CBS Supergirl

[D-Ray Kenobi]

I watched the pilot and didn't hate it.

The only big problem to me is the same that I have with all of the rest of these shows. The title character is really the only likable one. Everyone else just is written badly and comes across way too forced and smarmy. I also don't really see the logical need for the lead character to have a crew behind the scenes and shouting things into the heroes ear during a fight. I never really like that about The Flash either. And yes, the continued workaround for anyone actually saying the word "Superman" is really annoying. Is there some real reason for that?

I do like the implied arc for Kara though, and the actress playing her is a really charismatic fit for that character. I'll keep giving it a shot.

[Guest]

Meanwhile the Flash and Arrow rock. Its like you got turned off by cheerleaders by dating all the wrong ones just before Buffy walks past.

I dig it. I probably really would enjoy them. And I'm still excited at the prospect of this show, and the lighter nature, but you're exactly right.

 

Although I also swore off dating completely and then within a month I was dating my wife, so who knows? Maybe I'm just waiting for the right superhero.

[Guest El Chalupacabra]

 

And yes, the continued workaround for anyone actually saying the word "Superman" is really annoying.

Probably licensing of the name.

 

Even as recently as a few years ago, during the Superboy Prime storyline, DC and the heirs of Siegel and Shuster were battling over who owned the rights to Superboy. Even though story-wise Superman and Superboy are the same character, legally they are two separate characters, which at the time it was argued DC owned Superman, but not Superboy. Until it was settled, DC had to age up Superboy Prime to be Superman Prime for that story arc.

[R.CAllen]

Verdict : not completely terrible and often kind of good sometimes!

 

There’s plenty to like (the overall tone is light, goofy, and optimistic --- I’m glad that this is a show more about Supergirl ably dealing with the anxieties and pressures of being out and about and heroic with the help of her friends and family rather than some dark brooding revenge-fest; the action sequences are generally well done; Perd Hapley is here, that always makes for a good show in my book, just keep putting Perd Hapley on the news in all the things and I’ll tune in for them) and plenty to not like (the dialogue, the narration, familiar terms and names and concepts subtly misprisioned for what appears to be no real good reason at all, I mean maybe I’m the only one in the world bothered that Hellgrammite isn’t exactly like he is in the comics or that her heat vision is the wrong colour but that stuff still bothers me way more than it should and maybe that’s especially because this show is otherwise shoehorning in nerdery such as for instance Fort Rozz and namedropping prominent Supercreators for their bridges and streets and chemical companies but then they’ll go in and pronounce her name wrong or call it Kryptonese instead of Kryptonian or put Jimmy Olsen through Dahr-Nel’s plastimold machine (which bothers me a lot less than them shaving his head and changing his fashion sense, or, umm having him know Superman’s secret identity) or have Cat Grant be something like three different kinds of bad person none of whom are all that much like Cat Grant usually is …

 

basically I suppose my point is the show should be better if it doesn’t want me to obsess over every little nerd thing they do quote unquote wrong, the show can’t count on me being excited by seeing the D.E.O. on screen instead of some other fictional secret government agency from the DCU or even a brand new one, the show needs to earn my love, you all need to earn my love, I don’t just give away my love for free) but all in all it’s a pretty good show with proper Supergirl fighting proper bad guys.

 

It’s not the best superhero show on television by any means (that’d be Steven Universe) but it’s the only one of them that has Supergirl flying around and punching people and that’s a heavy mark in its favour --- there’s a lot of other superhero shows on television which I imagine slash am told by the Internet are of about the same level of quality as this one but I’m not going to watch those shows because they don’t have Supergirl flying around and punching people and that’s the sort of thing I like way more than seeing Arrow or The Flash or whoever else. If I had to sum up my reaction in seventeen words (which I don’t, man, imagine what it’d be like if I didn’t aim for brevity here, actually it’d be basically this post but x3 in length and in bad sentence structure and impenetrable jargon) they would be ‘This show might be a bit of a curate’s egg so far but there’s room to improve’!

[Justus]

R.C., in just two short weeks, this series has drawn deep "for" and "against" sides more than any comic-based series in recent memory--and that includes The Walking Dead. I think some expect more superheroic elements played up, since the basic premise cannot be dulled to be semi-real/serious like Gotham, but do not like the fact its not going to be as dedicated to source as a cartoon could be. From Supergirl's appearance (let's face it, Melissa Benoist does not look like most illustrated versions of the character, or even Helen Slater), certain things about James Olsen, to the tip-toeing around Superman, there's much raising the blood pressure of viewers.

 

Personally, I am not looking for this to be the "greatest Supergirl and/or superhero series ever!" or writing it off as a disaster. It's serio-light, and for now, self contained. It does not have to live up to comics, or the big screen DC heroes of late. Maybe viewers will be lucky enough for it to be a gem that improves with each new episode, but is not expected to be something else--as in other DC adaptations.

