sentences:  "Smallville's" season seven, along with many other American television shows, was caught in the middle of a contract dispute between the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), Writers Guild of America, west (WGAw) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).The dispute led to a strike by the writers, which has caused this season to end prematurely with only twenty episodes being produced, instead of the standard twenty-two episodes.The strike also forced The CW to push back airdates on several episodes, and cost Allison Mack her directorial debut.