Did You Know?

Many series actors and guest stars have had roles in previous film and television versions of the Superman comic: Christopher Reeve (Dr. Virgil Swann) played Superman in Superman and its three sequels; Terence Stamp (Jor-El) played the Phantom Zone villain General Zod in Superman and Superman II; Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent) played Lana Lang in Superman III; Dean Cain (Dr. Curtis Knox) played Clark Kent in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Helen Slater (Lara, Clark's mother) played Kara/Supergirl in Supergirl. Marc McClure (Dax-Ur) played Jimmy Olsen in Superman, its three sequels, and Supergirl. Lynda Carter (Moira Sullivan, Chloe's mother) played Wonder Woman/Diana Prince in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman ("Wonder Woman" is, like Superman, a DC Comics superhero). Jeannot Szwarc, who has directed 13 episodes (as of October 2010) also directed Supergirl. Margot Kidder (Bridgette Crosby) played Lois Lane in Superman and its three sequels. Teri Hatcher (Lois's mother) played Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

In each episode Clark can be seen wearing any one of, or a combination of red, yellow and blue; the colours he will one day don as Superman.

Chloe and Whitney were created specifically for the show (they were never mentioned in the Superman comics). However, in 2003, DC Comics announced that Chloe would be introduced into the Superman comics.

The sound effect used for the sound of Kryptonite radiating is the same as the one used in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Belle Reve is the name of the estate that Blanche and Stella DuBois come from in Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire". Throughout the play, Blanche gradually becomes insane. In Smallville, Belle Reve is the name of a mental hospital. In DC Comics, Belle Reve is the name of a federal prison for super-villains; it is located in Louisiana.

The name of one of the Kryptonian baddies from season 5 is named Nam-Ek, the same name of the race of aliens come to earth (the race of aliens that Piccolo hails from) in the anime Dragonball Z. Nam-Ek is also the name of one of the Phantom Zone criminals in the DC Comics Superman titles, first appearing in Superman #282 (December 1974).

Kristen Bell auditioned for the role of Chloe Sullivan.

Although he plays the lead character, Tom Welling has admitted in interviews that he is not a fan of the Superman comic books.

Kim Poirier auditioned for the role of Tess Mercer.

'Michael Rosenbaum' starred in Clint Eastwood's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In the film, Rosenbaum's character was a witness in the prosecution of Kevin Spacey's character. Both Spacey and Rosenbaum have portrayed legendary comic book super villain Lex Luthor.

The longest-running Superman TV series.

After the 15th episode of Season 10 airs, Smallville will take the crown (and the Guinness World Record) for being the longest consecutively running Sci-Fi television serial of all time (10 years without a break). Stargate SG-1 holds that title with 213 episodes, which Smallville will supersede by 5 episodes by the end of Season 10 (it's final season). Doctor Who however holds the record for the longest running Sci-Fi show in the world, running from 1963 to 2010, with another series starting in 2011, totalling over 700 episodes.

The character of Tess Mercer, aka Lutessa Luthor (Cassidy Freeman), was created to fill the spot left by Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor in Season 8. Tess is an amalgam of the most infamous of Lex Luthor's female counterparts from various sources; Miss Tessmacher (Valerie Perrine) in "Superman: The Movie", Mercy Graves (Lisa Edelstein) in "Superman: The Animated Series", and Contessa Del Portenza from the comic book series.

Since the start of the "Superman" comic book, there has been an abundance of characters with the initials "L.L.," including Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Lois Lane, Lori Lemaris, Lucy Lane, Linda Lee, etc. "Smallville" continued that naming tradition with several of the characters created for the show, including Lex's parents, Lionel and Lillian Luthor, his brother, Lucas Luthor, and Lana's parents, Laura and Lewis Lang.

Actors Tom Welling, Allison Mack, Michael Rosenbaum, John Schneider, and Justin Hartley are the only actors to ever appear on the show, who also directed episodes of it as well. Although they did not direct the same amount of course since Welling has directed seven episodes; Mack has directed two; and Rosenbaum, Schneider, and Hartley all directed one episode each during the show's 10 year run.

While starring, Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) also provided the voice of the Flash (Wally West) in Justice League. In Justice League: The Great Brain Robbery, the Flash switches bodies with Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown), meaning that Rosenbaum likewise played Luthor on that occasion.

Twin brothers Shawn Ashmore and Aaron Ashmore both appear in the show throughout the seasons. Shawn as Eric Summers in Leech (Season 1) and Asylum (Season 3), and then Aaron as Jimmy Olsen from Season 6 on.