From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
Smallville (season 1)
Smallville Season 1 Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, An-
nette O’Toole, John Schneider, Sam Jones III, Allison
Mack, and Eric Johnson.
The season’s stories focus on Martha and Jonathan
Kent’s (O’Toole and Schneider) attempts to help their
adopted son Clark (Welling) cope with his alien origin
and control his developing superhuman abilities. Clark
must deal with the meteor-infected individuals that be-
gin appearing in Smallville, his love for Lana Lang
(Kreuk), and not being able to tell his two best friends,
Pete Ross (Jones III) and Chloe Sullivan (Mack), about
his alien nature. Clark also befriends Lex Luthor (Rosen-
baum).
The episodes were filmed primarily in Vancouver and
post-production work took place in Los Angeles. Gough
and Millar assisted the writing staff with week-to-week
story development. "Villain of the week" storylines were
predominant during the first season; physical effects,
make-up effects, and computer generated imagery be-
DVD box came important components as well. Limited filming
Country of United States schedules sometimes forced guest actors to perform
origin physical stunts, and the series regulars were more than
willing to do stunt work. Episode budgets ultimately be-
No. of 21
came strictly regulated, as the show frequently ran over
episodes
budget during the first half of the season. The pilot broke
Broadcast The WB’s viewership record for a debut series,[5] and was
Original The WB nominated for various awards. Although the villain of the
channel week storylines became a concern for producers, criti-
cal reception was generally favorable, and the series was
Original run October 16, 2001 (2001-10-16) –
May 21, 2002 (2002-05-21)
noted as having a promising start.[6][7][8]
Home video release
Episodes
DVD release 1:
Region 1 September 23, 2003 (2003-09-23)[1]
date Region 2 October 13, 2003 (2003-10-13)[2]
2: See also: List of Smallville episodes
4:
Region 4 December 3, 2003 (2003-12-03)[3]
Season chronology Production
← Previous Next →
— Season 2
Writing
Ground rules for story development were established at
the outset. Part of the marketing pitch, "no flights, no
Season one of Smallville, an American television series de-
tights" dictated that Clark would not wear the Superman
veloped by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing
costume, nor would he fly. After initial discussion of pos-
on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The
sible storylines, a second rule decreed that Clark could
series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark
never directly kill anyone. This created a dilemma since
Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the
Clark must be able to defeat the "bad guys" from week
fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years be-
to week. A solution developed in later episodes with the
fore he becomes Superman. The first season comprises
introduction of the Belle Reve sanitarium (Belle Reve is
21 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 21,
a Federal prison for metahumans and other supervillains
2002.[4] Regular cast members during season one include
in the comics).[9]
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
№ # Title Directed by Written by U.S. air date Production
code
Pilot"
1 1 "Pilot David Nutter Alfred Gough & Miles October 16, 475165
Millar 2001 (2001-10-16)
A meteor shower hits Smallville and with it arrives a little boy. The child is adopted by Martha and Jonathan Kent,
and named Clark. Twelve years later, Clark struggles to understand his identity. After Clark saves Lex Luthor’s life
after Lex drives his Porsche off a bridge, the two quickly become friends. After sharing an intimate moment with
Lana Lang, Clark is forced into a school hazing ritual led by Lana’s boyfriend Whitney. Jeremy Creek (Adrian Glynn),
a teenage boy who was left in a coma after the first meteor shower, wakes up and sets out to get revenge on those
that hurt him. Afterward, he prepares to do the same to the rest of the Smallville High students, but Clark arrives in
time to stop him.
Metamorphosis"
2 2 "Metamorphosis Michael Watkins & Philip Alfred Gough & Miles October 24, 227601
Sgriccia Millar 2001 (2001-10-24)
Greg Arkin (Chad Donella) gets into a car accident with his meteor rock-enhanced insects, which escape from their
containers and begin stinging him. The resulting attack transforms him into a half man/half insect creature. Rapid-
ly going through a metamorphosis, Greg kidnaps Lana so he can mate with her. After talking with Whitney, Clark
realizes where Greg has taken Lana and leaves to rescue her. During the fight, Greg accidentally crushes himself un-
der some mechanical equipment, resulting in a mass of insects flooding out from underneath. Before Clark can re-
turn to Lana, Whitney arrives and receives credit for her rescue.
Hothead"
3 3 "Hothead Greg Beeman Greg Walker October 31, 227603
2001 (2001-10-31)
A meteor rock infused sauna endows Coach Arnold (Dan Lauria) with pyrokinesis. After several football players are
caught cheating, Chloe discovers that Coach Arnold assisted the players when they cheated. Coach Arnold asks
Clark to join the football team, and Clark agrees against his father’s wishes. Clark confronts Coach Arnold before his
first game, after Arnold attempted to kill Chloe and another football player for exposing the truth about the cheat-
ing. The coach’s fury gets the better of him as he engulfs himself in flames while battling Clark.
