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Smallville season 8

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Smallville
Season 8
DVD and Blu-ray cover
Starring
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkThe CW
Original releaseSeptember 18, 2008 (2008-09-18) –
May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of episodes

The eighth season of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 18, 2008. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The eighth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2009,[1] marking the third season to air on The CW television network. Regular cast members during season eight include Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, along with new series regulars Cassidy Freeman, Sam Witwer, and Justin Hartley.

This season focuses on Clark Kent as he starts his job at the Daily Planet, begins to accept more of his destiny as Earth's hero, and develops romantic feelings for Lois Lane. While Lex Luthor is presumed dead, and Lana Lang has left Smallville for good, Clark also meets new characters Davis Bloome, Smallville's interpretation of Doomsday, as well as the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer. In other storylines, Clark and Oliver Queen clash over how to handle Lex when he resurfaces, while Chloe Sullivan and Jimmy Olsen take their relationship to the next level. In addition, this season sees the appearance of more DC Comics characters, including recurring appearances from Plastique and members of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Following the end of season seven, it was announced that series regulars Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum, who had been with the show since the first episode, would not return as regulars for the eighth season, though Kreuk did return as a recurring guest to conclude her story.[2][3] Laura Vandervoort and John Glover departed the series alongside Kreuk and Rosenbaum; Glover was killed off in season seven's "Descent", while Vandervoort was written out of the series after one season but made one guest appearance in this season.[4] Show creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar also departed the series, allowing Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer to continue as executive producers. This allowed the show to "reinvigorate" itself by introducing new characters and storylines, as well as developing Clark's understanding of his destiny.[5]

Averaging 3.74 million viewers per episode, the season out-ranked other high-profile shows on the network, such as Reaper and Gossip Girl.[6] It also received an Emmy Award nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category.[7]

Episodes

See also: List of Smallville episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1531"Odyssey"Kevin G. FairStory by : Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders
Teleplay by : Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer		September 18, 2008 (2008-09-18)3T74514.34[8]
1542"Plastique"Rick RosenthalDon Whitehead & Holly HendersonSeptember 25, 2008 (2008-09-25)3T74524.18[9]
1553"Toxic"Mairzee AlmasCaroline DriesOctober 2, 2008 (2008-10-02)3T74534.11[10]
1564"Instinct"James ConwayAl Septien & Turi MeyerOctober 9, 2008 (2008-10-09)3T74544.05[11]
1575"Committed"Glen WinterBryan Q. MillerOctober 16, 2008 (2008-10-16)3T74554.18[12]
1586"Prey"Michael RohlKelly Souders & Brian PetersonOctober 23, 2008 (2008-10-23)3774564.15[13]
1597"Identity"Mairzee AlmasTodd Slavkin & Darren SwimmerOctober 30, 2008 (2008-10-30)3T74574.32[14]
1608"Bloodline"Michael RohlCaroline DriesNovember 6, 2008 (2008-11-06)3T74594.45[15]
1619"Abyss"Kevin G. FairDon Whitehead & Holly HendersonNovember 13, 2008 (2008-11-13)3T74583.55[16]
16210"Bride"Jeannot SzwarcAl Septien & Turi MeyerNovember 20, 2008 (2008-11-20)3T74604.18[17]
16311"Legion"Glen WinterGeoff JohnsJanuary 15, 2009 (2009-01-15)3T74614.29[18]
16412"Bulletproof"Morgan BeggsBryan MillerJanuary 22, 2009 (2009-01-22)3T74623.85[19]
16513"Power"Allison MackTodd Slavkin & Darren SwimmerJanuary 29, 2009 (2009-01-29)3T74634.21[20]
16614"Requiem"Michael RohlDon Whitehead & Holly HendersonFebruary 5, 2009 (2009-02-05)3T74643.93[21]
16715"Infamous"Glen WinterCaroline DriesMarch 12, 2009 (2009-03-12)3T74653.56[22]
16816"Turbulence"Kevin G. FairAl Septien & Turi MeyerMarch 19, 2009 (2009-03-19)3T74663.49[23]
16917"Hex"Mairzee AlmasBryan MillerMarch 26, 2009 (2009-03-26)3T74673.79[24]
17018"Eternal"James MarshallBrian Peterson & Kelly SoudersApril 2, 2009 (2009-04-02)3T74683.84[25]
17119"Stiletto"Kevin G. FairCaroline DriesApril 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)3T74693.10[26]
17220"Beast"Michael RohlGenevieve SparlingApril 30, 2009 (2009-04-30)3T74703.23[27]
17321"Injustice"Tom WellingAl Septien & Turi MeyerMay 7, 2009 (2009-05-07)3T74713.39[28]
17422"Doomsday"James MarshallBrian Peterson & Kelly SoudersMay 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)3T74723.13[29]

