"Smallville"
Pilot (2001)

Directors:

David Nutter
Michael W. Watkins

Writers:

Joe Shuster (characters) &
Jerry Siegel (characters) ...

TV Series:

"Smallville" (2001)

Original Air Date:

16 May 2001 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Baby Clark (Kal-El) arrives on Earth. Teen Clark starts high school, saves Lex's life after a car accident, and finds out about his past and birth parents.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer Shorts | Underwear | Shirtless | Hazing | Crucifixion

Cast

Tom Welling	...	Clark Kent
Kristin Kreuk	...	Lana Lang
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Lex Luthor
Eric Johnson	...	Whitney Fordman
Allison Mack	...	Chloe Sullivan
Sam Jones III	...	Pete Ross
Annette O'Toole	...	Martha Kent
John Schneider	...	Jonathan Kent
John Glover	...	Lionel Luthor
Sarah-Jane Redmond	...	Nell Potter (as Sarah Jane Redmond)
Adrian Mcmorran	...	Jeremy Creek (as Adrian McMorran)
Jade Unterman	...	Young Lana Lang
Malkolm Alburquenque	...	Young Clark Kent
Matthew Munn	...	Young Lex Luthor
Dee Jay Jackson	...	Bill Ross

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Mexico:B | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Smallville Films

Trivia:

Cynthia Ettinger was originally cast as Martha Kent. Before the pilot was broadcast, the role was re-cast with Annette O'Toole and her scenes were edited into the existing footage.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Lex spins up to Luthor Corp in his car, as the camera pans over the car to follow him, the cameraman is reflected in the window as he pans over.

Quotes:

Pete Ross: We'd love to join you and Scooby in the Mystery Machine for another zany adventure, but we have to turn in our permission slips before homeroom

Movie Connections:

Featured in Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Long Way Around

The Beginning of a New Interpretation

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The pilot of the TV series "Smallville" indicates that the writers intend on remaining true to much of the original back-story of Superman while at the same time exploring new possibilities for how this hero has evolved. For example, we see that the arrival of Kal-El onto the planet Earth has stayed true, but his relationship with Lex Luthor is different- Lex is tantalized as to who Clark is the moment that Clark saves him despite getting hit by the car nearly head-on.

Another interesting aspect to come from the arrival of Kal-El is the fact that a meteor shower could have hit the town at the same time, containing poisons from another planet that could produce mutinous affects on those from separate planets. Overall, "Smallville" keeps much of the same Superman flavor while adding a lot of other juices to it. The pilot indicates this and gets the audience excited as to how this story will unfold.