Super-sexy and super-flirty, Clark's super-cousin Kara (Laura
Vandervoot) made the splashiest addition to the cast in
Smallville's season 7. Unfortunately for Clark (Tom Welling),
she's more advanced in her powers than he is (she can fly), and
she's not the kind to shy away from drawing attention to herself,
whether it's in a skimpy bikini or garnering notice from Lex
(Michael Rosenbaum) and Jimmy (Aaron Ashmore, joining the opening
credits). Chloe (Allison Mack, rightfully moving ahead of Erica
Durance in the credits) is trying to come to terms with her "meteor
freak" powers, and Lois (Durance) is dallying with the new Daily
Planet editor Grant Gabriel (Michael Cassidy), who has a
mysterious past. The dreary drama of Lex and Lana (Kristin Kreuk) is
over, and Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole) has permanently departed for
Congress, so Lana is now playing house with Clark at the Kent farm.
More elements of the DC Comics mythology enter, such as superheroine
Black Canary (Alana Huffman), as do guest stars from the universe of
Super-entertainment (Lois and Clark's Dean Cain as a doctor
who claims to be able to "cure" meteor powers, and Helen "Supergirl"
Slater as Clark's Kryptonian mother). Braniac (James Marsters) is
still a threat, and Lionel (John Glover) reveals a shady past as
part of an order called Veritas, which is purportedly assigned with
protecting "the Traveler," an alien who has come to Earth as its
salvation. Yet even with the numerous cast comings and goings, the
most surprising change happened at the end of the season, when
series producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar announced their
departure. Whether that would be a good or bad thing (and whether it
would mean an end to their original Smallville edict, "No
flights, no tights") would have to be answered in season 8.
--David Horiuchi
