I was chatting with Kath about the multi-pronged cliffhanger in “Smallville,” and she put forward an interesting theory that there was more than just “Let’s knock the fans for a loop” at work. I’ll go into detail in the extended for Spoilers sake…
We’ve never had a “Smallville” season finale where just about every single cast member is dead, apparently dead, or gone. Pete and Lana left town, Lex is poisoned, Chloe’s gone blow-ey, Pa Kent’s down, and Clark’s MIA. The only one clearly sucking oxygen is Martha.
On the other hand, we’ve never had a third season ender for “Smallville” before. And the end of third season is a popular time for cast members to try and push for contract renegotiation.
So maybe, as a pre-emptive move, the PTB at “Smallville” mandated that everyone be thrown in the pool so that, if any of the actors balk at coming back unless it’s for a lot more money…the producers shrug and say, “Nice working with you.”
Lana wants more money? Enjoy Paris. Chloe wants more money? Her cousin, Lois Lane, comes to the funeral and resolves to pick up where Chloe left off and dedicate her life to journalism. Pete? Enjoy Wichita. Lex? Well, if Lionel stays around, find a way to cure him and then have him say: “I will dedicate the rest of my life to my son’s memory. In fact, I will henceforth do business using my middle name of Alexander…I shall be Lex Luthor.” Why not? He’s got a shaved head now…
Clark himself? Well, but he’s the star. Ah, but he’s off to be “reborn.” Which means he could come back as a completely different actor and chalk it up to being reborn.
Why were Annette O’Toole and John Glover exempted? Well, she was a late addition after the pilot and he was a later addition to the series, so maybe they’re thoroughly locked into the next season.
If Kath’s right, and I think she is, there’s a raft of annoyed agents right about now who aren’t licking their chops over a fourth season of “Smallville.”
PAD
• 
That is a postitively evil idea. Which probably means that it’s true.
In an ironic twist, all the actors whose characters’ fates are in doubt demand more money and are replaced with members of the former cast of “Angel.”
Rick
I dunno. I am sure that I have read that all the principle actors are coming back next season.
PAD,
That’s an interesting theory, and ANY of that stuff–Lionel-as-Lex, regenerated Clark, exit Chloe/enter Lois–would be pretty wild to see. But let’s face it, this is the show where no matter what happens or what secrets get exposed in any given episode, the status quo is always, ALWAYS restored by the end credits. It’s a little bit like a silver age imaginary story in that respect. So, “Godfather” ending to the contrary, I’m guessing nobody’s really snuffed it. Hëll of a season cliffhanger, though.
Ah, the unyielding “Smalville” status quo. Having a full-grown, romantically-inclined Kara Zor-El show up was such a major threat to it that no long-time viewer thought for a second that she was the real deal, and lo and behold, she wasn’t. But I have to admit…I’ve always thought that a Kara Zor-El with a Byrne-influenced, cold, distant, borderline xenophobic undercurrent would make for great drama and conflict, and SV’s take on her (out-clause aside) proves me right.
But getting back to your theory…man, what a rat-bášŧárd way to keep the cast in line! Lionel must be rubbing off on somebody…
Well, I always thought that Smallville was not going past a fourth season – the began as freshman and they’ll end it when the boy goes off to college….
John Glover is not necessarily locked in. Lionel does have that liver disease. Next season someone just has to say, “Wow, I can’t believe Lionel died of that liver disease after only 3 days in jail.”
Say…I’ve never posted here before. Um. Hi!
On a personal note, just because my evening wouldn’t be complete without it, I watched the GODFATHER deluxe last night.
Hmmm…Smallville with a GODFATHER montage ending, ANGEL with at least one GF moment – see previous ramblings about Lorne vs. Lesley-
is the WB trying to push rival Paramount’s famed gangster epic or something? What next, the season finale of REBA has Reba gunned down in a turnpike?
“In an ironic twist, all the actors whose characters’ fates are in doubt demand more money and are replaced with members of the former cast of ‘Angel.'”
Except Tom Welling, who is replaced by former “Friends” star Matthew Perry (“Could I *be* any more superhuman?”), after Perry learns that he has no future in movies whatsoever.
Great minds think alike. This is exactly what Robin surmised yesterday when we finished watching it. It hadn’t even occurred to me! But yeah, they did this on a lot of ’80s soaps as well, as I recall.
I don’t doubt that some of this is a hedge against salary-inflation demands.
OTOH, I think it may also be a deliberate reaction to increasing critical comment about the “obsessive reset” tendency of the show’s plotting to date. Remember here that Drew Z. Greenberg (when did he come aboard anyway?) is a Mutant Enemy graduate, and I think the ending we see here owes a good deal to the tendency of the ME writers to play with viewers’ minds.