X-Ray"
4 4 "X-Ray James Frawley Mark Verheiden November 7, 227604
2001 (2001-11-07)
Clark begins to develop X-ray vision when he is thrown through a window by Lex Luthor, who has just robbed the
local bank. Clark witnesses a green glow around Lex’s skeleton as Lex runs away. When it turns out someone was
impersonating him, Lex is cleared of all charges. After gaining control over his X-ray vision, Clark discovers that Ti-
na Greer (Lizzy Caplan) can morph into anyone she wants. He also learns that she robbed the bank when he X-rays
her locker and sees the money from the bank. After a brief battle, Clark knocks Tina unconscious so the authorities
can arrest her. Lex hires Roger Nixon (Tom O’Brien), an Inquisitor reporter, to find out how Clark survived driving
his Porsche off a bridge.
Cool"
5 5 "Cool James A. Contner Michael Green November 14, 227605
2001 (2001-11-14)
During a party at Crater Lake, Sean Kelvin (Michael Coristine) falls into the frozen lake and emerges with an insa-
tiable hunger for heat, thanks to the meteor rocks on the lake bottom. In an effort to stay warm, Sean sucks the heat
from anyone he can. Sean goes after Chloe, but Clark is there to stop him. Clark finds Sean, who is headed to Luthor
Mansion, but is left frozen when Sean sucks the heat from his body. Clark’s body reheats itself, and he arrives at the
mansion just as Sean is about to attack Martha, who came with Jonathan to discuss their financial troubles with Lex.
During the fight, Clark throws Sean into a lake, which immediately freezes with Sean inside.
Hourglass"
6 6 "Hourglass Chris Long Doris Egan November 21, 227606
2001 (2001-11-21)
Clark meets an elderly, blind woman, named Cassandra Carver (Jackie Burroughs), who receives precognitive vi-
sions by touching someone. When she touches Clark both of them see Clark surrounded by the tombstones of every-
one he loves. Lex visits Cassandra, after listening to Clark, and her vision of him entails blood raining from the sky.
Harry Bollston (George Murdock), an elderly man at a nursing home, falls into a meteor rock filled pond, which re-
verses the aging process. Harry (Eric Christian Olsen) uses his new youth to get revenge on the children of the jury
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
members that put him away for murder decades earlier, one of whom was Jonathan’s father. Clark stops Harry be-
fore he can kill Martha, who happened to be home when Harry came looking for Jonathan.
Craving"
7 7 "Craving Philip Sgriccia Michael Green November 28, 227607
2001 (2001-11-28)
Jodi Melville (Amy Adams) is tired of being overweight, so she creates her own diet, which consists of meteor rock-
infected vegetables. The new diet causes her to shed weight faster than she can handle, which forces her to suck hu-
man fat to satisfy her hunger. When Pete arrives to pick her up for Lana’s birthday party, her hunger gets the better
of her, and she tries to feast on Pete. Chloe and Clark discover the truth about Jodi’s weight loss, and Clark rushes to
her house to save Pete. Clark stops Jodi from killing Pete, and gets her the help she needs to maintain a healthy
weight; in the process, however, Clark misses Lana’s birthday party, but makes it up to her by giving her his present:
a makeshift drive-in theater complete with the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon High Diving Hare. Lex becomes interested
in the effects of meteor rocks, and funds a study on the green meteor fragments.
Jitters"
8 8 "Jitters Michael Watkins Cherie Bennett & Jeff December 11, 227602
Gottesfeld 2001 (2001-12-11)
LuthorCorp is experimenting with meteor rocks, and overexposure to the rocks has caused employee Earl Jenkins
(Tony Todd) to develop violent seizures. During a field trip to the local LuthorCorp plant, Clark and his classmates
are taken hostage by Earl, who wants into "Level 3" (a secret testing facility at the plant) so he can find a cure for
himself. Clark discovers "Level 3" just as Lex trades himself for the hostages. Clark reveals "Level 3" to Earl and Lex,
but Earl’s seizures put all three in danger. Clark manages to keep them all alive, and Lex makes a public statement
that LuthorCorp will find a cure for Earl’s condition.
Rogue"
9 9 "Rogue David Carson Mark Verheiden January 15, 227608
2002 (2002-01-15)
Sam Phelan (Cameron Dye), a corrupt Metropolis cop, witnesses Clark using his abilities and decides to blackmail
Clark. When Clark double crosses him, Phelan frames Jonathan for murder, and forces Clark to help him steal a
priceless Alexander the Great chest plate. Double crossing him again, Clark alerts the security to the heist. Phelan is
gunned down after trying to shoot his way out of trouble, and the charges are dropped against Jonathan when Lex’s
lawyers arrive. Lex and an old flame, Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook), plot to take over their parents’ corporations.
Shimmer"
10 10 "Shimmer D. J. Caruso Mark Verheiden & January 29, 227609
Michael Green 2002 (2002-01-29)
Amy Palmer (Azura Skye) is obsessed with Lex. After discovering that Lex’s roses release an invisibility fluid, some-
one attempts to make sure that Lex knows Victoria is wrong for him. Victoria is forced out of the house after almost
being killed by an invisible assailant. Amy is blamed for the attack when a watch Lex’s mother gave him turns up in
her drawer, but it is her brother Jeff (Kett Turton) who is the attacker. Clark confronts Jeff in Lex’s manor, and using
some paint, keeps Jeff visible long enough to be arrested.
