yo tengo una gran pregunta segun lei la temporada empieza el 18 de este mes ¿por que todavia no lo ponen al inicio de la pagina? y ¿en donde puedo encontrar un buen triller por que hasta ahora ninguno esta muy bn que digamos?
bueno gracias y adios
Información y renovados para la Octava temporada.
Moderadores: Shelby, Lore, Super_House, ZeTa, Trasgo
pregunto
hola a todos
yo tengo una gran pregunta segun lei la temporada empieza el 18 de este mes ¿por que todavia no lo ponen al inicio de la pagina? y ¿en donde puedo encontrar un buen triller por que hasta ahora ninguno esta muy bn que digamos?
bueno gracias y adios
yo tengo una gran pregunta segun lei la temporada empieza el 18 de este mes ¿por que todavia no lo ponen al inicio de la pagina? y ¿en donde puedo encontrar un buen triller por que hasta ahora ninguno esta muy bn que digamos?
bueno gracias y adios
[img]<a><img src="http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/2523 ... eblack.jpg" border="0"></a>[img].
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salva_k87
- Metrópolis
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- Registrado: Vie Oct 26, 2007 10:45 pm
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Re: pregunto
hola puedes encontrar informacion de los capitulos en los foroschuky_315 escribió:hola a todos
yo tengo una gran pregunta segun lei la temporada empieza el 18 de este mes ¿por que todavia no lo ponen al inicio de la pagina? y ¿en donde puedo encontrar un buen triller por que hasta ahora ninguno esta muy bn que digamos?
http://foro.huesario.es/
si quieres inf del primer episodio y avances que han encontrado los chicos en este enlace estan
http://foro.huesario.es/viewtopic.php?t ... &start=255
tienes que leer un tanto
saludos
salva
es demasiado emocionanteeeeeeeeeee, me pone la piel de lagallina y se q esta temporada nueva nos van a poner demasiada accion, y vamos a querlos mucho mas sus personajees maduros y desarrollados, siempre ha sido nuestro sueño de verlos hacia elfuturo como 3 años despues, y queremos saber, mucha curiosidad q va a psar los momentazos de todos, espcialmente lois y clark, sniffff, me esta matando mucho la introga y la curiosidad, terriblemente, meencanto muchisismo la entrevista de erica, siempre me va a encantar, la adoro mucho, mira vos, hijastro, es el hijo de su esposo con la anterior ex esposa o novia, seguramente, no creo q sea un hijo adoptado, porque lo hubiera mencionado, y ademas es increible q s una gran madre q se ocupa del tiempo dedicado hacia su hijo, y encima es bastante varonil como yo, los videos juegos son la mejor accion y por lo q se entiende q erica va aprendiendo muchisismo de los comics y su hijo lo esta leyendo tambien y los dialogos entre ellos, y tb q su hijo pueda darle ideas q lois podria tenerlos en cuenta y contar con sus compañeros de smallville.
demasiado emocionante y se q no me van a defraudar, es lo que queria, los grandes momentazos, presiento q la octava temporada va a ser mi favorita, desp de las temporadas anteriores q han sido buenas y flojas, asi q esta temporada ultima octava va a ser la mejor para mi.
shirley, te equivocas, quiero q llegue el viernes, sabes porque? porque van a estar listos el video y el subtitulo juntos, asi q podemos verlos todos juntos para descargarlos, aunque se q quisiste decir, una forma q llegue el jueves para verlo, pero no se puede sino el viernes, a veces puede pasar el sabado, aunque el viernes es el dia mas preferido de todos por descargar todos los episodios de smallville, el primer episodio es normal q queremos saber q pasa, pero mucho mas q me mata es el segundo episodiooooo.
saludos a todos
demasiado emocionante y se q no me van a defraudar, es lo que queria, los grandes momentazos, presiento q la octava temporada va a ser mi favorita, desp de las temporadas anteriores q han sido buenas y flojas, asi q esta temporada ultima octava va a ser la mejor para mi.
shirley, te equivocas, quiero q llegue el viernes, sabes porque? porque van a estar listos el video y el subtitulo juntos, asi q podemos verlos todos juntos para descargarlos, aunque se q quisiste decir, una forma q llegue el jueves para verlo, pero no se puede sino el viernes, a veces puede pasar el sabado, aunque el viernes es el dia mas preferido de todos por descargar todos los episodios de smallville, el primer episodio es normal q queremos saber q pasa, pero mucho mas q me mata es el segundo episodiooooo.
saludos a todos
Re: pregunto
En la primera página de este post está toda la información, hasta la fecha..salva_k87 escribió:hola puedes encontrar informacion de los capitulos en los foroschuky_315 escribió:hola a todos
yo tengo una gran pregunta segun lei la temporada empieza el 18 de este mes ¿por que todavia no lo ponen al inicio de la pagina? y ¿en donde puedo encontrar un buen triller por que hasta ahora ninguno esta muy bn que digamos?
http://foro.huesario.es/
si quieres inf del primer episodio y avances que han encontrado los chicos en este enlace estan
http://foro.huesario.es/viewtopic.php?t ... &start=255
tienes que leer un tanto
saludos
salva
TV Guide Network ha emitido su especial de dos horas previo a la temporada.
-Allison dijo que el show sería más "oscuro y realista".
-Erica dijo que, "Lois se nombra a sí misma como mentora de Clark".
-Slavkin dijo que, "Nadie puede sustituir aobody a Michael Rosenbaum."
El show estuvo en el set de Smallville, y habló con Allison y Erica al principio. Allison tenía una blusa morada y Erica llevaba puesta una blusa azul. Las escenas que enseñaron fueron:
-Clark hablando con Tess. Clark tenía una camisa blanca y una corbata.
-Clark y Oliver "peleando" en el campamento ruso.
-Clark hablando con Lois sobre su trabajo en el DP.
-Lois y Tess enfrentándose (con Lois vestida de sirvienta).
-Lois y Clark yendo a rescatar a Chloe, y Lois golpeando al guardia.
-Dijeron que Green Arrow va a estar durante toda la temporada.
-Allison dijo que el show sería más "oscuro y realista".
-Erica dijo que, "Lois se nombra a sí misma como mentora de Clark".
-Slavkin dijo que, "Nadie puede sustituir aobody a Michael Rosenbaum."
El show estuvo en el set de Smallville, y habló con Allison y Erica al principio. Allison tenía una blusa morada y Erica llevaba puesta una blusa azul. Las escenas que enseñaron fueron:
-Clark hablando con Tess. Clark tenía una camisa blanca y una corbata.
-Clark y Oliver "peleando" en el campamento ruso.
-Clark hablando con Lois sobre su trabajo en el DP.
-Lois y Tess enfrentándose (con Lois vestida de sirvienta).
-Lois y Clark yendo a rescatar a Chloe, y Lois golpeando al guardia.
-Dijeron que Green Arrow va a estar durante toda la temporada.
¡¡¡¡AY, OMÁ QUÉ CALORES!!!! ¡Gracias por tu regalo, Nitta!
Gracias a todos por la nueva información.
Que ganas de volver a tener nuestra serie cada jueves, que poquito queda ya. Parece mentira que este jueves sea ya el gran día.
Por cierto ¿Todavía no hay poster de esta octava temporada? Creo que en otros años ya había salido. Como por ejemplo el del año pasado, que salía Clark en grande y Kara al fondo volando.
Que ganas de volver a tener nuestra serie cada jueves, que poquito queda ya. Parece mentira que este jueves sea ya el gran día.
Por cierto ¿Todavía no hay poster de esta octava temporada? Creo que en otros años ya había salido. Como por ejemplo el del año pasado, que salía Clark en grande y Kara al fondo volando.
Bueno, pues la CW no habrá hecho mucha promoción, pero la serie está levantando expectación por todos los sitios...
3 días más quedan el episodio "Odyssey", el primero de la Octava Temporada y como es lógico, está creando gran expectación. "Yahoo! TV" tiene este episodio en su Top Ten Semanal, nombrándolo como uno de los 10 shows más vistos de esta semanana.
"Smallville Season Premiere: Jueves 8pm. En la pasada temporada de la CW dejamos a nuestro futuro "Hombre de Acero" encerrado en una dura batalla con su archienemigo Lex Luthor en la Fortaleza de la Soledad. ¿Quién saldrá victorioso? Bueno, sabemos que Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) no regresa este año a la serie como regular, ¡así es que nuestra apuesta está con Clark!. Esperen a ver cómo el romance entre Clark y Lois finalmente empieza a elevar la temperatura de este año, además de los dos nuevos villanos e incluso la vuelta de Liga de la Justicia en el inicio de la temporada".
