A co-worker has been lending me complete seasons of this series and I've been following the latest season 8 episodes. So far we're up to midway Season 4 in the DVD run.

Lots of fun here due in large part to Tom Welling's hotness factor and the fact that so many of the actors are Canadian and location shooting revolves around Victoria and Vancouver. (Vancouver, being my fave city).

Definitely, a fan of the series but I do miss Michael Rosenbaum's excellent portrayal of Lex Luthor in the latest episodes.

New Smallville episodes debut next Thursday! Squeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:squee:

I watched the earlier seasons, but haven't really seen it much lately.

I like it a lot. I definitely miss Lex this season too.

love smallville

I gotta ask.

What happened to Lex?

Michael Shanks travels to Smallville

IGN TV has just posted the news that Michael will be making a guest appearance on the CW Network series based on the Superman comics, Smallville.

Per the article:

"... Hawkman and Dr. Fate will both be part of the Smallville incarnation of the Justice Society.

Playing Hawkman will be an actor who brings his own notable sci-fi following to the role. Michael Shanks, who has recently been appearing on Burn Notice, but is best known as Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1, will portray the classic DC hero."

To read the complete article, go to the IGN TV website.

And for details about the history of the Hawkman character in DC Comics, check out the entry on Wikipedia.

Smallville episode details

Comic book and television writer Geoff Johns has posted a number of comments to his Twitter account which provide a few insights into Michael's upcoming guest appearance on Smallville as the DC Comics hero Hawkman:

» Yes, Hawkman will have wings. And a big mace. Oh. And he and Green Arrow don't get along. At all.

» Yes, my "Society" episode of Smallville is actually an insane DCU infused two-part epic. Part I is "Society" and Part II is "Legends."

» Glen Winter is directing "Society" and Tom Welling is directing "Legends." They both brought so much to Legion.

» If you see Hawkman, tell him he shouldn't mess with Clark. Really. (Shooting starts next week! SWEET!!)

In related news, the TV Aus Cast website have posted a new article about the upcoming episodes, repeating a number of details from Johns' Twitter.

Smallville newsbyte

A recent entry to journalist Michael Ausiello's "The Ausiello Files" blog on the Entertainment Weekly website has provided a few more details about the upcoming Smallville episodes in which Michael will guest star as comic hero Hawkman.

The two episodes, titled "Society" and "Legends", are due to air in early 2010 and, per the article:

The abundance of special guest stars is what prompted [Executive Producer] Souders and fellow showrunner Brian Peterson to expand the episode into two parts.

"To be honest, there were so many characters and so much great story that people would've been robbed of some great moments if we kept it to just one hour," says Sounders. "So now that it?s a two-parter, you won't miss anything."

To read the complete blog entry, check out The Ausiello Files on the Entertainment Weekly website.

Smallville newsbytes

News of Michael's upcoming guest appearance on Smallville, and his recent interview with the Huffington Post, continues to hit various sites, including Slice of SciFi, i09.com, Starlog and Fancast.com, the latter answering a question about the forthcoming episodes with the following:

"One of my buds got a gander at Geoff Johns' script for the super-powered two-parter and in a word, he says, it is 'amazing.' And speaking of Shanks, the buzz is that Hawkman could be the most entertaining DC Comics import in Smallville history. Is it January yet?"

In the meantime, actor Justin Hartley offered the following in response to writer Geoff Johns' recent Tweets indicating that the Smallville characters Green Arrow (played by Hartley) and Hawkman "don't get along. At all.":

"No, they don't. They don't. They have completely different views on just about everything you can imagine. Hawkman (played by Stargate's Michael Shanks) has this sort of antiquated, conservative point of view, while Oliver is the 'liberal bleeding heart.' Together, they are a match made in hell."

In other news, author James Swallow recently revealed in an interview with Unreality SF that his next Stargate-related project is a novelization of the Stargate Universe premiere episodes, in which Michael made a cameo appearance. The novel, "Air", will hit bookshelves this month.

from the los angles stargate con this november

He is currently filming his episodes of Smallville, advising the audience that "those of you doing the 'suave Michael' photo shoot later on, I can't shave... I'm working on Smallville right now and Hawkman has a beard and he's old and grizzled. Somewhere along the line I went from being a young ingenue to being old and grizzled."

Still on the subject of Smallville, Michael revealed that his character will not be costumed as the traditional bare-chested Hawkman because "the way that they're doing the wings for the character, and the flying rig, they have to use this practical harness, so they had to build a breastplate to hide all the strapping and stuff... so no bare-chested Hawkman."

And further on the costume, "the wing-span is thirteen feet. I thought it was ten and... I was talking to Tom Welling, who's directing the second episode, and I said 'How are you going to do this, dude? 'Cos it's pretty... I take up a lot of space. When I turn, I knock crap over! I said 'have you seen me in this outfit?' He said 'No'. I said 'Maybe you should, 'cos I'm like ten feet across.' They grabbed a tape measure and measured it and it's thirteen feet across. So it's twice my height, width-wise, that's how much space I take up. So, good luck other actors getting into that shot!"

"The show's a lot of fun, everybody's really great. Tom Welling's really tall, which I didn't know, he's like 6'3". And I'm supposed to be intimidating him? Yeah, good luck on that one!"

Smallville episodes now a two hour movie

According to a newsbyte on the BuddyTV website, Michael's upcoming two-episode appearance on Smallville will now air as a two-hour movie, with the premiere scheduled for 29 January.

Per the website:

"If you follow casting news and all that jazz, you know that Geoff Johns and Glen Winter combined their talents once again for the episodes titled 'Society' and 'Legends' - episodes involving intrepid DC Comics characters Stargirl (Britt Irvin), Hawkman (Michael Shanks), Dr. Fate (Brent Stait), and Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris).