Hug"
11 11 "Hug Chris Long Doris Egan February 5, 227610
2002 (2002-02-05)
Bob Rickman (Rick Peters) has the ability to bend others to his will, because of an incident with the meteor rocks
years earlier. Rickman plans to put a new pesticide plant in Smallville, and he needs the Kent farm to do it. Using his
ability, Rickman convinces Jonathan to sell the farm. Clark seeks out Kyle Tippet (Gregory Sporleder) for assistance,
after learning that Kyle was with Rickman during the meteor shower. Rickman uses his ability to convince Lex to
kill both Clark and Kyle. While Clark is battling Lex, Kyle, who has more control over the ability, forces Rickman to
take his own life.
Leech"
12 12 "Leech Greg Beeman Timothy Schlattmann February 12, 227611
2002 (2002-02-12)
During a class field trip, lightning strikes Clark and fellow classmate Eric Summers (Shawn Ashmore) while Eric is
holding a piece of meteor rock. Clark’s powers are transferred to Eric, allowing Clark to finally live a normal life.
Eric initially uses the powers for good, but soon begins abusing them. Clark decides to sacrifice the chance at a nor-
mal life so that Eric does not hurt anyone. Hoping Eric took his weakness along with his strength, Clark confronts
Eric at an electrical generator, and uses the electricity, along with a meteor rock, to get his powers back. Lex double
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
crosses Victoria, who was planning to do the same to him, and has her father’s company buy up a worthless re-
search lab. The result allows LuthorCorp to buy the Hardwick company.
Kinetic"
13 13 "Kinetic Robert Singer Philip Levens February 26, 227612
2002 (2002-02-26)
Three ex-jocks are using meteor rock-saturated tattoos to give themselves the ability to pass through solid objects.
Using their ability, they begin robbing banks. Clark has a confrontation with the thieves and is unable to stop them
because of his weakness to the meteor rocks. The thieves decide to recruit Whitney, who has recently begun hang-
ing out with them after losing his football scholarship, but he has second thoughts. Clark helps Whitney and Lex,
who is now being blackmailed, fight the thieves. With their powers growing weak from overuse of the serum, Clark
is able to subdue them.
Zero"
14 14 "Zero Michael Katleman Alfred Gough & Miles March 12, 227613
Millar 2002 (2002-03-12)
Lex’s past comes back to haunt him, when Jude Royce (Corin Nemec), a man presumed to be dead, resurfaces after
three years and kidnaps Lex. Jude tortures Lex in an attempt to get him to reveal the truth about the cover up of
Jude’s death. Jude’s ex-fiancée’s brother is revealed to be the true orchestrater, having found someone who resem-
bles Jude to assist him in his scheme. Angered over his sister’s suicide, which he believes is Lex’s fault, he wants Lex
to pay for her death. Clark saves Lex, but he begins to worry about Lex’s past. During a class project, Chloe discovers
inconsistencies in Clark’s adoption, and it puts strain on their friendship.
Nicodemus"
15 15 "Nicodemus James Marshall Michael Green March 19, 227614
2002 (2002-03-19)
Dr. Steven Hamilton (Joe Morton) uses meteor rocks to resurrect a toxic flower, Nicodemus, which has been extinct
for 100 years. If someone is sprayed by the flower’s toxic mist, they lose all of their inhibitions. Jonathan, Lana and
Pete are all infected with the flower’s toxins, and begin to act out of character. Clark prevents them all from harm-
ing themselves or someone else. After a while, the flower’s toxins cause the three to fall into a coma. Lex, unhappy
that Dr. Hamilton has spent his time resurrecting dangerous flowers, has a team of specialists create a cure for
Jonathan, Lana and Pete.
Stray"
16 16 "Stray Paul Shapiro Philip Levens April 16, 227615
2002 (2002-04-16)
Ryan James (Ryan Kelley), a young boy who can read minds, is forced to use his ability to help his stepparents rob
stores. Ryan escapes his stepparents and is taken in by the Kents, who are unaware of his ability. Ryan immediately
bonds with Clark, who he sees as his personal superhero. Ryan’s stepfather finds him in Smallville, and kidnaps him.
He attempts to use Ryan’s abilities to steal Lex’s trust fund. Clark comes to Ryan’s aid before his stepfather can kill
him. Ryan’s aunt is located and she agrees to take custody of him.
Reaper"
17 17 "Reaper Terrence O’Hara Cameron Litvack April 23, 227616
2002 (2002-04-23)
Tyler Randall (Reynaldo Rosales), while trying to assist the suicide of his ailing mother, accidentally falls out of a
window, and a piece of meteor rock becomes embedded in his wrist as he dies. When the coroner removes the rock
from his wrist, Tyler becomes reanimated. Now, whenever Tyler touches someone, or something, they instantly in-
cinerate and die. Believing he is helping, Tyler tries easing the pain of Whitney’s dying father. Clark arrives in time
to stop him, and informs him that his mother is still alive. Thinking his mother could not accept who he had be-
come, Tyler takes his own life.
Drone"
18 18 "Drone Michael Katleman Michael Green & Philip April 30, 227617
Levens 2002 (2002-04-30)
Class elections are being held, and Pete nominates Clark. Apprehensive at first, Clark soon takes to the idea. A rival
candidate, Sasha Woodman (Shonda Farr), does not appreciate the competition and sends out swarms of bees to
take care of the other competitors. Eventually, the bees become dissatisfied with Sasha’s demands and turn on her.