"MSN TV" mientras tanto ha hecho lo mismo en su lista de "Lo mejor para descansar" de las elecciones para ver de la TV de estas semanas.
"Series premieres: ¡Chicos alegraros! La CW regresa con las premieres el jueves. La noche comienza con la octava temporada de "Smallville" (8 p.m.) en la que Green Arrow viaja al Ártico en busca de Clark, que ha sido privado de sus poderes por Jor-El".
3 días más quedan el episodio "Odyssey", el primero de la Octava Temporada y como es lógico, está creando gran expectación. "Yahoo! TV" tiene este episodio en su Top Ten Semanal, nombrándolo como uno de los 10 shows más vistos de esta semanana.
"Smallville Season Premiere: Jueves 8pm. En la pasada temporada de la CW dejamos a nuestro futuro "Hombre de Acero" encerrado en una dura batalla con su archienemigo Lex Luthor en la Fortaleza de la Soledad. ¿Quién saldrá victorioso? Bueno, sabemos que Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) no regresa este año a la serie como regular, ¡así es que nuestra apuesta está con Clark!. Esperen a ver cómo el romance entre Clark y Lois finalmente empieza a elevar la temperatura de este año, además de los dos nuevos villanos e incluso la vuelta de Liga de la Justicia en el inicio de la temporada".
"MSN TV" mientras tanto ha hecho lo mismo en su lista de "Lo mejor para descansar" de las elecciones para ver de la TV de estas semanas.
"Series premieres: ¡Chicos alegraros! La CW regresa con las premieres el jueves. La noche comienza con la octava temporada de "Smallville" (8 p.m.) en la que Green Arrow viaja al Ártico en busca de Clark, que ha sido privado de sus poderes por Jor-El".
¡¡¡¡AY, OMÁ QUÉ CALORES!!!! ¡Gracias por tu regalo, Nitta!
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--[Sacred-Kripton]--
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donovan320
- Lois Lane
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¿No vamos a discutir sobre esto, no?--[Sacred-Kripton]-- escribió:¿Un blog solo? Merece un monumento en Huesilandia.
Mil gracias por la info Shelby.
Está claro que Shelby es la que se lo ha currado más y la que nos trae la información más fresca y que gracias a ella tenemos el tema Smallville al día
Así que muchas gracias Shelby 
Bueno pues "TWop" le ha hecho una entrevista a Brian Peterson. Os la dejo en inglés otra vez. Es larguííííma... ¡dadme una tregua que aún estoy traduciendo la de Sam! 
¡Dios mío, me he echado a temblar...! ¡Creo que no hacía tantas traducciones ni en el instituto!
Brian Peterson, one of the four executive producers of Smallville, sounds like he'd be a lot of fun to work with, something like a cross between Newsradio's unfailingly polite Dave Nelson and Ugly Betty's witty, fast-talking Marc St. James. The impossibly upbeat-sounding showrunner is familiar to the show's fans for the many episodes he and writing partner Kelly Sounders have done since Season Two, including "Reckoning," "Promise" and the much-maligned "Noir." When series execs Alfred Gough and Miles Millar left the show last season, Peterson and three of the show's other long-time producers (known collectively in the fandom as "PS3") were put in charge of Smallville, which begins its eighth season on September 18 with an episode called, "Odyssey."
When last we left the show, Lex Luthor and Clark Kent were locked in some sort of unholy man-brace as the Fortress of Solitude came down around them (in Hollywood, they call it, "Bringing the house down"), Lana Lang had said goodbye via videotape and Chloe was learning to cope with her meteor-infused healing powers. What could Season Eight possibly bring that won't infuriate longtime fans?
We spoke by phone to Peterson to find out the answer to that and other questions:
Brian Peterson: Is this Omar?
Omar G: Yes, this is Omar from Television Without Pity.
BP: Nice to meet you! Not in person, but over the phone.
OG: Yeah! I don't know if you read the site or not, so I apologize.
BP: I do. I try to avoid anything that will make me sad at the end of the day, so I try to look when I think things will be good (laughs.)
OG: So, you've never visited our site.
BP: You're like, "Are you kidding me?" I do read it sometimes.
OG: We did ask readers of the forum on TWoP if they had any questions they wanted to add.
BP: Yeah, I saw that (laughs).
OG: A lot of it was like, [Comic Book Guy voice] "In episode 4-12..."
BP: My favorite are, like, the, "I have a huge rant, but I'm gonna try to frame it in the form of a question." Those are my favorites.
OG: I've been following the show since the beginning and we've seen a lot of writers and producers come and go. You've been around since near the beginning.
BP: Since the beginning of Season Two, yes.
OG: What's kept you on Smallville for so long? Has being there so long helped maintain some consistency on the show and are you one of the institutional memories on the show?
BP: I would say yes. For Kelly, my writing partner, and I, it all started when we were looking for shows to staff and we read the pilot of Smallville. The second we read it, we knew that was the show we wanted to work on. So, we were so thrilled to get staffed in the second year. We started with Todd (Slavkin) and Darrin (Swimmer), who are now currently our co-show runners; the four of us run the show. I think what has been great for us is that the staff, the crew, the cast, is just unbelievable to work with. But telling the story of Superman is a once-in-a-lifetime possibility. It's really great for us to continue telling the story of one person and his journey to being the hero that we know. So, I think what's also been great is that working with Al (Gough) and Miles (Millar) consistently for those six years, we learned everything that they wanted on the show, everything that they didn't want, the themes that they were passionate about, the character arc that they were passionate about. We've hopefully been able to continue those and not have any massive change this year, but really just continue the journey of Clark Kent as he becomes Superman.
OG: What was your background with Kelly before Smallville?
BP: We met in film school and then we both worked in independent films for a couple of years. Smallville was really our first TV show. We started as brand-new newbies and were lucky enough to get, I think, four scripts the first year. We just kind of learned trial-by-fire and honed our skills over the next several seasons as we worked under some really amazing mentors like Jeph Loeb and Mark Verheiden who've now gone on to Battlestar Galactica and to Heroes.
We kind of just learned what the show is and brought our own ideas to the table. So it's really been the last couple of years that we've been able to take what Al's and Miles's vision was and make it ours as well as sticking to their original idea.
OG: So you've seen on the forum that they call you guys (Peterson + Sounders + Slavkin + Swimmer) "PS3?"
BP: Yeah (laughs), I think that's actually kind of funny.
OG: You're not, like, an Xbox person and that offends you or anything, right?
BP: What's funny is that I was just recently dating a PS3 person and I had never played one in my life until then. I was an old Atari and Intellivision guy.
OG: So that person was actually a game console?
BP: Yes, exactly. Somebody who was really into gaming. It's very clever, whoever coined that.
OG: How was the transition when Al and Miles left? Did you guys go nuts, like your parents were gone, and you could run around the house in your underwear and hire Rebecca De Mornay as your girlfriend?
BP: I think we gradually saw it coming over several seasons as their movie careers really started completely taking off. We've been preparing for it for a long time and they've been mentoring and preparing us. It wasn't a huge transition, but honestly, we didn't even have time because we had a lot of new cast to look at and we had to really look at the next year's storyline. So we didn't have time to panic or freak out or jump on the bed or anything like that. We really just wanted to take the horns and continue with exactly what they had started.
OG: As opposed to the underwear...
BP: Yeah, we're not really the rebellious kind. We're pretty respectful.
OG: Before we knew that there was going to be an eighth season, did everyone think that Al and Miles were going to be able to stay till the end?
BP: I think it's always been speculation. Their career has just been so amazing in features, it's always been a question of what would they really have time to do.
As we've watched them work on these huge movies, we always assumed that at some point they might need to leave it in our hands.
OG: You really never know what's going to happen with TV networks, as far as whether they'll want to extend past Season Eight, but, creatively, are you treating Season Eight like it's the endgame?
BP: Not really, to be honest. We have an A plan and a B plan. We're really hopeful that there will be a Season Nine. I think there are still definitely stories to tell. Definitely villains to conquer and arcs for Clark and his love life. We're kind of waiting to see and our goal is that we will know, hopefully, mid-season so we can really shape the last half of the season to an amazing series finale if that's what it is. I'm actually pretty hopeful for Season Nine.
OG: Whether it ends as Season Eight or Nine or whenever, is there an endgame in play that Al and Miles had come up with, like, "This is where the last bit ends up?"
BP: Al and Miles always dropped a couple of ideas that over the seasons we've all thought about and toyed with. There is an endgame. It's slightly nebulous, but we definitely know certain concrete signposts that we want to hit in that final episode.
