Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Eight

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.
Season Eight began a few weeks after the Fortress' icy collapse, as new LuthorCorp executive Tess Mercer investigated Lex's whereabouts. With Lex out of the way, Clark had to face two new foes: Tess Mercer and Davis. Tess proved to be as inscrutable as she is cunning, and became an enigmatic new presence in everyone's lives. It wasn't long before Tess' attention turned to Clark.
This season, Clark Kent moved closer than ever to embracing his destiny as the iconic superhero he will become. Spending less time in his hometown and more time in the big city of Metropolis, Clark came across a multitude of DC characters (including Plastique; the Legion of Super-Heroes; Winslow Schott; Zatanna; and more) as he began his career at the Daily Planet working opposite Lois Lane. With Clark and Lois thrust into such close proximity, sparks began to fly and feelings started to surface that came as a surprise to both of them. At the same time, Clark began to realize the balancing act he must perform as he explored his dual identities as both reporter and superhero. Clark soon discovered he wasn't the only Kryptonian on Earth, as the "Ultimate Destroyer" threatened the human race.
The series, based on DC Comics characters, was developed for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and is executive produced by Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin, and Darren Swimmer. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Seven

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. The seventh season comprises 20 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 15, 2008, marking the second season to air on the CW television network. Regular cast members during season seven include Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack, John Glover, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, and Laura Vandervoort. In addition to bringing in new regular cast members this season, the Smallville team brought in familiar faces from the Superman media history, old villains from the show's past, as well as new DC Comics characters.
Season Seven began with Clark learning even more about his Kryptonian heritage when his cousin Kara was freed from suspended animation. He even met a replication of his biological mother Lara. Season 7 also saw the dissolution of Lex and Lana's marriage. Clark finally shared his secret with Lana and she moved onto the farm as the two attempted again to have an honest relationship. However, the last Phantom Zone prisoner, a carbon-copy of himself, tried to take over his life and Clark was faced with the task of defeating him, and coming to terms with the issues in his and Lana's relationship. Clark also still struggled with the responsibility of fulfilling his destiny and the consequences of his indecision. It was revealed that a society called Veritas was formed to welcome and serve the Traveler, which included the Luthors, Queens, Teagues, and Swann as members. Veritas' secrets drove Lex to find the Traveler and the device that can "control" in the event that he turns against humanity. By the end of the season, Lex murdered his father, Lana ultimately left Smallville, Kara got trapped in the Phantom Zone, Clark destroyed Brainiac, and after years of secrets, Lex finally discovered Clark's secret. After Clark and Lex face off, Lex inserts the orb into the Fortress and it begins to crumble.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Six

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 sixth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 17, 2007, marking the first season to air on the newly formed CW television network. Regular cast members during season six include Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Annette O'Toole, John Glover, and Erica Durance.
Season Six featured Clark at a crossroads, feeling isolated at having suffered the loss of his father, and betrayal at Lex and Lana's relationship and eventual marriage. He struggled with the responsibility of returning several super-powered criminal aliens that escaped from the Phantom Zone. He learned a little more about his Kryptonian heritage from his father's assistants Raya and Martian Manhunter. He met a fellow super-hero in Oliver Queen and learned the value of teamwork when he helped them take down Lex's Level 33.1 project. Season 6 also saw the introduction of his future pal, Jimmy Olsen. Clark said goodbye to his mother Martha Kent this year as well, when she won her bid for Senator and moved to Washington, D.C.

Season 6 provided the show's first glimpse into the Phantom Zone. 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 criminals escape the Phantom Zone with Clark, and DC Comics characters Jimmy Olsen, Oliver Queen and Martian Manhunter are introduced this season, and the first glimpse of the Justice League is seen when Victor Stone, Arthur Curry, and Bart Allen all return to Smallville. Lex's relationship with Clark is completely shattered as his relationship with Lana progresses. Lana soon discovers she is pregnant and decides to accept his proposal of marriage.
Lana and Lex's relationship dissolves when she discovers the truth about her pregnancy while simultaneously discovering Clark's secret. She tries to leave Lex and Smallville with disastrous consequences. As Lex, Clark, and Lionel all search for the missing Phantom Zone escapees, Lex's Level 33.1 project advances dangerously. It becomes personal for Lois when Lex exploits one of her childhood friends and she vows to take him down. Lois and Clark have their first kiss, shadowing their future relationship. Chloe begins a relationship with Jimmy Olsen, but also discovers that she has a mysterious, latent meteor power. Martha Kent moves to Washington, D.C., to represent Kansas in the US Senate.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Five

