Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers
Alfred Gough and
Miles Millar, based on the
DC Comics character Superman created by
Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by
The WB, premiering on October 16, 2001.
[1] After its fifth season, The WB and
UPN merged to form
The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States.
[2] The longest-running
comic book based series in television history,
[3] Smallville began its ninth season on September 25, 2009,
[4] and was renewed for its tenth and final season on March 4, 2010.
[5] The series follows the adventures of
Clark Kent (
Tom Welling), who resides in the
fictional town of
Smallville,
Kansas, during the years before he becomes
Superman. The first four seasons focused on Clark and his friends' high school years. Since season five, the show has ventured into more adult settings, eventually focusing on his career at the
Daily Planet, as well as introducing other
DC comic book
superheroes and
villains.
The concept for
Smallville was derived after
a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming
Batman failed to get off the ground. After meeting with the president of
Warner Bros. Television, Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at the events that led Clark Kent to become Superman. After seven seasons with the show, series developers Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason.
Smallville is predominantly filmed in and around
Vancouver, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music is primarily composed by
Mark Snow, who incorporates elements of
John Williams's musical score from the original
Superman film series. The song played under the opening titles is "
Save Me" by
Remy Zero; several episodes also contain songs written and performed by other bands.
The series received generally positive reception when it began broadcasting. Former
Superman star
Christopher Reeve voiced his approval of the series, and the
pilot episode broke the record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers.
[6] With nine seasons completed,
Smallville has averaged approximately 4.47 million viewers per episode, with season two averaging the highest ratings at 6.3 million. Since its first season, the series has earned distinctions ranging from
Emmy Awards to
Teen Choice Awards.
Smallville has inspired an
Aquaman pilot, which was ultimately not picked up by The CW network, as well as promotional tie-ins with
Verizon,
Sprint,
Toyota, and
Stride. In other media, the show has spawned a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics bi-monthly comic book and soundtrack releases, as well as
Smallville-related merchandise. Currently, eight seasons of
Smallville are available on DVD in
regions 1, 2, and 4.
On May 19, 2010, it was announced that Smallville would end its record-breaking run after the series' tenth season
Season one sees the introduction of the regular cast, and storylines which regularly included a villain deriving a power from
kryptonite exposure; the one-episode villains were a plot device developed by Gough and Millar.
[9] The first season primarily dealt with Clark trying to come to terms with his alien origins, and the revelation that his arrival on Earth was connected to the deaths of Lana's parents.
[10] After the first season, the series used fewer villain-of-the-week episodes, focusing more on story arcs which affected each character and explore Clark's origins.
[11] Main story arcs include: Clark's discovery of his Kryptonian heritage;
[12] the disembodied voice of Clark's biological father
Jor-El is introduced, communicating to Clark via his space ship, setting the stage for plots involving the fulfillment of Clark's earthly
destiny;
[13] Clark seeking out three Kryptonian stones, at the instruction of Jor-El, which contain the knowledge of the universe and form his
Fortress of Solitude;
[14][15] Clark battling
Brainiac in his attempts to release the Kryptonian criminal
General Zod;
[16] other escaped
Phantom Zone criminals Clark must either capture or destroy;
[17] the arrival of Clark's biological cousin
Kara;
[18] and Lex finally discovering Clark's secret.
[19] The eighth season features storylines involving the introduction of Davis Bloome, who is
Smallville's interpretation of
Doomsday, and a woman named Tess Mercer to replace the exit of Lex Luthor from the series. Justin Hartley reprises his role as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, being upgraded to a series regular.
[20] With the ninth season, "Major" Zod (
Callum Blue), along with other members of Zod's military group, are revived by Tess Mercer, though without their Kryptonian powers. Their efforts to obtain those powers becomes the central conflict for the season's story arc.
Link to download :
Season 1 & 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6 & 7
Season 8
Season 9
