Opinion

The End of Smallville, Ten Years Later

KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne reminisces on the 10-year anniversary of the Smallville finale.

Published

4 years ago

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2011 – the final episode of Smalvlille aired on The CW. After 218 episodes of Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent, he finally took flight toward his destiny.

Anyone who knows me personally (and perhaps, many who don’t) know what an important role Smallville the series played in my life. I might not be writing about TV today if not for Smallville. The CW might not have its many superhero-based shows without Smallville coming in first to pave the way. Coming to an end was a personal experience as well as a professional one. We all knew the end would come someday, and perhaps the notion that the show even got 10 years might be a surprise if we were to tell our younger selves about it.

Setting the record straight, I was definitely not a “shipper.” I rooted for Clark to end up with his cape, and I sort of got what I wanted. Which isn’t to say that the final minutes of the finale – complete with adaptations of John Williams’ iconic scores – didn’t make me smile with glee. I was also very excited to see Michael Rosenbaum back as Lex Luthor – it’s hard to believe there was a time that I thought that maybe “Arctic” was the last we’d ever see of him. Honestly, I still don’t like the notion that Lex’s memories were mostly wiped – but it is what it is. It’s just like how I was so excited that Aaron Ashmore’s appearance was kept a surprise… until his name appeared in the credits. Oops. Wish they had saved that one for later. I still don’t understand how and why Superman’s “inspiration” stopped Darkseid so easily, when it seemed like such a difficult task only a few episodes earlier, but oh well.

I am grateful for all Smallville gave me, but I was excited to see what would happen next in life. Yes, it’s a crime Smallville was so successful for the network and the studio yet they never had a spinoff. What’s that all about? Still, I felt almost like Clark when all was said and done… I was free… I could fly. No more shipper wars and fans fighting, I thought. I wasn’t aware of the Olicity around the corner…. it gets worse.

With all that said…

I feel Smallville hasn’t always gotten its due for the impact it had on television. At ten seasons, it is one of the most successful series in the history of Warner Bros. Television. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar created a concept that could endure for a decade, with talented people shepherding the series along with them. To a generation, Tom Welling was their Superman Clark Kent. If you look around the Internet, there’s plenty of evidence of this: When a website posts something about Smallville, it drives traffic. Whenever Michael Rosenbaum has a Smallville guest on “Inside of You,” the numbers surely go up. Podcasts talking about the series thrive, when I can remember a time when all we had was the excellent SHoE. Convention appearances, real and virtual, are now a thing, now even attended by Tom Welling himself – who would’ve expected that? The cast of Smallville gets to see the fan love… though, if it were up to me, I’d want to see a 20th anniversary panel at Comic-Con (or a virtual one) with creators Gough and Millar present. And invite Annette O’Toole already — I haven’t seen her at any events – perhaps she’s too busy or uninterested – but she was by far one of my favorite Smallville people to interact with.

I’m okay with no continuation of Smallville beyond the Season 11 comics and the appearances of Tom Welling and Erica Durance in Crisis on Infinite Earths which was truly one of my favorite things, seeing them talk and banter like it’s 2010 all over again. Sometimes it’s better for “what happens next” to happen only in our imaginations, where surely Clark, Lois, Oliver, Chloe, Lex, Lana, and everyone else continued to have adventures. With that said, I wouldn’t be disappointed if I saw the characters again someplace, but it’s not a requirement…. more like it would be a very pleasant surprise. After all, I thought the final moments of “Finale” were the end for these characters, as they usually had been with the Superman franchise… little did I know that door would someday open and the possibilities would be there.

When Smallville began, the “Freak of the Week” concept was a very clever way to build that world: Kryptonite, or “meteor rocks” as we called them then, exaggerated impulses. The show continued to explore DC Comics mythology over the years, with Impulse, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Lois Lane and more introduced over time. The series introduced us to fantastic original characters like Lionel Luthor, Tess Mercer, and Chloe Sullivan, and employed so many fantastic actors that I would feel like I’d miss out on someone if I were to specifically call them out… though I will say Michael Rosenbaum is the best Lex Luthor ever, with Jon Cryer a close second place.

