Article originally published as SUPERGIRL Review on Seat42F.
Joining
the already crowded superhero landscape is CBS’ SUPERGIRL, premiering
this week. In it, Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist, Glee), cousin of the
more famous Kal-El, comes of age and is ready to take on the bad guys to
save the city. To do so, she has a bit of a different approach than
Superman (oops, didn’t mean to say the name), and a supportive group
around her.
SUPERGIRL dances around the Superman
lore, but not as much as past efforts like Smallville have. Viewers will
get to see and hear plenty about him; the name just isn’t uttered much,
usually spoken about as a mythical ‘him.’
Doing this sets Supergirl apart from Superman. Superman is an alien who is aloof, apart from the human race. Supergirl is someone who is in the fight alongside everyone else. While Superman cares inherently, Supergirl
cares because of her adopted sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh, Grey’s
Anatomy), and her friend, Winn (Jeremy Jordan, Smash), and others. She’s
a part of the population of the Earth far more than he i, and takes
what she does very personally.
Right off the bat, it’s clear Supergirl
won’t be working alone like Superman does. No less than three people
know her secret in the pilot, not including Hank Henshaw (David
Harewood, Homeland) and his organization. She does have a secret
identity; her boss, Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart, Brothers &
Sisters) doesn’t know she has the caped crusader working for her. Yet,
it’s not as closely guarded a secret, and it changes the tenure of
SUPERGIRL from most Superman incarnations.
Also different, Kara gets in over her
head early on. While Superman eases into fighting the baddies, Kara
immediately has to fight prison escapees from the Phantom Zone. This
isn’t the plot of a single episode, but rather a set up for the series.
There are dozens of alien convicts on the Earth and they are focused on
her, for good reason, as we’ll find out. So Kara needs these others to
be around her.
For fans of Superman who never really
got into Supergirl, this program provides plenty of connection to that
more established world. As mentioned, Cat Grant, a figure in Clark
Kent’s life, is present, as is James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks, Necessary
Roughness), albeit a bit older than you might remember him. The
production also pays homage to past actors of the franchise, much as The
Flash does, by casting Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures
of Superman) and Helen Slater (1984’s Supergirl) as Kara’s adoptive
parents. Not to mention, the messages of Alura Zor-El (Laura Benanti, Go
On) will bring to mind similar communications from Jor-El to Superman.
As society progresses, feminism has
taken root. As such, some may argue it’s not right to call Kara
Super’girl’ instead of Superwoman. The character of Supergirl has a long
history, though, and it’s too late to change it now. Thankfully,
SUPERGIRL addresses this disparity head-on in episode one, and I’m
satisfied with the explanation. I think most viewers will be, too.
Because SUPERGIRL is on CBS, it’s likely
to be largely a procedural. I assume most weeks will find her dealing
with a single antagonist, whom she defeats by the ending credits. But
there is a lot more personal drama going on than in most shows on the
network, a la The Good Wife. Should SUPERGIRL follow The Good Wife’s
pattern, concentrating more on the characters than the cases, it’ll do
well.
SUPERGIRL is a solid entry on the
television landscape. It is enjoyable, with a great cast and interesting
premise. It will take more than one episode to see if it deserves to
hang with its successful DC brethren, Gotham, Arrow, and The Flash, but
I’d say it’s off to a pretty good start.
SUPERGIRL premieres Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
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