KryptonSite 100th Episode Interview With Smallville Executive Producer Alfred Gough
Jan. 19, 2006 - Interview conducted by Craig Byrne (PlanetKrypton@aol.com)

We've been fortunate enough to interview Smallville Executive Producer Alfred Gough about the upcoming 100th episode of the series. The interview contains some talk about the events of the January 26 show and offers some hints about what's to come later in the season, so be warned of spoilers.

Enjoy the interview!

KRYPTONSITE: In several interviews you've talked about a plan or a general outline you've had for the show. Were the events of the 100th episode always part of the plan?

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALFRED GOUGH: They were, actually.

K-SITE: How will Clark be changed by the death in episode 100?

GOUGH: It's definitely going to force him to take a look at his life, and realize that the decisions you could make as a high school kid and the decisions you make as a young adult are vastly different, and it's a step closer from becoming the Superboy to Superman.

K-SITE: How do you feel the Clark and Lana relationship has worked this season now that they've finally gotten together?

GOUGH: I think so far, I think it's worked well. It's probably worked better than any other season, just 'cause you put 'em together, they have sex, he gets his powers back, so he clearly then hasn't been with her, which is what we're playing now, and then, guess what? It's going to go horribly awry, because he has honesty issues, and he wants to get laid. And then also, you've got Lex who's out there really, now that the gloves are kind of off with Clark, his feelings for Lana are an issue as well, so this relationship's got a lot to battle. Clark can either step up, or step aside.

K-SITE: Why has it taken so long for Clark to just tell Lana his secret?

GOUGH: I think there's always an issue of, you've got a couple super hero dilemmas. One is can the person take it? Will they look at you as a freak, and run the other way? Two is, girlfriend to super hero. Always in a lot of trouble. And that would only get worse, especially if she knew the secret. And thirdly, I think there's always the question of 'is she really the one?' You know, which we from the comics know that ultimately she isn't. You know, there are the mistakes you make in your first relationship that'll have reverberations through the ones you have after that.

K-SITE: With Clark apparently getting engaged, when is Chloe ever going to get any love?

GOUGH: Always a good question. I'm not sure. [laughs]

K-SITE: In TV Guide it was mentioned that another "major" player is on the way out, too. Does this mean more than one regular cast member will be leaving, or will we just have to wait and see?

GOUGH: Maybe.

K-SITE: A lot of fans are excited to see James Marsters will be coming back. What do we have to look forward to with that?

GOUGH: His plan is to release Zod from the Phantom Zone. He sort of made that crystal clear when he was in the Fortress. So he's going to be back, and his first attempt was foiled, but now he's got a bigger, badder attempt and it involves Lex as well, which obviously makes Clark's life much more difficult. So he's back and badder than ever.

K-SITE: Can you tease anything specific from #100 that the fans will particularly love?

GOUGH: [Silence] Good question. A lot of great stuff in the episode, but I don't want to spoil anything, because that's what spoiler pages are for. [pause] I think they'll like the way the character dies. How's that? [laughs]

K-SITE: Do you have a favorite episode of the hundred that you've done so far?

GOUGH: I don't have one particular favorite. I have favorites that are in there from each season. Obviously Rosetta, because of Christopher Reeve. I think Memoria, too, is a favorite. I really liked Run, where we introduce the Flash. I thought that was the best introduction of a DC character. I still really like Nicodemus, actually. I saw that again on ABC Family over the holidays. I hadn't seen it, quite frankly, since it aired. And I really like, from the first season, I really like Stray, too. The first one with Ryan.

K-SITE: Will Terence Stamp's Jor-El character factor into the 100th episode?

GOUGH: Yes, he will.

K-SITE: I read recently that we may actually be able to see Jor-El on the show. Has that restriction from the movie people been lifted?

GOUGH: It's an ongoing conversation. It's something that we hope to do. But it's not only the movie people, it's Terence's schedule and quite frankly how it fits into the storytelling.

K-SITE: So he would play Jor-El?

GOUGH: That will be the plan.

K-SITE: Is there anything that you wish you had done differently in the show's first 100 episodes?

