TV Jots

And So Does Martian Manhunter

Good times are coming up on The CW’s long-running series Smallville. The fresh April 9 episode “Checkmate” features the second appearance of L Word veteran Pam Grier, who debuted on the show as mysterious Checkmate bigwig Amanda Waller during the February “Absolute Justice” movie event. Now she has a whole installment named after her agency.

And if Grier’s visit isn’t a big enough deal for some fans, actor Phil Morris (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) also returns to reprise his occasional role as John Jones, better known and loved as Martian Manhunter.

After Amanda and Tess busy themselves doing a lousy job of kidnapping Green Arrow for nefarious purposes, escaped Oliver puts Clark and Chloe on their scent. The best friends’ subsequent investigation then leads to a surprise of sorts for Clark when he discovers that John Jones is also looking into the situation and possibly withholding some crucial information.

However, that minor complication doesn’t stop Clark from eventually learning via Tess that Amanda is actually trying to locate a so-called Watchtower, and when Clark refuses to give up the names and whereabouts of the remaining Justice League members, Amanda makes the huge mistake of threatening to kill Chloe. Oh, boy!

Preview a scene from “Checkmate” below, starring scheming Amanda and Tess, and watch the entire episode at 8pm ET. It’s gonna be a good one, guaranteed.