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Good news from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello -- Chloe will be back for all episodes of Smallville in season 8! Apparently those tough negotiations paid off for Allison. We're relieved!

Here's what Ausiello has to say: "[S]pecifics of the new contract -- which was signed just hours ago -- are being kept under wraps, [but] I'm told it calls for Mack to appear in all episodes produced next season. As I reported earlier this week, the actress' reps were (wisely) using the imminent departure of Smallville vet Michael Rosenbaum as leverage in the negotiations. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the strategy paid off."

Does this news make you feel better about Smallville's return? Talk about it in the comments!

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Another day, another bit of unsettling Smallville news. TVGuide's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Allison Mack may not be coming back to the show for season 8. Apparently, Michael Rosenbaum's departure is spurring some heavy talks: "Allison's camp used Michael leaving as leverage in the negotiations with [Warner Bros.]," a Smallville source told Ausiello. The source added that Kristin Kreuk's decision to only return for a handful of episodes as Lana only strengthened Mack's bargaining position. "They need Chloe now more than ever -- and Allison's people know it."

The insider isn't optimistic that negotiations will turn out well. Does this mean we'll be saying goodbye to Chloe as well as Lex and, for most episodes, Lana? And will you tune in if so many major players are gone? Talk about it in the comments!

Posted by Sarah at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Boy, everybody was having a rotten week on Smallville: Lex got attacked and carved up with Kryptonian symbols, Clark got ambushed by one of his self-appointed guardians, and Chloe had to try to keep her boyfriend from digging into all the Kryptonian secrets around town. In fact, Jimmy may be the only guy having fun -- at least he sold an article.

Let's start with Lex. He's trying to figure out what the little encryption doohickey he got from the bank in Switzerland does, but he's not having much luck. His luck gets even worse when the same guy who attacked him at the bank turns up again. This time, he beats Lex to a pulp and then carves Kryptonian symbols into his chest. Talk about adding insult to injury - the guy wasn't content with pain, he also had to turn Lex into a walking billboard!

When Chloe sees the symbols (courtesy of Jimmy), she tells Clark, and they set about deciphering. The symbols lead Clark to a church in Montreal, where he meets Edward Teague -- the sole surviving member of Veritas. Teague is happy to serve The Traveler until he finds out that Clark knew how bad Lex was, but didn't do anything to stop him. But you were supposed to be the savior of the world! How can you be our savior if you don't stop bad people from doing bad things! Dude, there are countless philosophy courses about that topic alone.

Continue reading "Smallville and the Downside of True Believers" »

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Last week on Smallville, Clark saw what life might have been like if he were never born! Jason C. gets into the spirit of things by moving through time and space on his own. Get Jason C.'s Smallville recap!

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Alas, we're losing Lex! E!Online is reporting that Michael Rosenbaum and the Smallville Powers That Be have announced that Lex won't be back for the show next season -- not even in the recurring role that they'd been hyping.

Here's an excerpt from Michael's letter to fans: "It is time for me to start the next chapter of my life and career. I hope that I gave you some enjoyment over the years, and that you found my portrayal of Lex Luthor to be satisfying. I am truly grateful, as Smallville fans are the best fans out there. I sincerely hope that you will continue to follow my career through my hair growth period and beyond."

Sounds like he's definitely through, doesn't it? The folks on the production side are holding out a bit of hope, however: "It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past six seasons. He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won't be a series regular and we won't have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven't seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned."

But while they're hoping to get Lex back for a visit, they're not slacking in the villainy department. Season 8 will see the debut of Doomsday, the only villain that has ever been able to kill Superman. (He got better.) We're looking forward to that storyline, although we're a bit concerned: Will this be the mindless killing-machine Doomsday of the Death of Superman storyline, the "jokerized" Doomsday of the Last Laugh storyline, or something else entirely?

There's also an unspecified female villain who the producers aren't spilling much about. They promise "she will be familiar to many fans and will set her sights on Clark in ways Lex never could. Intelligent, brilliantly manipulative, and dangerously sinister, our gorgeous new villain has one more weapon in her arsenal: Her mutual attraction with Clark may prove to be as deadly as Kryptonite for him." Who could this new villain be? Blaze? Maxima? Faora/Ursa? Silver Banshee? Or someone else from the DC universe, or further afield?

What do you think of this news? Will you watch with no lex? Are you excited about the new villains? Talk about it in the comments!

Posted by Sarah at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Smallville plays the "It's a Wonderful Life" card, which every television show that's lasted more than four seasons is apparently contractually obligated to do. Clark gets to find out what the world would be like if he'd never made it to earth. Answer? Good for a while, but not for long...

