Starkville's House of El | Smallville

Derek and Steve are joined by original SHoE co-host Houston to delve into the third and fourth episodes of the first season of Smallville, 'Hothead' and 'X-Ray.' Lots of discussion about iconic moments from the series born and bred from these two episodes. Also, an age old question is finally answered after more than eight years ... who is Houston?

It's been more than five years since Derek Russell and Steve Glosson joined forces to talk 'Smallville' on a weekly basis, but the duo are back, taking you all the way back to 2001 where it all started on the WB with fresh faces telling the story of a young Clark Kent on his 10-year journey to become the man of steel. After a long hiatus, Starkville's House of El is back with all-new episodes for a retrospective look at 'Smallville.'

December 13, 2011 - Reports of its death were highly exaggerated. “Starkville’s House of El: The Movie” (aka Episode 175) is a 2 hour documentary chronicling the story of Smallville, SHoE, and the friendships and stories that were born out of both. It’s our thank you to our listeners for five years of being there with us every week.

May 13, 2011 - Tess learns that the planet Apokolips is coming to Earth to destroy humanity. While verifying the threat, Tess discovers that Oliver is under the possession of Darkseid. Desaad, Godfrey, and Granny supply Oliver with a wedding ring made of gold kryptonite to give to Clark, as it will remove his powers permanently, but Chloe discovers the ring in time and keeps Clark from wearing it. Afterward, Clark helps Oliver to remove the Omega symbol and remove Darkseid's control over him. Lionel kidnaps Tess in an effort to transplant her heart into another Lex clone, but Tess escapes. Darkseid arrives and Lionel trades his soul for Lex's life. Possessing Lionel, Darkseid confronts Clark, who finally realizes that Jor-El was preparing him for this his entire life. Clark accesses his power of flight and vanquishes Darkseid from Lionel's deceased body. A newly revived Lex kills Tess, but not before Tess uses a neurotoxin to erase all of Lex's memories. Clark goes to the Fortress of Solitude and receives the suit Martha made for him before flying away to stop Apokolips from destroying Earth. By moving Apokolips away from Earth, Clark brings hope to humanity and breaks their connection to Darkseid. Moving ahead seven years, Lex is now President-elect of the United States, Clark and Lois are still trying to get married, and Clark has fully embraced his destiny as "Superman." As Smallville goes dark for the last time, the guys go live. Derek, Steve, Joe, Damian and Robin join up for the final installment of SHoE’s Smallville companion episodes and discuss the two-part series finale. What was it like to believe that a man can fly? Listen and find out for yourself.

May 6, 2011 - Jor-El gives Lois all of Clark's powers, leaving him powerless, so that the two can see what it is like to live in each other's shoes for one day. Clark and the team discover that the imprisoned Toyman is leading a group of supervillains that include Dark Archer, Black Manta, Metallo, Captain Cold, Solomon Grundy and Roulette. Lois receives an implant that allows Toyman to control her, and he sends her to kill the Blur. Clark is able to regain his powers in time to stop Lois. Meanwhile, Oliver and Kara team up and locate Orion's bow. Afterwards, Jor-El sends Kara to the future to forge her own destiny, as Clark is ready to accept his on Earth. Granny Goodness steals the bow from Oliver and destroys it, then sends him after gold kryptonite. Lois calls off the wedding so Clark can focus on saving people. The last regular episode of SHoE, Steve and Derek join together one last time over the mics for Smallville’s penultimate ‘Prophecy’. Did it lose a little steam leading into the series finale, or keep the full momentum of the last batch of episodes? We give our full review, plus news on the complete series DVD.

April 29, 2011 - After learning that General Slade escaped the Phantom Zone, Clark enters the Kryptonian prison to learn who has opened the portal. Oliver follows against Clark's wishes and the two are captured by General Zod's soldiers. Zod reveals that, upon entering the Phantom Zone, he met Darkseid who helped him become the ruler of the prison. Zod also reveals that Oliver has the Omega symbol; he then forces Oliver and Clark to fight to the death. When Zod attempts to kill Clark during the fight, the pair steal back the key to the portal and return to Earth. Afterward, Oliver sets out to find the bow of Orion with the hope that it will help them to defeat Darkseid. The gang is all here for the return of General Zod. All the Zod(s)! Steve, Damian, Robin, Derek and Joe come together for a ton of discussion, not only covering the next-to-next-to last episode of Smallville, ‘Dominion’, but also the events of Action Comics 900, specifically Superman renouncing his American citizenship and its affect.

April 22, 2011 - While Lois helps Clark to develop a mild mannered persona, superhero Booster Gold shows up from the future to try to take the spotlight from the Blur. Clark confronts Booster and informs him that a true hero is not made by the suit they wear, but by who they are inside. A young teen, Jaime Reyes, comes in contact with alien technology that encases him in a weaponized robotic suit, thus becoming Blue Beetle. Unable to control the suit, Jaime begins destroying property and injuring people. Inspired, Booster recounts Clark's words to Jaime and helps him gain control over the suit. Afterward, Clark convinces Booster to mentor Jaime. It’s a special early edition of SHoE! Geoff Johns’ latest installment of Smallville prompted us to get this one out to you guys early, and with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle coming town we wanted to do it right! Join us as we walk you through Tom Welling’s last directed episode of the series.

April 18, 2011 - “Hex” writer Bryan Q. Miller joins Damian and Derek for a fascinating look back at this season eight episode, and all the changes that it went through from inception to end result. It’s a great insight to a fan favorite episode.

