Post Game TV Recap: SMALLVILLE S9E4: “Echo”
“No, Lois! He doesn’t get off that easy. Kick. His. ASS.” — Lois Lane (Erica Durance)
After a recap of some episodes prior, we are taken to a scene where a woman is bound and gagged, clearly held against her will wherever she is. Zooming out shows that she’s one of many held hostage in a textile factory. Slightly removed from most of the employees is a man in a chair with a dynamite bomb device strapped to his torso and wearing a stationary childlike mask, almost like the face of a ventriloquist’s dummy. “Super-Clark” comes on the scene at the same time as the Metropolis Police Department and he goes in to free the hostages at superspeed, leaving his flaming ‘S’ calling card on the floor. Actually the motionless but awake man in the chair was holding the others hostage ready to blow himself up apparently, though he says nothing the whole time. Clark quickly rips off his TNT pack (”Don’t bother pulling the trigger.”) and swats him away. Clark sees that the mask was the detonator and he tries to smother the explosion to suppress it. Not all that successful, it blows a big hole in the factory anyway and renders him senseless for a couple minutes, his ears ringing. When Lois shows up, Clark has changed out of his super black suit (in a phone booth!) and into his Daily Planet-appropriate attire. Still a little dazed while catching her up on what happened, he’s surprised when he picks up a couple thoughts in her head clearly indicating that she’s hot for him.
Returning from the show credits, Clark’s in an elevator at the Planet, and it seems he can hear more inner monologue of people nearby has he goes up floor by floor. Stopping on a floor with Lois waiting, it’s apparent she made a dubious underwear choice that day as it turns out he’s been “hearing” her above all else. In a scene clearly sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, he gets her the donut she was craving before they start to dig into the details of the hostage case. Turns out the textile factory’s Queen Industries property. He turns to Chloe for help later, and he’s established at this point that it’s only Lois he’s picking up the thoughts of at this point. Right away you can tell that the longtime solid relationship between these two is as strained as it’s ever been. They’ve always been more entertaining as trusted allies, so I hope that conflict sees some resolution soon. As she leaves he starts hearing other people and goes to the Fortress to see what his father Jor-El knows. Turns out it’s a seed planted by Jor-El, a temporary one, for his son’s trials and to test the decisions he makes in saving lives.
At the show’s weekly Metropolis General Hospital stop, they question recovering hostages and Clark uses his new ability to gain the trust of a couple of them to get the description of a creepy guy, short and fat. The two figure out their next moves and determine that they got time to kill while the man behind the mask with the bomb recovers from surgery and is up for answering questions. Clark can tell that Lois had no plans on this particular Saturday night so he makes the move in asking her on kinda/sorta a date. Apparently what’s up Lois’ alley is a monster truck rally. Who knew they had good food there? Now, while I’m not too keen on a contrived new ability for Kal-El, one Superman has historically never had — and the visual flash every time the power kicks in gets tedious in a hurry — it does make for some cute banter between Tom Welling and Erica Durance who have chemistry to spare.
Back from commercial, we’re somewhere south of the border, and a shitfaced Oliver Queen stumbles into a small town bar. He attracts some bad attention of some local toughs, ready to give him a beatdown when their women get too flirty. Before they get started, Tess Mercer busts in to break it up with a round of warning shots. Decked out in a nice Lara Croft ensemble, she clears the joint out before approaching Oliver. Back in Smallville, Chloe shows up to the Talon, Lois’ place, where she finds her cousin prepping a tasteful ensemble for herself for a night at a Kansas monster truck rally. When Lois says it’s Clark taking her out, the fact that she suggests that she’s been on the same wavelength that whole day with Clark gets under Chloe’s skin because she knows that Clark CAN in fact read minds and he’s taking advantage of it, clearly. Before their date, Clark’s back at the hospital doing some follow-up, and he hears the thoughts of the guy who got the bomb strapped to him. Clark puts it together that the “short and fat guy” responsible for the earlier hostage is none other than Toyman.
Back in Mexico, Tess confronts Oliver about his current failings, personal and in business. Turns out he’s still on his “Lost Weekend” of self-flagellation. She tries to get it out of him as to what he did that was so wrong, but he won’t budge. As a favor, she gets him to clean up just enough to return to Metropolis to put in a shareholder appearance. Oooo!!! But little do they know that Toyman is actually looking to exact revenge on Oliver Queen for framing him for Lex Luthor’s murder from last season! Useful. Back at the Planet, Chloe takes Clark to task for using his ability to read minds to get a date out of it with Lois. Busted! Even worse, looks like Lois is going to get stood up since Clark is on the case trying to find Toyman before he can do any more damage. At least it’s a somewhat valid excuse. Chloe lets Clark know how Toyman is sure to get at Oliver, the Queen shareholders gala that night at Ace O’ Clubs.