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 fifth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 11, 2006, marking the final season that aired on The WB. Regular cast members during season five include Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, John Glover, Erica Durance, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider.
Season Five introduced the Fortress of Solitude to Clark. This season also saw the introduction of Prof. Milton Fine (James Marsters), also known as Brainiac, and the Phantom Zone. Fine would become a reoccurring antagonist for Clark throughout the season. The central plot of Season 5 revolved around Clark using the knowledge in the Fortress to train for an impending doom that was to befall Earth in the form of General Zod, a Kryptonian warlord. Clark and Lana explored their first real adult relationship with each other. It was also the introduction of the love triangle between Clark, Lana, and Lex. The series continually uses multiple story arcs, mid-season and season finale cliffhangers, and cameos from other notable DC characters and high profile actors. Season 5 also saw the death of Clark's loving father Jonathan Kent.

Having arrived in the Arctic, with no knowledge of what to do next, Clark lets the Crystal of Knowledge do all the work. With the newly formed Fortress of Solitude, Clark begins the task of fulfilling his true destiny and stopping the coming evil with the help of Jor-El.
Two Kryptonian disciples of General Zod come to Smallville in search of Kal-El. Chloe Sullivan's mysterious disappearing act in the caves, and reappearance in a hospital in the Yukon, has Lex Luthor growing ever suspicious of Clark and his secret. Clark meets one of his college professors, Professor Fine, who has a few secrets of his own. Aquaman and Cyborg stop by Smallville, and Chloe gets a job at the Daily Planet, starting at the bottom. Clark becomes human, allowing he and Lana to take the next step in their relationship. Jonathan Kent and Lex both run for State Senator. Clark moves increasingly closer to the man he will one day become, and a surprising death strikes Smallville.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Four

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 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 18, 2005. Regular cast members during season four include Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Jensen Ackles, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider.

Clark has returned, though he isn't his usual self. Clark is "reprogrammed" by Jor-El, to seek out the Stones of Power from around the world.

Lois Lane comes to Smallville to search for the truth behind her cousin Chloe's death. Lois finds an amnesic Clark, returned to Smallville after a 3 month absence, and takes him to the hospital. Lana, still in Paris and with a new love interest, is researching an ancient martyr, Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, which is connected to Lana in more ways than she knows. Jonathan lies in a coma with Martha by his side; Lionel awaits his trial.

Clark decides that this year will be the year of Clark and he will not be worried with what Jor-El has in store for him anymore. Clark goes out for the football team, goes through rocky terrain with his relationship with Lana, sees his relationship with Lex begin to fully crumble, meets future superheroes and old obsessions, and battles witches from the 17th century just in time to graduate from Smallville High. Clark's true destiny is also revealed to him by the season's end, and a second meteor shower comes to Smallville.

Season Four takes place during Clark and his classmates' senior year at Smallville High School.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Three

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 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 19, 2004. Regular cast members during season three include Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Sam Jones III, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider.

Clark returns to Smallville after his self-imposed exile in Metropolis to face his problems. His and Lana's relationship ends faster than it begins. He meets Perry White, learns more about his biological father, and gains a new ability (super hearing). Finally, sacrificing himself to save his father, Clark agrees to fulfill the destiny that Jor-El wants; pulled into the Kawatche Cave wall, he is transported into space.
Lionel conspires with his old friend Morgan Edge, who arranged for Clark's vial of blood to be stolen. He retrieves the sample and uses the vial in an attempt to cure his terminal liver disease, testing the treatment on a new subject, Adam Knight. However, Lex is brought back home where he undergoes several psychiatric evaluations. When Chloe and Lex learn that Lionel killed his parents, Lionel conspires to make it look like Lex has a psychotic break and institutionalizes him, where he gives him a treatment to make him forget Lionel's misdoings. In attempt to get rid of witnesses for his impending trial, Lionel plans attempts on Chloe and Lex's life.

Season Three takes place during Clark and his classmates' junior year at Smallville High School.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Smallville TV Series-Season Two


Season Two had a fewer "freaks of the week" appear on the show, and instead focused more on character development, especially on Clark discovering his true origins and accepting his destiny. Clark began hearing calls from his biological father, Jor-El. A memorable moment of the series was the appearance of Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in the 70's and 80's film serials, as Dr. Virgil Swann. Swann provided Clark with information of his origins, in a "passing of the torch" moment between Reeve and Welling. Lex's relationship and short-lived marriage to Dr. Helen Bryce was also a major highlight of the second and third seasons. The show volleyed Clark and Lana's relationship, never actually allowing the two to become an official couple for most of the first 4 seasons.

