— SMALLVILLE, “Rogue” (1.09)

+ the relevant ‘TalkVille’ discussions

I could write an essay about Smallville’s Lex Luthor. His vulnerability, his desperate need to feel close to someone as good as Clark. The suave armour he wears because every time he lets someone get close, they hurt him. The way he tries so hard to be good, haunted by his dual nature. His dry sense of humour and fierce intelligence, used to tease and manipulate.

Instead I want to ask why?! Why did Michael Rosenbaum choose to play him so sexy?! The swagger in his walk, his wry smirk, the confidence when he speaks, his fitted designer wardrobe.

I feel like at some point, a very deliberate choice was made to portray Lex as a slutty, slutty man and I’m here for it.

Devote a Talkville episode to that please.

Moonlighting, Pretty Woman, Top Gun... Tom drew inspiration from all the classics for his romantic scene with Lois.

Smallville Fans! (& Jensen Fans)

For all you Smallville fans (and Jensen fans), if you don't know about Talkville, the rewatch podcast with Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum, then here you go!

They finally got to season 4, where Jensen comes in as Jason Teague. (How much you wanna bet that they'll have him on as a guest of the pod at some point this season? 😜)

The Talkville podcast is coming out tomorrow, which motivated me to make some Smallville!Clark and Battinson fanart.

A crossover between these two would be the angstiest thing ever and I WANT IT.

Talkville aka the Clex podcast. 10/10 highly recommend. If you are feeling nostalgic and gay.

Tom Welling couldn't be there for this Talkville episode so Michael Rosenbaum is at his most powerful rn

Clark And Lex in Smallville were so gay they made Lex marry a woman he’d never met [S2E1]

Smallville Stills → [016/217] “Stray”

↳“You know what those emperors you’re so fond of talking about were really afraid of? That their sons would become successful and return to Rome at the head of their own army.”

did you watch the Shattered/Asylum Talkville episodes? 👀

Yes I did! I'm really sorry, I've been meaning to send you all my notes/highlights from the Shattered pod ep like I promised I would, but my last semester of grad school started like 2.5 weeks ago and I've just been massively overwhelmed since then. 😭

Tbh, you could probably watch the full Shattered pod if you wanted, it was a pretty good ep for Talkville standards. The biggest highlight was probably Michael saying that the moment where Lex sees Clark use his powers for the first time is his favorite Lex moment in the series (especially in terms of his own performance)—he's clearly really proud of this episode and I think that made the pod better in general. Also Lionel gets called an evil bastard a couple of times, Tom points out how we all feel bad for Lex by the end of the episode, and Al Gough calls the Clex relationship "the focal point of the series." Other stuff happens too ofc, but I'd say those were my top moments.

The Asylum pod was... less good, IMO—like, it wasn't bad I guess, but some stuff def left me feeling kinda frustrated, so I wouldn't really recommend that you watch that one askldfsk (I could probably skim through it again and collect some highlights from it if you want, though)

I made this really dorky meme about the finale of Smallville. 😂

I’ve been sick for a while but I’ll be back with more kawaii content soon! 🥰

The Talkville posters by whynotstuff.wns are just brilliant!

i knew tom and michael had a podcast and thought i heard they were doing a watch? if so are you following along? I don't want to be the only insane one if i do 😂

it's one of those things where I'm excited about it and really want to but something is preventing me from watching. but I'll let you know when I'm able to overcome whatever force is stopping me!

I found this to be a strong motivator

So my last bit of Smallville commentary saw me nearing the end of season 3. Since then, I've made some decent progress. I just recently completed season 6 (and started a couple episodes of season 7) and I've returned to once again dump my scattered thoughts and unsolicited opinions into the Tumblrverse (prepare for an essay because brevity was never my ministry).

*ahem*

Season 4 was...??? Here's the thing though: I started off liking it. Prior to that season, I guess you could say they'd established a working format where every episode featured a new meteor infected superhuman (or in the words of Chloe, a "meteor freak") creating unrest in Smallville, which would then lead to Clark hunting them down and dealing with the situation in some way or the other. I was getting tired of that, so it was a refreshing change of pace to see an ongoing arc take center stage. But actually working my way through the season was a journey that ended with me harboring less than positive thoughts.

I mean...the magical stones of Kryptonian origin scattered across the globe? There was a flashback episode in the third season that featured a youthful Jor-El frolicking around Smallville and falling in love with an ancestor of Lana's (shocker) that made me realize it was asinine of me to assume Clark was the first Kryptonian to ever set foot on earth. But even if I entertain the idea that some other alien from Krypton made the pilgrimage to Earth umpteen years ago and left behind those glorified paperweights...it's still not adding up for me.

