Smallville (Season 1)
From Iwe
| Smallville Season 1 | ||
| DVD box cover art | ||
| Country of origin | United States | |
| No. of episodes | 21 | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original channel | The WB | |
| Original run | October 16, 2001 – May 21, 2002 | |
| Season chronology | ||
| Next → Season 2 | ||
Season one of Smallville, an American television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to his developing superpowers in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The first season comprises 21 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 21, 2002. Regular cast members during season one include Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Annette O'Toole, John Schneider, Sam Jones III, Allison Mack, and Eric Johnson.
The season's stories focus on Martha and Jonathan Kent's (O'Toole and Schneider) attempts to help their adopted son Clark (Welling) cope with his alien origin and control his developing superhuman abilities. Clark must deal with the meteor-infected individuals that begin appearing in Smallville, his love for Lana Lang (Kreuk), and not being able to tell his two best friends, Pete Ross (Jones III) and Chloe Sullivan (Mack), about his abilities or his origins. Clark also befriends Lex Luthor (Rosenbaum) after saving Lex's life. The season also follows Lex, as he tries to assert his independence from his father, Lionel Luthor (John Glover).
The episodes were filmed primarily in Vancouver and post-production work took place in Los Angeles. Gough and Millar assisted the writing staff with week-to-week story development. "Villain of the week" storylines were predominant during the first season; physical effects, make-up effects, and computer generated imagery became important components as well. Limited filming schedules sometimes forced guest actors to perform physical stunts, and the series regulars were more than willing to do stunt work. Episode budgets ultimately became strictly regulated, as the show frequently ran over budget during the first half of the season. The pilot broke The WB's viewership record for a debut series, and was nominated for various awards. Although the villain of the week storylines became a concern for producers, critical reception was generally favorable, and the series was noted as having a promising start. The first season was released on DVD on September 23, 2003, and included various special features that focused on individual episodes and the series as a whole. It has also been released on home media in regions 2 and 4 in the international markets.
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
- See also: List of Smallville episodes
| No. | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. air date | Production Code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | David Nutter | Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | October 16, 2001 | 475165 | 8.4 |
| In October 1989, a meteor shower hits Smallville and with it arrives a little boy. The child is adopted by Martha and Jonathan Kent, and named Clark. Twelve years later, Clark struggles to understand his identity. After Clark saves Lex Luthor's life after Lex drives his Porsche off a bridge, the two become fast friends. After sharing an intimate moment with Lana Lang, Clark is forced into a school hazing ritual led by Lana's jealous boyfriend Whitney. Meanwhile, Jeremy Creek (Adrian Glynn), a teenage boy who was left in a coma after the first meteor shower, wakes up and sets out to get revenge on those that hurt him. Afterward, he prepares to do the same to the rest of the Smallville High students, but Clark arrives in time to stop him. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Metamorphosis" | Michael Watkins & Philip Sgriccia | Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | October 24, 2001 | 227601 | 7.3 |
| Greg Arkin (Chad Donella) gets into a car accident with his meteor rock-enhanced insects, which escape from their containers and begin stinging him. The resulting attack transforms him into a half man/half insect creature. Rapidly going through a metamorphosis, Greg kidnaps Lana so he can mate with her. After talking with Whitney, Clark realizes where Greg has taken Lana and leaves to rescue her. During the fight, Greg accidentally crushes himself under some mechanical equipment, resulting in a mass of insects flooding out from underneath. Before Clark can return to Lana, Whitney arrives and receives credit for her rescue. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Hothead | Greg Beeman | Greg Walker | October 31, 2001 | 227603 | 6.0 |