Lionel has a journalist write a scathing exposé on Lex, but Lex has the story dropped when he gets the journalist
promoted to editor. Lana gets cutthroat with the Talon, and reports the rival coffee shop to the health board.
Crush"
19 19 "Crush James Marshall Alfred Gough & Miles May 7, 227618
Millar 2002 (2002-05-07)
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
After a hit-and-run accident destroys his drawing hand, Justin Gaines (Adam Brody) is left with an unexpected gift
of telekinesis. Justin uses his new gift to exact revenge on those who wronged him. Using Chloe to discover the
identity of his hit and run driver, Justin sets out to kill the person who took his drawing hands. Justin kills Principal
Kwan (Hiro Kanagawa), believing he was the driver who hit him, and turns on Chloe when she discovers what he
has been doing. Clark knocks Justin unconscious before he can kill Chloe. Whitney’s father, who has been battling
heart problems, dies.
Obscura"
20 20 "Obscura Terrence O’Hara Mark Verheiden & May 14, 227619
Michael Green 2002 (2002-05-14)
An explosion near meteor rocks gives Lana the ability to see through another person’s eyes. Lana watches through
the stranger’s eyes as they kidnap Chloe. Teaming with Clark, Lana uses her gift to help locate Chloe. The kidnapper
turns out to be a cop looking for an easy promotion. Whitney finds some military medals his father earned, and
takes it as a sign he should do something else with his life. Lex learns of a ship that crashed during the meteor show-
er, and discovers an octagonal disc made of an alloy not found on Earth.
Tempest"
21 21 "Tempest Greg Beeman Alfred Gough & Miles May 21, 227620
Millar 2002 (2002-05-21)
Lionel Luthor closes the Smallville plant and blames it on his son; Lex decides to initiate an employee buyout of the
local plant to save everyone’s jobs and forge his own future with LexCorp. Whitney decides to join the Marines and
leaves Smallville. Learning the truth about Clark, Roger Nixon attempts to expose Clark’s secret to the world. As
Lana drives home after dropping Whitney off at the bus station, three tornadoes touch down, forcing her off the
road. When the news is announced at the school dance, Clark rushes off to make sure Lana is okay. Just as Lana is
pulled into a tornado, Clark arrives and speeds in after her.
After setting the ground rules, Gough and Millar con- managed to bring all the side-stories together so that
ceived ideas that facilitated week-to-week story devel- they affected characters other than Clark and Lana.[15]
opment. For example, kryptonite’s role was expanded to "As [Lex] touches one of the flowers it withers and
include enhancement of the sins of the antagonist: in- dies, sending a cancerous wave of death rippling out
stead of creating physical monsters, exposure to kryp- across the field, laying waste to everything in its
tonite would amplify their personal demons.[10] This was path. Suddenly, A BLOOD RED DROP falls from the
not treated as literally in the pilot and "Metamorphosis" deep blue sky, stains his suit. Then another falls, and
as it was in later episodes.[11] In "Cool", it was "the ’cool’ another and another, until the sky is raining red. As
kid literally [becoming] cool, needing human body heat he opens his mouth to scream, there’s a flash of
to stay alive".[9] After several episodes, the writers de- white."
veloped a story that would help establish the show as
more than a "villain of the week" series.[12] The ninth — Vision of Lex’s future, as described in the script.[16]
episode ("Rogue"), which took longer than usual to de- "Hourglass" was one of the stories included in Millar and
velop due to its divergence from the standard formula, Gough’s initial pitch to the network (at the time it was
became their first "true crime story" and demonstrated referred to as "Cassandra").[16] "Hourglass" was the first
that Smallville could include more than kryptonite-pow- episode to present two, distinct stories: the vengeful se-
ered villains.[12] rial killer and the second sighted Cassandra. Two signif-
"What if" episodes were another Millar-Gough con- icant storylines in the same episode forced the writers
cept used to generate first season storylines. These to spend more time developing the episode.[16] Cassan-
episodes posed underlying questions about Clark. dra’s "visceral vision" (as it was referred to in the script)
Episodes would evolve from basic questions, including: of Lex’s future was developed into color storyboards to
"what if someone had a crush on Lana, and acted on better illustrate to the filmmakers the "blood rain" de-
that obsession"; "what if someone found out Clark’s se- scribed in the text.[16]
cret"; "what if someone else had Clark’s powers?" These When the filmmakers were dissatisfied with the ini-
three questions developed into the episodes "Metamor- tial drafts of episodes, specifically with the evolution of
phosis", "Rogue", and "Leech", respectively.[13] "Stray", characters, they would rewrite events, or add scenes to
episode 16, answered the question, "what if Clark had re-establish the original vision. The character of Earl
been adopted by the wrong parents and his powers were Jenkins (Tony Todd), intended to be a sympathetic vil-
exploited?"[14] "X-Ray" director Mark Verheiden and the lain, came across as "completely unlikable" in the origi-
rest of the crew realized divergent, unrelated storylines nal draft of "Jitters". The character suffers from over-ex-
were not the best way to create episodes for Smallville. posure to kryptonite, causing massive seizures; if Jenk-
Verheiden believes "X-Ray" was the first episode that ins happened to grab someone, they could be shaken to
5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
death. Originally, the character is first seen banging on
the door of LuthorCorp and killing a security guard dur-
ing one of his seizures. To present a more favorable as-
pect to the audience, a scene in which Earl visits his in-
fant child was added to show that he was not a "raving
maniac".[17] Similar rewrites occurred with the charac-
