Gale Harold Returns, SV Writer Talks, Randomness
~SV exec-producer, Kelly Souders, answers fans’ questions.
TV GUIDE: SV Showrunner Answers Burning Questions:
To help pass the time until Smallville returns on April 23 with the final four episodes of the season, executive producer Kelly Souders answered questions from the CW series' superfans here at TVGuide.com. Read on to see what Souders had to share about Clark's destiny, Lois' future, Chloe's crises, a surprising pairing and much more.
Clark can fly but simply hasn't finalized it yet, in my opinion. When will we see him mastering this ability? - Tombstone25
Kelly Souders: Clark Kent won't really become Superman until he takes to the skies. We all have our stumbling blocks; his are just air-born. Until he can fully embrace his double-life, he'll have a hard time getting off the ground. But, we will say, his "leaps" are getting closer and closer to the real thing.
(dawnybee: Duh)
Are there plans to explore more of Lois' past in future episodes? Because we Lois fans are dying to learn more about her. And if she and Clark don't kiss soon, we might go just a little crazy! - Nora_1983
Souders: Please don't go crazy. We're all anxious for those two ships to stop passing in the night. Lois fans will be excited to hear you'll be seeing more of Lois in the future. She's fascinating and we'll never stop digging into what makes her tick.
(dawnybee: Is “Stiletto” supposed to be an Erica showcase that neither propels the storyline from the rest of the season forward or shed any insight on Lois as a character? But I don’t know why I care it’s episode 19 of the season: I’m just seeing if it’ll follow the episode 19 as filler trend. And if we find out anything more about Lois could it be something relevant and not the uselessness that was the introduction of Henry Small?)
Will we see more of Chloe as Watchtower in the upcoming episodes? - Tyson08
Souders: Watchtower.... All we'll say is "stay tuned."
(dawnybee: ??? That could’ve been a yes or a no question. She should’ve just done fans a favor and asked for another question.)
"Watchtower officially online" - that scene rocked! Is there any chance of a relationship between Watchtower and Green Arrow? The idea of that seems so wrong but at the same time so right. - Lorraine
Souders: We love anything that is so wrong and so right. We know Chloe and Oliver's paths will keep crossing and evolving. But Watchtower and Green Arrow? That will give us a lot to twitter about in the writers' room!
(dawnybee: I hope she means twitter as in the constant chattering and not TWITTER because I would hope they are at least doing a real writers’ room to hash out plot points and brainstorm before going off to do their own things and communicate the old fashioned way: by email instead of brief 144 characters. They need charts! Butcher paper! Sharpies and lots of ‘em in different colors. )
Why is Clark so remote from Chloe this season? Is he done being her "personal bomb squad" at a time when she needs him more than ever? - mead
Souders: Clark has the weight of the world on his shoulders and one of his few flaws is that he doesn't always see the problems closest to him. That relationship has been tested this season - and we must admit it hasn't seen the worst of the exams.
(dawnybee: My coworker, who engages in a post-episode discussion with me every week, accidentally spoiled me for some events so I (I think) know what Souders is referring to. But while I believe Clark’s seeming distance is borne of him being busy in both of his careers, I don’t feel his “not seeing problems closest to him” is a problem of him not being aware or engaged in his friends’ life, but of his deep level of trust. If someone is telling you “I don’t want to stop Lex out of revenge, but because I love you like woah and he can’t have you because you’re mine-MINE! he knows your secret and I want to protect you.” Clark is going to believe that to an extent. If a friend is willing to kill to protect you from your ultimate destroyer, why then would he have doubts about said friend’s continued relationship with said ultimate destroyer? )
Will we see Green Arrow and RBB team up anytime soon this season or next? - rip
Souders: Yes. But the outcome may surprise you.
(dawnybee: Buck-naked wrestling doesn’t surprise me Kelly.)
I probably won't get a straight answer but I am going to take a chance: Did you think that was the best closure for Clark and Lana? Breaking them up because they had to, not because they learned as adults they were not going to work? - marhikaty
Souders: We wanted the young Lana we met eight years ago - the girl who always needed to be saved - to finish her arc as far from that helpless cheerleader as possible. It's because they were adults, challenging each other to be stronger and better, that they had to part. The Kryptonite was really a symbol for what fans knew all along - that they weren't destined for each other.