Since we've seen about 80 million takes on the "what if I were never born" plotline, we were actually impressed with how well the conceit worked here. For one thing, it actually fits organically into the storyline - Brainiac has traveled through time and space to the point where Krypton dies, and he's trying to prevent baby Kal El from getting launched. If Clark does nothing to stop Brainiac in the past, it'll be just like he never came to earth.

We could see how Clark would feel that he's done more harm than good on earth - " Ever since I arrived all I brought is death and suffering!" And his initial exploration of the alternate reality seems to confirm that: Jonathan is alive, Chloe is just about to get married to a hunk, and Lana is healthy and living in Paris with a French philanthropist. Heck, Lois even has a couple of Pulitzers! That's got to mean not saving his infant self is the right choice, right?

Continue reading "Smallville: What Might Have Been" »

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Jimmy showed off his rather impressive spy moves on last week's Smallville -- but they weren't enough to fool Chloe. Meanwhile, Clark received a warning from Kara and Lex opened the Veritas box... but what's that gizmo inside? Jason C. has the recap of "Sleeper!"

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Best birthday wishes to Tom Welling, who turns 31 tomorrow, April 26. We hope he has a great time celebrating with his wife and friends.

Tom is, of course, Clark Kent on Smallville, and we can’t think of another actor who could embody the future Man of Steel in quite the same way. Tom’s got it all: The chiseled looks, the killer body, the boy-next-door charm, and the determination that oozes out of every pore. We’ve loved watching him portray the man who will be Superman – the greatest hero the world will ever know.

Tom has taken Clark through a lot over the past seven seasons: He’s been a naïve country boy who moons over the girl next door and can’t tell anyone about his secret life; a high school student who wants to show off what he can do; a kid wanting to rebel against his family; a young man coming to terms with – and fighting against - his destiny; a guy who tries to balance doing the right thing with protecting the people he loves; and even a quasi-father-figure to Kara, the rebellious girl from Krypton. He’s lost his father, seen his best friend go into exile to protect his secret, found and lost and found and lost and found and lost some more the girl of his dreams, and started meeting the people we know will play a big role in the rest of his life as Superman. Through it all, Tom has been a thrill to watch.

What’s more, Tom has stepped behind the camera – he’ll be directing next week’s episode, “Apocalypse,” where we get to see what the world would be like if Kal El had never made it to earth.

We’re thrilled we’re going to see Tom-as-Clark for at least one more season. Happy birthday, Tom!

Posted by Sarah at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

With so many big stories in the works on Smallville -- Kara kidnapped! Lana incapacitated! Lex on the cusp of controlling Clark! -- you'd think any detour from the main plotlines would be frustrating. Surprise! We adored this week's Smallville, a Jimmy-centric story chock full of great quips, quick thinking, double crosses and a fair amount of action. Who know Wholesome Olsen had it in him?

We knew we were in for a treat when the episode opened with a ninja-like spy infiltrating some forbidden lair. After several Bond-worthy moves, our superspy revealed himself to be Jimmy Olsen. Poing!

Of course, there's an explanation:

Continue reading "Smallville: Spy Games" »

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Smallville returned last week and kicked things off with a murder! Lex killed Lionel -- and that was just the beginning. Jason C. has the recap!

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Smallville came back with a bang -- or rather, a sickening thud. When they start the episode off with a murder and things get even more tense from there, you know you've got a good hour of TV!

Poor Lionel -- he could be evil, he could be scheming, he could be completely crazy, but we have to admit we kind of loved him. Yeah, yeah, he destroyed his son's life and may or may not have been bent on taking over the world, but he was always interesting. We have to appreciate him for that. Rest in peace, Lionel!

Of course, the manner of his death was pretty nasty: tossed out of a skyscraper by his own son! That had to hurt, both on a literal and a metaphorical level.

But Lionel had the last laugh -- for a while, anyway.

Continue reading "Smallville: Welcome to the Dark Side" »

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An all-new Smallville is back tonight, and we're psyched. Jason C. catches us up on the drama of "Veritas" -- Lionel's unheeded warnings, Kara's sacrifice, and Brainiac's control of Lana. Get the recap!

Posted by Jackie at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're in shock after reading this news from TV Guide's Michael Ausiello: Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar will be leaving the series when this season ends.

The duo didn't give a reason for their departure, saying only "After much heartache and debate, we have decided it is time for us to move on." They also directly addressed the fans of the show: "To the fans who have stuck with us through the highs and the lows, know this — we never stopped fighting to make this show great. Thanks for watching."

What do you think this news means for season 8 of Smallville? Vote in our poll and talk about it in the comments!

Posted by Sarah at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

Lots of CW news broke this morning, so let's kick off the week with a fix of casting scoop!