Production

Writing

Executive producer Kelly Souders explained that the loss of show creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, as well as series regulars Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk at the end of the seventh season, forced the creative team to look at the show from a new angle. As Souders explained, it allowed the writers to work with "blank slates", and come up with ways to "reinvigorate and reinvent the show".[5] Executive producer Darren Swimmer explained that this season features Chloe's powers manifesting in a way that they have not previously been seen. He went on to express that the theme of season eight is "double identity"; specifically, Swimmer explained that Clark would begin to understand that he is going to have to live a double life, or he will never be able to continue forward with his destiny. Season eight is about Clark moving forward to his destiny in a way that the show has never attempted before.[30] Swimmer further explained that Clark is acting more with his superpowers, whereas previously he would "react" to the situation; "he's going to seek out trouble". Clark joined the Daily Planet to help his cause, using the Planet as a means to get information about where there is trouble. Clark's heroic actions put him in Jimmy's sights, who starts connecting things to Clark; this helped fuel Clark's decision to develop a "secret identity".[31] Another reason for Clark's decision to develop a secret identity will be the stark contrast between saving people in the secluded streets of Smallville, and saving people in the crowded streets of Metropolis.[32] While working at the Daily Planet, Clark was paired up with Lois on various assignments. Lois Lane actress Erica Durance explained the episodes focused more on her character than they have been in the past, and that Lois and Clark are both rivals and supportive partners to each other. Durance also revealed that Lois begins to realize her true romantic feelings for Clark, but that she does not want him to know the truth because she does not know what she wants to do with those feelings. Season eight explored these romantic notions between the two characters.[33] Jeph Loeb added at the time that season eight explores more of the DC Comics mythology, and introduces new characters, as well as expanding on already existing ones in Smallville continuity.[34] Peterson also revealed that there was a chance that the show would break the "No flights, no tights" rule, at least in regard to the flying part of the rule.[32]

With Justin Hartley added as a series regular, Smallville explored more of his backstory, including why he chose to become Green Arrow, how he accomplished it, and how he became good at archery. This season also explored more of the friendship between Oliver Queen and Clark. Oliver would be broken down emotionally—questioning whether he made the right choice to sacrifice all for the sake of being Green Arrow—and that causes him to "butt heads" with Clark, who is beginning to embrace his destiny.[35] Allison Mack's character, Chloe Sullivan, has more romantic interests in this season. Not only would the character still have Jimmy Olsen, but there is still the question of her romantic interest in Clark, as well as a new interest in the character of Davis Bloome. Mack's character would also be picking up the Isis Foundation, a counseling center for people infected by kryptonite, that Lana founded before she left Smallville. Mack explained that Chloe was forging her own destiny in this season, and letting Clark learn to deal with problems on his own—previous seasons saw Clark relying heavily on Chloe to help solve the crime.[36]

