"Pilot" is the first episode in the first season of Smallville, and first episode overall. It aired on October 16, 2001.
Summary
The first (and pilot) episode of SMALLVILLE tells the story of the 1989 meteor shower in Smallville, Kansas and it's meteor rock effects on the small town. Clark Kent is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent after they discover him as a young boy in Riley Corn Field. Years later, while already understanding he is different than others, Smallville High student Clark Kent begins his journey towards his destiny. He begins discovering new abilities and strengths, which he uses to save the life of billionaire, Lex Luthor. The pilot introduces the first of many meteor infected victims, Jeremy Creek, who had been tied to a post in Riley Corn field as the traditional Smallville Scarecrow during the 1989 meteor shower.
Recap
→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 1x01
A tiny spaceship heads towards Earth.
On October 7, 1989, a meteor shower flies through space towards the earth with a small spaceship centred in the middle of them. Oblivious to these events in space, rich businessman Lionel Luthor and his young son are flying in their helicopter to a factory in Smallville. Nine-year-old Lex Luthor is scolded by his father for expressing his fear during the flight, later finding relief when they land.
Meanwhile, young Smallville couple Jonathan and Martha Kent take a trip into town, visiting florist shop owner and Johnathan's former girlfriend Nell Potter and her three-year-old niece Lana Lang. Nell is looking after her niece whilst her parents are at the Homecoming football game. Johnathan buys some flowers whilst Martha makes a wish from Lana who is dressed up in a fairy princess costume she was given for Halloween. After leaving Nell's flower shop Martha reveals her wish for a child as the couple are about to Drive away they notice the homecoming parade coming down the road as the Smallville crows celebrate winning another match. The pair eventually start to make their way back to their farm.
As the meteors and space ship starts getting closer to earth, Lionel Luthor starts to make a business deal with Dale Ross and Bill Ross of the Ross family creamed corn factory to buy their factory. Whilst a bored Lex starts to wander off into Riley Corn Field. After hearing someone whisper "help me", he runs in a panic, stumbling to the ground where he is called upon by fourteen-year-old Jeremy Creek who is without clothing and tied to a cross with an "S" painted on his chest.
The first meteor shower devastates the town.
Suddenly a meteor hits the cornfield and creates a shockwave seemingly swallowing Jeremy and Lex. In the town, the townspeople gawk at the destructive trail of the meteor that had hit Riely field. Suddenly more meteors hit the town including one that kills Lana's parents, Lewis and Laura Lang. The barrage of meteors leaves a path of destruction in its wake and even Jonathan and Martha are caught in the madness when their pickup truck gets overturned by a meteor.
Lionel races off to find Lex only to find him lying in the cornfield, with only a small patch of red hair remaining on his head. Linoel backs away in horror as he sees that lex is now bold. While hanging upside down in their truck the Kent couple is approached by a young boy without clothes or parents. After getting out of the truck they search Nearby for the boy's parents only to find a black spaceship laying in some wreckage, seemingly this young boy they have just found is not of this planet. The Kents decide to keep the boy and name him Clark.
The Kents find a little boy and take him home.
12 Years later, in 2001, Smallville is now "The Meteor Capital of the World" with a population of 45,001. We see fourteen-year-old teenage Clark Kent now a high school freshman. He is surfing the internet looking up various impossible acts on his computer. After being called down to breakfast by his mother he then tries to convince his parents to allow him to play high school football. Overly cautious of his growing abilities, Jonathan disappoints Clark and refuses to sign the permission slip fearing he will accidentally hurt other students. Leaving the Kent farm a moment too late, Clark misses his bus to Smallville High.
On the bus already is Clarks two best friends Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan, they discuss how Clark is always slow and Chloe hears a noise on the roof, but Pete thinks she is imagining it. It is Clark having just used his super-speed to go through a cornfield short cut and has jumped on top of the bus. After arriving at school Pete asks Chloe if she's going to the homecoming dance and if she is, if she 's planning on going with Clark, which causes her to insist she does not have a crush on him only for Pete to ask her to go with him instead "Just as friends".