ters Ryan James (Ryan Kelley) in "Stray" and Tyler Ran-
dall (Reynaldo Rosales) in "Reaper". In the original draft
of "Stray", Ryan developed his telepathic abilities from
exposure to kryptonite.[14]; to emphasize the show was
not always about kryptonite-infected villains, the story
was revised so that Ryan had his ability from birth. The
network also expressed dissatisfaction with Ryan as a
murderer, so the character was rewritten to be the "nice Swangard stadium was the location of the opening football se-
kid".[14] The character of Tyler Randall shared Earl Jenk- quence for "Hothead". The production crew brought in water
ins’s issue: he was not sympathetic enough in the film- towers for the sequence, which called for the game to be played
makers’ eyes; intended to be an escaped prisoner, he was at night in the rain.[23]
rewritten to be "the world’s deadliest nice guy".[18]
the Smallville crew, as "Metamorphosis" called for a simi-
Filming lar event to take place in the episode. The market was on
Production was set up in Vancouver, British Columbia, the verge of ending, so the filmmakers shot what wide-
Canada, because the creators were looking for a "Middle angle scenes they could at the time, and filmed a close
America landscape", and Vancouver was a good substi- up conversation between Whitney and Clark at the An-
tute for Kansas.[19] David Nutter, the director of the pilot, dalini’s farm, weeks after the initial market shooting.[20]
was given 16 days for main unit filming, twice that of Other filming locations include Vancouver’s Pacific Na-
the normal timeframe.[20] Despite the extended sched- tional Exhibition and Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. The
ule, it was still a short amount of time, and he shot the Pacific National Exhibit provided a storage silo for a
pilot primarily from storyboards created by Adrien Van scene in "Hourglass", which involved Harry Bollston (Eric
Viersen.[21] Christian Olsen) attacking Martha Kent (O’Toole) in the
Millar developed most of the look for Smallville with Kents’ corn silo.[16] "Hothead" director Greg Beeman,
the idea that Smallville should be the epitome of "Small- who had previously worked with Gough and Millar on
town, USA".[21] Millar’s design required existing build- The Strip and Martial Law, used Swangard Stadium, as a
ings to be painted, built, and remodeled. The Kent farm substitution for Smallville High Stadium, for the opening
is the home of the Andalini family, and their barn was football scene that took place at night.[23]
used for the pilot before a new barn was built.[20] The When filming fell behind schedule, another director
new barn was one of the major additions to the sets of came in to assist the main unit director in finishing the
the episode "Metamorphosis". Production designer Doug episode. Greg Beeman assisted director Chris Long for
Higgins and his crew built a fully functioning, three-story the two "visceral visions of the future" that appeared
barn for the Kent farm on a converted soundstage in in the episode "Hourglass".[16] "Jitters" was an episode
Burnaby.[22] For the pilot, the crew built only a loft, with with so many changes that its initial scheduling as the
a set of stairs leading up to it, inside the existing barn second episode of the season was pushed back to the
on the Andalinis’ property.[11] To resemble the Andalinis’ eighth spot. By the time filming for "Jitters" was com-
barn as closely as possible, Higgins had his crew locate pleted, three directors had worked on the project: Greg
100-year-old wood to match the look of the Andalinis’ Beeman, Phil Sgriccia, and Michael Watkins; however,
barn.[11] The episode "Hourglass" called for several Watkins was given sole directing credit for the
scenes to take place at the White House. Instead of build- episode.[17]
ing their own set, the Smallville producers called John
Wells, producer of the political drama television series Effects
The West Wing, and obtained permission to use the West A big part of the Smallville series relies on the effects it
Wing set to film the vision of Lex’s future.[16] delivers, whether digital, physical, or special make-up ef-
When the Smallville crew was not filming on one of fects. The effects shots, part of the post-production work,
the constructed sets, or on a sound stage, they were are developed and added in Los Angeles.[24] David Nut-
shooting on location at the surrounding Vancouver sites. ter hired Thomas Special Effects to create digital corn-
During the filming of "Metamorphosis", Vancouver was fields for the pilot episode. After attempting to grow ten
holding a farmers’ market, which proved beneficial to thousand stalks of corn in a greenhouse, which only grew
6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
two feet tall, Nutter was forced to rely primarily on dig- volved slowing time down for everything except Clark,
ital corn. Faux corn was also flown in from Arizona.[21] who would be moving at normal pace.[20] When tackling
CGI supervisor Bill Millar created digital butterflies for a Clark’s emerging power of X-ray vision, Gough and Millar
scene in Lana’s bedroom, and all the insects Greg Arkin wanted to be able to see skeletons and bones, as opposed
(Chad Donella) collected in the episode "Metamorpho- to previous incarnations that treated the ability like "see-
sis". Greg’s insects had to be created digitally, because a through" vision. The recent advances in computer im-
green hue was needed to illustrate the kryptonite radi- agery helped them complete that task.[15]
ation in the insects.[20] After the opening credits, the a The digital effects costs for each episode could
first person view of someone, later revealed to be Clark, stretch the budget thin. In "Shimmer", Bill Millar, special
flying through Lana’s open window and into her bed- effects supervisor, planned to create an artificial sunset
room was created digitally. The effect was accomplished for the closing scene involving Clark and Lana. The ef-
with stock footage, a sound stage and computer gener- fects shot was supposed to last only a couple of seconds.
