Supergirl 1.2 Thoughts

A week after the events of the pilot, Supergirl finds that she doesn’t know everything. In fact, she makes her share of mistakes. Meanwhile, Cat Grant is demanding that her staff land a Supergirl interview to pull the Tribune ahead of the Daily Planet. She leans hard on Olsen to do this. Kara undergoes fight training with Alex to better hone her skills, while Henshaw seems to be hiding something. In the midst of all of this, Kara’s Kryptonian aunt Astrid reveals herself, and battles Kara.

While not quite as exciting as last week, this is still a great episode. Cat reveals that she started as Perry White’s assistant at the Daily Planet before breaking out as a gossip columnist. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are mentioned. More importantly, the story does go through some feminist perspectives, although certain parts do risk becoming heavy-handed if not handled well. 

I recommend Supergirl wholeheartedly. Go catch up now.

Flash 2.4 thoughts

The team has to scramble to find a possible match for Professor Stein if they want to save him. Two potential candidates come up: Jefferson Jackson, a highly intelligent former football player, and Henry Hewitt, a scientist. After screening both, Hewitt proves to be incompatible with Stein, but does awaken his dormant ability, becoming Tokamak, a villain from the comics who is jealous of Firestorm. Jeff is reluctant to be a part of Firestorm at first, but once he sees that Martin needs him in order to live, he steps up.

Top notch episode, even if Flash was in the background this week. I like the new Firestorm, but I miss Ronnie. The Harrison Wells stuff was intriguing, and it was amazing to see King Shark!

The seed was apparently planted for Wally to be Iris’ brother. Not sure if I’m ok with that, but we will see how it plays out. Looking forward to next week!

Supergirl Series Premiere thoughts

  
When a Supergirl TV show was first announced, I was apprehensive. The last time Supergirl was launched out of the comics on her own, it was for 1984’s Supergirl, which starred Helen Slater, and promptly flopped at the box office. 

Initial photos of Melissa Benoist in costume didn’t inspire me, either. At first glance, the design looks lazy. It literally looks like someone cut the logo out of fabric from Michael’s and adhered it with a special craft kit. And her hair still seemed more strawberry blonde than anything. I was stuck on Kara having been blonde for the entirety of her existence.
In spite of all of this, I was quite taken by the extended preview released several months ago. The cast seemed to gel, and the spirit of the show seemed upbeat! *GASP* I’m pleased to tell you that the show is very much in this spirit of fun and whimsy, in spite of the drama in Kara’s life.

The show starts on Krypton. Jor-El and Lara are launching baby Kal-El to Earth, and in a nearby dwelling, Zor-El and Allura are sending their daughter, Kara, who looks to be around 12, to be Kal-El’s protector on Earth. (If you don’t know already, they’re cousins.) Kara’s rocket is pulled into a wormhole, and is stuck there for 24 years. When the ship breaks free, it makes its way to Earth. Kal-El, now Superman, finds his now-younger cousin and matches her with a family to care for her.

Cut to National City. Kara, now a young adult, is an errand girl for media mogul Cat Grant. Kara becomes smitten with new guy James Olsen, Pulitzer winning Metropolis photographer who now works for Grant. Her sister Alex works in National City as well. When Kara strikes out on a blind date and Alex’s plane starts to go down, Kara takes action, revealing herself to the world.

The origin story is executed in a way that explains what it needs to, but doesn’t get bogged down, as some stories do. The entire first episode is imminently watchable, and leaves the viewer interested in what happens next. 

What we really have here is several things: a solid superhero show, a show with a more diverse cast than most superhero shows, and a family-friendly show that hopefully encourages girls to dream bigger.

Supergirl airs on Monday nights at 8/7 central.

Arrow 4.3 thoughts

Damn! This episode started at about an 8 and never let up. Felicity grew a backbone and told Oliver and Diggle to get over their issues. She even basically locked them in a cave and made them figure it out. They’re forced to team up to take down Damien Darhke’s latest operative, Double Down, as Thea and Laurel are in Nanda Parbat to convince Malcolm to revive Sara.

Malcolm refuses to allow Sara to be revived at first, but once he realizes that allowing Laurel to do what she came to do is the only way to get Thea to give him a chance, he gives in. He explains to Thea that she’s experiencing Bloodlust, and that the only cure is to kill the one who attacked her. Since Ra’s is already dead, Thea has to learn to cope somehow.

