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Smallville (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough
and Miles Millar
based on the DC Comics
character Superman
, originally created by Jerry Siegel
and Joe Shuster
. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network
(The WB), premiering on October 16, 2001. After Smallvilles fifth season
, The WB and UPN
merged to form The CW Television Network
, which became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. It ended its tenth and final season
on May 13, 2011. The series follows the adventures of Clark Kent
(Tom Welling
), who resides in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas
, during the years before he becomes Superman
. The first four seasons focus on Clark and his friends' high school years. After season five, the show ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the Daily Planet
, as well as introducing other DC
comic book superhero
es and villains
.
The concept for Smallville was created after a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming Batman
failed to generate interest. After meeting with the president of Warner Bros. Television
, series developers Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events leading up to Clark Kent becoming Superman. After seven seasons with the show, Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason. Smallville was predominantly filmed in and around Vancouver
, British Columbia, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music for the first six seasons was primarily composed by Mark Snow
, who incorporated elements of John Williams
's musical score from the original Superman film series. In season seven
, Louis Febre, who had worked with Snow from the beginning, took over as primary composer. The song played under the opening titles is "Save Me
" by Remy Zero
; several episodes also contain songs written and performed by other bands.
The series was generally positively received when it began broadcasting. Former Superman star Christopher Reeve
voiced his approval of the series, and the pilot episode broke the record for highest-rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers. Over ten seasons, it averaged approximately 4.34 million viewers per episode, with season two
averaging the highest ratings, at 6.3 million. By the end of its run, Smallville became the longest-running comic book-based series and longest-running North American science fiction series in television history. The series has earned distinctions ranging from Emmy Award
s to Teen Choice Awards
since its first season
. The show has spawned a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics bi-monthly comic book and soundtrack releases, as well as Smallville-related merchandise. Currently, nine seasons of Smallville are available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4
.
. Storylines regularly included a villain deriving a power from kryptonite exposure. The one-episode villains were a plot device developed by Gough and Millar. The first season primarily dealt with Clark trying to come to terms with his alien origins, and the revelation that his arrival on Earth was connected to the deaths of Lana Lang
's parents. After the first season, the series used fewer villain-of-the-week episodes, focusing more on story arcs which affected each character and explored Clark's origins. Main story arcs include Clark's discovery of his Kryptonian heritage. The disembodied voice of Clark's biological father, Jor-El
, is introduced. He communicates to Clark via his spaceship, setting the stage for plots involving the fulfillment of Clark's earthly destiny
. In another arc which comprises the fourth season
, Clark seeks three Kryptonian stones, at the instruction of Jor-El, which contain the knowledge of the universe and form his Fortress of Solitude
. Clark also battles Brainiac
in his attempts to release the Kryptonian criminal General Zod
. Clark must either capture or destroy other escaped Phantom Zone
criminals. Clark's biological cousin Kara
arrives, and Lex Luthor finally discovers Clark's secret. The eighth season
features storylines involving the introduction of Davis Bloome, who is Smallvilles interpretation of Doomsday
, and a woman named Tess Mercer replaces Lex Luthor, who exits the series. Justin Hartley
joins as a series regular in the role of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
, having been a recurring guest in season six
. With the ninth season
, Major Zod (Callum Blue
), along with other members of Zod's military group, are revived by Tess Mercer, though without their Kryptonian powers. Their efforts to obtain those powers become the central conflict for the season's story arc. The tenth and final season
revolves around Clark's attempts to get rid of his doubts and fears in order to become the hero he is meant to be, while also confronting his biggest challenges—the coming of Darkseid
and the return of Lex Luthor.
portrays Clark Kent
, a young man with superhuman
abilities, who tries to find his place in life after discovering he is an alien. He uses his abilities to help others in danger. Clark's problems in season one include not being able to share his secret with anyone and his desire for a normal life. After months of scouting, Welling was cast as Clark. David Nutter had to convince Welling's manager that the role would not hurt Welling's film career in order to get Welling to read the pilot script. After reading the script, Welling was convinced to audition.
Kristin Kreuk
portrays Lana Lang
, the girl next door. She has a "hole in her heart" because of the loss of her parents, and feels empathy for everyone. She feels connected to Clark. Kreuk was the first to be cast after Nutter saw an audition tape the actress had sent. Kreuk left the series after the seventh season, but returned for five episodes in season eight as a guest star.
Michael Rosenbaum
portrays Lex Luthor
, a billionaire's son sent to Smallville to run the local fertilizer plant. After Clark saves his life, the two quickly become friends. As the series progresses, his friendship with Clark crumbles until the pair consider themselves enemies. The role was hard to cast, as no one could agree on who they liked for the role. Michael Rosenbaum twice auditioned for the role of Lex Luthor. Feeling he did not take his first audition seriously, Rosenbaum outlined a two-and-a-half-page scene, indicating all the places to be funny, charismatic, or menacing. His audition went so well that everyone agreed he was "the guy". After seven seasons, Rosenbaum left the show. On February 11, 2011, it was announced that he would return for the finale episode of the series.
Allison Mack
portrays Chloe Sullivan
, one of Clark's best friends. She is in love with Clark, although the feeling is not reciprocated. Editor of the school newspaper, her journalistic curiosity, always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth", causes tension with her friends, especially when she investigates Clark's past. After learning about Smallville from Dee Dee Bradley, the show's casting director, Mack thought about auditioning for the role of Lana Lang. Mack instead auditioned twice for the role of Chloe Sullivan. The character was created just for the series, and was intended to have an "ethnic background" before Mack was hired. She has since appeared in the comic book.
Sam Jones III
portrays Pete Ross, another of Clark's best friends. He is the first person Clark voluntarily informs of his secret. He is in love with Chloe, which he keeps to himself because of the Clark-Lana-Chloe love triangle already taking place. Ross was written out of the series at the end of season three, but made a guest appearance in season seven. Jones was the last of the series regulars to be cast. Gough and Millar saw Jones four days before they began filming the pilot. In the comics, Ross is Caucasian
, but the producers chose to cast Jones, who is African-American, against the mythology.
Annette O'Toole
portrays Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother. She, along with her husband Jonathan, give Clark sage advice about how to cope with his growing abilities. In season five, she takes a state senate
seat. In season six the character exits from the show. Cynthia Ettinger
was originally cast as Martha Kent, but during filming everyone, including Ettinger, realized she was not right for the role. O'Toole was committed to the television series The Huntress
when Ettinger was filming the original pilot. Around the time the creators were looking to recast the role of Martha Kent, The Huntress was canceled, allowing O'Toole to join the cast of Smallville. O'Toole had previously portrayed Lana Lang in Superman III
.
John Schneider
portrays Jonathan Kent, Clark's adoptive father. He goes to great lengths to protect his son's secret. According to Schneider, Jonathan is "perfectly willing to go to jail, or worse, to protect his son." Schneider was written out of the show on the series' 100th episode, with Jonathan dying of a heart attack the night of his election victory. Millar and Gough wanted a recognizable face for Smallville. They loved the idea of casting Schneider as Jonathan, because he was already known as Bo Duke
from The Dukes of Hazzard
, which Gough saw as adding to the belief that Schneider could have grown up running a farm.
Eric Johnson
portrays Whitney Fordman, Lana's boyfriend, who becomes jealous of Clark and Lana's budding friendship, going so far as to haze
Clark. He eventually reconciles with Clark, before joining the Marines. Whitney was written out of the show in the first season's finale, but he made cameo
appearances in the season two episode "Visage", where it is revealed he died in combat overseas, and the season four episode "Façade", during a flashback to Clark's freshman year. Johnson has expressed his pleasure in the way the writers handled Whitney's departure, by giving the character the exit of a hero. Johnson auditioned for the roles of Lex and Clark, before finally being cast as Whitney.
John Glover
portrays Lionel Luthor
, Lex's father. Lionel is responsible for the Kents being able to adopt Clark without any legal ramifications or questions about his origins. Glover tried to make Lionel appear as though he was trying to "toughen [Lex] up". Glover saw the character as a rich and powerful businessman who was disappointed in his son. Glover's goal for season one was to show Lionel's attempts to make Lex tougher. Lionel was created specifically for the show to provide a parallel to the Kents, and to portray an "experiment in extreme parenting." In season two, Glover, who had been a recurring guest on the show in season one, became a part of the regular cast. He remained a series regular through season seven, until Lionel was murdered by Lex in the season seven episode "Descent".
Jensen Ackles
portrays Jason Teague, a love interest for Lana, in season four. He follows Lana to Smallville, from Paris, France, and takes a position as the school's assistant football coach. He was fired from the school when his relationship with Lana came to light. By the end of the season, it is revealed he had been working with his mother to track the three Kryptonian stones of knowledge. Ackles received top billing for season four and was contracted to remain through season five, but was written out of the show in season four's finale due to his commitments to Supernatural
.
Erica Durance
portrays Lois Lane
, Chloe's cousin. She comes to Smallville investigating the supposed death of Chloe. She stays with the Kents while in town. Durance was a recurring guest for season four, but afterward became a series regular. The producers were always looking to bring Lois Lane to the series, and the supposed death of Chloe in the season three finale seemed like the right time to bring her to the show. Durance was cast just three days before filming began, and initially was only able to appear in four episodes based on a stipulation from the film division of Warner Bros. After discussion, the character was cleared for more episodes.
Aaron Ashmore
portrays Jimmy Olsen, Chloe's photographer boyfriend; he also works at the Daily Planet. Ashmore was a recurring guest for season six but became a regular cast member in season seven. Ashmore indicates his casting was a welcomed surprise. The actor states, "I auditioned for [the role] and I put myself on tape. I hadn't heard anything, and a couple of weeks later, all of the sudden (sic), I got the call saying, 'You're going to Vancouver to start shooting Smallville.' It's a dream come true, really." After three seasons on the show, two as a series regular, Ashmore's character was killed off. Although "Jimmy Olsen" was murdered, Ashmore stated that his Jimmy was not the "real" Jimmy Olsen and that the character's younger brother, who appears briefly in the season eight finale, is intended to be the Jimmy who works alongside Clark and Lois. Ashmore returns to play the real, younger Jimmy, in the show's final episode.
Laura Vandervoort
portrays Kara, Clark's Kryptonian cousin. She was sent to look after Kal-El (Clark), but was stuck in suspended animation for eighteen years. When the dam confining her ship broke in the season six finale, "Phantom", she was set free. She has all of Clark's abilities, including the ability to fly. At the end of the seventh season, Kara was shown trapped in the Phantom Zone
. Vandervoort was not brought back as a series regular for the eighth season, but she did a guest appearance to wrap up her storyline in season eight's "Bloodline" and later in season ten's "Supergirl" and "Prophecy".
Justin Hartley
portrays Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
, the CEO of Queen Industries and leader of a small group of superheroes. Hartley was a recurring guest in the sixth and seventh seasons and became a series regular in season eight. Hartley was the producers' first choice to play Oliver Queen. He was designed to shake up the lives of both Clark and Lois in season six, as well as provide Clark with an alternate view of how to fight crime.
Samuel Witwer
portrays Davis Bloome in season eight. He is a "charismatic" paramedic
struggling with a darkness inside of him. Davis Bloome is Smallville's interpretation of Doomsday
, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. Witwer explained that Davis would come to resemble his comic book counterpart over the course of the season. Brian Peterson
explained that, with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.
Cassidy Freeman
portrays Tess Mercer, Lex's handpicked successor to being CEO of LuthorCorp in season eight. The name "Tess Mercer" is a homage to two characters from Superman lore, Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves
. As Freeman describes her character, Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun", and "intelligent". Mercer's primary goal for season eight was finding Lex. Her attention is drawn to Clark, whom she believes will be able to help her. In the season ten episode "Abandoned", it is revealed that her birth name is Lutessa Lena Luthor, and that she is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel.
Callum Blue
portrays Zod, an early version of the criminal from Krypton who was expelled to the Phantom Zone prison. His character is first mentioned in season five, when Brainiac uses Lex's body as a physical vessel for Zod's spirit to inhabit. Later, he appears from within a Kryptonian orb in the season eight finale. The executive producers classify this incarnation as "Major Zod", as opposed to his typical "General Zod" identifier, and reveal throughout season nine "the venomous side of Zod rises because he experiences a few key betrayals with our beloved characters".
wanted to do a series about a young Bruce Wayne. The feature film division of Warner Bros. had decided to develop an origin movie
for Batman
, and because they did not want to compete with a television series, the series idea was nixed. In 2000 Tollin/Robbins approached Peter Roth, the President of Warner Bros. Television
, about developing a series based on a young Superman. That same year, Alfred Gough
and Miles Millar
developed a pilot based on the film Eraser
. After watching the pilot, Roth approached the two men about developing a second pilot based on the young Superman concept. After meeting with Roth, Gough and Millar decided they did not want to do a series where there was lots of flying or a cape. It was here Gough and Millar developed their "no tights, no flights" rule, vowing Clark would not, at any point, fly nor don the Superman suit during the run of the show.