ated imagery. Stock footage shot from a helicopter, as James Marshall, the second unit director for the episode,
it flew over several farms during the day, was used for decided to shoot the entire scene over the shoulders of
the first person point of view. It was altered from day Clark and Lana, looking at the sunset. The scene called for
to night, and a CGI house was created in an empty field. two greenscreen shots, but when Marshall was finished
Lana’s bedroom as built on a soundstage, and CGI was he had created seventeen greenscreen shots. The sev-
used to create the illusion of someone traveling through enteen shots, which produced the artificial sunset, cost
her open window and stopping above her bed.[20] $50,000 to produce.[25] By comparison, the entire effects
budget costs between $65,000 and $100,000.[24]
Over-spending of that nature became a regular occur-
rence on the Smallville set. The regularity of over-spend-
ing came to an end with "Kinetic", as the studio decided
to be stricter with the spending.[26] With the budget on
a stiffer guideline, the filmmakers were forced to cut
scenes from "Kinetic", which was caught in the transition
to writing more budget friendly scripts. One of the scenes
to be cut involved one of the thieves phasing through a
safe wall, and acting as a portal for the merchandise to
A green hue and raised veins in Clark’s hand, created digitally, be passed through.[26] When digital effects are not an op-
were used to help illustrate the effects of kryptonite poisoning tion, Mike Walls, the physical effects supervisor who be-
gan his Smallville career with "Leech", still tries to pro-
It was decided the effects of kryptonite poisoning on vide big effects.[9] Walls used 75 cars for the final action
Clark, "Clark time", and the appearance of kryptonite scene of "Kinetic", which were cabled off to protect the
when in the proximity of Clark would need to be illus- actors. Stunt coordinator Lauro Chartrand attempts to
trated in a way the audience could understand if they make sure the actors are used as much as possible when
were not familiar with the character. Gough and Millar, performing fight scenes, unless the scenes are particu-
after doing some research, learned the female audience larly dangerous. The fast shooting schedule forces Char-
was not aware of what was happening when Clark was trand to rely on guest stars who can perform their own
exposed to kryptonite. Beginning with "Metamorphosis", stunts, because of the limited time to find a "good dou-
whenever Clark was exposed to kryptonite, his veins ble" for the actor.[9]
would rise up and develop a green hue to illustrate the Physical effects were not an issue for the series reg-
effect it was having. Close-up shots of Clark’s hand were ulars. Allison Mack performed her own stunts for the
used for these scenes, and it was all created with digital scene in "Hothead" where her character is set on fire,[23]
animation.[20] Gough and Millar developed the idea that and again in "Kinetic", when she was cabled off and dan-
kryptonite would only glow when it was around Clark, gled 50 ft (15 m) above the ground.[26] For "Nicodemus",
as it was meant to demonstrate the draining of his pow- the stunt coordinator received twice the help. Kristin
ers.[20] "Clark time", the same idea behind bullet time, Kreuk was expected to go to the tenth rung of a water
was created because previous incarnations had not ex- tower, in a scene which involved her character climbing
plained the idea of what the world appears like to Clark to the top and falling off. As filming progressed, Kreuk
when he is using his powers. The first instance of "Clark climbed to the top, so the crew cabled her off and
time" was used in the "Metamorphosis" scene where dropped her 40 ft (12 m) to the bottom.[27] John Schnei-
Greg Arkin attacks Clark and Jonathan in their barn. der’s experience from The Dukes of Hazzard lent to him
Jonathan is pushed over a banister and falls in the direc- performing the stunt driving for his character. The scene
tion of some dangerous farm equipment. The effect in- required Schneider to slide his truck around a corner,
while yelling at some pedestrians on the sidewalk. The
7
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Smallville (season 1)
previous scene had established the driver side window as "character interaction and a nice performance by John
closed, so Schneider improvised and opened the driver’s Schneider as Pa Kent", but that the show needs more
door as he slid 90° around a corner.[27] than the "’monster of the week’ stories seen so far".[36]
Jordan Levin, president of The WB’s Entertainment divi-
Reception sion, recognized the concerns that the show had become
a villain of the week series. Levin announced that season
The series’ pilot broke The WB’s record for highest-rated two would see more "smaller mini-arcs over three to four
debut with 8.4 million viewers.[5] After airing the first episodes, to get away from some of the formulaic story-
two episodes, which averaged 7.8 million viewers, the WB telling structure" the series has fallen into.[6]
placed an order for a full season of 21 episodes.[28] The
first season averaged 5.9 million viewers weekly, placing
#115 in the Nielsen ratings alongside Futurama, The Ellen
