 Smallville Flashback: Al Gough Interview From December 2001!
Interview by Craig Byrne
A dip into the KryptonSite archives came up with this interview from December 2001 that we only recently recovered. It's been nine years since Season 1 when this happened, and much has changed with the show. This is still a very fun look back into times long past for the show! Enjoy!
KRYPTONSITE
WEBMASTER CRAIG BYRNE: What do you think have been strongest elements
of the show so far?
"SMALLVILLE"
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALFRED GOUGH: I think the strongest elements so
far have been the characters and the relationships. Obviously Clark and
Lana, Clark and Lex, and his parents... all the interpersonal dynamics
of the show are working very well. On a production level, I think the
visual effects, we've been really blown away by. We have an extraordinary
visual effects supervisor named Bill Millar, and we call him our ninth
cast member.
We
would say the strongest episodes of the first bunch were the Pilot, Metamorphosis,
X-Ray and Hourglass. When you sort of sit back after seven or eight and
sort of look at it, you think those are really good, and we've got some
strong ones coming up. I think "Rogue" is going to be really
strong, and I think "Hug" will also be really good.
One
of the things is also mixing up the stories a bit so they're not so "Freak
of the Week."
CB: And on that note, are there some things about the show that could be improved?
AG: The thing you always want to do when you launch a series, so that
people watching it week to week can understand what your series is about,
and now it's "what are the new and exciting and fun things we can
do with Kryptonite," obviously, and then also also, what are the
other types of stories we could tell, like "Rogue," which airs
in January, really doesn't deal with Kryptonite at all, it deals with
the much bigger issue of "what happens if somebody discovers Clark's
secret." "Shimmer" uses Kryptonite in a different way.
I think it's also trying to mix the stories up for us, which is going
to be a thrust as we get into the second half of the season.
CB: Will we be seeing more episodes like "Rogue" with less Kryptonite?
AG: I think those sorts of episodes will be in the mix, but what we're going
to try and mix up a little will be the straight "Kryptonite infection"
stories like "Cool" and "Craving," where you see the
infection and the person gets it and they sort of -- [go] crazy. It's
just trying to mix it up, the core concept of the show is "Kryptonite
has done weird things to this town," it's just "Where else can
you take that?"
CB: What can you tell us about Victoria Emerson?
AG: It's actually Victoria Hardwick. Basically she is a former flame of Lex's
who comes to town and tries to turn him against his father. It's a four-episode
arc, and I think it will be interesting to watch that play out. It gives
an insight into Lex's past and expands his world a little bit.
CB: Where exactly is Smallville's Metropolis located?
AG: Metropolis is probably about three hours from Smallville.
CB: Will we be seeing it any time soon?
AG: Yes.
CB: Can you expand on that, or do you want it to be a surprise?
AG: You see it briefly in "Jitters" on Tuesday, and you see it intermittently
in some other episodes that are coming up.
CB: With "Hourglass," was there any temptation at all to show the
costume?
AG: No.
CB: Where did Lana's necklace go?
AG: After "X-Ray" she has put it away, but it will be making a reappearance.
CB: The TV Guide article hinted at a connection between Chloe and Lois
Lane. Can you expand on that?
AG: No! <Laughs> I didn't want the actress to say anything, so I'm not
about to!
CB: But we will learn an answer sometime?
AG: Yes.
CB: Which character on the show is the most difficult to write?
AG: I don't know that there are any that are the "most difficult to write,"
I know there are characters that are always a challenge. I think Lana's
going through a more interesting journey at the moment which has actually
been fun to write, and obviously Lex is always fun to write, and Clark...
nobody's difficult, it's just when you're arcing out the characters "Where
are they going," and "what turns are they taking through the
episodes?"
CB: So which company provides Whitney's car insurance?
AG: <Laughs> Whitney no longer is insurable. The best job in Smallville
is still the Auto & Body Fender Repair shop. That guy's buying houses
in Bermuda.
CB: Are there any plans for any past "Freaks of the Week" to be
returning?
AG: Potentially.
CB: Has there been any talk of a DVD release of the show?
AG: There is going to be one, in terms of the Pilot and Metamorphosis, put
together as a 2-hour, for DVD release in Europe. There's talk of doing
that in North America as well. Miles [Millar] and I, and David Nutter,
actually did the DVD commentary a couple of weeks ago, which was a lot
of fun.
CB: Will Jonathan and Martha be playing bigger roles in future episodes?
AG: It's one of those things that's "as the stories dictate."
They have a really good size story in "Jitters" and also in
"Rogue." Sometimes characters have more play in episodes than
others.
CB: All of the characters in the show have such big backstories. Could
there ever be an episode with no Clark Kent?
AG: Yes, there could be. Obviously the show is called "Smallville,"
so again, Clark is clearly the center of that universe, but we're always
looking to expand the characters. I think what's great in the feedback
we've gotten not only from the message boards, and even research here,
is that people like the characters, and you can sort of go places with
characters other than Clark, which is nice. It helps not only creatively,
but also with production!
CB: Speaking of message boards, what's the strangest comment you've read or
heard online?
AG: Somebody goes, "these hacks are messing it all up," and then
they go, "Where's the bottled city of Kandor, it's buried under Smallville!"
And I'm like "Really?"
CB: Why should someone who has not yet seen Smallville give the
show a try?
AG: I believe because there is something in the show for everyone. We try
to build each episode on four key points -- Heart, Hero, Mystery, and
Family, and I think for the most part this mix is working in each episode
(some more than others). Also it is a show about a hero, or hero in training
at this point, and I believe that is always an appealing idea. Superman
has been with us for over sixty years because he represents the best about
ourselves... but if thats not enough I've got three letters for you: L-E-X.
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