It has the opposite problem of Lois and Clark- a show I love but he never punches anyone or does anything super heroic besides stand around posing, so the stakes are too low and it devolves into silliness by S3.

In Smallville, there's too much action too soon in this one same small town, so it becomes over-the-top ludicrously absurd. Just the idea that he coincidentally meets all the villains and Justice League when they visit the town, yet he still isn't Superman, just became too stupid to bear after awhile. So if you like anything with emotional realism, then neither. If you just like Superman, neither are particularly faithful to the character. You'll probably like it.