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Smallville (season 8)
Encyclopedia
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
. The eighth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2009, marking the third season to air on the CW
television network. Regular cast members during season eight include Tom Welling
, Allison Mack
, Erica Durance
, Aaron Ashmore
, along with new series regulars Cassidy Freeman
, Sam Witwer, and Justin Hartley
.
This season focuses on Clark Kent
as he starts his job at the Daily Planet
, begins to accept more of his destiny as Earth's hero, and develops romantic feelings for Lois Lane
. While Lex Luthor
is presumed dead, and Lana Lang
has left Smallville for good, Clark also meets new characters Davis Bloome, Smallvilles interpretation of Doomsday
, as well as the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer. In other storylines, Clark and Oliver Queen
clash over how to handle Lex when he resurfaces, while Chloe Sullivan
and Jimmy Olsen take their relationship to the next level. In addition, this season sees the appearance of more DC Comics
characters, including recurring appearances from Plastique and members of the Legion of Super-Heroes
.
Following the end of season seven, it was announced that series regulars Kristin Kreuk
and Michael Rosenbaum
, who had been with the show since the first episode, would not return as regulars for the eighth season, while Laura Vandervoort
and John Glover
departed the series alongside Kreuk and Rosenbaum; Glover was killed off in season seven's "Descent", while Vandervoort was written out of the series after one season. Show creators Alfred Gough
and Miles Millar
also departed the series, allowing Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer to continue as executive producers. This allowed the show to "reinvigorate" itself by introducing new characters and storylines, as well as developing Clark's understanding of his destiny.
Averaging 3.74 million viewers per episode, the season out-ranked other high-profile shows on the network, such as Reaper
and Gossip Girl
. It also received an Emmy Award
nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category.
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and Miles Millar
, as well as series regulars Michael Rosenbaum
and Kristin Kreuk
at the end of the seventh season, forced the creative team to look at the show from a new angle. As Souders explained, it allowed the writers to work with "blank slates", and come up with ways to "reinvigorate and reinvent the show". Executive producer Darren Swimmer
explained that this season would feature Chloe's powers manifesting in a way that they have not previously been seen. He went on to express that the theme of season eight would be "double identity"; specifically, Swimmer explained that Clark would begin to understand that he is going to have to live a double life, or he will never be able to continue forward with his destiny. Season eight would be about Clark moving forward to his destiny in a way that the show has never attempted before. Swimmer further explained that Clark will be acting more with his superpowers, whereas previously he would "react" to the situation; "he's going to seek out trouble." Clark joined the Daily Planet to help his cause, using the Planet as a means to get information about where there is trouble. Clark's heroic actions put him in Jimmy's sights, who starts connecting things to Clark; this helped fuel Clark's decision to develop a "secret identity". Another reason for Clark's decision to develop a secret identity will be the stark contrast between saving people in the secluded streets of Smallville, and saving people in the crowded streets of Metropolis. While working at the Daily Planet, Clark was paired up with Lois on various assignments. Lois Lane actress Erica Durance
, explained the episodes would be more focused on her character than they have been in the past, and that Lois and Clark would be both rivals and supportive partners to each other. Durance also revealed that Lois would begin to realize her true romantic feelings for Clark, but that she does not want him to know the truth because she does not know what she wants to do with those feelings. Season eight explored these romantic notions between the two characters. Jeph Loeb
added that season eight would explore more of the DC Comics mythology, and would introduce new characters, as well as expand on already existing ones in Smallville continuity. Peterson also revealed that there would be a chance that the show would break the "No flights, no tights" rule, at least in regard to the flying part of the rule.