| A meteor rock infused sauna endows Coach Arnold (Dan Lauria) with pyrokinesis. After several football players are caught cheating, Chloe discovers that Coach Arnold assisted the players when they cheated. Coach Arnold asks Clark to join the football team, and Clark agrees against his father's wishes. Clark confronts Coach Arnold before his first game, after Arnold attempted to kill Chloe and another football player for exposing the truth about the cheating. The coach's fury gets the better of him as he engulfs himself in flames while battling Clark. | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "X-Ray | James Frawley | Mark Verheiden | November 7, 2001 | 227604 | 6.6 |
| Clark begins to develop X-ray vision when he is thrown through a window by Lex Luthor, who has just robbed the local bank. Clark accidentally x-rays "Lex's" body and discovers a green glow around his skeleton as Lex is running away. When it turns out someone was impersonating him, Lex is cleared of all charges. After gaining control over his X-ray vision, Clark discovers that Tina Greer (Lizzy Caplan), a young woman infected with meteor rock radiation, can morph into anyone she wants. He also learns that she robbed the bank when he X-rays her locker and sees the money from the bank. After a brief battle, Clark knocks Tina unconscious so the authorities can arrest her. Meanwhile, Lex hires Roger Nixon (Tom O'Brien), an Inquisitor reporter, to find out how he survived driving his Porsche off a bridge. | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Cool" | James A. Contner | Michael Green | November 14, 2001 | 227605 | 5.9 |
| During a party at Crater Lake, Sean Kelvin (Michael Coristine) falls into the frozen lake and emerges with an insatiable hunger for heat, thanks to the meteor rocks on the lake bottom. In an effort to stay warm, Sean sucks the heat from anyone he can. Sean goes after Chloe, but Clark is there to stop him. Clark finds Sean, who is headed to Luthor Mansion, but is left frozen when Sean sucks the heat from his body. Clark's body reheats itself, and he arrives at the mansion just as Sean is about to attack Martha, who came with Jonathan to discuss their financial troubles with Lex. During the fight, Clark throws Sean into a lake, which immediately freezes with Sean inside. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Hourglass" | Chris Long | Doris Egan | November 21, 2001 | 227606 | 6.4 |
| Clark meets an elderly, blind woman, named Cassandra Carver (Jackie Burroughs), who receives precognitive visions by touching someone. When she touches Clark both of them see Clark surrounded by the tombstones of everyone he loves. Lex visits Cassandra, after listening to Clark, and her vision of him entails blood raining from the sky. Harry Bollston (George Murdock) an elderly man at a nursing home, falls into a meteor rock filled pond, which reverses the aging process. Harry (Eric Christian Olsen) uses his new youth to get revenge on the children of the jury members that put him away for murder decades earlier, one of whom was Jonathan's father. Clark stops Harry before he can kill Martha, who happened to be home when Harry came looking for Jonathan. | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Craving" | Philip Sgriccia | Michael Green | November 28, 2001 | 227607 | 7.4 |
| Jodi Melville (Amy Adams) is tired of being overweight, so she creates her own diet, which consists of meteor rock-infected vegetables. The new diet causes her to shed weight faster than she can handle, which forces her to suck human fat to satisfy her hunger. When Pete arrives to pick her up for Lana's birthday party, her hunger gets the better of her, and she tries to feast on Pete. Chloe and Clark discover the truth about Jodi's weight loss, and Clark rushes to her house to save Pete. Clark stops Jodi from killing Pete, and gets her the help she needs to maintain a healthy weight; in the process, however, Clark misses Lana's birthday party, but makes it up to her by giving her his present: a makeshift drive-in theater complete with the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon High Diving Hare. Meanwhile, Lex becomes interested in the effects of meteor rocks, and funds a study on the green meteor fragments. | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Jitters" | Michael Watkins | Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld | December 11, 2001 | 227602 | 5.8 |
| LuthorCorp is experimenting with meteor rocks, and overexposure to the rocks has caused employee Earl Jenkins (Tony Todd) to develop violent seizures. During a field trip to the local LuthorCorp plant, Clark and his classmates are taken hostage by Earl, who wants into "Level 3" (a secret testing facility at the plant) so he can find a cure for himself. Clark discovers "Level 3" just as Lex trades himself for the hostages. Clark reveals "Level 3" to Earl and Lex, but Earl's seizures put all three in danger. Clark manages to keep them all alive, and Lex makes a public statement that LuthorCorp will find a cure for Earl's condition. | |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Rogue" | David Carson | Mark Verheiden | January 15, 2002 | 227608 | 5.8 |
