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"For me, it all started because Peter Roth, the president of Warner Brothers Television, is a very passionate individual, and when he really cares about a project, he puts a lot of money and support behind it - I was interested in being involved with a project like that.
"With SMALLVILLE, 'Clark Kent: The Younger Years' was a passion of his for many years, since before being at Warner Brothers or even Fox. I'd heard about it and wasn't really interested, but when we sat down together he pitched the story and his approach and his passion rubbed off on me. He wanted to make it smarter and better, all the things that I'm always looking for in the projects I do. So, having already done the MILLENNIUM and SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND pilots together, I felt we would be able to work very well together.
"What's happening with this show is that they really want to bring everything up to date and make it 21st century in many respects. It's a show about a young man dealing with changes in his life like puberty and the sense of alienation, all those things that young people go through, and magnifying it in the character of Clark Kent.
"To me, it's a very exciting prospect to tell this story. I enjoyed the process of making ROSWELL; out of everything I've ever done, that really was more of who I am as an individual and a creative person. So another opportunity to tell a story about a young many who can become a hero is a wonderful thing to do. Most importantly, it will be an offshoot of the comic book take on Clark Kent, bringing the story to a point that is more respectful of the saga in many respects. We're also trying to deal with the emotional journey of Clark Kent as he discovers who he is and what he's all about.
"With a role has so much history and carries so much weight, the key is to find a young actor who will be willing to take that all on and embrace it. Some people might say, 'I don't want to play that character because then no one will see me as anything else.'
"But my hope is to develop a Clark Kent who eventually becomes very cool in his own world. Saying Clark Kent is 'cool' is probably not completely correct, but he's certainly a very interesting character to play, with a lot of emotional dimensions. I think it's going to be a real feast for a young actor.
"Miles Miller and Alfred Gough put together the treatment for the pilot and basically pitched the story, which was when I got involved in many aspects of making adjustments to it. They are now in the process of actually writing the script, which will be completed next week. At that point, we'll hone it and make it sing.
"We're definitely taking the DC comics back-story and trying to respect it. I think the show is going to have various romantic triangles that play out over the course of the series which will involve a lot of the characters, not just Clark, Lana, and Lex. They all have friends, there's also Ma and Pa Kent, and other adults in the show as well.
"What we want to do is sell the fact that Smallville is a small town that had a meteor shower. At one point, Smallville was the creamed corn capital of the world, and they have this meteor shower and it almost becomes 'The Day After.' Not only does Clark's meteor land in this small town, but several small pieces of kryptonite land in this area as well, so a lot of strange goings-on have taken place since this shower, which may affect lots of things."
- Director David Nutter, early 2001
from Dreamwatch #78, March 2001