Creator: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
Years: 2001-2011

Have we hit the top 50 already? What a way to celebrate a string so far of bad to mediocre shows by celebrating one which I never intentionally sat down to watch. In 2011 my wife watched every season on Netflix (through the mail!) and I caught a lot of this show. Of all of her shows that I didn’t want to watch, I like this one the most.

It takes quite a bit for me to like superhero stories, and Superman has never appealed to me. But Superman as an awkward teenager just beginning to learn about himself and his powers? Hells yeah. Tom Welling is pretty good as Clark Kent, providing tons of charm and occasional humor. Allison Mack is pretty great as Chloe, his best friend. Annette O’Toole is also great as Superman’s adopted mother. But easily my favorite character on the show is Lex Luthor, played by Michael Rosenbaum. Starting out as one of Clark’s friends in high school, his rise to power in his father’s empire and his eventual turn towards evil is believable and fun.

The show’s best years were when Clark was in high school and early college. After seven seasons, Lex Luthor drops out of the picture and the subsequent bad guys aren’t nearly as interesting. The Daily Planet is kind of fun, and Aaron Ashmore does a bang up job as Jimmy Olsen. But Erica Durance’s portrayal of Lois Lane feels off to me. I just never really buy her character or her eventual romance with Clark.