[ShadowDog]

All that would still be issues if the writing didn't suck at a basic level. But the volume would be lower.

[NumberSix]

Just caught episode 2, and Serious Perd Hapley is now my favorite character. Supergirl herself is still a great reason to watch despite some of her lines, though the Kara/James/puny-dude love triangle buildup I could live without.

basically I suppose my point is the show should be better if it doesn’t want me to obsess over every little nerd thing they do quote unquote wrong...

Now that my divorce from the mainstream DC Universe print version is more or less finalized, their screen adaptations' arbitrary deviations from the source material don't bother me like they used to. It's nice to have one less source of geek irritation, honestly. I don't even mind Mr. Olsen somehow growing into the Voice of Reason, but considering as a character he's old enough to be my dad, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine an alternate Earth where he grew old and outgrew his dorkiness issues.

 

Where I'm at now, the 35 years' worth of DC reading memories are now only good to me as reference material that I can use to spot familiar proper nouns while watching -- whether attached to dissimilar new characters or used to name random streets and businesses -- and then list all the Easter eggs to my wife during commercial breaks even though she didn't ask and probably doesn't care. But it passes the time, and helps me predict "surprises" such as Hank Henshaw probably having dark secrets.

[Justus]

I still have hope for the series, but it seems needlessly lightweight. I know the multiple plots (Lord's growing presence / Henshaw's being something else / Winn knowing Superman is Kent) suggest big arcs, but again (and maybe its too early to judge), it all seems as dramatic as Power Rangers. Clearly, the content is not the same, but at the moment--as much as i like the series--its feeling thin.

 

Oh, and for the record, I hope the whole Kara/James burgeoning romance is not just another "will they/won't they...no, they won't" non-dramatic sideline. Commit to it, already. The characters & performers behind them fit very well, and that should not be squandered.

[Lord Darth Hunter]

ShadowDog, on 27 Oct 2015 - 02:51 AM, said:

Plus he's a dick for never visiting her this whole time and not reaching out now that she's in the open. This is why the show will fail.

 

Agreed. In the beginning it made sense that Superman let her be to choose for herself if she wanted to be a superhero. But once she made that choice and came out to the world, we are supposed to believe Superman is just letting her be, risking her life and nearly getting killed a few times simply because "she needs to learn on her own." Even in the episode he did show up to save her, he couldn't even wait for her to wake up to see if she was ok?

[Pong Messiah]

Have liked later episodes better than the pilot, so that's a good sign.

 

I'm watching the show, ti's fun, fast-paced, doesn't take itself too seriously... then they bring Superman up in the most clumsy, distracting manner possible. Something like... 3 times an episode.

 

I dunno if it's really that bad: one of those things that is more apparent because I'm waiting for it, or if it really is that much of a buzzkill?

[NumberSix]

The "appearances" by Superman might be less distracting if they weren't going to tremendous lengths to treat him like Norm's wife Vera on Cheers, or Wilson on Home Improvement.

 

We know Henry Cavill's not coming within 500 miles of this show. We know they're not recasting their own Superman. Supergirl's cousin may be integral to her origin to an extent, but his mandatory, contrived facelessness drives me nuts. The sooner he goes away and stays away, the sooner Kara gets to claim the show as her own, and maybe then she can come out from under his pervasive, constantly lurking, super-annoying shadow.

[Pong Messiah]

Amen to that.

 

The last episode, I don't think he was mentioned a single time, outside of the opening credits. Was a silly episode, but actually felt a lot more even to me, due to the lack of jarring super-distractions.

 

I'm finding that I really want to like this show and will probably give it more chances to find its voice than I should. Its lack of cynicism and goofy earnestness is a disarming change of pace, and even if the writing hasn't exactly been inspired, it's great seeing a cast that seems to be having so much fun in their roles.

[D-Ray Kenobi]

The "appearances" by Superman might be less distracting if they weren't going to tremendous lengths to treat him like Norm's wife Vera on Cheers, or Wilson on Home Improvement.

 

We know Henry Cavill's not coming within 500 miles of this show. We know they're not recasting their own Superman. Supergirl's cousin may be integral to her origin to an extent, but his mandatory, contrived facelessness drives me nuts. The sooner he goes away and stays away, the sooner Kara gets to claim the show as her own, and maybe then she can come out from under his pervasive, constantly lurking, super-annoying shadow.

I've only seen the pilot and bits and pieces of other episodes, but is it even suggested that this takes place in the same universe as the Batman v Superman or even the CW shows?

 

DC is just a mess when it comes to this.