OG: Is part of that end-goal to get Clark to the point where he's the Superman we'd all recognize from the comics?
BP: Exactly, exactly. The great thing this year we're all most excited about is putting Clark in Metropolis. He's embracing his destiny and becoming a hero. We're taking him off the farm and putting him in Metropolis where he's working at The Daily Planet, in league with Lois Lane, having to hide his identity. We're really starting that new chapter in his life which is closer to what people know from the comic books and the movies and the Lois and Clark series.
OG: Let's talk about Clark at The Daily Planet for a minute. On the show in the past, he's had a disdain for journalism and a disinterest in it and has even said explicitly, "Yeah, journalism sucks, not for me..." and stabs me through the heart. What changes with Clark and with The Planet to inspire him to take that path?
BP: A lot of that was purposeful on our part. We wanted him to have an arc and so we wanted him to start someplace.
This year, he's really decided to join The Daily Planet because of events that happen in the pilot that link to last year and him realizing it is the epicenter of information in the city. If he wants to saving people actively in Metropolis, it's kind of ground zero for all information. So it's part of him really taking a step and embracing his destiny.
OG: In the past, it seems like Chloe has been the epicenter of information, no matter where she is.
BP: Chloe will always be the epicenter of information and we would never want to change that. We have given her some, I think, more character storylines that are really reflective about herself, her life and where she fits in. As you know, she's never been part of the greater mythology, so we're trying to have her explore different storylines, but she will always be Chloe, the Chloe we love. We have some things I think will make the fans happy this year about some twists and turns in her life as she goes through the season.
OG: Have you all said whether that will take place at The Planet and whether she'll return to becoming the hotshot reporter that she'd always aimed to be?
BP: I don't want to give away anything because I want everyone to just enjoy the ride. But I will say that I do think people will be happy.
OG: Let's shift gears and talk about the movies. When Superman Returns was released, obviously there were a lot of comparisons made on how the movie approached Superman and the approach the show had been taking. But the movie underperformed at the box office and the show has been on for eight seasons. Do you think the movie's take was too traditional and didn't take risks like the show in recreating the mythology?
BP: Um... wow. Is that a can of worms. (Laughs.) Do you want me to get fired? No, I'm totally kidding. I will say that for several seasons we had to be very, very respectful and careful of the feature department because they had very strict restrictions on what we could do with Lois, how we could treat Lex, who could cross, who could kiss.
OG: That was more a movies thing than D.C. Comics?
BP: That was in preparation for the movie. Smallville definitely had to adjust itself given the different scripts. In one week a script would come out where Lex knew about Krypton.
The next month a script came out where he didn't. We had to keep trying to be respectful of that, but keep our mythology, which was definitely a gauntlet to run, I have to say. I think what was interesting about the movie was I thought it was visually gorgeous and Bryan Singer deserves many accolades for the take he brought to it. I think what people... I know they knock us for it, but what people like about Smallville is we're actually pretty true to our rules and to our mythology. We will take something far, but then we'll explain it and add a new layer to it. I think what you're saying about tradition played a part in the movie... it didn't add many new layers. But I think it was a visual masterpiece for what it was.
OG: Are you all already getting a heads-up on what the next movie will be and if you need to stay away from that?
BP: No. In fact, I'd rather not know so we can do what we want for a while.
OG: As far as the hardcore comics fans and movie fans, do you think that because it was a $200 million event movie, and because Smallville is so familiar and is on TV every week and doesn't have that kind of budget, that it's been hard to get those hardcore fans?
BP: I don't believe it's been that much of a struggle. I think the hardcore Superman fans are so amazing and so loyal that they embrace every different incarnation of the movies or the comic books or the many different versions in the comic books like Infinite Crisis. I think they embrace all the different versions, and I see how that can be frustrating at times. But I also think that they are who has really made Smallville, because they're loyal and they do watch, regardless of the different take, and they're curious about the different takes that have been presented.
OG: You were very diplomatic.
BP: (Laughs.) I have to say, this is all kind of riding off of Comic-Con. We have never been so amazingly embraced as we were this year by Comic-Con. The fans were so enthusiastic and so excited about the show. We owe everything to them.
OG: There's certainly a superhero upswing. I guess the trend this summer was a very dark and complex take. Smallville has been dark in the past, but it's generally farmboy, sunny...
BP: (Laughs.) Right, Ma and Pa Kent.
OG: Will Clark grow a dark and complex goatee in Season Eight, maybe, to get with the dark and complex times?
BP: I think the great thing that Al and Miles created was a very timeless show where you weren't sure if you were in the 1950s or the 1990s or 2000s. It felt like a world all on its own, so we're really trying to stick with that even though we're moving into Metropolis a lot. There've been some really dark, heavy episodes, but they're always juxtaposed with the brilliance of the farm and the different sets we have and honestly they... (15:00, ask Rebecca). We're definitely having some pretty dark episodes this year. And the introduction of Doomsday has added a layer that I think is even darker than a lot of the other years have had.
OG: So, no goatee, then.
BP: No goatee, no goatee, although in the pilot you do get to see him unshaven, which is kind of a fun, new twist.
OG: What does he shave with, a tractor?
BP: You would not believe how many hours are spent in the room talking about things like that.
OG: You brought up Doomsday. I'm not as familiar with the comic book version of Doomsday, but I wonder, how do you write for a character that is supposed to be that badassed when the actor looks like he could be on Gossip Girl?
BP: Right. We've always -- and this started with Al and Miles, too -- taken characters and put a Smallville twist on them while always being respectful of the origins. I would say, like, Mxyzptylk. Brainiac, we introduced in one way, and I think by the time all was said and done, people were really happy with how we blended our own take with everything that was rooted in the original mythology. That's what we're doing with Doomsday and we just ask for people to be patient as the season goes on because they'll see that it actually is completely in line with all the mythology that Geoff Johns has been writing. This new episode, 11, that we're working on right now, he's kind of the comic book God of the day. He loved what we were doing and was really impressed how we've taken somebody out of the human-appearing side to him, but then how that evolves over the season and where we're going with it.
I think people will be very pleased. I hope. I am, but maybe I'm crazy.
OG: You mentioned Chloe and her journey earlier. Whether she comes back to The Daily Planet or not, is her meteor power going to be her primary motivator now?
BP: She will have a pretty rude awakening in the season premiere. So I would say yes, but there's a big twist in the season premiere regarding Chloe that will kind of propel her storyline for the first at least third of the season. And, of course, there are wedding bells in sight for Chloe and Jimmy. And I know the reaction to some of that. (Laughs.)
OG: Yeah, they're gonna hang me if they don't hear something about that. Why do you think people are reacting that way?
BP: There are so many fans that believe that Chloe and Clark belong together and that they love each other. Another great thing that I'm excited about in the season is that we're really taking some time in a few episodes to explore that. But, I also think they know that Chloe has been through the ringer and deserves some happiness in her life. So, I think Chloe has found a really nice balance this year in what she wants in her life and what people mean to her.
OG: How has the dynamic of the storytelling and the vibe on the set changed without Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk?
BP: It was a really teary goodbye when he left. Everybody just adored Michael. We adore Michael. He's much of the show, still, and to watch him spread his wings and go explore his career was really tough for us because he just brought so much to that character. And to the the set, really. He was so vibrant on the set. I think what it's allows is that there's sort of a new freshness this year. There are new villains, there are new characters, there are new triangles that haven't been played for and dynamics that you kind of see when you watch the episodes. We've had, I think, four cuts come in so far and it still very much feels like Smallville and the characters we know, but it's different dynamics that make you kind of go, "Huh. Interesting." Doomsday, this new character, and Tess Mercer, who's kind of a combination of Miss Tessmacher and Mercy from the different versions before, has come in and really complicated Clark's life. Not to mention trying to save the world while you're basically trying to work for Lois Lane.
Who, in her own way, is another antagonist all of her own.
OG: Clark will be reporting directly to Lois?
BP: Mmm hmm.
OG: Would Lois be the world's worst boss next to Michael Scott from The Office?
BP: Pretty much.
OG: Is there any chance Rosenbaum would be back at all for Season Eight?
BP: We're all very hopeful. There's certainly nothing in place, but the door is open. It's just something to work out. We do keep the character of Lex Luthor alive. We certainly haven't seen the last of him and the door is open for Michael to come back.
OG: And Kristin Kreuk, she is in this season, right?
BP: Yeah. She'll be in five episodes in the middle of the season. And we kind of see a new side of her when she comes back, which is fun.
OG: Is it the Chun Li side?
