Gough & Millar Exit Smallville

News

Gough & Millar Exit Smallville

Source:Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

April 3, 2008

"Smallville" creators and executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have announced they are not staying on for the eighth season of the show. They sent out the following open letter:

As the creators of "Smallville" we look back at 7 amazing years. We look back at 152 episodes. We look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us. After much heartache and debate we have decided it is time for us to move on.

Over the last 7 years we have had the honor of working with a remarkable team of people here in Los Angeles and in Vancouver. We have been blessed with a wonderful cast who we have watched mature with admiration and affection. We have been rewarded with a fan base that is as loyal as it is vocal.

We are incredibly proud of our work on this show. We achieved what we set out to do. We never compromised our vision. We leave knowing that "Smallville" is the longest-running comic book based series of all-time. The show was featured on the covers of Rolling Stone, MAD magazine, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. The pilot had the highest-rated premiere in the history of the WB. Even in its seventh year it is still the #1 scripted show on the network. "Smallville" is watched by millions of people in hundreds of countries and in dozens of languages around the world.

The show's success is a credit to a fantastically talented group of people. We wanted to take this chance to single some of them out. Our writers – your work speaks for itself. James, Jae, Rob, David – the backbone of our team in Vancouver. Joe Davola, Chris and Shelly – remember those Friday night brainstorming sessions? Len Goldstein and Steve Pearlman – thanks for believing we could do this. David Nutter – for giving the show your magic touch. John Litvack – when the knives were out, you always had our backs. Ken Horton – our Yoda. Peter Roth – Smallville's biggest fan. Melinda, Michael R., Paul M., Susan and Suzanne – for steering us through 152 episodes. Greg Beeman – your passion is an inspiration. Jordan, David, Garth, Carolyn, Bob & Lew – and everyone at the much-missed WB. Paul Levitz, Greg Noveck and the guys at DC Comics. Lisa Lewis – our very own soccer mom/mafia accountant. Michael Gendler – aka mega-counsel. David Lubliner – we can finally focus on features now. And last but in no way the least, Renee Kurtz – the smartest TV agent in town, we would be nowhere without you!

Finally, to the fans who have stuck with us through the highs and the lows: know this – we never stopped fighting to make this show great. Thanks for watching.

Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

182 comments

Add a comment

Comments

Posted by: Lighthouse on April 3, 2008 at 03:13:53

I don't think there is a big enough "WTF" for this story.

Posted by: D-Rock on April 3, 2008 at 03:15:33

Bummer... How's it gonna go on with out them? They were the main reasoning for it being so good.. In The last season and a half they've kinda back away from it. And the last season and a half haven't been all that good because of it

Posted by: darthlaney on April 3, 2008 at 03:17:39

They talked Tom Welling out of being the movie Superman and now they bugger off, leaving holding his schlong.

What a couple of a-holes

Posted by: bogey270 on April 3, 2008 at 03:25:37

it seems to me that they just gave up on smallville. negotiating and everything else, if you love something enough you stick with it, good or bad. they did not do this which is sad. put some more time and effort into smallville and it will the best show on network television

Posted by: ayenlou on April 3, 2008 at 03:49:22

Perhaps this is foreshadowing that the 8th season will be its last.

Posted by: Nova Prime on April 3, 2008 at 03:49:24

This is disappointing.

Posted by: Eric on April 3, 2008 at 03:56:41

Smallville sucks anyway.

Posted by: Homer on April 3, 2008 at 04:22:48

WHO WATCHES SMALLVILLE!!!!

Posted by: Elvis on April 3, 2008 at 04:23:17

MAN thats ****ed up they shouldnt leave i love this show to much

Posted by: Staxeon on April 3, 2008 at 04:26:21

I agree with Olea, no love for the cast? I was expecting a shout-out to craft services there any minute it was getting so ridiculous.

That letter reads as a self pat on the back, nay, more like a promo sheet for themselves. The entire third paragraph is chest-puffing. Then they even mention this lets them "finally focus on features now". So what is this? Jump with a golden parachute while you can?

Posted by: f00768500 on April 3, 2008 at 04:28:24

Methinks this may have something to do with the "flying" thing...

Don't forget, that was one of three stipulations M&G insisted on in their original pitch to the-then-WB. The other two were "no cape, no tights"

Posted by: Lana2k8 on April 3, 2008 at 04:34:06

Maybe it'll be on the S7 DVD. But you're right, Olea, they should have made some point to acknowledge the cast members - heck, they even thanked Greg Beeman, who left the show two years ago!

Posted by: Xybalba on April 3, 2008 at 04:37:08

i really loved Smallville..so i really hope this means this will be the last season...

Posted by: Haskard on April 3, 2008 at 04:52:40

like they've been contributing for like the past 4 years anyway. since they started doing all their other stuff in hollywood they've done and less and less for the show and its shown with the decline from the 4th season till now

Posted by: ltr on April 3, 2008 at 04:53:41

This is such a shock. what a pity Millar and Gough didn't stick it out until the last season. Smallville has been a fantastic series but I feel that the last few seasons have dropped a lot in quality. The show should have finished up around season five. Lex and Lana won't be back, maybe chloe won't either...it will be hard to make a good season with such strong characters gone. Yeah, I agree that Tom Welling should have done a big screen version of Superman!!!