GOUGH: That's hard to say, because I think every season you look back and there are things you like about the season and things you don't. So I can't point to one thing in particular and say gosh, I wish we'd done that. I think things we've wanted to do, we've been able to do, and you learn from your mistakes, and as the show matures you always try to play to its strengths and try not to repeat things that you watched going horribly awry. Like, you know, aging babies that explode. WTF? You know. [laughs]

K-SITE: Will we be seeing any more actors from previous Superman TV series or movies, or characters from the comics, anytime soon?

GOUGH: There's always a possibility. We have Cyborg coming up in episode 15, and there could be an appearance by General Zod.

K-SITE: Will yourself and Miles Millar be writing another episode anytime soon?

GOUGH: Quite frankly, we have our hands tied. We're still involved in all the episodes and the story breaking and things like that, but we're now heavily involved in Aquaman, so that's kind of taking all of our writing duties. We wanted to write the 100th episode, and then once Aquaman came together, we realized we couldn't do that. Miles wanted to direct another one this year as well. But we're fortunate that we have a fantastic writing staff. Souders and Peterson, and Slavkin and Swimmer, and Steve DeKnight, and the other staff. They do terrific work week after week, so we couldn't be happier with the staff that we have.

K-SITE: Will the Aquaman series take place in the Smallville universe? Is there any chance of a crossover?

GOUGH: Will we crossover? My guess is down the road, perhaps there will be some crossover. I don't think in the first season, but don't hold me to that, that could all change. I think you have to establish a show on its own terms before you could start to do that kind of stuff. It's not like a Buffy/Angel thing where you're spinning a character that you've lived with in one show into another show, so it feels obvious that you cross people over.

K-SITE: Why do you think Season Five has received a good critical & ratings reaction?

GOUGH: You know, the ratings reaction - I couldn't tell you. I think Lost and Top Model were really hurting us, and I think it's more than that too. I think people, for whatever reasons, I think have tuned back into the show. Creatively, you always try to do a great season regardless of if your numbers reflect that or not. West Wing's having a terrific season, and the numbers certainly don't reflect that. But I think for us this year is we allowed the characters to grow up. They're not in high school anymore, they're young adults. The issues are more complex. Things don't get resolved necessarily at the end of every episode. I think we've gotten a lot better at the continuing arcs of a continuity, which is something that we definitely wanted to play more this year, and also not dragging out storylines, like the whole Jason/mother/crystal storyline which sort of got dragged out in Season 4.

That's why with Brainiac, we wanted to have one plan, that got foiled, and now he's going to come back with another plan. And we've made allusions to Professor Fine, and he's not around, and the ship's missing, and they're looking for it. You can keep a story alive without having to cut to the character, and I think that's certainly something we learned last year with the whole crystal story. I think this year we've allowed the characters to grow up. Obviously, the older the show gets the closer it gets to Superman, so I think you feel a lot more of the Superman mythology in the show, which I think the fans really like. I know Miles and I really enjoy it. The things that we've been teeing up for four years, I think this year have started to happen. Like, the real deterioration of Clark and Lex's friendship. Not like "we're not friends." Four episodes later. "Okay, we're friends again." So all that stuff is playing out, and finally you can play the Clark/Lex/Lana triangle too.

K-SITE: When is Lex going to get better security in his mansion?

GOUGH: That's a very good question. We at least acknowledged it in Fanatic, which I thought it was funny.

K-SITE: You've got a defined goal for Clark and Lex. Do you have a defined goal for where Lois will end up?

GOUGH: We do. Lois has always been interesting because we don't want to rub up against the movie too much, so there have been certain restrictions on Lois and Clark's relationship that we'd love to play out that we hope, once the movie is out, we'll be able to do. But yes, we have a plan for Lois, but then we have an alternate plan as well. [laughs]

We'd like to thank Al Gough and Warner Bros. Television for the time in doing this interview.

Click on the links below for some Episode 100 features here on KryptonSite. And don't miss the big 100th episode, "Reckoning," on Thursday, January 26 on the WB!

Episode Spoilers - Image Gallery - Promo Trailer Screencaps - Preview Ad
Screencaps from a scene from the episode! - Fan Predictions

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