Characters

Brian Wayne Peterson and Todd Slavkin revealed that they planned to introduce more DC Comics characters into Smallville this season. Among those appearing were Plastique and Maxima, the latter coming to Smallville to try to mate with Clark.[37] This version of Maxima had the ability to make herself irresistible to men, including Clark, whom she set her sights on; actress Charlotte Sullivan was cast as Maxima.[31] Smallville also introduced the futuristic heroes from the Legion of Super-Heroes. Comic book scribe Geoff Johns wrote the episode that featured the Legion of Super-Heroes, and suggested that people familiar with the Legion would recognize them when they appeared on the show, as they had some of the quintessential elements of their comic book counterparts.[38] Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad appeared in this episode.[31] In the seventeenth episode, "Hex", Smallville puts its spin on the DC character Zatanna. Portrayed by Serinda Swan, Zatanna is a magician who comes to town and grants Chloe a birthday wish that results in Chloe's body transforming into Lois.[39] In an interview, writer Bryan Q. Miller explained that he read through archived comics featuring the Zatanna character, but was more influenced by Grant Morrison's writing turn on Seven Soldiers, as well as the television episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited that Zatanna made appearances on.[40] Swan won the role of Zatanna after "acing" her audition thanks to the actress recording Zatanna's spells into her iPod and studying them in reverse—to cast a spell Zatanna recites the words in reverse.[41]

There are two new characters added to the show as series regulars, Tess Mercer and Davis Bloome. The name "Tess Mercer" is a homage to two characters from Superman lore, Eve Teschmacher and Mercy Graves.[42] As Freeman described her character, Tess Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun" and intelligent. Tess Mercer's primary goal for this season was finding Lex, which drew her inquisitively to Clark, who she believed would be able to help her.[43] Darren Swimmer revealed that Tess develops a romantic interest in Clark as well.[31] Davis Bloome would actually be Smallville's interpretation of Doomsday, the only character to have succeeded at killing Superman. In Smallville, Doomsday was represented by a "nice guy" paramedic, who grew up moving from foster home to foster home. His storyline was very dark in that the character would uncover horrible truths about himself. Witwer explained that over the course of the season, his character would come to resemble that of the comic book counterpart he is based on.[44] Brian Peterson explained that the new executive producers were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", with Michael Rosenbaum's departure, and Doomsday fit what they were looking for.[5]

Reception

Season eight finished 152 out of the 190 shows ranked in the Nielsen ratings, averaging 3.74 million viewers a week.[6] Smallville's eighth season received an Emmy Award nomination in the Sound Editing for a Series category.[7] In the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Tom Welling received the award for Choice TV Actor – Action Adventure.[45]

The season eight DVD box set was officially released on August 25, 2009,[46] and sold approximately 183,000 units in its first week; it generated an estimated $6.7 million. Comparatively, the DVD revenue decreased from the previous year, with the season seven box set having sold over 212,000 units and generating an estimated $8 million during its first week. Regardless, it was enough for Smallville to earn second place in most units sold during the ending week of August 30, 2009, just behind the season five boxset of House which sold approximately 223,000 units. Even though House sold more units, Smallville's $6.7 million in revenue was more than House's $6.0 million, making it the top money earner for the week.[47] In its second week, the eighth season only sold 55,000 units, and earning more than $2 million.[48] The third week of release saw another dip in sales, with the season eight boxset only selling 30,000 units. At the same time, the end of week three brought the season eight sales past the $10 million mark.[49]

Home media release

The complete eighth season of Smallville was released on August 25, 2009 in North America in both DVD and Blu-ray format.[50][51] The DVD and Blu-ray box set were also released in region 2 and region 4 on October 12, 2009 and March 31, 2010, respectively.[52][53][54][55] The box set included various special features, including episode commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurettes titled "Smallville's Doomsday: The Making of a Monster" and "In the Director's Chair: Behind the Lens and Calling the Shots with Allison Mack".[56]