Maybe I misinterpreted something here, but I feel like there were multiple moments throughout the season insisting (or insinuating) that it was Clark's "destiny" to locate all three stones and bring them together. But hear me out: if Lana Lang has a sorceress ancestor from the 1600s that not only knew of the existence of the stones, but was actively searching for them at the time, we can assume that these stones have been on Earth since at least the 17th century—which is well before Clark was born (NB: I don't know much about Kryptonian aging so this is an educated guess I made. In the flashback episode that shows Jor-El's time in Smallville, Jor-El evidently hadn't yet formed a relationship with Clark's mother...which means that Clark wouldn't have been born yet...and the events of this episode clearly take place much later than the 17th century). How could it specifically be Clark's destiny to find the stones if their arrival on Earth predated his existence?

And then the wild goose chase that takes place throughout the season as everybody and their mother (literally) attempts to find these stones? Clark? Lex? Lionel? Jason, Lana and Jason's mother? And last but not least, the Countess...because how could anyone ever forget the side storyline where Lana gets POSSESSED by the spirit of her ancestor, Countess Isobel Thoreaux, and is now sharing her body with a witch from the 17th century???

Then, when Clark finally manages to get his hands on all three of the stones and unite them...they fuse into a gem that teleports him to the Arctic (?) and after Clark chucks it as far as I assume his alien strength will allow him to throw, it collides with a mountain...the mountain gets decimated and in its place sprouts the famed Fortress of Solitude. (Side bar: Comic enthusiasts please let me know...is that how it really happens in the source material? Does the Fortress of Solitude really just...grow like a plant?)

So ALL of that...that entire arc...all the insanity behind trying to find these stones that allegedly promised so much power once reunited...all of it was just a way to introduce Superman's Fortress of Solitude? Somehow, an icy fortress of Kryptonian knowledge never crossed my mind as the reward for all of that effort. In retrospect, I suppose a hub containing a plethora of advanced alien knowledge could be both powerful and dangerous if used correctly...but it just felt really anticlimactic.

Anyway. The absolute best thing to come out of season 4 was the introduction of Lois Lane. I love the approach to her character. I like that she's got spunk and can defend herself. The whole damsel in distress shtick is a trope that gets old with me quickly. It's done with Lana often. Even after Lana picked up martial arts, it's like sometimes she forgets to use it or something? But I digress. I like that Lois kicks ass and never seems to doubt her own ability (in fact, one could argue that she overestimates her ability from time to time). I love that she's witty and snarky, yet suffers from discomfort triggered foot-in-mouth syndrome. I like that the person the audience knows she will eventually become isn't who she is right off the bat. It allows for her character to be developed over time. A passionate journalist who's in love with Clark Kent pretty much sums up my knowledge about this character. But when she's introduced to the show, she and Clark clash immediately and she has zero interest in journalism. As far as the love interest thing goes, they already did that "love at first sight" stuff with Lana. It's nice to not have to see it again. Having Clark and Lois go from basically hating each other to forming a reluctant friendship (which everyone knows will eventually end in them falling in love) is both refreshing and entertaining for me. Now mind you, my knowledge of the comics is restricted to a few random Golden Age issues, so for all I know this could've just been the result of the writers staying true to the current (at the time) source material...but regardless, I liked it. However, the build up to the start of her career at the Daily Planet was handled...oddly.

Since her first season on the show, Lois Lane has made it clear every chance she's gotten that journalism is not her thing. And since then, I've been waiting patiently to see what it is that eventually changes her mind. Because surely, if solving the mystery of her own cousin's "murder" wasn't enough to make her consider a future in investigative reporting, whatever finally does the trick will be monumental, right?

Wrong.

Lois makes the life changing decision to completely change her career path after almost being struck by an airborne barn door. And that's...the entire story. It's also a little ridiculous to see a bona fide reporter position at the Daily Planet just fall into her lap when Chloe, a character established from day one as having journalistic ambitions and actual writing talent is starting from the bottom and answering phones. I hate when main characters get things handed to them just because. I wanted to see Lois fall in love with it and really work for it. But this is cute too I guess?

Seasons 5-10 are the seasons I've really been looking forward to, because my basic knowledge about Superman says he's meant to live in Metropolis. So I've been waiting to get past the characters' high school years because I hoped that I'd get to see some maturation as far as Clark's character development and that I might get to see the life-changing move from Smallville to Metropolis, where Clark will spend his adult years.

