Al Gough Talks About Smallville
Hollywood How To: Keeping an old show fresh
The creator of "Smallville" shares his tricks.
Al Gough is the co-creator and executive producer of the cult television show "Smallville," which depicts Superman/Clark Kent as an adolescent. The show airs Thursdays on the CW network and has recently entered its sixth season. We asked Gough how he and his writing team have managed to keep the show fresh after such a long run. "With extreme difficulty," he said without hesitation. Then he chuckled for a while, and then he broke it down.
1. Progress the main characters' journey. "Every year with a series you are always trying to find new ways to answer the question, 'Why am I going to watch the show this year?' -- not only for the viewers but for yourself too. This year is about our main character realizing there is a larger world out there beyond Smallville that needs to be saved and that he is not the only one out there doing superheroics."
2. Switch up your characters. "One way to keep the show interesting is losing characters either through death or otherwise. Last season Clark's dad, Jonathan Kent, died, and that was a big turning point in the series. This year we wanted to bring new blood in so we brought in Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow for an arc and introduced Jimmy Olsen.
3. Create new relationships. "This year we are playing with a couple of new love triangles. Last season Clark and Lana broke up and she ended up with Lex, so that is heating up. And Jimmy Olsen's love interest is Chloe Sullivan — so Clark is kind of the third wheel in these new romantic entanglements. Finding new dynamics and new triangles keeps moving the characters forward."
4. Bring in new locations. "Our main character is definitely doing some traveling per se. One of the plot lines was he was out in the Phantom Zone in the beginning of the season — which is a Kryptonian prison — and when he escaped so did some other bad guys that were there as well, so now he has to go around and clean up his mess. We've occasionally taken him out of the world of Smallville and Metropolis in previous seasons, but this season it is happening on a more regular basis.
5. Keep in mind that the story does have an end. "This is a story that definitely has an end. At a certain point he goes to the Fortress of Solitude, becomes Superman and flies off. That's the story. We don't want to be one of those shows that overstays its welcome."
Smallville airs Thursdays on the CW at 8 p.m. EST/PST, 7 p.m. CST.
The creator of "Smallville" shares his tricks.
Al Gough is the co-creator and executive producer of the cult television show "Smallville," which depicts Superman/Clark Kent as an adolescent. The show airs Thursdays on the CW network and has recently entered its sixth season. We asked Gough how he and his writing team have managed to keep the show fresh after such a long run. "With extreme difficulty," he said without hesitation. Then he chuckled for a while, and then he broke it down.
1. Progress the main characters' journey. "Every year with a series you are always trying to find new ways to answer the question, 'Why am I going to watch the show this year?' -- not only for the viewers but for yourself too. This year is about our main character realizing there is a larger world out there beyond Smallville that needs to be saved and that he is not the only one out there doing superheroics."
2. Switch up your characters. "One way to keep the show interesting is losing characters either through death or otherwise. Last season Clark's dad, Jonathan Kent, died, and that was a big turning point in the series. This year we wanted to bring new blood in so we brought in Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow for an arc and introduced Jimmy Olsen.
3. Create new relationships. "This year we are playing with a couple of new love triangles. Last season Clark and Lana broke up and she ended up with Lex, so that is heating up. And Jimmy Olsen's love interest is Chloe Sullivan — so Clark is kind of the third wheel in these new romantic entanglements. Finding new dynamics and new triangles keeps moving the characters forward."
4. Bring in new locations. "Our main character is definitely doing some traveling per se. One of the plot lines was he was out in the Phantom Zone in the beginning of the season — which is a Kryptonian prison — and when he escaped so did some other bad guys that were there as well, so now he has to go around and clean up his mess. We've occasionally taken him out of the world of Smallville and Metropolis in previous seasons, but this season it is happening on a more regular basis.
5. Keep in mind that the story does have an end. "This is a story that definitely has an end. At a certain point he goes to the Fortress of Solitude, becomes Superman and flies off. That's the story. We don't want to be one of those shows that overstays its welcome."
Smallville airs Thursdays on the CW at 8 p.m. EST/PST, 7 p.m. CST.
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