The reason is due to Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) leaving the show last season. What that means is…we’re finally going to get new storylines and situations for all the characters. No more watching a scheming Lex try to figure out what should’ve been deduced long ago. And as a fan of “Smallville,” I couldn’t be more excited.

Now please don’t think I had anything against either Michael Rosenbaum or Kristin Kreuk, as I think they were both great on the show. But you can only tell the same storyline so many times before it gets stale. And their story should’ve ended 3 seasons ago.

Anyway, let’s get to the reason you’re here…that interview with Allison Mack.

Note: this interview was done in roundtable form at this year’s Comic-Con

We all start talking about the internet and computers….which leads to Alison saying…

Allison Mack: Oh no, I’m so getting so interested in the Internet. It’s the coolest thing. That’s why I’m asking. I have a blog and I post everyday now and it’s like the coolest thing. The community that I’m building I feel like I’m having this massive dinner party every night where we just get together and like discuss the most interesting exciting things.

Question: Welcome to the 21st century.

Allison Mack: Dude, thank you. It’s taken me a while but I have my Mac book now and I’m editing together films and it’s great. I’m like this is the coolest thing. I love it.

What’s the name of your blog?

Allison Mack: It’s just AllisonMack.com. Yeah, it’s really cool. It’s so much fun.

You’ve been with the show obviously since the get-go, and this is a big transition year for the show, and a lot of fans out there think that this could be a really good year because there’s so many more characters and you know you’re not doing the same kind of triangles, there’s a lot more triangles.

Allison Mack: Yeah.

So how, for you, is this upcoming season?

Allison: Very. It’s very exciting for me for a number a different reasons. I mean, one I’m directing this year so that’s a totally different approach to the show and a really different way of looking of just being on-set. So that’s really exciting to me. And secondly, our producers have really great taste and they’ve cast 3 really awesome actors to come help us out this year and I’m totally looking forward to working with new and different people because I think they bring a lot to the table. And I also think that the show is getting a lot darker. We’re all adults now so we can play things that are much more controversial and a little bit edgier and I like that. I think that’s really fun so I’m excited.

Can you tell us about the episode you’re directing?

Allison: I don’t know about it so when I know I will call you and we will talk.

Okay. It’ll be on your blog.

Allison: It will be on my….believe me I’ll be going ahh-haa-haaa. Every day. Help me!

Did they ask you or did you ask them?

Allison: Well Tom directed a few years ago and has directed every season and so he kind of broke the ice as far as it being allowed. They let the actors out. And then Michael directed 2 years ago and so again, it became more of a trend and so they did, in fact, invite me to do it and they said if this is something you’d be interested in we would be open to giving you the opportunity. And at first I was like, I’m so not interested in directing and inside I’m going (heartbeat sound) and I had a really good sit down talk with myself and a couple of mentors of mine and they were just like, “do it all. If you love making things, do it. Even if you don’t want to be a director after this experience, do it just to learn about yourself and about what it means to make a movie”. Another friend of mine said something to me that really resonated where he said you will never again have 150 of the most skilled professionals in one place wanting you to succeed the way you have on this show. And that really just resonated with me because the crew that we work with—we’ve been with for 5 years—and they’re just like incredibly skilled technicians as well as wonderful people and they’re so supportive. So it’s like my God, why not? The first time out of the gate do it like this.

You clearly know Chloe. So when the writers are writing, do you…how does it work on-set? Do you put in your own words?

Allison: I try and stay as true to the script as I can because I that’s my job as an actor unless I’m doing an improvised film. So I like to stay true to what they write. As far as knowing Chloe and knowing the direction that’s she’s going and things like that, that’s all just character building stuff. That doesn’t really have a lot to do with specific dialogue. And the writers are incredibly open—Todd, Darren, Kelly and Brian are amazing as far as being really open to our ideas and we just know they’re a phone call away if we have something that we want to see more of or less of or a direction we’d like to see the character go in.

We also heard you might have a new triangle for your character?