Smallville gave us such epic moments. The tornado. Leaping a tall building in a single bound. Christopher Reeve. “Shattered.” Lonely Lex in “Memoria.” “Kal” taking flight. The introduction of Lois. Clark and Bart racing. Meteor showers. “Reckoning.” The exploding baby. The Justice League. Supergirl. Clark vs. Zod. The helicopter rescue in “Homecoming.” The phone booth transformation in “Booster.” And that’s barely scratching the surface. Yes, there were the “shipper wars” at times which could be frustrating, but one thing the series did, especially in its earlier years, was it made an effort to give every character agency and importance. Even if, say, Clark was dating Lana at the time, Chloe was his best confidante. And hey, if people cared so much to back certain pairings, then obviously these characters were so well loved that we’d be rooting for them. This would only truly be bad if the audience became apathetic, and Smallville never let its viewers get to that point, even with over 200 episodes.

It’s interesting to think that even in 2011, social media and the Internet weren’t what they are today. While Twitter and Facebook did exist, a lot of the Smallville discussion still happened on the KryptonSite Forums (they still exist!) In fact, I invite everyone to check in and share their memories on this ten-year anniversary of the final episode.

So, again, thank you to everyone who has visited KryptonSite over the years, who bought the companion guides, who posted on the forums…. thank you to the great friends that I’ve made along the way, as a result of this show… and most especially, thank you to everyone involved with Smallville. It was a great 10-year ride and I can’t believe it’s been a decade since then. Always holding on…

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1 Comment

BkWurm1

May 13, 2021 at 1:19 pm

Fun to take a walk down memory lane. I had a deeply love/hate relationship with Smallville. When it was great, it was epic and when it was bad, it was painful in a way I don’t think any show every will be again for me. And what you kindly characterized as giving all characters a chance to shine, I called playing mind games with the audience, lol. I freely claimed PTSD (Post Traumatic Smallville Disorder) for years after in the way it broke my ability to trust the story seeming to be told actually was being told and not something I was mistakenly inferring. (I’m convinced now I wasn’t mistaken just that they were keeping all options open Haha) ***But Smallville also created some of the most memorable moments in my viewing experience despite ensuing misdirection and backpedaling. They in particular excelled at music montages over the years. Like the soring aria sung while Lionel had his glorious mane shaved in prison even as he remotely arranged to seemingly decimate his enemies (Boom goes Chloe’s safehouse!) or the heartrending version of Time After Time by Eva Cassidy played as snow gently fell over Johnathan Kent’s fresh grave as Clark mourns or the opener of season 7 where a power ballad matched the strength and uncertainty all the characters faced after life changing events (Lex is in jail, Chloe burns her death certificate, Kara begins her search for Baby Kal-El, and Gasp! Lana faked her death lol).
The highs were high and the lows (Clark using his heat vision to bring down two skyscrapers way to reminiscent of 911) very low, but I’ll never forget the ride and the many friendships made along the way. ***One nitpick, as divided as Olicity vs Lolliver may have been in the Arrow fandom, I’d say nothing touches the three pronged shipping war that was Clana, Chlark and Clois!

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Opinion

Review: Rosenbaum & Welling’s Live TalkVille Show Is A Success

The first live Smallville TalkVille Podcast event from Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum was a fantastic experience.

Published

5 months ago

June 17, 2024

Craig Byrne

Several weeks ago, Smallville stars Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling took their “TalkVille” podcast and made it a live performance combined with their exclusive “Smallville Nights” that they’ve had on the convention circuit. Their first stop — extended to two shows after the first sold out — was at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood.

I’ve long said that for fans of the show, it’s costly but you need to do “Smallville Nights” at least once. It’s an interactive thing where fans get to re-enact scenes with the actors themselves, and all get the chance to offer the perfect delivery for “I am the villain of the story!” At the live TalkVille event, this was especially cool because each and every attendee got the chance to do the thing.

The “TalkVille” element of the show was different from I at least hda originally expected — it was more of a freeform discussion between Rosenbaum and Welling, discussing some of their favorite memories of the show, and answering questions from the audience. It would have been fun to see them do an actual show from the podcast in front of the audience, but realistically, that could be a recipe for disaster in case any cuts are needed or anything like that.

One strong thing I felt when watching Tom and Michael on stage is that the source of one of the criticisms of the podcast seems to be identified: Sometimes it has been noted that Michael would interrupt or speak over Tom, when it appears the actual problem is that when recording the podcast, there’s a slight video delay so Michael might not even realize he is talking. So, it’s not a matter of being rude, but perhaps a technical difficulty that might be solved in a future show or two where Tom actually recorded in person at the studio. Both guys (and Ryan!) got time to talk at this event, and there wasn’t any such interruption.