BP: Kinda! We wanted to give her character the finale that she deserves. More than, certainly, the videotape we ended the finale with. That's gonna be a really fun run as well. I actually can't wait to see her as Chun Li. We did one episode in China and she was just phenomenal. She did her own wire work and she just kicked ass.
OG: Some of the fans were surprised that Kara would have a reduced role this season. What was the strategy behind that?
BP: The big thing for us was that Al and Miles brought her in to enlighten some of Clark's back story. She really brought in stories about his parents and Kryton and his origins. But, as we ended the season, we realize a lot of those stories had already been told in one season. We are bringing her back in episode nine this year to close off what we left off in the season finale. That was really the reasoning there. We adore Laura (Vandervoort), she was a perfect Supergirl, I thought. But we really capped off a lot of the stories she brought to the show.
OG: With the executive changes and a lot of the big casting changes on the show, does it kind of feel like a reboot to you guys?
Especially if it goes to Season Nine? Do you feel this gives you a chance to re-energize and restart?
BP: It does, but I'm leery of that word because it feels like we're kind of changing everything up. I see it more as a really fresh evolution. What's great is that Tom came in this year and he had all these ideas. With the new crew and the new cast that we have, it's more of an evolution because unlike ER, which has over 8 or 9 seasons has all these revolving people in and out, ours is the story of one person in particular. I think it's inevitable that as the seasons go, he matures, his story changes, his world changes. This is a pivotal moment in that, but it's not a reboot, I wouldn't say.
OG: Are Tom Welling and Allison Mack already signed on for a Season Nine?
BP: Allison is. And we are very hopeful for Tom.
OG: He's be the one person that...
BP: Yeah, he's pretty pivotal. The other person I haven't mentioned is obviously Green Arrow and Justin (Hartley). We were sad that some of his other projects didn't work out, but we were so excited to have him. We've been wanting to have him as a season regular for a while. That's a really nice change this year.
OG: I liked him in Aquaman. I was really surprised that didn't become a show.
BP: Yeah, that was in that transition from WB to CW. There was a lot that happened. He was amazing in it and he brings so much to the character of Green Arrow. He's a great character for us because he has such a different take on everything than Clark. So he can really push Clark in ways that I think a lot of the other characters can't.
OG: Is Aaron Ashmore also signed on for Season Nine?
BP: Yes, I believe so. I believe we have most of the cast.
OG: Last season ended with Lex and Clark's confrontation in the Fortress of Solitude. It seems like by the end of the season, every single cast member had been there. Could you still call it "The Fortress of Solitude?"
BP: There's not much solitude there anymore.
OG: More like, "The Fortress of Dramatic Confrontation?"
BP: Yes, exactly.
A lot of people know it, though a lot of those people are no longer with us, or saw it some kind of a dream or while they were possessed. Other people that are still around -- Martha's in Washington and Chloe is another person who still knows it exists.
OG: Is it gone for good, then?
BP: Oh... ahhh... I don't want to give too much away, but it will definitely play a role this season.
OG: Obviously, Lex and Clark's confrontation was a cause of the collapse, but could global warming have also played a part?
BP: I would say it's probably based much more in Jor-El and his plans for Clark. As much as we'd like to be green, we didn't go that green, unfortunately.
OG: I don't keep up with spoilers, generally, but I did read that at the beginning of the season, other cast members would be looking for Clark and that he'd be missing for some period of time. Are people going to think to search in the gay bars of Metropolis?
BP: I would say they may have searched... God knows if Ollie/Green Arrow walked in with that outfit he'd be quite popular. (Laughs.) Especially certain bars. I would say maybe that happened offscreen.
OG: "Offscreenville."
BP: Exactly.
OG: With Lex and Lionel gone, at least for the foreseeable future, will there be any exploration of the Veritas storyline or is that storyline played out?
BP: I would say very, very little because we tried to have a season storyline, but then what's been great is that we'll go back to it like we did with Level 3, which kind of evolved into 33.1 and that straddled several seasons, and Brainiac straddled several seasons. So, I think we're getting away from that. That was really used to explain a lot of the backstory of the things that have happened over the last seven seasons. The idea of The Traveler and the fact that there was a group that knew about him will probably be kept alive.
OG: What about the mansion? Will it be turned into luxury condos?
BP: It actually is the home to Tess, who is our new femme fatale on the show. She's makes a very dramatic entrance into it in the season premiere, so you can't miss that.
OG: You still communicate with Al and Miles. Do they miss the casting sessions for these femme fatales?
BP: They loved casting.
They're so busy in their own worlds, but I'm sure they miss it, especially casting because that was something that was really important to them. Hopefully we've done right. We'll see on the night of this season premiere.
OG: Now that Lex is gone, does The Daily Planet go about cleaning up its reputation and getting back to the newspaper we're more familiar with, one that's actually good for journalism?
BP: You are doing a good job of taking their questions and molding them! I'm very impressed. Yes, The Daily Planet is the seat of a lot of activity this season because of the person now at the helm of The Daily Planet, because of Clark working with Lois, because of Jimmy... I think it will, just like Clark and his relationship with Lois, it will gradually evolve to what people are familiar with. But they wouldn't want it to be exactly what they know for 2 or 3 or 4 seasons. I think that might get a little stale.
OG: What's your relationship with fans online? Not just when you're seeing them in person at Comic-Con, but when you're dealing with them only online? Being on the show for so long, you must have some perspective on what to take seriously and what to take not-so-seriously.
BP: Well, yeah, because we do check online sometimes. I know when Steve DeKnight was here, he had his own blog. We do check Kryptonsite and a lot of the different sites every now and then just to kind of keep our finger on the pulse of what the fans are believing. It's difficult because the fans that go on that site are one demographic, but we also have a huge group of families and people that watch the show that have a very different voice that's not really communicated in that kind of subsection. We listen to the general takes in what people would want to see and don't want to see and what they're tired of, but the one thing that's hard for a lot of people to remember is that when things culminate in what people want, there's no more drama. There's no more drama and there's no more show. So, while frustrating, the necessity of the show is to keep people from getting together and keep storylines from culminating in a way that they really want to be satisfied by seeing. That's just the nature of television.
OG: (Laughs.) Is that just a way of saying, "You will never get what you want?"
BP: If we were another show where you could have people get together and then kill them off and bring in another star, then maybe yes, but because it is the life of one person, and we know our endgame, we can't bypass where we end up.
We have to find ways for him evolving or maturing very slowly or quickly depending on where we want to end up.
OG: You can't kill off Clark and say, "Oh, he's The Flash now!"
BP: We completely understand that people get frustrated with that, but I think we do a fairly good job of listening to people and doing the best show we can with incorporating people's thoughts and ideas while still having a vision of our own and continuing Al's and Miles's vision.
OG: And if you're 11 episodes in, by the time the pilot ends, the train has already left the station.
BP: It's a little late by then.
OG: I wanted to bring up an episode that you wrote: "Noir." That was a very polarizing episode. I still hear people bring that one up. It seems like every season like "Thirst" in the fifth season, there's always one or two kind of oddball episodes that are like, "OK, forget all this other stuff that's going on, we're going to go in this direction and have some fun and do something off the wall." Do you anticipate the reaction to those episodes?
BP: We do, we do, and we always know they're going to be split right down the middle in the reactions. We try to have them not be too far out of the park, but sometimes they end up a little more out of the park than we expected.
OG: Like Jimmy James Bond?
BP: OK, I was partly responsible for that, I will admit it, I will admit it. Yes, we try to have a very tight storyline and a lot of mythos in every episode. The great thing about Smallville is that every show is like a mini-movie, where you never know if it's really going to be a thriller or a little bit more of a big sci-fi action movie or a little bit more of a romantic comedy. They kind of straddle episode-by-episode.
Sometimes, we want to push the envelope. I have to say, I know a lot of people probably did not respond to "Noir," but we won an ASC Award for the cinematography on that. It was incredibly fun to write, the actors had an amazing time. To me, it's fun to see the people that you see on a daily basis a little out of their wheelhouse. Kind of like "Sleeper," though I don't dare say that or I'll get hate mail. It's fun sometimes to see people like China, or "Sleeper," where it's a little bit out of there.
OG: Like lesbian vampires...
BP: Lesbian vampires... (laughs) not sure I can defend lesbian vampires. But we did one in the 1950s, "Relic" in Season Three, I believe, that was also kind of controversial. I think they add a life to the show. I can't defend them to my death, but I think they add a certain life to the show. OG: Even though I write 8,000 words a week about the show, I consider myself a casual viewer, and I welcome the breaks where it's not all about Luthor secrets. Especially an episode like "Action," where it's a break.