First of all, Justin Hartley news! The Green Arrow will be making a move this fall -- Zap2it reports that Smallville's Justin Hartley is joining the cast of a new CW pilot, "Austin Golden Hour." The medical show differs from Grey's, House, and the rest because it's a real-time drama focusing on the 60 minutes immediately after an incident. While there's already a slew of medical dramas on TV, The CW has never offered anything in this genre before, so we have hopes that this'll be a little different. We would've liked to see a Green Arrow spinoff, but we'll take Justin in whatever form we can -- how about you?

In more CW casting news, Joanna Garcia (who played the dim but lovable Cheyenne on Reba) will join Michael Cassidy on "Filthy Rich Girls." Her new character will be a few rungs higher on the IQ ladder -- Garcia has nabbed the lead role, a Yale-educated gal who's tutoring a pair of spoiled Palm Beach siblings.

So what do you think of these casting developments? Are you excited to see Justin Hartley donning scrubs in the operating room, or will you miss him on Smallville? Reba fans, are you psyched for more Joanna Garcia? Let us know in the comments!

Posted by Jackie at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Smallville really ladled on the angst this week, didn't it? There was Clark's fear of flying, Kara's guilt and sacrifice, Lana's horrible fate, and Lionel losing it entirely as he tried to get Clark, Chloe, ANYONE to listen to him. No one ended this episode happy -- and it looks like things might get worse from here!

Of course, you can't really be surprised when the episode opens with a visit from Brainiac -- he's never good news for the residents of Smallville (or Metropolis). Brainiac wants Kara to come with him for some unspecified, but probably nefarious, reason. When she refuses, Brainiac vows she and Clark will rue the day. Uh-oh.

Kara wants to prepare for the inevitable confrontation with Brainiac by teaching Clark to fly. Ohhhhhhhkay, we sort of get where she's coming from, but we're more inclined to agree with Clark -- maybe we should concentrate on finding the fiendish computer first, and THEN worry about Clark's failure to become airborne.

Unfortunately, Brainiac tracks down Lana first. He scrambles her brain somehow, so she's got cloudy eyes and is completely under his control.

Continue reading "Smallville: Bring the Angst!" »

Posted by Sarah at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

We were on the edge of our seat watching last week's Smallville episode! Clark got Krypto-tazed, and Lana and Chloe set out to rescue him. Meanwhile, Kara, crashing at Lex's place, trusted him... big mistake. Get the recap from Jason C.!

Posted by Jackie at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Whoa! Now THAT was an action-packed episode of Smallville! Clark kidnapped, Lionel exposed, Dr. Swann’s daughter appearing, Lana and Chloe working together, Lex preparing to dig into Kara’s brain, and in impromptu field trip to the Fortress of Solitude thrown in for good measure. Not bad!

Clark learns there are weapons that can harm him – namely, Krypto-tasers. When he get hit with enough of those green glowing shock machines, he’s down for the count. Then he wakes up in a Kryptonite-reinforced cell, and his captor seems bent on making him suffer. What’s a Man of Steel to do?

Basically, he has to hope the women in his life figure out how to rescue him. Fortunately, he’s got quite a team on his side: Kara, Lana and Chloe. Only one problem: Kara still doesn’t have her memories or powers, she’s moved in with Lex, and she’s just about to let our favorite supervillain going poking through her cerebellum. Yipe!

Fortunately, the other two members of Clark’s Angels have that covered.

Continue reading "Smallville: Girl Power" »

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Pete Ross returned on last week's Smallville, and, with the help of some special gum, he stretched himself into some sticky situations. Fortunately, Clark swept in to save the day. Meanwhile, Chloe and Jimmy could be reuniting, and Lara asked to live with Lex (no!). Get Jason C.'s recap!

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Hooray! We got to see Pete again on Smallville! We’ve missed him. Apparently, he’s spent his time away from Smallville being a roadie for indie bands and developing some sort of chewing gum addiction. That’s the only explanation we can come up with for why he was so desperate for a piece of gum when we first saw him, and why someone who grew up in Meteor Central wouldn’t realize that chowing down on something green and glowing tends to have consequences.

But enough about that minor quibble. Pete’s ill-advised chew break gave him super-stretchy superpowers, which he used to rescue Kara from certain death. He immediately goes back to the Kent farm to show off to Clark -- and is surprised and more than a little hurt to find Lionel there. Pete decides it’s time for heroes to stop hiding in the shadows, and he’s determined to be the poster boy for the meteor-infected masses. He agrees to an interview with Jimmy, and he casually stretches his arms across the office to give Chloe a rose.

Continue reading "Smallville: Pete Ross Returns!" »

Posted by Sarah at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally, Smallville is back with new episodes starting tonight! Remember the last new episode? Clark took a disturbing journey through Lex's mind and met his inner child. It's been awhile, so get caught up with Jason C.'s recap!

Plus, flash back even further to "Persona" (Bizarro and Lana are being schmoopy!) with another Jason C. recap!

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