Lana being gone doesn't affect me. Chloe is so much hotter.
Lana was a shitty actor in an annoying role, but the effect she had on Clark was important. That gave it the duality of choosing between hero and normal. It also was great when they got together finally and he had to deal with the adult problems of the failing relationship. I think she should have left him because she couldn't handle the powers/alien nature. That would give him the push to create the secret identity.
Lex not being there kills things, especially with everything taking place in Metropolis.
yes. Tess is a terribly annoying and one dimensional character, Lex however was very layered and a great opposite to Clark after he went from a nice guy to a real villain.
I'm not sure about Annette O'Toole. There just wasn't much story with her beyond the forced romance between her and Lionel.
i think they just wanted to get rid of the parents as part of Clark growing up but since Clark can live anywhere and see them daily and it would be out of character to have a falling out they had to do something.