Originally intended as separate installments, the powers that be determined the episodes might pack more punch (and garner a greater audience) if combined."

To read the full article, go to the BuddyTV website or, for the original report, the Ausiello Files on the EW website.

And check out the WBNX website for a bit more coverage (and a few snippets from the Huffington Post interview) of Michael's appearance on the series.

TV Guide interview with Michael

In a new interview with William Keck from TV Guide magazine, Michael has shared a few details about his upcoming appearance on the CW's hit series, Smallville, including the possibility of seeing his character - Hawkman - flying...

"Yeah. There are a few scenes involving him flying into various sets. One of them is in Watchtower and we?ll also see him on the Daily Planet roof. And at the end of the day, Hawkman takes off his wings and hangs them in the closet."

... the design of his costume...

"No nudity. The way the harness is designed they needed to create a bronze chest plate. The helmet is also more of a bronze-tone than a big yellow gold thing. My whole upper torso becomes a big immobile object."

... and a few character insights:

"When we first meet Carter Hall he's in his museum. We'll learn he's a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society?s time in the '70s, but we have since disbanded. When we first see him, he is a shell of his former self with a heir of cynicism. He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen."

To read the full interview (which also includes news of Michael's third appearance on Stargate Universe with his SG-1 co-star, Richard Dean Anderson), and to view a sneak-peak photo of Michael in costume, go to the TV Guide website. Comic Book Movie have also re-posted the interview on their website.

Note: The scheduled air date for the 2-hour episode special has been pushed back one week, and is now slated for 5 February.

In related news, check out the Examiner website for an article covering the "First look at Smallville's Hawkman", and similar articles on MTV.com, i09.com, Super Hero Hype, TV Fanatic, Smallville PH, Ace Showbiz and the Being Carter Hall blog.

Smallville update - "Absolute Justice"

The Ausiello Files on the Entertainment Weekly website has just been updated with the news that the original episode titles for Michael's episodes of Smallville - "Society" and "Legends" - have now been dropped

"...in favor of the singularly sensational (and far more marketable) 'Smallville: Absolute Justice'.

What's more, I hear the movie - which marks the debut of Michael Shanks as Hawkman - will air as a seamless two-hour event with only one set of credits.

By the way, the air date for "Smallville: Absolute Justice" was recently changed from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5. Adjust your schedules accordingly."

Check out the full article on the Entertainment Weekly website.

Smallville update - TV Guide clipping

The latest print edition of the U.S. TV Guide includes a brief article covering the "First Look" at Michael's costume for the upcoming Smallville 2-hour special, "Smallville: Absolute Justice":

    "Here it is! A sneak peak at Michae Shanks in the Hawkman costume he dons for Smallville's highly anticipated two-hour movie event. Featuring the Justice Society, the special airs January 29 [note: this has now been changed to February 5], and the second hour is directed by Tom Welling. In between practicing his flying stunts above the Daily Planet rooftop and Chloe's Watchtower, the Stargate SG-1 alum told me we will first see his character's alter ego, archaeologist Carter Hall, in a museum as 'a shell of his former self. He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the Justice Society as a whole.'

    We'll also meet Dr. Fate and Stargirl and get updates on other classic superheroes yet to be seen on the show. 'This is a fan's dream!' Michael says. 'There are lots of memories and paraphenalia that people will be familiar with.'

    The episodes, penned by comic-book author Geoff Johns, will also reveal the fate of Hawkman's beloved, Hawkgirl. There are many mentions of Shayera/Hawkgirl as 'his one true love', Michael explains. 'These two have a tremendous history as thousand-year-old reincarnated beings who continue to find each other lifetime after lifetime.'"

Per the article, you can find the full interview with Michael in the online edition of TV Guide.

To view and download a clipping of the article, to the Magazine Clippings section of the Print Media Gallery, or simply skip to the New Pics page.

With many thanks to SueB for the scan!

from michaelshanks-online;

Interview with Smallville Exec Producer

The online edition of TV Guide magazine has posted the second part of an interview with Smallville Executive Producer Brian Petersen, wherein he discusses the upcoming 2-hour episode special, "Smallville: Absolute Justice", and mentions Michael in the process:

"We have Michael Shanks playing Hawkman [and] he is perfect. It is one of the most exciting things we have done in the nine years we have been on.

We have an enormous [episode]. Geoff Johns is writing the big Justice Society of America episode for us, and when we got into it, we realized that is so much bigger than just one episode. We have basically turned it into a mini-movie. And from the footage that is coming in, it looks as good if not better than any hero movie that has been out in the last two years."

To read the full interview, go to the TV Guide Magazine website. (Note: The interview, and a photo of Michael from his appearance in Eureka, has also been re-posted in full to the Comic Book Movie Fansites website.)

And be sure to check out a trailer for the 2-hour special on YouTube.

In related news, check out the Ace Showbiz website for yet another article covering the news of the "Absolute Justice" 2-hour special, and Michael's guest appearance in the episode.

Finally, the Print Media Gallery has been updated with a scan of the latest US TV Guide cover, which includes a small picture of Michael in his Hawkman costume. To view and download the image, go to the Magazine Covers section in the Print Media section of the Galleries, or simply skip to the New Pics page.

more from michaelshanks-online

New photo of Michael as Hawkman

Journalist Michael Ausiello has provided yet another sneak peak of Michael in his Smallville Hawkman outfit via his "Ausiello Files" section on the Entertainment Weekly website.

Check out the photo (and one of Stargate alumni Brent Stait as Dr. Facte) and accompanying article on the Entertainment Weekly website. (The photo has also been added to the Smallville page in the Television Series section of the Galleries.)