Smallville Season 8 - Dead or Alive?

by Ron Cloer

4/17/08 - Just in case you haven’t heard all the rumors about the 8th season of Smallville, the show is on its death bed. Lana and Lex, primary characters are stepping into the background. Creators, Al Gough and Miles Millar have moved on as well. The only thing lacking is a good eulogy to put a once great show to rest.

To show respect I watched the first episode of season. Maybe someone broke out the electric paddles and fired a jolt of current through its heart but Smallville is alive. Remove the toe tags!

Anytime the writers can hook you into watching the show before the music cues is a good episode. Before “Somebody savvvvve me” sounded, Lex had one of the best lines of the night. “I was raised in your shadow and you’ll die in mine.” (He said as he pushed his father out a window) As Yoda would say, the dark side is strong in this one.

The dancing around Lex’s dark side is over, he’s pure evil. Pushing his father out a window, killing his imaginary youthful self, firing Cloe, blaming Clark for his father’s death, it’s all there. The symbolic ending with Lex standing on one side of Lionel’s grave and Clark on the other was a great picture.

Would I like to have the full cast back? Sure, but according to a TV Guide interview the former executive producer, Al Gough said "Kristin will be back for a portion of the season – likely the first third." Obviously Lex will be back in a limited and very dark time as well. So we’ll take what we can get and hope that lovely Ms. Kreuk impresses us with her upcoming movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

When I first read about Miles and Gough leaving I was worried about the show direction. But according to insiders the pair had allowed 4 members of the production team greater control before stepping down. Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Kelly Souders, and Brian Peterson have been appointed executive producers.

Warner Bros. TV said in a joint statement that "Todd, Darren, Kelly, and Brian have been writing for the show for the past six seasons, and as producers for the last four years, they have played an integral role in the ongoing creative evolution of the series." So have a little faith Smallville fan, change can be good.