This article was written on March 17 2004 by Jen. Don’t repost the recap without any permission.
To everyone’s astonishment, Tom just briskly entered the room like he was just another fan waiting to stand in line (right in front of me, by the way). Of course he didn’t go to stand in the line…he went directly towards the backroom where he waited until the press was ready for him. The other appearing cast members included Annette O’Toole and Sam Jones III (who didn’t use the front doors).
Tom Welling (Clark Kent) and Anette O'Toole (Martha Kent)
After I was seated (3rd row…woo!), I went back out to the press line where I was yelled at by various security guards until I secured my spot towards the left of the line. When Tom came out, my heart started pounding like crazy. Everyone began blocking and I couldn’t get a clear shot with my camera. I took one picture and then they told me I had to return to my seat. However, one of the workers said to me, “Don’t worry, they normally sign afterwards.”
When they finally came onto the stage, there were introductions, and then they went and sat down towards the right of the audience. We then watched a clip from the TV series, “Superboy”, which aired in the 50′s, where Clark has a heartfelt talk with Martha at the train station before leaving for Metropolis. After, we watched “Exile” on the big screen, which was super exciting (and of course lovely to see Tom rip his shirt off 3 times on the big screen).
As soon as they got back on stage, they dove right into talking about the show. Since I didn’t take any good notes, I can’t get into detail regarding the Q & A, but some main points I remember were:
• Tom wasn’t interested in being typecasted, so he kept turning down the role. Al Gough, jokingly of course, referred to him as, “Mr. Big Shot”, since he only had one previous acting gig on his resume.
• Tom said while he was doing a network reading, he and Kristin shared a moment. They were reading for the graveyard scene (“Pilot”) and he completely blanked. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Kristin whispered “Are you ok?”. Since she remembered his line, she told it to him and they finished out the scene.
• Before Smallville, Joe Davola, was working on a young Batman story much like Smallville, which ended up not working out (thank god).
• Episodes like “Crisis” and “Suspect” are referred to as “Biller Thrillers” because they are the more suspenseful episodes we rarely see throughout the season.
• While they were filming “Crisis”, one of the writers mentioned how it was actually raining while filming, and said it didn’t really have to be raining. Tom then looks towards him and quips, “it didn’t have to be raining?!?!”
• Spoiler Alert: Someone will be trying to buy the Talon from Lana in an upcoming episode.
• They said they are currently filming the episode John Schneider is directing (episode #20 – “Talisman”).
• Since the beginning of the series, specific color palates are chosen for each character’s attire. Clark’s colors are of course blue and red. But when he’s on the red kryptonite it’s changed to red and green.
• Tom did his own stunt in “Insurgence” and crashed into a wall.
Afterwards, many rushed the stage holding up cameras and pictures to sign. Tom Welling and Sam Jones III both left the stage immediately without any autographs. Annette O’Toole stayed, along with most of the writers and producers. It was reported that the hasty departure was attributed to a scheduled flight back to Vancouver to resume filming. Hopefully, next time when they’re in LA, they will have a little extra time afterwards to meet the fans.