Me, I’ve been thinking that depending on how things realign next season, it would be entirely possible to let Lana continue studying in Paris, but show up for frequent visits courtesy of Lex’s corporate jet. Moreover, making Lana and Lex a couple would (a) defuse the Clark/Lana yoyo problem, and (b) give a plausible reason to slow or stabilize Lex’s spiral into megalomania enough to keep him marginally sympathetic.
If there were no internet, then this would be an excellent way to dupe fans. As it is, however, we’re all going to know *why* someone was replaced if he/she is. After that, we’d know “Smallville reality” for a hoax causing some of us a harder time suspending our disbelief.
Chris Grillo,
Well, back before the internet – believe it or not it was not that long ago – we would know WHY someone was replaced by like, you know, reading magazines like TV Guide.
Personally, I agree with John C. Bunnell, that this was like a big “You don’t think anything ever changes on “Smallville”? Fine! Get a load of this!
Believe it or not, a lot of changes on TV are made for creative, and not purely financial reasons.
Yeah, I’m still shaking my head about Lionel shaving his head (although John Glover does look good as the cueball), but this does make a bit of sense.
I was also wondering if we’d see a Season 4 premiere with a grown-up Clark falling from the sky after spending ten years or so in Krypton-limbo (like they did in the first Superman movie), with some sort of reset at the end of the hour or two.
As for the other ones, yeah it would be interesting to see who falls where in Season 4. It looked to me like Chloe got in the house. What’s going to bring Lana and Pete back? Can one fall dramatically through a glass table on TV and live?
Actually, according to Comics Continuum (http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0405/18/index.htm), all the main players will be back next season.
Smallville will remain in its Wednesday at 8 p.m. time slot for its fourth season…, the network announced on Tuesday at its upfront presentation.
Returning for the fourth season are series stars Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O’Toole and John Schneider. Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Greg Beeman, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Ken Horton serve as executive producers.
Now, that doesn’t mean Lana *won’t* go to Paris. For this show, it wouldn’t be unusual for a character to leave for the summer and come back in the fall. ‘Course, if Chloe really does die, Lex is hospitalized/dead due to poisoning, and Clark is MIA, she might come back. Me, I’d rather avoid certain death and just stay the hëll away from that accursed town.
Chloe is the only character that does not have a previously established past in the Superman mythos.
Chloe is the only character that they have a clean slate to play with and thus have made (in my opinion) the most intriguing and interesting.
Of course she could bite the big one.
“The Wat Bastawds!”
Actually, according to Comics Continuum (http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0405/18/index.htm), all the main players will be back next season.
My apologies, I was slightly off in my assessment — Sam Jones III is not included in that list, thus leading me to suspect that he’s gone for good Or perhaps he’ll just come back irregularly as a guest star.
“My apologies, I was slightly off in my assessment — Sam Jones III is not included in that list, thus leading me to suspect that he’s gone for good Or perhaps he’ll just come back irregularly as a guest star.”
You mean that isn’t what they have him doing now?
Okay, if we are tossing out theories, how about these:
Chloe’s death was faked. Three words.. Witness Protection Program. I mean she is the one who blew the whistle on Lionel (or at least provided Lex with the whistle). Lionel is powerful enough to be a danger, even in prison. So her death is faked, and she later resurfaces with hair dyed brown and a new name….Lois (and I hope I am wrong about that because I don’t care for the idea of Chloe being Lois).
Also, Lex looks to be down for the count. Suppose the dying Lionel has found a way to have his brain transplanted into Lex? Sounds far fetched? Well it did happen in the comic as I recall. Lex transplaned his brain into a younger cloned body. Again I hope I am wrong as I don’t want to see John Glover leave the show. He is more menacing than Gene Hackman and John Shea were combined.
Brandon.
Remember how season 3 of Angel ended, with Cordy’s false ascension, and how we heard rumors all summer about her precarious status on the show.
Remember how season 3 of Next Gen ended, with the best cliffhanger ever. Even before the Net, we read plenty of reports that Paramount was telling Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes that either could be replaced with Elziabeth Dennehy.
It makes some sense. And it can also create classic episodes along the way, as on Next Gen. But if a show doesn’t like to mess with the satus quo, all the promised tension of the cliffhanger is meaningless, even if actors are fired.
Peter David: Pete? Enjoy Wichita.