Clark starts the new school year with a new ability: heat vision and a new vulnerability: red kryptonite. He shares his secret with Pete and continues to battle villains infected by green kryptonite, but the quest to discover the mysteries of his own origins occupy most of his attention this year. Pete becomes even closer to the Kent family after learning Clark's secret. Lana moves in with Chloe and Gabe Sullivan after her aunt moves away and finds her biological father, Henry Small. Lex battles fiercely with his father for control of LuthorCorp while falling in love and marrying Dr. Helen Bryce. Chloe tries to resolve her conflicting feelings and complicated relationships with Clark and Lana.
Season Two takes place during Clark and his friends' Sophomore Year at Smallville High School.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Smallville TV Series-First Season


Season Summary
A meteor shower brings a young boy to Smallville, Kansas. At the age of fourteen, he already exhibits invulnerability, super strength and super speed. Season One tells the stories from his first year in high school. Almost every week, he battles a new villain with super powers bestowed from exposure to the meteors. Clark also negotiates his friendships with Lana, Lex, Pete and Chloe. Lex has come to Smallville to manage the fertilizer plant. He is curious about Clark and the meteor shower, but his investigations threaten to expose Clark.Season One chronicles the events of Clark and his friends' Freshman Year at Smallville High School.

The first season was a tremendous success, but some fans balked at the villain often only appearing in one episode and almost always deriving their power from kryptonite exposure, affectionately becoming known as the "freak of the week". Eric Johnson's character, Whitney Fordman, was also said to be underused and one-dimensional. Despite this, the producers were instantly ordered to film at least two more seasons of the show. John Glover's Lionel Luthor character was just intended to be a guest star on the show, but due to his popularity and Johnson wanting to leave the show, he became a full time cast member for Season Two, as Whitney was written out of the series.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Smallville Home Release

Seasons one through nine have been released on DVD in Region 1 and 2, while only seasons one through eight have been released in Region 4. 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 also been released on Blu-ray formats. The DVD releases include commentary by cast and crew members on selected episodes, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The promotional tie-ins, Chloe Chronicles and Vengeance Chronicles, accompanied the season two, three, and five box sets respectively. Other special features include interactive functionality such as a tour of Smallville, a comic book, and DVD-ROM material.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Smallville 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. Following that release, on November 8, 2005, Smallville: The Metropolis Mix was released featuring another select 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, select, autographed Smallville merchandise was placed up for auction on eBay, with the proceeds going toward charity. In 2003, Titan publishing began releasing the Smallville magazine. It is 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, and touted it as the final issue.
In addition to the magazine, Titan Books also began publishing companion books for each of the seasons. On September 1, 2004, Titan Books released their first official companion for the series. Written by Paul Simpson, the book contains interviews with the cast and crew as they discuss the production of each episode and working together; the book also contains a sixteen pages of color photos of the cast. On March 1, 2005, Titan Books released their official companion for season two. Paul Simpson steps back into the writer's spot, again collecting interviews with the cast and crew, and supplying sixteen pages of color photos; in addition, 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. Paul Simpson picks up the writing duties for a third and final time with the season three companion, which continues to provide interviews with the cast and crew about the production. Apart from the episode's general plots, Simpson discusses the lack of use with the character of Martha Kent, and why the Adam Knight storyline did not pan out. After two years, Titan Books released the fourth season companion on September 4, 2007. This time, Craig Byrne was given the responsibility of writing the companion book. The season four book contains interviews with the cast and crew, but this time the color spread contains images of the production itself. A few months later, on December 26, 2007, Titan Books released another companion, this time for season five. Craig Byrne returned to the write the book, which contains the standard interviews, episode descriptions, and color spread as the previous four. On March 25, 2008, Titan Books released their sixth official companion for Smallville. For the third time Craig Byrne takes on the duties of writing the book. The season six companion contains an introduction from Justin Hartley, as well as the cast and crew interviews and sixteen pages of photos.
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 (and a planned supplement) for earlier seasons. 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.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Smallville Spin-offs

Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar developed an Aquaman pilot for The WB, with Justin Hartley as Aquaman/Arthur Curry. As work progressed on the Smallville season five episode "Aqua", the character was recognized to have 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 resulting network passed on the show.
During the sixth season, there was initial talk about 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.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Smallville Promotional Tie-ins

