Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor is history, the great John Glover is no longer chewing the scenery, and the last few seasons seemed to stretch the "Young Man of Steel" concept about as far as it could go. If you're like me, you stopped DVR-ing Smallville even before last season's dismal Kryptonite gum episode, "Hero," which brought the show's penchant for product placement to an all time low. But, for me, Smallville has always been like a Quarter Pounder value meal from McDonalds -- cheesy, full of fat and empty calories, but wholly familiar and comforting. That's probably why I tuned in to watch this season's opener back in September, and I'm glad I did.

(S07E19) Lex is still pursuing the secret of Veritas. In his journeys, he encounters a cloaked stranger who tries to kill him and later on tries to kill Clark. I think this episode borrowed a page or two from The DaVinci Code. For that matter, I think half the season did.

Lex has been hurt or nearly killed a great deal since the start of this series. It's unlikely his latest chest mutilation will ever heal. It wouldn't surprise me if he left the area of Smallville entirely. Oh, wait...

We knew it was coming. At the end of February 2007, Smallville actor, Michael Rosenbaum, announced his intentions of leaving the show at the end of the 2007-2008 season in order to tackle new projects. For the past year, fans (I include myself here) hoped that the actor would change his mind. How can Smallville be, well, Smallville without Lex Luthor? Things looked grim when the actor reminded us last February that he was done with the show, come the Season 7 finale. And today, fans around the world must come to the realization that Rosenbaum wasn't joking: he really is leaving the show "to start the next chapter of my life and career," he says in a joint statement with The CW.

(S07E17) Most sci-fi or fantasy television series have used a "parallel universe" or "what if" storyline in which we see what life would be like if a different set of circumstances existed in the characters' universe. As of tonight's episode, Smallville is no exception to this rule. In fact, it's kind of surprising the creators haven't done it before now since they seem to rely on television clichés.

Somebody saaaaaavvvveeee meeeee....

(S07E17) In a mild diversion from the main story arc of the season, Jimmy Olsen becomes James Bond. At least he's a James Bond that makes breakfast.

Of all the characters in the show, the ones who have undergone the most growth is Chloe. It makes sense since the character was created specifically for this series (although it was somewhat as a Lois Lane stand-in).

(S07E16) Smallville returns from its hiatus with a death that was extremely predictable (particularly given the spoilers available throughout the Internet). I'm trying not to spoil it for anybody who hasn't watched yet so I'm saving the reveal until after the jump. It's surprising that they didn't even wait for the opening credits for that particular reveal.

At this juncture, I think it's safe to say that the character permanently died. No alternate timelines. No Kryptonite-fueled resurrections. No clones. No imaginary stories. Mind you, in the Smallville universe, it wouldn't surprise me if this or any death was only temporary (such as with Buffy before it).

(S07E15) This episode could have easily been the season finale of Smallville. It had characters change, characters vanish and a very sad cliffhanger ending. I wonder if it was the last one written before the writer's strike started?

It opened with a quiet day on the Kent farm. Then Brainiac (played by James Marsters) showed up and things got violent. In a rare instance, Clark showed up on time in the beginning to save the day, rather than the end of the program. On another note, that farm gets trashed a LOT.

How good are you at spotting someone's true age? There's been a few times I've caught myself wondering how old that actor really is on TV, when they're playing someone my age and look ten years older. Do I really look that good? Then again, I've seen the opposite and thought, "damn, I am an old decrepit fart." In any case, I'll pull up IMDb and usually find myself in shock of how young/old the actor on-screen really is.

The whole actor-to-character age ratio thing got me curious, so I did a little research (with the help of some of the TV Squad team) and made a list of some of the more extreme and well-known (or, maybe to some, not-so-well-known) examples. By the way, we didn't include actors who played flashback scenes of their characters for short periods of time, as there are more of those than we have room for.

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Can you imagine Smallville without Lex Luthor?

That's the possibility that arises after you watch this video (also embedded after the jump) of star Michael Rosenbaum at YoungHollywood.com. Most of the video is just Rosenbaum explaining what he's doing at the Sundance Film Festival, what he gets in free stuff for being on a TV show, who his mom looks like, and how to fake a smile for all the cameras that are always shoved in his face. But in the last few seconds of the clip, Rosenbaum tells fans to watch the show "for only a couple more months, and then I'm done."

Last May, when the sixth season finale of Smallville aired, a lot of TV fans were left wondering if Lana Lang, Chloe, and Lionel were dead or alive. Thanks to spoilers, we learned the fate of two of these characters pretty quickly. However, the third one kept us wondering, especially since the contract of the person playing that character was up in the air. Negotiations took so long that the show started shooting new episodes not even knowing if that character would be back or not. Want to know if all those three characters are back? Curious about new storylines and which characters from the past will resurface? Wait no more, we bring you answers!

Spoilers ahead!

Supergirl, meet Supergirl. That is sort of what will happen in episode six of the upcoming season of Smallville when Helen Slater, who played the woman of steel in the 1984 movie Supergirl, will guest star on The CW hit series confirms Sci Fi Wire.

It was announced a few weeks ago that Smallville was adding the character of Supergirl to its show and that Laura Vandervoort was cast in the role. So what role will Slater play? Spoilers after the jump!

A month after announcing that Supergirl would join The CW's Smallville as a new series regular, the network announced who will be playing her. TV Guide reveals that Clark Kent's cousin Kara will be played by Canadian Laura Vandervoort.

Vandervoort fits the description from the Supergirl casting call: Caucasian 19-year-old who must be blond, smart, beautiful and funny. However, she is 22-years-old but since Tom Welling is a 30-year-old playing a teen, I guess fans will allow the actress to be three years older than the character!

According to a press release from The CW, Supergirl will be joining the cast of Smallville next season. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Some people might call this a possible shark-jumping moment ... but for me that already happened back when Jonathan Kent kicked the bucket *sniffle*.

Straight from the network -- "On Smallville, the seventh season premiere kicks off with the arrival of Supergirl, whose name is Kara, as Clark's (Tom Welling) 19-year-old cousin. She was born on Krypton and is the daughter of Zor-El, Jor-El's brother. Kara possesses all of Clark's powers and one he doesn't yet have ? she can fly! Kara also has a strong, rebellious streak that puts her at odds with Clark, and puts her onto Lex's (Michael Rosenbaum) radar. In addition, she takes a romantic interest in Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore)."

(S06E16) The wedding bells that have been ringing in the promos for this episode also sound like funeral bells ringing, is that a coincidence? We may never know. Anyhow, it's finally here, the Lex & Lana wedding that we've all been dreading/waiting for.

Did that scene of Lex and Lana watching the ultrasound creep anyone else out? It's scary to know what might come ripping out of that womb. I keep picturing that scene from Alien over and over in my head. I also hope that the photo Clark whipped out the window didn't end up decapitating someone in Malaysia. He really put some heat behind it.

According to the site Associated Content, Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville, is planning on leaving the show at the end of next season.

There aren't many more details, other than the fact that Rosenbaum "confirmed" the report. The rest of the article just summarizes the development of Lex and speculates on whether the show can survive his departure. Considering the show is already in its sixth season, and Rosenbaum isn't going to leave until next year, it would seem that there wouldn't be much life left in the show beyond a seventh season, anyway. So this announcement, especially coming so early, is a curious one to me. Maybe Rosenbaum is looking for some sort of "farewell tou" or something. Not sure.

Can the show survive without Lex? Let me know in the comments.

[via digg]