Gough and Millar wanted to strip Superman down to his "bare essence", and explore the reasons that Clark Kent became Superman. They felt that because they were not comic book fans or familiar with the universe, they would have an unbiased approach to the series. However, this did not keep them from learning about the characters; they both did research on the comics and picked and rearranged what they liked. They returned and pitched their idea to both The WB
and Fox
on the same day. A bidding war ensued between Fox and The WB, and the latter won out, with a commitment for thirteen episodes to start.
Roth, Gough, and Millar knew the show was going to be action-oriented, but they wanted to be able to reach the "middle America iconography" 7th Heaven
had reached. To help create this atmosphere, the team decided the meteor shower
bringing Clark to Earth would be the foundation for the franchise of the show. Not only does it act as the primary source behind the creation of the super-powered beings Clark must fight, but it acts as a sense of irony in his life. The meteor shower would give him a life on Earth, but it would also take away the parents of the girl he loves, and start Lex Luthor down a dark path, thanks to the loss of his hair during the shower. Roth loved the conflict that was created for Clark, in forcing him to deal with the fact his arrival caused so much pain.
Another problem the creators had to grapple with was the question of why Lex Luthor would be socializing with teenagers. To address this, they decided to create a sense of loneliness in the character, which they felt would require him to reach out to the teens. The loneliness was echoed in Clark and Lana as well. Gough and Millar wanted to provide a parallel to the Kents, so they created Lionel Luthor, Lex's father, which they saw as the "experiment in extreme parenting." They wanted a younger Kent couple, because they felt they needed to be able to be involved in Clark's life and help him through his journey. Chloe Sullivan
, another character created just for the show, was meant to be the "outsider" the show needed. Gough and Millar felt the character was necessary so that someone would notice the strange happenings in Smallville. She was not meant to act as a "precursor to Lois Lane
".
The concept of Smallville has been described by Warner Brothers as a reinterpretation of the Superman mythology from its roots. Since the November 2004 reacquisition of Superboy
by the Siegel family
, there has arisen contention regarding a possible copyright infringement
. The dispute is over ownership of the fictional town of Smallville, title setting of the show, and a claimed similarity between Superboys title character and Smallvilles Clark Kent. The heirs of Jerry Siegel
claim "Smallville is part of the Superboy copyright," of which the Siegels own the rights.
, Darren Swimmer
, Kelly Souders, and Brian Peterson
. All four had joined the crew at the start of the second season as writers and worked their way up to executive producers by the seventh season. On February 6, 2009, after one season, the L.A. Times confirmed executive producers Swimmer and Slavkin would not be returning for the ninth season of Smallville; instead, the pair would take over The CW's new series Melrose Place
. The Times also reported Souders and Peterson would continue on as showrunners when Smallville starts its ninth season. On July 24, 2009, it was announced Tom Welling had become a co-executive producer of the series. On March 26, 2010, The Hollywood Reporter
revealed that Millar and Gough, alongside co-producer Tollin/Robins Production, had filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. and The CW. The lawsuit contests that Hollywood's "vertical integration
" cost the pair millions of dollars. The suit claims that Warner Bros. failed to "maximize profits" while marketing Smallville, misrepresented production costs, and sold the show in foreign markets at "well below the value of the series". At this time, the lawsuit does not specify how much the plaintiffs are looking for in compensation. In a press release by The CW on May 20, 2010, Tom Welling was named a full executive producer for the tenth and final season of the series.
had more of a "Middle America landscape". The city provided a site for the Kent farm, as well as doubling for Metropolis. It also provided a cheaper shooting location, and was in the same time zone as Los Angeles. Smallville's "Main street" is a combination of two locations. Portions were shot in the town of Merritt
, and the rest was shot in Cloverdale
. Cloverdale is particularly proud of being a filming site for the show. At its entrance is a sign which reads "Home of Smallville."
Vancouver Technical School
doubled as the exterior for Smallville High, as the film makers believed Van Tech had the "mid-American largess" they wanted. This was in keeping with Millar's idea that Smallville should be the epitome of "Smalltown, USA". The interiors of Templeton Secondary School
were used for Smallville High's interior. Over the course of season one, the production team repainted most of Templeton in Smallville High’s red and yellow colors, and stuck large Smallville High Crows logos everywhere. The team painted over so much of the school that the school eventually adopted red and yellow as their official school colors. The students became so accustomed to the filming crew, which had to shoot during the school semester, that when class was released the filmmakers would stand aside and the students would casually move the filming equipment aside to get to their lockers, and then venture to their next class without paying the crew much attention.
The Kent farm is a real farm located in Aldergrove
. Owned by The Anderlinis, the production crew had to paint their home yellow for the show. Exterior shots of Luthor Mansion were filmed at Hatley Castle in Victoria
. The interior shots were done at Shannon Mews, in Vancouver, which was also the set for the Dark Angel
pilot and Along Came a Spider
. Movie house Clova Cinema, in Cloverdale, is used for exterior shots of The Talon, the show's coffee house.
The show is told from Clark's point of view, so the color scheme and camera selection is an illustration of Clark's interpretation of his environment. When he is safe at home the colors used to illustrate the environment are "warm and gentle", with an earth tone; the camera movement is also "very gentle". When Clark is keeping his secret and he is not in danger, the lighting is more neutral and the camera moves around more. When there is danger the lighting becomes colder, and the camera shifts to a handheld
to allow for more "extreme angles". With Metropolis, the crew attempts to instill the image of a "clean, hard-lined architecture", with blues, purples, and reflective metallics used as the dominant color scheme. The same concept is used for the characters. Lex is usually given a "glass, steel background", while Lionel receives a white or "clinical blue" background. Lex typically wears a lot of black, grey, and "cool tones" like purples and blues. Clark is represented by red, yellow, and blue, like the traditional Superman costume. He is also represented by the colors of the "All American": red, white, and blue.
worked in tandem with producer Ken Horton to create the underscore for the show. Snow created his music on the spot, as he watched the picture, and then tweaked his performance upon reviewing the recordings from his initial play. He then sent the music to the producers, who decided if they liked it or not; if not, then they sent it back and he recomposed. Individual episodes also feature their own soundtrack, comprising one or more songs by musical bands. Jennifer Pyken and Madonna Wade-Reed of Daisy Music worked on finding these songs for the show's soundtrack. Pyken and Wade-Reed's choices were then discussed by the producers, who decided which songs they wanted and secured the licensing rights to the songs. Although Snow admits it initially seemed odd to combine the two musical sounds on a "typical action-adventure" television show, he admits "the producers seem to like the contrast of the modern songs and the traditional, orchestral approach to the score".
The main theme to Smallville is not composed by Snow, though he has composed opening themes (he did one for The X-Files
). The opening theme is the single "Save Me
" by Remy Zero
. Snow composed the closing credits, which was composed to represent the theme of the show. In the first two seasons, the music playing during the closing credits was one of the potential theme songs for the series, before Remy Zero’s "Save Me" was selected. The melody was more "heroic" and "in-your-face". Mark Snow was told during season two the closing credits needed new music, as the show had evolved, and the existing music was no longer suitable. Snow created a new, toned-down score that featured a more "melodic" tune. Snow has also reworked music from the previous Superman films. John Williams
's musical score for the Krypton sequence in the opening credits of Superman was used in season two's "Rosetta"—which featured a guest appearance by Christopher Reeve
—as well as various times in the season two finale. To save money, Snow recorded his own version of Williams's score, as using the original version would have required the team to pay Williams's orchestra as well.
In a May 23, 2008, interview with Randall Larson, Snow revealed he would not be returning, citing the workload of Smallville and The Ghost Whisperer as being too much for him. Snow did state he would be returning for The Ghost Whisperer. While reminiscing about his work on the show, Snow indicated much of the music had not really changed throughout the series, agreeing with Larson's description it was "more [about] maintaining the heroic concept and the mythology than progressing through specific changes". Louis Febre, who worked closely with Snow from the beginning, became the sole composer for Smallville beginning with season seven. Febre commented that since he began composing for Smallville there was a shift to "thematic development" of the score, which would parallel the growth of the characters. Febre stated, "As Clark grew emotionally and intellectually more complex, I found a need to comment musically on his growth, and as he drew closer to his Superman persona, it became obvious that a 'Superman' theme would be required."
At various times the creative team had the chance to try different musical tones to enhance the storyline of an episode. Jennifer Pyken and Madonna Wade-Reed chose and coordinated the commercial music used on the show, for use when Snow's and Febre's scores were not used.In season three's "Slumber", producer Ken Horton wondered if they could get a single band to provide all the music for the entire episode. During a breakfast meeting with the music department at Warner Brothers, the topic of the band R.E.M.
came up, and Pyken and Wade-Reed immediately saw an opportunity to connect the episode’s featured band with an episode’s story, which happened to revolve around REM sleep. During the same season, Al Gough wanted to use Johnny Cash
’s "Hurt" for the final scene of "Shattered", where Lionel Luthor stares at Lex through a one-way mirror at Belle Reve
sanitarium, from the moment he first read the script for the episode. Cash died while Wade-Reed was trying to get the song cleared for use. Believing the use of the song for the show would honor his memory, Cash’s heirs cleared the rights for Smallville.
For season three's "Resurrection" and "Memoria", songs were particularly chosen to provide symbolism for the characters. In "Resurrection", The Rapture's
"Infatuation" was used during a scene involving Lex and Lana. The point of the song was to symbolize the question, "Are we ever going to figure out what these two people think of each other?" For "Memoria", Gough came up with the idea of using Evanescence
's "My Immortal
" for the final scene of the episode. Gough informed Wade-Reed as soon as he began working on the script what song he wanted to use for the closing scene, as he saw the song as being symbolically about mothers, and in that scene Clark is telling Martha his first memory as a child was of his biological mother, Lara.
Season three's "Velocity" provided the music editors with the opportunity to use hip-hop
, a style of music rarely used on the show. The episode was similar to The Fast and the Furious
, and primarily focused on the only black character on the show, Pete. Wade-Reed used a more hip-hop sound, which worked well with the story. Wade-Reed had heard of a British hip-hop artist named Dizzee Rascal
, and became the first person in the United States to secure the licensing rights to use Rascal’s album. Greg Beeman is known for directing episodes, and sometimes specific scenes, with particular songs in mind. For "Vortex" in season two, he used Coldplay
's "In My Place
" for the final scene. In the season two finale, "Exodus", Beeman directed the scene where Lana shows up at the Kent barn, just before Lex's wedding, to Matthew Good
’s "Weapon". The lyrics speak of an angel and the Devil "by my side", and Beeman timed specific shots with specific moments in the lyrics.
would be merging into a single entity, The CW
. Shortly after that, The CW announced Smallville would continue to be part of the television lineup. On May 21, 2009, it was announced Smallville would be returning to the 2009–2010 fall line-up for its ninth season, airing on Friday nights at 8:00 pm
. On March 4, 2010, the CW announced Smallville had been renewed for a tenth season. Smallville also aired in Canada, and during its seventh season the series aired one day earlier than in the United States. Additionally, the series aired in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. By the end of its tenth season, Smallville became the longest-running science fiction television show in the United States, breaking the Guinness World Record held by Stargate SG-1
. On August 10, 2011, it was announced that TNT will begin airing the series in syndication on October 3, 2011.
as one of five new shows to watch. After its first season, Smallville placed sixth on the Parents Television Council
's list of the "best shows for families". The WB's CEO Jordan Levin recognized early concerns that the show had become a villain of the week
series, and announced season two would introduce "smaller mini-arcs over three to four episodes", to move away from the series becoming a "serialized show". Gough realized that although each succeeding season relied more on seasonal story arcs, there were occasions where they had to do villain of the week stories. It was clear the villain of the week stories were generally more criticized by fans of the Superman mythology. However, Gough wanted to be able to please both Superman fans and The WB's general audience, which consisted of teenagers who prefer the villain of the week stories over the episodes focusing more heavily on the Superman mythology.
Christopher Reeve
, star of the Superman films, voiced his approval of the show:
MTV's Karl Heitmueller believed that Smallville's Clark Kent was a better representation of the original material, staying "true to the heart of the story" by showing Clark's selflessness and his struggle between his desires and obligations. At the same time, Heitmueller felt the show would have a difficult time addressing why no one in Smallville recognized Clark when he puts on the suit, especially Lex Luthor. TV Guide's Michael Schneider classified it as one of the best examples of a superhero being adapted for television. However, Christopher Hooton of Metro suggested Smallville was not a story that needed to be told, saying, "No-one bothered to follow Bruce Wayne’s tedious years spent manufacturing microchips before he became Batman, so why must we endure a decade of flannel shirt-wearing Clark Kent bucking hay?"
