Supergirl (CBS)

bunny-gypsy said:

I really, really hope the show can improve. Or maybe that Netflix Jessica Jones will also be good. (Agent Carter seemed pretty good, I think?) Otherwise, once again some Hollywood execs will think female superheroes don't sell or that they're too hard, etc.

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Because Hollywood refuses to do anything they haven't already done before, there's no reason to believe anything is going to change the superhero status quo until and unless Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel hit the screens. If they succeed, great. Maybe it'll open the floodgates. If they flop, we know what happens next: relegated to the group shots with the rest of the JLA and Avengers.

Vulture's recent list of the 25 Best Female Superheroes on TV and movies gives reasons to hope and despair, but I come down on the side of despair. Anna Paquin's underused Rogue and Ellen Page's barely there Kitty Pryde in the X-Men franchises? Helen Slater's Supergirl and Halle Berry's in-name-only Catwoman? Ugh.

CrastersBabies said:

I saw the first episode and just.. I don't know.

It was so heavy handed on the, "You can DO IT, GIRLFRIEND!"

And the fabricated conflict between the sisters was like watching a Lifetime movie.

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Female empowerment? On a network superhero show? I'm down for it, but don't forget to entertain me too.

I'm PISSED that the Halle Berry movie was so awful, because I really liked that take on catwoman.

Supergirl has become my favorite current TV show -- not just superhero, but all-around favorite.

Calista Flockhart's character had all the making of a shallow husk. They have blown that out of the water.

Best show on the air? Dunno. But I'm happy so far.

I'm on the fence about Supergirl. The character seems way too young for the age they've given her, and I find fight scenes boring. OTOH, there's an interesting cast of supporting characters, especially at the newspaper.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Supergirl has become my favorite current TV show -- not just superhero, but all-around favorite.

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It's the only show I make an effort to see. (Literally. The only show. Most nights I don't even bother to watch whatever Mr. Aggy has on.)

What I find interesting is the ability to tap into really raw emotion that doesn't hit me the same way as the (melo)drama of the superhero shows on the CW. The episode with Red Tornado made me cry. And at first I was like "Man, they are really on-the-nose with some of this dialogue." But then I thought it's kind of cool. Because they aren't qualifying any of it. They aren't making excuses, they just put these things that we know are true right out there and keep moving. (Having Cat Grant talk about how Perry White could throw a chair out of window and no one thought anything of it, but for her it would have been a career ending move AND having James say "Black men aren't encouraged to be angry in public." in the same fucking show? Oh my god. It's bold. And the best part is, they are normalizing it, by just making it these things the characters talk about.)

I was excessively pleased in the episode yesterday to see Alex kick ass. It was really nice to see that she might not be super-powered but she's smart and capable. And lovely work with the character arcs - showing us that Kara is attracted to James (in part) because he sees her potential even when she's ordinary, while revealing that despite his previous crush on her, Wynn is more enamored with Supergirl and thinks the ordinary Kara's flaws make her less than super.

And now we have Martian Manhunter running the DEO...things just keep getting better!

I'm forgetting the canon here. I thought Red Tornado to be a hero. Was that not always true?

Minor disappointment with Alex's fight. Would she REALLY put the base in danger like that because she mistrusts her boss? The fight itself, though, awesome.

Still not sure what I think about the whole Phantom Zone prison breakout thread, though.

If Alex mistrusted her boss so much that she considered him a threat? Yes.

Shadow_Ferret said:

If Alex mistrusted her boss so much that she considered him a threat? Yes.

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Yeah. Since she believed he had let her father die in order to save himself (while in similar circumstances), it seemed reasonable that she would not trust him to save anyone in the compound. Was going out there with Handsome Cannon Fodder really the smartest move? No. But she was as concerned about saving her coworkers from Henderson as she was about saving them from Gem(?).

It seemed like they kept Red Tornado as an android built by a villain (albeit one who was killed pretty quickly) and didn't bother with any of the rest of it.

Aggy B. said:

It's the only show I make an effort to see. (Literally. The only show. Most nights I don't even bother to watch whatever Mr. Aggy has on.)

What I find interesting is the ability to tap into really raw emotion that doesn't hit me the same way as the (melo)drama of the superhero shows on the CW. The episode with Red Tornado made me cry. And at first I was like "Man, they are really on-the-nose with some of this dialogue." But then I thought it's kind of cool. Because they aren't qualifying any of it. They aren't making excuses, they just put these things that we know are true right out there and keep moving. (Having Cat Grant talk about how Perry White could throw a chair out of window and no one thought anything of it, but for her it would have been a career ending move AND having James say "Black men aren't encouraged to be angry in public." in the same fucking show? Oh my god. It's bold. And the best part is, they are normalizing it, by just making it these things the characters talk about.)

I was excessively pleased in the episode yesterday to see Alex kick ass. It was really nice to see that she might not be super-powered but she's smart and capable. And lovely work with the character arcs - showing us that Kara is attracted to James (in part) because he sees her potential even when she's ordinary, while revealing that despite his previous crush on her, Wynn is more enamored with Supergirl and thinks the ordinary Kara's flaws make her less than super.

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Wow. Yes. I couldn't have said it any better. This is the first superhero show I've really liked since Smallville. I really hope the show lasts a few good seasons.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Supergirl has become my favorite current TV show -- not just superhero, but all-around favorite.

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Finally! Someone who feels the same way I do.

So last I heard, the show's ratings were down and they haven't been renewed yet. Has someone else heard anything?

It's official: Supergirl is moving the CW.


It looks like The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow are getting a new super neighbor.