With Justin Hartley added as a series regular, Smallville would explore more of his backstory, including why he chose to become Green Arrow, how he accomplished it, and how he became good at archery. This season would also explore more of the friendship between Oliver Queen
and Clark. Oliver would be broken down emotionally—questioning whether he made the right choice to sacrifice all for the sake of being Green Arrow—and that causes him to "butt heads" with Clark, who is beginning to embrace his destiny. Allison Mack
's character, Chloe Sullivan
, would have more romantic interests this season. Not only would the character still have Jimmy Olsen, but there is still the question of her romantic interest in Clark, as well as a new interest in the character of Davis Bloome. Mack's character would also be picking up the Isis Foundation, a counseling center for people infected by kryptonite, that Lana founded before she left Smallville. Mack explained that Chloe would be forging her own destiny this season, and letting Clark learn to deal with problems on his own—previous seasons saw Clark relying heavily on Chloe to help solve the crime.
and Todd Slavkin
revealed that they planned to introduce more DC Comics
characters into Smallville this season. Among those appearing were Plastique and Maxima
, the latter coming to Smallville to try to mate
with Clark. This version of Maxima had the ability to make herself irresistible to men, including Clark, whom she set her sights on; actress Charlotte Sullivan
was cast as Maxima. Smallville also introduced the futuristic heroes from the Legion of Super-Heroes
. Comic book scribe Geoff Johns
wrote the episode that featured the Legion of Super-Heroes, and suggested that people familiar with the Legion would recognize them when they appeared on the show, as they had some of the quintessential elements of their comic book counterparts. Darren Swimmer stated that they would be using Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad for this episode. In the seventeenth episode, "Hex", Smallville puts its spin on the DC character Zatanna
. Portrayed by Serinda Swan
, Zatanna is a magician who comes to town and grants Chloe a birthday wish that results in Chloe's body transforming into Lois. In an interview, writer Bryan Q. Miller
explains that he read through archived comics featuring the Zatanna character, but was more influenced by Grant Morrison’s writing turn on Seven Soldiers
, as well as the television episodes of Batman: The Animated Series
and Justice League Unlimited
that Zatanna made appearances on. Swan won the role of Zatanna after "acing" her audition thanks to the actress recording Zatanna's spells into her iPod
and studying them in reverse—to cast a spell Zatanna recites the words in reverse.
There are two new characters added to the show as series regulars, Tess Mercer and Davis Bloome. The name "Tess Mercer" is a homage to two characters from Superman lore, Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves
. As Freeman describes her character, Tess Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun" and intelligent. Tess Mercer's primary goal for this season was finding Lex, which drew her inquisitively to Clark, whom she believed would be able to help her. Darren Swimmer revealed that Tess would develop a romantic interest in Clark as well. Davis Bloome would actually be Smallvilles interpretation of Doomsday
, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. In Smallville, Doomsday was represented by a "nice guy" paramedic
, who grew up moving from foster home to foster home. His storyline was very dark in that the character would uncover horrible truths about himself. Witwer explained that over the course of the season, his character would come to resemble that of the comic book counterpart he is based on. Brian Peterson
explained that the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.
, averaging 3.74 million viewers a week. Smallvilles eighth season received an Emmy Award
nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category. In the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Tom Welling received the award for Choice TV Actor - Action Adventure.
The season eight DVD box set was officially released on August 25, 2009, and sold approximately 183,000 units in its first week; it generated an estimated $6.7 million. Comparatively, the DVD revenue decreased from the previous year, with the season seven box set having sold over 212,000 units and generating an estimated $8 million during its first week. Regardless, it was enough for Smallville to earn second place in most units sold during the ending week of August 30, 2009, just behind the season five boxset of House
which sold approximately 223,000 units. Even though House sold more units, Smallvilles $6.7 million in revenue was more than Houses $6.0 million, making it the top money earner for the week. In its second week, the eighth season only sold 55,000 units, and earning more than $2 million. The third week of release saw another dip in sales, with the season eight boxset only selling 30,000 units. At the same time, the end of week three brought the season eight sales past the $10 million mark.
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details 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...
as he adjusts to life 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 eighth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2009, marking the third season to air on 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...
television network. Regular cast members during season eight include 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....
, 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:...
, 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 :...
, 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:...
, along with new series regulars 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:...
, Sam Witwer, and 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....
.
This season focuses on 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...
as he starts his job 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...
, begins to accept more of his destiny as Earth's hero, and develops romantic feelings for 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...
. While 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...
is presumed dead, and 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...
has left Smallville for good, Clark also meets new characters Davis Bloome, 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...