(dawnybee (what I commented in eeyore1017’s journal): Kelly's answer doesn't make any sense to me either because the end result of Lana not being helpless was already achieved. We didn't have to worry about Lana, she was already in the state of mind she needed to be. It's Clark that this has done nothing for because if he had his druthers he'd kept going by to Lana every chance he had---we needed to see a Clark who could realize that he and Lana weren't destined for each other. The audience already knew that, Lana knew it in her heart, it's Clark who didn't get the memo.
I’m not advocating underwriting or not servicing a character because although SV is about Clark Kent, I view the show as an ensemble with Clark being the heart of the piece and I think all characters should be giving full-measure and Lana and Clark could’ve both gained that insight in “Requiem” without a toxic intervention.
What has been your favorite episode this season and why? - heinzy512
Souders: I'm a big fan of "Identity." Watching Clark struggle with his two personas has been interesting and fun. I loved seeing him backed into corners from which he wasn't sure how to escape.
dawnybee: That’s nice she picked a Slavkin/Swimmer episode.)
Although [Smallville series cocreators] Al Gough and Miles Millar have left the building, do you keep in contact with them? - smallville836
Souders: We absolutely do keep in contact with them. They created the show and had the vision for it.
(dawnybee: I appreciate that they’re keeping dialogue open.)
Are any of the executive producers going to do commentaries on the Season 8 DVD? - Lennox
dawnybee: this person is obviously a fan of the execs because who the hell cares if the execs do commentary? Other than one year, when haven’t the execs done commentary? It’s the cast you need to worry about.
Souders: Brian [Peterson] and Darren [Swimmer] did it last week. Unfortunately, I had a fever of 102. But the episodes picked were two of my favorites from this year.
(dawnybee: I want to hear Brian Peterson jizzing himself over Justin Hartley again so I hope this is an Ollie episode.)
The ratings have been great this year and we've even been renewed for another season. What do you think kept people tuning in? And do you hope to capitalize on whatever that was next year? - HelgaNR
Souders: Hopefully people have been tuning in for the characters. It's been a lot of fun to watch them grow up. They still have a few growing pains to endure, but seeing them evolve into three-dimensional people with issues and baggage like the rest of us has been exciting. It never hurts to be reminded that even Superman has his off days. And diving further into the DC [Comics] world has been rich with possibilities. We plan to continue with both those aspects of the show - as well as come up with some new ones!
**I’d much rather have a general interview about the mapping of characters, the motivations behind stories and how the relationships between the actors are than questions re: upcoming events because we will never get an answer, so why bother? I’d rather have a post-episode wrap-up from the showrunners.
~The man, the myth, the LEGEND, Gale Harold is back again and oddly enough doing press!
Gale Harold's First Post-Accident Interview
April 15, 2009 04:29 PM EST
After a near-fatal motorcycle accident sidelined Gale Harold last October, the actor finally returns to Desperate Housewives as Susan’s long-absent painter boy lover, Jackson, on May 3. “It’s taken him such a long time to get back to being almost normal,” says co-star Neal McDonough, who worked with Gale on his first day back on set. “And there are still many problems that he goes through.” Gale-whom Neal says “looks like a million”-has only one real complaint: he hasn’t been able to get back on the same Ducati motorcycle he had completely restored since the devastating crash. The actor talks to William Keck about his road to recovery and Wisteria Lane:
What happened the night of your accident?
Gale: It’s just something that happens when you take the risk of getting on a machine like that. As fantastic and exciting as it can be, after you’ve been safe for a number of years, you tend to become a little overly confident. You can’t predict all the surprises out there.
Any scars?
Gale: Yeah, there was some repair work that was done to the front end of my bike that really makes me cry inside.
I was talking about scars on your body.
Gale: Obviously I was hurt. But you get better.
Who did you hear from after the accident?
