Top 10 Episodes: #9 Pilot

Hi, my name is Tom Welling.

I played Clark Kent on Smallville and you are listening to Always hold on to Smallville.

Welcome to Always hold On to Smallville. In this podcast, we've talked about each and every episode of the Young Superman show that ran from two thousand and one to twenty eleven on the W and the c W. I'm your host, Zach Moore, and we're back with another Top ten episodes. That's right, the top ten episodes of Smallville, as voted by you, the listeners, and this time the number nine entry Pilot. That's right, the creatively named pilot

Do you believe a man can fly? People can't fly? Lex I did October sixteenth on the WB's New Tuesday. It's the day of the meteor shower. This is how you came into our world, sir.

When do you try to tell me that.

A small town on the edge of innocence.

That's me, Clerk. I mean used to people judging me before they get to know me.

I don't want anything to stand in the way of our friendships.

Sometimes people can surprise you.

We have a future, Clerk, a young man on the threshold with Estinay.

We wanted to protect you and protect me from what.

Michael Rosenbaum, Kristen Crook, and Tom Wallie. We didn't find you, Clerk, you found us. A w B presents a small bill. Good for.

You?

Did you did? On October sixteenth.

He has quite an extraordinary order, mister Kenneth.

An unexpected friendship begin thanks to you, I have a second chance, a friendship destined to be forsaken.

Do you believe a man can fly? People can't fly?

Lex the great story, that's the beginning the series from Mere Smallville October sixteenth, on the WB's New Tuesday.

The pilot of Smallville. So pilot was not on my top ten list, what about you lands?

It was number three on mine right on.

I can tell you right now it wasn't on my list, and that was purely in oversight.

So TRUEX not on your list was not.

On my list officially not on my list.

Rokay, what about you?

It was on my list?

Yeah, YouTube for two man, I know, yeah, all.

Right, Victoria, what about you?

It's so funny because Pilot wasn't one on my list, but Metamorphosis was my number one.

Nice should I rewatch Metamorphosis? Like I don't remember liking that episode.

But you guys, because like he has an actual fight at the end, he knows the freak of the week, you know, like it's a really good episode, Matt.

The thing is like, before I loved Smallville, I loved Spider Man, and so like I liked Metamorphosis because there was like the closest they got to.

Right Spider Man when they did right bug Boy.

I didn't watch it when it first air, becau who knew about Smallville?

I sure did.

I saw an ad for it in a comic book, and then I was just like, ooh, this looks awesome, and so like I made a whole night of it and everything. I like, like we ordered pizza and like all this other stuff because it's like a school night ride, but like we made it a special occasion.

And I saw the first episode and I was hooked.

Lance and I we're really friends then, So I was not invited to this pizza party. Nor was I aware, Nor was I aware that small Vel was a TV show. As you all have heard me say many times, I picked it up and reruns like halfway through the first season and carried down on from there. But you know, we can just kind of go around and talk about our first impressions of the pilot. Lance had his Victoria, Well, what's up with your first taste of the Smallville pilot.

It's actually really funny because I just had like a very intense flashback of like how I first discovered the show. I started watching when the fourth season aired, and I didn't start like aired on the WB and I didn't, And then I was like doing this weird simultaneous catch up via ABC Family back when it was ABC Family, when they just put Smallville intosyndication on that channel.

That's why I started watching it.

And I remember there was a marathon. They were doing a marathon because they were introducing the show.

To the channel.

And I watched the pilot and metamorphosis back to back.

As you should, as you should never watch the pilot with that metamorphosis, is my opinion.

I can't remember if I'd already seen the beginning the first episode of like if I'd seen Crusade already, if I'd seen the beginning episode of season four. I can't quite recall, but I just remember. It was a small Ville marathon. It was the days before DVR, and all I wanted to do was watch Smallville. But my mother was like, we need to go shopping to buy you a nice outfit for your father's charity golf outing that he puts on every year, like.

To like help children with AIDS.

And I was like, and I literally was dragged. One of the masters for New Jersey he might know this reference. I had like a six hour meltdown at the Freehold mall that day. Like I was a child.

I forgot how close we are.

I was so like I was like the most well behaved child, but this was a real low point for me. I was just like having a meltdown in the mall, like at an age that was two.

I was twelve. I was too old to have a meltdown like that.

Yeah, yeah, I was a little twelve was a little old for that, Victoria.

It didn't stop me and I Yeah, that's so funny.

Oh and like my sister, Like my sister was like being an angel and she like was asked by like the North Strong sales department to be in like a child fashioned show.

And I'm just like crying in a corner, like I'm not watching small films.

Well there, see that's a hard story to stop there. But truth, what's your story with the pilot?

I vividly remember I was watching. I was like, yeah, eleven or twelve, watching reruns of og Sabrina on the W.

John Hart, my my first child, crushed from cushen.