. In 2002 the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series. Four years later, the series was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Editing for a Series for its fifth season episode "Arrival". In 2008 Smallville again won the Outstanding Sound Editing Emmy for season seven's "Bizarro".
Smallville has been awarded Leo Awards
on multiple occasions. Make-up artist Natalie Cosco was awarded the Leo Award for Best Make-Up twice, once for her work in the fourth season episode "Scare", and again for her work in the sixth season episodes "Hydro" and "Wither". In the 2006 Leo Awards, Barry Donlevy took home Best Cinematography in a Dramatic Series for his work on the fourth season episode "Spirit", while David Wilson won Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series for "Sacred". Smallville's sixth season won a Leo Award for Best Dramatic Series. James Marshall won Best Direction for "Zod", Caronline Cranstoun won Best Costume Design for her work on "Arrow", and James Philpott won Best Production Design for "Justice". In 2008 Smallville won the Leo Awards for Best Dramatic Series and Best Cinematography. The visual effects team was recognized for their work on the pilot with an award for Best Visual Effects in 2002. They were later recognized by the Visual Effects Society
with a 2004 VES Award
for Outstanding Compositing in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial, for the work they did on the second season episode "Accelerate". That same year, they won for Outstanding Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial for season two’s "Insurgence".
In 2002 the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
honored composer Mark Snow
and the band Remy Zero
, who provide the opening theme song "Save Me
", for their contributions to the show. The award is given to individuals who wrote the theme or underscore for the highest rated television series during January 1 – December 31, 2001 for their network. The American Society of Cinematographers
gave David Moxness an award for the work done on the sixth season episode "Arrow", and the following year they awarded Glen Winter the same award for his work on "Noir". Members of the regular cast have won awards for their portrayals on the show. In 2001 Michael Rosenbaum won a Saturn Award
for Best Supporting Actor. Tom Welling won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Star — Male in 2002, while Allison Mack was awarded Best Sidekick in 2006. Mack won Best Sidekick for the second year in a row when she received the award in the 2007 Teen Choice Awards. At the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Tom Welling received the award for Choice TV Actor Action Adventure.
.
between October 2002 and April 2004. In addition, a bi-monthly comic book series was published, which often tied directly into the events of the television show.
and featured Clark and his friends trying to uncover the truth about two religious con men who have set up shop in Smallville, and are using kryptonite in their spiritual seminars to rob the townspeople. Little, Brown Young Readers first published Arrival, which chronicles the events of the show’s pilot as written by author Michael Teitelbaum. The second book, See No Evil, was written by Cherie Bennett
and Jeff Gottesfeld
, who have also written various episodes of the show. See No Evil follows Dawn Mills, a young actress who wants to attend Juilliard. Dawn has the ability to become invisible, and after witnessing everyone talk negatively behind her back she decides to get revenge. When Clark discovers what Dawn has been doing he puts a stop to it. See No Evil was one of the original storylines outlined for the season one episode "Shimmer".
On November 1, 2002, Aspect released Alan Grant’s Smallville: Dragon, a story about an ex-convict who takes on the abilities and appearance of a dragon after being exposed to kryptonite in a cave. The mutation causes him to try and kill all those who testified against him. The novel features Clark being hypnotized into believing he is a normal, human teenager, with no abilities. One month after Grant’s novel, Bennett and Gottesfeld returned for a second time to write Little, Brown Young Readers’ Flight, a story about a young girl, Tia, whom Clark discovers has full-sized wings. Clark and his friends believe Tia is being abused by her father, so they teach her to overcome her fear of flying so she can go find her mom. Flight, like See No Evil, was also a planned episode at one point, but because the crew were not sure they could get the flying effects right they decided against using the story. Nancy Holder took over writing duties for the third novel in the Aspect series. Released on January 1, 2003, Hauntings follows Clark and his friends as they investigate the ghostly presence in one of Smallville’s haunted houses. Little, Brown Young Readers released Animal Rage next, written by David and Bobby Weiss. The story focuses on an animal rights activist, Heather Fox, who can transform into any animal she touches. Heather uses this ability to harm people who hurt animals, until Clark discovers the truth and stops her. Aspect brought in Dean Wesley Smith
for their next novel. Whodunit involves Clark, Chloe, Lana, and Pete investigating the murder of a boy and his sister, while Lex struggles with whether he will pay a ransom demand for his kidnapped father or simply try rescuing Lionel himself.
Little, Brown Young Readers published the next two books in April and June 2003. The first, titled "Speed", was written by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld. The second, titled "Buried Secrets", was written by Suzan Colon. Speed involves a boy using an hourglass his father gave him for his birthday to stop time and commit various hate crime
s without getting caught. Clark stops him before he can cause any damage at a local multicultural festival. Buried Secrets follows Clark and Lex as they both fall in love with a mind-reading substitute Spanish teacher. In the novel, Clark and Lex’s friendship is put in jeopardy as the two compete for the teacher’s love.
On September 9, 2004, Aspect published Shadows, written by Diana G. Gallagher
. Shadows is about a girl and her father who move to Smallville. The father creates a monster which begins killing people. Jonathan Kent assumes the deaths are LuthorCorp related, which causes tension between him and his son. Clark ascertains the truth to prove Lex’s innocence, and stops the creatures before they can kill again. Colon returned to write Runaway, a story about Clark running away to the city and living with other homeless teenagers. Clark falls in love with one of the girls before eventually returning home. Smallville: Silence was written by Nancy Holder, and features the characters investigating the appearance of zombies in town. Little, Brown Young Readers released their eighth book, written by Bennett and Gottesfeld, titled Greed. In this novel, Clark and his friends take jobs as summer counselors to disadvantaged youths. One of the boys falls into Crater Lake and is imbued with the ability to foretell the future. Lionel learns of this and tries to exploit it. Pete tries to abuse Clark’s abilities by tricking him into playing in a basketball game and then betting on the outcome.
Alan Grant returned for a second outing to write Curse, about a grave digger who unleashes a 150-year-old curse onto Smallville, with Clark’s attempting to put everything back to the way it was. On February 1, 2004, Little, Brown Young Readers released a new book by Suzan Colon, entitled Temptation. In the novel, Clark uses red kryptonite to try to impress Lana and Chloe after they become infatuated with a new French foreign exchange student. Aspect released their final novel on March 1, 2004. Written by Devin K. Grayson
, City follows Clark and Lex as they take a trip to Metropolis. While in the city, the pair get caught between the Japanese mafia and a secret agent who believes he has found an alien. In Little, Brown Young Readers’ final novel, "Sparks", written by Cherie Bennett, Chloe is hit by kryptonite sparks from a fireworks display. The sparks make Chloe the desire of every man, but when they wear off, one of them decides he really does want Chloe and kidnaps her. Clark comes to her rescue in the end.
published a one-shot comic based on the television series. Simply titled Smallville: The Comic, the issue features two stories. The first, written by Mark Verheiden
and Roy Martinez, is titled "Raptor" and features an abused boy who is mutated into a Raptor
, thanks to kryptonite, and decides to seek revenge on the Luthor family. Michael Green
and John Paul Leon
wrote the second story, "Exile and The Kingdom", which provides insight into why Lex chose to stay in Smallville after his father offered him a position in Metropolis at the end of season one. Eventually, DC Comics began publishing a bi-monthly comic featuring various stories involving the characters from Smallville. Writer and script coordinator Clint Carpenter described the comic book line as a companion piece to the show, instead of a non-canon version of the characters. Carpenter said the comic book line expands on events which occurred in the show, like showing what happens after season-ending cliffhangers. Carpenter saw the comics as providing "additional depth" to those characters who received limited screen time on the show, or whose storylines needed additional explanation.
Carpenter was not the first person asked to oversee the comic. Mark Verheiden, who co-wrote the one-shot comic, was originally going to be in charge of the bi-monthly series. Verheiden's commitment to the television series kept him from working on the comic books, so he asked Carpenter if he would take on the responsibility. Although the series was meant to expand on the events of the show, occasionally there were continuity errors created because of the differences in production schedules between the comic and the show. One such instance occurred when the comic book showed Clark robbing an ATM, while the season three premiere showed him robbing multiple ATMs. The series not only tied into the television show, but also the Chloe Chronicles webisodes and the various Smallville-related webpages. In addition, the comics featured interviews with the cast and crew as well as information on the production of the episodes.
The idea for an online show centered on Chloe came from Mark Warshaw, who ran the show's website and was in charge of the DVDs. The series was intended to wrap up "unfinished business" from the television show. Although Smallville: Chloe Chronicles first began airing on AOL, it eventually made its way to the United Kingdom's Channel 4 website. According to Lisa Gregorian, senior vice president, television, Warner Bros. Marketing Services, "Our goal is to create companion programming that offers new and exciting ways to engage the audience, just as music videos did for record promotion." Allison Mack described the show as "very Nancy Drew
and mysterious", and saying, "I think it’s a bit more like The X-Files
or NYPD Blue
. The Chronicles are like a detective story, with Chloe following clues and interviewing people, going from spot to spot, figuring things out." The scripts were written by Brice Tidwell, but Mack was given script approval for the series, allowing her to review and make changes to the script as she saw fit. Warshaw communicated regularly with Gough and Millar so he could find unique ways to expand Smallville stories over to Chloe’s Chronicles.
to provide its registered users the chance to view plot updates—in the form of a press release from The Daily Planet—as well as quizzes and games related to the show. As part of the deal, Verizon products and services were placed in various episodes of the show. In a promotional tie-in with Sprint
, Smallville Legends: The Oliver Queen Chronicles was released. The six-episode CGI
series chronicled the early life of Oliver Queen. According to Lisa Gregorian, Executive Vice President of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Television Group, these promotional tie-ins were ways to get fans more connected to the show. On April 19, 2007, a tie-in with Toyota promoting their new Yaris
featured an online comic strip as interstitial
programs during new episodes of Smallville, titled Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom. The interactive comic was based on the episode "Justice", which follows the adventures of Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry as they seek to destroy all of LuthorCorp's secret experimental labs. The online series allowed viewers to investigate alongside the fictional team, in an effort to win prizes. Stephan Nilson wrote all five of the episodes while working with a team of artists on the illustrations. The plot for each comic episode was given to Nilson as the production crew for Smallville was filming their current television episode. Artist Steve Scott drew comic book panels, which were then sent to a group called Motherland. That group reviewed the drawings and told Scott which images to draw on a separate overlay. This allowed for multiple objects to be moved in and out of the same frame.
In 2008 The CW entered into a partnership with the makers of Stride
brand chewing-gum to give viewers the opportunity to create their own Smallville digital comic. The writers and producers developed the comic's beginning and end, but allowed viewers to provide the middle. The CW began their tie-in campaign with the March 13, 2008 episode "Hero", where Pete develops superhuman elasticity after chewing some kryptonite-infused Stride gum. Going to The CW's website, viewers vote on one of two options—each adding four pages to the comic—every Tuesday and Thursday until the campaign ended on April 7, 2008. For season seven, Smallville again worked with Sprint, bringing its customers "mobisodes" featuring Clark's cousin Kara, titled Smallville Legends: Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton.
as Aquaman/Arthur Curry
. As work progressed on the Smallville season five episode "Aqua", the character was recognized as having potential for his own series, even though the episode was never meant to be a backdoor pilot for an Aquaman
television spin-off. Alan Ritchson was not considered for the role in the new series, because Gough and Millar did not consider it a spin-off from Smallville. Gough said in November 2005, "[The series] is going to be a different version of the 'Aquaman' legend." Gough did express the idea of a crossover with Smallville at some point. The pilot was considered to have a good chance of being picked up, but when The WB and UPN
merged into The CW, the new network passed on the show.
During the sixth season, there was talk of spinning off the Green Arrow
into his own series. Hartley refused to talk about the possibility of a spin-off out of respect for his role on Smallville. The actor felt it was his duty to respect what the show had accomplished in five seasons, and not "steal the spotlight" by thinking he was better than he was just because there was "talk" of a spin-off after only two appearances on the show. According to Hartley, "talking" was as far as the spin-off idea ever got.
. Seasons five and six were also released in the now-obsolete HD DVD
format on November 28, 2006, and September 18, 2007, respectively. Seasons six, seven, eight, and nine have been released on Blu-ray formats. The DVD releases include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentary by cast and crew members on selected episodes. The promotional tie-ins, Chloe Chronicles and Vengeance Chronicles, accompanied the season two, three, and five box sets. Other special features include interactive functionality, such as a tour of Smallville, a comic book, and DVD-ROM material.
, with the proceeds going to charity. In 2003, Titan publishing
began releasing the Smallville magazine, a monthly magazine featuring interviews with the cast and crew, information on Smallville merchandise, and photos. Titan released the 34th issue of the Smallville magazine in November 2009, the final issue.
