Smallville (TV series)

Smallville
Image:SmallvilleNewOpeningCredits.jpg Smallville title screen
Genre	Action/Adventure Sci-fi
Creator(s)	Alfred Gough Miles Millar
Starring	See Cast & characters below
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	127 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (approx. 42 min)
Broadcast
Original channel	The WB (2001-2006) The CW (2006-)
Original run	October 16, 2001 – present
Links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Smallville is an American television series that follows the adventures of a young Clark Kent (Tom Welling), as a teenager living in Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Smallville debuted on October 16, 2001 on the WB Network, though it now airs on The CW (following the merger of The WB and UPN after the respective networks ceased operations) and is currently in its sixth season. Smallville is filmed in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.

The series inspired a spin-off pilot episode (Aquaman) that was never aired. Promotional tie-ins have included: three sets of online web series, two of which were produced by Verizon (Smallville: Chloe Chronicles and Smallville: Vengeance Chronicles) and the other by Sprint (Smallville Legends: The Oliver Queen Chronicles), a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics comic book and soundtrack releases. The show broke Charmed's record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers tuning in for its pilot episode. Viewers will often observe lines of dialogue, guest stars, character wardrobe, musical scores, and scenic design used as allusions to the Superman comic books and films.

Production

In 1998, Warner Brothers Television began pre-production of a proposed television series about a teenage Batman, tentatively titled simply Bruce Wayne.^[1] Based on a pilot script, it focused on young Wayne, Vicki Vale, Selina Kyle, Harvey Dent, and Jim Gordon.^[1] Tim McCanlies, who wrote the film The Iron Giant, wrote the pilot script and series bible for Tollin-Robbins Productions. The project, however, never got off the ground and into production. Because Warner Bros. was working on rebooting the Batman film franchise, all production was stopped on the television series.

Eventually, in 2000, Tollin-Robbins chose to purchase the rights to do a series about the younger years of the Clark Kent character, and brought in creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. They created a "No Tights, No Flights" rule, vowing Clark would not, at any point, fly or don the suit during the run of the show.^[2] Michael Rosenbaum was cast as Lex Luthor, Kristin Kreuk as Lana, and a young construction-worker-turned-model-turned-actor named Tom Welling as Clark. Also cast were Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan, Sam Jones III as Pete Ross, Eric Johnson as Whitney Fordman, John Glover as Lionel Luthor, Cynthia Ettinger as Martha Kent and John Schneider as Jonathan Kent. After the pilot for the series had already been finished, for unknown reasons, Cynthia Ettinger was replaced with Annette O'Toole (who played Lana Lang in 1983's Superman III), and Cynthia's parts were reshot with Annette O'Toole.

The concept of Smallville has been described by Warner Brothers as being a reinterpretation of the Superman mythology from its roots. Recently, since the November 2004 reacquisition of Superboy by the Siegels, there has arisen contention regarding a possible copyright infringement. The dispute is over ownership of the fictional Smallville, title setting of the show, and a claimed similarity between Superboy's title character and Smallville's Clark Kent. The heirs of Jerry Siegel claim "Smallville is part of the Superboy copyright",^[3] of which the Siegels own the rights.

Filming and location

Smallville is filmed at various locales in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada.^[4] The show is produced at BB Studios in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver.^[5]

However, "main street" Smallville is Cloverdale, British Columbia.^[4] Cloverdale is particularly proud of being a filming site for the show; at its entrance is a huge sign which reads "Home of Smallville.^[4]" When filming started, the high school exteriors were shot at the Vancouver Technical School, interiors at Templeton Secondary School.^[6] The Kent farm is a real farm located in Aldergrove.^[7]

A movie house, the Clova Cinema in Cloverdale, is used for exteriors of The Talon^[8], (the show's coffee house), which is owned by Lex Luthor and managed by Lana Lang. In the show, before being turned into a coffee house, The Talon was formerly Smallville's movie theater.

