Supernatural and Smallville among shows to get another season

SMALLVILLE continues to defy the naysayers who believe it has run its course, with US TV network The CW today announcing it has ordered another series of the hit show.

There will now be a ninth season of Smallville, which stars Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent before he became Superman. It had been rumoured that Welling would be unavailable beyond the current eighth season; obviously, a deal has now been done.

I must admit I'm curious as to how they can sustain this show, which has lost most of its stars and is now mostly set in Metropolis rather than Smallville. A new title is overdue at least!

How much longer can they fill in the early years of Clark Kent before the inevitable - him putting on a cape and tights and becoming Superman? We shall see...

The CW also has good news for followers of Supernatural, starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as demon-hunting brothers (pictured at top). A fifth season has been ordered.

Outside the sci-fi/fantasy category, the network has also renewed Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210 and the dreary reality show America's Next Top Model (presumably to continue trying to find the next top model, as it hasn't succeeded so far despite mining a rich vein of vacuousness!)