Titan Books published companion books for each of the seasons, which contained interviews with the cast and crew, descriptions of the episodes, and behind-the-scenes photos. On September 1, 2004, Titan Books released their first official companion for the series. Written by Paul Simpson, the book contains sixteen pages of color photos of the cast. On March 1, 2005, Titan Books released their companion for season two, also written by Simpson. The season two companion goes into more detail about the special effects used on the show. On September 1, 2005, Titan Books released the third season official companion. This was the last companion written by Simpson. Apart from the episodes' general plots, Simpson discussed the lack of use of the Martha Kent character, and why the Adam Knight storyline did not pan out. After two years, Titan Books released the fourth season companion on September 4, 2007, written by Craig Byrne, who also wrote the subsequent companion books. It contains interviews with the cast and crew, but this time the color spread contains images of the production itself. On December 26, 2007, Titan Books released the season five companion. On March 25, 2008, Titan Books released their sixth official companion for Smallville. The season six companion contains an introduction from Justin Hartley. The season seven companion would be the final book released by Titan. It contains a foreward from Laura Vandervoort, along with a reflection on the "Smallville phenomenon" and a discussion of the departure of Gough and Millar as executive producers and showrunners.
In 2010, a role playing game was released by Margaret Weis Productions using their Cortex System. It uses the setting of the show in season nine, with rules for earlier seasons. Supplements to the game have been produced. Players can play the characters from Smallville, or create their own spin-off of the show that has as much or as little connection to the show as they like.
Miscellaneous
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough III is an American screenwriter and producer.-Early life and career:Born in Leonardtown, Maryland, Gough graduated from St. Mary's Ryken High School and The Catholic University of America...
and Miles Millar
Miles Millar
-Early life and Career:Millar was educated at Claremont Fan Court School, and is a graduate of Christ's College, Cambridge, where he was Chairman of Cambridge University Conservative Association.....
based on the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, originally created by Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
and Joe Shuster
Joe Shuster
Joseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
(The WB), premiering on October 16, 2001. After Smallvilles fifth season
Smallville (Season 5)
Season five of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 29, 2005. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
, The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
merged to form The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, which became the broadcaster for the show in the United States. It ended its tenth and final season
Smallville (season 10)
Season ten of Smallville, an American television series, premiered on September 24, 2010 and consisted of 22 episodes. It was the tenth and final season to air, and the fifth one to air on The CW television network...
on May 13, 2011. The series follows the adventures of Clark Kent
Clark Kent (Smallville)
Clark Kent is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the alternate identity of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth...
(Tom Welling
Tom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
), who resides in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, during the years before he becomes Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. The first four seasons focus on Clark and his friends' high school years. After season five, the show ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
, as well as introducing other DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
comic book superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es and villains
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
.
The concept for Smallville was created after a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
failed to generate interest. After meeting with the president of Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
, series developers Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events leading up to Clark Kent becoming Superman. After seven seasons with the show, Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason. Smallville was predominantly filmed in and around Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music for the first six seasons was primarily composed by Mark Snow
Mark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
, who incorporated elements of John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
's musical score from the original Superman film series. In season seven
Smallville (season 7)
Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
, Louis Febre, who had worked with Snow from the beginning, took over as primary composer. The song played under the opening titles is "Save Me
Save Me (Remy Zero song)
"Save Me" is a song by rock band Remy Zero. Taken from their album The Golden Hum, it reached #27 on the United States Billboard Modern Rock Charts, and acts as the theme song for the Superman-based television series Smallville....
" by Remy Zero
Remy Zero
Remy Zero were a Birmingham, Alabama-based alternative rock band made up of Cinjun Tate , Shelby Tate , Cedric LeMoyne , Jeffrey Cain and Gregory Slay prior to his death in January 2010.-History:Before Remy Zero had released any full length albums, Radiohead found their demo tape and invited...
; several episodes also contain songs written and performed by other bands.
The series was generally positively received when it began broadcasting. Former Superman star Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
voiced his approval of the series, and the pilot episode broke the record for highest-rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers. Over ten seasons, it averaged approximately 4.34 million viewers per episode, with season two
Smallville (Season 2)
Season two of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on September 24, 2002, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas,...
averaging the highest ratings, at 6.3 million. By the end of its run, Smallville became the longest-running comic book-based series and longest-running North American science fiction series in television history. The series has earned distinctions ranging from Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s to Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
since its first season
Smallville (season 1)
Season one of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the fictional town of...
. The show has spawned a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics bi-monthly comic book and soundtrack releases, as well as Smallville-related merchandise. Currently, nine seasons of Smallville are available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
.
Series overview
The regular cast is introduced in Season oneSmallville (season 1)
Season one of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the fictional town of...
. Storylines regularly included a villain deriving a power from kryptonite exposure. The one-episode villains were a plot device developed by Gough and Millar. The first season primarily dealt with Clark trying to come to terms with his alien origins, and the revelation that his arrival on Earth was connected to the deaths of Lana Lang
Lana Lang (Smallville)
Lana Lang is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. She has been a series regular since the pilot episode, and has been played continuously by Kristin Kreuk, with two other actresses having portrayed Lana Lang as a child and as an elderly woman...
's parents. After the first season, the series used fewer villain-of-the-week episodes, focusing more on story arcs which affected each character and explored Clark's origins. Main story arcs include Clark's discovery of his Kryptonian heritage. The disembodied voice of Clark's biological father, Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
, is introduced. He communicates to Clark via his spaceship, setting the stage for plots involving the fulfillment of Clark's earthly destiny
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. In another arc which comprises the fourth season
Smallville (Season 4)
Season four of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 22, 2004. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The fourth season comprises...
, Clark seeks three Kryptonian stones, at the instruction of Jor-El, which contain the knowledge of the universe and form his Fortress of Solitude
Fortress of Solitude
The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...
. Clark also battles Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
in his attempts to release the Kryptonian criminal General Zod
General Zod
General Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
. Clark must either capture or destroy other escaped Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
criminals. Clark's biological cousin Kara
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
arrives, and Lex Luthor finally discovers Clark's secret. The eighth season
Smallville (season 8)
Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
features storylines involving the introduction of Davis Bloome, who is Smallvilles interpretation of Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
, and a woman named Tess Mercer replaces Lex Luthor, who exits the series. Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles of Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, and as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the WB/CW Superman-inspired series Smallville....
joins as a series regular in the role of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
Justice League (Smallville)
The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until...
, having been a recurring guest in season six
Smallville (Season 6)
Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
. With the ninth season
Smallville (season 9)
Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman...
, Major Zod (Callum Blue
Callum Blue
Daniel James Callum Blue , better known as Callum Blue, is an English film and television actor, best known for his roles on the Showtime series The Tudors and Dead Like Me as well as for his role as Zod in the American television series Smallville and British...
), along with other members of Zod's military group, are revived by Tess Mercer, though without their Kryptonian powers. Their efforts to obtain those powers become the central conflict for the season's story arc. The tenth and final season
Smallville (season 10)
Season ten of Smallville, an American television series, premiered on September 24, 2010 and consisted of 22 episodes. It was the tenth and final season to air, and the fifth one to air on The CW television network...
revolves around Clark's attempts to get rid of his doubts and fears in order to become the hero he is meant to be, while also confronting his biggest challenges—the coming of Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
and the return of Lex Luthor.
Cast
Tom WellingTom Welling
Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling is an American actor, director, producer, and former model, best known for his portrayal of Clark Kent in the WB/CW series Smallville....
portrays Clark Kent
Clark Kent (Smallville)
Clark Kent is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. The character of Clark Kent, first created for comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the alternate identity of Superman, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—this is the fourth...
, a young man with superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
abilities, who tries to find his place in life after discovering he is an alien. He uses his abilities to help others in danger. Clark's problems in season one include not being able to share his secret with anyone and his desire for a normal life. After months of scouting, Welling was cast as Clark. David Nutter had to convince Welling's manager that the role would not hurt Welling's film career in order to get Welling to read the pilot script. After reading the script, Welling was convinced to audition.
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...
portrays Lana Lang
Lana Lang (Smallville)
Lana Lang is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. She has been a series regular since the pilot episode, and has been played continuously by Kristin Kreuk, with two other actresses having portrayed Lana Lang as a child and as an elderly woman...
, the girl next door. She has a "hole in her heart" because of the loss of her parents, and feels empathy for everyone. She feels connected to Clark. Kreuk was the first to be cast after Nutter saw an audition tape the actress had sent. Kreuk left the series after the seventh season, but returned for five episodes in season eight as a guest star.
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Owen Rosenbaum is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Lex Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville and Dutch on FOX's Breaking In, and for providing the voice for the Flash in the DC animated universe...
portrays Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor (Smallville)
Lex Luthor is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. He was a series regular from the pilot episode until the season seven finale, and has been played continuously by Michael Rosenbaum, with various actors portraying Lex as a child throughout the series...
, a billionaire's son sent to Smallville to run the local fertilizer plant. After Clark saves his life, the two quickly become friends. As the series progresses, his friendship with Clark crumbles until the pair consider themselves enemies. The role was hard to cast, as no one could agree on who they liked for the role. Michael Rosenbaum twice auditioned for the role of Lex Luthor. Feeling he did not take his first audition seriously, Rosenbaum outlined a two-and-a-half-page scene, indicating all the places to be funny, charismatic, or menacing. His audition went so well that everyone agreed he was "the guy". After seven seasons, Rosenbaum left the show. On February 11, 2011, it was announced that he would return for the finale episode of the series.
Allison Mack
Allison Mack
Not to be confused with Alison MacAllison Mack is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Chloe Sullivan on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Early life:...
portrays Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. Series regular Allison Mack has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series...
, one of Clark's best friends. She is in love with Clark, although the feeling is not reciprocated. Editor of the school newspaper, her journalistic curiosity, always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth", causes tension with her friends, especially when she investigates Clark's past. After learning about Smallville from Dee Dee Bradley, the show's casting director, Mack thought about auditioning for the role of Lana Lang. Mack instead auditioned twice for the role of Chloe Sullivan. The character was created just for the series, and was intended to have an "ethnic background" before Mack was hired. She has since appeared in the comic book.
Sam Jones III
Sam Jones III
Samuel L. Jones III is an American actor, best known for playing Pete Ross on the first three seasons of the television series Smallville.-Career:...
portrays Pete Ross, another of Clark's best friends. He is the first person Clark voluntarily informs of his secret. He is in love with Chloe, which he keeps to himself because of the Clark-Lana-Chloe love triangle already taking place. Ross was written out of the series at the end of season three, but made a guest appearance in season seven. Jones was the last of the series regulars to be cast. Gough and Millar saw Jones four days before they began filming the pilot. In the comics, Ross is Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
, but the producers chose to cast Jones, who is African-American, against the mythology.
Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole
Annette O'Toole is an American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is most recently known for portraying Martha Kent, the mother of Clark Kent on the television series Smallville.-Early life and career:...
portrays Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive mother. She, along with her husband Jonathan, give Clark sage advice about how to cope with his growing abilities. In season five, she takes a state senate
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...
seat. In season six the character exits from the show. Cynthia Ettinger
Cynthia Ettinger
Cynthia Ettinger is an American actress. From 1990 to 1993, she was married to American singer and television performer Wally Kurth. Ettinger was originally cast as Martha Kent for Smallville, but during filming everyone realized that she was not right for the role, including Ettinger...
was originally cast as Martha Kent, but during filming everyone, including Ettinger, realized she was not right for the role. O'Toole was committed to the television series The Huntress
The Huntress (TV series)
The Huntress is an American TV series that appeared on the USA Network over subsequent summers of the 2000 and 2001 television seasons. It was inspired by a book about the real bounty hunter, Dottie Thorson, and is also a belated sequel to the 1980 Steve McQueen film, The Hunter.-Cast:*Annette...
when Ettinger was filming the original pilot. Around the time the creators were looking to recast the role of Martha Kent, The Huntress was canceled, allowing O'Toole to join the cast of Smallville. O'Toole had previously portrayed Lana Lang in Superman III
Superman III
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
.
John Schneider
John Schneider (television actor)
John Richard Schneider III is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of Bo Duke in the 1980s American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and as Jonathan Kent on Smallville, a 2001 television adaptation of Superman.Alongside his acting career, Schneider performed as a...
portrays Jonathan Kent, Clark's adoptive father. He goes to great lengths to protect his son's secret. According to Schneider, Jonathan is "perfectly willing to go to jail, or worse, to protect his son." Schneider was written out of the show on the series' 100th episode, with Jonathan dying of a heart attack the night of his election victory. Millar and Gough wanted a recognizable face for Smallville. They loved the idea of casting Schneider as Jonathan, because he was already known as Bo Duke
Bo Duke
Beauregard "Bo" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, which ran from 1979 to 1985. He was played by John Schneider. The name of Beauregard may have been chosen after the famous Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard.Bo and his cousin Luke Duke live in...
from The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
, which Gough saw as adding to the belief that Schneider could have grown up running a farm.