Clark gets there at superspeed and mind-reads his way into entering the black tie event. Right then, Lois shows up, hilariously, in a monster truck and wearing a slinky cocktail dress. Thanks to her iPhone, she found out about the event and realized that Clark was set to scoop her on a big story. Clark tries to rebuff her on the story, claiming it for himself, because he really knows of the danger possible with Toyman’s involvement, and she storms off just in time for Oliver to take the stage. Just then Clark’s ability to hear everyone’s thoughts turns off like a switch, under the pretense of some podium microphone feedback, clearly the work of Jor-El (”Thanks, Dad.”). When Oliver starts his speech, it quickly becomes apparent that Toyman is pulling strings and engages him in a game of “Toyman Says” or else he blows up the whole event. In the game, he has to read off a teleprompter confessing all of his sins (like framing Toyman for Lex Luthor’s death), all of it hitting way close to home. Clark detects the pressure plate that Oliver is standing on that will trigger the bomb and gets Chloe’s remote help to evacuate the event. In the crowd, Clark finds Winslow Schott, and before he can get an answer Oliver steps off the plate since the place has finally cleared of all other guests. Not getting an answer out of Toyman from several yards away, Clark figures out that this Winslow is a robot, and one equipped with a detonator. He fries its face with his heat vision, not knowing that Oliver already made his move. Turns out the plate was a fake, and when Clark asks Oliver how he knew, he admitted that he didn’t, shocking Clark. Poor Mr. Queen was ready to end it all, putting himself out of his misery.
After the authorities have cleared the scene, Clark shares with Oliver that Chloe tracked down the real Winslow thanks to the radio earpiece and that he’s already in custody, on his way to Stryker’s. Clark offers his help, admitting that he could’ve done more for his friend in need. Oliver confides that since he was only 5 when he lost his own parents, everything that made him what he’s been is all made up — masks, if you will. Clark assures Oliver that he’s there for him, but has to cut it short when a police siren “plays his song.” Alone on the Clubs terrace with his drink, he sees Lex Luthor in his reflection in a window and hurls his glass at it in a mix of fear, guilt and frustration. At Stryker’s, Schott is approached by Tess. After he taunts her with her closeness to Oliver and the attack on LuthorCorp she was in on prior (Season 8’s “Requiem”), she pulls out a gun and shoots him in the knee. Tess having bribed the guard to allow her in there, Winslow’s afraid of getting thrown in solitary, but she offers him a new toy to play with: the kryptonite heart of Metallo. His assignment is to figure out how this piece of alien technology works.
Wrapping up things in “Echo” at the Daily Planet, Clark apologizes to Lois, saying that he’s not ready to do solo work, and extends an olive branch in the form of his article for her to edit. She goes at it pretty hard with a red pen, but he starts to get back in her good graces. Perhaps a second date is more likely on a slow news day.
Unquestionably, “Echo” has been the weakest link in an otherwise interesting Season Nine. An interesting idea in theory, but rushed in key parts of the episode, with many a plotline dangling. The downward spiral of Oliver Queen has become more of an endurance test than a compelling storyline, and one hope that the next episode, “Roulette,” an Ollie-heavy one at that, brings some sort of resolution to this Green Arrow story. Toyman’s usage was disappointing for the most part, especially since he did very little to earn that villainous name in “Echo,” most of his tricks being conventional acts of terrorism. What say ye, loyal viewers? Your thoughts on “ECHO,” echo… echo…
Ex-”Smallville” Actor Sam Jones Busted Over Drug Charges
Los Angeles, CA (CNS) – Former “Smallville” actor Sam Jones has been arrested Wednesday morning on drug charges. The 26-year-old actor was busted by the Drug Enforcement Administration agents on conspiracy to sell more than 10,000 pills of oxycodone.
Jones, who played Clark Kent’s best friend on the show for three seasons, allegedly co-conspired in a series of major drug deals in 2008.
DEA claims the actor was the “Hollywood connection” in a plot to illegally purchase and distribute the pain killers.
He has been charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute. He is due in L.A. federal court Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in jail.
Jones also appeared as a guest star in TV series such as “The Practice,” “ER,” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Smallville – New Spoiler Photo
Smallville – Episode 9.01 – Savior – Promotional Photos
New Trailer Up for ‘Smallville’ Season 9
We’re all hoping the new season of Smallville won’t be disappointing, as many might admit that the long-running series headed downhill. Still, the CW is doing is best to increase the hype on the show and now it’s released the trailer for the ninth installment.
Wow, nine seasons already? It’s like an invulnerable cat that just won’t quit. But now that it’s about to use up its ninth life, what will come next? Even so, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s the premiere of Smallville’s upcoming run this September, and you can catch the preview after the jump.
As all the fans know, this season is the season of Zod (Callum Blue). With that, there’s transformations on every corner for Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as he embraces his destiny as the Man of Steel. Of course, there’s Lois (Erica Durance) and her love affair with the Red-Blue Blur, which looks promising judging from the trailer.