Gale: I was supposed to be at work the next day, so Teri was checking in with my managers and my agents every other day. We had a really good thing going with these characters. It’s not every day you start a new job and immediately hit it off with the person you’re working with.
Did you watch the show after your accident?
Gale: I didn’t because I was a little worried about seeing something about my death delivered by letter-Jackson drowned in his cereal yesterday morning.
But didn’t they tell you that Jackson would eventually be coming back?
Gale: Yeah, I just didn’t want to get surprised by something they might not have been comfortable telling me. I was fortunate that they wanted me back. I wanted the executive producer to meet my doctors so he’d know I’d be a real person again. And when I came back, I wanted it to be in the same frame of mind as Jackson-not exactly sure how open the door is to Susan.
We heard your voice a few months ago in a phone call to Susan. What was your physical condition then?
Gale: I was probably almost there. It’s hard to say. With these kinds of injuries you recover at various rates. I had a very rapid recovery. I really feel back.
Why is Jackson returning to Wisteria Lane?
Gale: He’s back to try to rekindle their connection-whatever is left of it. He has a very important question for Susan.
What has Jackson been doing all this time?
Gale: He was pursuing his dream of working in a school as an art teacher. He’s been away, but realizes he needs Susan and needs to talk to her about things.
Word is when Jackson returns he will have to contend with Dave, who has his own intentions for Susan. Should we be worried about Jackson’s future?
Gale: Anytime you’ve got somebody like Dave Williams walking up and down the street, you’ve got to be worried about everybody. There are a number of bad scenarios that could take place. I have a scene with Dave and Orson where I’m thanking Dave for saving my butt from burning to death in the fire. But then Jackson realizes, “Wait a minute. You didn’t really save my ass, did you?” So it’s sets up the question of whether Jackson will realize that Dave actually locked him in the bathroom. It still remains to be seen whether Jackson will be around for the season finale.
Neal McDonough used to ride a motorcycle, but sold his Harley the day his wife learned she was pregnant, and hasn’t been back on since. Will you ride again?
Gale: I’m going to be back on board. I’m dying to ride again and am feeling very impatient. I’m giving myself a certain amount of time to know I feel good and safe.
His Access Hollywood interview
Jackson
Gale
~The qualifying round for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards is going on. Whoever has the most votes go on to be actually nominated for the MTV Movie Awards. Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s fight scene in “Watchmen” is in contention, as well as Jackie Earle Haley’s fight scene.JDM is also in the “Breakthrough Performer” category against the “Twilight” “actors”. Also repping “Watchmen” in the category of ‘Best WTF Moment” is Billy Crudup being fully nude throughout 'The Watchmen”. Which should read “Mr. Manhattan instead of Billy and he wasn’t always nude, sometimes he was wearing that really sporty banana hammock.
Speaking of MTV, “The Onion” had me cracking up over a story about Bill Bellamy being elected to the Rock and Jock B-Ball Jam Hall of Fame. I loved those games.
~Do you remember “Prison Break”? It finally returns tomorrow, April 17th, the execs promises there will be yet another death and the companion DVD , “Prison Break-The Final Break” (only 88 minutes long) will be released straight to DVD on July 21st which will supposedly answer more questions. This show has been off so long that it looks like
Is that some snow on the roof or a trick of light off his pretty head?
~Pics that make me feel
Ma and Pa O’Connell look just like their sons. The mom looks like Jerry and the dad looks like a shorter Charlie
I love the “True Blood” promo poster, but hate the show. I’m all confuzzled. It took me a minute to figure out the "hidden" image
Is Joss Whedon sure he’s not adopted? He looks nothing like brothers Zack and Jed
I should be happy for a “Blink 182” reunion but Tom DeLonge has acted like a supreme dick this entire time with his rivalry with Mark and Travis that I hate that Mark and Travis are working with him. Look at that smug dickish smile on his face
Kanye West. Jared Leto. Brandon Flowers. At Kanye’s house. Jamming. This could've been either really outrageously good or exceedingly awful.
~I guess I am doing the Paley Fest this year. I won tickets to tonight's "Big Bang Theory" panel. I've only seen the pilot--at the Paley Center oddly enough. Why don't I ever win a million dollars?