Music

Most episodes feature a song or songs by an alternative rock act. Two soundtrack albums were released, with the second following two years after the first. As yet, none of Mark Snow's Americana-flavored original scores (which at times incorporates John Williams' iconic themes from Superman: The Movie) has been released. On February 25, 2003, Smallville: The Talon Mix was released. The Talon Mix featured a selected group of artists that supplied music for the show.^[9] Following that release, on November 8, 2005, Smallville: The Metropolis Mix was released. It followed the same format, featuring selected artists from the show's music.^[10]

Smallville universe

The series follows the life of a teenage Clark Kent living in the town of Smallville, Kansas at the beginning of the 21st century. Clark Kent copes with adolescence while his superpowers (x-ray vision, superhearing, etc.) develop, explores his extraterrestrial origins and struggles to discover his destiny.

The series often deals with the people in Clark Kent's life: the trials and tribulations of his adoptive human parents, Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, friendship with his peers, his relationship with his sometime love interest Lana Lang, and especially his friendship with Lex Luthor as it decays into their mutual enmity of legend.

Established powers of Clark Kent

See also: Powers and abilities of Superman

Smallville has established a number of Superman's powers throughout its history. The Pilot introduced Clark as being familiar with his super strength, super speed and becoming aware of his invulnerability, after being hit by a car. Over time, Clark learns new abilities and powers that Superman will possess in the future. A new ability is generally introduced in one episode that centers around Clark discovering, learning to understand and then ultimately controlling the new found power. As the series progresses, Clark exhibits, and learns to control, super vision in the episode "X-Ray", heat vision in the episode "Heat", super hearing in "Whisper", and super breath in "Sneeze". His super hearing developed as a consequence of an injury rendering Clark temporarily blind. Clark's abilities, namely his strength, invulnerability and speed, have continually grown in intensity throughout the series. Many early episodes chronicled his body's reaction to being shot, at first becoming bruised, and later showing few if any marks.

Kryptonite

Main article: Kryptonite in Smallville

The element of kryptonite is used as a recurring plot device throughout the series. Kryptonite is shown to have bizarre and lingering effects on human physiology and the young superhero often encounters mutated villains who have developed bizarre powers, such as psychic abilities, shapeshifting, and other paranormal abilities. For this reason, the show is often criticized as being predominantly a "villain of the week" series.^[11][12][13]

Kryptonite has very different effects on Kryptonians like Clark. The general premise is that Clark is virtually invincible except when around it. Different colors affect Clark differently: Green kryptonite physically weakens him and could possibly kill him if he is exposed to it for too long. Red kryptonite causes him to set aside moral compunctions and act out on his impulses and dark desires. Black kryptonite splits Clark into (and merges him back together from) two separate beings exhibiting two personalities (Clark Kent and Kal-El). Silver kryptonite has appeared once, in the episode "Splinter"; its origins are unspecific but its effect apparently include hallucinations and severe paranoia.

Series overview

Season 1

See also: Smallville (season 1)

Introduction of the cast and storylines, including the introduction of a villain (or outcast classmate) deriving power from kryptonite exposure and appearing in only one episode, in a plot device that becomes known as the "freak of the week."^[11][12][13]

Season 2

See also: Smallville (season 2)

Season 2 has fewer "freaks of the week" episodes, focusing more on character development and relationship building. Several key plot points include Lex becoming more entangled in conflict with his father, Chloe digging into Clark's past while dealing with Lionel, Martha and Jonathan Kent's financial troubles, and Lana and Clark's vacillating relationship though they end the season apart. The main story arc, however, focuses on Clark's discovery of his Kryptonian origins. 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. Christopher Reeve, who portrayed Superman in the 1970s and 1980s film series, appears as Dr. Virgil Swann to provide Welling's Clark with information regarding his heritage.

Season 3

See also: Smallville (season 3)

This season focuses on further character development, loyalty, betrayal, and new revelations involving Jor-El. Early in the season, Michael McKean, Annette O'Toole's (Martha Kent) real-life husband, portrays Clark's future Daily Planet editor Perry White; from this point on, other characters present in the Superman mythos and the DC Universe are introduced to Smallville. Pete Ross' inability to deal with keeping Clark's secret causes him to move to Wichita, Kansas with his mother after his parents had divorced. As of early 2007, Sam Jones has not made any return appearances as Pete Ross.

Season 4

See also: Smallville (season 4)

The fourth season ventures further into the Superman mythos by creating a story arc that runs the length of the season; it involved Clark seeking out three Kryptonian stones (at the instruction of Jor-El) apparently containing Kryptonian knowledge. The majority of this season revolves around Lex trying to rekindle a strained friendship with Clark, Lana dating Jason Teague, a young man she meets in France, Lionel's ambiguous transformation into a good father and person, and Clark and numerous other characters vying with one another in attempts to obtain the stones. This season also introduced Lois Lane (Erica Durance) as Chloe Sullivan's (Allison Mack) cousin and the Flash.