, as well as the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer. In other storylines, Clark and Oliver Queen
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...
clash over how to handle Lex when he resurfaces, while 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...
and Jimmy Olsen take their relationship to the next level. In addition, this season sees the appearance of more 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...
characters, including recurring appearances from Plastique and members of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
.
Following the end of season seven, it was announced that series regulars 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...
and 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...
, who had been with the show since the first episode, would not return as regulars for the eighth season, while 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....
and 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:...
departed the series alongside Kreuk and Rosenbaum; Glover was killed off in season seven's "Descent", while Vandervoort was written out of the series after one season. Show creators 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.....
also departed the series, allowing Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer to continue as executive producers. This allowed the show to "reinvigorate" itself by introducing new characters and storylines, as well as developing Clark's understanding of his destiny.
Averaging 3.74 million viewers per episode, the season out-ranked other high-profile shows on the network, such as Reaper
Reaper (TV series)
Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
and Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
. It also received an 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...
nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category.
Episodes
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Writing
Executive producer Kelly Souders explained that the loss of show creators Alfred GoughAlfred 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.....
, as well as series regulars 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...
and 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...
at the end of the seventh season, forced the creative team to look at the show from a new angle. As Souders explained, it allowed the writers to work with "blank slates", and come up with ways to "reinvigorate and reinvent the show". Executive producer 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...
explained that this season would feature Chloe's powers manifesting in a way that they have not previously been seen. He went on to express that the theme of season eight would be "double identity"; specifically, Swimmer explained that Clark would begin to understand that he is going to have to live a double life, or he will never be able to continue forward with his destiny. Season eight would be about Clark moving forward to his destiny in a way that the show has never attempted before. Swimmer further explained that Clark will be acting more with his superpowers, whereas previously he would "react" to the situation; "he's going to seek out trouble." Clark joined the Daily Planet to help his cause, using the Planet as a means to get information about where there is trouble. Clark's heroic actions put him in Jimmy's sights, who starts connecting things to Clark; this helped fuel Clark's decision to develop a "secret identity". Another reason for Clark's decision to develop a secret identity will be the stark contrast between saving people in the secluded streets of Smallville, and saving people in the crowded streets of Metropolis. While working at the Daily Planet, Clark was paired up with Lois on various assignments. Lois Lane actress 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 :...
, explained the episodes would be more focused on her character than they have been in the past, and that Lois and Clark would be both rivals and supportive partners to each other. Durance also revealed that Lois would begin to realize her true romantic feelings for Clark, but that she does not want him to know the truth because she does not know what she wants to do with those feelings. Season eight explored these romantic notions between the two characters. Jeph Loeb
Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...
added that season eight would explore more of the DC Comics mythology, and would introduce new characters, as well as expand on already existing ones in Smallville continuity. Peterson also revealed that there would be a chance that the show would break the "No flights, no tights" rule, at least in regard to the flying part of the rule.
With Justin Hartley added as a series regular, Smallville would explore more of his backstory, including why he chose to become Green Arrow, how he accomplished it, and how he became good at archery. This season would also explore more of the friendship between Oliver Queen
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...
and Clark. Oliver would be broken down emotionally—questioning whether he made the right choice to sacrifice all for the sake of being Green Arrow—and that causes him to "butt heads" with Clark, who is beginning to embrace his destiny. 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:...
's character, 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...
, would have more romantic interests this season. Not only would the character still have Jimmy Olsen, but there is still the question of her romantic interest in Clark, as well as a new interest in the character of Davis Bloome. Mack's character would also be picking up the Isis Foundation, a counseling center for people infected by kryptonite, that Lana founded before she left Smallville. Mack explained that Chloe would be forging her own destiny this season, and letting Clark learn to deal with problems on his own—previous seasons saw Clark relying heavily on Chloe to help solve the crime.