Of Lang myself. But no, there was a i'm gonna say ten second teaser commercial on the WB and it was just the first couple shots of the Kryptonite and the ship and the Meteors all gone to Earth and

All right, Roco, what about you? Where did you first see pilot?

So I've shared this before on your podcast in regards to the show. Actually, my first experience with Smallville was not the pilot. My thing was like, my mom was watching the show before I was, and she had like this little TV, you know, those little mini TVs like that, a little small thing in the kitchen, and she would like make dinner and stuff, and just like you guys, I was, you know, like twelve, I think maybe like thirteen or fourteen, probably thirteen or fourteen.

But yeah, so it was.

Like you would be watching the show and I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, not like you guys. I knew zero about Superman. Nothing, And I'll never forget. My mom kept saying, oh, you got to watch the show. You remind me of this character Clark. And she also knew nothing Lex Luthor. Yes, exactly, the Lex Luthor story. Yes, so I didn't know Lex Luthor was a bad guy. That's how little I knew

He's like, uh, the.

Bad guy and we're like, no, Dad, you're confused, that's Lionel. You're He's like, there's no Lionel. What are you talking about? And we're and you know, so that's how little we

So it was like, okay, cool, like I'm hooked on the show.

And then as I started watching, then they had the pilot and and that was then like like it was like a rerun and they did that with metamorphosis like you guys said, and they kind of linked them together.

And I remember.

Watching it and just being like blown away by like oh, okay, so these are all these missing elements to me as not knowing anything, like oh, this is how the Kryptonite works, this is how this works, and all of those elements. And then I just recently rewatched it a week ago.

It's just epic.

It really is a really good pilot.

I was very impressed revisiting it, like how good it was, because, like, you know, we're in this age of television now where we're blessed with so many good shows out there. We have so many options and there's a lot the quality has risen as well, like from when we were younger, and so looking back to see, like, you know, this shared show that we all love, the pilot who pilot still stands as a really really good one, and it's and it's actually pretty exceptional.

It's pretty cool.

Metamorphosis was the first one I saw on WB and then I went I think it was like LimeWire, share Bear or something like that, because Kazah, I don't know, it's one of these sides. So I went back and I found these these episodes I missed, like the first half of season one. Every now and then I'd get an episode and I download it, and of course I like start the download before I went to school and it was done by the time I got home. But

For sure.

It's definitely a set music terminology here. This is definitely movement too, uh Like, the piece is not complete without it. So when I refer to the pilot, I'm talking about the pilot and metamorphosis because to me, that just it just makes sense.

So let's just go around, Victoria. What what are some strong things in the pilot you want to talk about here?

I was honestly astounded by how great the effects were and how beautifully it was shot. I think when I was younger, I didn't recognize and I know I'd probably say this every time podcast with you, Zach, like the episode was beautifully shot, But there's the production vow.

I especially for a pilot.

I was really astounded by the effects budget and like the production value of a pilot in the early two thousands. I was really astounded by that. I think the storytelling is amazing, and I also thought there were some what I really loved. And again, I'm not a DC comics person as much.

I'm definitely a Marvel more of a Marvel girl.

But I thought it and so maybe we see this in the in the comics, but I thought it was so genius. Tying the way Lex loses his hair to the meteor shower, I thought that was genius. And then I also and I know it's like kind of hokey.

But I get it.

Making Lana kryptonite and the necklace I also thought.

Was see, it's just weakness, you get it everyone.

But I know, I know it's kind of hokey, but at the same time, I just love it.

Well, yeah, because it works, It really works, really works.

I also liked that Clark like was kind of sassy in this. He's like, yeah, He's like, I just want to be a normal person, Like I hate having to make all these sacrifices.

Well, I mean he's like that most of the show. To be fair, it.

Just seems like there was more of a push pull here, which made him unrelatable, which I think helped us all get hugged on the show.

He was he did have like a sense of humor. He was less MOPy, you know, even though he was moping in a graveyard when Lana showed up.

He was cute as hell with Lana in the graveyard. He's doing to like what's that, mister Lang? Like it's hokey, but it's also like it's really sweet, like it's really can't I was impressed. I was impressed by Tom's performances for watching it today and kind of impressed that, like I hadn't really noticed it before, but like he's trying

You know, Tom's performed Rewatching it too is one of those things like you know, every time you rewatch, when you're as biased and love it as much as we do, you're like, is it really you know, is it really as strong or as great? And you're rewatching like yeah, Like his his performance was just pure Superman and just

The effects.

Just rewatching it the other day, I was like, wow, this was two thousand and one, and rewatching the opening meteor sequence there, I was like, these are feature film effects, Like you know, they're they're by today's standards. I mean, there's little things here and there that would be you know, better or whatever, but by today's standards, it's still like these are feature film effects. It's and they were doing this in two thousand and one on a TV show for the W which is like.