References

  1. ^ "Smallville Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  2. ^ Rob Salem (April 24, 2008). "Shaking things up in Smallville". The Star. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  3. ^ Kristin Dos Santos (May 1, 2008). "Breaking: Michael Rosenbaum Has Left Smallville". Eonline. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  4. ^ Matt Webb Mitovich (May 16, 2008). "Smallville Exclusive: Kara's Future Is Up, Up in the Air". TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson (part 1)". Kryptonsite. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  7. ^ a b EOL Staff (July 16, 2009). "Complete List of Emmy Nominations". E! Online. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  8. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 23, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, September 15–21". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Gorman, Bill (September 30, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, September 22–28". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  10. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 14, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, October 6–12". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  11. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 7, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, September 29 – October 5". Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  12. ^ Gorman, Bill (October 21, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, October 13–19". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  13. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 29, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, October 20–26". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  14. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 4, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, October 27 – November 2". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  15. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 11, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, November 3–9". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  16. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 18, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, November 10–16, 2008". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  17. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 25, 2008). "Top CW Primetime Shows, November 17–23". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  18. ^ Seidman, Robert (January 21, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, January 12–18". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  19. ^ Seidman, Robert (January 27, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, January 19–25, 2009". TV by the Number. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  20. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 3, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, January 26 – February 1, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  21. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 10, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, February 2–8, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
  22. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 17, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, March 9–15, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  23. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 24, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, March 16–22, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  24. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 31, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, March 23–29, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  25. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 7, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, March 30 – April 5, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  26. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 2, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, April 20–26, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  27. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 6, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, April 27 – May 3, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  28. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 12, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, May 4–10, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  29. ^ Seidman, Robert (May 19, 2009). "Top CW Primetime Shows, May 11–17, 2009". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  30. ^ "Smallville Scoop, Part 1: Chloe's Challenges and More!". TV Guide. July 21, 2008. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  31. ^ a b c d Kristin Dos Santos (August 27, 2008). "Smallville: What's in Store for Season Eight?". TV Guide. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
  32. ^ a b Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson (part 2)". Kryptonsite. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  33. ^ "Big Smallville Scoop from Erica Durance: Part 1". TV Guide. September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
  34. ^ Eduardo Vasconcellos (July 27, 2008). "SDCC 08: Smallville Q&A: The cast and crew unveil a few tidbits on the upcoming season". IGN. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  35. ^ Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with Justin Hartley". Kryptonsite. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  36. ^ Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with Allison Mack". Kryptonsite. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  37. ^ "Smallville Preview: Will Lana Rock Clark's World?". TV Guide. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  38. ^ Vaneta Rogers (July 27, 2008). "SDCC '08 – Geoff Johns Brings the Legion to 'Smallville'". Newsarama. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  39. ^ Matt Mitovich (January 21, 2009). "Exclusive: Who Will Make Magic as Smallville's Zatanna?". TV Guide. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  40. ^ Craig Byrne (June 30, 2009). "KryptonSite Interview: Bryan Q. Miller Talks About His Comic Book Work & More". Kryptonsite. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  41. ^ Matt Webb Mitovich (November 6, 2009). "Zatanna Casts Another Spell on Smallville". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 9, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  42. ^ "Catwoman 2, Punisher: War Zone, Transformers 2: July 30 Comic Reel". Comic Book Resources. July 30, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  43. ^ Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with Cassidy Freeman". Kryptonsite. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  44. ^ Craig Byrne. "Roundtable interview with Sam Witwer". Kryptonsite. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  45. ^ "2009 Teen Choice Awards, Nominees, Winners, TV Schedule". ChiFF.com. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
  46. ^ David Lambert (June 3, 2009). "DVD & Blu-ray Official 8th Season Announcement: Extras, 3D Box Art & August Date". TVShowsOnDVD. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  47. ^ Robert Seidman (September 9, 2009). "Heavy rotation on USA Network helping NCIS & House DVD Sales?". TVByTheNumbers.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  48. ^ Robert Seidman (September 14, 2009). "Heroes leads TV Show DVD Sales, Supernatural strong for week ending 9/6". TVByTheNumbers.com. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  49. ^ Robert Seidman (September 21, 2009). "The Office dominates TV Show DVD sales, Fringe a distant second for the week ending 9/13/09". TVByTheNumbers.com. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  50. ^ David Lambert (June 3, 2009). "DVD & Blu-ray Official 8th Season Announcement: Extras, 3D Box Art & August Date". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  51. ^ "Smallville — The Complete Eighth Season — Blu-ray". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  52. ^ "DVD Official 8th Season (Region 2)". Amazon.uk. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  53. ^ "Smallville — The Complete 8th Season (6 Disc Set)". EzyDVD. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  54. ^ "Smallville — The Complete Eighth Season [Blu-ray] (2009)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  55. ^ "Smallville — The Complete 8th Season (4 Disc Set) (Blu-ray)". ezydvd. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  56. ^ Details from the back of the DVD box set.
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