BP: Yeah, that was a break.
OG: Especially when it breaks the... I don't want to say "Monotony," but it breaks the seriousness and the self-importance of having to get to this secret or that octagonal object. I kind of welcome those.
BP: Well, that's very nice to hear. I think the more casual viewers who are just TV viewers and aren't hardcore fans that go on sites do appreciate them more. I think it's lifting the level of importance that almost raises a curtain on the show that makes people anxious who are very invested in the characters, if that makes any sense.
OG: It's a little bit of meta, almost a commentary on the show itself.
BP: Yeah, exactly. A lot more like Buffy, which was much more aware of itself. We're not as much aware of ourselves as some.
OG: Will we see Annette O' Toole, Sam Jones III or Michael McKean as Perry White this season at all?
BP: Sam Jones came back last year, and we were very happy to have him back.
I think it's always a possibility, we would love, to explore the idea of having Annette back on the show. She was always a pivotal part of Clark's life. And, Perry White is another... every year we talk about it. The only problem is, he has a very busy schedule. Michael McKean has an amazing schedule. We have some thoughts, but nothing is confirmed, I can say that.
OG: Would Sam Jones come back if Stride Gum made a large enough contribution...
BP: Oh, you had to say that word! You had to! No idea, that's all I have to say. No idea. Oh my God.
OG: OK: the Lana pregnancy. Once and for all, could there be any return to that or is that story completely gone and done with? I never understood exactly what Lex's motivation was with that. Just to tie her to him?
BP: Yes. Lex is a very sad, twisted man who needs love very badly. Nothing like me. He was doing that so that... he didn't trust in Lana's love for him. And that's his fatal flaw, always, is that people do love him. Like Clark loved him as a friend, but he can never trust that because he always has to do things to force it and it always ends up tragedy. He can't be happy and trust. He tried to force the issue by making her think she was pregnant so she would come to him. Making her think she lost it, and it only of course completely drove her slightly crazy for one episode, then drove her away from him and she has a vendetta against him. Sadly, I think what we were playing at the end of last year, which I really do believe is that even her hate probably to Lex is better than not having her in his life at all.
OG: So there was no crazy genetic experiment going on?
BP: There was no crazy genetic experiment. I think that's what everyone expected and we made a very conscious choice that that was not the case.
OG: Mystery solved.
BP: Yeah, Lana incubating a crazy monster baby just was not a storyline we thought we wanted to tell.
OG: (Laughs) No!?
BP: Obviously, we thought about it, but we didn't go there.
OG: Lana-incubating-crazy-baby, that would be awesome!
BP: Oh my God, the Lana haters would just have a field day.
OG: Clark's story is the class hero's journey. Would you say that in its many changes and growth cycles that Chloe's hair has been on a parallel hero's journey?
BP: (Giggles.) Chloe's hair has probably has many more twists and turns than Clark becoming a hero, yes.
We had a couple of rough seasons... I think it's definitely hits its stride and I think Allison just looks amazing. She always has. Everybody just adores Allison for everything, for her acting, for her look, for her character. She's amazing.
OG: Have you started making plans for what you'd like to do in a post-Smallville world?
BP: Oh, in a post-Smallville world. I've been with Smallville so long, I can't imagine a world without Smallville. Kelly and I and Todd and Darrin are all interested in exploring other opportunities, but to be honest, we really are committed to the show into its Season Nine. Al and Miles very much put us in place because they knew we were loyal and loved the show. I think we really want to see it out. So, we haven't really thought a lot beyond there, actually.
OG: Is there a division of labor in who's in charge of what among the four of you, or is it more-episode-based?
BP: It's mainly by episode. All the major decisions, all the stories at the inception, we all sign off and look at. Casting and any kind of new characters and new wardrobe we all look at. But then episode-by-episode, we each just take an episode and follow that through because we need somebody in the room breaking story, we need somebody in the room to be on post while looking at the cuts. It just seems to work better that way. We've been doing it that way for about three or four years and have just continued that pattern that we had before.
OG: What was your day like today? Were you out on the set?
BP: No, the set's out in Vancouver, and I'd love to be there because I love Vancouver. My day started by talking about episode 12. We got a little traction on what that episode is going to be. Then we got Don (Whitehead) and Holly (Henderson), two of our new writers, who are fantastic, just delivered the shooting draft of episode 8, which is called, "Abyss." So I read over that and gave a couple of notes and it's going to production in Vancouver. Talked to you and then I have a budget conference call which I know will be fun with the studio and with our crew.
OG: Are those very pleasant?
BP: Actually, those are great because we don't have anyone we don't like to work with. I don't know who can say that in this town. It's just our weekly check in. I don't know what it is about Smallville, but the crew, everybody at the studio who's on it, it's like their baby. They adore it. People just want to rally and make the best show, even if there's somebody who's in a traditional role who should be saying, "No, no, no, don't do that," they're always like, "Ohhh, OK, well how do we do that?" That's why I don't want to leave the show because it's not like that, I don't think, on a lot of shows.
OG: Out of all the episodes that you and Kelly have written, and it's a lot of them, do you have a soft spot for one of them in particular or one that you like the most?
BP: Wow... You know, I know this is crazy because I loved writing "Noir," but I have several weird ones out of the bunch like "Noir" and "Sacred." The one that I think is the little episode that nobody really paid attention to but is somehow to me a very quintessential Smallville episode that I loved writing was "Blank." It was in Season Four where Clark loses his memory. He sees Chloe through new eyes, sees Lana through new eyes. For whatever reason, I love that episode. I know I'm supposed to say "Reckoning," I'm supposed to say, "Promise." It's the underdog, what can I say?
OG: Well, you survived an interview with Television Without Pity.
BP: Ooh, have I, though, have I? The truth will be told. (Laughs.)
OG: Thank you so much for taking the time.
BP: Absolutely and good luck with everything. We'll see what you think of the new season!
When last we left the show, Lex Luthor and Clark Kent were locked in some sort of unholy man-brace as the Fortress of Solitude came down around them (in Hollywood, they call it, "Bringing the house down"), Lana Lang had said goodbye via videotape and Chloe was learning to cope with her meteor-infused healing powers. What could Season Eight possibly bring that won't infuriate longtime fans?
We spoke by phone to Peterson to find out the answer to that and other questions:
Brian Peterson: Is this Omar?
Omar G: Yes, this is Omar from Television Without Pity.
BP: Nice to meet you! Not in person, but over the phone.
OG: Yeah! I don't know if you read the site or not, so I apologize.
BP: I do. I try to avoid anything that will make me sad at the end of the day, so I try to look when I think things will be good (laughs.)
OG: So, you've never visited our site.
BP: You're like, "Are you kidding me?" I do read it sometimes.
OG: We did ask readers of the forum on TWoP if they had any questions they wanted to add.
BP: Yeah, I saw that (laughs).
OG: A lot of it was like, [Comic Book Guy voice] "In episode 4-12..."
BP: My favorite are, like, the, "I have a huge rant, but I'm gonna try to frame it in the form of a question." Those are my favorites.
OG: I've been following the show since the beginning and we've seen a lot of writers and producers come and go. You've been around since near the beginning.
BP: Since the beginning of Season Two, yes.
OG: What's kept you on Smallville for so long? Has being there so long helped maintain some consistency on the show and are you one of the institutional memories on the show?
BP: I would say yes. For Kelly, my writing partner, and I, it all started when we were looking for shows to staff and we read the pilot of Smallville. The second we read it, we knew that was the show we wanted to work on. So, we were so thrilled to get staffed in the second year. We started with Todd (Slavkin) and Darrin (Swimmer), who are now currently our co-show runners; the four of us run the show. I think what has been great for us is that the staff, the crew, the cast, is just unbelievable to work with. But telling the story of Superman is a once-in-a-lifetime possibility. It's really great for us to continue telling the story of one person and his journey to being the hero that we know. So, I think what's also been great is that working with Al (Gough) and Miles (Millar) consistently for those six years, we learned everything that they wanted on the show, everything that they didn't want, the themes that they were passionate about, the character arc that they were passionate about. We've hopefully been able to continue those and not have any massive change this year, but really just continue the journey of Clark Kent as he becomes Superman.
OG: What was your background with Kelly before Smallville?
BP: We met in film school and then we both worked in independent films for a couple of years. Smallville was really our first TV show. We started as brand-new newbies and were lucky enough to get, I think, four scripts the first year. We just kind of learned trial-by-fire and honed our skills over the next several seasons as we worked under some really amazing mentors like Jeph Loeb and Mark Verheiden who've now gone on to Battlestar Galactica and to Heroes.