Yeah, no, no offense to Matt, but you look at Lowis and Clark special effects and they come. They come a long way in just a few years. Right, he's done, he's done. You can't see your listeners. He just throw threw his headsets off.

No, I agree with what you're saying to dude.

That that one I don't know what episode it is, Matt, but the one where Lex is shooting skeet with Nigel, that's probably the worst special effect I've ever seen.

And the CGI talking about, yeah, I do know what you're talking about. Off his balcony of Lex Tower, yeah, it's terrible. I will say, just to what Matt was saying. Tom is very good in the scene in the show. He's pretty subtle throughout until he has to fall in front of Wana. I don't know if that was him or that was a stunt double just doing that like and one, two, three, four five and he just like plants, but like it was a really good physical fall. It's still very funny.

I was more distracted the fact he had a skateboard. What did you guys think about the skateboard?

But is Marty McFly he had his arm pad shows when he when Whitney throws him on the ground. Yeah, he like braces his arm a little bit of No.

But I tend to get very distracted by other features of Tom.

Welling, so.

Did Victoria.

Of course, I know this is something we all laugh at, but I know it wasn't planned at the time. But it's still kind of fun to look at, Like it's just interesting like that. The opening scene includes Lionel Luther looking at a paper of Oliver Queen's parents murdered, right of course, and of course we all make fun of Veritas, as we should, but it's still kind of fun.

Like.

How dare you bring up that word?

Right? Yeah, he's admiring his handywork because he just had Robert Queen. Is his name Robert and smaller? I don't know Robert Queen. I guess John g Lover, right, And he's in this and then they quickly bring him back for Hothead and then it goes on from there and jitters and stuff. They could have been a doad where they never bring like his dad in That just shows you a little slice Alexis childhood where his dad was kind of like, get your rock together, son, You're not

Which was so funny to watch his hands. He's in the first scene and he plays a dad.

I'm like, I know him, I know him.

Does he not have the first line of the movie?

I think so.

I think he might.

Have you ever have you ever seen this is just so off topic, but have you ever seen fifty two pickup with John Glover?

No?

So weird, like seventies thriller and he's like a sleazy like Hillary rapist and it's great, it's great, you'll love it.

I think casting. I mean this this being the first episode, right, I mean casting the older characters. John Shiner is Jonathan Kent and an Ed O'Toole is Martha Kent, who was a recast from Scythia Ettinger as the original Martha kN I don't know if you guys see see when I first down the pilot, like there's I'm like, what is his alternate pilot? I'm like, who, why are these Why is this a different Martha King? What is this? Thanks

Speaking of like the you know, the Martha casting, like it was a good thing to see a netto tool in there. It's a legacy casting because like when I first saw it, I was just like, hey, it's Lana from from Superman three. And I was like, this is amazing. The show called Novel has Lana from the Superman movies. I was like, this is amazing. This is the best show ever about casting though, let's kind of talk about

And also and the fact that Pete, you know, like his.

Best friend, who's also traditionally not a black person, was a black person of this it's like, oh, oh good, good, Like, you know, points to you guys for like making the world look like the world instead of just not like it is.

And they're gonna get married eventually here, so.

That's yeah, well actually that's as far as they go.

Yeah, you know, Chloe was originally gonna be African American and I quote unquote ethnic character according to the casting calls, but they like Alison Max Allison Max performance so much that they cast her and they're like, well, now we got to make Pete, you know, not white. So and I've said this, they just didn't know what to do with Pete after they've made him black. If he had been a white guy, he would have been around at least seven years.

Right, Yeah, well maybe because Whitney was around for only one year.

Yeah, but he was the obstacle boyfriend, the template that they use in the Flash and an Arrow, and they continue to improve upon it and refine it because he's just the one like Whitney here, right, He's just a one dimensional character, and he pretty much is for most of Season one, honestly, until like his dag gets sick near the end of the season and they try to get him some manity and they're and actually he's a really good arc if you just look at like the

Yeah.

Yeah. The thing about Rosamond though, it's like he just he's there's so much going on, you know, under the surface, from the minute he gets out of his porch. Thanks Dad, you're like this guy, man, he's something else. And the whole episode like trying to be friends with Clark, and it makes sense because he's this kind of outcast guy and it is kind of creepy, how like this twenty two year old billionaire wants to like be BFFs with a fifteen year old a high school student. But you know,

Like, rewatching it, I realized how many of his lines could be interpreted as creepy when you like, when you know who Lex Luthor is, but me, like I said, me not knowing who he was, it's like, oh, cool,

And so I was intrigued by it.

Initially I was just like, well, he's obviously the villain, but like when you see the episode, I was like, Oh, they're going to set up a friendship here, and then once you kind of realize that that's what they're going for, it's like, oh, we're going to see the two of them like kind of move apart, and we're going to see how they become enemy.