| Sam Phelan (Cameron Dye), a corrupt Metropolis cop, witnesses Clark using his abilities and decides to blackmail Clark. When Clark double crosses him, Phelan frames Jonathan for murder, and forces Clark to help him steal a priceless Alexander the Great chest plate. Double crossing him again, Clark alerts the security to the heist. Phelan is gunned down after trying to shoot his way out of trouble, and the charges are dropped against Jonathan when Lex's lawyers arrive. Lex and an old flame, Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook), plot to take over their parents' corporations. | |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Shimmer" | D. J. Caruso | Mark Verheiden & Michael Green | January 29, 2002 | 227609 | 7.0 |
| Amy Palmer (Azura Skye) is obsessed with Lex. After discovering that Lex's roses release an invisibility fluid, someone attempts to make sure that Lex knows Victoria is wrong for him. Victoria is forced out of the house after almost being killed by an invisible assailant. Amy is blamed for the attack when a watch Lex's mother gave him turns up in her drawer, but it is her brother Jeff (Kett Turton) who is the attacker. Clark confronts Jeff in Lex's manor, and using some paint, keeps Jeff visible long enough to be arrested. | |||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Hug" | Chris Long | Doris Egan | February 5, 2002 | 227610 | 6.4 |
| Bob Rickman (Rick Peters) has the ability to bend others to his will, because of an incident with the meteor rocks years earlier. Rickman plans to put a new pesticide plant in Smallville, and he needs the Kent farm to do it. Using his ability, Rickman convinces Jonathan to sell the farm. Clark seeks out Kyle Tippet (Gregory Sporleder) for assistance, after learning that Kyle was with Rickman during the meteor shower. Rickman uses his ability to convince Lex to kill both Clark and Kyle. While Clark is battling Lex, Kyle, who has more control over the ability, forces Rickman to take his own life. | |||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Leech" | Greg Beeman | Timothy Schlattmann | February 12, 2002 | 227611 | 6.1 |
| During a class field trip, lightning strikes Clark and classmate Eric Summers (Shawn Ashmore) while Eric is holding a piece of meteor rock. Clark's powers are transferred to Eric, allowing Clark to finally live a normal life. Eric initially uses the powers for good, but soon begins abusing them. Clark decides to sacrifice the chance at a normal life so that Eric does not hurt anyone. Hoping Eric took his weakness along with his strength, Clark confronts Eric at an electrical generator, and uses the electricity, along with a meteor rock, to get his powers back. Meanwhile, Lex double crosses Victoria, who was planning to do the same to him, and has her father's company buy up a worthless research lab. The result allows LuthorCorp to buy the Hardwick company. | |||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Kinetic" | Robert Singer | Philip Levens | February 26, 2002 | 227612 | 6.2 |
| Three ex-jocks are using meteor rock-saturated tattoos to give themselves the ability to pass through solid objects. Using their ability, they begin robbing banks. Clark has a confrontation with the thieves and is unable to stop them because of his weakness to the meteor rocks. The thieves decide to recruit Whitney, who has recently begun hanging out with them after losing his football scholarship, but he has second thoughts. Clark helps Whitney and Lex, who is now being blackmailed, fight the thieves. With their powers growing weak from overuse of the serum, Clark is able to subdue them. | |||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Zero" | Michael Katleman | Teleplay by: Mark Verheiden Story by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | March 12, 2002 | 227613 | 6.9 |
| Lex's past comes back to haunt him, when Jude Royce (Corin Nemec), a man presumed to be dead, resurfaces after three years and kidnaps Lex. Jude tortures Lex in an attempt to get him to reveal the truth about the cover up of his death. Jude's ex-fiancée's brother is revealed to be the true orchestrater, having found someone who resembles Jude to assist him in his scheme. Angered over his sister's suicide, which he believes is Lex's fault, he wants Lex to pay for her death. Clark saves Lex, but he begins to worry about Lex's past. During a class project, Chloe discovers inconsistencies in Clark's adoption, and it puts strain on their friendship. | |||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Nicodemus" | James Marshall | Teleplay by: Michael Green Story by: Greg Walker | March 19, 2002 | 227614 | 6.7 |
