It looks like Allison Mack is trying her hand at negotiating a higher paycheck for the 8th season of Smallville. The actress is reportedly contemplating not returning for the next season of the “young Superman” show - and she may be using the loss of “Lana” and “Lex” as leverage.

I have some bad news for her, though. The Superman mythos has survived for a very long time with the trinity of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy - and if that happens next season it just might be the shot in the arm that the show needs to really be good again. The loss of Lex Luthor is, of course, a huge blow to the series, but the departure of Lana Lang is seen by many as a good thing. I am definitely one of those people. If this show wants to continue on, it is going to need a complete overhaul to make it work, and the switch to the classic Lois, Jimmy, and Clark trio is a great way to do just that.

This bid by Allison Mack might actually turn out to be a good thing, and breathe new life into the series. The more I think about it - the more I hope she doesn’t come back.

So there.

Three video clips from tonight’s Smallville have made their way online. The episode is called “Descent” and its pretty clear to see that its a focus on Lex’s descent into evil.

Interestingly, these clips spoil the big “Who’s going to die?” question…so if you don’t want to know until you watch the show tonight, don’t watch them.

First up is a confrontation between Lex and Clark:

Next we find Lex looking for something his father left behind in Chloe’s office.

And finally, the biggest spoiler clip of the three. Keep in mind that the CW posted these on YouTube, so its possible this could be misleading us on purpose…but I doubt it.

Smallville airs tonight on the CW.

Several new spoilers for Smallville’s seventh season have been revealed on long time fansite “Kryptonsite”. I’m going to sum them up below - so if you don’t want to know, the don’t read this article any further…

Warning! Thar Be Spoilers ahead!!

7-16 “Decent” - This is described as the day that Lex and Clark became mortal enemies. Someone in the cast is going to die, and all signs point to Lionel — although it could be a deliberate swerve. It’s also important to mention that Lionel is not referenced in any further spoilers for the season…so it is looking very much like Lex’s father will be taking a big dirt nap…and I would imagine that Lex will be the one holding the shovel.

7-17 “Sleeper” - Clark searches for Brainiac, who is the only one who can reverse Lana’s condition. Chloe investigates some high level security stuff, and Jimmy gets in between Lex and the Department of Security.

7-18 “Apocalypse” - This episode features another alternate reality romp, but more importantly will showcase the first time this Clark ever dons a suit and glasses (and idea put forth by one Lois Lane) so he can sneak into the Daily Planet.

There is tons more info at Kryptonsite if you want to take a look.

Kristin Kreuk has confirmed on her Facebook profile that she will be returning to Smallville for a “small, undetermined” number of episodes during the series’ 8th season.

Over the last several years some fans have become increasingly tired of the on-again, off-again Lana/Clark relationship, and the show has struggled to find the right fit for the character of Lana Lang, moving her from cheerleader to college student, to pregnant wife of Lex Luthor, to dead - then to not dead (and hiding in Asia) - to her current role as the founder of a foundation. There is no word currently on the status of the couple - but since Superman is known universally as having Lois Lane be the love of his life, its a safe bet they won’t be ending up together.

It has been a very strange ride for the Smallville incarnation of Lana, and my guess is that it will only get stranger before the series wraps up…assuming it ever does.

The CW today announced their early renewals of the following shows:

“Gossip Girl,” “One Tree Hill,” “Smallville,” “Supernatural,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “America’s Next Top Model”

“Smallville will be entering into its 8th season (and one which should, presumably, be without long-time villain Lex Luthor, played by Michael Rosenbaum, since his contract is up and he doesn’t want to renew), while “Supernatural” enters its 4th season.

“One Tree Hill’s” new direction seems to have worked, and the show (which jumped 4 years into the future of its character’s lives at the beginning of the current season) has been renewed for another year. New buzz show “Gossip Girl” is also headed back to the former frog network, while reality show staple “America’s Next Top Model” continues on, and “Everybody Hates Chris” continues to provide a strong comedy in an otherwise weak comedic lineup.

Original Smallville cast member “Pete” played by Sam Jones, returns to the show in the March 13th episode. You can find the trailer for it below:

Wow…so…um. hmmm…where to start.

You know, I am a huge fan of Superman. By that regard, I have been a huge fan of Smallville - but as this show grows older and older it seems like things just get more and more absurd with it. First off - Tom Welling is older than the guy who played SuperMAN in the last movie. With pretty much the entire DC Universe already having shown up in the series, you would think by now that he’d be in the tights with the big red “S”on his chest….but no…anyway, I’m rambling…

In this episode we’re treating to a trip through the mind of Lex Luthor after he’s shot in the head (which apparently you can fully recover from in one episode), and we also get caught up with the amnesia infested Kara in Detroit - whom Lex had been stalking…but so had another random dude…anyway…

We see the good Lex and we see the bad Lex in his brain. Thankfully, we see very little of Lana, but Chloe does come in to play the standard role of pot device. Again they are trying to convince us that Chloe is toast - but I think at this point they’ve cried wolf one too many times on Chloe, and I seriously doubt the character will ever be killed off.

All in all, not the greatest episode - or season for that matter.

The Black Canary entered into Smallville continuity tonight, and…um…wow…it really sucked. Seriously, the character they called Black Canary barely resembled the character she’s based on, and the gothy looking make-up mask and chopped off blond hair was just plain weird.

In the “story” she’s a pawn of Lex Luthor’s (who may be the worst gun shot in the world, btw) and eventually she figures it out and joins up with the good guys.

The episode also spends a lot of time focusing on the continued strain of of the Clark/Lana relationship - which I think just about every Smallville fan is hoping will end as soon as possible. The relationship has been over for years now, but they keep coming back to it, and I have no idea why.

They did lay some more ground work for the eventual Lois and Clark relationship, even go so far as to establish why he wouldn’t tell her who he is…if for some reason there was any way she wouldn’t be able to tell since she’s seen Clark without his glasses for years now…

Anyway, like most Smallville episodes this one had some good moments, but (like many Smallville episodes) overall it wasn’t really worth watching.

Grade: C-

The CW has released the official trailer for the 11th episode of Smallville’s 7th season. Take a look at it below….

The Smallville team continues to provide us with interesting online extras to the series. Below is a deleted scene from this week’s upcoming episode.

Check it out…