It takes a special guy to rock primary colors. Dick Tracy had the yellow hat and coat. The Tick was deep into the blue. And everyone knows that the red suit belongs to Santa Claus.
But take yellow, red and blue together, and what have you got? Everyone’s favorite Man of Steel, Superman.
Or in the case of The WB’s Thursday teen-Superman drama “Smallville,” it’s college-age Kansas farmboy Clark Kent, who was once called “the hottie in primary colors.”
In “Lexmas,” the episode airing at 7 p.m. Thursday, Clark has a Claus encounter and delivers a few presents to good little children. For actor Tom Welling, getting the role of Clark has been the gift that keeps on giving–but he couldn’t have known that when he signed on.
“It worked out all right,” Welling says, “Fifth season. It wasn’t a horrible choice.”
While the move from Wednesday to the very competitive Thursday night has proven unexpectedly beneficial for
“Smallville,” the impending end of its fifth season represents a particular challenge.
“It’s economics,” Welling says. “By the time you get to your fifth season, you’ve done all the episodes they need for syndication. At that point, they’re just spending more money that they don’t need to. But it’s to be expected. People are saying we’re going to go to Season 6. It doesn’t feel like the last season, at least on set. But again, you just have to go with it.”
This season, Clark and friends Lana (Kristin Kreuk) and Chloe (Allison Mack) have moved out of high school and into college and the working world in Metropolis. Also, other characters from the DC Comics world of Superman have joined the cast along the way, from Lois Lane (Erica Durance) to Professor Fine/Brainiac (James Marsters).
Clark has become increasing involved with his legacy as a son of Krypton, along with discovering new powers. When the show began, executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar promised “no tights and no flights,” but that hasn’t stopped the show from dropping in a lot of “Superman” references, coming perilously close to the big “s” word itself.
Can tights and flights be far behind?
“No,” Welling says. “I don’t mean to rain on anybody’s parade, but I know for a fact that it won’t happen. So I’m not worried. But Al did say that [a young] Bruce Wayne was coming on the show, and he didn’t show up.”
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A ‘DOZEN’ LAUGHS
Tom Welling’s new film, “Cheaper by the Dozen 2,” opens Dec. 21. It’s a sequel to the popular comedy about a large family headed by Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt.
“I think the second one is even more fun,” Welling says. “The family goes away on vacation to a lake where they used to go when all the kids were younger. There’s a rival family with Eugene Levy as the father and Carmen Electra as his younger wife.”
