"Smallville" (2001) TV series 2001-????

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Creators:

Alfred Gough
Miles Millar

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

16 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

His journey, their battle, our future (season 6)

Plot:

A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville.

Plot Keywords:

Smallville | Power | Kansas | Best Friends | Meteor Shower

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 25 wins & 107 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 9	8:00 PM	CW	Instinct	#8.4
Thur. July 16	8:00 PM	CW	Committed	#8.5

Cast

Tom Welling	...	Clark Kent / ... (175 episodes, 2001-2009)
Allison Mack	...	Chloe Sullivan / ... (175 episodes, 2001-2009)
Kristin Kreuk	...	Lana Lang (158 episodes, 2001-2009)
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Lex Luthor / ... (153 episodes, 2001-2008)
John Glover	...	Lionel Luthor / ... (141 episodes, 2001-2008)
Annette O'Toole	...	Martha Kent (132 episodes, 2001-2007)
John Schneider	...	Jonathan Kent (111 episodes, 2001-2006)
Erica Durance	...	Lois Lane / ... (99 episodes, 2004-2009)

Also Known As:

"Smallville Beginnings" (USA) (rerun title)
"Smallville: Superman the Early Years" (UK) (promotional title)
"Smallville" (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
"рЮИМШ яЛНКБХКЪ" (Russia) [ru]
"Smallville" (Hungary) [hu]
"Smallville" (France) [fr]
"Smallville" (Germany) [de]
"Superman, ta hronia tis niotis" (Greece) [el]
"Young Superman" (Japan) [ja]

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials) | USA:45 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG | USA:TV-PG | Malaysia:U | Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 4) (season 6) | New Zealand:M (Season 1) | New Zealand:M (season 2) | South Korea:12 | South Korea:15 (season 4 and 6) | New Zealand:R16 (season 6) | USA:TV-14 (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-MA (some epiosodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 7) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Mexico:B | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Tollin

Trivia:

The Smallville High Student Newspaper that Clark and Chloe write for is named for Glenville High School's Student Newspaper "The Torch" which Superman creator Jerry Siegel wrote for when he was a student there.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the story is supposed to be set in Kansas, a state almost devoid of hills, many times the mountains of British Columbia appear in the background of scenes.

Quotes:

Lex Luthor: You know that darkness you talked about Clark? I think it's in everyone and people like my father just know how to bring it out.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Old School (2003)

Soundtrack:

Save Me

"Somebody saaaaaaavvve meeee!! Don't care how you do it!"

I cannot believe that I didn't catch this outstanding show when it first aired, I am really disappointed in myself for that.

About 16 months ago a friend of mine lent me his copy of the first season to check out, he told me he had watched it already and that I could take my time with it. I had it for a week without touching it, then I decided to pop it in and watch the first episode, I was thrilled! When I first heard that the WB was doing a teen drama about the young life of Clark Kent, I thought "Hell No!!" they wouldn't dare take a legend like Superman and cross it with Dawson's Creek! How wrong I was. This show is intelligent, moving, intriguing and just plain fun to watch!

I am also in the fortunate position to have only experienced the show on DVD on my 96" front projection system, so the show has taken on a cinematic element for me that most people won't get. Because of this, I do not watch the show on television at all, it's strictly a DVD event for me. This of course means that I cannot catch up with the show as it run's on the WB, but i'm committed to watching it only on DVD. For wide-screen purists like myself, the show being open matted from 1.78:1 is the only deterrent I need to abstain from the WB runs of the show.

Sadly, Tom Welling will not be Superman in the up-coming film, that's a real shame, he embodies that character so much. The episode entitled 'Rosetta' with the late Christopher Reeve is perhaps one of the most riveting hours i've witnessed on television since 'The Body' episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Clark's struggle against the wishes of his birth father Jor-El are very mysterious and somewhat disturbing to watch.

Micheal Rosenbaum as Lex Luther brings so many multi-dimensional elements to this iconic (eventual) villain that he even manages to make Gene Hackman's Lex seem downright flat and cardboard-ish. We all know that he will become Superman's arch-enemy, but how and why? This show dares to explore those questions with surprising freshness and intrigue. Though I suspect that he will be Superman's enemy, not Clark's. They have a brotherly bond that I would hate to see broken, but have prepared myself for that.

John Shneider and Annette O'Toole as Clark's Earth-bound parents are so warm and caring that it creates a strong emotional foundation for the show. The Kent farm is ground zero for the show and for Clark's eventual life as Superman. All of his values begin their, the man of steel we all come to know was forged with the guidance of two simple farm folk in Kansas. This show captures that so richly that it makes the short 10 minute sequence in Richard Donner's film seem woefully insufficient.

Yes, the weakest character is Lana, but it's not the fault of Kristin Kreuk (she's so hot, I could stare into those gorgeous eyes of hers all day), it's in our knowledge that she WILL be cast aside, we know this to be true, we have seen Clark's future and Lana has no place in it. So all of their scene's together have an undercurrent of futility about them. Although to Clark and Lana, at those moment's, they don't know what tomorrow brings for them, so I can tolerate them pursuing their relationship.

I read one very distressful thing in one of the user comments, it said that Tom Welling only agreed to play Clark Kent, not Superman. We NEED to see him become Superman on or about the last episode of the series, it is CRUCIAL! That, after all, is the payoff, to see him in the suit and ready to tackle the world and embrace the destiny we have all seen him struggle to realize and reach. Without that moment, the series will seem anti-climatic with no payoff.

I give this show 10 out of 10 stars. If your a Superman fan, you must see this show!