Smallville

Smallville Premiered 17 Years Ago Today

KryptonSite celebrates 17 years of Smallvlle.

Published

7 years ago

October 16, 2018

Craig Byrne

Just think… in one year, Smallville will be old enough to vote.

On October 16, 2001, the WB Network premiered the first episode of their “young Clark Kent before he was Superman” drama Smallville. The series was extremely well-timed; the Americana seen within plus the desire to see good in the world were strong with the horrors of 9/11 on the previous month. Creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar created a world and new additions to the Superman mythos — the meteor shower, Lionel Luthor, and Chloe Sullivan didn’t exist before they worked their magic.

Some may look back at the early “Freak of the Week” stories as formulaic; in retrospect, they were rather brilliant. Every week, a new audience member could tune in to Smallville and be able to follow it. Even when early Smallville added serialized elements it seemed to work. That first season is still a favorite to this writer.

Smallville introduced the world to Tom Welling, an actor who still has legions of fans who come to see him at conventions. Sure, he appeared on Judging Amy, but this was his first leading role. Michael Rosenbaum, who now hosts a successful “Inside of You” podcast show, brought us a Lex Luthor that shows us that comedians can often do the best and most layered dramatic work. Kristin Kreuk, who now stars in the drama Burden of Truth, infused Lana with a heart and beauty that was unmatched. Allison Mack’s Chloe, a new character for the show, was the audience’s key into that world; I can’t even count the number of Smallville fans I have met who were also editors of their high school newspapers. Sam Jones III’s Pete was the best friend you’d want when you needed a good product placement. And poor Whitney — Eric Johnson was so good, but as The Guy Who Got In The Way Of Clana, he didn’t stand a chance — fans never did forgive him for what he did to Clark in the series premiere.

And then there were the parents. How lucky were they to get John Schneider and Annette O’Toole to play the Kents? Schneider as Jonathan portrayed good values and an ability to teach Clark about right and wrong and being careful. Annette’s Martha was full of caring and love, and her best moments came when anyone would visit the Kents at their farm. And finally – Lionel Luthor, that magnificent bastard, played masterfully by John Glover. “Luthors aren’t afraid, indeed.”

In a time before shows like The Flash filled themselves with Easter eggs, Smallville did it first, referencing Oliver Queen’s family in one of the show’s first shots ever. With that said, they didn’t dip into the DC Comics well for guest heroes until Season 4’s “Run” where Kyle Gallner played the flashy Bart Allen a.k.a. Impulse. By series’ end, Hawkman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and even the Justice Society would appear on the series. When The CW seemed uninterested in genre programming when Dawn Ostroff was on the helm, attempts seemed to be made to kill the show by putting it in undesirable time slots… and it still thrived. The show ultimately lasted ten seasons, by far one of the most successful series in Warner Bros. TV history.

So….. let’s wish a Happy Birthday to the leafy little hamlet that started it all, shall we? Here’s to Smallville. Without you this website wouldn’t even exist!

Come break out your old KryptonSite Forum accounts and post your favorite memories here!

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1 Comment

Jordan Valdes

October 16, 2018 at 1:51 pm

Perfect choice for the header image ! Clana forever !!! Super retrospective on the show for its 17th birthday, Craig ! Happy birthday to the greatest series of all-time !

I will always defend the “Freak of the Week” formula of the first four seasons! Many “Freak of the Week” episodes feel like just “classic Smallville” to me! It’s during that era of the show that I fell in love with it (I fell in love with it right from the pilot, which remains my second-favorite episode of the whole series)! There’s such a charm to the “Freak of the Week” format in my opinion!

I’m totally with you on the cast! The entire cast is super, and Kristin and Michael are my two all-time favorite actors !

Reply

Smallville

Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville Animated, Favorite Lexes & More

Michael Rosenbaum spoke with Bleeding Cool about his version of Lex Luthor on Smallville and offers a Smallville animated update

Published

7 days ago

November 28, 2025

Craig Byrne

Michael Rosenbaum recently spoke with the Bleeding Cool website about a number of topics, including the much-asked-about Smallville animated project. Unfortunately, the latest seems to be no update on what we’ve heard before.

