The concept for Smallville was derived after a potential series chronicling a young Bruce Wayne's journey toward becoming Batman failed to get off the ground. After meeting with the president of Warner Bros. Television division, Gough and Millar pitched their "no tights, no flights" rule, which would break Superman down to the bare essentials and look at what events lead Clark Kent to become Superman. After seven seasons with the show, series developers Gough and Millar departed without providing a specific reason. Smallville is predominantly filmed in and around Vancouver, with some of the local businesses and buildings substituting for Smallville locations. The music is primarily composed by Mark Snow, who even utilizes portions of John Williams's musical score from the original Superman film series; some of the episodes also contain their own soundtracks, with songs compiled from various musical bands. The opening theme is not performed by Snow, but is the single "Save Me" by Remy Zero.
The series received generally positive reception when it began broadcasting, with former Superman star Christopher Reeve voicing his approval of the series. The pilot episode broke the record for highest rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers.[4] With eight seasons completed, Smallville has averaged approximately 4.76 million viewers per episode, with season two averaging the highest ratings at 6.3 million. Since its first season, the series has won various awards ranging from Emmy Awards to Teen Choice Awards. Smallville has inspired an Aquaman pilot, which was ultimately not picked up by The CW network, as well as promotional tie-ins with Verizon, Sprint, Toyota, and Stride. In other media, the show has spawned a series of young-adult novels, a DC Comics bi-monthly comic book and soundtrack releases, as well as Smallville-related merchandise.
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