Characters
Brian Wayne PetersonBrian 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...
and Todd Slavkin
Todd 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...
revealed that they planned to introduce more 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...
characters into Smallville this season. Among those appearing were Plastique and Maxima
Maxima (comics)
Maxima is a fictional character from the DC Comics Superman titles. She was created by writer Roger Stern and artist George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
, the latter coming to Smallville to try to mate
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
with Clark. This version of Maxima had the ability to make herself irresistible to men, including Clark, whom she set her sights on; actress Charlotte Sullivan
Charlotte Sullivan
Charlotte Sullivan is a Canadian actress. Her first on-screen role was an extra in a Liza Minelli music video. She has had a starring role in The New Ghostwriter Mysteries and Harriet the Spy as well as smaller parts in How to Deal and Fever Pitch...
was cast as Maxima. Smallville also introduced the futuristic heroes from the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Comic book scribe Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
wrote the episode that featured the Legion of Super-Heroes, and suggested that people familiar with the Legion would recognize them when they appeared on the show, as they had some of the quintessential elements of their comic book counterparts. Darren Swimmer stated that they would be using Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad for this episode. In the seventeenth episode, "Hex", Smallville puts its spin on the DC character Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4...
. Portrayed by Serinda Swan
Serinda Swan
Serinda Swan is a Canadian actress and model. She stars in the new series Breakout Kings as Erica Reed.-Life and career:Swan was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
, Zatanna is a magician who comes to town and grants Chloe a birthday wish that results in Chloe's body transforming into Lois. In an interview, writer Bryan Q. Miller
Bryan Q. Miller
Bryan Q. Miller is an American television and comic writer most notable for his work on the CW’s “Smallville” and DC’s “Batgirl.”Miller began work on “Smallville” as an unpaid intern during Season Five, a job he held for two seasons before being hired as a Writers’ Assistant in Season Seven. After...
explains that he read through archived comics featuring the Zatanna character, but was more influenced by Grant Morrison’s writing turn on Seven Soldiers
Seven Soldiers
Seven Soldiers is a comic book metaseries written by Grant Morrison and published by DC Comics. It was published as seven interrelated mini-series and two bookend issues. The series features a new version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory fighting to save Earth from the Sheeda.-Publication...
, as well as the television episodes of Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
and Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
that Zatanna made appearances on. Swan won the role of Zatanna after "acing" her audition thanks to the actress recording Zatanna's spells into her iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
and studying them in reverse—to cast a spell Zatanna recites the words in reverse.
There are two new characters added to the show as series regulars, Tess Mercer and Davis Bloome. 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, Tess Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun" and intelligent. Tess Mercer's primary goal for this season was finding Lex, which drew her inquisitively to Clark, whom she believed would be able to help her. Darren Swimmer revealed that Tess would develop a romantic interest in Clark as well. Davis Bloome would actually be 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...
, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. In Smallville, Doomsday was represented by a "nice guy" 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...
, who grew up moving from foster home to foster home. His storyline was very dark in that the character would uncover horrible truths about himself. Witwer explained that over the course of the season, his character would come to resemble that of the comic book counterpart he is based on. 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 the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.
Reception
Season eight finished 152 out of the 190 shows ranked in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, averaging 3.74 million viewers a week. Smallvilles eighth season received an 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...
nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category. In the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Tom Welling received the award for Choice TV Actor - Action Adventure.
The season eight DVD box set was officially released on August 25, 2009, and sold approximately 183,000 units in its first week; it generated an estimated $6.7 million. Comparatively, the DVD revenue decreased from the previous year, with the season seven box set having sold over 212,000 units and generating an estimated $8 million during its first week. Regardless, it was enough for Smallville to earn second place in most units sold during the ending week of August 30, 2009, just behind the season five boxset of House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
which sold approximately 223,000 units. Even though House sold more units, Smallvilles $6.7 million in revenue was more than Houses $6.0 million, making it the top money earner for the week. In its second week, the eighth season only sold 55,000 units, and earning more than $2 million. The third week of release saw another dip in sales, with the season eight boxset only selling 30,000 units. At the same time, the end of week three brought the season eight sales past the $10 million mark.
External links
- List of Smallville season 8 episodes at WikiaWikiaWikia 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...
- List of Smallville season 8 guide at kryptonsite.com