TV GUIDE: SV Showrunner Answers Burning Questions:
To help pass the time until Smallville returns on April 23 with the final four episodes of the season, executive producer Kelly Souders answered questions from the CW series' superfans here at TVGuide.com. Read on to see what Souders had to share about Clark's destiny, Lois' future, Chloe's crises, a surprising pairing and much more.
Clark can fly but simply hasn't finalized it yet, in my opinion. When will we see him mastering this ability? - Tombstone25
Kelly Souders: Clark Kent won't really become Superman until he takes to the skies. We all have our stumbling blocks; his are just air-born. Until he can fully embrace his double-life, he'll have a hard time getting off the ground. But, we will say, his "leaps" are getting closer and closer to the real thing.
(dawnybee: Duh)
Are there plans to explore more of Lois' past in future episodes? Because we Lois fans are dying to learn more about her. And if she and Clark don't kiss soon, we might go just a little crazy! - Nora_1983
Souders: Please don't go crazy. We're all anxious for those two ships to stop passing in the night. Lois fans will be excited to hear you'll be seeing more of Lois in the future. She's fascinating and we'll never stop digging into what makes her tick.
(dawnybee: Is “Stiletto” supposed to be an Erica showcase that neither propels the storyline from the rest of the season forward or shed any insight on Lois as a character? But I don’t know why I care it’s episode 19 of the season: I’m just seeing if it’ll follow the episode 19 as filler trend. And if we find out anything more about Lois could it be something relevant and not the uselessness that was the introduction of Henry Small?)
Will we see more of Chloe as Watchtower in the upcoming episodes? - Tyson08
Souders: Watchtower.... All we'll say is "stay tuned."
(dawnybee: ??? That could’ve been a yes or a no question. She should’ve just done fans a favor and asked for another question.)
"Watchtower officially online" - that scene rocked! Is there any chance of a relationship between Watchtower and Green Arrow? The idea of that seems so wrong but at the same time so right. - Lorraine
Souders: We love anything that is so wrong and so right. We know Chloe and Oliver's paths will keep crossing and evolving. But Watchtower and Green Arrow? That will give us a lot to twitter about in the writers' room!
(dawnybee: I hope she means twitter as in the constant chattering and not TWITTER because I would hope they are at least doing a real writers’ room to hash out plot points and brainstorm before going off to do their own things and communicate the old fashioned way: by email instead of brief 144 characters. They need charts! Butcher paper! Sharpies and lots of ‘em in different colors. )
Why is Clark so remote from Chloe this season? Is he done being her "personal bomb squad" at a time when she needs him more than ever? - mead
Souders: Clark has the weight of the world on his shoulders and one of his few flaws is that he doesn't always see the problems closest to him. That relationship has been tested this season - and we must admit it hasn't seen the worst of the exams.
(dawnybee: My coworker, who engages in a post-episode discussion with me every week, accidentally spoiled me for some events so I (I think) know what Souders is referring to. But while I believe Clark’s seeming distance is borne of him being busy in both of his careers, I don’t feel his “not seeing problems closest to him” is a problem of him not being aware or engaged in his friends’ life, but of his deep level of trust. If someone is telling you “I don’t want to stop Lex out of revenge, but because I love you like woah and he can’t have you because you’re mine-MINE! he knows your secret and I want to protect you.” Clark is going to believe that to an extent. If a friend is willing to kill to protect you from your ultimate destroyer, why then would he have doubts about said friend’s continued relationship with said ultimate destroyer? )
Will we see Green Arrow and RBB team up anytime soon this season or next? - rip
Souders: Yes. But the outcome may surprise you.
(dawnybee: Buck-naked wrestling doesn’t surprise me Kelly.)
I probably won't get a straight answer but I am going to take a chance: Did you think that was the best closure for Clark and Lana? Breaking them up because they had to, not because they learned as adults they were not going to work? - marhikaty
Souders: We wanted the young Lana we met eight years ago - the girl who always needed to be saved - to finish her arc as far from that helpless cheerleader as possible. It's because they were adults, challenging each other to be stronger and better, that they had to part. The Kryptonite was really a symbol for what fans knew all along - that they weren't destined for each other.