Awards
Show, and Star Trek: Enterprise.[29] The pilot and "Tem- By 2003, the first season had been nominated for and won
pest" were selected in The Futon Critic’s 50 best episodes various awards. It won an Emmy Award for "Outstand-
of 2001 and 2002, respectively. The pilot placed 31st,[30] ing Sound Editing for a Series", and the pilot episode
while "Tempest" placed 15th.[31] was nominated for "Outstanding Visual Effects for a
The season received mostly favorable reviews. IGN’s Series".[37] The pilot was recognized by other award or-
Jeremy Conrad, who was initially against the idea of ganizations, receiving a Leo Award for "Best Visual Ef-
"reimagining" the Superman mythology, gave the first fects" in 2002.[38] Peter Wunstorf was recognized for his
season a 7/10 rating. After reviewing the entire season, work on the pilot with a nomination by the American So-
Conrad stated the first season of Smallville was "a solid ciety of Cinematographers.[39] Casting directors Deedee
start to what will be a great Superman TV series".[7] En- Bradley, Coreen Mayrs, and Barbara Miller were nomi-
tertainment Weekly’s Bruce Fretts believes the series might nated for an Artios Award for their work on the pilot.[40]
appear "corny" on the surface, but actually shows "sub- Chris McGeary was nominated for Golden Reel’s "Best
versively witty spin on the comic-book myths".[32] Clint Sound Editing in Television" award for his music editing
Morris, founder of Moviehole.net, stated the series was on the pilot.[41][42] The season one finale, "Tempest", was
"still finding its feet in season one"; although, he com- nominated for Golden Reel’s "Best Sound Editing in Tele-
mended the acting, citing specifically Michael Rosen- vision Episodic" in 2003.[41][43] In 2002, The American
baum’s "uncontrollably likeable Lex Luthor".[8] The Free- Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers honored
Lance Star’s Rob Hedelt commended the casting as well, the band Remy Zero (which provided the opening theme
comparing Welling’s portrayal of a teenage Clark Kent to song for Smallville) and composer Mark Snow for their
that of Christopher Reeve’s portrayal in the films. Hedelt contributions to the show; the award recognized the
considered John Schneider and Annette O’Toole to be composers of the theme or underscore of the highest
ideal picks for Jonathan and Martha Kent, but felt Allison rated television series during January 1 – December 31,
Mack and Sam Jones III, important characters, were the 2001.[44]
weakest part of the ensemble.[33] Judge Byun, of DVD Several members of the regular cast were nominated
Verdict, felt having Clark Kent and Lex Luthor start their for awards. In 2001, Rosenbaum, Kreuk, and Welling were
relationship as best friends was a "brilliant concept" that nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actor
moved the show past a "Dawson’s Creek with super pow- in a Television Series, Best Actress, and Best Actor, re-
ers" tone the premise of the show suggested. Byun be- spectively. Rosenbaum and Kreuk received additional
lieves the first season had "solid writing and excellent nominations for male and female Cinescape Genre Face
performances", but is weakened by the freak of the week of the Future awards, and the entire season was nom-
storylines that plagued the early episodes of the season; inated for Best Network Television Series. Rosenbaum
the season works best when the episodes focus on char- was the only one to win an award (Best Supporting Ac-
acter development and not super powers.[34] tor).[45] Tom Welling won the Teen Choice Award for
Other critics were less enthusiastic about the season. Choice Breakout TV Star—Male in 2002.[46] Smallville’s
Peter Bowes of BBC News felt the season was simply a first season placed sixth on the Parents Television Coun-
"soap opera" with "pretty young people". Bowes believes cil’s list of the "best shows for families".[47]
the season suffered from the "sentimental boy-girl sto-
ryline", but that die-hard Superman fans would still be
taken in by this incarnation of the character’s early
References
years.[35] A common criticism for the first season was the [1] "Season 1 (Region 1)". Amazon.com.
use of "villain of the week" storylines. By the time the http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JLKB.
first seven episodes aired, at least one journalist had had Retrieved 2006-10-15.
enough of the villain of the week format. Pittsburgh Post- [2] "Season 1 (Region 2)". Amazon.fr.
Gazette’s Rob Owen stated the series works best with its http://www.amazon.fr/Smallville-Complete-
8
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Season-Tom-Welling/dp/B0000ABPLF. Retrieved VR1117854822.html?categoryid=14&cs=1. Retrieved
2006-12-13. 2007-07-08.
[3] "Season 1 (Region 4)". jbhifionline.com. [29] "How did your favorite show rate". USA Today.
http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/dvds/id/82199. 2002-05-28. http://www.usatoday.com/life/
Retrieved 2007-01-12. television/2002/2002-05-28-year-end-chart.htm.
[4] "Smallville Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv- [30] Ford Sullivan, Brian (2002-01-02). "The 50 Best
show.aspx?tvobjectid=100398&more=ucepisodelist. Episodes Of 2001 – #40-31". The Futon Critic.