Season 5

See also: Smallville (season 5)

Season 5 introduces several further elements of the Superman mythos, including Jonathan Kent's death, the Fortress of Solitude, the Phantom Zone, and Zod. The villain Brainiac, in the guise of Professor Milton Fine (James Marsters), become a recurring antagonist. The season's central plot revolves around Clark using the knowledge contained in the Fortress of Solitude to train for an impending doom to befall Earth: the release of Zod from the Phantom Zone due to Fine's machinations. Clark and Lana finally begin a relationship with one another. As with Season 4, Season 5 featured a gradually unveiling storyline in conjunction with multiple minor story arcs running in parallel, mid-season and season finale cliffhangers, and cameos from two other notable DC characters, Cyborg and Aquaman.

Season 6

See also: Smallville (season 6)

Season 6 provides the first glimpse into the Phantom Zone, inhabited by a society of exiled criminals from the "28 known galaxies". The destinies of Lionel and Lex play out in the aftermath of Lex's possession by Zod and Lionel's adoption as the "oracle" of Jor-El. Several prisoners escape the Phantom Zone with Clark. DC Comics characters Jimmy Olsen, Oliver Queen (and his superhero alias Green Arrow) and the Martian Manhunter are introduced this season, and many of them unite in Smallville to fight a common threat. Clark appears more prepared to accept the greater responsibility and destiny in store for him, by promising to continue his training once all the escaped Phantom Zone criminals are either returned or destroyed. There is also a storyline in which Lana, presumably carrying Lex's child, marries Lex.

Cast and characters

Main articles: Characters of Smallville and List of Smallville guest stars

The opening season featured eight major roles. Tom Welling was selected to portray a young Clark Kent. Annette O'Toole and John Schneider portrayed Clark's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent. Michael Rosenbaum became the billionaire heir Lex Luthor. Kristin Kreuk portrayed Lana Lang, and Sam Jones III played Pete Ross. These cast members represented characters that were taken directly from the Superman mythologies, while the rest of the cast would be comprised of characters that were created directly for the show. Allison Mack portrayed the investigative school journalist, and one of Clark's best friends, Chloe Sullivan. Eric Johnson played the part of Lana's boyfriend, Whitney Fordman.

Since the end of the first season, several main cast members have left the series, with a few earning spots as regular cast members. Also, the series has brought in several new recurring guests to help expand certain story arcs. By the end of the first season, the character of Whitney Fordman had been written out of the show, having left for the Marines at the end of the season. When season two began, John Glover, who had been a recurring guest on the show in season one as Lionel Luthor, Lex's father, became a part of the regular cast. Season two saw the character of Jor-El, Clark's biological father, brought in as a main story arc that has expanded for the entire series. Jor-El is portrayed by Terence Stamp, who once portrayed General Zod in the 1978 film Superman and its sequel Superman II. Emmanuelle Vaugier was brought in as Dr. Helen Bryce, a love interest for Lex and for a short point his wife. Lana Lang, whose parents died in the meteor show that brought Clark, was given a long lost biologicial father, Henry Small, who was portrayed by Patrick Cassidy. Christopher Reeve was introduced as a special guest for seasons two and three, as the Dr. Virgil Swann, the man that would provide Clark with the knowledge of where he actually came from.

Season three saw the start of introductions for other major comic characters from Superman's mythology. Michael McKean guest starred as Perry White, although this Perry White had not yet become the editor of the Daily Planet. Ian Somerhalder was cast as the mysterious Adam Knight. The character of Adam Knight would serve as a small story arc involving both Lana and Clark. Sam Jones III's Pete Ross was written out of the series at the end of season three. Season four saw the introduction of Erica Durance as Chloe's cousin Lois Lane. Durance's Lois Lane would serve as recurring guest for season four. Jensen Ackles portrayed Jason Teague, who was a new serious love interest for Lana. Jensen received top billing for season four, but he was written out of the show in the season's finale. Season four also began introducing other supernatural characters from the comics. Kyle Gallner was selected to portray Bart Allen; Bart Allen eventually becomes The Flash in the comics. Also, Trent Ford had the duty of playing one of Superman's comic book nemeses, Mikail Mxyzptlk.