Posted by: Captain Villa on April 3, 2008 at 04:56:05

Hmmmm, me thinks that WB wants some money shots now of "SUPERMAN" and not an angsty Clark Kent all the time.

Which is what most of us want - THE FINAL TRANSITION, to what we want and love.

I get the feeling that G&M never wanted the full Mythology fulfilled, where as we all do.

If this is the case, good riddance.

I'm in the UK and our TV station got fed up with buying this as it petered out in S5 and we had an 18 month delay into S6. We still dont know when S7 is coming.

Therefore if other TV stations around the world are getting "itchy feet" because the fan base was getting tired of no transition or the very slow speed of it, the studio probably had to act to fulfill potential.

Bring on the cape !!!!!!

Posted by: Amanda Hugnkiss on April 3, 2008 at 04:56:13

I don't care. I just really want Bruce Wayne to show up for at least one or two episodes before the show calls it quits.

Posted by: Mike D on April 3, 2008 at 05:00:18

Yea, maybe this change up has to do with WB saying "Listen, we're going on an 8th season and our Superman hasnt flew yet. We need to move him along." So maybe they are looking to finally turn him into Superman soon?

Posted by: drakefinx2604 on April 3, 2008 at 05:08:58

Well, with Miller and Gough out of the picture, let's hope we can finally get Bruce Wayne in there. I really never understand their reasoning. Let's hope we get some better producers.

Posted by: f00768500 on April 3, 2008 at 05:09:52

And not before time either

I mean, how long did they expect to buy into this earth-bound Superman

Posted by: spider121 on April 3, 2008 at 05:20:33

In reading the comments, it seems that many folks did not pay attention to the letter or simply didn't know all the facts. Yet they felt it necessary to criticize M & G anyway.

#1: First of all, M & G did acknowledge the cast:

"We have been blessed with a wonderful cast who we have watched mature with admiration and affection."

They simply went into more detail on the crew because those are the people who are rarely acknowledged.

#2: The idea they're leaving the show because it's bad is completely false. They've made public statements as far back as 2006 stating that season 8 would be the final season. I was present on one of those occassions (in 2006) and they did not mince words about it. Otherwise, Clark would never get out of Smallville.

#3: Tom Welling was never offered the role of Superman in the latest film. He wasn't even considered. The film and the TV show are not part of the same continuity, so the idea that M & G "talked Welling out of it" is ridiculous. And if anyone thinks Welling was offered the Superman role in the possible JLA movie, that's equally ridiculous considering the JLA members in the film are completely different versions of the future JLA members shown on Smallville. Again, no continuity between the film and the TV show.

#4: Considering these are the guys that created the show and have kept it going for seven years, why are people assuming they have no love for the material? It could very well be that they simply need to do something else. It is their baby, after all. Maybe they need a break. And given how TV seasons are structured, I wouldn't be surprised if season 8 is already laid out in terms of where the characters need to end up.

#5: The person who seems angry at the fact that they're abandoning the show to work on films has no right to feel that way. Again, this was their show. Now they have an opportunity to move on to bigger things. This is a tough industry and people work hard to get to a place where they're able to do the things they really want to do. It seems to me we should be congratulating these guys for getting there. This reminds me of the music industry where bands struggle to make it big and when they do, they're called sell-outs.

#6: Personally, I'm sad they're leaving the show. But I respect their right to do so and trust they left the final season in good hands and wish them all the best on future projects.

Posted by: Brian on April 3, 2008 at 05:25:39

I have loved Smallville from day 1.

Having said that, this season has been really lacking. Sure, it's had "moments." But it is time to move Clark along. Put him in Metropolis and re-name the show. Make him Superman before we all get alienated and give up. If this move facilitates the change then "Via con Dios."

How much more Super-mopey can we really take?

Posted by: spider121 on April 3, 2008 at 05:26:08

Again, find out the facts before criticizing them. M & G have spoken on numerous occassions of wanting Bruce Wayne on the show. But WB wouldn't let them do it because of Batman Begins. For some reason, it was okay to have two versions of Superman but not okay to have two versions of Batman. Maybe it was a legal issue with the character rights. Who knows? The point is that "better producers" won't get Bruce on the show, either.

Posted by: Dogma Jedi on April 3, 2008 at 05:31:09

Maybe Clark will finally fly. Gough and Miler have said that Clark wouldn't fly in this show. Anytime we've seen him in the air Clark wasn't himself.

Posted by: B. Trask on April 3, 2008 at 05:40:18

The show has lasted 8 years now. Chronologically, Clark should have completed high school and college and moved on to Metropolis. But somehow, he's still in Smallville. Hmm.

There has been plenty of time to develop Lex Luthor into the villian he ultimately becomes, but M&G dragged their feet on that. There has been plenty of time for us to see a college-aged Bruce Wayne...up till now, he's a no-show.
And yet, we get the Fortress of Solitude but no transition to Superman?

How cool would it be for us to see the phase of Clark/Superman moving from Smallville to Metropolis? If you remember, that period gets skipped over in the original movie with Christopher Reeve. So there's your series-ending storyline right there.

But anyway, I guess Alfred and Miles never got the memo that a captain is supposed to go down with the ship. Oh well.

« Previous Page

Page 1 of 8

Total: 182 comments

Jump to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Add a Comment