Chloe and Pete bump into Clark who makes up a lame excuse for arriving before they do, leaving Chloe perplexed. Clark tells Pete that he can't sign up for the football team which amuses Chloe forcing the pair to explain that they only want to join the football team to avoid becoming the "Scarecrow". A tradition in which every year the Smallville High football team chooses the geekiest freshman male who they leave in his underwear tied to a cross in a cornfield, like a scarecrow. Suddenly Clark notices Lana, who has grown to become a beautiful young lady. When Clark approaches her he becomes physically ill due to Lana wearing a necklace made from the meteor that killed her parents. This causes Clark to fall over in pain and it's revealed by the reaction of Chloe and Pete that this isn't the first time Clark has fallen over in front of his crush.
Clark has a crush on Lana Lang.
Also inside the school is Jeremy Creek (looking exactly as he did twelve years ago). He gazes at the football trophy case, then breaks it and steals a picture of three smiling football players.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Twenty-one year old Lex Luthor arrives in Smallville to assume management of the Smallville branch of his father's company, a fertilizer plant on the site of the former Ross Creamed Corn factory. It's clear from his deminer that he doesn't want to be there as he sarcastically says "Thanks dad" to himself.
Back at Smallville High at after school football tryouts, Clark watches Lana practising with the other cheerleaders. He daydreams about being the star quarterback and winning the game, only to be interrupted by Pete dressed in Clark's words "like a tackling dummy". Clark then leaves and walks home at normal speed to think and mope. A truck passes him and some sharp debris falls from it, coming the other way is Lex who is speeding along when his cell phone rings. Distracted, he doesn't notice the object which fell from the tuck lying in the road ahead. His tyres get shredded and he ends up losing control of his car. He sees Clark moments before the car hits him. Both go over the Loeb Bridge into Elbow River. The impact knocks Lex unconscious, but Clark swims towards him, rips the top off of his car, and pulls him out. He resuscitates Lex, who is sure he hit Clark, but Clark brushes him off. When Clark's father arrives at the scene, he is very unhappy with Lex and tells him to drive slower in future.
Clark pulls Lex out of the river and revives him.
loft of his parents' barn. He spies on Lana, who is also his neighbour. She is taking to her Whitney about Clark saving Lex's life and Lana gives him her necklace for good luck in the homecoming game as a scout f2rom Metropolis will be there to watch them the team play. She tells him about it being made from the same meteor that killed her parents "So much bad luck came from it, there must only be good luck left".
Also that night at Frank's auto shop, Jeremy looms in the shadows watching Frank work on a car. When Frank notices him and Jeremy steps into some light and gets closer Frank recognises him as the scarecrow kid from 12 years ago. When Jeremy doesn't say anything Frank tires to shake him only to get electrocuted and fall to the floor. Asking him what he wants and telling him it was just a game, Jeremy replies with "to play". He then electrocutes Frank and holds him up against a wall zapping him into a coma, shattering an image of Frank in his youth with two other football players that Jeremy holds responsible for putting him out in the cornfield twelve years earlier.
The next day, after arriving home from school Clark notices a brand new truck in the driveway. Martha tells him it's as a gift from Lex for saving his life and Johnathan has the keys. However, Johnathan doesn't want Clark to keep it due to an animosity he has towards the Luthors. He tells Clark that they evicted their neighbours to buy land for LuthorCorp's factories that made the money that probably bought the truck. When Jonathan says that it's normal for Clark to be upset, Clark turns on the wood chipper and sticks his hand inside to demonstrate that he is not "normal", leaving Jonathan stunned.
Jonathan explains to Clark how they found him.