He hasn't moved yet, but following the death of his father, he seems to be thinking a lot more about the consequences of his actions (CRAZY that his father dropping dead is what it took for him to start doing this...was accidentally killing your mother's child not a good enough incentive? Like hello? The lights are on...but is anybody actually home?).

But let's switch gears for a moment here and touch on Ms. Lang. So far, one of my biggest takeaways as I work my way through this series is that Lana-centric episodes and storylines are typically...not great. From the storyline of her discovering that she has a living biological father—a development that ends with him being written out of the show in the span of a few episodes—to the episode where the writers decided to basically make her a suicidal (?) junkie, writing where she's concerned is more often than not pretty questionable. I mean, did we need to turn her into a vampire?

Then of course there's the ongoing Clana saga. Jason dies in season 4 and following news of his death, Lana jumps straight into a relationship with Clark and it's weird. Granted, she and Jason broke up prior to his death...but as I recall, she also broke up with Whitney before he died and yet she still underwent a period of mourning upon finding out that Whitney had passed away...which is a normal reaction to finding out that someone you used to be in love with is now dead. This time around, no such mourning period is had. She just goes full speed ahead into a relationship with Clark. But of course, it doesn't work out (again) because Lana wants a partnership with full trust and transparency and Clark is still inventing every excuse in the book as to why he "can't" tell Lana that he's a crime fighting alien.

So they break up.

...And then you blink and Lana has romantic feelings for Lex.

Don't get me wrong...I like the idea of Lex coveting everything about Clark's life...from the stable family unit down to the fierce love and undying loyalty he's managed to get from Lana Lang. It adds to the incentive for his descent into villainy. But his feelings for Lana have come across as one-sided for a long period of time. The reciprocation on Lana's end feels very sudden.

Next thing you know, Lana moves out of the dorm room she shares with Chloe at Met U (and possibly also drops out of college altogether because I can't remember the last time she attended a class or mentioned anything academic related) and into Lex's mansion????? Then to add insult to injury, despite the fact that lying is the ultimate deal breaker for Lana and caused the demise of her relationships with both Jason and Clark...Lex is a pathological liar and no matter how many red flags Lana sees that confirm this, she just doubles down on sticking beside him. When she confides to him that she's seen a spaceship and witnessed an alien attack, he has his company sieze the ship for research purposes, then proceeds to try to gaslight her into thinking she imagined the entire encounter. She finds out he lied and forgives him? He has cameras set up in her bedroom without her knowledge. She finds out, makes him "promise" to remove them and then just...continues living there? She has strong reasons to believe he has a secret level in LuthorCorp where he imprisons and unlawfully experiments on meteor infected Belle Reve patients that were supposed to have been discharged. He of course, lies about having any knowledge of this and not only does she not show any sign of wanting to investigate this further...she announces that even if it were true, she'd be cool with it (a complete dismissal of her character's moral compass)??? Mind you, throughout all of this she's still trying to find out Clark's secret. Nevermind the fact that they broke up and she's now living with a whole other man who lies like it's his day job. Somehow, it's CLARK'S secrets that she needs to uncover the most.

But despite how neutral I am to Lana Lang and how uninvested I've been in almost every single Lana storyline featured in seasons 1-6...they finally got me with the pregnancy-marriage storyline. Between that and the level 33.1 storyline, I feel like a turning point was reached. Season 6 marked the first point that I saw Lex as a villain. Here I was thinking Lex had merely paid off a doctor to lie about her being pregnant (which would've also been awful, just to be clear)...imagine my shock when I found out she'd also been drugged. There is absolutely no coming back from drugging your wife to simulate pregnancy, going through the motions of preparing for the arrival of a baby that you know damn well is NOT in her uterus and then taking her off of the drugs so that her body can experience the sensation of a miscarriage. And adding kidnapping and torture to the mix certainly doesn't help his case.

In the midst of that nightmare storyline, I found myself rooting for Lana for the first time since...ever really. I've been exhausted by Clark and Lana's back and forth dynamic for multiple seasons...but her finding out Clark's secret and then staying in that hellish marriage to protect him actually made me start to wish they could get a happy ending and work out? Which is pointless because I know they never will. And remembering that little detail makes me think maybe the writers spent a little bit too much time on Lana. There's only like 4 seasons left. They should've found a way to wrap up their story sooner and focus more on Lois. It's way too late in the game for the transparent, loving relationship that Clark and Lana are finally getting. It creates too much investment in a pairing that was never meant to last.