So I was like, oh, that's pretty neat. I don't know how it's going to end.

If it was to me thinking about it back then, I was like, I don't know how this is gonna end, but it's going to be an interesting journey, to say the least. So I kind of saw what they were doing from the jump.

I think when I first started watching, you know, back in the day, I knew that Lex Luthor was a villain, but I didn't know enough to be like, oh, you know, I just kind of went with it and then rewatching it two nights ago, So I think Honestly, the young actor who plays Lex does such a good job that, even with everything that I know now, and I obviously I am much more well acquainted with the premise of the show, I just kind of took everything at face value and it was like just kind of gave him

The ultimate tool for the master thief. Can I cannot not say that? Sorry? So you know, Victoria, you mentioned him losing his hair, and I think that was a real genie. There's a lot of genius decisions wise here because like the first of all, the meteor shower coming with the spaceship genius because one it covers up the spaceship, which is the two thousand and one, we have satellites, and then it creates a weakness for Clark, so an obstacle, and then it creates these mutants that exist in.

Smavel episodic structure.

Yeah, there he goes.

Yeah.

It also throws that guilt.

In, right, Yeah, because he's responsible for everything, as I mean indirectly, but if he hadn't out come here, and that's the thing that ties into Lawna too, right, because he feels so guilty about That's why when he first sees the wall, weird. It shakes him because he's like, oh man, this is because of where I came from and what came with me, and and it also ties the origin of at this point in the show, the three main characters. So you have Clark, Lex and Lana.

What makes this pilot so great is that, like, yeah, you know, one of my favorite comic writers, Kyle Higgins, he says, every story has a promise and a premise. With Smallville, you see you know the promise of the show already after this episode is finished. You see the promise in the premise of the show, like automatically where Clark is going, you see where Lex is going, how their paths are going to converge. You see the same

But we can get into that a different day at a different time.

There's not enough time. I also think, like visually the pilot, we talked a little bit about the cinematography and stuff, but like just I mean watching that damn stunt again when the Porsche goes over the pot that's the man just fly. Nothing about that isn't convincing or kind of

That is the key. They hadn't quite gone into the well let's just use a CGI car, are yeah, or like let's just let's just add some cgi fire to the kin farm when it gets hit by a meteorite or something like no no, no, like like stuff gets destroyed, like the whole the truck getting flipped over, like all these physical tangible thing Ye did you catch how these spaceship they hadn't designed the space ship yet. It's like the artichoke looking spaceship.

I hate it so much.

I also have a note, I think because it's been a long time, but I wrote chocolate bar key.

Chocolate bar key.

Yes, it does look like a chocolate bark.

Does that prop? That prop becomes the heart of the ship? Right? That never comes.

Also, they upgrade that as well, bring it back everyone's favorite octagon, right well yeah, well no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not even related. They and I think that's in the skin Walkers. They bring that back. Yeah, I'm like, oh that that looks like much like the small level high school letter jackets up get upgraded. There's just an aspect they made it too super manny. They had like a shield behind it and stuff. They're like, all right,

But they were not. They were totally in that school.

The mansion, it's so different.

Yeah, the mansions. So they really refined everything.

It's all real locations. Yeah, they haven't really built much.

Yeah, so when they actually got the green light to series, they're like, all right, now we can we really can afford to build all this stuff. But it's funny to think that, like being the continuity nippicker that I am as I watch these things, like this is supposed to be the next day, everything looks so different so hard. I'll tell you, I'll tell you what's not there. The Veritas someone, I'm never gonna let that go because that's honestly, that's the most insulting rerecon in history of recons.

But anyway, anybody else notice how like artfully they dodge saying the word alien in this Like I was trying to watch it, like like not as into it as we.

Are, parents aren't from around here.

Yeah, they never say it, obviously they show the spaceship, but like I get it, Like guys that are saying you didn't know it was the Superman thing, Like I get it, because.

Remember this is two thousand and one, we're not allowed to see superhero costumes or mentioned superhero names, so those will never be successful, never make money in a box officer on TV ever. Again, So no thanks, Batman and Robin.

It's kind of funny this came out like right after Unbreakable, right, and that was the same thing where it was like the studio was like, no, like we don't want to advertise this as a superhero thing, like that's s geeky, that's not in vogue or whatever.

It became taboo, and so that's why, like we have this like pared down show, but now Smuggle end up proven wrong.

Yeah.

I think that's actually part of the reason.

I've said this before and I've gotten real into it on my podcast, But like Smallville was such a trailblazer and such a pioneer, and honestly though, I think that worked for them. I think the fact that they grounded it and they pare down all the super stuff and they really need it about this young man who doesn't feel like he fits in anywhere and is reckoning with all of this, I think that really set a course both on TV and screen that there's a human way to tell these epic mythical stories.