| Dr. Steven Hamilton (Joe Morton) uses meteor rocks to resurrect a toxic flower, Nicodemus, which has been extinct for 100 years. If someone is sprayed by the flower's toxic mist, they lose all of their inhibitions, acting like they are intoxicated. Jonathan, Lana and Pete are all infected with the flower's toxins, and begin to act out of character. Clark prevents them all from harming themselves or someone else. After a while, the flower's toxins cause the three to fall into a coma. Lex, unhappy that Dr. Hamilton has spent his time resurrecting dangerous flowers, has a team of specialists create a cure for Jonathan, Lana and Pete. | |||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Stray" | Paul Shapiro | Philip Levens | April 16, 2002 | 227615 | 6.0 |
| Ryan James (Ryan Kelley), a young boy who can read minds, is forced to use his ability to help his stepparents rob stores. Ryan escapes his stepparents and is taken in by the Kents, who are unaware of his ability. Ryan immediately bonds with Clark, whom he sees as his personal superhero. Ryan's stepfather finds him in Smallville, and kidnaps him. He attempts to use Ryan's abilities to steal Lex's trust fund. Clark comes to Ryan's aid before his stepfather can kill him. Ryan's aunt is located and she agrees to take custody of him. | |||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Reaper" | Terrence O'Hara | Cameron Litvack | April 23, 2002 | 227616 | 5.5 |
| Tyler Randall (Reynaldo Rosales), while trying to assist the suicide of his ailing mother, accidentally falls out of a window, and a piece of meteor rock becomes embedded in his wrist as he dies. When the coroner removes the rock from his wrist, Tyler becomes reanimated. Now, whenever Tyler touches someone, or something, they instantly incinerate and die. Believing he is helping, Tyler tries easing the pain of Whitney's dying father. Clark arrives in time to stop him, and informs him that his mother is still alive. Thinking his mother could not accept who he had become, Tyler takes his own life. | |||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Drone" | Michael Katleman | Michael Green & Philip Levens | April 30, 2002 | 227617 | 5.7 |
| Class elections are being held, and Pete nominates Clark. Apprehensive at first, Clark soon takes to the idea. A rival candidate, Sasha Woodman (Shonda Farr), does not appreciate the competition and sends out swarms of bees to take care of the other competitors. Eventually, the bees become dissatisfied with Sasha's demands and turn on her. Lionel has a journalist write a scathing exposé on Lex, but Lex has the story dropped when he gets the journalist promoted to editor. Lana gets cutthroat with the Talon, and reports the rival coffee shop to the health board. | |||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Crush" | James Marshall | Philip Levens & Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | May 7, 2002 | 227618 | 6.4 |
| After a hit-and-run accident destroys his drawing hand, Justin Gaines (Adam Brody) is left with an unexpected gift of telekinesis. Justin uses his new gift to exact revenge on those who wronged him. Using Chloe to discover the identity of his hit and run driver, Justin sets out to kill the person who took his drawing hands. Justin kills Principal Kwan (Hiro Kanagawa), believing he was the driver who hit him, and turns on Chloe when she discovers what he has been doing. Clark knocks Justin unconscious before he can kill Chloe. Whitney's father, who has been battling heart problems, dies. | |||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Obscura" | Terrence O'Hara | Teleplay by: Mark Verheiden & Michael Green Story by: Greg Walker | May 14, 2002 | 227619 | 6.1 |
| An explosion near meteor rocks gives Lana the ability to see through another person's eyes. Lana watches through the stranger's eyes as they kidnap Chloe. Teaming with Clark, Lana uses her gift to help locate Chloe. The kidnapper turns out to be a cop looking for an easy promotion. Whitney finds some military medals his father earned, and takes it as a sign he should do something else with his life. Lex learns of a ship that crashed during the meteor shower, and discovers an octagonal disc made of an alloy not found on Earth. | |||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Tempest" | Greg Beeman | Teleplay by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar Story by: Philip Levens | May 21, 2002 | 227620 | 6.0 |
| Lionel Luthor closes the Smallville plant and blames it on his son for not turning out a large profit as instructed; Lex decides to initiate an employee buyout of the local plant to save everyone's jobs and forge his own future with LexCorp. Meanwhile, Whitney decides to join the Marines and leaves Smallville. Learning the truth about Clark, Roger Nixon attempts to expose Clark's secret to the world. As Lana drives home after dropping Whitney off at the bus station, three tornadoes touch down, forcing her off the road. When the news is announced at the school dance, Clark leaves the dance to make sure Lana is okay. Just as Lana is pulled into a tornado, Clark arrives and speeds in after her. | |||||||