Allison: Yes. Spicing things up a little bit.

Right, so you’re going to talk a little bit about….

Allison:

Clark is out. No, I’m just kidding. He’s always there. Yeah, well we’ve introduced Sam this year who plays Doomsday and he is very interested in Chloe right away. And Chloe is sort of like, what? A little flustered and taken aback by this dashing man who sort of enters her life. But then she has Jimmy who’s sort of this tried and true beautiful support system that she is engaged to and is committed to and so there’s the sort of struggle between like the dark mysterious new guy and the tried and true kind of safe guy.

We didn’t see the panel. Can you tell us what else is in store for your character?

Allison: Where were you?

We were watching “Battlestar”….no I’m kidding.

Allison: (laughter) What else is new for this season? Is that what the question was?

For your character.

Allison: For my character. I’m not working at the Daily Planet anymore so I’m spending most of my time at the Isis Foundation really kind of running almost like a bit of a support system/halfway house/counseling center for meteor infected people. So I’m very involved in not just helping Clark, but helping all of the meteor infected people, which I think is really cool. And then she’s got the relationship with Jimmy that she has happening and then she has the relationship with Clark that she’s still continuing to try to uphold and then she’s got a lot of other really interesting things happening to her…as far as her encounter with Brainiac at the end of last season affected her in a way that she didn’t expect. So some physical things that are going on for her that she’s trying to get a handle on and figure out how to deal with.

Does she get trapped somewhere as well? Is that…?

Allison: I get kidnapped and locked down. It happens, you know? For years.

I’ve never seen that happen on “Smallville”.

Allison: Ever, I know. I know.

It’s a whole new storyline.

Allison: It’s totally. We didn’t even know how to shoot it. It was crazy.

It must have been shocking. I was going to ask, you guys have been filming in Vancouver for a long time, does the city even care anymore when you’re shooting on location? Do they stop or they’re just like it’s “Smallville”?

Allison: No, they totally stop. I mean the funny thing is like Tom was directing an episode last year and I was doing a scene with Kristen and we were supposed to be sitting outside—it was 2 years ago—and somebody kept driving by and yelling cut. So we kept cutting and like Tom was like why do we keep cutting? And I’m like because someone’s yelling cut, but it was just like a random fan walking by. We actually don’t film out on the street very often. We’re pretty much in the studio most of the time and we’ve got a backlot that we’ve built and everything like that. So when we are out it’s like whoo hoo it’s a field trip. And people still get pretty jazzed about it so it’s fun.

After almost 10 years where’s the balance between like comfortable and …?

Allison: Don’t say that—after almost 10 years! My God.

It is right?

Allison: Yeah.

It’s like you’re with a family but clearly you guys are still excited, but there most be a comfort level like how does the balance work with that?

Allison: I think it’s just a matter of having integrity with myself around the whole idea that it’s my job and I get paid to be there and I get paid to be there to do the best job that I can do and keep it as exciting and fresh and interesting as I can. And if I don’t do that then I’m stealing and that’s not okay.

My question was you mentioned “Battlestar” so is there anything here at Comic Con—a show or a comic book or anything that you’re interested in?

Allison: You know, I’ve never been a comic book person just because that’s not my gig and I don’t have a television. So…no, but I love the people here and I have a lot of friends here from everyone from Andrea Romano , who’s an amazing Emmy award winning animated director to….animated director—that sounds like she’s like a cartoon, to Greg Beeman and Jeff Loeb who I love and adore from the first seasons at “Smallville” who are now doing “Heroes”.

I’m curious. Can you walk around the convention floor or do you get just stopped way too much?

Allison: I don’t know. I haven’t tried it, but I was out in downtown San Diego with everybody yesterday and nobody stopped. I have like….I’m very lucky and I think it’s because my fan base is very cool and everybody….I think I’m just like people treat me like a person. I don’t get like crazy people freaking out, so it’s nice. I live my life with a lot of anonymity which is really sweet.

Thank you so much.

Allison: That was great. Take it easy.