(dawnybee (what I commented in eeyore1017’s journal): Kelly's answer doesn't make any sense to me either because the end result of Lana not being helpless was already achieved. We didn't have to worry about Lana, she was already in the state of mind she needed to be. It's Clark that this has done nothing for because if he had his druthers he'd kept going by to Lana every chance he had---we needed to see a Clark who could realize that he and Lana weren't destined for each other. The audience already knew that, Lana knew it in her heart, it's Clark who didn't get the memo.
I’m not advocating underwriting or not servicing a character because although SV is about Clark Kent, I view the show as an ensemble with Clark being the heart of the piece and I think all characters should be giving full-measure and Lana and Clark could’ve both gained that insight in “Requiem” without a toxic intervention.
What has been your favorite episode this season and why? - heinzy512
Souders: I'm a big fan of "Identity." Watching Clark struggle with his two personas has been interesting and fun. I loved seeing him backed into corners from which he wasn't sure how to escape.
dawnybee: That’s nice she picked a Slavkin/Swimmer episode.)
Although [Smallville series cocreators] Al Gough and Miles Millar have left the building, do you keep in contact with them? - smallville836
Souders: We absolutely do keep in contact with them. They created the show and had the vision for it.
(dawnybee: I appreciate that they’re keeping dialogue open.)
Are any of the executive producers going to do commentaries on the Season 8 DVD? - Lennox
dawnybee: this person is obviously a fan of the execs because who the hell cares if the execs do commentary? Other than one year, when haven’t the execs done commentary? It’s the cast you need to worry about.
Souders: Brian [Peterson] and Darren [Swimmer] did it last week. Unfortunately, I had a fever of 102. But the episodes picked were two of my favorites from this year.
(dawnybee: I want to hear Brian Peterson jizzing himself over Justin Hartley again so I hope this is an Ollie episode.)
The ratings have been great this year and we've even been renewed for another season. What do you think kept people tuning in? And do you hope to capitalize on whatever that was next year? - HelgaNR
Souders: Hopefully people have been tuning in for the characters. It's been a lot of fun to watch them grow up. They still have a few growing pains to endure, but seeing them evolve into three-dimensional people with issues and baggage like the rest of us has been exciting. It never hurts to be reminded that even Superman has his off days. And diving further into the DC [Comics] world has been rich with possibilities. We plan to continue with both those aspects of the show - as well as come up with some new ones!
**I’d much rather have a general interview about the mapping of characters, the motivations behind stories and how the relationships between the actors are than questions re: upcoming events because we will never get an answer, so why bother? I’d rather have a post-episode wrap-up from the showrunners.
~The man, the myth, the LEGEND, Gale Harold is back again and oddly enough doing press!
Gale Harold's First Post-Accident Interview
April 15, 2009 04:29 PM EST
After a near-fatal motorcycle accident sidelined Gale Harold last October, the actor finally returns to Desperate Housewives as Susan’s long-absent painter boy lover, Jackson, on May 3. “It’s taken him such a long time to get back to being almost normal,” says co-star Neal McDonough, who worked with Gale on his first day back on set. “And there are still many problems that he goes through.” Gale-whom Neal says “looks like a million”-has only one real complaint: he hasn’t been able to get back on the same Ducati motorcycle he had completely restored since the devastating crash. The actor talks to William Keck about his road to recovery and Wisteria Lane:
What happened the night of your accident?
Gale: It’s just something that happens when you take the risk of getting on a machine like that. As fantastic and exciting as it can be, after you’ve been safe for a number of years, you tend to become a little overly confident. You can’t predict all the surprises out there.
Any scars?
Gale: Yeah, there was some repair work that was done to the front end of my bike that really makes me cry inside.
I was talking about scars on your body.
Gale: Obviously I was hurt. But you get better.
Who did you hear from after the accident?
Gale: I was supposed to be at work the next day, so Teri was checking in with my managers and my agents every other day. We had a really good thing going with these characters. It’s not every day you start a new job and immediately hit it off with the person you’re working with.
