MONDO EXTRAS

AG: I think so. The thing with Lana is, yes, they don't end up together. What's interesting is, what effect does she have on his life? They'll always sort of be soulmates. Down the road, [Clark] ends up with Lois Lane. It's an element that works well. Unrequited love. Certainly, next season, we'll introduce a potential love interest for both of them, and then there's Chloe as well. We'll try to keep those triangles interesting. Sometimes that involves introducing a love interest down the way.

OG: But not Lex.

AG: [Laughs.] But not Lex. No. [More laughs.]

OG: Sorry to return to that.

AG: That's a constant theme in the [Television Without Pity]...

OG: ...oeuvre? There've been a lot of deaths on Smallville in the first season. Will that continue into next year? Will some of the villains come back?

AG: Bugboy is still out there, Shapeshifting Girl is still out there. They're probably all in a hospital together and will stage a big revolt together and come back to Smallville. Only a couple have died. Most of them have gone off to hospitals somewhere. The cop in "Rogue" died. The guy in "Hug" died. It's one of those things. It's not really a high death count. When you have a fight with Superman, how do you save the day without putting someone in a grave?

OG: I'd been speculating that when Lana visits her parents in the graveyard, she sees all the villains from past episodes. That's a whole other drama.

AG: [Laughs.] She brings them all back. We'll do a "Thriller."

OG: Clark hasn't really shown an aptitude for reporting yet. Will we see more of his journalistic side?

AG: Yes. You'll see more of that in Season Two. Absolutely. As he grows comfortable with it, he takes a more active interest in journalism because of Chloe. You'll see that interest grow. She tends to pull him into things, but he'll start to take his own initiative. He's definitely going to take a more active role

OG: What was Michael Rosenbaum's audition like?

AG: It was really...it was interesting. He was the last one cast. We'd seen him earlier on in the process. He was sick that day, and wasn't feeling well. When he came back in toward the end, the casting director had a video camera set up. It's amazing how adept they are at how to use this thing. They set it up and asked him to stay in one place, but Michael said, "I'm gonna move around, shake your hand." He moved around the room. It was great to sort of watch this audition tape when you see him. It was the scene from the pilot with the car keys and him asking Clark if he thought a man could fly. He really nailed the scene. We saw the charisma and charm and sense of danger the character has there. That's when we knew we'd found our Lex Luthor. It was the toughest role to cast. It's great when you find an actor inhabit a role and make it so. It's been fun to watch and certainly nice with Lex and his relationships.