|
 Al
Gough Talks About The Smallville Death
Last
week, we interviewed Executive
Producer Alfred Gough in anticipation of Smallville's
100th episode, which aired on January 26. Now that the episode
has passed, we have a few follow-up questions, where Gough talks
about the decision to kill Jonathan Kent and has some kind words
to say for actor John Schneider:
KRYPTONSITE:
Was it always part of the plan to kill Jonathan Kent in the
100th episode?
EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER ALFRED GOUGH: It's part of the mythology. We had
talked about other characters, but it just seemed that as we were
going into Season Five, this is the year the boy becomes the man,
so at some point the mentor/father figure has to die, in order
for Clark to ultimately step up and really embrace his destiny.
Nobody can buffer or shield him anymore from these things. He's
got to take it on for himself.
K-SITE:
Do you have any words to say about John Schneider and his
performance as Jonathan Kent?
GOUGH:
He's a terrific actor. He's a total TV star, of which there are
very few. He's a guy we always wanted to cast on the show, the
first time we came in and met him. I think he completely embodies
the qualities of Jonathan Kent. The strengths, and a kindess,
but there's a fight in him as well, and I think you can see all
these things in Clark. And he's obviously a parent who, in his
own life, deeply cares about his kids, and I think that translated
onto the screen. He just brought a real warmth and authenticity
to the role. And when we broke the news, he took it like a pro,
and was very dignified, and he understood, and understands the
nature of doing a television series, and he's a great guy, and
I'm sure he will now go on and star in another hit show. Like
I said, he's a complete TV star, and there are very few of them.
 K-SITE:
Some photos had leaked a few weeks ago of Clark taking a dead
Jonathan's body to the Fortress of Solitude, but that scene was
absent from the final cut. What happened there?
GOUGH:
We just felt it was too much. It was something that sounded great
on paper, but ultimately it seemed a little awkward and a little
morbid. It felt like a little bit of a stutter step in the episode.
You'd already seen it once when he brought Lana, and it's not
like he brought Lana's body there. I think some of it was the
staging, and some of it was just - you didn't need to see that
scene again.
To read
our review with Al Gough from last week, click
here.
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Read
John Schneider's comments on the Smallville death
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