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson (actor)
Eric Johann Johnson is a Canadian actor best known for playing the role of Whitney Fordman on the television series Smallville...
portrays Whitney Fordman, Lana's boyfriend, who becomes jealous of Clark and Lana's budding friendship, going so far as to haze
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
Clark. He eventually reconciles with Clark, before joining the Marines. Whitney was written out of the show in the first season's finale, but he made cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
appearances in the season two episode "Visage", where it is revealed he died in combat overseas, and the season four episode "Façade", during a flashback to Clark's freshman year. Johnson has expressed his pleasure in the way the writers handled Whitney's departure, by giving the character the exit of a hero. Johnson auditioned for the roles of Lex and Clark, before finally being cast as Whitney.
John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
portrays Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor
Lionel Luthor is a fictional character in the television series Smallville, portrayed continuously by John Glover. Initially a recurring guest in season one, the character became a series regular in season two and continued with that status until he was written out of the show in the seventh season...
, Lex's father. Lionel is responsible for the Kents being able to adopt Clark without any legal ramifications or questions about his origins. Glover tried to make Lionel appear as though he was trying to "toughen [Lex] up". Glover saw the character as a rich and powerful businessman who was disappointed in his son. Glover's goal for season one was to show Lionel's attempts to make Lex tougher. Lionel was created specifically for the show to provide a parallel to the Kents, and to portray an "experiment in extreme parenting." In season two, Glover, who had been a recurring guest on the show in season one, became a part of the regular cast. He remained a series regular through season seven, until Lionel was murdered by Lex in the season seven episode "Descent".
Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ross Ackles is an American actor. He is known for his roles in television as Eric Brady in Days of our Lives, which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, as well as Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel and Jason Teague in Smallville...
portrays Jason Teague, a love interest for Lana, in season four. He follows Lana to Smallville, from Paris, France, and takes a position as the school's assistant football coach. He was fired from the school when his relationship with Lana came to light. By the end of the season, it is revealed he had been working with his mother to track the three Kryptonian stones of knowledge. Ackles received top billing for season four and was contracted to remain through season five, but was written out of the show in season four's finale due to his commitments to Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
.
Erica Durance
Erica Durance
Erica Durance is a Canadian actress. She has also been credited as Erica Parker. She is best known for her role as Lois Lane in the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.- Early life :...
portrays Lois Lane
Lois Lane (Smallville)
Lois Lane is a fictional character on the television series Smallville; she has been portrayed continually by Erica Durance since her first appearance in the season four premier "Crusade". Durance began as a guest star in season four, but was promoted to series regular status beginning in season five...
, Chloe's cousin. She comes to Smallville investigating the supposed death of Chloe. She stays with the Kents while in town. Durance was a recurring guest for season four, but afterward became a series regular. The producers were always looking to bring Lois Lane to the series, and the supposed death of Chloe in the season three finale seemed like the right time to bring her to the show. Durance was cast just three days before filming began, and initially was only able to appear in four episodes based on a stipulation from the film division of Warner Bros. After discussion, the character was cleared for more episodes.
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...
portrays Jimmy Olsen, Chloe's photographer boyfriend; he also works at the Daily Planet. Ashmore was a recurring guest for season six but became a regular cast member in season seven. Ashmore indicates his casting was a welcomed surprise. The actor states, "I auditioned for [the role] and I put myself on tape. I hadn't heard anything, and a couple of weeks later, all of the sudden (sic), I got the call saying, 'You're going to Vancouver to start shooting Smallville.' It's a dream come true, really." After three seasons on the show, two as a series regular, Ashmore's character was killed off. Although "Jimmy Olsen" was murdered, Ashmore stated that his Jimmy was not the "real" Jimmy Olsen and that the character's younger brother, who appears briefly in the season eight finale, is intended to be the Jimmy who works alongside Clark and Lois. Ashmore returns to play the real, younger Jimmy, in the show's final episode.
Laura Vandervoort
Laura Vandervoort
Laura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V....
portrays Kara, Clark's Kryptonian cousin. She was sent to look after Kal-El (Clark), but was stuck in suspended animation for eighteen years. When the dam confining her ship broke in the season six finale, "Phantom", she was set free. She has all of Clark's abilities, including the ability to fly. At the end of the seventh season, Kara was shown trapped in the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
. Vandervoort was not brought back as a series regular for the eighth season, but she did a guest appearance to wrap up her storyline in season eight's "Bloodline" and later in season ten's "Supergirl" and "Prophecy".
Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles of Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, and as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the WB/CW Superman-inspired series Smallville....
portrays Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
Justice League (Smallville)
The Justice League is a fictional group of superheroes on the television series, Smallville, who were adapted for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The Justice League originally included Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry; Clark Kent did not accept a role until...
, the CEO of Queen Industries and leader of a small group of superheroes. Hartley was a recurring guest in the sixth and seventh seasons and became a series regular in season eight. Hartley was the producers' first choice to play Oliver Queen. He was designed to shake up the lives of both Clark and Lois in season six, as well as provide Clark with an alternate view of how to fight crime.
Samuel Witwer
Samuel Witwer
Samuel Stewart "Sam" Witwer is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in individual episodes of numerous television shows as well as minor recurring characters in shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Davis Bloome aka Doomsday in Smallville, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Dexter...
portrays Davis Bloome in season eight. He is a "charismatic" paramedic
Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
struggling with a darkness inside of him. Davis Bloome is Smallville's interpretation of Doomsday
Doomsday (comics)
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. Witwer explained that Davis would come to resemble his comic book counterpart over the course of the season. Brian Peterson
Brian Wayne Peterson
Brian Wayne Peterson is a screenwriter and television producer. He wrote the script for 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader and has worked on many episodes of Smallville as writer and producer since 2002...
explained that, with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.
Cassidy Freeman
Cassidy Freeman
Cassidy Freeman is an American actress and musician. She is known for her role as Tess Mercer in The CW's Superman-inspired action drama Smallville, which she starred for three years.-Early life and education:...
portrays Tess Mercer, Lex's handpicked successor to being CEO of LuthorCorp in season eight. The name "Tess Mercer" is a homage to two characters from Superman lore, Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves
Mercy Graves
Mercedes "Mercy" Graves is a fictional supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. She debuted on Superman: The Animated Series as the bodyguard/personal assistant of Superman's archenemy, Lex Luthor...
. As Freeman describes her character, Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun", and "intelligent". Mercer's primary goal for season eight was finding Lex. Her attention is drawn to Clark, whom she believes will be able to help her. In the season ten episode "Abandoned", it is revealed that her birth name is Lutessa Lena Luthor, and that she is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel.
Callum Blue
Callum Blue
Daniel James Callum Blue , better known as Callum Blue, is an English film and television actor, best known for his roles on the Showtime series The Tudors and Dead Like Me as well as for his role as Zod in the American television series Smallville and British...
portrays Zod, an early version of the criminal from Krypton who was expelled to the Phantom Zone prison. His character is first mentioned in season five, when Brainiac uses Lex's body as a physical vessel for Zod's spirit to inhabit. Later, he appears from within a Kryptonian orb in the season eight finale. The executive producers classify this incarnation as "Major Zod", as opposed to his typical "General Zod" identifier, and reveal throughout season nine "the venomous side of Zod rises because he experiences a few key betrayals with our beloved characters".
Development
Originally, Tollin/Robbins ProductionsTollin/Robbins Productions
Tollin/Robbins Productions is an American movie and television production company operated by Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins, the latter probably best known for his role as Eric Mardian in the 1980s TV series Head of the Class...
wanted to do a series about a young Bruce Wayne. The feature film division of Warner Bros. had decided to develop an origin movie
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
for Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, and because they did not want to compete with a television series, the series idea was nixed. In 2000 Tollin/Robbins approached Peter Roth, the President of Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
, about developing a series based on a young Superman. That same year, Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough III is an American screenwriter and producer.-Early life and career:Born in Leonardtown, Maryland, Gough graduated from St. Mary's Ryken High School and The Catholic University of America...
and Miles Millar
Miles Millar
-Early life and Career:Millar was educated at Claremont Fan Court School, and is a graduate of Christ's College, Cambridge, where he was Chairman of Cambridge University Conservative Association.....
developed a pilot based on the film Eraser
Eraser (film)
Eraser is a 1996 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan and Vanessa L. Williams. It was directed by Chuck Russell. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing in 1996.-Plot:...
. After watching the pilot, Roth approached the two men about developing a second pilot based on the young Superman concept. After meeting with Roth, Gough and Millar decided they did not want to do a series where there was lots of flying or a cape. It was here Gough and Millar developed their "no tights, no flights" rule, vowing Clark would not, at any point, fly nor don the Superman suit during the run of the show.
Gough and Millar wanted to strip Superman down to his "bare essence", and explore the reasons that Clark Kent became Superman. They felt that because they were not comic book fans or familiar with the universe, they would have an unbiased approach to the series. However, this did not keep them from learning about the characters; they both did research on the comics and picked and rearranged what they liked. They returned and pitched their idea to both The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on the same day. A bidding war ensued between Fox and The WB, and the latter won out, with a commitment for thirteen episodes to start.
Roth, Gough, and Millar knew the show was going to be action-oriented, but they wanted to be able to reach the "middle America iconography" 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
had reached. To help create this atmosphere, the team decided the meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
bringing Clark to Earth would be the foundation for the franchise of the show. Not only does it act as the primary source behind the creation of the super-powered beings Clark must fight, but it acts as a sense of irony in his life. The meteor shower would give him a life on Earth, but it would also take away the parents of the girl he loves, and start Lex Luthor down a dark path, thanks to the loss of his hair during the shower. Roth loved the conflict that was created for Clark, in forcing him to deal with the fact his arrival caused so much pain.
Another problem the creators had to grapple with was the question of why Lex Luthor would be socializing with teenagers. To address this, they decided to create a sense of loneliness in the character, which they felt would require him to reach out to the teens. The loneliness was echoed in Clark and Lana as well. Gough and Millar wanted to provide a parallel to the Kents, so they created Lionel Luthor, Lex's father, which they saw as the "experiment in extreme parenting." They wanted a younger Kent couple, because they felt they needed to be able to be involved in Clark's life and help him through his journey. Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character from the television series Smallville. Series regular Allison Mack has portrayed the character since the pilot episode; two other actresses performed the role of Chloe Sullivan as a child. The character was created exclusively for Smallville, by series...
, another character created just for the show, was meant to be the "outsider" the show needed. Gough and Millar felt the character was necessary so that someone would notice the strange happenings in Smallville. She was not meant to act as a "precursor to Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
".
The concept of Smallville has been described by Warner Brothers as a reinterpretation of the Superman mythology from its roots. Since the November 2004 reacquisition of Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
by the Siegel family
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
, there has arisen contention regarding a possible copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. The dispute is over ownership of the fictional town of Smallville, title setting of the show, and a claimed similarity between Superboys title character and Smallvilles Clark Kent. The heirs of Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
claim "Smallville is part of the Superboy copyright," of which the Siegels own the rights.
Crew changes
On April 3, 2008, after seven seasons with the show, Gough and Millar announced they would be leaving Smallville. The developers, after thanking the cast and crew for all their hard work, acknowledged they never stopped fighting for what they saw as "their vision" of the show. A specific reason for their departure was not given. Gough and Millar were replaced as showrunners by Todd SlavkinTodd Slavkin
Todd Slavkin is an American screenwriter and producer, most famous for working on the American television program Smallville. As of October 6, 2006 he has written or co-written 18 episodes of Smallville.- Smallville :*Writer...
, Darren Swimmer
Darren Swimmer
Darren Swimmer is an American screenwriter and producer, most famous for working on the American television program Smallville. As of October 6, 2006 he has written or co-written 18 episodes of Smallville.-Smallville:*Writer...
, Kelly Souders, and Brian Peterson
Brian Wayne Peterson
Brian Wayne Peterson is a screenwriter and television producer. He wrote the script for 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader and has worked on many episodes of Smallville as writer and producer since 2002...
. All four had joined the crew at the start of the second season as writers and worked their way up to executive producers by the seventh season. On February 6, 2009, after one season, the L.A. Times confirmed executive producers Swimmer and Slavkin would not be returning for the ninth season of Smallville; instead, the pair would take over The CW's new series Melrose Place
Melrose Place (2009 TV series)
Melrose Place is an American television series broadcast on The CW Television Network from September 8, 2009 to April 13, 2010. The fifth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise, it is an updated version of the 1990s Fox prime time drama of the same name, featuring a group of young adults...