Clark stands in front of a statue angel, symbolizing his character
The next day before school Clark goes to Lex's mansion to return the keys to the truck. He explains to Lex that he can't keep the truck and Lex realizes it's because Clark's father doesn't like him. He thinks it's because of his boldness but Clark tells him it's because of the things Lex's father has done to the town. Lex thinks Johnathan is worried that the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree and that Lex might be like his father. When Lex asks Clark if he is like Jonathan and believes that Lex is a bad person, Clark, who is still coming to terms with being an alien, tells him he's got to go. Lex then asks Clark if he believes a man can fly, and that after the accident and his heart stopped he had a vision of flying over Smallville. Lex says he doesn't want anything to stand in the way of their friendship.
Meanwhile, Pete and Chloe are at the scene of a crime. A third former football player has been found in a coma. They see
Jeremy sculling around after releasing they have never seen him at school before and that he is acting strange they quickly snap his picture. They take the photo to the office of the school newspaper, the Smallville Torch as Chloe is the editor of it. Joined by Clark the 3 manage to find him in a twelve-year-old yearbook.
Clark, Chloe and Pete investigate for the paper.
Clark becomes that year's "Scarecrow".
Jeremy finds Clark in the cornfield.
At the dance, everyone is having fun dancing but unknown to everyone inside Jeremy is about to set off the sprinkler system to get them wet for electrocution. But Clark shows up and orders him to stop, he then tries to connect to Jeremy telling him he understands his pain. But Jeremy is in denial that he is in pain and points out that the homecoming hazing needs to stop and that punishing everyone inside is the only way. When Clark moves to block him, Jeremy tries to electrocute him only for Clark to be immune, Clark then grabs and throws Jeremy away from the sprinklers. Clark warns him to give up but Jeremy then uses his electric powers to start a maintenance truck up. Jeremy tries to run Clark down with the truck but Clark grabs onto it causing Jermey to crash into a water main. As the cab of the truck fills with water, he short-circuits himself. When Clark opens the door of the truck he notices Jermey has turned back to his true age of 25, his powers are gone and he has no memory of Clark. He asks Clark where he is and who Clark is. Clark introduces himself to Jermey and tells him he's in Smallville. Jeremy says that he just wants to go home and Clark nods.
Clark stacks three pickup trucks.
Cast
Starring
- Tom Welling as Clark Kent
- Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
- Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
- Eric Johnson as Whitney Fordman
- Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
- Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
- Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
- John Schneider as Jonathan Kent
Special Guest Star
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
- Adrian McMorran as Jeremy Creek
- Jade Unterman as Young Lana Lang
- Malkolm Alburquenque as Young Clark Kent
- Matthew Munn as Young Lex Luthor
- Dee Jay Jackson as Bill Ross
- Alvin Sanders as Dale Ross
- Steve Bacic as Frank/Garage Worker/Former Jock #1
- Justin Chatwin as Teen Jostled by Whitney
- Wendy Chmelauskas as Laura Lang
- Ben Odberg as Lewis Lang
- Jay Kirby
- Amy Esterle as Heike
Uncredited
- Miranda Cosgrove as Young Lana Lang (voice only)
- Hiro Kanagawa as Principle James Kwan (Deleted Scene)
- Eric Keenleyside as Gabe Sullivan (Deleted Scene)
- James Ralph as Factory Worker (Deleted Scene)
Featured Music
| Song | Artist/Band | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "The Way It Is" | Bruce Hornsby | Played when Jonathan and Martha Kent stop by Nell's flower shop in 1989. |
| "Long Way Around" | Eagle Eye Cherry | Played when introduced to the Kent farm in present-day Smallville. |
| "Eight Half Letters" | Stereoblis | Played when Chloe, Pete, and Clark arrive at school. |
| "Unstoppable" | The Calling | Played when Lex Luthor is driving down the road about to hit Clark and drive off of the bridge. |
| "Wonder" | Embrace | Played when Clark looks at Lana and Whitney through his telescope. |
| "Inside The Memories" | Fear The Clown | Played when Jeremy Creek attacks the mechanic in the auto repair shop. |
| "Let's Go" | Capitol Eye | Played when Whitney picks Clark as the Scarecrow and the jocks throw him into the truck. |
| "Maybe" | Stereophonics | Played at the Homecoming dance, when Pete and Chloe, Lana and Whitney are dancing. |
| "Everything I Own" | Jude | Played at the homecoming dance, when Clark looks in and sees Lana and Whitney dancing. |
| "Woodstock Alice" | Paul Trudeau | Played when Lana and Whitney exit the dance to see trucks stacked in a pile. |
| "Everything" | Lifehouse | Played when Clark arrives home after the homecoming dance and imagines dancing with Lana. |
Title
- Technically, this episode is unnamed. The term "pilot" is traditionally used in the entertainment industry to identify the first episode of a television series.