April 15, 2011 - Martha gives Clark and Lois the deed to the family farm as an early wedding gift, and the two decide it is best to sell the farm and move to Metropolis. Meanwhile, Clark Luthor arrives from the alternate universe and sends Clark in his place before destroying the gateway between the universes. Lois quickly discovers the truth and works with Emil to bring the real Clark back. Clark Luthor reveals himself to Tess and threatens to kill her if she does not help him find Lionel. Lois and Emil are successful and the real Clark saves Tess before Clark Luthor can kill her. Clark Luthor then follows the real Clark to the Fortress of Solitude, where Clark convinces his counterpart to return to his universe and use his powers for good. The countdown begins! Smallville returns after a nearly 6 week hiatus with the first of the final five episodes of the series. They guys reunite to discuss the end of the beginning with “Kent” and all that lies within. There’s a lot of discussion on what these final installments bring to the table.

March 4, 2011 - Tess reveals that Alexander was genetically engineered from both Lex and Clark's DNA. Clark takes Alexander, now going by the name Conner (CNR), under his wing and attempts to teach him to control his powers. When Clark lies about where the other half of the DNA comes from, Conner flees and is found by Lionel who slips a red kryptonite ring on Conner's hand. Without his inhibitions, Conner's dark side comes out and he attempts to force Lois into loving him. Clark comes to the rescue and destroys the ring. Afterward, Conner returns home to the Kent farm and learns that Clark has enrolled him into Smallville High as "Conner Kent". Tess proves that Lionel is an imposter and retakes control over LuthorCorp. Later, Lionel is visited by Darkseid. It’s the last Smallville for nearly 6 weeks and we’ve pulled out all the stops for this cliffhanger. ‘Scion’ writers Al Septien and Turi Meyer join Damian and Derek to talk about their latest outing in Smallville. Plus more Superman casting news and Craig from Kryptonsite and Robin join us as well.

February 25, 2011 - Zatanna sends magical champagne to Clark and Lois's bachelor/bachelorette party, which causes everyone to act out of character and afterward wipes their memory. As a result, Clark and Chloe wake up believing they are married, Emil is arrested for the theft of an armored truck, while Lois and Oliver wake up in the middle of nowhere with Lois's engagement ring missing. It is revealed that Emil was actually taken by casino owner Amos Fortune, who was trying to steal the armored truck himself, while Oliver and Lois discover that Lois lost her ring to Fortune in a rigged game of Black Jack. Lois and Oliver retrieve the ring, while Clark saves Emil from Fortune's henchmen. Afterward, Chloe announces that she is leaving, but Oliver reveals to Chloe they were the ones married, and they leave together. If the cast had half as much fun filming ‘Fortune’ as the guys did recording ‘Fortune’, this was all worth it. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll probably find yourself saying, “what the hell?” a lot! Listen as Joe and Robin walk you through one of the zaniest episodes of Smallville (and SHoE) ever!

February 18, 2011 - As Clark makes more saves around the world, resulting in more exposure of his face, Lois suggests that he develop a better secret identity. Meanwhile, Clark discovers the work of a serial killer in Metropolis and learns that the killer is a man named Desaad, a disciple of Darkseid. Desaad finds Chloe investigating his club so he kidnaps and tortures her. Clark saves Chloe before Desaad can turn Chloe into a Darkseid follower, but a confrontation between Oliver and Desaad leaves the former with an Omega tattoo on his skull. Later, Clark explains to Lois that his real identity is "The Blur", and that the persona of "Clark Kent" will be his true mask to the world. To accomplish this, Clark begins wearing eye glasses and changing his mannerisms to be more mild mannered. In this week’s episode, Damian and Derek discuss the latest Bryan Q. Miller penned episode, ‘Masquerade’ and what its events mean for Clark Kent. Plus we talk about Michael Rosenbaum returning for the finale, what could fill up those two hours, more casting for the Superman film franchise reboot, and spoilers for ‘Fortune.’

February 11, 2011 - Tess discovers that the alternate-universe Lionel has taken over LuthorCorp under the guise that he only faked his death years prior. Martha Kent holds an anti-VRA rally that results in her being shot by a spectator. Lionel finds the Lex clone in an abandoned building and realizes that he is the one who shot Martha, though his real intention was to kill Clark with kryptonite bullets. Later, Martha confronts Lionel and Lex at the Luthor mansion, but Lex subdues the others and sets fire to the mansion. Tess convinces Lex to give up his quest for vengeance, while Clark is able to save Lionel and Martha from the fire. Afterward, Tess attempts to kill Lex but discovers he is indestructible and the superheroes watch as the VRA is repealed by voters. In this week’s episode, Robin and Joe talk about the thirteenth episode of the season, ‘Beacon’, which quickly became a SHoE favorite between the return of Martha Kent, Lionel Luthor, and fan videos featured in the episode. If one of yours was shown, let us know!

February 4, 2011 - After being knocked unconscious at Carter's funeral, Clark and his friends wake up without their powers and flashbacks of Chloe experimenting on them in a secret lab. Chloe informs Oliver that the government has put everyone in a coma and imprisoned their minds in a virtual reality. Clark and the team learn that the government is attempting to find a way to turn on and off the heroes' powers in the real world to ensure their cooperation with the Vigilante Registration Act. Chloe hacks into the program and one-by-one helps each hero back into reality. Chloe reveals that she blackmailed Flag's Suicide Squad into joining forces with her as a means of keeping them from harming innocent lives. After nearly two months of no new episodes, Smallville is back with the 12th episode of the final season, ‘Collateral’. Damian and Derek kick off the first batch of new episodes with a full recap, plus talk of NBC’s pilot for a new Wonder Woman series, and discussion of the new Superman reboot

Steve Glosson returns to Starkville’s House of El along with Derek Russell to cover the entire first half of the final season of Smallville. There’s a lot to discuss in those first eleven episodes from Lazarus to Icarus, that will shape what is to come when Smallville returns next Friday.