Luigi Novi: It has already been reported that Sam Jones was written out of the show. He will not be returning. Given his heartbreaking good-bye to Clark, which is ironically the most heartfelt scene they ever had together aside from their conflict in Velocity, it would really be a cop-out if the creators undid it.
Peter David: Lex? Well, if Lionel stays around, find a way to cure him and then have him say: “I will dedicate the rest of my life to my son’s memory. In fact, I will henceforth do business using my middle name of Alexander…I shall be Lex Luthor.” Why not? He’s got a shaved head now…
Luigi Novi: And the main side effect from the cure is that it will destroy his hair’s ability to regrow? Hmmm…..
Peter David: Why were Annette O’Toole and John Glover exempted? Well, she was a late addition after the pilot and he was a later addition to the series…
Luigi Novi: How so? Both of them were in the pilot.
Technically it’s Annette O’Toole who was the late addition, not Martha Kent. I think I’m right in saying she replaced another actress who left by mutual agreement when the chemistry proved wrong durign filming. I don’t think her scenes have ever been released, even as DVD extras.
Don’t by into the Chloe becomes lois idea (Chlois?) and if she survived, then i think it’s a major cheat (right up there with ‘with a bound I was free’.
Angel’s finale was rushed, but still something of a classic.
Not hopeful for the Fall TV schedule. Even diversions such as 24 and Alias won’t be back until January.
John
John-
They will be back for the mid-season and I think it will be better this way. Then we get a straight run of shows rather than all this filler and repeats that goes on to draw the shows out to May. Network seems to be taking a page from the cable channels who do this sort of thing all the time (ie: Monk)
Jerome Maida,
Unfortunately, I’m young enough to belong to the generation that only used the TV Guide *as* a TV guide… just a list of shows on the bøøb tube. It was never a premier source of news and information. Would really have had actors’ quotes telling us why they were let go? I figured that it was (and is) just a fluff piece periodical.
Didn’t a similar thing happen at the end of season three of ST: TNG? Picard had been Borged up, the Enterprise was locked in a battle nobody was sure it could win… Rumors floated all that summer about Patrick Stewart not coming back, or any cast member being disposable. It was actually quite exciting.
Not sure it’s a similar situation, but it’s the first thing that popped into my mind.
Don’t be so quick to count Lex out. He may have been
poisoned, but you’re forgetting that he has an
Kryptonite-enhanced immune system that would make Wolverine green with envy.
They could always send Clark to college and get him involved with a friendly Mermaid…
“Chloe’s death was faked. Three words.. Witness Protection Program. I mean she is the one who blew the whistle on Lionel (or at least provided Lex with the whistle). Lionel is powerful enough to be a danger, even in prison. So her death is faked, and she later resurfaces with hair dyed brown and a new name….Lois (and I hope I am wrong about that because I don’t care for the idea of Chloe being Lois).”
On the other hand, it would explain why “Lois” wouldn’t get really, really pìššëd at Clark over the whole secret-identity thing.
“Lois, now that we’re getting serious, there’s something I have to tell you. Before I put on this costume, I grew up in a small Kansas town – as Clark Kent.”
“I know, Clark. Didn’t you think I’d recognize my old school-paper friend? Use that X-ray vision on my skull structure – I used to be Chloe…”
It’s been reported since season 1 that Welling and Rosenbaum are locked into 5 year contracts. Every article has mentioned that this seems like an unusually long time for actors in a one hour serial, but it’s been widely reported and by multiple sources so I have no reason to doubt it.
SJ III had already announced publically that he was leaving the show when the last episode with him aired, so his trip to Wichita is for good.
As for the rest, who knows for sure …
I too thought it was a clever way to keep actors’ demands down. Everyone at risk of not returning, even Clark could be reborn with a different actor.
On this theory of Lionel becoming THE Lex, and if anyone else suggested this I apologize, Lionel just might want a piece or all of Lex’s liver, no?
I was wondering if they were doing some weird “Lionel is really Lex” switch thing with that finale. After all, they certainly aren’t keeping to the comic mythos. However, I’d like to think they’ll keep to their own mythos. And in first season they verified that Lex is Lex, in the seer’s vision of the future, where Lex is President, has a black glove on, and it’s raining blood. Now, if they somehow implant Lionel’s brain in Lex’s body, that’ll be fine, but simply shaving his head and changing names screws over the show’s own continuity.
I’m not sure if Lionel wants Lex’s liver. If he did, I’m sure he’d think of a better plan than poisoning the scotch!
Long time lurker, first time poster.
Garrett
Given how little they’ve utilized Pete — who has been more interesting than Lana with her incessant whining, it’s probably best that Sam Jones III move on.