Erica Durance was given top billing at the start of season five, while John Schneider was written out of the show on the series' 100th episode. In a season long story arc, James Marsters was brought in to play Milton Fine. Milton Fine is the alias of comic book villain Brainiac. Season five introduced 3 additional superheroes from the comic books. Alan Ritchson was cast as Arthur Curry, Denise Quiñones portrayed Andrea Rojas, and Lee Thompson Young was selected to play Victor Stone. Season six introduced 2 recurring characters, Jimmy Olsen and Oliver Queen. Jimmy Olsen was portrayed by Aaron Ashmore, while Justin Hartley played Oliver Queen. Another comic superhero was given recurring guest status, but in a lesser form. Although his identity has only been revealed through interviews with the creators, Phil Morris was selected to play Martian Manhunter.^[14]

Reception and awards

Smallville's first accomplishment was breaking Charmed's record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers tuning in for its pilot.^[15] Since debuting in 2001, Smallville has been nominated and won a number of awards in a number of categories.^[16] Smallville has been nominated for numerous Saturn Awards. In 2002 the show was nominated in six categories, including Best Network Television Series, out of the nominations, Michael Rosenbaum took home the Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series.^[16] Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance and John Glover have also received numerous nominations in their respective acting categories as well.^[16] Smallville has been nominated for Best Network Television Series five times in a row (2002-06). Most of the cast has been nominated for one or more Teen Choice Awards; in 2002 Welling won the award for Choice Breakout Star and in 2006 Mack won Choice Sidekick.^[16] Rosenbaum also won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series.^[16] Smallville also won a Casting Society of America award for Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot in 2002.^[16]

The show received two nominations for American Society of Cinematographers awards for the Pilot (2002) and Scared (2006) and a Canadian Society of Cinematographers award for Temptest (2003).^[16] In addition to numerous Leo Awards nominations, the show won Best Visual Effects (2002), Best Make-Up (2005), Best Cinematography in a Dramatic Series, and Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series (2006).^[16] The show has also received six Motion Picture Sound Editors nominations.^[16] At the Visual Effects Society Awards, Smallville has received four nominations and two awards: Outstanding Compositing and Outstanding Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial. Smallville has also been nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning two for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series in 2002 and again in 2006.^[16] On January 24, 2006, it was confirmed Smallville would be part of the new The CW's Fall 2006–2007 lineup once The WB and UPN ceased separate operations and merged as The CW in September 2006. Season 6 began on September 28, 2006.^[17]

DVD releases

Main article: Smallville DVD releases

Seasons one through to five have been released in regions 1, 2 and 3, with the exception of season five, which has an upcoming release in region 4. DVD releases typically include commentary by cast and crew members on a select number of episodes, deleted scenes, gag reels and some featurettes, such as visual effects or a Lois Lane documentary. Smallville: Chloe Chronicles are also included on some seasons. Other special features include interactive features such as a tour of Smallville, or a comic book. There are also DVD-ROM features on some DVDs.

Other media

Allison Mack's character Chloe Sullivan stars in the spin-off series Smallville: Chloe Chronicles, which is available online and has been included in the releases of Smallville DVD seasons. Thus far there have been three "Chloe Chronicles" editions; the first series Chloe Chronicles featured Chloe investigating further into the events of the first season episode Jitters. The second edition Chloe Chronicles, Vol II was a continuation of the first, in total, the first two series included seven chronicles. The third edition was a spin-off of the fifth season episode "Vengeance". Titled Vengeance Chronicles, Chloe joins forces with a costumed vigilante whom she dubs the "Angel of Vengeance." There will also be another series, the Smallville Legends: The Oliver Queen Chronicles, which is a six-episode CGI series.^[33]

Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar developed the Aquaman pilot for The WB Television Network with Justin Hartley as Arthur Curry.^[34] The pilot can be found through the iTunes Store, and the Xbox 360 video marketplace.

See also

• List of Smallville broadcasters and home video releases
• The Kryptonian Crystals
• Kryptonians
• Smallville Timeline

References

Wikipedia information about Smallville (TV series) This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Smallville (TV series)". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.