Hee. I didn't expect my Lex fix to come from Whedonesque, but its always appreciated! Very nice interview, good to see they enjoyed working together so much. So James is definitly coming back to SV then?

Grrr. Supressing deep bitterness at writers for certain lightswitched characters and general crappy writing. Joss! take over Smallville! please save it!

[ edited by ladysorcha on 2006-01-12 15:03 ]

ladysorcha | January 12, 17:02 CET

Who cares if "Smallville" sucks? (And, indeed, it does.) Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" will be knocking us all on our asses and leaving huge smiles plastered to our faces in only a few months.

rbt | January 12, 17:05 CET

I've put a spoiler tag on as there are details about tonight's episode.

Simon | January 12, 17:10 CET

Im looking forward to Superman Returns as well :) should be brilliant. But I care that Smallville sux. I don't like the wasted potential.

ladysorcha | January 12, 17:13 CET

Yeah that's what annoys me too. It could have been something great. Mentioned in the same breath as Lost, Veronica Mars, Buffy and Two Men and a Half Men Angel. But instead of developing the Superman story (which is one of the most fantastic mythologies to come out of America), the show's creators dropped the ball and a WB teen drama was born.

Though I will say Lex and his dad are the best things in it.

Simon | January 12, 17:19 CET

I don't know what annoys me about "Smallville" more...

The fact that they blaspheme the "Superman" mythology to offer up generic teen angst, or that they've cribbed from "Buffy" so much over the years (badly, by the way) that Joss should be entitled to a cut of the show's profits.

And, no, giving Marsters a job does not get you brownie points.

rbt | January 12, 17:28 CET

*Screeching back on topic*

What a lovely interview. MR sounds like a total sweetheart. And hey, yet another co-star with much JM love. I do believe JM rocks. :0)

exoticmushroom | January 12, 17:53 CET

Giving Marsters a job gets you many brownie points from me ;-)

Giving him a job in a cool show that people like to turn their noses up at gets you more :-)

MR seems like a good sort, as well from being the major talent on the show. Good that he can amp it up with JM. Amped up Lex is a good thing.

JM always seems to bring out the best in anyone he shares a scene with. I noticed in the Macbeth DVD, the actor he was with was much better with him than in her solo parts, IMO.

vanity | January 12, 18:05 CET

Good interview. I watched some special where the cast were interviewed by Brooke Burke (or Burns or whatever). Rosenbaum and Alison Mack (who plays Chloe) were the only two who seemed to have anything about them as far as actual charisma or wit. No offence to the fans (of whom I sort of am one) but Tom Welling and Kristen Kreuk seemed pretty bland (or should that be pretty, bland ;).

'Smallville' is a great idea which unfortunately veers wildly from absolutely appalling throw-your-TV-out-the-window rubbish (e.g. the Steven DeKnight vampire episode or 'Spell' from season 4) to fairly well realised super-hero TV (pretty much any of the mythology episodes). Funnily enough, the episode mentioned here 'Lexmas' somehow managed to combine the two in the same hour with Lex's ghost of Christmas future thread being dark and ambiguous and sort of poignant and Clarke/Chloe's portion being pretty daft and pointless.

Agree tho' that Lex and his father are easily the most interesting characters (and the best actors, guest spots aside) on the show.

Saje | January 12, 18:06 CET

Rosenbaum is a special special talent, and indeed so is Marsters. I can't wait to see the sparks fly when I check it out.

Oh and people are way harsh on Smallville. Maybe it's not great but it's entertaining enough. Just because it isn't fit to lick Buffy's boots doesn't mean it is't fun to watch

[ edited by Andy Dufresne on 2006-01-12 16:12 ]

Andy Dufresne | January 12, 18:12 CET

Couldn't agree more. I actually haven't watched any of this years episodes... Though I did catch one little clip with JM at the end of the episode set in Superman's Fortress of Solitude just because I wanted to see him.

I want to like Lois Lane... and in a way I do. But they could do so much more with her!

lyrabelacqua | January 12, 18:14 CET

We learn he'll be back on Smallville? I thought we already knew he'd be back. After all, James told us he was going to do a total of 10 episodes and that he'd come back to film the rest of them after Shadow Puppets.

I'm glad MR enjoyed working with JM. It seems everyone who works with him loves him.

killinj | January 12, 18:15 CET

Nice interview. MR is a great actor and it's always good to see James get the chance to play against actors who are in the same league as him. I also love the way that wherever James goes praise from cast and crew is sure to follow!

