I re-watched the first season of Smallville over the last week, and here are my thoughts on it:

It didn't suck.

Sure, there are plenty of aspects about the show I don't like: the obvious pandering towards the teen audience, the overuse of kryptonite/meteor freaks, and the Token Black Guy posing as Pete Ross. Those aside, though, there's still a fair bit I like about the show that helps compensate for the pitfalls -- namely Jonathan and Martha Kent, Lex and Lionel Luthor, and Chloe Sullivan.

Overall, I think the first season of Smallville holds up far better than most of the other shows I used to love as a kid but now think are near-complete crap (Mutant X and Andromeda, to name a specific few).

Of course, I doubt my optimistic appraisal will hold up once I get closer to the fourth and fifth seasons. I wasn't comfortable with how the show started playing too fast and loose with the Superman mythos by then, and my stance has probably only solidified since then.