Roll hitting in their heads that this young man who doesn't know his place in the world, he's trying to figure it out. And that's what we all are in high school and when we're younger, and even you know, even when we're older, sometimes there's trying to figure it out.

Who knows.

I think everybody could relate in some way to one of these characters, like it's funny, it's it's it's like depends on where you are in life or kind of mood you're in. You're like you watch them all like, yeah, I'm totally Clark im No, unfortunately, I'm totally lex So that's that's the beauty of the show. So and I don't do you guys, Yes, it was on the WB but I mean, being a high schooler at the time, like being Clark stage right, I was like, oh, this

Yeah.

Yeah, to the point where the show starts with the epic, with the cinematic, with the you know, the Superman of it, and ends with like, oh, that boy just wants to be with that girl. That's out. It totally becomes a wb show after forty minutes.

Oh yeah, real does.

And the high school element like this first in the pilot, like it starts off with like the backdrop of all of this is Homecoming. Yeah, like it's you know, it just something that everybody can relate to, and everybody.

Knows what that is.

Americans.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, Yeah, Americans know what that is. It's something for us to really like dive into and just like, oh, we understand this world. I'm all about it.

Did he really think Lana wasn't gonna go to the homecoming dance with Whitney? Like thing, Yeah, I'm going to that thing. Come on, man, you gotta take your shot, I guess.

But come on, right, it was a big deal.

He mustered up a lot of courage to do that.

Okay, okah, do you think Whitney's treatment of Clark is kind of extreme?

Here?

Like like or just the whole what do you guys think about the scarecrow thing? Period?

They strung you up and put you in a field. Even the Romans saved up for special occasions.

A great mine from Metamorphosis episode people.

Uh.

He also like checks out Lana in the first scene creepy in retrospect, well even out of retrospect, but can't knock your taste in women, as he bites an apple and throws apple welf.

I mean you hear stories, You hear those like tragedy, like those stories of just people doing.

Unimaginable things.

And I don't I mean, I grew up in suburbia, but I also grew up in like I know, no one believes us, but in New Jersey, like we grew up in I grew up in a farm town.

I and so, I mean when you don't have much else to do.

But I also grew up I went to a huge state school too, And I can totally see the scarecrow kind of thing happening.

It's just hazing.

Yeah, so like and and unfortunately, like stuff like this goes on if you're in a group of it, like are a part of a team or something like that like, dumb stuff is going to go on, and you're gonna do dumb stuff.

When I was at Chapel Hill, a kid died after he fell off like a water tower or he fell off something and died.

Never underestimate the cruelty of children.

Yeah, no, yeah, so yeah, it's believable that in this small town, you know, the varsity football team would torment somebody. And it just so happens that Whitney caught Lana giving Clark a peck on the cheek and he's like, I'm nipping this in the bud, and that he made Clark the.

Target of him.

Yeah, and then the only unrealistic thing is like he's like you six foot three, Like.

God, you're it. That's the thing. Like I understand why they cast him like Tom Welling. And you can say, well, Kryptonian's age faster and mature puberty whatever. I can fan by my explanation. But you look at Chizam, right, those kids looked like teenagers. Right. Yes, nowadays they're actually trying to cast younger people for these roles, but I mean this is two thousand and one. We're still like in the Dawson's Creek era of like, let's cast a thirty year old you know, Beverly Hills ninety one.

Oh yeah, but it's all right. So I have two jaded Hollywood explanations for that. One is that, A, you don't want to cast a minor because they can't work as many hours. And then two, I don't think I mean nowadays, I think they cast younger actors, like I know they do it with Tom Holland in the MTU because they're like, oh, you're gonna.

Hear you're sending a nine movie contract deal.

Yeah, so we need you to be able.

To age in this. And I don't think they really expected Smallville.

To be a ten year long show, right, No, that is clear.

Well, at the end of this very episode, he's like Jonathan asked Clark. He's like, hey, Clark, how you doing. He's like, ask me in about five years. That's like, that's a.

Flat brilliant Yeah, it's amazing.

A week part of the pilot is the freak of the Week. They have so much to establish, right it's the first episode of the first season. They're establishing this news universe of Superman. You know, something's got to give. There's not enough time, you know, so the villain falls, it's kind of like start trek coding nine. They had so much to do. They need to established the crew all that sort of stuff, the villain and that nero.

You know, he might as well said that, Yeah, there's your trip.

I could tell you the song that's playing in the background of the ABC Family promos, Like it's nice to see you by fooled by April.

From Clark Kent. You're in small though.

What's happening to me? It's like having a dual identity.

I can see through things normal, there's a person that everybody sees.

All I want to do is go through high school without being a totle loss and the person that you want to be, you're the feeling.

This is the story of Glde.

Can't I give.

Anything to be normal?

A small hill coming up next?