By the way , I like Smallville. So there ner!

debw | January 12, 18:24 CET

I've given Smallville a couple of tries at the urging of many here and I just can't take it seriously. JM and MR are great as expected, but I can't say so much for the rest. I guess that I just see it as wasted potential as well.

zeitgeist | January 12, 18:39 CET

spikeylover said we learn when he'll be back on Smallville (if only in a vague process of elimination kind of way).

I'd only seen little bits of Smallville before and was unimpressed. This season I got on board to watch James Marsters, and I am finding the show is good enough to hold my attention. It's no Buffy (and the vampire episode was a stark reminder of that, what a terrible idea) but no show can be (well, maybe Veronica Mars ;-) ).

Anyway, I think Tom Welling is actually pretty good (if he wasn't, it would really stick out like a sore thumb). Maybe he doesn't have a lot of range, but he holds his own having to act with everyone in the cast. Michael Rosenbaum is indeed very good (nice to see a happier side of him in Lexmas). Actually, I think the worst actor on the show is Annette O'Toole.

Oh, and Kristin Kreuk is soooooo purty... =)

jam2 | January 12, 18:43 CET

I like SV too, but with James added it is even more enjoyable.
I do think that MR and JG are perhaps the best actors on the show, save for James of course, but TW has definitly improved over the last years, and I like him more and more. Chloe is also very good,and I can actually take Lois. Lana, though, grates on my nerves.

Even if James does not become a regular on SV, I do hope he will be appreciated by the WB and gets a role in another show. It does make me happy to see that everyone who works with James seems to genuinely like him- a lot!

[ edited by zeitgeist on 2006-01-12 18:51 ]

kathylovesspike | January 12, 19:12 CET

I've found that being great eye candy is just as good a reason to watch TV as great emoting:)

Luckily for me, James is both :)

anindoorkitty | January 12, 19:32 CET

Anyway, I think Tom Welling is actually pretty good (if he wasn't, it would really stick out like a sore thumb).

I think some folks would argue he does.... :~P

BTW, do we know exactly when James will be back on? Not tonight, I'm assuming?

Rogue Slayer | January 12, 19:33 CET

I think TW gets the same sort of stick DB used to get. Limited facial expressions, not that good an actor. But I think it is as untrue about TW as it was about DB.

Angelus came along and DB blossomed. Over on Ats when he was way more than the lead's boyfriend he grew as an actor and the subtle comedy bits he did manage to sneak into Btvs episodes showed themselves more readily.

TW is playing a young Superman. It's a very established character, so he has a very limited amount of wiggle room in his portrayal. It's only when you see him in episodes like this season's Splinter (an excellent SDK episode) or the one a while back where he swapped bodies with Lionel Luthor that you get to see a glimpse of what he could do if given the chance.

Incidentally, in that body swap episode I was suprised that JG seemed to be a little lacking when beng Clark. It was of course my mistake, he wasn't lacking he was being Clark and that's when is hit me that the character is very restrictive for even the best actor on the show.

Can't wait to see how they bring JM back on the show. *Spoilers! Here kitty, kitty.*

exoticmushroom | January 12, 20:11 CET

I like the show, I watch it every week, and it irritates me to no end sometimes. I do think the Brianiac character was a nice addition, but for the most part he irritated me with how much he deviated from his comic book and cartoon counterparts.

I'm going to fall into the category of wasted potential. And I didn't like Chloe character until she found out Clark's secret. Now I love her. (I always thought she was damn pretty though.)

war_machine | January 12, 21:37 CET

My freind who's watched SV since it began refers to it as an "Etch-A-Sketch" show (i.e. Stuff happens, then next week, it's all forgotten). I only started watching this season for James, and have stuck with it because there was nothing better on to watch. But now that My Name is Earl is on opposite it, I'll have to rethink that.

Miss Edith | January 12, 22:13 CET

As I've said before, I like Smallville but do realize it has flaws, I feel it averages out as a pretty good series, there are some truely dire episodes, but there are also some fantastic ones. I do agree with the general opinion that Lex is the best character on the show, closely followed by Lionel and Chloe. I do like Lois, but that may just be because of the obvious attractions of Erica Durance (go on, judge me! like you're all any different!).

James was really good on the show, I look forward to his return.

