7.00 - Smallville Season Seven

Smallville, Season Eight: CastCrave Online has a spectacular two page article on how to save Smallville from itself. They start off rightly pointing out that they've jumped the shark because it is no longer about those key stories of growing up with Super powers. The author, Iann Robinson, goes about listing things Smallville should do to get back on top (spoilers below).

His big recommendation for Erica Durance's Lois Lane is rather simple - fire her:

Moving on, I know it’s already too late for this but they should really fire Erica Durance and give some worthy actress the shot to reclaim Lois Lane’s dignity. Durance plays her like some weird combination of stripper, feminist and missing character from Sex In The City. She has no ability with humor, sadness or even terror. Everything she does is one note and has this bizarre sex kitten thing to it. I know replacing her mid-season would be difficult but I’m guessing most fans would cheer on the idea.

A.A.C. Puryear wrote up a list of his favorite ten characters on television in 2008, and noted Chloe Sullivan as number six on a list that includes other shows such as Lost, The Office, and How I Met Your Mother.  He noted out her loyalty, her lost DP job, and how not one but two supervillains targeted her this year - and yet he'd still want to hire her or perhaps even marry her.

6) Allison Mack’s Chloe Sullivan in Smallville: If she were real, I would either try to marry her, tell Jeff to hire her for PopSense, or both. Witty, beautiful, and a loyal keeper of Clark Kent’s super-power secret, this year Chloe proved that she was no damsel in distress using her own talents to save Clark on a couple of occasions and even go toe-to-toe with Superman baddies Lex Luthor and Brainiac, which both cost her her job at the Daily Planet and risked her own personal safety.

Smallville, Episode 6.15: ChloeWith Michael Rosenbaum gone, Smallville has another hurdle in it's way - the potiental loss of Allison Mack. The story is breaking on TV Guide:

"Allison's camp used Michael leaving as leverage in the negotiations with [Warner Bros.]," says one Smallville source, who adds that Kristin Kreuk's decision to only return for a handful of episodes as Lana only strengthened Mack's bargaining position. "They need Chloe now more than ever - and Allison's people know it." (Mack's reps declined to comment for this story.)

But will the studio suits budge? In this climate, with ratings down by double digits and belt-tightening going on everywhere, no one is optimistic. However, everyone pretty much agrees about one thing: Smallville can't afford to lose Mack right now. "If Allison leaves, they've essentially got Lois and Clark left," notes one insider. "And that show's been done before."

Smallville, Episode 5.22: Chloe and ClarkTube Talk notes that Chloe and Clark are a perfect unrequited love story, which makes people want Chloe to be Lois Lane; they put Chloe/Clark up there with Bones & Brennan, Pacey & Joey, Jim & Pam, and Buffy & Angel.  Some excerpts:

Is there any better storytelling device than unrequited love? I don’t think so.

It’s what keeps us TV romantic types watching with the hope that someday Booth and Brennan will fall in love, on Bones, or that Clark will realize that Chloe is his true Lois Lane, on Smallville.

She also goes on to talk particularly about the fan movement, and the fan support of Chlark/Chloisers:

Smallville, Season Seven: ChloeSyFy Portal's Ed Left has been doing reviews of the returning scifi shows and had the following to say on season seven of Smallville:

The only thing I really don't like about the show this season is what's happening to Allison Mack's Chloe. Over the last half-dozen episodes, they have been stripping everything from her, like career and boyfriend. It's painful to watch, and I fear for the fate of one of my characters. The fact that Lois is being set up to steal Chloe's dream makes it hurt even more. I just wish Lois would go away.

"Smallville" is one of the top performers for The CW, and it would be a lock at returning if not for Michael Rosenbaum saying he doesn't plan to come back for another year. "Smallville" without Lex would be like a banana split without a cherry, a complete waste of time.

Rounding out the end of season six and the speculation that someone is leaving, Rodney Brazeau tosses his hat in the Chlois Theory ring on how it would just be a better story.

I think it would be interesting to have Lois die. I always thought the character of Chloe Sullivan was very much the Archetype for Lois Lane. That and for my tastes, I think Chloe is the most attractive of the girly entourage on the show. But that's just me.

Now bear with me a moment, killing off Lois will be AWESOME for ratings as it will send the fans into a frenzied mess of contraversy. Make it part of the cliffhanger season finale and keep the fans guessing until fall. Then reveal that she is infact dead. Fans will be in an uproar that Lois was killed off in the show, and no one will see it coming.

Then give some plot device that has Chloe get in some sort of trouble, and have her assume Lois' identity. This way Chloe still pursues her career at the Planet. Make it a permenant part of the TV Continuity, and Lois and Clark can still end up together.