- The word "pilot" could mean about the term they call an aircraft employee who flies any vehicle relating to aircraft. This could refer to Clark's ability to fly, which was observed later in the future episodes and seasons.
Timeline
- This episode takes place on October 3–7, 2001. The novelization specifically states it is October. The novelization also states that the start of the present day section of the episode is a Tuesday which is actually incorrect as the homecoming dance is stated to be Saturday (twice) during both the novel and the episode itself. Since the episode takes place over three days this would mean the episode actually starts on a Thursday or more likely Wednesday is simply not shown during the episode which would push the episode out over four days. Also, Chloe says "...twelve years ago today, they chose Jeremy Creek as the Smallville High scarecrow." The Oliver Queen Chronicles states that the meteor shower occurred October 16, 1989. However, the Oliver Queen Chronicles is now considered non-canon while a canon source (the Smallville Torch Vol. 50, Issue 45) states the shower as occurring on October 25. Both of these sources have since been replaced by an episode of the series itself, Hero which states the date is October 7 and then we can backtrack the Tuesday to October 3 thus dating the episode. Oddly enough, the 7th was actually a Sunday (not a Saturday) in real life which is probably due to the writers not having pinned down the exact date of the meteor shower when writing the episode (as it is simply said to be October 1989 in the pilot episode itself).
Notes
- Antagonist: Jeremy Creek and Whitney Fordman
The red towel that Clark wore was a reference to the Superman cape.
- Clark uses the following abilities in this episode: super strength, invulnerability, speed reading, super leaps (only in imagination) and super speed.
- The name of the Smallville High School paper, the Smallville Torch, was also the name of the school paper where Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman's creators, worked in high school.
- Jeremy Creek is the first known meteor freak and villain of the show.
- The episode contains a few subtle references to Superman. Lex asks Clark, "Do you believe a man can fly?" similar to the tag-line from the first Superman movie - "You'll believe a man can fly." When Clark is hung up as the Scarecrow, the red "S" on his chest is an allusion to the S on Superman's costume. When Jonathan puts his jacket around Clark and they walk away from Lex and the accident, the red blanket around Clark hangs off his shoulders like a classic Superman cape. Additionally, Clark bumps into Lana in this episode and as they talk she asks him, "So what are you, man or superman?" referring to his future as Superman. Also, when Jeremy says to Clark that he has a destiny, Clark reveals to have one too.
- The first two episodes of the series, the Pilot and Metamorphosis, are sometimes combined into a movie-length 2 hour presentation, which was the case when the series first premiered in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
- When first premiered as a 2-hour move in Canada the following scene is extended.
- When Lex is resuscitated, Clark sees the broken guardrail and looks weak. Lex asks, "Kid, are you feeling alright?" Clark says "Yeah, I'm fine", then faints, falling flat on his face.
- Scenes deleted from the Pilot include:
- When Young Lex is first introduced in the helicopter, his father Lionel tells him he won't tell the pilot to land the copter until Lex looks out of the window, which he does only to start panicking and uses his inhaler. There's also a scene in which Pete Ross's father, Bill Ross, and uncle, Dale Ross, have a debate on Lionel's intention for buying the factory from them as they don't know why the "pesticide king of Metropolis" would be interested in a creamed corn plant.