Wickedly good ep. Can’t wait to see more of Sara next week.

Flash 2.3 thoughts

The Snart family is back! I liked the portrayal of Captain Cold’s humanity here, as well as Glider and Cisco having chemistry. I was pleased to see that Jay didn’t leave. He’s a great character. I hope he gets his speed back soon! Lovely stuff with Joe and Iris. 

Professor Stein is great, too. I hated seeing him suffer with the Firestorm thing. I like that he will get a new partner next week, but man, I miss Ronnie! I think Barry is growing as a character, too. So good! Still my favorite show.

New GeekCast!

Listen here: GeekCast Episode 3.0

Let me know what you think! Feel free to comment here and argue, I agree, or say whatever inspires you after listening to me ramble! Thanks for reading, and thanks for listening!

Flash 2.2 thoughts

Wow! If last week’s episode was a set up, 2.2 was the payoff! We got a full-on intro to Jay Garrick, whose character is written very well, and who is portrayed earnestly by Teddy Sears. This iteration of Jay is also a scientist. Brilliant move by the writers to make Barry distrustful of Jay due to Barry’s father figure issues. Zoom looks wicked!

The finale played out really well. How cool to get a quick glimpse of that classic cover image for a split second! And the button with the Earth 2 Harrison Wells was just icing on the cake! Can’t wait for 3.0!

New podcast!

Go here: GeekCast Episode #2

Thanks, and happy listening!

Arrow Episode 4.1 thoughts

The season premiere of Arrow was right on par​ with the previous night’s premieres of The Flash and iZombie. I was drawn into the story, I cared about most of the characters, and I was left wanting more story. That, I think, is a very good start.

Oliver and Felicity are living the suburb life. Oliver jogs, while Felicity attempts to cook. They even host brunches for their neighbors. Back in the newly renamed Star City, Laurel, Diggle, and Thea are fighting foes that are referred to as ghosts. Their leader is able to kill with a single touch. This man turns out to be Damien Darhk, a man Ra’s al Ghul had warned Oliver about. The team reaches out to Oliver just as he is about to propose to Felicity.

The flashbacks show Oliver in the early days of the Arrow identity, with longer hair and the green raccoon eyes that used to be standard. He comes across Amanda Waller in a Coast City bar. (Easter Egg alert: who else loved the quick close up of Hal Jordan’s coat? So great!) Waller spikes his drink and drops him back on the island.

In the present, after an encounter with Darhk, Oliver and Felicity decide to stay. Oliver goes on television to deliver a message, essentially “The Arrow is dead; long live GREEN Arrow!”

Then, in a Shyamalan-type twist, we flash forward 6 months later. Oliver is standing in front of an unidentified grave. Barry Allen joins him, apologizing for missing the funeral. They speak briefly. Barry leaves, and Oliver rolls a tear as the show ends.

I love the huge ambition of the story on display here. I’m dying to know who dies in 6 months. I’m pretty sure it’s not Felicity, as Barry wouldn’t have missed her funeral. There are a lot of possibilities, though. What do you think?

The Flash Episode 2.1 thoughts

I absolutely loved season 1 of The Flash. It’s by far the best comic book show on TV, in my opinion. I am happy to say that the season 2 premiere met my expectations in every way. 

In the opening, Barry talks about being alone 6 months after the singularity we saw at the close of season 1. It seems he has pushed everyone away, and so Team Flash has moved on. Iris is buried in work, Caitlyn has moved on to work at Mercury Labs, and Cisco has teamed with Joe to help prepare the police for future metahuman attacks. Barry has a daydream about the old days, and we see then that he is quite alone, standing in the halls of STAR Labs. Harrison Wells – really Thawne – left the lab to Barry in his living will, on the condition that Barry watches a special farewell video that Wells prepared. In this video, Wells confesses to the murder of Nora Allen. Meanwhile, a large (and growing) meta shows up to confront Barry. His name is Al Rothstein. The problem is this: Al Rothstein is dead. Really dead. So who is this?

What follows sets up Earth-2 rather nicely, as we meet Jay Garrick briefly at the end of the episode. The script is pretty well balanced. Everyone’s performances are on point. My only gripe is that the Atom-Smasher effects are pretty weak, but l understand that TV budgets are limited. Still…

Looking forward to next week.