Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB, premiering on October 16, 2001. After its fifth season, The WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States. Smallville began its ninth season on September 25, 2009. 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 focused on Clark and his friends' high school years. Since season five, the show has ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the Daily Planet , as well as introducing other DC comic book superheroes and villains.
The concept for Smallville was derived after a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming Batman failed to get off the ground. After meeting with the president of Warner Bros. Television, Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events that led Clark Kent to become Superman. After seven seasons with the show, series developers Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason. Smallville is predominantly filmed in and around Vancouver, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music is primarily composed by Mark Snow, who incorporates elements of John Williams's musical score from the original Superman film series. 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 received generally positive reception 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. With eight seasons completed, Smallville has averaged approximately 4.76 million viewers per episode, with season two averaging the highest ratings at 6.3 million. Since its first season, the series has earned distinctions ranging from Emmy Awards to Teen Choice Awards. Smallville has inspired an Aquaman pilot, which was ultimately not picked up by The CW network, as well as promotional tie-ins with Verizon, Sprint, Toyota, and Stride. In other media, 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, eight seasons of Smallville are available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4.
Series overview
Main article: List of Smallville episodesSeason one sees the introduction of the regular cast, and storylines that 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's parents. After the first season, the series used fewer villain-of-the-week episodes, focusing more on story arcs that affect each character and explore 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, communicating to Clark via his space ship, setting the stage for plots involving the fulfillment of Clark's earthly destiny; Clark seeking out three Kryptonian stones, at the instruction of Jor-El, which contain the knowledge of the universe and form his Fortress of Solitude; Clark battling Brainiac in his attempts to release the Kryptonian criminal General Zod; other escaped Phantom Zone criminals that Clark must either capture or destroy; the arrival of Clark's biological cousin Kara; and Lex finally discovering Clark's secret. The eighth season features storylines involving the introduction of Davis Bloome, who is Smallville' s interpretation of Doomsday, and a woman named Tess Mercer to replace the exit of Lex Luthor from the series. Justin Hartley reprises his role as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, being upgraded to a series regular.
Cast
Main article: Characters of SmallvilleTom Welling 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 problem in season one includes not being able to share his secret with anyone and his desire for a normal life. After months of scouting, Tom Welling was cast as Clark Kent. David Nutter had to convince Welling's manager that role would not hurt Welling's film career in order to be able to get Welling to read the pilot script. After reading the script, Welling was convinced to audition for the role.
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. Gough and Millar were initially trying to find someone for the role of Clark Kent, but Kristin Kreuk was the first to be cast after David Nutter saw an audition tape the actress had sent in. Kristin Kreuk left the series at the end of 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 become quick friends. As the series has progressed, his friendship with Clark crumbled until the pair considered themselves enemies. The role was hard to cast, as no one could agree on who they liked for the role. Michael Rosenbaum auditioned for Lex Luthor twice. 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.
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 is digging in Clark's past. After learning about Smallville from the show's casting director, Dee Dee Bradley, Allison 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.
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. Pete 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 for the pilot. In the comics, Pete 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. This leads to a job as U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C. in season six, and the character's exit from the show. Cynthia Ettinger was originally cast as Martha Kent, but during filming everyone realized that she was not right for the role, including Ettinger. Annette 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, which allowed 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." John 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 . Gough and Millar loved the idea of casting John Schneider as Jonathan Kent, because Schneider was already known as Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard , which Gough saw as adding belief that he 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 o
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Season seven of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 27, 2007. This is the second season to air on the CW television network.
Smallville (season 4) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Season four of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 22, 2004. The season concluded on May 18, 2005, after 22 episodes. [4]
"Smallville" (2001)
... UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 4) (season 6 ... The show starts in 1989, where a meteor shower bombards the small Kansas town of Smallville ...
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