AirLockAlpha.com

As ratings take a dip, the producers depend on the fans to keep the show going

Want a 10th season of "Smallville"? Well you had better tell your friends about it.

Do it quick before the show falls into the sci-fi abyss that is Friday nights.

“I think the word still isn’t out there that we’re on Friday nights. So if people keep tuning in and telling their friends about it, I think [a 10th season] is quite likely,” executive producer Kelly Souders told Entertainment Weekly.

Among questions still left unanswered in the show, there's that pesky cape and that great spandex suit. When are they going to appear on our Clark Kent? It's hard to say just yet.

“We think 'Smallville' from the get-go was about how a young man turns into Superman," Souders said. "And it’s really about the journey getting there. I can’t make any promises, but if it was ever going to happen, it would be at the very end.”

What's difficult for the powers-that-be at "Smallville" is whether or not they are at that end. Are they writing a series finale or season finale? The outcome is still up in the air for the series' ninth and current season, though Soulders remains hopeful.

So far this year, "Smallville" is averaging a 1.6 rating/3 share in Fast National ratings from The Nielsen Co. after six episodes on Friday nights. That's down 33 percent from what it was doing on Thursdays paired with "Supernatural" last season.

“It’s something that we faced last year, too,” Souders says. “To try and break two different endings for a season kind of puts you at cross-purposes a little bit. For one, you’ll rev things up, and for another, you’re trying to bring everything to the finish line. But we’re really planning on breaking a season finale and not a series finale.”

What can fans do? Get friends together, arm themselves with their remote controls, and pop some popcorn. Maybe then, "Smallville" can start to get some traction on Fridays.