“Smallville” has almost lost me this year because of what I’ve preceived as dragging things out.
All the “Lionel becomes Lex” speculation ignores one thing:
It was LEX who caught the dagger indicating he would be Clark’s/Superman’s greatest enemy. So, It looks like Lex will be Lex.
Plus, with the fact that Michael Rosenbaum’s character – and his trials and tribulations – has been the most interesting, to put Lionel’s “brain” into Lex would be a cop out to his interesting evolution.
Well, Lionel has liver problems, no? Why do you think the drink that put Lex down necessarily injured his liver? Maybe just knock him out so the liver could be harvested?
Seems this show is hardly wed to any kind of reality (or canon). If they decide over the summer that Lionel needed Lex’s liver, then that’s what it will be.
Ken
“All the “Lionel becomes Lex” speculation ignores one thing:
It was LEX who caught the dagger indicating he would be Clark’s/Superman’s greatest enemy. So, It looks like Lex will be Lex.”
Umm, Lex and Lionel pretty much caught the dagger simultaneously. It could be either of them from that evidence.
I can understand Sam Jones III decision to move on. I think there’s universal agreement that he was tragically under utilized this season. Considering how much of a role Pete Ross played in the classic Superboy stories in covering for Clark, I’m sorry that the writer’s on Smallville couldn’t think of ways to tap into that for the series.
Now we know that Clark will never open up to Lana, since that would kill the sexual tension between them and the producers have indicated that next season will start seeing Clark and Lex pull apart. That means the leading contender to be Clark’s new confidant is Chloe.
Personally, I really hope he reveals his powers to Chloe. At least that will enable the “Chloe becomes Lois” crowd to finally give it a rest.
Den,
ALL of these characters are underutilized. I think all the actors/actresses have talent, they’r just given plots, scripts and storyarcs that seem to be aimed at slow learners.
Personally, since the name of the show is “Smallville” and not “Clark” I wish they would give each character an episode or two to reall y shine. What does Chloe do in her spare time? All we ever see her do is “be the friend” or “be the reporter”. Does lana ever do anything besides pine for Clark, serve coffee, and get stalked? And did Sam have a life outside of being Clark’s friend?
In shows we REALLY invest ourselves in, like DS9, Buffy, Angel, etc. it’s the quiet moments or flashbacks that really get us to care about ALL the characters (Spike being told “You’re beneath me”; Sisko dating; Bashir dealing with the Ambassadors and later his parents; Cordelia and the dress she couldn’t get, so Xander got it for her).
There are NO moments like that on “Smallville”. It’s always the “Clark and Lex (and Ma, pa and Lionel) Show”.
They’re not characters, they’re plot devices.
I keep hoping that will change, but somehow i don’t think it will.
As a counter to the claim that all actors are definitely coming back next year: yeah, that’s what the cast of The Practice thought a year ago, too. See here.
In regard to DonBoy’s post: Amen!
And the slashing of “The Practice” cast made this season infinitely more interesting.
But on to a bigger point:
Why find out all the “spoilers” in the first place? Doesn’t that take a lot of the fun out of it? Don’t most of us like to be surprised? Or would more people rather be know-it-alls and KNOW that Lana will be there no matter what ’cause she’s signed through Season 7? This is the reason I never read movie adaptations before i’ve seen the movie. It’s like opening your packages before Christmas (or Hannukah or your birthday or whatever). I really don’t get it.
Jerome, the reason some people love spoilers is simple. They want to be on the inside. They want to show they know more than you do. It’s also the same reason people still think that someone besides Oswald killed JFK. If their fanciful conspiracy theories prove right, then the conspiracy nuts will prove that these conspiracies rule the world, and having uncovered the conspiracies, they’re superior to them.
As it was once sung, everybody wants to rule the world. Even if the world is as small as the fandom for a TV show.
I figure Lional shaved his head and put lex to sleep, so he could do a brain transplant.
Clarks in the Phntom Zone, seems obvious to me.
Thats my theories.
No one has mentioned this, so I will. As I watched the sequence of Lionel’s hair being cut interspersed with the montage of death scenes, my first thought was this was all in Lionel’s head–his thoughts of revenge on those who had wronged him. For confusion, it’s mixed in with the fight in the cave between Jor-el, Jonathan and Clark. I *think* Martha’s sequence is part of Lionel’s revenge because, while he doesn’t have any knowledge about Jor-el, he does know the symbols in the cave are important to Clark and were burnt on the Kents’ barn door in the past. In any event, it was an amazing ten minutes.