On a DC Family.

I was like a huge Spider Man band. I was obsessed with Spider Man, like be on obsessed with spider Man. Was like f Superman. Superman is not as cool as Spider Man. And then I was on vacation in Cape cod and I saw these ABC family promos. While I was watching whose line is it?

Anyway? And I like Tom Welling Space came on screen.

And I was like, who is that?

What is going on here?

And like everyone would just screen to me.

I could be showering, I could be like doing anything.

And everyone's like the commercials on would run and just like watch it, be like I need I want to go to there.

And then I became a brand fan.

It's funny like you're talking about that. Like a lot of people in high school, like a lot of people that we talked to, like, we're watching the show because it was it was new, it was fresh, and it was it was really popular these first especially the first couple of years, and and so like everybody had that reaction with Tom and then like and just like all of us had the same reaction with Lana and Chloe. It's just funny, like everybody had the same reactions to

That's also why we can't cast fourteen year olds because these people have to be hot and we haven't want to see them. Yeah, that's a.

Part fourteen year old. Yeah right. The music, right, the pop music begins here, so great. Yeah, life House, I'm gonna oh my god, I have so much everything, your every thing?

Are we all fans of everything?

Every time I hear that song, I always get chills, and I think at that moment, and and there are quite a few moments I'm not ashamed to admit that I'll get teary eyed hearing that song.

It's it's very heartfelt than like seeing him and the camera pans up and all that.

It's so good the moment when it cuts from her being there to her not being there, it's just so relatable, you know, it's just such a great moment.

And and just listen to the lyrics. It's like it's perfect. Like y'all know how much I love perfect songs for perfect occasions. That is the perfect song for that occasion. There's nothing no other song would have been, like would a fit.

Yes, it's a perfect song for the unhealthy relationship that is Clark And yes, all I want You're all I need.

You ain't know it was unhealthy.

Then.

I have a lot of feelings about the song everything in this pilot. I was like bracing myself for it because like I'm the weird thing where if I love something, I actually don't want to watch it too many times, I think because it's such an intense.

Emotional experience for me.

Returns, Yeah, but it was bonkers when like I was watching that scene and I was even ready for it and listening.

To that song literally like Returns was in the room.

Where I first watched it, and for me two thousand and four to back just like it was, Yeah, it was.

It just shows you the power, the power of it.

Then, that's kind of like the small of a love song in the first season, because they bring it back in the finale too season. It's kind of like they had it with Whitney playing it though.

That's Clark's song. That was.

Totally kinship by then. My friend, so, I was all about that song.

That was.

Totally kship by then, my friend, so, I was all about, there, they can have that song.

He just has a very vivid fantasy life like it all it all plays in.

That's a weird thing. Let's talk about that, right, The daydreaming that he does in this episode.

I'm into it.

Yeah, Yeah, it's very relateable.

He imagines he's a football star, Like we've all been there, right, It's just going to be a thing that It's like pilots always have these things that they always drop and they're like, all right, enough enough day dreaming. It's just it's funny to see him do that multiple times in this episode and they never really do that again.

Yeah, marpaceships.

For instance, Martha's class on Weekday Night.

Yes, yes, aout.

I don't think they had fleshed out her metropolis backstory by the in Victoria and the nell Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, I love are visiting that. I was like, oh, I loved it explored.

I feel like they referenced it a couple of times, like that's why Clark and Lawna never really became friends even though their houses in this pilot are one hundred yards from each other.

And she was wearing a crimpon nine necklace.

But go on, well yeah no, but that's like a reason.

But I just remember there's an episode somewhere where in season one, it's like first half of season one where she's like, it's.

A shimmer is the episode out on the porch. You're like, oh yeah, Jude and my dad and your hair used to wow. Okay, yeah yeah, And it was an interesting character. I wish they would have used her more. And that's writing her off.

Yeah.

That was another and also another drop thing that was like I'm kind of glad they dropped, but it's just kind of weird. Like in the pilot, you know, when we talked about the freak waking up and being like, oh, you know who am I and you're blah blah blah, and your name's and you're Jeremy and you're in Smallville, like right, I'm Clark Kenton. But like they never did that again, right, like where the freak totally forgets what

They didn't give every although we have an amnes account on the show, they a least didn't give every single villain like some kind of like because they had to be smart about it. Like Clark's using this and that's that's part of the fun of the show too. There is no secret identity here, so he has to really be smart about how he uses his powers.

At least they didn't wipe the main villain's memory.

Yeah, like imagine imagine that the show ended and like Lex Luthor got his mind. But that was the stupidest ending, right, Anyway, maybe we'll talk about that and our conversations is to go down this list, we'll see his power set. I think it was real smart to to to just give him strength and speed and then he kind.

Of earns the power vulnerability, right, and now he gets to puberty throughout this series.

It's just yeah, it's really.