There were some stories told at the event that I didn’t even know or realize — for example, how Kristin Kreuk helped Tom with his audition. Both had a gratitude for the show and I think events like these really make them see it first hand. Tom joked more than once that he tried to cancel the event, but he seemed to do really well with it when it happened. I was touched and surprised that I got a few shoutouts in person… and even hugs when the guys realized I was there! Sadly, there weren’t any individual photo ops or anything, but the memories will remain very strong, and there was a very cool “poster” given to all attendees with awesome artwork by Mickael Journou (MikePosters on Instgram). You can see that artwork up above; hopefully it’s okay that it was used for this post. Apparently, this art was also being sold on a T-shirt, but I didn’t see one!

Beyond getting to see two of the leads of Smallville, a great part of the night was a 45 minute to an hour intermission between Smallville Nights and the TalkVille presentation, and that was also a lot of fun because it gave the opportunity to meet other fans and talk. So many of us started watching the show at different times and it was so much fun to share those experiences with one another. After all, we were all there because of loving Smallville! It was just a lot of positivity and fun, and I met some cool people and hopefully made some cool new friends.

As someone who has covered the show since the beginning, it is also really fun to see Tom being joyful about talking about the show. It really highlights how overwhelmed he must have been when the show was on the air. I still can tell when fans are recreating scenes from Smallville that he still thinks like a director, which is so cool. He’s also such a dad now. His shoes were sticky so he took them off to reveal neon socks, which were actually not as uncool as he thought because…. maybe it was kryptonite. Haha. Still, all in all a good time!

Any negative feedback? A venue with easier parking and a less expensive menu would be nice, but as for the show itself, it was a great time. If and when the TalkVille guys do this again, I highly recommend that you check it out.

Opinion

Is Superman & Lois Starting Season 4 with “The Death of Superman?”

Bitsie Tulloch may have hinted at “The Death of Superman” to kick off Superman & Lois Season 4 this Fall.

Published

5 months ago

June 11, 2024

Craig Byrne

Season 3 of Superman & Lois ended with what looked like a fatal showdown between Superman and Doomsday, reminiscent of the events of the legendary Superman #75 comic book by Dan Jurgens over 30 years ago. Now, some new comments from Bitsie Tulloch combined with some analysis from our good friend Ben Rolph of the Ben’s Take YouTube channel (formerly TheDCTVShow) begs the question: Is Superman & Lois adapting “The Death of Superman” in Season 4?

In the original comics, the Death of Superman was followed by an acclaimed storyline called “Funeral for a Friend” as the folks in Superman’s orbit as well as the people of the Daily Planet deal with the loss of Metropolis’ greatest hero. That led months later to a “Reign of the Supermen” story where four folks – including John Henry Irons, making his first comic book appearances – tried to become Metropolis’ new hero, with some including the Cyborg Superman claiming to the the real steel deal.

So what made Ben think they’re going full force into “Death of Superman” territory, and why do we agree with him?

Bitsie Tulloch recently appeared at the Metropolis Celebration in Illinois this past weekend, and she made a certain major tease:

“You guys are not going to believe the first episode,” she teased. “It’s bananas. It’s emotional. What they did was based on one of the comics. It was a very bold decision on their part to do to do this and to pull it off for the first episode of Season 4.”

Bold decision? Based on the comics? Killing Superman would be pretty darned bold, yeah?

You can watch video of Bitsie’s panel below, courtesy of the Superman Homepage, and then leave some thoughts in the comments! Superman & Lois Season 4 – the show’s final season – is scheduled to premiere this Fall on The CW.

Opinion

Superman & Lois in 2024: 10 Hopes for the Final Season

KryptonSite offers ten hopes for Superman & Lois Season 4 in 2024.

Published

11 months ago

December 31, 2023

Craig Byrne

2024 is almost here, and at some point in the new year we will be getting the fourth and final season of the Superman & Lois TV series. The CW has not yet announced a premiere date, but especially considering the new season hasn’t started filming yet, it may be late Spring or Summer before we see our favorite characters again for one last 10-episode run.

