All Things 'Smallville'

Have at it.

-AP

I noticed that this forum has not had a lot of activity so I'll throw this out there. On those comments over there on duh Homopage about Zack Snyder 'supposedly' going to use Brandon 'BJ' Routhman in the reboot, I noticed a comment. One of those 'fans' wanted to know about ol' BJ appearing on SMALLVILLE!

The thing is, though, is this is not the FIRST time I've seen such requests by duh apologists. Their reasoning, I guess, is that with all the guest stars that Smallville has already had from PREVIOUS Superman incarnations, then why not Routhman?! I mean, look at the list: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Dean Cain, Annette O'Toole (as a regular cast member), Terrance Stamp as the voice of Jor-El, Helen Slater, & now Teri Hatcher. I suppose I may have overlooked someone but you get the idea.

So the 'brain-dead apologists sheep', in their 'wisdom', reason that ol' BJ should ALSO make a guest appearance on Smallville! Yeah, let that 2x4 appear so Clark can send him to the Phantom Zone..........permanently! The problem though is they wouldn't just stop with Routhman. They'd also want the REST of Singerman Sucks to make guest appearances too.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

non_amos wrote:I noticed that this forum has not had a lot of activity so I'll throw this out there. On those comments over there on duh Homopage about Zack Snyder 'supposedly' going to use Brandon 'BJ' Routhman in the reboot, I noticed a comment. One of those 'fans' wanted to know about ol' BJ appearing on SMALLVILLE!

The thing is, though, is this is not the FIRST time I've seen such requests by duh apologists. Their reasoning, I guess, is that with all the guest stars that Smallville has already had from PREVIOUS Superman incarnations, then why not Routhman?! I mean, look at the list: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Dean Cain, Annette O'Toole (as a regular cast member), Terrance Stamp as the voice of Jor-El, Helen Slater, & now Teri Hatcher. I suppose I may have overlooked someone but you get the idea.

So the 'brain-dead apologists sheep', in their 'wisdom', reason that ol' BJ should ALSO make a guest appearance on Smallville! Yeah, let that 2x4 appear so Clark can send him to the Phantom Zone..........permanently! The problem though is they wouldn't just stop with Routhman. They'd also want the REST of Singerman Sucks to make guest appearances too.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The WORST thing the producers could do is put BJ on Smallville. No one knows who that moron is, so ratings wouldn't go up.

Hell, they would go DOWN, all truth be told....

non_amos wrote:I noticed that this forum has not had a lot of activity so I'll throw this out there. On those comments over there on duh Homopage about Zack Snyder 'supposedly' going to use Brandon 'BJ' Routhman in the reboot, I noticed a comment. One of those 'fans' wanted to know about ol' BJ appearing on SMALLVILLE!

The thing is, though, is this is not the FIRST time I've seen such requests by duh apologists. Their reasoning, I guess, is that with all the guest stars that Smallville has already had from PREVIOUS Superman incarnations, then why not Routhman?! I mean, look at the list: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Dean Cain, Annette O'Toole (as a regular cast member), Terrance Stamp as the voice of Jor-El, Helen Slater, & now Teri Hatcher. I suppose I may have overlooked someone but you get the idea.

So the 'brain-dead apologists sheep', in their 'wisdom', reason that ol' BJ should ALSO make a guest appearance on Smallville! Yeah, let that 2x4 appear so Clark can send him to the Phantom Zone..........permanently! The problem though is they wouldn't just stop with Routhman. They'd also want the REST of Singerman Sucks to make guest appearances too.

Ha, you think that's bad? Right around the time it became apparent that there wasn't ever going to be a sequel, some of the true believers (the hardliners) over on the Younis page insisted that Tom Welling be fired immediately off the show and be replaced by BJ The Bartender.

Whether that meant Clark would start wearing powder blue shirts and maroon jackets, I never found out.

I don't think it will or would happen

finian wrote:To be honest, I wonder if there wasn't some sort of rivalry between the gay production (Singerman) and the straight one (Smallville) at the time.

Supposedly they were pretty friendly to one another. In fact, one thing I heard (dunno how true it is) is that Singer actually kept the movie division from pulling rank and cancelling the show.

Truth is that SV had/has about as many homosexual cast and crew members as Singerman. The difference is that you wouldn't necessarily think so because the SV people don't care about anything except telling their story without, shall we say, unnecessary elements.

Don't forget Schnieder lost his job thanks to Singerman.