Lastly, I've reached the point where I'm starting to recognize people more often (either because I know the character or I recognize the actor playing the role) and it's exciting. For one, the celebrity guest appearances? Bow Wow playing a villain and being introduced by "Fresh Azimiz" playing in the background? Lucas Grabeel playing a young Lex? Eva Marcille and Christina Milian??? And then of course, there are all the episodes featuring guest appearances from the future members of the Justice League. Those have been serious series highlights for me. The Arthur Curry (AC) appearances were my favorite simply because I'm always amused to see the same actors bouncing from one superhero series to the next (sometimes even crossing franchises). I guess when AC bid Smallville adieu he changed his name to Hank Hall and became a Titan? 😂

All in all though, it's safe to say I'm enjoying Smallville. Flaws and all. Even when presenting the audience with absolute tomfoolery, the show's just got a certain charm to it that really draws you in.

Having listened to "Talkville," "Drama Queens," "Office Ladies," "Welcome To Our Show" and now the new Full House rewatch podcast "How Rude, Tanneritos" I have strong opinions on which cast hosted rewatch podcasts work.

1. I absolutely love the Full House rewatch podcast. Granted, only the first episode is out so far and it wasn't even covering an episode. Next week is the Pilot and this one was just an introduction and they did talk about the opening theme and credits.

2. Maybe coincidentally the podcasts that work have been the ones led by women entirely. My favorites have been Drama Queens, Office Ladies and now How Rude Tanneritos. No diss to the Smallville podcast but I don't feel a whole lot of enthusiasm or chemistry between Tom and Michael with Talkville.

3. I also believe that these types of podcasts are so prevalent that a lot of actors feel like "it's the thing to do" so there's no kind of real thought of which actors should host it. Like for instance, I think that if Tom and Erica had hosted Talkville that would be a lot more fun because they have such chemistry and a rapport. Also Michael Rosenbaum already had a random celebrity interview show prior to Talkville and so now Talkville just feels like an extension of that. It doesn't feel organic or unique.

4. The actors who end up hosting really make the show. With Office Ladies.... Angela and Jenna are truly best friends and you really feel that. You feel the friendship chemistry even in podcast form. Also they are very dedicated to it and are knowledgable. I've never heard a podcast that is quite so chock full information and trivia and previously unknown behind the scenes stories because if they don't know the answer to something then they do a ton of research and ask cast and crew the questions. You can also tell that Jenna and Angela are having so much fun together and they are really proud of The Office.

5. Drama Queens is hosted by Bethany Joy Lenz, Sophia Bush, and Hilarie Burton and it's another situation where you can tell that those three are amazing friends and really love each other. They have a perspective and they are really passionate about anything they are talking about. They are just a fun group of women to hear speak on One Tree Hill or even anything. They do go on some minor tangents but they also try to keep a good structure.

6. With How Rude Tanneritos I can only go off of the first episode but I just found myself entranced by the conversation because Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber are really good friends for real life. Also the reason they wanted to do the podcast seemed more moving and organic. Ever since Bob Saget passed away they've been wanting to revisit those old memories and wanted them recorded in podcast form for the fans, themselves and their loved ones to enjoy forever while they still weren't too far removed and could still remember those times to a certain extent. There were some funny moments and some fun trivia. I think that this is the oldest show to have a rewatch podcast for it which is pretty unique.

7. Welcome To Our Show I haven't listened to for a while but i'm a part of a popular Facebook group for New Girl and most people on there seem to hate it. Honestly the problem I had with it was the lack of structure and how little they talk about the episode they are covering. Also weirdly, I don't feel the chemistry between Zooey, Hannah, and Lamorne. Which is weird cause they have great chemistry in the show itself. I think this show could have been better if it had been Lamorne, Hannah, and Max hosting. Max has a really funny personality and I think it would have added some spice. And I feel like Hannah and Lamorne have great chemistry but honestly Zooey hogs the conversation a bit too much. I have nothing against Zooey, ever since the podcast I feel like a lot of people have come to dislike her. It's not even that she hogs the conversation to talk about the show, it's that she hogs the conversation to talk about herself and her other filmography. But I do feel like some people are overly harsh with her. I just feel like if you don't create a strong structure around the episode and how you're gonna talk about it then that's just bound to happen.

Disclaimer: These are just my opinions. Some of you may love Talkville and Welcome To Our Show and that is great. Also I haven't listened to them in a while so some of this stuff could have improved. If so, please let me know. I could use some inspiration to start them up again.

Tom and Michael are taking calls for their Talkville podcast that comes out on July 13th. Call (213)-538-2883 to leave questions or comments to address on the show about certain scenes or episodes for a chance to be featured, and make sure to leave your name.

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I’m personally really excited for this and love to see them being active with the series again, and I love how interactive they’re trying to make it with fans!!! Super hyped