I'm finding my mind blown that no one has started this thread yet, so here I go, a fool walking in to where angels fear to tread.
After watching the preview scenes we saw for SUPERGIRL back in, what? was it July? I had a very positive vibe from the show and felt like DC would have yet another TV victory to crow about, another proverbial feather in their cap whilst MARVEL's AGENTS OF SHIELD seems to continually sputter, lurching forward with good ideas only to be yanked backwards twice as hard when something doesn't make sense or just doesn't play out correctly.
I've long been a supporter of super-heroines. Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Starfire, Raven, Storm, Marvel Girl, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel and, of course, my all-time fave, Phoenix/Dark Phoenix. Heck, a friend of mine and I self-published a very, very, very, VERY small local comic back in the mid-eighties (before the age of the Internet and less expensive printing) whose title character WAS a super-heroine and she was the protector of our very own little hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. So females with super powers get a big thumbs up from me.
Which brings me to tonight's premiere/pilot episode of Supergirl...
As I said earlier, the previews had me very hopeful, which is why finding the show itself to be somewhat humdrum and mediocre (sometimes even bordering on wince-worthy) is so---disappointing. It seems that CBS showed the best parts of the show in the preview. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the show that didn't set well with me, maybe it's just that it felt somewhat---rushed? For being a show that is masterminded by the folks behind both ARROW and THE FLASH, this show felt oddly vacuous and heavy-handed and the joy found in THE FLASH was only glimpsed briefly in Supergirl. Melissa Benoist did a fine job of playing both Kara and Supergirl, but her portrayal felt somewhat undermined by the performances of those around her (most strikingly Owain Yeoman as the poorly named "Vardox"; his performances as Rigsby on THE MENTALIST proves he has acting chops, but the material he was given in this pilot was nothing short of canned ham). And the actor playing Hank Henshaw was so over-the-top that he fundamentally became a parody of the type of character he was playing. Even Chyler Leigh's performance as Kara's (step, half, Terran?) sister was uneven and felt rushed.
I felt like the shows visual effects, for being on one of the big three networks, were a little subpar, as well. Granted, super-powers are difficult to portray on the small screen with smaller budgets, but THE FLASH's visual effects, not to make a bad pun, run rings around the effects in Supergirl. It's like CBS entered into this half-hearted, hoping that the good will from THE FLASH and ARROW on their sister network would translate into instant success for Supergirl. Sadly, I don't think this is the case, but more on that later. Please feel free to chime in with your opinions and/or observations. I have a feeling Supergirl is going to be one of those polarizing shows that you're either going to love or hate with little gray area in between...
After watching the preview scenes we saw for SUPERGIRL back in, what? was it July? I had a very positive vibe from the show and felt like DC would have yet another TV victory to crow about, another proverbial feather in their cap whilst MARVEL's AGENTS OF SHIELD seems to continually sputter, lurching forward with good ideas only to be yanked backwards twice as hard when something doesn't make sense or just doesn't play out correctly.
I've long been a supporter of super-heroines. Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Starfire, Raven, Storm, Marvel Girl, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel and, of course, my all-time fave, Phoenix/Dark Phoenix. Heck, a friend of mine and I self-published a very, very, very, VERY small local comic back in the mid-eighties (before the age of the Internet and less expensive printing) whose title character WAS a super-heroine and she was the protector of our very own little hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. So females with super powers get a big thumbs up from me.
Which brings me to tonight's premiere/pilot episode of Supergirl...
As I said earlier, the previews had me very hopeful, which is why finding the show itself to be somewhat humdrum and mediocre (sometimes even bordering on wince-worthy) is so---disappointing. It seems that CBS showed the best parts of the show in the preview. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the show that didn't set well with me, maybe it's just that it felt somewhat---rushed? For being a show that is masterminded by the folks behind both ARROW and THE FLASH, this show felt oddly vacuous and heavy-handed and the joy found in THE FLASH was only glimpsed briefly in Supergirl. Melissa Benoist did a fine job of playing both Kara and Supergirl, but her portrayal felt somewhat undermined by the performances of those around her (most strikingly Owain Yeoman as the poorly named "Vardox"; his performances as Rigsby on THE MENTALIST proves he has acting chops, but the material he was given in this pilot was nothing short of canned ham). And the actor playing Hank Henshaw was so over-the-top that he fundamentally became a parody of the type of character he was playing. Even Chyler Leigh's performance as Kara's (step, half, Terran?) sister was uneven and felt rushed.
I felt like the shows visual effects, for being on one of the big three networks, were a little subpar, as well. Granted, super-powers are difficult to portray on the small screen with smaller budgets, but THE FLASH's visual effects, not to make a bad pun, run rings around the effects in Supergirl. It's like CBS entered into this half-hearted, hoping that the good will from THE FLASH and ARROW on their sister network would translate into instant success for Supergirl. Sadly, I don't think this is the case, but more on that later. Please feel free to chime in with your opinions and/or observations. I have a feeling Supergirl is going to be one of those polarizing shows that you're either going to love or hate with little gray area in between...
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