There are any number of television shows which we think should never be cancelled in an ideal world.  Jericho and Moonlight are the most recent examples of this that most people would say should not have been cancelled.
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After a shock renewal for an 8th season Smallville is to loose two of its four original cast members. Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) will no longer be season regulars but will be guest stars only. While cast changes happen often in Smallville the real issue is the loss of Lex Luthor. While he will be there every so often not having the main bad guy, indeed Superman’s nemesis in the show will certainly hurt story lines and ratings which have both been on the decline.

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After a crazy time post writers strike its been hard to find complete lists showing the status of high profile US shows expected to get renewed for the fall. While a number of shows like The CW’s Smallville and Supernatural have been renewed there are a number of big shows where no information is around at all. A few of the big ones with an unknown future are listed below.

Boston Legal
Dexter
Jericho
Shark
The Unit
Prison Break
Reaper

You can find a complete list of all the network’s returning shows and their status at http://reporter.blogs.com/pilotseason/renewed-shows.html

What this means for you is if a majority of these shows are not renewed then the new focus of the major networks, reality TV will have its future assured and that will make quality scripted television a rare event.

I attended Comic-Con last week and went to tons of conferences. One of the conferences that I attended was Smallville, the show about a teenage Superman that should have ended three seasons ago. Now the Comic-Con panel included the series executive producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough as well as several of the series’ actors.

Back when Smallville was first created, there was a lot going for it. Overall the twist of watching Clark Kent being raised on a farm was a lot of fun, but as the series progressed it lost its train of thought. Beginning in season 4 and definitely in season 5 the plotline consisted of getting Clark with as many super-kyrptonite girls as possible - if you know what I mean.

Hey, WB/CW is just targeting its audience. It was during this time period that Smallville truly started to alter the Superman legacy. Even to date Clark still has yet to consciously fly, his father didn’t die before Clark graduated from high school, etc, etc, etc.

So with all these changes it has angered some Superman fans. Both Millar and Gough answered the fans issues with the series by simply stating that they see the Smallville series as a spin-off, nothing more than another comic book interpretation. That one statement made me feel much better about this show. It was like an epiphany, now I finally understood where these writers are coming from.

As viewers know, one of the best parts about Smallville is that it has been the place to see a good amount of other DC super heroes such as Aquaman and Green Arrow. For the longest time Bruce Wayne who’s alter-ego Batman was rumored to appear on the show. Millar and Gough said that they both wanted Bruce to appear, but due to the Batman franchise revamping with Batman Begins, Warner Bros. would not allow them to have any episodes featuring the Dark Knight after the movie was released. So ultimately Batman did not and will not ever appear on the show.

Now this is why I hate Warner Bros.: if Smallville is a spin-off of Superman and any DC super-hero can be pulled in and out of this show as need be - why the hell can’t Batman be shown?! If the reason is because the show and movie wouldn’t tie in properly, all that I have to say is WTF are Smallville and Superman Returns doing on the air together?! I thought Superman Returns was the jump-start to Superman franchise again!

Seriously Warner Bros. get your head out of your ass and wake up! Stop running around in circles pissing off your fans.

This is why I’m a Marvel fanboy. Cross-overs are a good thing, that will bring in larger audiences. Embrace them.

If using DC properties correctly was Warner Bros. only issue, I wouldn’t care, but when they can’t even get their oldest franchise Looney Tunes to amass to any success, I come to the conclusion that Warner Bros. is the devil.

[UPDATE]: Lex and Lana becoming extras - NOT full time characters - to the Smallville series!

Wow I didn’t even realize that this episode was on tonight! Thankfully I watched Everybody Loves Raymond and a promo for this season finale aired. Of course it took me a while to comprehend that the new episode was airing today, but that’s besides the point.

The good news is that we’re here! Done with another season! How many more do we have to endure?! Seriously though this episode wasn’t bad, it was actually confusing. I think that’s a first for the series, ok maybe since season 4.

Lana’s dead, Cloe is dead, Clark is alive, Clark’s mom is a Senator, Lionel is dead, Lex was arrested, some other random people died. The best part was the fight scene between Clark and Clark which ripped off The Matrix Revolutions Neo vs. Agent Smith end battle sequence. At the very end they eluded to Clark 2 being Bizarro…

Does that make sense? I hope you see why I was confused.