Tom Welling Nearly Refused To Film One Of Smallville's Worst Episodes

"Smallville," which had an impressive run from 2001-2011, was the retelling of Clark Kent's (Tom Welling) rural upbringing in Kansas before he becomes the Man of Steel. The show was an incredible success on all fronts and is still fondly remembered to this day (just check out all the teary-eyed YouTube reactions of when Welling returned for The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths," if you need some heartfelt proof). However, as beloved as the series remains, that doesn't mean every one of its 217 episodes was a home run. There were more than a few stinkers, with season 6, episode 20, "Noir" being one of the most notorious and divisive.

The episode is a mostly black-and-white feature that acts as an homage to the noir films from the 1940s, with Aaron Ashmore's Jimmy Olsen dreaming up a noir escapade and serving as the investigative reporter two steps behind a bewildering murder case. While Ashmore remembers the episode fondly, Welling himself seems to recall things with a different lens, especially when it comes to the early plans for "Noir." 

While chatting with Ashmore and co-star Michael Rosenbaum during an episode on the "Talk Ville" podcast, the Clark Kent actor admitted that he almost refused to film the episode because of its initial musical nature. Welling said:

"That episode was supposed to be a musical ... a musical noir and when they brought brought it up to me I literally was ... 'I will not show up to work and do [that]. You can film it. I'm not singing.'"

"Noir" already remains an oddball filler entry on its own. Had the episode gone into full-blown "Chicago" territory, well, it seems Welling would have rather chewed on some shards of green kryptonite.

Over a decade since the show's conclusion, "Noir" still appears to divide the "Smallville" fandom. On Reddit, for years, fans continuously bring up the one-off episode. Many cite it as their least favorite and most skippable, with others defending the vintage aesthetic and overall hokeyness. "Really enjoyed it. I like when Smallville didn't take itself too seriously, without actively being bad. There are serious storylines way worse than this great episode," wrote one fan in a 2024 thread. "I liked it. Total filler. But still fun to watch," another commented in a 2019 post.

However, for every positive recollection, there seems to be one Redditor who still cringes at "Noir." "Boring. If you're going to pay tribute to the classics do it right and this was not it," user Simba122504 wrote. While most viewers agree that the cast looked incredible and the production truly captured that '40s noir feel, many still couldn't get past the filler-y randomness of the episode as a whole. "I couldn't get into it at all," user SillyAdditional bluntly admitted.

"Noir" seems forever destined to be one of the show's most divisive episodes. However, even after all these years, it still manages to find love. In fact, there are some here at /Film who think "Noir" is one of the most underrated "Smallville" episodes and deserves more appreciation!