While looking to learn how to write ground-breaking episodes of my own future TV series, I’ve decided to make Top Ten lists of my own favorite TV shows. I’ll start with my favorite show of all-time: Smallville.
10. Justice (Season 6)- Probably the best live-action version of The Justice League that we will ever see. Seeing Clark team up with Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Cyborg was like reading a classic comic book.
9. Descent (Season 7)- One of the most heartbreaking deaths on the show: Lionel Luthor. And at the hands of his own son. The final scene with Clark and Lex standing by his grave was one of my favorite in the series
8. Arctic (Season 7)- The Lex vs. Clark confrontation 7 seasons in the making. The tension was never stronger as Lex discovered Clark’s secret, and died in the process.
7. Pilot (Season 1)- The final scene where Clark imagines dancing with Lana made me instantly fall in love with the couple, and sympathize with Clark, who was an outsider who wanted desperately to fit in.
6. Lexmas (Season 5)- I’m always a sucker for holiday episodes. This one had a nice tone to it, and was a great Lex-centric episode. The scene at the end where Lex realizes power is what is important to him revealed his descent to the dark side, and was bone-chilling.
5. Spell (Season 4)- A very silly episode. Pretty much Hocus Pocus conceptually. But seeing Lana as a 17th century witch, and Clark dancing in his underwear, was hilarious. The episode was fun overall, and a nice Halloween episode.
4. Mortal (Season 5)- For pretty much the first time in his life, Clark is happy. He’s normal and he and Lana are in love. Seeing Clark’s death and Lana’s reaction to it was tear-jerking, but the scene where he comes back from the dead and embraces her in a hug was beautiful.
3. Unsafe/Pariah (Season 4)- Clark and Alicia were a weird match, but her craziness was certainly fun to watch. And her death at the end of the episode, when she was just becoming good, was very sad.
2. Promise (Season 6)- After six seasons, Lana finally discovers Clark’s secret. This episode was a roller-coaster ride: Lex killing a man (Lana’s doctor) to reveal the monster he’s become, Lana watching Clark use his powers, and Clark wondering why Lana married Lex, and Lionel threatening to kill Clark if Lana doesn’t marry Lex. The scene at the end, where Lana watches Clark from the car as she drives off as a married woman, was probably the most sincere moment between the two in the entire series.
1. Reckoning (Season 5)- This might be my favorite episode of any TV show. EVER. The episode was like a movie, and every minute was perfectly written. Clark finally reveals his secret to Lana, and she agrees to marry him! We knew this wouldn’t last, but we kept watching the episode with hope that they would end up happy. I cried Clark held Lana’s dead body in his arms. And the funeral scene where Clark buried his father was the most emotional in the entire series.
Screenwriting Thoughts 