. The Times also reported Souders and Peterson would continue on as showrunners when Smallville starts its ninth season. On July 24, 2009, it was announced Tom Welling had become a co-executive producer of the series. On March 26, 2010, The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
revealed that Millar and Gough, alongside co-producer Tollin/Robins Production, had filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. and The CW. The lawsuit contests that Hollywood's "vertical integration
Vertical integration
In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...
" cost the pair millions of dollars. The suit claims that Warner Bros. failed to "maximize profits" while marketing Smallville, misrepresented production costs, and sold the show in foreign markets at "well below the value of the series". At this time, the lawsuit does not specify how much the plaintiffs are looking for in compensation. In a press release by The CW on May 20, 2010, Tom Welling was named a full executive producer for the tenth and final season of the series.
Filming
The show was produced at BB Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia. Initially, production was going to be in Australia, but VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
had more of a "Middle America landscape". The city provided a site for the Kent farm, as well as doubling for Metropolis. It also provided a cheaper shooting location, and was in the same time zone as Los Angeles. Smallville's "Main street" is a combination of two locations. Portions were shot in the town of Merritt
Merritt, British Columbia
Merritt is a city in the Nicola Valley of the south-central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Situated at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, it is the first major community encountered after travelling along Phase One of the Coquihalla Highway and acts as the gateway to all...
, and the rest was shot in Cloverdale
Cloverdale, British Columbia
Cloverdale is an historic town and designated town centre of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, located near Langley, which is east of Vancouver. The town was founded initially as a small farm community in 1870 for its fertile land and temperate climate, and has since become enveloped by suburban...
. Cloverdale is particularly proud of being a filming site for the show. At its entrance is a sign which reads "Home of Smallville."
Vancouver Technical Secondary School
Vancouver Technical Secondary School, often referred to as Van Tech, is located on the East Side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-History:...
doubled as the exterior for Smallville High, as the film makers believed Van Tech had the "mid-American largess" they wanted. This was in keeping with Millar's idea that Smallville should be the epitome of "Smalltown, USA". The interiors of Templeton Secondary School
Templeton Secondary School
Templeton Secondary School is a secondary school in Vancouver. Approximately 1200 students are enrolled there from Grade 8-12. Located in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood on the east side of Vancouver, it has won the SmartAsk competition in 2004 and is now trying for Reach For The Top. It has won...
were used for Smallville High's interior. Over the course of season one, the production team repainted most of Templeton in Smallville High’s red and yellow colors, and stuck large Smallville High Crows logos everywhere. The team painted over so much of the school that the school eventually adopted red and yellow as their official school colors. The students became so accustomed to the filming crew, which had to shoot during the school semester, that when class was released the filmmakers would stand aside and the students would casually move the filming equipment aside to get to their lockers, and then venture to their next class without paying the crew much attention.
The Kent farm is a real farm located in Aldergrove
Aldergrove, British Columbia
Aldergrove is a small town within the jurisdiction of the The Township of Langley, a municipality within Greater Vancouver. Located at the southeastern edge of both Langley and Greater Vancouver, and nearby to the metropolitan area of Abbotsford, British Columbia just east, Aldergrove has a...
. Owned by The Anderlinis, the production crew had to paint their home yellow for the show. Exterior shots of Luthor Mansion were filmed at Hatley Castle in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. The interior shots were done at Shannon Mews, in Vancouver, which was also the set for the Dark Angel
Dark Angel (TV series)
Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
pilot and Along Came a Spider
Along Came a Spider (film)
Along Came a Spider is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Lee Tamahori. The screenplay by Marc Moss was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same title by James Patterson, but many of the key plot elements of the book were eliminated...
. Movie house Clova Cinema, in Cloverdale, is used for exterior shots of The Talon, the show's coffee house.
The show is told from Clark's point of view, so the color scheme and camera selection is an illustration of Clark's interpretation of his environment. When he is safe at home the colors used to illustrate the environment are "warm and gentle", with an earth tone; the camera movement is also "very gentle". When Clark is keeping his secret and he is not in danger, the lighting is more neutral and the camera moves around more. When there is danger the lighting becomes colder, and the camera shifts to a handheld
Hand-held camera
Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used because they are conveniently sized for travel and because they allow...
to allow for more "extreme angles". With Metropolis, the crew attempts to instill the image of a "clean, hard-lined architecture", with blues, purples, and reflective metallics used as the dominant color scheme. The same concept is used for the characters. Lex is usually given a "glass, steel background", while Lionel receives a white or "clinical blue" background. Lex typically wears a lot of black, grey, and "cool tones" like purples and blues. Clark is represented by red, yellow, and blue, like the traditional Superman costume. He is also represented by the colors of the "All American": red, white, and blue.
Music
Composer Mark SnowMark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
worked in tandem with producer Ken Horton to create the underscore for the show. Snow created his music on the spot, as he watched the picture, and then tweaked his performance upon reviewing the recordings from his initial play. He then sent the music to the producers, who decided if they liked it or not; if not, then they sent it back and he recomposed. Individual episodes also feature their own soundtrack, comprising one or more songs by musical bands. Jennifer Pyken and Madonna Wade-Reed of Daisy Music worked on finding these songs for the show's soundtrack. Pyken and Wade-Reed's choices were then discussed by the producers, who decided which songs they wanted and secured the licensing rights to the songs. Although Snow admits it initially seemed odd to combine the two musical sounds on a "typical action-adventure" television show, he admits "the producers seem to like the contrast of the modern songs and the traditional, orchestral approach to the score".
The main theme to Smallville is not composed by Snow, though he has composed opening themes (he did one for The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
). The opening theme is the single "Save Me
Save Me (Remy Zero song)
"Save Me" is a song by rock band Remy Zero. Taken from their album The Golden Hum, it reached #27 on the United States Billboard Modern Rock Charts, and acts as the theme song for the Superman-based television series Smallville....
" by Remy Zero
Remy Zero
Remy Zero were a Birmingham, Alabama-based alternative rock band made up of Cinjun Tate , Shelby Tate , Cedric LeMoyne , Jeffrey Cain and Gregory Slay prior to his death in January 2010.-History:Before Remy Zero had released any full length albums, Radiohead found their demo tape and invited...
. Snow composed the closing credits, which was composed to represent the theme of the show. In the first two seasons, the music playing during the closing credits was one of the potential theme songs for the series, before Remy Zero’s "Save Me" was selected. The melody was more "heroic" and "in-your-face". Mark Snow was told during season two the closing credits needed new music, as the show had evolved, and the existing music was no longer suitable. Snow created a new, toned-down score that featured a more "melodic" tune. Snow has also reworked music from the previous Superman films. John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
's musical score for the Krypton sequence in the opening credits of Superman was used in season two's "Rosetta"—which featured a guest appearance by Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
—as well as various times in the season two finale. To save money, Snow recorded his own version of Williams's score, as using the original version would have required the team to pay Williams's orchestra as well.
In a May 23, 2008, interview with Randall Larson, Snow revealed he would not be returning, citing the workload of Smallville and The Ghost Whisperer as being too much for him. Snow did state he would be returning for The Ghost Whisperer. While reminiscing about his work on the show, Snow indicated much of the music had not really changed throughout the series, agreeing with Larson's description it was "more [about] maintaining the heroic concept and the mythology than progressing through specific changes". Louis Febre, who worked closely with Snow from the beginning, became the sole composer for Smallville beginning with season seven. Febre commented that since he began composing for Smallville there was a shift to "thematic development" of the score, which would parallel the growth of the characters. Febre stated, "As Clark grew emotionally and intellectually more complex, I found a need to comment musically on his growth, and as he drew closer to his Superman persona, it became obvious that a 'Superman' theme would be required."
At various times the creative team had the chance to try different musical tones to enhance the storyline of an episode. Jennifer Pyken and Madonna Wade-Reed chose and coordinated the commercial music used on the show, for use when Snow's and Febre's scores were not used.In season three's "Slumber", producer Ken Horton wondered if they could get a single band to provide all the music for the entire episode. During a breakfast meeting with the music department at Warner Brothers, the topic of the band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
came up, and Pyken and Wade-Reed immediately saw an opportunity to connect the episode’s featured band with an episode’s story, which happened to revolve around REM sleep. During the same season, Al Gough wanted to use Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
’s "Hurt" for the final scene of "Shattered", where Lionel Luthor stares at Lex through a one-way mirror at Belle Reve
Belle Reve
Belle Reve Penitentiary is a fictional prison and sanitorium in the DC Universe, first appearing in Suicide Squad #1 by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell.-Fictional background:...
sanitarium, from the moment he first read the script for the episode. Cash died while Wade-Reed was trying to get the song cleared for use. Believing the use of the song for the show would honor his memory, Cash’s heirs cleared the rights for Smallville.
For season three's "Resurrection" and "Memoria", songs were particularly chosen to provide symbolism for the characters. In "Resurrection", The Rapture's
The Rapture (band)
The Rapture is an Indie rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock, pioneering the post-punk revival genre...
"Infatuation" was used during a scene involving Lex and Lana. The point of the song was to symbolize the question, "Are we ever going to figure out what these two people think of each other?" For "Memoria", Gough came up with the idea of using Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
's "My Immortal
My Immortal
"My Immortal" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on December 8, 2003 as the third single from their debut studio album Fallen. The song was entirely written by former guitarist Ben Moody, with the exception of the bridge, which was later added by Amy Lee, and it was...
" for the final scene of the episode. Gough informed Wade-Reed as soon as he began working on the script what song he wanted to use for the closing scene, as he saw the song as being symbolically about mothers, and in that scene Clark is telling Martha his first memory as a child was of his biological mother, Lara.
Season three's "Velocity" provided the music editors with the opportunity to use hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, a style of music rarely used on the show. The episode was similar to The Fast and the Furious
The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)
The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 street racing action film starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. Directed by Rob Cohen, The Fast and the Furious was the first mainstream film to feature the Asian automotive import scene in North America. It is the first film...
, and primarily focused on the only black character on the show, Pete. Wade-Reed used a more hip-hop sound, which worked well with the story. Wade-Reed had heard of a British hip-hop artist named Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, and became the first person in the United States to secure the licensing rights to use Rascal’s album. Greg Beeman is known for directing episodes, and sometimes specific scenes, with particular songs in mind. For "Vortex" in season two, he used Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's "In My Place
In My Place
"In My Place" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. The track is built around thumping drums, chiming guitars and a chorus...
" for the final scene. In the season two finale, "Exodus", Beeman directed the scene where Lana shows up at the Kent barn, just before Lex's wedding, to Matthew Good
Matthew Good
Matthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...
’s "Weapon". The lyrics speak of an angel and the Devil "by my side", and Beeman timed specific shots with specific moments in the lyrics.
Broadcasting
Smallville first premiered at 9:00 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2001 on The WB. For the next five seasons the series was featured on The WB, and was moved from Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm to Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm, and eventually was changed to Thursday nights at 8:00 pm. In 2006, before the start of Smallvilles sixth season, it was announced The WB and UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
would be merging into a single entity, The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. Shortly after that, The CW announced Smallville would continue to be part of the television lineup. On May 21, 2009, it was announced Smallville would be returning to the 2009–2010 fall line-up for its ninth season, airing on Friday nights at 8:00 pm
Friday night death slot
The Friday night death slot is a perceived graveyard slot in American television, referring to the concept that a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings is destined for imminent cancellation....
. On March 4, 2010, the CW announced Smallville had been renewed for a tenth season. Smallville also aired in Canada, and during its seventh season the series aired one day earlier than in the United States. Additionally, the series aired in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. By the end of its tenth season, Smallville became the longest-running science fiction television show in the United States, breaking the Guinness World Record held by Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
. On August 10, 2011, it was announced that TNT will begin airing the series in syndication on October 3, 2011.
Reception
Smallville's first accomplishment was breaking the record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers tuning in for its pilot. The premiere also broke The WB record for adults age 18–34, and finished first with viewers age 12–34, leading Warner Bros. President of Entertainment Jordan Levin to credit the series with invigorating the network's Tuesday night lineup. The series was featured on the cover of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
as one of five new shows to watch. After its first season, Smallville placed sixth on the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
's list of the "best shows for families". The WB's CEO Jordan Levin recognized early concerns that the show had become a villain of the week
Villain of the week
"Villain of the week" is a term that describes the nature of one-use antagonists in episodic fiction, especially ongoing American genre-based television series...
series, and announced season two would introduce "smaller mini-arcs over three to four episodes", to move away from the series becoming a "serialized show". Gough realized that although each succeeding season relied more on seasonal story arcs, there were occasions where they had to do villain of the week stories. It was clear the villain of the week stories were generally more criticized by fans of the Superman mythology. However, Gough wanted to be able to please both Superman fans and The WB's general audience, which consisted of teenagers who prefer the villain of the week stories over the episodes focusing more heavily on the Superman mythology.