- After they arrive at school, Clark, Pete, and Chloe watch as Whitney and the rest of the jocks park their trucks (the same ones that Clark piles up at the end of the episode), Chloe refers to them as the "3 ass-keteers".
- Principle Kwan seeing Jeremy Creek break into the trophy case. When Kwan, who mistakes Jeremy for a current student at the school, orders him into his office, Jeremy throws Kwan into a display case behind him.
- Gabe Sullivan (not played by Robert Wisden, but by Eric Keenleyside) tells some factory works to be on the lookout for Lex, referring to him as "Daddy's little boy", unaware that Lex is behind him. Gabe starts to worry, because the plant isn't returning much profit, but Lex assures him that he isn't going to fire any employees at the fertilizer plant.
- Pete and Chloe are waiting for Clark to show up at the dance. They decide to dance together, but only as friends (even though it's obvious in the scene that Chloe likes Clark and Pete likes Chloe).
- Clark reads an article entitled "3-year-old Korean boy lifts truck off injured father" which is an obvious allusion to Superman: The Movie where a 6-year-old Kal-El lifts a truck off a shocked Jonathan Kent.
- Lionel Luthor is the very first character to appear on-screen in the series.
- In the first scene, the front page of Lionel's newspaper states that Queen Industries' CEO is missing and presumed dead. The new Queen Industries CEO, their son Oliver Queen, joined Smallville as a recurring guest in Season Six, before being promoted to regular in Season Eight. This headline also appears in Season Seven's Veritas.
The unusual meteor.
- The 'Queen Industries' headline would be deepened later as part of the Veritas story arc.
- During the very first scene showing the meteors approaching Earth, one with red and blue strains can be spotted among them.
- The DEFCON system is referred to incorrectly; DEFCON 5 is the least severe state. Ironically, it will be used correctly by Chloe over nine years later.
- Martha mentions that she is taking night classes. This is never mentioned again on the series.
- When Clark was chosen as Scarecrow by Whitney and almost fought him, he was very close to overpowering Whitney with his strength, as he grasped Whitney by his shirt tightly, until Clark opened up his shirt by accident showing the necklace that Lana gave Whitney, giving Whitney the advantage.
In Other Media
Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang in Superman III
- In Smallville, Kal-El's ship came to Earth accompanied by meteor rock fragments. This differs from nearly every version of the events (with the exception of Superman: The Animated Series), which tells that kryptonite came long after Kal-El.
- Annette O'Toole, who plays Martha Kent, previously played the adult Lana Lang in Superman III.
- Clark Kent, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Pete Ross, Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent, and Lewis Lang are the first seven DC Comics characters adapted into the series.
- The Superman symbol is shown on a little ride in front of store as young Lana is crying.
- The New 52 version of Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) arrives on Earth in a meteor shower in Smallville, a possible reference to Smallville and this particular episode. Kara's pod, however, hurtles through the Earth and emerges in Siberia.
Trivia
- According to the producers, the scene at the graveyard is one of the first scenes which Kristin Kreuk auditioned for in the show and her first scene with Tom Welling.[1]
- This is the first and only episode in which the theme song, Save Me, isn't featured.
- When this episode originally aired, there were no opening credits. The regular actors are listed followed by a "Special Guest Star" listing for John Glover.
- In the version of the pilot that aired, childhood Clark, Lana and Lex are played by Malkolm Alburquenque, Jade Unterman, and Matthew Munn respectively. All three child actors would reprise their roles in Season 2, Alburquenque and Munn in Lineage, and Unterman in Accelerate.
- The pilot episode runs 48 minutes long, which was the longest single episode until the Season 4 finale, Commencement - which runs at 50 minutes long. This would then be beaten by the double-part episodes of Absolute Justice and Finale, which run at over an 1 hour each.
