Todd Slavkin: Well, Tess Mercer is our own. So DC, it’s not Miss Tessmacher and it’s not Mercy, so we’ve really created this woman on our own. Miss Tessmacher in the movies is so goofy and it’s not Valerie Perrine and Parker Posey. That’s not what we’re going for at all. But just the name and the allegiance to Lex, that’s what clued us in. With Mercy, Mercy is this kick-ass woman and Mercy is a fighter and Mercy is a survivor and that’s really a lot of what Tess is all about. So it’s neither based really on the 2 of them, we just kind of took the names a little bit and then it’s fresh. So DC has been awesome. DC has been like with Doomsday we were worried, are they going to give us Doomsday? They trust us. We’ve done this for 7 years. We have a lot of reverence and respect for these characters and at the same time we make them a “Smallville” twist, you know, Lex Luther….that’s a new Lex Luther. You know Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey is very different. Rosenbaum was able to create this character that was so 3 dimensional and had so much depth that you don’t see in the other versions.
Darren Swimmer: DC is our collaborator. It’s not like there’s DC and there’s “Smallville” and it’s…they see every script. We talk with them. They give us suggestions. There’s not a lot of like you must do this because that has to conform to the comics. We have a reverence for the comics and I think it’s fun trying….you know without the legacy of the comics there would be no show and you’re right, it’s interesting to write something where you know the ending and I think that it’s a great sort of creative puzzle to make all these new original stories blossom out of this small period of time that we’re working with in the comics.
How long would you like to see the show go on for?
Darren Swimmer: As long as it can go.
Todd Slavkin: We have a lot more stories to tell. I think people—you’ll see in season 8 when you start watching the show—it feels fresh. We’re not cribbing like here’s a Green Arrow origin and we have Maxima from the DC universe. We have Plastic from the DC universe. We have great Lois and Clark stories that will feel fresh and will not feel like you’ve seen it on previous shows. I want to tell you guys more, just because I’m so excited, but at the same time I don’t want to truly spoil it but right now we’re breaking episode 7, just to give you an….and the first 7 out of the box….I really think if you’re a “Smallville” fan then you’ll have a smile on your face. You’ll be on that ride.
I was going to say I am a fan of the show and I’m very excited about this season… because just like with “Cheers”, with the defecting replaced, you have to change cast to keep a show going. That being said, are there any characters in the DC universe you’ve been wanting to work with and now that you’re thinking okay, let’s go after them and bring them in? Besides the ones you’ve already mentioned.
Darren Swimmer: There’s the ones that we just won’t be bringing on the show like Batman, obviously.
Todd Slavkin: Martian Manhunter—he’s been on the show. We have a great idea for him this season so he’s in at least 3 episodes, probably more, and he will feel more a part of this Metropolis. We will ground him for a little bit in the show which is really interesting. He’s a great actor and he has all this knowledge that Clark doesn’t have.
Darren Swimmer: There is one DC character that we’ve always wanted to do for several seasons and we can’t say it because we don’t know if we’re going to get the green….
Can I get a maybe?
Todd Slavkin: Which one? You can say maybe.
Darren Swimmer: Well it’s a female magician. Starts with a Z.