[NumberSix]

Supergirl shares a showrunner with Arrow and The Flash, but as long as they're on separate networks, I doubt we'll ever see crossovers or even cross-references.

 

When this show starts, Superman has already been super-heroing for years. If Man of Steel and Supergirl are meant to be in the same DCU, then the latter is an awfully distant follow-up.

[Pong Messiah]

Well, I'm about to give up.

 

Was really hoping the exposition would rise above the level of after school special as the show gained its footing, but if anything, it's getting even more ham-fisted. I'm all for some good, dumb fun, but we're in serious need of more fun, less dumb.

 

Next week, is one of those "Kryptonians Temporarily Losing Their Powers" outings. If they can't make that premise entertaining, that's it for me.

[Lord Darth Hunter]

Did everyone stop watching this series?

[Pong Messiah]

Yeah, I jumped ship after my last post. Liked a lot of the elements and really wanted to like the show, but it never quite made itself worth my time. Did it end up improving?

[ShadowDog]

I'm still in. Cat Grant is not just the best new TV character, she's the best new anything. The rest is stupid but Cat is ****ing awesome. Especially how it took her only a handful of episodes to deduce Kara is SG. Take THAT Lois!

[CoLA]

I agree, Cat has become the best part of the show! Can we get more J'onn, too, please? Loved the scene of him flying around with Kara at the beginning of the last ep!

[Pong Messiah]

Huh. So I bailed too early, eh?

[Poe Dameron]

It is getting slightly better. Bringing in the Martian Manhunter was a smart move. And, while I'm not as big a fan of Cat Grant as ShadowDog seems to be, they're figuring her out well enough. Biggest issue is Kara. She just bounces between adorkable, angst, and big damn hero. They really need to get beyond this love quadrangle fast and start having Kara really grow up.

 

I'm still watching it, which I suppose says something since I'm not a big TV viewer. But a lot of the reason is that so many shows are on hiatus right now.

 

It's a show without ego, which I can appreciate. But it's also something of a throwback. Really, visual effects aside, I could see this exact same show made in the early-90s.

[Justus]

Did everyone stop watching this series?

I'm still watching, and wanted it to work, but i'm at the point where i'm trying to find reasons to stick with it. The biggest problems center on trying to build multiple "big" conflicts to come, including Lord's Power Girl / Galatea / Bizarro Supergirl / whatever, bad aunt, and the next super creature arriving in the next episode. That, and the general avoidance of other DC heroes not tied to film projects makes the Supergirl world seem small. At present, there's no guarantee of a second season, so it would have been in the best interest of the series to make it as colorful as possible. Bad aunt and Lord are not that interesting.

 

One of the most abused, worthless plot devices in TV history is the confusion story. The entire Cat-is-suspicious crap was old before word one, and it does not help that Cat is a terrible character, where her every other sentence in almost every episode is a seminar in identity politics (ranting about men / oppression from men, etc.), which in truth, extends to a number of the show's female characters. It makes the series come off like a talking head program on MSNBC instead of a superhero drama. While one might argue there's more character development to come, so far, the majority of Cat's behavior seems to be ready-for-the-couch validation speeches.

 

Winn is such a limp male, that he's no longer sympathetic.

 

Currently, the most promising element of the series is Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz, and how he's still resistant to being his true self.

 

Perhaps the anti-alien plot in next week's episode will serve as the framework for Supergirl's troubles, instead of several plots coming and going in all different directions.

[Poe Dameron]

That, and the general avoidance of other DC heroes not tied to film projects makes the Supergirl world seem small.

 

Thought they were doing an okay job on that front. They're going through known villains at a decent pace (plus Red Tornado for some reason). And Martian Manhunter is a Justice League fixture.

 

 

 

it does not help that Cat is a terrible character, where her every other sentence in almost every episode is a seminar in identity politics (ranting about men / oppression from men, etc.), which in truth, extends to a number of the show's female characters. It makes the series come off like a talking head program on MSNBC instead of a superhero drama.

 

I figured she'd be like that myself from the pilot. I was all ready to hate her after the terrible writer masturbation they used her for to justify the name "Supergirl" But she's coming off better than I expected. So far, other than Hank, she's the only character to break out of her stock character origins.

 

Still not a super amazing character, but she exists with reason.

[Lord Darth Hunter]

I'm with those that like Cat Grant. The way she helps Kara learn "life lessons" without even realizing it. And it was refreshing to finally see a journalist actually figure out the secret identity. Though I did figure Martian Manhunter's ability to shape shift would help Kara out with that. Overall it's still entertaining, but it needs to build to more or else I can see it not getting picked up for a second season.

[3 & 6 years to go...]

I'm still watching. I am enjoying it enough. My wife has not said anything, but I can tell that she likes it.