Great vision the X ray.

You know, they kind of run out around season six and like, oh, give him the super breath. Okay, we all know that. But but but that that was smart though, like to see him and that's something they kind of evolved over season one. He didn't really know how strong he was, Like he didn't know that he could get hit by a car, you know, Like that's why he sticks his arm in the wood chipper because it's like,

And that and doing like the speed, looking at the speed. Look, there's no effect. That just hidn't like move his head back and forth all the time.

Oh yeah, that was smart, I think. And that's that kind of because if he had all these powers already, of course you'd know you were an alien, right yeah, right, yeah, right.

He knows he's different, he just doesn't know exactly how different he's, yeah, or why, so he just kind of doesn't.

It's just it's a mystery to him constantly.

It's interesting too, I guess we're talking about it. We're talking about the show. A lot of the characters are in place here that we're going to live with for the first Maybe Line will be in the exception because we only get him in the beginning there, but like none of this, yeah, none of the like trappings of it are here yet again stuff highlight like they haven't

Yeah, it's it's we joke about the lack of continuity, but it's not like Dirou. They just kind of tighten the screws a little bit on everything, kind of gave it a nice finessa second pass, and nothing really contradicts anything they you forward until they get really late and getting red counting and stuff. But these characters, you're right, man, as we see him here, they pretty much are the characters we see for the first few seasons of the show.

Yeah, I was was I the only one who's like I remember when Lana was like lovely and tall.

Yes, absolutely for you the only No, you were not the only one.

Yeah. Season one Lot is my favorite Lona.

She's not raging psychobath and.

She's not like accusing people of lies and secrets and all that stuff.

And she doesn't know Clark very well yet exactly.

It's a good call. The talking to the parents of the grave reminded me of Batman mask of the phantasm. Anybody else, Ye, absolute.

Episode.

I haven't listened to that first episode in a long time. So you guys, ever, this is a side note. You guys are listeners, you guys are fans, you guys are my friends. Now do you ever like re listen to episodes of the podcast? I mean, how big of the fans are you?

Yeah?

Okay, because I do?

Sometimes, dude, the podcast would Sometimes the podcast would make my really long, like my road trips, like when I have to go and teach out in Irvine, going out there, listening to the podcast would like make it so much less boring and fun, Like I'd be like, I'll just listen to you guys geeking out about small hills drive two hours.

You have re listenability, people, You're here to hear first.

No, I love listening to it on my runs. And I also feel like Smallville.

Like not a lot of people I don't know in the general populace of Los Angeles like like Smallville.

So it's like such a thing. It's right here right now, the circles I run in.

But I just love having like a little like small Behaven.

Yeah, I will say it does seem to especially like around people our age. It seems to be the one like geek thing that you might mention that goes like, oh, I remember that show because it was a thing for a second. I might have watched like season two or three.

They remember like certain things that they were around because the billboards, I mean like it was main Street exactly a second, and the.

Whole that whole like aspect of it being like our age group. So specifically, it's like that didn't fully hit me until I was a teacher. And when I was teaching the kids who are now are how how we were, we were watching Small Villa and I would bring this up all the time, you know, like and like I'd sneak it into like, you know, whatever I was teaching, Like I'm teaching Romeo and Juliet, and I showed them like a Clark and lawna scene.

Was like.

But they didn't know what it was at all, and and I was like, you guys have never heard of this.

I was like, that's your homework.

Forget like regularly forget that you don't know you.

Know how to read miles in golf.

Yeah, so you know, I think ultimately the pilot, I mean it's it's hard to talk about that without talking about just the show in general and like all that. So they it all kind of mels there because it all started here. If this was a hey, this could have gone the way of Acklaman or Wonder Woman right or you know, Birds of Prey. I mean, it fizzled out.

We went to series.

Ultimately, like I think we've said it in many ways around here, I think the key to novel was the characters and the casting and when when written correctly, when when those I mean that goes for any thing, right, writing, casting right. But the foundation here is extremely solid and all starts here.

I think if I.

Could add, I think the and yeah, if it's good writing,

I think that's why it worked.

Pretty much kind of echoing what you guys have said. The it's just such a solid foundation. It really starts us off in kind of like the perfect place for like Victoria mentioned, like there's can be people coming at it like you guys who like have known Superman and you can see like, oh, this is so cool, how this twist is different on the mythology, and you can come at at that point or you can be someone

Which is really beautiful. I will also say too, like as a Superman fan, the moment of the Kent's Finding Finding Baby Park there like that. That is my favorite filmed version of that. It's just I really like the Leves and Clark pilot as like my version of the Origin.

But that that is just so.

It's it's it's perfect. A weird thing though, it's so cute too. Yeah, yeah, the casting was great.

Yeah.

I did find it weird though, just like real quick they gave like they used electric guy really early. I remember thinking that as a kid like that, this is a weird one to just kind of throw away on the pilot here, you know what I mean.