We kind of just learned what the show is and brought our own ideas to the table. So it's really been the last couple of years that we've been able to take what Al's and Miles's vision was and make it ours as well as sticking to their original idea.
OG: So you've seen on the forum that they call you guys (Peterson + Sounders + Slavkin + Swimmer) "PS3?"
BP: Yeah (laughs), I think that's actually kind of funny.
OG: You're not, like, an Xbox person and that offends you or anything, right?
BP: What's funny is that I was just recently dating a PS3 person and I had never played one in my life until then. I was an old Atari and Intellivision guy.
OG: So that person was actually a game console?
BP: Yes, exactly. Somebody who was really into gaming. It's very clever, whoever coined that.
OG: How was the transition when Al and Miles left? Did you guys go nuts, like your parents were gone, and you could run around the house in your underwear and hire Rebecca De Mornay as your girlfriend?
BP: I think we gradually saw it coming over several seasons as their movie careers really started completely taking off. We've been preparing for it for a long time and they've been mentoring and preparing us. It wasn't a huge transition, but honestly, we didn't even have time because we had a lot of new cast to look at and we had to really look at the next year's storyline. So we didn't have time to panic or freak out or jump on the bed or anything like that. We really just wanted to take the horns and continue with exactly what they had started.
OG: As opposed to the underwear...
BP: Yeah, we're not really the rebellious kind. We're pretty respectful.
OG: Before we knew that there was going to be an eighth season, did everyone think that Al and Miles were going to be able to stay till the end?
BP: I think it's always been speculation. Their career has just been so amazing in features, it's always been a question of what would they really have time to do.
As we've watched them work on these huge movies, we always assumed that at some point they might need to leave it in our hands.
OG: You really never know what's going to happen with TV networks, as far as whether they'll want to extend past Season Eight, but, creatively, are you treating Season Eight like it's the endgame?
BP: Not really, to be honest. We have an A plan and a B plan. We're really hopeful that there will be a Season Nine. I think there are still definitely stories to tell. Definitely villains to conquer and arcs for Clark and his love life. We're kind of waiting to see and our goal is that we will know, hopefully, mid-season so we can really shape the last half of the season to an amazing series finale if that's what it is. I'm actually pretty hopeful for Season Nine.
OG: Whether it ends as Season Eight or Nine or whenever, is there an endgame in play that Al and Miles had come up with, like, "This is where the last bit ends up?"
BP: Al and Miles always dropped a couple of ideas that over the seasons we've all thought about and toyed with. There is an endgame. It's slightly nebulous, but we definitely know certain concrete signposts that we want to hit in that final episode.
OG: Is part of that end-goal to get Clark to the point where he's the Superman we'd all recognize from the comics?
BP: Exactly, exactly. The great thing this year we're all most excited about is putting Clark in Metropolis. He's embracing his destiny and becoming a hero. We're taking him off the farm and putting him in Metropolis where he's working at The Daily Planet, in league with Lois Lane, having to hide his identity. We're really starting that new chapter in his life which is closer to what people know from the comic books and the movies and the Lois and Clark series.
OG: Let's talk about Clark at The Daily Planet for a minute. On the show in the past, he's had a disdain for journalism and a disinterest in it and has even said explicitly, "Yeah, journalism sucks, not for me..." and stabs me through the heart. What changes with Clark and with The Planet to inspire him to take that path?
BP: A lot of that was purposeful on our part. We wanted him to have an arc and so we wanted him to start someplace.
This year, he's really decided to join The Daily Planet because of events that happen in the pilot that link to last year and him realizing it is the epicenter of information in the city. If he wants to saving people actively in Metropolis, it's kind of ground zero for all information. So it's part of him really taking a step and embracing his destiny.
OG: In the past, it seems like Chloe has been the epicenter of information, no matter where she is.
BP: Chloe will always be the epicenter of information and we would never want to change that. We have given her some, I think, more character storylines that are really reflective about herself, her life and where she fits in. As you know, she's never been part of the greater mythology, so we're trying to have her explore different storylines, but she will always be Chloe, the Chloe we love. We have some things I think will make the fans happy this year about some twists and turns in her life as she goes through the season.
OG: Have you all said whether that will take place at The Planet and whether she'll return to becoming the hotshot reporter that she'd always aimed to be?
BP: I don't want to give away anything because I want everyone to just enjoy the ride. But I will say that I do think people will be happy.
OG: Let's shift gears and talk about the movies. When Superman Returns was released, obviously there were a lot of comparisons made on how the movie approached Superman and the approach the show had been taking. But the movie underperformed at the box office and the show has been on for eight seasons. Do you think the movie's take was too traditional and didn't take risks like the show in recreating the mythology?
BP: Um... wow. Is that a can of worms. (Laughs.) Do you want me to get fired? No, I'm totally kidding. I will say that for several seasons we had to be very, very respectful and careful of the feature department because they had very strict restrictions on what we could do with Lois, how we could treat Lex, who could cross, who could kiss.
OG: That was more a movies thing than D.C. Comics?
BP: That was in preparation for the movie. Smallville definitely had to adjust itself given the different scripts. In one week a script would come out where Lex knew about Krypton.
The next month a script came out where he didn't. We had to keep trying to be respectful of that, but keep our mythology, which was definitely a gauntlet to run, I have to say. I think what was interesting about the movie was I thought it was visually gorgeous and Bryan Singer deserves many accolades for the take he brought to it. I think what people... I know they knock us for it, but what people like about Smallville is we're actually pretty true to our rules and to our mythology. We will take something far, but then we'll explain it and add a new layer to it. I think what you're saying about tradition played a part in the movie... it didn't add many new layers. But I think it was a visual masterpiece for what it was.
OG: Are you all already getting a heads-up on what the next movie will be and if you need to stay away from that?
BP: No. In fact, I'd rather not know so we can do what we want for a while.
OG: As far as the hardcore comics fans and movie fans, do you think that because it was a $200 million event movie, and because Smallville is so familiar and is on TV every week and doesn't have that kind of budget, that it's been hard to get those hardcore fans?
BP: I don't believe it's been that much of a struggle. I think the hardcore Superman fans are so amazing and so loyal that they embrace every different incarnation of the movies or the comic books or the many different versions in the comic books like Infinite Crisis. I think they embrace all the different versions, and I see how that can be frustrating at times. But I also think that they are who has really made Smallville, because they're loyal and they do watch, regardless of the different take, and they're curious about the different takes that have been presented.
OG: You were very diplomatic.
BP: (Laughs.) I have to say, this is all kind of riding off of Comic-Con. We have never been so amazingly embraced as we were this year by Comic-Con. The fans were so enthusiastic and so excited about the show. We owe everything to them.
OG: There's certainly a superhero upswing. I guess the trend this summer was a very dark and complex take. Smallville has been dark in the past, but it's generally farmboy, sunny...
BP: (Laughs.) Right, Ma and Pa Kent.
OG: Will Clark grow a dark and complex goatee in Season Eight, maybe, to get with the dark and complex times?
BP: I think the great thing that Al and Miles created was a very timeless show where you weren't sure if you were in the 1950s or the 1990s or 2000s. It felt like a world all on its own, so we're really trying to stick with that even though we're moving into Metropolis a lot. There've been some really dark, heavy episodes, but they're always juxtaposed with the brilliance of the farm and the different sets we have and honestly they... (15:00, ask Rebecca). We're definitely having some pretty dark episodes this year. And the introduction of Doomsday has added a layer that I think is even darker than a lot of the other years have had.
OG: So, no goatee, then.
BP: No goatee, no goatee, although in the pilot you do get to see him unshaven, which is kind of a fun, new twist.
OG: What does he shave with, a tractor?
BP: You would not believe how many hours are spent in the room talking about things like that.
OG: You brought up Doomsday. I'm not as familiar with the comic book version of Doomsday, but I wonder, how do you write for a character that is supposed to be that badassed when the actor looks like he could be on Gossip Girl?
BP: Right. We've always -- and this started with Al and Miles, too -- taken characters and put a Smallville twist on them while always being respectful of the origins. I would say, like, Mxyzptylk. Brainiac, we introduced in one way, and I think by the time all was said and done, people were really happy with how we blended our own take with everything that was rooted in the original mythology. That's what we're doing with Doomsday and we just ask for people to be patient as the season goes on because they'll see that it actually is completely in line with all the mythology that Geoff Johns has been writing. This new episode, 11, that we're working on right now, he's kind of the comic book God of the day. He loved what we were doing and was really impressed how we've taken somebody out of the human-appearing side to him, but then how that evolves over the season and where we're going with it.