Did you watch the show after your accident?
Gale: I didn’t because I was a little worried about seeing something about my death delivered by letter-Jackson drowned in his cereal yesterday morning.
But didn’t they tell you that Jackson would eventually be coming back?
Gale: Yeah, I just didn’t want to get surprised by something they might not have been comfortable telling me. I was fortunate that they wanted me back. I wanted the executive producer to meet my doctors so he’d know I’d be a real person again. And when I came back, I wanted it to be in the same frame of mind as Jackson-not exactly sure how open the door is to Susan.
We heard your voice a few months ago in a phone call to Susan. What was your physical condition then?
Gale: I was probably almost there. It’s hard to say. With these kinds of injuries you recover at various rates. I had a very rapid recovery. I really feel back.
Why is Jackson returning to Wisteria Lane?
Gale: He’s back to try to rekindle their connection-whatever is left of it. He has a very important question for Susan.
What has Jackson been doing all this time?
Gale: He was pursuing his dream of working in a school as an art teacher. He’s been away, but realizes he needs Susan and needs to talk to her about things.
Word is when Jackson returns he will have to contend with Dave, who has his own intentions for Susan. Should we be worried about Jackson’s future?
Gale: Anytime you’ve got somebody like Dave Williams walking up and down the street, you’ve got to be worried about everybody. There are a number of bad scenarios that could take place. I have a scene with Dave and Orson where I’m thanking Dave for saving my butt from burning to death in the fire. But then Jackson realizes, “Wait a minute. You didn’t really save my ass, did you?” So it’s sets up the question of whether Jackson will realize that Dave actually locked him in the bathroom. It still remains to be seen whether Jackson will be around for the season finale.
Neal McDonough used to ride a motorcycle, but sold his Harley the day his wife learned she was pregnant, and hasn’t been back on since. Will you ride again?
Gale: I’m going to be back on board. I’m dying to ride again and am feeling very impatient. I’m giving myself a certain amount of time to know I feel good and safe.
His Access Hollywood interview
Jackson
Gale
~The qualifying round for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards is going on. Whoever has the most votes go on to be actually nominated for the MTV Movie Awards. Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s fight scene in “Watchmen” is in contention, as well as Jackie Earle Haley’s fight scene.JDM is also in the “Breakthrough Performer” category against the “Twilight” “actors”. Also repping “Watchmen” in the category of ‘Best WTF Moment” is Billy Crudup being fully nude throughout 'The Watchmen”. Which should read “Mr. Manhattan instead of Billy and he wasn’t always nude, sometimes he was wearing that really sporty banana hammock.
Speaking of MTV, “The Onion” had me cracking up over a story about Bill Bellamy being elected to the Rock and Jock B-Ball Jam Hall of Fame. I loved those games.
~Do you remember “Prison Break”? It finally returns tomorrow, April 17th, the execs promises there will be yet another death and the companion DVD , “Prison Break-The Final Break” (only 88 minutes long) will be released straight to DVD on July 21st which will supposedly answer more questions. This show has been off so long that it looks like
Is that some snow on the roof or a trick of light off his pretty head?
~Pics that make me feel
Ma and Pa O’Connell look just like their sons. The mom looks like Jerry and the dad looks like a shorter Charlie
I love the “True Blood” promo poster, but hate the show. I’m all confuzzled. It took me a minute to figure out the "hidden" image
Is Joss Whedon sure he’s not adopted? He looks nothing like brothers Zack and Jed
I should be happy for a “Blink 182” reunion but Tom DeLonge has acted like a supreme dick this entire time with his rivalry with Mark and Travis that I hate that Mark and Travis are working with him. Look at that smug dickish smile on his face
Kanye West. Jared Leto. Brandon Flowers. At Kanye’s house. Jamming. This could've been either really outrageously good or exceedingly awful.
~I guess I am doing the Paley Fest this year. I won tickets to tonight's "Big Bang Theory" panel. I've only seen the pilot--at the Paley Center oddly enough. Why don't I ever win a million dollars?