Linda
Naw. I am a spoiler hound just because I am LOL. I have no problem with people “blowing” a movie or a show for me. Usually I watch shows when I get home from work at around midnight, so everyone in their brother’s already seen it in prime time. I just find out what ends up happening, and I enjoy tracking it through the episode. But I’m a nerd and I’m very interested in structure, and what real world influences cause people to make “artistic” choices for the camera. Ok, so I’m just a nerd. Don’t judge me LOL.
SMALLVILLE’s character development and utilization is pathetic when compared to BUFFY or ANGEL. Heck, they were more ensemble shows despite their titles than SMALLVILLE.
We most likely won’t miss Pete. But try to imagine if Xander had been written out of BUFFY at the end of the third season? Remember the episodes Pete and Chloe have missed? Xander didn’t miss an episode until the last season and Willow missed none.
Whedon did a great job with making BUFFY and ANGEL about the titular characters while at the same time making their supporting characters integral to the whole.
After *less* than three full seasons, BUFFY had fleshed out Cordelia and Angel enough that they could stand on their own in spinoff. And Wesley soon followed. Let’s not forget Faith, either.
When I think of the richness of Willow, Cordelia, and Xander’s characters compared to Chloe, Lana, and Pete, it’s really embarrassing. Pete’s parents’ divorce was a sudden plot device (a better show would have tied Pete’s actions in Velocity directly to his parents’ problems). Xander’s sleeping outside on Christmas Eve because of his parents’ fighting was… well, heartbreaking and real.
While i dont think Chloe is Lois i do think this is how she gets a new identity(think Eraser).Did not get the Lionel head shaving bit.Really hope they dont do the brain switch thing,i liked the Lex /Lionel dynamic.
Jerome good point on the episodes with the other charcters would be good.Think that is why im a Luthor fan.We see what he and his father are like.The different characters and plots with them make us interested and keep us coming back.
Even though i hated him on Buffy ,i loved the way Spike had better insight into the Fang Gang than Angel,Cordy not being bìŧçhÿ,and Wes growing a brass set.Develop the characters..BRILLIANT!(sorry love those commercials):)
“And in a surprise move over the summer WB announces that Smallville will not return this fall.”
a week or two later just as fans outrage reaches a climax it’s announced that the replacement for that spot will be a new show called “Metropolis”
leaving all the fans muttering…..
After these amazing cliff-hangers,let’s hope this advances the show a bit. i’m tired of the clark wanting to tell lana,but can’t at the last minute thing.
>Peter David: Why were Annette O’Toole and John Glover >exempted? Well, she was a late addition after the pilot >and he was a later addition to the series…
>Luigi Novi: How so? Both of them were in the pilot.
I believe (and PAD can correct me if I’m wrong of course), that he was referring to the unaired pilot, and not the first aired episode of the show. If memory serves, there was an actual pilot, shot to try and sell the network on the show, and then once the show went into production it re-shot the pilot as the first episode. I remember there being some confusion at the time for readers of But I Digress… when Peter started mentioning actors in the pilot that readers didn’t remember having been in the show, and it turned out Peter had watched the unaired pilot instead of the aired version. So I think that’s what he’s talking about.
Unless I’m, y’know, totally wrong.
Well, Jerome, you’re right, except for possibly Lex, who has been shown struggling with his own parental issues outside of Clark’s life.
Pete, however, has been the most egregious example.
What I would like to know is how can we have a cast that includes four high school juniors and none of them are ever seen in class? The only parts of the school we ever see anymore are the halls (handy place to have Clark meet someone for exposition) and the office of the Torch. My personal theory as to why we’ve seen so little of Pete this season is because while Clark is off saving people, Lana is running the coffee shop and being stalked, and Chloe is using the school’s high-speed internet connection to dig up dirt on Lionel, Pete’s in case taking notes for all three of them.
Den wrote: “What I would like to know is how can we have a cast that includes four high school juniors and none of them are ever seen in class?”
And I’ve always wondered how Chloe was able to turn out a high school newspaper essentially by herself (with maybe some help by Clark and Pete). Also, how was it that she was editor-in-chief of the Torch in her Freshman year? When I was on my high school paper, we had a faculty advisor, editor-in-chief (who was a senior), associate editor, and editors for news, features, sports, and copy, not to mention staff writers. Amazing how no new staff have joined the Torch in three years.
Another possibility to how the show will continue beyond season four, when the gang graduates from high school: in “Man of Steel,” Byrne had Clark wandering the Earth for a number of years, helping people secretly, before moving to Metropolis to attend college. Perhaps the show could be retitled “Beyond Smallville,” and follow Clark on his quest (sure would save money on supporting cast members).