I think people will be very pleased. I hope. I am, but maybe I'm crazy.
OG: You mentioned Chloe and her journey earlier. Whether she comes back to The Daily Planet or not, is her meteor power going to be her primary motivator now?
BP: She will have a pretty rude awakening in the season premiere. So I would say yes, but there's a big twist in the season premiere regarding Chloe that will kind of propel her storyline for the first at least third of the season. And, of course, there are wedding bells in sight for Chloe and Jimmy. And I know the reaction to some of that. (Laughs.)
OG: Yeah, they're gonna hang me if they don't hear something about that. Why do you think people are reacting that way?
BP: There are so many fans that believe that Chloe and Clark belong together and that they love each other. Another great thing that I'm excited about in the season is that we're really taking some time in a few episodes to explore that. But, I also think they know that Chloe has been through the ringer and deserves some happiness in her life. So, I think Chloe has found a really nice balance this year in what she wants in her life and what people mean to her.
OG: How has the dynamic of the storytelling and the vibe on the set changed without Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk?
BP: It was a really teary goodbye when he left. Everybody just adored Michael. We adore Michael. He's much of the show, still, and to watch him spread his wings and go explore his career was really tough for us because he just brought so much to that character. And to the the set, really. He was so vibrant on the set. I think what it's allows is that there's sort of a new freshness this year. There are new villains, there are new characters, there are new triangles that haven't been played for and dynamics that you kind of see when you watch the episodes. We've had, I think, four cuts come in so far and it still very much feels like Smallville and the characters we know, but it's different dynamics that make you kind of go, "Huh. Interesting." Doomsday, this new character, and Tess Mercer, who's kind of a combination of Miss Tessmacher and Mercy from the different versions before, has come in and really complicated Clark's life. Not to mention trying to save the world while you're basically trying to work for Lois Lane.
Who, in her own way, is another antagonist all of her own.
OG: Clark will be reporting directly to Lois?
BP: Mmm hmm.
OG: Would Lois be the world's worst boss next to Michael Scott from The Office?
BP: Pretty much.
OG: Is there any chance Rosenbaum would be back at all for Season Eight?
BP: We're all very hopeful. There's certainly nothing in place, but the door is open. It's just something to work out. We do keep the character of Lex Luthor alive. We certainly haven't seen the last of him and the door is open for Michael to come back.
OG: And Kristin Kreuk, she is in this season, right?
BP: Yeah. She'll be in five episodes in the middle of the season. And we kind of see a new side of her when she comes back, which is fun.
OG: Is it the Chun Li side?
BP: Kinda! We wanted to give her character the finale that she deserves. More than, certainly, the videotape we ended the finale with. That's gonna be a really fun run as well. I actually can't wait to see her as Chun Li. We did one episode in China and she was just phenomenal. She did her own wire work and she just kicked ass.
OG: Some of the fans were surprised that Kara would have a reduced role this season. What was the strategy behind that?
BP: The big thing for us was that Al and Miles brought her in to enlighten some of Clark's back story. She really brought in stories about his parents and Kryton and his origins. But, as we ended the season, we realize a lot of those stories had already been told in one season. We are bringing her back in episode nine this year to close off what we left off in the season finale. That was really the reasoning there. We adore Laura (Vandervoort), she was a perfect Supergirl, I thought. But we really capped off a lot of the stories she brought to the show.
OG: With the executive changes and a lot of the big casting changes on the show, does it kind of feel like a reboot to you guys?
Especially if it goes to Season Nine? Do you feel this gives you a chance to re-energize and restart?
BP: It does, but I'm leery of that word because it feels like we're kind of changing everything up. I see it more as a really fresh evolution. What's great is that Tom came in this year and he had all these ideas. With the new crew and the new cast that we have, it's more of an evolution because unlike ER, which has over 8 or 9 seasons has all these revolving people in and out, ours is the story of one person in particular. I think it's inevitable that as the seasons go, he matures, his story changes, his world changes. This is a pivotal moment in that, but it's not a reboot, I wouldn't say.
OG: Are Tom Welling and Allison Mack already signed on for a Season Nine?
BP: Allison is. And we are very hopeful for Tom.
OG: He's be the one person that...
BP: Yeah, he's pretty pivotal. The other person I haven't mentioned is obviously Green Arrow and Justin (Hartley). We were sad that some of his other projects didn't work out, but we were so excited to have him. We've been wanting to have him as a season regular for a while. That's a really nice change this year.
OG: I liked him in Aquaman. I was really surprised that didn't become a show.
BP: Yeah, that was in that transition from WB to CW. There was a lot that happened. He was amazing in it and he brings so much to the character of Green Arrow. He's a great character for us because he has such a different take on everything than Clark. So he can really push Clark in ways that I think a lot of the other characters can't.
OG: Is Aaron Ashmore also signed on for Season Nine?
BP: Yes, I believe so. I believe we have most of the cast.
OG: Last season ended with Lex and Clark's confrontation in the Fortress of Solitude. It seems like by the end of the season, every single cast member had been there. Could you still call it "The Fortress of Solitude?"
BP: There's not much solitude there anymore.
OG: More like, "The Fortress of Dramatic Confrontation?"
BP: Yes, exactly.
A lot of people know it, though a lot of those people are no longer with us, or saw it some kind of a dream or while they were possessed. Other people that are still around -- Martha's in Washington and Chloe is another person who still knows it exists.
OG: Is it gone for good, then?
BP: Oh... ahhh... I don't want to give too much away, but it will definitely play a role this season.
OG: Obviously, Lex and Clark's confrontation was a cause of the collapse, but could global warming have also played a part?
BP: I would say it's probably based much more in Jor-El and his plans for Clark. As much as we'd like to be green, we didn't go that green, unfortunately.
OG: I don't keep up with spoilers, generally, but I did read that at the beginning of the season, other cast members would be looking for Clark and that he'd be missing for some period of time. Are people going to think to search in the gay bars of Metropolis?
BP: I would say they may have searched... God knows if Ollie/Green Arrow walked in with that outfit he'd be quite popular. (Laughs.) Especially certain bars. I would say maybe that happened offscreen.
OG: "Offscreenville."
BP: Exactly.
OG: With Lex and Lionel gone, at least for the foreseeable future, will there be any exploration of the Veritas storyline or is that storyline played out?
BP: I would say very, very little because we tried to have a season storyline, but then what's been great is that we'll go back to it like we did with Level 3, which kind of evolved into 33.1 and that straddled several seasons, and Brainiac straddled several seasons. So, I think we're getting away from that. That was really used to explain a lot of the backstory of the things that have happened over the last seven seasons. The idea of The Traveler and the fact that there was a group that knew about him will probably be kept alive.
OG: What about the mansion? Will it be turned into luxury condos?
BP: It actually is the home to Tess, who is our new femme fatale on the show. She's makes a very dramatic entrance into it in the season premiere, so you can't miss that.
OG: You still communicate with Al and Miles. Do they miss the casting sessions for these femme fatales?
BP: They loved casting.
They're so busy in their own worlds, but I'm sure they miss it, especially casting because that was something that was really important to them. Hopefully we've done right. We'll see on the night of this season premiere.
OG: Now that Lex is gone, does The Daily Planet go about cleaning up its reputation and getting back to the newspaper we're more familiar with, one that's actually good for journalism?
BP: You are doing a good job of taking their questions and molding them! I'm very impressed. Yes, The Daily Planet is the seat of a lot of activity this season because of the person now at the helm of The Daily Planet, because of Clark working with Lois, because of Jimmy... I think it will, just like Clark and his relationship with Lois, it will gradually evolve to what people are familiar with. But they wouldn't want it to be exactly what they know for 2 or 3 or 4 seasons. I think that might get a little stale.
OG: What's your relationship with fans online? Not just when you're seeing them in person at Comic-Con, but when you're dealing with them only online? Being on the show for so long, you must have some perspective on what to take seriously and what to take not-so-seriously.
BP: Well, yeah, because we do check online sometimes. I know when Steve DeKnight was here, he had his own blog. We do check Kryptonsite and a lot of the different sites every now and then just to kind of keep our finger on the pulse of what the fans are believing. It's difficult because the fans that go on that site are one demographic, but we also have a huge group of families and people that watch the show that have a very different voice that's not really communicated in that kind of subsection. We listen to the general takes in what people would want to see and don't want to see and what they're tired of, but the one thing that's hard for a lot of people to remember is that when things culminate in what people want, there's no more drama. There's no more drama and there's no more show. So, while frustrating, the necessity of the show is to keep people from getting together and keep storylines from culminating in a way that they really want to be satisfied by seeing. That's just the nature of television.