Cyia said:

It's official: Supergirl is moving the CW.


It looks like The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow are getting a new super neighbor.

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I wondered if that was the plan when CBS didn't make an earlier announcement to renew it (along with many of their other shows). It will likely fit it better over there although I really hope it doesn't get more of the teen drama flavor that The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow seem to steep in.

Cyia said:

It's official: Supergirl is moving the CW.


It looks like The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow are getting a new super neighbor.

Click to expand...

Good! I hope it's more successful there. I really enjoyed the first season (after a bit of a bumpy start). And the crossover ep with The Flash was pure gold.

Cyia said:

It's official: Supergirl is moving the CW.


It looks like The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow are getting a new super neighbor.

Click to expand...

Yesssssss! *dances* Loved the Flash crossover, even though I barely watched much of Flash. I'm enjoying the DC's Legends of Tomorrow, so I hope there can be an interesting crossover there, as well.


*pauses*
But...Wait. The CW? Please no more love triangles crap, CW. And keep the female characters staying awesome. Like Cat Grant, Supergirl and her sister, etc. Not too, too much teen wangst, either. Please and thank you, CW peeps.

Still, pretty exciting! *squees*

If the scripts keep improving, then maybe it has a chance of sticking around for seasons three and four. I like Melissa Benoist in the lead, but the scripts the first year were so "you got this, gurl" angsty, I thought "enough, already! I get it!"

The Flash crossover episode was quite good. We'll see what happens in season two.

*pauses*
But...Wait. The CW? Please no more love triangles crap, CW. And keep the female characters staying awesome. Like Cat Grant, Supergirl and her sister, etc. Not too, too much teen wangst, either. Please and thank you, CW peeps.

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Still the same showrunners, so the tone of the show won't change just because it's swapping networks. The only thing you should expect are budget cuts!

I've found the writing on Supergirl to be rather weak and inconsistent throughout the season. Maybe it's because it's on CBS, but the bad things that happen to the characters seem to have no real weight or long-term impact. Most of Supergirl's problems seem to be resolved by the end of the episode they started in. For example, the entire city hated Supergirl...for about one episode. It started in one episode (that was actually one of the better ones from this season) and is quickly fixed the very next week. That plot point could have had some really interesting character and story consequences, but it was resolved as quickly as it was introduced. Same goes with her sister being the one to kill Astra but John taking the blame. That secret could have been milked for some real dramatic tension, but it also lasted for only about 2 episodes and, when it's revealed, Kara quickly forgives her sister with a cry and a hug.

The show also didn't seem to really know who it wanted its villain to be. It started out as Astra, then flirted with the idea of Maxwell Lord (whose character was severely wasted this season), then it quickly switched to Non with Indigo (Brainiac 8) kind of tacked on as a sidekick in the last two episodes. None of them were ever developed well, their motives were rather ambiguous, and Non's plan to end the world at the very end kind of came out of nowhere.

I like Melissa Benoist in this role but the writing really needs to improve for it to keep my interest. I'd read somewhere that part of the motivation for its tone was to enable it to appeal to a CBS audience. I'm hoping the switch to the CW will cause them to adjust the tone and the writing quality, especially in terms of character and plot coherence. The quality of the writing and character-building on the other 3 shows has been light years* ahead of Supergirl, which is evident when it requires adding a character from another show (Flash) to inspire a good episode.


*Don't get me wrong. I still lament the fact that sometimes it seems the Flash/Arrow writers can't write a good, logical female character to save their lives (Felicity in parts of this season; Iris for all of last season). Also, the actors who play Iris and Barry have zero chemistry. Barry and Patty were great together. I hate that they're forcing Iris and Barry together in the show just because of the comics history (currently, though, it's Barry and Patty who are together in the comics). The way they write Iris in the show, there is nothing about her that is romantically appealing. At least it was obvious with Patty (and the actress who played her did a great job).

I kind of like the light, episodic feel of Supergirl, though. (My family enjoyed the cheesy old 50s/60s comics over the new comics, lol.) But that's me coming from watching lots of episodic stuff with my family, like various CSI and NCIS, Bones, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, House, several sitcoms, various kids shows, etc.

As long as the tone is not changed, and the female characters are still written well, then I would happily embrace the change.

If the writing can be as good as, say, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, or Jane the Virgin, my two favorite CW shows, and two of my most favorite shows ever, then I will be very happy and continue to watch Supergirl on the CW.

However, if the female characters are done in ways that irritates the shit out of me like in, say, Arrow and Flash (the two CW shows I don't watch anymore for various reasons), then I would be sad and would most likely not watch Supergirl anymore.

I'm having a wait and see moment...

I think that, if Jane the Virgin can have its sentimental family and female-empowering moments, then I would hope that Supergirl can still keep its own sentimental family moments and female empowering moments.

For me, (and this is my opinion), I find Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, even with their love triangle antics, more appealing than either of the male-led CW superhero shows.

Something about Supergirl, in its sentimental parts and female-focus, reminds me of those two female-led shows. I want Supergirl to keep that feeling.

It can improve the writing, but I don't want it to ever lose its flavor. If that makes any sense?

ETA: Then again, JTV and CEG are both comedies, so... They both still have some sentimental drama moments. Dramaedy? In terms of CW non-comedies, I did enjoy Reign and the earlier seasons of Supernatural.

ETA: DC Legends of Tomorrow is the weird outlier, for me. I'm enjoying it, and it felt just as cheesy or episodic as Supergirl was when it started as well, lol. I haven't seen the recent episode, but I'm curious to see how the show (Legends) proceeds in its second season.