To celebrate the new year, though, we’re listing our Top Ten Hopes for the final season of the series…. things we’d like to see or not see in 2024. Here goes!

#1. Superman Lives… though I’d also accept a “Reign.” Sure, the Season 3 finale didn’t look too encouraging there, but it’s not like The CW’s new budget would be so cheap that they’d get rid of Superman. The show is called Superman & Lois, after all! We better see Tyler Hoechlin and that “S” again pretty swiftly… though if they want to do a “Reign of the Supermen” with Tyler playing an Eradicator and a Cyborg version of Superman, I might allow it. We’ve already got John Henry Irons/Steel and surely The CW casting folks could find a fun Superboy. This story has never been fully adapted in live action and it’s a key part of my Superman comics reading experience. (If you’ve never read “Triangle Era” Superman comics, you are missing the best of Superman’s 85-year run!)

#2. No more Superman vs. Superman. Now, obviously if they did “Reign of the Supermen” I’d take this wish away, but in three seasons + Crisis and Elseworlds crossover appearances, Superman & Lois has managed to have Tyler Hoechlin fighting another Tyler Hoechlin Superman like 8 different ways, or playing different “evil” versions of Superman. Enough with that already! It’s the same trap The Flash would run into with different speedster villains every season. Variety can be good, and while part of me would love to see other Superman actors from across the multiverse show up, such as Brandon Routh or Tom Welling, I’m honestly pretty Multiverse-d out at the moment.

#3. Other Kryptonite. Blue, red, rainbow… we haven’t seen too many variations of these on Superman & Lois, and it might be cool, and so specially Superman.

#4. Continued presence for some no-longer series regulars. Like many, I’m bothered by the demotions of several actors who were series regulars on the series, now being guest stars. With a few exceptions, we don’t know how much they will show up again… but it would be a real shame to not have John Henry and Nat around, and while I am 100% against more Jordan and Sarah angst, I really want Sarah to stick around. They’re a part of the tapestry that makes the show good, just like the Kents are.

#5. A better costume for Jordan. He looks like a huge dork with those goggles… sorry, Alex. Give him something cool!

#6. Let the family be happy! Sometimes I feel like Lois and Clark hate their children, with the amount of times they yell at them every episode. After how emotionally taxing Season 3 was especially, I hope the Kents get to have fun sometimes. Remember the time they were painting the house together and Superman had to go do a save with paint all over his hand? That was charming and cute. More please.

#7. Metropolis and the Daily Planet. The Daily Planet is as important to the mythos as Lois, Clark, Perry, and Jimmy are. A return to the great metropolitan newspaper would put Lois back at the top of her game, especially now that the paper isn’t owned by a bad guy anymore (that we know of… I mean, Lex Luthor might try something). If the Planet isn’t available, WGBS will do! And hey… maybe if Jordan is following his father’s side of things, Jonathan could take an interest in journalism and start working with his mom?

Beyond that, it appears the Kent Farm house is taken down. It could just be relocated, or they might just use stock footage from here on out, but if it’s gone, it might be worthwhile to go to a new setting for Season 4… returning the Kents to Metropolis. Also – let’s see the show’s version of Jimmy Olsen, now that we know the show isn’t on Earth-Prime.

#8. An actual conclusion. We know Season 4 is the last; the show isn’t moving anywhere else, and The CW isn’t renewing it after the ten episodes of Season 4. For those of us who have stuck with the show for all four years and 50+ episodes, I want a satisfying ending. Don’t leave us on a cliffhanger. Imagine if the 2023 strikes made the studio and network decide “we’re not doing Season 4 after all.” That would have sucked.

#9. A set visit for KryptonSite. Set visits seem to have fallen by the wayside, but it would be so cool to visit and interview the cast as we go into Season 4. Apparently there was a trip considered prior to Season 3, but we weren’t included on that list.

#10. A flash forward. As DC welcomes David Corenswet as their new Superman, combining with my own personal hopes for a happy ending, I’d love to get a glimpse into the future to see Clark and Lois happy decades from now, their children continuing their legacy. The Superman and Lois of Earth-WhateverThisIs deserve it.

There are surely other things that could have made this list — “Uncle Tal,” a Jordan Elsass cameo, and Supergirl being high on the list — but I’m sticking to ten with this one. What do you think? Leave your wishes for the final season on the KryptonSite Forums – registration is easy and free!