OG: (Laughs.) Is that just a way of saying, "You will never get what you want?"
BP: If we were another show where you could have people get together and then kill them off and bring in another star, then maybe yes, but because it is the life of one person, and we know our endgame, we can't bypass where we end up.
We have to find ways for him evolving or maturing very slowly or quickly depending on where we want to end up.
OG: You can't kill off Clark and say, "Oh, he's The Flash now!"
BP: We completely understand that people get frustrated with that, but I think we do a fairly good job of listening to people and doing the best show we can with incorporating people's thoughts and ideas while still having a vision of our own and continuing Al's and Miles's vision.
OG: And if you're 11 episodes in, by the time the pilot ends, the train has already left the station.
BP: It's a little late by then.
OG: I wanted to bring up an episode that you wrote: "Noir." That was a very polarizing episode. I still hear people bring that one up. It seems like every season like "Thirst" in the fifth season, there's always one or two kind of oddball episodes that are like, "OK, forget all this other stuff that's going on, we're going to go in this direction and have some fun and do something off the wall." Do you anticipate the reaction to those episodes?
BP: We do, we do, and we always know they're going to be split right down the middle in the reactions. We try to have them not be too far out of the park, but sometimes they end up a little more out of the park than we expected.
OG: Like Jimmy James Bond?
BP: OK, I was partly responsible for that, I will admit it, I will admit it. Yes, we try to have a very tight storyline and a lot of mythos in every episode. The great thing about Smallville is that every show is like a mini-movie, where you never know if it's really going to be a thriller or a little bit more of a big sci-fi action movie or a little bit more of a romantic comedy. They kind of straddle episode-by-episode.
Sometimes, we want to push the envelope. I have to say, I know a lot of people probably did not respond to "Noir," but we won an ASC Award for the cinematography on that. It was incredibly fun to write, the actors had an amazing time. To me, it's fun to see the people that you see on a daily basis a little out of their wheelhouse. Kind of like "Sleeper," though I don't dare say that or I'll get hate mail. It's fun sometimes to see people like China, or "Sleeper," where it's a little bit out of there.
OG: Like lesbian vampires...
BP: Lesbian vampires... (laughs) not sure I can defend lesbian vampires. But we did one in the 1950s, "Relic" in Season Three, I believe, that was also kind of controversial. I think they add a life to the show. I can't defend them to my death, but I think they add a certain life to the show. OG: Even though I write 8,000 words a week about the show, I consider myself a casual viewer, and I welcome the breaks where it's not all about Luthor secrets. Especially an episode like "Action," where it's a break.
BP: Yeah, that was a break.
OG: Especially when it breaks the... I don't want to say "Monotony," but it breaks the seriousness and the self-importance of having to get to this secret or that octagonal object. I kind of welcome those.
BP: Well, that's very nice to hear. I think the more casual viewers who are just TV viewers and aren't hardcore fans that go on sites do appreciate them more. I think it's lifting the level of importance that almost raises a curtain on the show that makes people anxious who are very invested in the characters, if that makes any sense.
OG: It's a little bit of meta, almost a commentary on the show itself.
BP: Yeah, exactly. A lot more like Buffy, which was much more aware of itself. We're not as much aware of ourselves as some.
OG: Will we see Annette O' Toole, Sam Jones III or Michael McKean as Perry White this season at all?
BP: Sam Jones came back last year, and we were very happy to have him back.
I think it's always a possibility, we would love, to explore the idea of having Annette back on the show. She was always a pivotal part of Clark's life. And, Perry White is another... every year we talk about it. The only problem is, he has a very busy schedule. Michael McKean has an amazing schedule. We have some thoughts, but nothing is confirmed, I can say that.
OG: Would Sam Jones come back if Stride Gum made a large enough contribution...
BP: Oh, you had to say that word! You had to! No idea, that's all I have to say. No idea. Oh my God.
OG: OK: the Lana pregnancy. Once and for all, could there be any return to that or is that story completely gone and done with? I never understood exactly what Lex's motivation was with that. Just to tie her to him?
BP: Yes. Lex is a very sad, twisted man who needs love very badly. Nothing like me. He was doing that so that... he didn't trust in Lana's love for him. And that's his fatal flaw, always, is that people do love him. Like Clark loved him as a friend, but he can never trust that because he always has to do things to force it and it always ends up tragedy. He can't be happy and trust. He tried to force the issue by making her think she was pregnant so she would come to him. Making her think she lost it, and it only of course completely drove her slightly crazy for one episode, then drove her away from him and she has a vendetta against him. Sadly, I think what we were playing at the end of last year, which I really do believe is that even her hate probably to Lex is better than not having her in his life at all.
OG: So there was no crazy genetic experiment going on?
BP: There was no crazy genetic experiment. I think that's what everyone expected and we made a very conscious choice that that was not the case.
OG: Mystery solved.
BP: Yeah, Lana incubating a crazy monster baby just was not a storyline we thought we wanted to tell.
OG: (Laughs) No!?
BP: Obviously, we thought about it, but we didn't go there.
OG: Lana-incubating-crazy-baby, that would be awesome!
BP: Oh my God, the Lana haters would just have a field day.
OG: Clark's story is the class hero's journey. Would you say that in its many changes and growth cycles that Chloe's hair has been on a parallel hero's journey?
BP: (Giggles.) Chloe's hair has probably has many more twists and turns than Clark becoming a hero, yes.
We had a couple of rough seasons... I think it's definitely hits its stride and I think Allison just looks amazing. She always has. Everybody just adores Allison for everything, for her acting, for her look, for her character. She's amazing.
OG: Have you started making plans for what you'd like to do in a post-Smallville world?
BP: Oh, in a post-Smallville world. I've been with Smallville so long, I can't imagine a world without Smallville. Kelly and I and Todd and Darrin are all interested in exploring other opportunities, but to be honest, we really are committed to the show into its Season Nine. Al and Miles very much put us in place because they knew we were loyal and loved the show. I think we really want to see it out. So, we haven't really thought a lot beyond there, actually.
OG: Is there a division of labor in who's in charge of what among the four of you, or is it more-episode-based?
BP: It's mainly by episode. All the major decisions, all the stories at the inception, we all sign off and look at. Casting and any kind of new characters and new wardrobe we all look at. But then episode-by-episode, we each just take an episode and follow that through because we need somebody in the room breaking story, we need somebody in the room to be on post while looking at the cuts. It just seems to work better that way. We've been doing it that way for about three or four years and have just continued that pattern that we had before.
OG: What was your day like today? Were you out on the set?
BP: No, the set's out in Vancouver, and I'd love to be there because I love Vancouver. My day started by talking about episode 12. We got a little traction on what that episode is going to be. Then we got Don (Whitehead) and Holly (Henderson), two of our new writers, who are fantastic, just delivered the shooting draft of episode 8, which is called, "Abyss." So I read over that and gave a couple of notes and it's going to production in Vancouver. Talked to you and then I have a budget conference call which I know will be fun with the studio and with our crew.
OG: Are those very pleasant?
BP: Actually, those are great because we don't have anyone we don't like to work with. I don't know who can say that in this town. It's just our weekly check in. I don't know what it is about Smallville, but the crew, everybody at the studio who's on it, it's like their baby. They adore it. People just want to rally and make the best show, even if there's somebody who's in a traditional role who should be saying, "No, no, no, don't do that," they're always like, "Ohhh, OK, well how do we do that?" That's why I don't want to leave the show because it's not like that, I don't think, on a lot of shows.
OG: Out of all the episodes that you and Kelly have written, and it's a lot of them, do you have a soft spot for one of them in particular or one that you like the most?
BP: Wow... You know, I know this is crazy because I loved writing "Noir," but I have several weird ones out of the bunch like "Noir" and "Sacred." The one that I think is the little episode that nobody really paid attention to but is somehow to me a very quintessential Smallville episode that I loved writing was "Blank." It was in Season Four where Clark loses his memory. He sees Chloe through new eyes, sees Lana through new eyes. For whatever reason, I love that episode. I know I'm supposed to say "Reckoning," I'm supposed to say, "Promise." It's the underdog, what can I say?
OG: Well, you survived an interview with Television Without Pity.
BP: Ooh, have I, though, have I? The truth will be told. (Laughs.)
OG: Thank you so much for taking the time.
BP: Absolutely and good luck with everything. We'll see what you think of the new season!
¡Dios mío, me he echado a temblar...! ¡Creo que no hacía tantas traducciones ni en el instituto!
¡¡¡¡AY, OMÁ QUÉ CALORES!!!! ¡Gracias por tu regalo, Nitta!