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The Small Screen’s Superman By Melissa (Age 26, USA)
I’m not a Tom Welling fan. I felt like I should be honest about that from the start. Now before you start yelling what in the name of all that is red and blue and sacred, let me explain my reasoning. There’s a small prejudice against him for skipping out on Comic Con for so many years and a little more of me that just always likes the supporting cast of a show better. But mostly, I just really don’t like the character of Superman. Here’s what I do know though. I don’t have to like Tom Welling to respect his work and on that aspect I have nothing but good things to say. After all, this is the man who went from a modeling career to a show with a ten season run on the CW network. (Only 7th Heaven has had a longer run). He’s a man who recognized that breaking away from the image of Superman would be difficult if not impossible so he engaged in learning behind the scenes, directing and producing multiple episodes. Finally, he’s easily the best Superman since Christopher Reeve. So fangirl? Not so much. But admirer of his professionalism? Definitely.
We wrote about Tom a few years ago so feel free to check up on his background "here" I want to focus on the man who is moving from the role of one of the most iconic superheroes of all time to a respected producer and director. Tom had to know that the role of Superman would be incredibly difficult to move beyond. “There’s always that fear. When you’re looking at a contract for five years to play Superman, you’re kind of going, ‘Huh, ok, let’s see about this’ but…you just have to take advantage of the opportunities you have and work as hard as you can. There’s always that fear, and, again, I think everyone runs up against that, especially in this industry.” So in season 5, he took a shot at directing one episode of Smallville with the episode “Fragile”. “It will be my first directing gig. I’m very excited,” said Tom. “At this point, I’m only doing one. Waiting to see what it turns out to be.” Clearly the directing bug bit because he followed with several more directing moves. Specifically, Tom has directed five episodes so far, “Fragile”, season 6’s “Hydro”, the 150th episode “Apocalypse”, season 8’s “Injustice”, and “Legends”, the second half of the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed Justice League/Justice Society mini-movie, “Absolute Justice”.
Let’s talk about that episode for just a moment. Because the Justice League is pretty important in the world of DC Comics. Most of you have probably heard talk of the upcoming “Avengers” movies, that put together Marvel heroes like Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Hawkeye, and more. The Justice League is the DC Comic side of that. It encompasses Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Martian Manhunter. This particular episode was a major one for Smallville for a few reasons. First, it gathers an iconic team of superheroes who have to be portrayed just right. Second, each character has to be worked in to the Smallville world. Finally, rumors of a Justice League spinoff have long been discussed and this episode would be key to the potential spinoff. The success of “Absolute Justice” in effect decides whether that show becomes more than a rumor. And it’s a safe bet that if the CW launches a show about the Justice League, Tom Welling will be involved. That’s a lot of pressure on Tom.
Tom rose to the challenge though, making one of the best episodes of the season. Several reviewers called it the best Smallville episode in years, and the only concern in fact, was with the actor who portrayed the episode’s enemy, Icicle. Chris Carabott, a particular critic said, "For a show that realistically should have ended seasons ago, Smallville continues to surprise the hell out of me. "Absolute Justice" brings various members of the Justice Society of America to life on the small screen and it does it brilliantly." Even more daunting was that Tom had to star, direct, and serve as an executive producer for the episode.
Yes, not only did Tom move into directing, he joined the producing world as well. Tom became a co-producer during the season 8 run of Smallville and an executive producer starting in season 9. It’s paid off as ratings were better than expected despite the move to Friday nights and critics have praised the show’s recent developments and innovation. “When I started Smallville my goal was to learn everything I could. And along that road I just needed to learn everything about everything and then use that to make the show better. I’ve always tried to be open and collaborative and make the show better,” says Tom. While there are many people involved in the making of Smallville, it’s easy to see that Tom joining the production team has led to great seasons of Smallville.
Clearly, being an executive producer suits Tom. He is not only finishing out Smallville’s 10th and final season as executive producer and star, but has also taken the helm of the new CW show, “Hellcats” premiering this fall. The show stars Ashley Tisdale & Alyson Michalka as cheerleaders and early reviews have been promising. No doubt the schedule will continue to keep Tom incredibly busy as he mentioned that he’s “doing everything I can, with a lot of support from both shows to facilitate what each needs from me.” Still, it’s impressive to see an actor take charge of his career and move into new fields.
Tom’s professionalism and work ethic haven’t gone unnoticed by his fellow coworkers either. When asked about Tom’s skill as a director, co-star Cassidy Freeman (Tess Mercer) stated that “he’s fabulous as a director. He’s quite talented at it, and he really enjoys it as well. It’s funny because, in front of the camera and behind the camera, he’s like two different people. He’s one of my favorite directors that I’ve ever had.” According to Kelly Souders, one of Smallville’s executive producers “Tom has been doing some producing responsibilities here and there over the last several years. But this year, Tom’s helping with different ideas and dealing with issues as they come up in production.” Cast and crew members have made it clear that Tom tries to be involved as much as possible, sacrificing his own free time to insure the show is at its absolute best. Or perhaps Justin Hartley (Oliver Queen/Green Arrow) put it best when he said in regards to Tom directing “My first instinct was ‘oh crap.’ What I learned from that was…Tom turned out to be…what I think his talent is, is directing. I think he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked under, to be totally honest with you.” So at the end of the day, you still won’t find me searching youtube for interviews with Tom Welling. You will find me eagerly awaiting his next career move. Because if there’s a superman at the CW, he doesn’t get better than this.
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