Retrieved 2007-07-09. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/
[5] ^ Gunderson, Seth (2001-11-05). "Smallville, rant.aspx?id=20020102. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
Kansas. The biggest little town you’ve ever seen.". [31] Ford Sullivan, Brian (2003-01-09). "The 50 Best
The Trades. http://www.the-trades.com/ Episodes Of 2002 – #20-11". The Futon Critic.
article.php?id=908. Retrieved 2007-05-22. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/
[6] ^ Owen, Rob (2002-01-16). "Tuned In: UPN got rant.aspx?id=20030109. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
’Buffy,’ but WB gets ratings". Post-Gazette. [32] Fretts, Bruce (2001-10-21). "A Second Opinion".
http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/ Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/
20020116owen0116p3.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-23. article/0,,252858,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
[7] ^ Conrad, Jeremy (2004-05-19). "Smallville—The [33] Hedelt, Rob (2001-10-28). "Superman’s in high
Complete First Season: The Man of Steel’s early school in WB’s fun ’Smallville’".
years look and sound great on DVD". IGN. Fredericksburg.com. http://fredericksburg.com/
http://dvd.ign.com/articles/516/516863p1.html. News/FLS/2001/102001/10282001/427249.
Retrieved 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
[8] ^ Morris, Clint. "Smallville: The Complete First [34] Byun, Judge Bryan (2003-11-24). "Season 1 DVD
Season (DVD)". Moviehole. Archived from the review". DVD Verdict.
original on 2007-10-12. http://web.archive.org/ http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/
web/20071012121126rn_1/www.moviehole.net/ smallvilleseason1.php. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
reviews/20031226_965.html. Retrieved 2007-07-07. [35] Bowes, Peter (2001-08-30). "Smallville: Add Your
[9] ^ Simpson, Paul (September 2004). Smallville: The Views". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Official Companion Season 1. London: Titan Books. entertainment/1517326.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
pp. 36–39. ISBN 1840237955. [36] Owen, Rob (2001-11-29). "Tuned In: It’s time to
[10] "Pilot" commentary by Al Gough, Miles Millar and David revisit the season’s new shows". Post-Gazette.
Nutter. [DVD]. Warner Bros. Television. 2002. http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/
[11] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.24–27 20011129owen1129p3.asp. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
[12] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.52–55 [37] "CNN’s 2002 Emmy Winners". CNN. Archived from
[13] Simpson, Paul, pp.64–67 the original on May 18, 2007.
[14] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.80–83 http://web.archive.org/web/20070518231150/
[15] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.32–35 http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/emmys/
[16] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.40–43 print.ballot.html. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
[17] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.48–51 [38] "Leo Awards". LeoAwards.com.
[18] Simpson, Paul, pp.84–86 http://www.leoawards.com/2002_winners.html.
[19] Simpson, Paul, pp.8–17 Retrieved 2007-06-28.
[20] ^ "Metamorphosis" commentary by Al Gough and Miles [39] "16th Annual Awards". American Society of
Millar. [DVD]. Warner Bros. Television. 2002. Cinematographers. Archived from the original on
[21] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.20–23 2006-05-22. http://web.archive.org/web/
[22] Oppenheimer, Jean (May 2007). "Young Man of 20060522221214/http://www.theasc.com/awards/
Steel". American Cinematographer 88 (55): 54–58. history/2001.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
[23] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.28–31 [40] "Artios Award Winners". Casting Society. Archived
[24] ^ Sheinkopf, Evelyn (April 2003). "Smallville: Visual from the original on 2008-01-30.
Effects Fit for a Superhero". Animation Magazine 17 http://web.archive.org/web/20080130033028/
(3): 17. http://www.castingsociety.com/artios/winners.
[25] Simpson, Paul, pp.56–59 Retrieved 2007-06-09.
[26] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.68–71 [41] ^ "Past Golden Reel Awards". MPSE.org.
[27] ^ Simpson, Paul, pp.76–79 http://www.mpse.org/goldenreels/
[28] Adalian, Josef (2001-10-24). "’Smallville’ gets super pastawards.html. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
order". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/ [42] "2002 Golden Reel Awards". Internet Movie
Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/
9
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Motion_Picture_Sound_Editors_USA/2002. [47] "Broadcast TV may test limits on sex, language".
Retrieved 2007-06-28. Baptist Press. 2002-08-26.
[43] "2003 Golden Reel Awards". Internet Movie http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/
Database. http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/ bpnews.asp?ID=14098. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
Motion_Picture_Sound_Editors_USA/2003.
[44]
Retrieved 2007-06-28.
"2002 ASCAP Awards". ASCAP.
External links
http://www.ascap.com/filmtv/2002/index.html. • Official website
Retrieved 2007-05-02. • List of Smallville episodes at the Internet Movie
[45] "Saturn Television Awards". Saturn Awards. Database
http://www.saturnawards.org/ • List of Smallville season 1 episodes at TV.com
past.html#tvsupportingactor. Retrieved • List of Smallville season 1 episodes at Wikia
2007-05-02. • Smallville at epguides.com
[46] "2002 Teen Choice Awards". All Your TV. • List of Smallville season 1 guide at kryptonsite.com
http://www.allyourtv.com/awards/
awardsteenchoice2002.html. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallville_(season_1)"
Categories: Lists of science fiction television series episodes, Smallville (TV series) episodes, 2001 television seasons,
2002 television seasons
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