I won't forget and I won't forgive.

Besides, Ruth is probably hoping he gets another shot at the big screen. Wouldn't help his cause by standing anywhere near Welling. The obvious comparisons made wouldn't be flattering to Ruth.

Ha!

I love the show and everything but one thing I've noticed since Al Gough + Miles Millar left back in season 7 is that the series doesn't seem to have quite the same emphasis on aesthetics, color and lighting as it did back when Al and Miles were running things.

You saw hints and flashes of that stuff a little bit in season 8 but from about the beginning of season 9 and onward, the colors began veering to more muted and desaturated hues and the lighting hasn't been quite as dynamic as before. This is one of those things you can't really blame on budget cuts either since there's no real cost difference between lighting a shot in the Goughlar way vs. the Petersouders way. I can't see how one would be more expensive than the other.

The best example I can immediately think of is the Lex/Clark confrontation in the FOS from 7x22, Arctic. Lex's gloves and coat were blackblackblack, the FOS had heavily blue features and occasionally (intentionally) blown out whites here and there, very vibrant reds and blues in Clark's clothes, dense purples and blues in other sections of the set, smoke and fog hovering around with diffused light coming though, etc. I mean, it's just a phenomenally great scene from an aesthetic point of view.

Now ask yourself if you can really picture those kinds of visuals in, say, this upcoming episode. Me? I just can't.

Frankly, I chalk this up to Al and Miles being all-around movie guys while Peterson and Souders are writers more than anything.

Anyway, not bashing on the show, just offering a little constructive criticism.

i disagree with you there, their lighting and camera stuff has still been the same. They have the same 2 or 3 guys who are their dp/lighting and all tha guys. 9th season just was a darker themed season so i calk it up to that.

I'm sorry but you're wrong. And this goes beyond just mood-setting. The DP and other folks do what they're told by the showrunners. Since season 8, the show's color design has almost completely changed (or else been radically diminished). This even includes make up and costumes/wardrobe (ie, Clark doesn't wear bright colors as often, Lois is attired in drabbier colors and with slightly darker make up, etc). The show simply doesn't look like the below examples anymore, and hasn't since Gough and Millar left.

-- Season 02


-- Season 03



All of the above speak for themselves. SV used to showcase a very bright and vibrant color pallete. Color design like the above has been notably absent since Al and Miles left.

-- Season 06

Lighting like this doesn't happen by itself. It has to be carefully and elaborately set up. Even with the deeper shadows, you still get a strong sense of vibrant color here.


Ibid.

I'd include DVD caps from season 7 (where the color design reached its pinnacle and watching SV was like watching a comic book) compared to season 9 and 10 but I have caps from none and am too lazy to create some. Suffice it to say, the Al and Miles years were visually defined by that strong sense of color design and that's either radically changed or else is drastically reduced.

Well who knows if it was kelly/brian call. Maybe the dp and all that wanted to change things up after awhile.

webhead2006 wrote:Well who knows if it was kelly/brian call. Maybe the dp and all that wanted to change things up after awhile.

Exactly what are you basing that on? No matter what, the simple fact of the matter is that the show just looks different now, and has ever since Al and Miles left. The shortest distance between two points is to assign that decision to the new showrunners. When all's said and done, any DP's job ultimately is to do what he's told and otherwise have a warm glass of STFU. He doesn't have the mojo to completely redesign the show's use of color.

Hell, I could maybe buy that he lit certain scenes differently of his own accord... but that really wouldn't have anything to do with the drabbier costumes and props, now would it? But lookie here, the clothing/costumes even now aren't as colorful as they used to be. Ditto visual effects, production design and props. None of those departments fall under a DP's purview and yet they've changed too!

If you've got something more than "I think" or "I believe", lay it on me. But from where I sit, it looks like an EXECUTIVE decision was made to change up the show's look. And however much it may suit the story immediately being told, (A) don't pretend it's not happening and (B) don't pretend that it's not a stylistic divergence from all that has gone before. You're wrong on both.

Yeesh...

alright one wayto find out maybe is to go to twitter/facebook pages of various producer/writers of the show and ask? i am sure some would give feedback. Who really knows why things changed. Could have been a number of things.

Before we get going on this, I wrote that I was too lazy to make caps from my DVD's. The below? These aren't DVD caps, I just found a YouTube clip from Arctic, the season 7 finale. So. I'm still lazy. That hasn't changed. I've just found a way to point to SV aesthetics when they were, I believe, at their pinnacle. The point is that we just don't get visuals and color design like this anymore.

