SMALLVILLE: Teri Hatcher’s Appearance As Ella Lane Is “Heart-Wrenching”

This Friday’s episode of Smallville on The CW features Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives, Coraline) as Lois Lane’s mother, Ella Lane. In “Abandoned”, Lois finds videotapes that her mother left for her before she died.

The show’s executive producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson drew from a crew member’s friend’s decision to leave videos for her child after she found out she was terminally ill. Souders talked about this direction for Ella Lane and Hatcher’s performance:

“[She] sat down and made these videos for her child. What we did with Ella Lane was pull that into the show because it was so heart-wrenching.

It came together beautifully. I just watched three takes and I had to stop for a while because it was so heart-wrenching. Teri just had an incredible performance, and it was beautiful.”

Hatcher had also played Lois Lane in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman back in the early 1990’s so for her to guest star in this role in Smallville’s final season is a brilliant casting move and gives a nice nod to Hatcher’s contribution to the Superman legacy.

Also in this episode is a run-in with Granny Goodness, played by Christine Willes (Red Riding Hood, Reaper, Dead Like Me) and Justin Hartley’s real-life wife, Lindsay Hartley (Days of Our Lives, Passions), as Mad Harriet. Check out the pics below the vids!

Smallville: Promo for “Abandoned”