“I would say the Smallville animated series that I created, and we have Al and Miles, creators of Smallville, who are in, and Tom Welling. We want to do it, and it’s just got to be the right timing. Right now, I’m not sure it is, but we’ll see. I think it will happen at some point, but I don’t know when. I wish I had an oracle, but I hope it comes to fruition,” Michael told them.

Rosenbaum also discussed the things that really made his Lex Luthor work.

“Ultimately, if you don’t know anything about the character’s past or don’t know why he became evil, then to me, you’re missing the special sauce and the ingredients. That’s what is most important to me. I knew I was playing a character, we were going to delve into his past, his childhood, his relationship with his father, and with other people. We saw him evolve, and I thought that’s what was interesting,” he said. “I thought the creators (behind Smallville, Al (Gough) and Miles (Millar) did a terrific job, and that’s why people liked what I did, because I had the opportunity to be likable, lovable, and be understood, and then I turned. You know why I did, and to me, that’s the best villain. When you see different layers, that’s all I’ll say about that. There have been some great actors to play Lex, but I think that’s the most important thing to me, and I had the luxury of having years to develop and become the ultimate villain,” he continued.

As for his favorite Lex Luthor actors?

Michael’s favorite is Gene Hackman “because of the nostalgia,” and he loves Nicholas Hoult’s take on the character from James Gunn’s 2025 Superman film. He also had fond things to say about Michael Cudlitz and Jon Cryer.

You can read the full Bleeding Cool interview here.

Smallville

Salute to Smallville 2026 Adds Erica Durance & Laura Vandervoort

Erica Durance and Laura Vandervoort will be attending the 2026 Salute to Smallville convention in Nashville.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 20, 2025

Craig Byrne

The 2026 Salute to Smallville convention celebrating the 25th anniversary of Smallville is happening in Nashville on November 6 & 7, and while that time is a little less than a year away, Creation Entertainment is already adding more guests!

Previously, the convention announced Tom Welling (Clark Kent), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), Eric Johnson (Whitney Fordman), and Adrianne Palicki (Lindsay Harrison/”Kara” from “Covenant”) – today, they are announcing two of Smallville’s most popular actors to the roster. Who, you ask?

The first of the two guests joined Smallville in Season 4. Originally set for only four episodes, she was so well liked and did such a great job in the role that she kept coming back… and coming back… and ultimately, the show was able to give us the actual Lois Lane that we all deserved, finally allowing Clark and Lois to be romantic on the show. We are talking, of course, about Erica Durance!

Next up is our favorite Supergirl, with no offense to others who have played the role. Yes, actor and award-winning director Laura Vandervoort is coming too! Laura was busy getting married at the time of the second Salute, and it’ll be great to see her again.

DISCLAIMER: KryptonSite webmaster and Salute to Smallville co-emcee Craig Byrne who wrote this article also is an employee of Creation Entertainment. But trust that means that I know full well how great we plan on making it!

Smallville

Salute to Smallville 2026 Gold Passes Are Now Available!

Creation Entertainment has announced their 2026 Salute to Smallville in Nashville, Tennessee!

Published

1 month ago

October 24, 2025

Craig Byrne

The event itself may be a year away – happening November 7-8, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee – but that hasn’t stopped Creation Entertainment from formally announcing the launch of their third Salute to Smallville convention! This one will be a very special one as it will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show, which premiered October 16, 2001 on The WB television network.

Tom Welling (Clark), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex), Eric Johnson (Whitney), and Adrianne Palicki (Lindsay Harrison/”Kara” from “Covenant”) are already confirmed, and if one of your favorites is not yet announced, do not worry – this is just the beginning!

Creation has put their highest-tier Gold Passes up for sale so if you want one of the really good seats, right in the front — now is your chance to reserve your ticket! As I just said, this is going to be quite a big deal as we’ll be celebrating the anniversary! (Also, early sales will show Creation that Smallville fans mean business!)

There’s also a whole website up for the event where you can read more about it – be sure to sign up for the e-mail list to be among the first to know about new additions!

DISCLAIMER: KryptonSite webmaster Craig Byrne (that’s me!) has been the co-MC for the first two years of the event and is currently an employee of Creation Entertainment, having even designed their latest Smallville site.