- Actress Cynthia Ettinger was the original Martha Kent.
- The bridge that Lex goes off is the Loeb Bridge, a reference to Jeph Loeb, who wrote Superman comic books and consulted on Season Two.
- David Nutter previously directed 21 episodes of Superboy from 1989 to 1992.
Spoilers
- Lana's parents are played by Ben Odberg and Wendy Chmelauskas. They appear as Lewis and Laura Lang in two future episodes, Season Four's "Scare" and Season Five's "Void".
- More is revealed about the day the Kents found Clark in Season Two's "Lineage" and Season Eight's "Eternal".
- In Season Seven's "Descent", the real reason for Lionel's trip to Smallville is revealed to not so much to buy a creamed corn factory, but to welcome the Traveler.
- Lex talks about the history of the Luthor mansion - which is supposed to be his ancestral home and was "shipped over from Scotland stone by stone". Lionel's reasons to actually do so is explained later on in Season Seven's Quest.
- The "Scarecrow" prank that in which Clark was victimized showed him hanging on a cross-like structure. This is the first of several times throughout the series that imagery of Jesus Christ alludes to Clark being a Christ figure.
- This is the first and only episode that shows Clark Kent carrying a skateboard.
- In the story of Smallville, it is shown that right before Kal-El as a baby left Krypton, his older future self from 2008 battled Brainiac with help from Kara as Brainiac was about to kill him. Kal-El from 2008 put him back in the spaceship and the story of Smallville began.
Allusions
- Clark is reading a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher whose views on religion, morality, and psychoanalysis were influential to the German Nazi Party. His book "The Will to Power" contains the famous line, "Behold the Superman".[1]
Locations
Quotes
- Clark: I'd give anything to be normal.
- Jonathan: Kids just don't fall out of the sky, Martha.
- Martha: Then where did he come from?
- Jonathan: I don't know. But he must have parents. (they both find the space ship)
- Martha: Well, if he does, they're definitely not from Kansas.
- Jonathan: Sweetheart, we can't keep him. What are we gonna tell people? We found him out in a field?
- Martha: We didn't find him... he found us.
- Young Lana: Do you want to make a wish?
- Martha: I would love to make a wish.
- Young Lana: Okay. Abracadabra.
- Martha: (scolding Clark for drinking out of the carton) Jeez, Clark. Get a glass, where did you learn your manners?
- Clark: (laughing) On a farm.
- Chloe: Statistical fact. Clark Kent can't get within five feet of Lana Lang without turning into a total freak show.
- Lionel: This has got to stop. Open your eyes, Lex.
- Lex: I can't...
- Lionel: Luthors are not afraid. We don't have that luxury. We're leaders. You have a destiny, Lex. You're never going get anywhere with your eyes closed.
- Lex: Clark, do you believe a man can fly?
- Clark: Sure. In a plane.
- Lex: No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about soaring through the clouds, with nothing but air beneath you.
- Clark: People can't fly, Lex.
- Lana: Nietzsche? I didn't know you have a dark side, Clark.
- Clark: Doesn't everyone?
- Lana: So what are you: man or superman?
- Clark: I haven't figured it out yet.
- Lana: Are you okay?
- Clark: I'm hanging out in a graveyard. Does this strike you as okay behavior?
- Lana: I didn't see you tonight, Clark.
- Clark: Lana. What are you doing here?
- Lana: I saved you that dance. (They start dancing) Everything okay, Clark?
- Clark: It's perfect. (Horns outside honk, and Clark awakes from his reverie.) Thanks for the dance, Lana.
References
- ↑ Simpson, Paul (2004). Smallville: The Official Companion Season 1. London: Titan Books. pp. 8–17. ISBN 1840237955.
External links
| Previous Story: Beginning of Series | Next Story: Metamorphosis |
| Episodes: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10
Minor Characters: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 Screencaps: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 | |
