Smallville creators leaving the show !
By fred | April 3, 2008
If you like Smallville, you have to get yourself prepared for a pretty shitty last season. We already knew that Lex & Lana were not returning (as regular) next season, though a few appearances are planned, and now this : creators Alfred Gough & Miles Millar are leaving the show at the end of this season.
According to TV Guide that a pair of producing teams — Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, and Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer — have been named as new executive producers/showrunners.
Still, it’s not clear why they are leaving, but we can look at what they actually said and guess what’s not actually said but hidden behind the lines…
In their open letter, creators make sure to thank the fans, of course, and also everyone involved in the show, especially the original crew from WB. They also make sure to remind how they created a show that premiered wonderfully, being “the highest-rated premiere in the history of the WB“, that it went on to be “the longest-running comic book based series of all-time“, and that still today it is “the #1 scripted show on the network“.
In other words, they created a hit, no one did better, and they never stopped fighting for the show or compromised their vision. Sounds very much like there was some tension between them and the network, who apparently tried to push them into places they didn’t want to go.
It’s just a guess, but considering recent episodes that probably has NBC’s Ben Silverman jealous, being entirely devoted to some gum, or insisting heavily on the cars drove by the characters, it’s easy to guess they weren’t so happy with what the show was morphing into.
One could also think that they weren’t too happy with the direction the show seems to be heading to. When they created the show, they developed a “no tights, no flights” rule to ensure that Clark would not, at any point, fly or wear the suit. Technically the rule has already been broken, but one could argue that it was never “really” Clark, either he was possessed and it was Kal-El, or it was a dream, an alternate reality that didn’t actually happen (when he flew Lana to the Fortress).
But now it seems more than likely than it will “really” be broken next season, because with his cousin and a bunch of other characters flying all the time and pushing him there, it’s hard to believe Clark will remain grounded on the floor for another year.
Either way, next season of Smallville will obviously be the last, and it might be the worst of all, but in all fairness it’s not like the show didn’t suck already…
Here’s the creators open letter :
As the creators of Smallville we look back at 7 amazing years. We look back at 152 episodes. We look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us. After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on.
Over the last 7 years we have had the honor of working with a remarkable team of people here in Los Angeles and in Vancouver. We have been blessed with a wonderful cast who we have watched mature with admiration and affection. We have been rewarded with a fan base that is as loyal as it is vocal.
We are incredibly proud of our work on this show. We achieved what we set out to do. We never compromised our vision. We leave knowing that Smallville is the longest-running comic book based series of all-time. The show was featured on the covers of Rolling Stone, MAD magazine, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. The pilot had the highest-rated premiere in the history of the WB. Even in its seventh year it is still the #1 scripted show on the network. Smallville is watched by millions of people in hundreds of countries and in dozens of languages around the world.
The show’s success is a credit to a fantastically talented group of people. We wanted to take this chance to single some of them out:
Our writers — your work speaks for itself.
James, Jae, Rob, David — the backbone of our team in Vancouver.
Joe Davola, Chris and Shelly — remember those Friday night brainstorming sessions?
Len Goldstein and Steve Pearlman — thanks for believing we could do this. David Nutter — for giving the show your magic touch.
John Litvack — when the knives were out, you always had our backs.
Ken Horton — our Yoda.
Peter Roth — Smallville’s biggest fan.
Melinda, Michael R., Paul M., Susan and Suzanne — for steering us through 152 episodes.
Greg Beeman — your passion is an inspiration.
Jordan, David, Garth, Carolyn, Bob & Lew — and everyone at the much — missed WB.
Paul Levitz, Greg Noveck and the guys at DC Comics.
Lisa Lewis — our very own soccer mom/mafia accountant.
Michael Gendler — aka mega — counsel.
David Lubliner — we can finally focus on features now.
And last but in no way the least, Renee Kurtz — the smartest TV agent in town, we would be nowhere without you!Finally, 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.
Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
Posted in News
Shows: Smallville
