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2006 TV News Archives

February 8, 2006: Talking “Smallville” Season 5 with John Schneider

TVGuide.com has published an interview with John Scheider, where he talks about his involvement in the 5th season of "Smallville". There are spoilers for anyone who has not seen the 100th episode of "Smallville".

Click the "Read More" link below to read an excerpt from this interview.

Q: When were you told about Jonathan's death, and what was your initial reaction?

Schneider: I was given the news during this season's ninth episode ["Lexmas"], and ["Reckoning"] was our 12th. I have an office at Warner Bros., with a development deal and a company there and all that sort of stuff, so I was given the news a bit early so that I could shovel myself into some of the things that we've been developing over the last two years. I thought it was very kind that they gave me that sort of notice so I could get my ducks in a row. The awkward part about all that is that I was told "Nobody knows this but you and us, so don't tell anybody," so I had two-and-a-half episodes in "Smallvilleland" to keep this secret. I kept looking around at people, wondering if anybody knew. [Laughs] I think we've all been assumed dead at [various points]. Certainly when meteors are coming into your living room, you have to assume somebody's not going to make it.

Q: How did they explain it to you as to why they were doing this?

Schneider: It was explained that in the story of Superman, Jonathan Kent dies, so it was an inevitable event that had been set up so long ago.�I just thought that perhaps it would be at the end of the season, not in the middle, but there you have it. [Laughs] But it's OK with me because in many senses, Jonathan is in the show more after he's dead. His memory is kind a talisman for the second half of Season 5. I'm in it in spirit more than I was in Season 4 at all. [Laughs]

Q: Given how much [series creators] Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar] have drawn from the Superman movies, was it always in the back of your head, even back in Season 1, that Jonathan wasn't going to make it?

Schneider: Yes. It was always there. Granted, I thought he would make it to a little closer to the end of the series [Laughs], but it was a not a big surprise to me. It was not really a matter of if, it was a matter of when. Again, my appreciation lies in the fact that they gave me enough time to get myself situated for next year, which I'm still doing.

Read the entire interview at TVGuide.com.