Chloe (Allison Mack) gets tired of her role as Clark’s sidekick and starts to step out and stand out more, breaking off from behind the scenes action. Meanwhile, we can expect Oliver (Justin Hartley) battling off more demons, but this time they’re of the personal kind.
There are also a number of newcomers headed to the new season, from the villainous Metallo (Brian Austin Green) to the mysterious duo Tanner (David Gallagher) and Twyla (Allison Scagliotti). More responsibilities are heading Clark’s way, other than saving the world of course. He still has to deal with increasing tension in his relationships as he continues to show his Kryptonian roots.
Anyway, enough chit-chat. Here’s the intentionally action-packed trailer of the ninth season of Smallville.
Wonder Twins Invading ‘Smallville’
The CW Source has reported that the Wonder Twins are coming to the new installment of Smallville, and that they’ve already been cast. We’ve been working on the spoilers for season 9 of the show, so we knew that the duo Zan and Jayna would be coming along eventually. Thing is, the producers haven’t revealed who’ll be playing them until now.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have heard of the Wonder Twins if Motion City Soundtrack didn’t mention them in with the song “It Had to Be You.” Then again, there’s probably just a handful of you who’s heard about that band anyway. Moving on, let’s do a background check on the Smallville newcomers.
Possible season 9 spoilers below!
I did my research and found out that the purple-decked Wonder Twins were on The Super Friends, then later on DC Comics in the 1990s. With their “fist-bump” maneuver, they could transform into anything in the world. That’s in addition to their famous catchphrase “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” which wasn’t really necessary, but cool enough to hear.
Anyway, Zan and Jayna heading to Smallville
was confirmed by Zap2it’s Brill Bundy. Revamped, of course. He reported that 7th Heaven’s David Gallagher has been cast as Tanner, described as a “hot skater dude.” Meanwhile, Warehouse 13’s Allison Scagliotti will be taking on the role of Twyla, a “Pixie-punk teen.”
As the Wonder Twins, they’d be able to communicate telepathically and take on a variety of forms. He gets water and she gets animals. Wait, if she can do that already, does that mean we won’t get to see their purple-blue space monkey Gleek? (I may be crossing lines here, but I can’t help but notice how the creature resembles Nightcrawler.)
The report goes on to say that Tanner and Twyla will first appear on the fifth episode of Smallville, which is titled “Idol.” They’ll certainly be stirring up trouble for Clark (Tom Welling). If not, they’ll most likely be helping him out.
Smallville Sex Spoiler: Lois and Clark to ["Make Love"], Producer Says
While seemingly vague, sources have already reported that season nine of Smallville will feature some hot Lois and Clark action.
After viewing the Smallville trailer at Comic-Con last month, this rumor appears to be more of a reality, as the video seems to depict these characters having sex.
Isn’t that right, producer Brian Peterson? Or are appearances deceiving?
“It’s more than just sex,” Peterson told Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly. “They’re making love. Clark would never [just have sex].”
Well… okay then. Guess we’ll need to tune in to the September 25 season premiere for more.
Might Lois and Clark soon see each other in far less than these fancy outfits?
Smallville – Set Photos
Smallville TV Show Summary
Superficially, the much-anticipated weekly adventure fantasy series Smallville resembled the many cartoon and live-action adaptations of DC’s old -Superboy comic books, themselves spin-offs of the indomitable Siegel and Schuster creation, Superman. However, this new hour-long WB series went off on several new tangents, notably the Buffy the Vampire Slayer conceit that with special powers comes special responsibilities.
The pilot episode, telecast on October 16, 2001, established the premise by showing a strange meteor crashing just outside the tiny Kansas community of Smallville in 1989. The meteor was actually a spaceship from the doomed planet Krypton, and its occupant was the planet’s sole survivor, the infant Kal-El. Discovered and “adopted” by farmer Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) and his wife, Martha (Annette O’Toole), Kal-El grew into his teen years with the newly minted name of Clark Kent, his extraterrestrial origins kept secret from the rest of the community. Advised by his adoptive parents never to utilize his awesome superpowers lest his true identity be revealed, 14-year-old Clark (played by 24-year-old Tom Welling) was forced to adopt a non-athletic persona while attending the local high school.
Clark’s only allies were the lovely Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), for whom our hero carried a secret torch, and aspiring entrepreneur Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), whose life Clark had saved. Just as the soon-to-be-villainous Luthor was essentially a comic character here, so too was the young Clark Kent, miles removed from his adult “Superman” alter ego. Indeed, the series’ executive producers, Michael Tollin and Brian Robbins, prided themselves on the fact that their version of Kent was never seen wearing the traditional Man of Steel cape and tights. Opening to excellent critical and audience response, Smallville ended up as one of the jewels in the WB Network’s crown during its first season on the air.