action, heart and humor in abundance, all anchored by the marvelous performance of Tom Welling at its center. Savor again the series' thoughtful and imaginative integration and reinvention of the iconic characters of DC lore. And let your spirits be lifted up, up and away.

When the show premiered in 2001, superhero storytelling was not yet the dominant force it would eventually become in Hollywood. For context, the only big superhero movie that had been released around that time was the original X-Men, which came out the year before. (This series even predated Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, which is kind of wild to think about.) Over Smallville's ten-year run, it was broadcast parallel to some of the best superhero movies ever (Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight) and some of the worst (Catwoman, Elektra), all while keeping a relatively even keel in terms of its own quality. It was far from a perfect show, but the core relationships and excellent depictions of beloved characters kept audiences coming back for more. Even though there were entire seasons through which I had to roll my eyes, I still look back fondly on the show as a whole, and that's largely thanks to the performances from Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, John Glover, Kristen Kreuk, Erica Durance, Sam Jones III, and yes, Allison Mack.