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, star of the Superman films, voiced his approval of the show:
"I was a little bit skeptical when I heard about [Smallville] at first, but I must say the writing, the acting, and the special effects are quite remarkable. In 1977, a big stunt scene would have taken us a week to film—it's pretty impressive what they are able to do with computers and effects technology today on a weekly TV show. It gives it a lot more production value and inventiveness than I thought I was going to see when I first heard about the series. I think the show is doing a really good job following the mythology, and Tom is doing a good job following the tradition."
MTV's Karl Heitmueller believed that Smallville's Clark Kent was a better representation of the original material, staying "true to the heart of the story" by showing Clark's selflessness and his struggle between his desires and obligations. At the same time, Heitmueller felt the show would have a difficult time addressing why no one in Smallville recognized Clark when he puts on the suit, especially Lex Luthor. TV Guide's Michael Schneider classified it as one of the best examples of a superhero being adapted for television. However, Christopher Hooton of Metro suggested Smallville was not a story that needed to be told, saying, "No-one bothered to follow Bruce Wayne’s tedious years spent manufacturing microchips before he became Batman, so why must we endure a decade of flannel shirt-wearing Clark Kent bucking hay?"
Nielsen rankings
The following is a table for the seasonal rankings, based on average total estimated viewers per episode, of Smallville on The WB and The CW. "Rank" refers to how Smallville rated compared to the other television series which aired during primetime hours.| Season | Timeslot (ET/PT Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States... ) |
Network | Premiered | Ended | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere Viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale Viewers (in millions) |
|||||
| Season 1 Smallville (season 1) Season one of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the fictional town of... |
Tuesday 9/8C | The WB The WB Television Network The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros... |
October 16, 2001 | 8.40 | May 21, 2002 | 3.80 | #115 | 5.90 |
| Season 2 Smallville (Season 2) Season two of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on September 24, 2002, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas,... |
September 24, 2002 | 8.70 | May 20, 2003 | N/A | #113 | 6.30 | ||
| Season 3 Smallville (Season 3) Season three of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on October 1, 2003. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The third season comprises 22... |
Wednesday 8/7C | October 1, 2003 | N/A | May 19, 2004 | 5.92 | #141 | 4.96 | |
| Season 4 Smallville (Season 4) Season four of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 22, 2004. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The fourth season comprises... |
September 22, 2004 | 6.07 | May 18, 2005 | 5.47 | #124 | 4.40 | ||
| Season 5 Smallville (Season 5) Season five of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 29, 2005. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman... |
Thursday 8/7C | September 29, 2005 | 5.90 | May 11, 2006 | 4.85 | #117 | 4.70 | |
| Season 6 Smallville (Season 6) Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman... |
The CW The CW Television Network The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB... |
September 28, 2006 | 4.96 | May 17, 2007 | 4.14 | #125 | 4.10 | |
| Season 7 Smallville (season 7) Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman... |
September 27, 2007 | 5.18 | May 15, 2008 | 3.85 | #175 | 3.77 | ||
| Season 8 Smallville (season 8) Season eight of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman... |
September 18, 2008 | 4.34 | May 14, 2009 | 3.13 | #152 | 3.74 | ||
| Season 9 Smallville (season 9) Season nine of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 25, 2009. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman... |
Friday 8/7C | September 25, 2009 | 2.58 | May 14, 2010 | 2.45 | #129 | 2.38 | |
| Season 10 Smallville (season 10) Season ten of Smallville, an American television series, premiered on September 24, 2010 and consisted of 22 episodes. It was the tenth and final season to air, and the fifth one to air on The CW television network... |
September 24, 2010 | 2.98 | May 13, 2011 | 3.02 | #202 | 3.19 | ||
Accolades
Throughout its first nine seasons, Smallville won numerous awards, ranging from Emmys to Teen Choice AwardsTeen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
. In 2002 the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series. Four years later, the series was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Editing for a Series for its fifth season episode "Arrival". In 2008 Smallville again won the Outstanding Sound Editing Emmy for season seven's "Bizarro".
Smallville has been awarded Leo Awards
Leo Awards
The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry, celebrating excellence in artistic achievement. Held each May in Vancouver, Canada, the Leo Awards honour nominees and winners in 13 program categories and up to 19 craft categories...
on multiple occasions. Make-up artist Natalie Cosco was awarded the Leo Award for Best Make-Up twice, once for her work in the fourth season episode "Scare", and again for her work in the sixth season episodes "Hydro" and "Wither". In the 2006 Leo Awards, Barry Donlevy took home Best Cinematography in a Dramatic Series for his work on the fourth season episode "Spirit", while David Wilson won Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series for "Sacred". Smallville's sixth season won a Leo Award for Best Dramatic Series. James Marshall won Best Direction for "Zod", Caronline Cranstoun won Best Costume Design for her work on "Arrow", and James Philpott won Best Production Design for "Justice". In 2008 Smallville won the Leo Awards for Best Dramatic Series and Best Cinematography. The visual effects team was recognized for their work on the pilot with an award for Best Visual Effects in 2002. They were later recognized by the Visual Effects Society
Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of...
with a 2004 VES Award
Visual Effects Society Awards 2004
The 3rd Visual Effects Society Awards, given on 16 February 2005, honored the best visual effects in film and television.-Honorary Awards:Lifetime Achievement Award:*Robert ZemeckisGeorge Melies Award for Pioneering:...
for Outstanding Compositing in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial, for the work they did on the second season episode "Accelerate". That same year, they won for Outstanding Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial for season two’s "Insurgence".
In 2002 the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization that protects its members' musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them...
honored composer Mark Snow
Mark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
and the band Remy Zero
Remy Zero
Remy Zero were a Birmingham, Alabama-based alternative rock band made up of Cinjun Tate , Shelby Tate , Cedric LeMoyne , Jeffrey Cain and Gregory Slay prior to his death in January 2010.-History:Before Remy Zero had released any full length albums, Radiohead found their demo tape and invited...
, who provide the opening theme song "Save Me
Save Me (Remy Zero song)
"Save Me" is a song by rock band Remy Zero. Taken from their album The Golden Hum, it reached #27 on the United States Billboard Modern Rock Charts, and acts as the theme song for the Superman-based television series Smallville....
", for their contributions to the show. The award is given to individuals who wrote the theme or underscore for the highest rated television series during January 1 – December 31, 2001 for their network. The American Society of Cinematographers
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild. Membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film...
gave David Moxness an award for the work done on the sixth season episode "Arrow", and the following year they awarded Glen Winter the same award for his work on "Noir". Members of the regular cast have won awards for their portrayals on the show. In 2001 Michael Rosenbaum won a Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
for Best Supporting Actor. Tom Welling won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Star — Male in 2002, while Allison Mack was awarded Best Sidekick in 2006. Mack won Best Sidekick for the second year in a row when she received the award in the 2007 Teen Choice Awards. At the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Tom Welling received the award for Choice TV Actor Action Adventure.
Other media
Smallville has spawned a multitude of additional media and spin-offs, from young adult novels and comic books to internet based mini-episodes featuring characters from the television series. Smallville has also been the influence for another television show, the British series MerlinMerlin (TV series)
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. It began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 September 2008. The show is based on the Arthurian legends of the wizard Merlin and his relationship with Prince Arthur but differs from...
.
Literature
There have been two series of novels published since the second season of the show began airing. A series of eight young adult novels was published by Aspect Publishing between October 2002 and March 2004. A second series of ten young adult novels was published by Little, Brown Young ReadersLittle, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
between October 2002 and April 2004. In addition, a bi-monthly comic book series was published, which often tied directly into the events of the television show.
Young adult novels
Three novels were released on October 1, 2002, one from Aspect and two from Little, Brown Young Readers. Aspect’s novel, Smallville: Strange Visitors, was written by Roger SternRoger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...
and featured Clark and his friends trying to uncover the truth about two religious con men who have set up shop in Smallville, and are using kryptonite in their spiritual seminars to rob the townspeople. Little, Brown Young Readers first published Arrival, which chronicles the events of the show’s pilot as written by author Michael Teitelbaum. The second book, See No Evil, was written by Cherie Bennett
Cherie Bennett
Cherie Bennett is an American novelist, actress, director, playwright, newspaper columnist, singer, and television writer on the CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
and Jeff Gottesfeld
Jeff Gottesfeld
Jeff Gottesfeld is an American essayist, novelist, and screen and television writer.- Biography :Jeff Gottesfeld grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, attended Teaneck High School, Colby College, and then the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he was president of his class and a member of...
, who have also written various episodes of the show. See No Evil follows Dawn Mills, a young actress who wants to attend Juilliard. Dawn has the ability to become invisible, and after witnessing everyone talk negatively behind her back she decides to get revenge. When Clark discovers what Dawn has been doing he puts a stop to it. See No Evil was one of the original storylines outlined for the season one episode "Shimmer".
On November 1, 2002, Aspect released Alan Grant’s Smallville: Dragon, a story about an ex-convict who takes on the abilities and appearance of a dragon after being exposed to kryptonite in a cave. The mutation causes him to try and kill all those who testified against him. The novel features Clark being hypnotized into believing he is a normal, human teenager, with no abilities. One month after Grant’s novel, Bennett and Gottesfeld returned for a second time to write Little, Brown Young Readers’ Flight, a story about a young girl, Tia, whom Clark discovers has full-sized wings. Clark and his friends believe Tia is being abused by her father, so they teach her to overcome her fear of flying so she can go find her mom. Flight, like See No Evil, was also a planned episode at one point, but because the crew were not sure they could get the flying effects right they decided against using the story. Nancy Holder took over writing duties for the third novel in the Aspect series. Released on January 1, 2003, Hauntings follows Clark and his friends as they investigate the ghostly presence in one of Smallville’s haunted houses. Little, Brown Young Readers released Animal Rage next, written by David and Bobby Weiss. The story focuses on an animal rights activist, Heather Fox, who can transform into any animal she touches. Heather uses this ability to harm people who hurt animals, until Clark discovers the truth and stops her. Aspect brought in Dean Wesley Smith
Dean Wesley Smith
Dean Wesley Smith is a science fiction author, known primarily for his Star Trek novels, movie novelizations, and other novels of licensed properties such as Smallville, Spider-Man, X-Men, Aliens, Roswell, Men in Black, and Quantum Leap...
for their next novel. Whodunit involves Clark, Chloe, Lana, and Pete investigating the murder of a boy and his sister, while Lex struggles with whether he will pay a ransom demand for his kidnapped father or simply try rescuing Lionel himself.
Little, Brown Young Readers published the next two books in April and June 2003. The first, titled "Speed", was written by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld. The second, titled "Buried Secrets", was written by Suzan Colon. Speed involves a boy using an hourglass his father gave him for his birthday to stop time and commit various hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s without getting caught. Clark stops him before he can cause any damage at a local multicultural festival. Buried Secrets follows Clark and Lex as they both fall in love with a mind-reading substitute Spanish teacher. In the novel, Clark and Lex’s friendship is put in jeopardy as the two compete for the teacher’s love.
On September 9, 2004, Aspect published Shadows, written by Diana G. Gallagher
Diana G. Gallagher
Diana G. Gallagher is an American author who writes books for children and young adults based on television series. She has contributed to book series based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed, among others....
. Shadows is about a girl and her father who move to Smallville. The father creates a monster which begins killing people. Jonathan Kent assumes the deaths are LuthorCorp related, which causes tension between him and his son. Clark ascertains the truth to prove Lex’s innocence, and stops the creatures before they can kill again. Colon returned to write Runaway, a story about Clark running away to the city and living with other homeless teenagers. Clark falls in love with one of the girls before eventually returning home. Smallville: Silence was written by Nancy Holder, and features the characters investigating the appearance of zombies in town. Little, Brown Young Readers released their eighth book, written by Bennett and Gottesfeld, titled Greed. In this novel, Clark and his friends take jobs as summer counselors to disadvantaged youths. One of the boys falls into Crater Lake and is imbued with the ability to foretell the future. Lionel learns of this and tries to exploit it. Pete tries to abuse Clark’s abilities by tricking him into playing in a basketball game and then betting on the outcome.
Alan Grant returned for a second outing to write Curse, about a grave digger who unleashes a 150-year-old curse onto Smallville, with Clark’s attempting to put everything back to the way it was. On February 1, 2004, Little, Brown Young Readers released a new book by Suzan Colon, entitled Temptation. In the novel, Clark uses red kryptonite to try to impress Lana and Chloe after they become infatuated with a new French foreign exchange student. Aspect released their final novel on March 1, 2004. Written by Devin K. Grayson
Devin K. Grayson
Devin Kalile Grayson is an American writer of comic books and novels. Titles that she has written include Gotham Knights, The Titans, the Vertigo series USER, and Nightwing.-Biography:...
