When it began and despite a relatively weak first season, Smallville became one of my favorite shows on television. Had it not been for the writer’s strike last season, this Season Seven collection would likely have become the final season of Smallville.

In many ways, even though the show is now into its eighth season on The CW, Smallville really did end with this seventh season. It marks the final season in which Kristin Kruek appears as Lana Lang, in which Michael Rosenbaum appears as Lex Luthor as a series regular (he will appear infrequently in Season Eight), John Glover as Lionel Luthor (his character dies in Season Seven), and Laura Vandervoort as Kara (although guest-star appearances are not out of the question in the future).

In addition to losing four cast members who made investing in HDMI cable worthwhile, the most important losses after Season Seven completed was the exit of Smallville series creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The show almost nearly lost Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan, who, along with Welling as Clark, is now among the only characters still on the show in Season Eight, who were there in Season One.

While a trio of producers have been elevated as show runners for Season Eight, the exit of Gough and Millar would seem to mark Season Eight as the final run of the show, although Tom Welling is rumored to be “open” to a possible Season Nine.

In the meantime, Season Seven is as solid a season as the show has turned in, despite being shortened by the writers strike. It features a maturing Clark who could easily take on the costume of Superman at any point, and whose only super-powered handicap seems to be the ability to fly. Original show-runners Gough and Millar’s initial plan had been for the donning of the Superman costume and Clark’s first at-will flight as the final image of the Smallville show; however, with the exit of Gough and Millar, it’s difficult to predict if this plan will remain in place.

Season Seven of Smallville featured the return of many familiar faces, some in fan service to Superman lore. Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in a 1984 movie, made an appearance, as did former Superman actor Dean Cain of Lois & Clark fame; Marc McClure also appears in this season after historically portraying Jimmy Olson in all the Christopher Reeve Superman films, as well as Supergirl. James Marsters returned as Brainiac, Justin Hartley reprised his role as Green Arrow, and most importantly, Sam Jones III reprised his role as Pete Ross after a four-year absence from the show.

The season kicks off with a wrap-up of Season Six’s Bizarro-centric cliffhanger, and then focuses on the new character of Kara, Clark’s Kryptonian cousin. Chloe adjusts to being a “meteor freak” herself with the ability to heal and even bring people back from the dead, while Lana establishes her independence from both Clark and Lex, leading to her exit from the show.

Yet the main storyline thrust for the season is the existence of Veritas, a secret society to which Lionel Luthor belonged which is dedicated to protecting a mythical “Traveler,” who is supposed to play a savior role for mankind, and who, it appears, is embodied by Clark. The season reaches another cliffhanger conclusion during a final showdown between Lex and Clark at the Fortress of Solitude, in which Lex finally learns all of Clark’s secrets.

A bit less affected than most shows by the writers strike, Smallville was able to produce 20 episodes, only two shy of its normal season count of 22 episodes. However, the strike still caused several episodes to air later than originally planned, and one of the two episodes cut would have featured the directorial debut of Allison Mack.

As has long been the case, Smallville Season Seven is packed with special features and while it would have been nice to have more commentary tracks, there are plenty of mini-documentaries and special features that previously were available only to Sprint-Nextel customers. A satisfying package made all the more appealing on high-def Blu-Ray format, this is a season collection that is a must for all long-time Smallville fans. Only time will tell if the same will be said of the current Season Eight.