Ghost Spike | January 12, 22:50 CET

One person says,

And another says,


This is such a good touchpoint for what's wrong with Smallville. You have a good writer, who has done good work on other shows (Buffy!), who can turn out good stuff (Splinter) and then later produce something appallingly terrible (the vampire episode). It makes me question how much agency the writers actually have on Smallville? Are there heavy, ill-advised editorial hands? Bad direction? What's going on here? And how does Drew Greenberg fit in?

Ever since I read that interview with Joss in which he said there were several (or one?) episode(s) of BtVS and AtS which he wrote entirely (or re-wrote after the writer messed up) but for which he gave himself no public writing credit at all, I've been really questioning how the TV writing process actually works. A certain writer or writers are listed in the credits, but how much of their actual work appears on the screen and how much is doctored, excised, and replaced?

chickenbird | January 12, 23:06 CET

Yeah, that's the thing, when Smallville is good it can be really good but when it's bad it can be just so horribly bad and sometimes that's all within just one episode. Still, I think the good is enough to keep me coming back for more. Also just as the Lois Lane character mixed things up and made season 4 so much better, James Marsters's Brainiac is a great character that has made season 5 that much more interesting.

Matt_Fabb | January 12, 23:40 CET

That's a good question chickenbird. Though I think Joss may be unusually gracious with his credits, it's still possible that producers etc. interfere on a fairly regular basis without us knowing. SDK is usually quite reliable and I agree that 'Splinter' was an excellent episode with the viewers POV gradually merging with Clarke's until towards the end we're as unsure as he is what's real and what isn't (it was also some of Tom Welling's best work in the series so far) so that 'Thirst' (the vampire one ) was a pretty jarring shock in comparison. Perhaps he's just not so good at comedy ? Or maybe someone with verrry bad story instincts is interfering before shooting (which must be pretty soul destroying for any writer). Either way, the show really suffers from the patchy quality and it's only cos i'm kind of a completist and for the mythology eps. that i've kept watching through some pretty drecky periods (also, the little snippets of John Williams score just make the hairs stand up and lend instant gravitas whenever they appear).

[ edited by Saje on 2006-01-12 21:59 ]

Saje | January 12, 23:48 CET

I've given Smallville a couple of tries at the urging of many here and I just can't take it seriously.

I didn't know we were supposed to take it seriously. That's probably why I've enjoyed watching it since season 1. ; -)

Ruadh | January 13, 00:44 CET

Ruadh - The suggestion last given to me was not to take it seriously at all, which made it no less entertaining or interesting to me. When I said "I just can't take it seriously" above, I meant as something to watch, not regarding attitude vis a vis subject matter. But, you knew that, right? ;)

zeitgeist | January 13, 00:50 CET

Tom Welling may not be in the same league as MR, JG, or JM, but I think he's a perfectly competent actor, and has shown a lot of growth over the seasons. I was impressed with him on the 'behind the scenes' interview. He was intelligent and well-spoken and seemed like a very nice, though serious, person. I think EM had an excellent point about even John Glover experiencing limitations playing the Clark Kent character. There just isn't that much to work with; for the most part, it's a very bland role. Welling, on the other hand, nailed the Lionel Luthor role and turned in a wonderful performance.

Loved the MR interview, and I'm thrilled we have some confirmation that Marsters will, indeed, return this season. I never watched SV until we had news James was going to guest star, but I ran out and bought the DVDs to catch myself up on the story, and was pleasantly surprised to find it a fun, likeable show. And I think 'likeable' is what I'm going to have to settle for, at least until James has a new show or Joss has a new TV offering;-)

[ edited by lynnie on 2006-01-12 23:43 ]

lynnie | January 13, 01:38 CET

Nicely said, lynnie! I do have to say that I don't think that Clark HAS to be a dull role, though the writers keep making it so, whether through fear of messing with an icon or through pressure from above.

zeitgeist | January 13, 01:45 CET

Thanks! As for CK not having to be written dull, I'm not so sure about that. I don't think there's a lot of room for darkness and ambiguity in Superman's personal journey, though, to be fair, the writers have tried with devices like Red K and other personality change eps. Not surprisingly, these are often the more interesting Clark episodes (to me, at least:) Lex and Lionel are so popular because -- besides the excellent casting -- there's leeway to explore all the darker aspects of the human psyche, which makes them so very interesting. Can't wait to see what's in store for the second half of the season, especially now we know we'll see Brainiac again.

lynnie | January 13, 03:47 CET