And again, I'm still lazy. The below caps don't mitigate that.











I haven't seen highly "comic booky" visuals quite like this since the new crew really started hitting their stride. Petersouders seem to be more centered on the writing than the visuals, which isn't a bad thing (by any means), just a true thing.

I think there's been some "downscaling" in certain areas as the years have rolled on, for sure.

That black & white episode they did a few years ago was about the pinnacle of the cinematography seen on the show, and was justly rewarded.

The exteriors lately do give the impression of Metropolis just being a studio back lot, a la "Lois & Clark" whereas it wasn't that long ago it was shot on "location"

...and re locations....The Talon! Gone! What will the silent film fan community of Smallville do now? Where will they hold open mike nights from now on, and more importantly, where will this years Miss Corn Cob Bikini contest be held?

Any one go to best buy to pixk up any seasons sets for ten dollars each. Finally picked up eight and nine.

Flipped through some Younis page remarks about returning superheroes this year and found a couple of gems. But one in particular stood out.

Some Younis Page Numbnuts wrote:#18 | Superman1976 on November 26, 2010 7:45am EST
I may not understand how the TV industry works, but I don't understand why the final season of a show isn't completely ironed out, written and a season finale planned?

When I read these updates, it seems like they are flying (or leaping) by the seat of their pants.

Keep in mind, people like this would tell you their opinion is just as valid as anyone else's. This toolbag apparently believes it's possible to write scripts for 22 episodes over the course of two months (all of which have to be approved and revised a zillion times before anyone can even think about shooting them) and when the producers have no idea about actor availability (what if in January Rosenbaum suddenly decides to do a one-shot episode as Lex? What then, dumbass?)

The big picture of the season is plotted out in advance. From there, episodes are written one at a time and the writers must keep room open for schedule changes or other stuff later on in the pipeline. Not a difficult concept to understand, esp since most of this stuff is either explicitly stated in various SV DVD extras or else can be easily extrapolated from those same extras.

People this moronic are out there. They walk among us. They drive cars. They vote. They reproduce.

Oh totally since alot of folks don't lmpw hpw tv/film work. I went to school for it. It is a long process. Plus things could change on the fly too if issues arise, someone quits/get sick or the wrost die.

webhead2006 wrote:Oh totally since alot of folks don't lmpw hpw tv/film work. I went to school for it. It is a long process. Plus things could change on the fly too if issues arise, someone quits/get sick or the wrost die.

Yep. It sorta goes back to what is quickly becoming my motto in life: "just a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing".

To your point though, and as it goes for SV, I bash the crap out of season 4 because it was simply BAD. However, some things were completely out of Al and Miles hands. Who would've ever thought that Chris Reeve would pass away like he did and therefore be unavailable for the mini-arc they'd planned for him? How could Al and Miles have known that Margot Kidder would have another breakdown and cuss them out to the national media? Who knew that Kyle Gallner would go on to score a recurring role on Veronica Mars and be unable to come back later on in the season as had been planned?

All the advance planning and writing in the world couldn't have saved a lot of those things. Shit happens in life.

thec0l0rsblend wrote:Shit happens in life.

And the majority of people who post at the HomoPage are shitheads.

Yup nothing we/they could do when plans change. They just have to work around it as best as they can and hope it turns out well.

So was just reading sam jones has plead guilty to the drug charges he was arrested on late last yr.

Link:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b216688_smallville_shocker_star_guilty_in.html?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-celebritynews&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_celebritynews

I originally found this at duh Homopage. I guess we can forget Pete EVER being on Smallville again, huh? I guess he'll just disappear from existence like the older brother 'CHUCK' did after about the 2nd season of HAPPY DAYS!

Probably wasn't likely he was going to appear again after he was first arrested last yr.

non_amos wrote:I guess he'll just disappear from existence like the older brother 'CHUCK' did after about the 2nd season of HAPPY DAYS!

LOL! Poor ol' Chuck didn't make it through one season!

You know Richard Pryor got him drunk in Superman lll? Chuck Cunningham went on to become Lana Lang's ex boyfriend. Seriously.

Actually....Richard Pryor:Drugs...Sam Jones:Drugs....it all does come round again

devoted to smallville site is now reporting cassidy freeman is another smallville cast member to be heading to spain next summer for their superhero convention.