2003 TV News Archives

US TV Guide Cover

May 1, 2003: “Smallville” in U.S. TV Guide

HOW DOES NEW "SUPERMAN" MOVIE FIT IN?

In its May 10 issue (on newsstands Monday, May 5), TV Guide magazine looks at what is ahead for Smallville. Smallville, the story of Superman as a teenage boy, has snuck into WB's post-Buffy void to become the teen-oriented network's top show.

So will Tom Welling's Clark Kent and Kristin Kreuk's Lana Lang finally get together? "Clark's got the physical ability to have this relationship with Lana but not the emotional ability," Welling says. "That's what he struggles through." And according to Kreuk, this conflict does not provide a recipe for bliss, at least in the immediate future: "In the last three episodes of this season, they get pretty close. And it all obviously falls apart, like these things always do."

The future is also bleak for Clark and Lex (Michael Rosenbaum): Their friendship has been sitting on the time bomb of Lex's impending villainy since Episode 1. "People are always curious as to what would turn a person evil to a point of no return," co-creator Al Gough says. "I think that's the fascination with the Anakin Skywalker character in 'Star Wars.' Evil is a journey, not a light switch. There isn't going to be one moment that ultimately makes [Lex] turn evil. Just as Clark's story is the formation of a hero, Lex's story is the formation of a villain."

One creative hurdle, however, remains the much-delayed new "Superman" film adaptation. "We have an agreement with DC Comics and Warner Bros., for example, not to introduce any other Kryptonians, which is because of the impending 'Superman' movie," Gough says. "We toyed with the idea [for example] of bringing General Zod [a Kryptonian villain seen in comics and the 'Superman' movies] into our Smallville universe, and they asked us not to do that because of the film. And we agreed. We're trying not to cross our signals that much. I think our Superman time line works great, and the movie can do what they want. I think they can both peacefully coexist. We certainly have many, many more stories to tell."

SMALLVILLE FOLLOWING FIVE YEAR PLAN:

Smallville's producers are tight-lipped about plot specifics, but they do have a course mapped out for the Man of Tomorrow. "In our heads, it's always been a five-year plan," says Al Gough. "We know what the finales are for each season. I think we've got sensibly two more years in high school, and then the next step would be college. And there can obviously be adjustments if the show continues beyond that." Whether those adjustments will involve Lois Lane and Bruce Wayne (as producers have hinted), or capes, tights and that famous S (which they've scorned) remains to be seen.



2003 Television News

Listed below are all the Television News items archived for 2003 organized into 4 categories:

“Smallville” News:

“Justice League” and “Superman” Animated Series News: “Lois & Clark” News: Other Superman Related Television News:

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