For the season three premiere, the Smallville producers teamed up with Verizon to provide registered users a chance to view plot updates—in the presentation 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 dictating the early life of Oliver Queen in a six-episode CGI series. According to Lisa Gregorian, Executive Vice President of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Television Group, explained these promotional tie-ins are 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 for the illustrations. The plot for each comic episode would be given to Nilson as the production crew for Smallville was filming their current television episode. Artist Steve Scott would draw comic book panels, which would be sent to a group called Motherland. That group would review the drawings and tell 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 makers of the Stride brand of 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 are using the 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 adds four pages to the comic—every Tuesday and Thursday until the campaign officially ended on April 7, 2008. For season seven, Smallville teamed-up with Sprint again to bring Sprint customers "mobisodes" featuring Clark's cousin Kara.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Smallville 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, 2003 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 describes the show as "very Nancy Drew and mysterious". She continues, "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 more unique ways to expand Smallville stories over to Chloe’s Chronicles.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Smallville Comic Books

Before the start of season two, DC Comics published a one-shot comic based on the television series. Simply titled Smallville: The Comic, the issue featured two stories. The first, written by Mark Verheiden and Roy Martinez, was titled "Raptor" and featured 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 describes the comic book line as a companion piece to the show, instead of a non-canon version of the characters. As Carpenter describes it, the comic book line expands on events occurring in the show, like showing what happens after season ending cliffhangers. Carpenter sees the comics as providing "additional depth" to those characters who receive limited screen time on the show, or whose storylines need 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 taking on the comic books, so he asked Carpenter if he would take on the responsibility. Although the series is meant to expand on the events of the show, occasionally there are 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; then the season three premiere showed him robbing multiple ATMs. The series not only ties into the television show, but also the Chloe Chronicles webisodes, and the various Smallville-related webpages. In addition, the comics feature interviews with the cast and crew, as well as information on the production of the episodes.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Smallville 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 Stern 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 turn herself 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 also causes him to try and kill all those who testified against him. The novel also 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 it. 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 those 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 was written by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld, titled Speed; the second was written by Suzan Colon, and titled Buried Secrets. Speed involves a boy using an hourglass his father gave him for his birthday to stop time and commit various hate crimes 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, only her scientist 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 more. Suzan 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 featured the characters investigating the appearance of zombies. Little, Brown Young Readers released their eighth book, written by Bennett and Gottesfeld, titled Greed. Here, 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 also 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 one hundred-fifty year-old curse onto Smallville, and Clark’s attempt to put everything back to the way it was. On February 1, 2004, Little, Brown Young Readers released a new book by Suzan Colon. In Temptation, 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, written by Cherie Bennett, Sparks chronicles Chloe’s experience after being 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.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Smallville 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 Merlin.

Literature
There have been two series of novels published since the second season of the show began airing. One series was published by Aspect publishing. They published eight young adult novels in total, beginning in October 2002 and ending in March 2004. The second series was published by Little, Brown Young Readers, beginning in October 2002, alongside Aspect’s series of novels. Ten young adult novels were published until April 2004. In addition, a bi-monthly comic book series has been published, which often ties directly into the events of the television show.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Smallville Accolades

Throughout its first nine seasons, Smallville has won numerous awards ranging from Emmys to Teen Choice Awards. In 2002, the show was recognized with 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, one of which for her work in the fourth season episode "Scare", and one 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 Award for Best Dramatic Series, as well as 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 the band Remy Zero, who provide the opening theme song, "Save Me", for Smallville, and composer Mark Snow 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. 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 took home 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.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Smallville 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.
SeasonTimeslot (ET/PT)NetworkPremieredEndedRankViewers
(in millions)
DatePremiere
Viewers
(in millions)
DateFinale
Viewers
(in millions)
Season 1Tuesday 9/8CThe WBOctober 16, 20018.40May 21, 20023.80#1155.90
Season 2September 24, 20028.70May 20, 2003N/A#1136.30
Season 3Wednesday 8/7COctober 1, 2003N/AMay 19, 20045.92#1414.96
Season 4September 22, 20046.07May 18, 20055.47#1244.40
Season 5Thursday 8/7CSeptember 29, 20055.90May 11, 20064.85#1174.70
Season 6The CWSeptember 28, 20064.96May 17, 20074.14#1254.10
Season 7September 27, 20075.18May 15, 20083.85#1753.77
Season 8September 18, 20084.34May 14, 20093.13#1523.74
Season 9Friday 8/7CSeptember 25, 20092.58May 14, 20102.40#1292.38
Season 10September 24, 20102.98TBAN/AN/AN/A