, City follows Clark and Lex as they take a trip to Metropolis. While in the city, the pair get caught between the Japanese mafia and a secret agent who believes he has found an alien. In Little, Brown Young Readers’ final novel, "Sparks", written by Cherie Bennett, Chloe is hit by kryptonite sparks from a fireworks display. The sparks make Chloe the desire of every man, but when they wear off, one of them decides he really does want Chloe and kidnaps her. Clark comes to her rescue in the end.
Comic books
Before the start of season two, DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
published a one-shot comic based on the television series. Simply titled Smallville: The Comic, the issue features two stories. The first, written by Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden is an American television, movie, and comic book writer. He is a co-executive producer for the television series Falling Skies for DreamWorks Television and the TNT Network.-Career:...
and Roy Martinez, is titled "Raptor" and features an abused boy who is mutated into a Raptor
Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...
, thanks to kryptonite, and decides to seek revenge on the Luthor family. Michael Green
Michael Green (writer)
Michael Green is an American television and film writer, as well as a comic book scripter. He grew up in Mamaroneck, New York.-Comic Books:Green has been a contributor for Superman/Batman. He also co-wrote the Green Lantern movie with Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, which was released in 2011...
and John Paul Leon
John Paul Leon
John Paul Leon is an American comic book artist, known for his work on the Milestone Comics series Static, and the Marvel Comics limited series Earth X.-Career:...
wrote the second story, "Exile and The Kingdom", which provides insight into why Lex chose to stay in Smallville after his father offered him a position in Metropolis at the end of season one. Eventually, DC Comics began publishing a bi-monthly comic featuring various stories involving the characters from Smallville. Writer and script coordinator Clint Carpenter described the comic book line as a companion piece to the show, instead of a non-canon version of the characters. Carpenter said the comic book line expands on events which occurred in the show, like showing what happens after season-ending cliffhangers. Carpenter saw the comics as providing "additional depth" to those characters who received limited screen time on the show, or whose storylines needed additional explanation.
Carpenter was not the first person asked to oversee the comic. Mark Verheiden, who co-wrote the one-shot comic, was originally going to be in charge of the bi-monthly series. Verheiden's commitment to the television series kept him from working on the comic books, so he asked Carpenter if he would take on the responsibility. Although the series was meant to expand on the events of the show, occasionally there were continuity errors created because of the differences in production schedules between the comic and the show. One such instance occurred when the comic book showed Clark robbing an ATM, while the season three premiere showed him robbing multiple ATMs. The series not only tied into the television show, but also the Chloe Chronicles webisodes and the various Smallville-related webpages. In addition, the comics featured interviews with the cast and crew as well as information on the production of the episodes.
Chloe Chronicles
Allison Mack's character, Chloe Sullivan, has starred in two promotional tie-in series, Smallville: Chloe Chronicles, and Vengeance Chronicles. There were two volumes of "Chloe Chronicles" totaling eleven mini-episodes. The first volume featured Chloe investigating events which led to the death of Earl Jenkins, who held Chloe and her friends hostage at the LuthorCorp plant in the first season episode "Jitters". It aired between April 29 and May 20, 2003, and was exclusive to AOL subscribers. After the first volume received positive responses from viewers, the second volume was created as a continuation, but with Sam Jones III appearing as Pete Ross. This volume used the Smallville comic books as a secondary tie-in to the series. Viewers could watch Smallville, followed by Chloe's Chronicles, and finish with the Smallville comic book, which would provide an "enhanced backstory to the online segments". The later series, Vengeance Chronicles, is a spin-off of the fifth season episode "Vengeance". In this series, Chloe joins forces with a costumed vigilante, whom she dubs the "Angel of Vengeance", to expose Lex Luthor's Level 33.1 experiments on meteor-infected people.The idea for an online show centered on Chloe came from Mark Warshaw, who ran the show's website and was in charge of the DVDs. The series was intended to wrap up "unfinished business" from the television show. Although Smallville: Chloe Chronicles first began airing on AOL, it eventually made its way to the United Kingdom's Channel 4 website. According to Lisa Gregorian, senior vice president, television, Warner Bros. Marketing Services, "Our goal is to create companion programming that offers new and exciting ways to engage the audience, just as music videos did for record promotion." Allison Mack described the show as "very Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
and mysterious", and saying, "I think it’s a bit more like The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
or NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
. The Chronicles are like a detective story, with Chloe following clues and interviewing people, going from spot to spot, figuring things out." The scripts were written by Brice Tidwell, but Mack was given script approval for the series, allowing her to review and make changes to the script as she saw fit. Warshaw communicated regularly with Gough and Millar so he could find unique ways to expand Smallville stories over to Chloe’s Chronicles.
Promotional tie-ins
For the season three premiere, the Smallville producers teamed up with VerizonVerizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
to provide its registered users the chance to view plot updates—in the form of a press release from The Daily Planet—as well as quizzes and games related to the show. As part of the deal, Verizon products and services were placed in various episodes of the show. In a promotional tie-in with Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, Smallville Legends: The Oliver Queen Chronicles was released. The six-episode CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
series chronicled the early life of Oliver Queen. According to Lisa Gregorian, Executive Vice President of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Television Group, these promotional tie-ins were ways to get fans more connected to the show. On April 19, 2007, a tie-in with Toyota promoting their new Yaris
Toyota Motor Corporation
, , , commonly known simply as Toyota and abbreviated as TMC, is a multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation employed 317,734 people worldwide, and was the world's largest automobile manufacturer by production.The company was founded by...
featured an online comic strip as interstitial
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
programs during new episodes of Smallville, titled Smallville Legends: Justice & Doom. The interactive comic was based on the episode "Justice", which follows the adventures of Oliver Queen, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry as they seek to destroy all of LuthorCorp's secret experimental labs. The online series allowed viewers to investigate alongside the fictional team, in an effort to win prizes. Stephan Nilson wrote all five of the episodes while working with a team of artists on the illustrations. The plot for each comic episode was given to Nilson as the production crew for Smallville was filming their current television episode. Artist Steve Scott drew comic book panels, which were then sent to a group called Motherland. That group reviewed the drawings and told Scott which images to draw on a separate overlay. This allowed for multiple objects to be moved in and out of the same frame.
In 2008 The CW entered into a partnership with the makers of Stride
Stride (gum)
Stride is a brand of chewing gum created by Cadbury Adams . Its packs usually consist of 14 pieces of gum.-Current Flavors:There are 17 flavors in total.* Always Mandarin* Eternal Melon* Forever Fruit 2.0...
brand chewing-gum to give viewers the opportunity to create their own Smallville digital comic. The writers and producers developed the comic's beginning and end, but allowed viewers to provide the middle. The CW began their tie-in campaign with the March 13, 2008 episode "Hero", where Pete develops superhuman elasticity after chewing some kryptonite-infused Stride gum. Going to The CW's website, viewers vote on one of two options—each adding four pages to the comic—every Tuesday and Thursday until the campaign ended on April 7, 2008. For season seven, Smallville again worked with Sprint, bringing its customers "mobisodes" featuring Clark's cousin Kara, titled Smallville Legends: Kara and the Chronicles of Krypton.
Spin-offs
Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar developed an Aquaman pilot for The WB, with Justin HartleyJustin Hartley
Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles of Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, and as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the WB/CW Superman-inspired series Smallville....
as Aquaman/Arthur Curry
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
. As work progressed on the Smallville season five episode "Aqua", the character was recognized as having potential for his own series, even though the episode was never meant to be a backdoor pilot for an Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
television spin-off. Alan Ritchson was not considered for the role in the new series, because Gough and Millar did not consider it a spin-off from Smallville. Gough said in November 2005, "[The series] is going to be a different version of the 'Aquaman' legend." Gough did express the idea of a crossover with Smallville at some point. The pilot was considered to have a good chance of being picked up, but when The WB and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
merged into The CW, the new network passed on the show.
During the sixth season, there was talk of spinning off the Green Arrow
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
into his own series. Hartley refused to talk about the possibility of a spin-off out of respect for his role on Smallville. The actor felt it was his duty to respect what the show had accomplished in five seasons, and not "steal the spotlight" by thinking he was better than he was just because there was "talk" of a spin-off after only two appearances on the show. According to Hartley, "talking" was as far as the spin-off idea ever got.
Home release
Seasons one through nine have been released on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
. Seasons five and six were also released in the now-obsolete HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
format on November 28, 2006, and September 18, 2007, respectively. Seasons six, seven, eight, and nine have been released on Blu-ray formats. The DVD releases include deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentary by cast and crew members on selected episodes. The promotional tie-ins, Chloe Chronicles and Vengeance Chronicles, accompanied the season two, three, and five box sets. Other special features include interactive functionality, such as a tour of Smallville, a comic book, and DVD-ROM material.
| Complete Season | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |
| 1st | September 23, 2003 | October 13, 2003 | December 3, 2003 |
| 2nd | May 18, 2004 | September 17, 2004 | January 1, 2005 |
| 3rd | November 16, 2004 | April 18, 2005 | July 13, 2005 |
| 4th | September 13, 2005 | October 10, 2005 | November 11, 2006 |
| 5th | September 12, 2006 | August 28, 2006 | April 4, 2007 |
| 6th | September 18, 2007 | October 22, 2007 | March 5, 2008 |
| 7th | September 9, 2008 | October 13, 2008 | March 3, 2009 |
| 8th | August 25, 2009 | October 12, 2009 | March 31, 2010 |
| 9th | September 7, 2010 | October 25, 2010 | June 22, 2011 |
| 10th | November 29, 2011 | October 17, 2011 | TBA |
| The Complete Series | November 29, 2011 | October 17, 2011 | TBA |
| Season | |Discs | Region A | Region B | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Canada | United Kingdom | Australia | |||||
| 6th | 22 | 4 | September 18, 2007 | October 9, 2007 | October 13, 2008 | March 3, 2009 | ||
| 7th | 20 | 3 | September 9, 2008 | October 13, 2008 | March 3, 2009 | |||
| 8th | 22 | 4 | August 25, 2009 | October 12, 2009 | March 31, 2010 | |||
| 9th | 21 | 4 | September 7, 2010 | October 25, 2010 | June 22, 2011 | |||
| 10th | 22 | 4 | November 29, 2011 | October 17, 2011 | TBA | |||
Merchandise
Since Smallville first began airing, an array of merchandise tying into the series has been released. Two soundtrack albums have been released compiling various songs that appeared on the show. On February 25, 2003, Smallville: The Talon Mix was released featuring a selected group of artists that licensed their music to the show. On November 8, 2005, Smallville: The Metropolis Mix was released, featuring another selected group of artists. Apart from the soundtracks encompassing various songs from the series' episodes, there have been action figures, T-shirts, hats, and posters created and marketed. In December 2002, selected autographed Smallville merchandise was placed up for auction on eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, with the proceeds going to charity. In 2003, Titan publishing
Titan Magazines
Titan Magazines is the magazine-publishing division of Nick Landau's Titan Publishing Group. Titan also owns several Forbidden Planet specialist comics and collector stores .Titan Magazines' publishing director is Chris Teather.TPG also owns Titan Books,...
began releasing the Smallville magazine, a monthly magazine featuring interviews with the cast and crew, information on Smallville merchandise, and photos. Titan released the 34th issue of the Smallville magazine in November 2009, the final issue.
Titan Books published companion books for each of the seasons, which contained interviews with the cast and crew, descriptions of the episodes, and behind-the-scenes photos. On September 1, 2004, Titan Books released their first official companion for the series. Written by Paul Simpson, the book contains sixteen pages of color photos of the cast. On March 1, 2005, Titan Books released their companion for season two, also written by Simpson. The season two companion goes into more detail about the special effects used on the show. On September 1, 2005, Titan Books released the third season official companion. This was the last companion written by Simpson. Apart from the episodes' general plots, Simpson discussed the lack of use of the Martha Kent character, and why the Adam Knight storyline did not pan out. After two years, Titan Books released the fourth season companion on September 4, 2007, written by Craig Byrne, who also wrote the subsequent companion books. It contains interviews with the cast and crew, but this time the color spread contains images of the production itself. On December 26, 2007, Titan Books released the season five companion. On March 25, 2008, Titan Books released their sixth official companion for Smallville. The season six companion contains an introduction from Justin Hartley. The season seven companion would be the final book released by Titan. It contains a foreward from Laura Vandervoort, along with a reflection on the "Smallville phenomenon" and a discussion of the departure of Gough and Millar as executive producers and showrunners.
In 2010, a role playing game was released by Margaret Weis Productions using their Cortex System. It uses the setting of the show in season nine, with rules for earlier seasons. Supplements to the game have been produced. Players can play the characters from Smallville, or create their own spin-off of the show that has as much or as little connection to the show as they like.
External links
OfficialMiscellaneous
- KryptonSite
- Smallville Wiki at Wikia.comWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
– A Smallville wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
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