I think it was just you know, it's probably just it was an easy one for them to do effects wise, right, so they just kind of made the quickest, easiest decision.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, agreed.

The guy that runs the auto shop, he goes on to play the dark Archer, Oliver's mentor and uh the Ciple in season nine.

Just picking back on what everybody else is saying, this pilot is just like it's a great launch pad for the rest of the show. I mean, if this didn't work, we're not here doing.

This right now.

And it obviously did, because like the best part about the pilot is like it tells us everything we need to know about everybody involved in the show, and it and it hooks you from the end of the episode and we're looking forward to seeing what happens next for everybody, Like there's an actual like eagerness to find out what happens next after this pilot. And I think every pilot should do that, and all the good ones do it, and this is a perfect example.

Yeah, random question for super nerds like us. We're all talking about the characters they're established on. Is there a character from later on the series that could have been introduced here and made it a better show?

I have a thought.

Open because I wanted to ask you this question. I didn't want to have to be blank as I did it, Like I would have loved to see hints of the Tessa, just throw a little little hints throughout the series, even even if we never saw her. If it was just like, you know, Dad's got his second family, like just something happy like that, just to give the feeling that, like when Lionel's not here, he might be scamming.

You know.

I give season seven on the Craft recrunting. Season eight just invented someone who is the second in command of Luther Cormy. Yeah, exactly, that's good.

Lu I do I do, Yeah, I do think that would have been cool. I mean I rewatched what was it lineage recently too, and there's that that, you know, that moment that I thought like, oh, okay, I know it wasn't planned, but it fits really well with the whole test thing where he's like, I loved your mother very deeply, but I was not a perfect husband.

Well you know, speaking on line of like with John Glover and we're going back back around, but like he had a little bit in this episode, but like when he sees Lex's ball for the first time, like he's like, look of just disgust, Like, yep, that's your child for like the worst paron ever.

So yeah, my child's not normal anymore.

What would have interesting thought on that question, on that thought too, is like what what would have the like, what would have Lex's you know whole arc then if it had just been the original plan that he would just make a few guest appearances and he would just be like a bad dad, but like that's pretty much it.

Yeah, it would be very episodic and very like when when we need to give Lex some drama here. We'll call John Glover in for something, right. I mean, he became the big bat of the show for a couple of seasons. That was essential.

So Lex might have had to become the villain sooner.

Maybe they could have wrapped the show up in a more timely manner.

But that's not their fault though.

That was. I don't know.

I don't think victim of their own success. Victoria. Yeah, right right, Matt. To answer your question, Kenny Braverman would have been a good one to add in the pilot because that's a character he's in the comic books. He wasn't small at the time. Did he have electric powers less?

Okay, I don't think so.

I kind of wanted you to know these things. He didn't know. He was a character that was a high school with him. He had some kind of I think electric powers of some kind.

I thought it was like, no, that was Adam Brody. Well, then please do keep up the lens.

Was he in the in the in this uh Lesion Superheroes episode of the Superman the animated series? Anyway, look it up people who are listening. But I think that's always somebody like, oh, they're definitely gonna use this guy because he was in the site, you know, like characters in high school. With Clark, it's like Wana Pete and like this guy, you know, he just never showed up in small but which was shocking me. But anyway, they could have had a more like established like young Superman

Yeah, or maybe if like maybe maybe you don't introduce someone in because I'm not as up on my Superman lore, but maybe you made Whitney a meteor.

Freak, you see, but they made everybody meteor freak by the end. Yeah.

I think the pilot is great, But a question was posed to me, and I'm riffing.

You guys that we would be remiss not to mention that that everything is actually not the first pop sung in the show. Though, come to think of it, it's the calling right when Lex's with LEXI.

Yeah, stop terrible car music. Yeah, it's his seduction music.

And then he has Clark and on the commentary, Alan Miles are like laughing about it being like a meet cute, only it's meat violin.

Yeah, I mean they kiss the first thing they do to each other is kids.

Oh, I know.

I saw that, and I was like the mount to Mount that launched a thousand ships.

Yep, yep, Well there was a I just watched an interview with all the cast like a recent con and Tom was saying that Michael kept making jokes the whole time and he couldn't take it seriously because he was making jokes about them kissing me.

Not surprising, but it's also interesting, like they start literally that close and then become super villains.

So I know it's very analysis. Some metrics right there.

I know it's nice. Right on the entire brown.

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All right, well, I hope you all enjoyed our discussion of pilot for the pilot, I never really know how to say it out loud. I'm talking about the pilot of Smallville. Obviously it's the pilot, but you know it's titled as pilot, and every other episode I say the title of I don't say the in front of it. But be that as it may. Talking about how much it established right lance talking about it the promise of the premise, I think the hook that this show had.