SUPERMAN AND LOIS Are Parents

 Article first published as SUPERMAN AND LOIS TV Review on Seat42F.

The CW has a new entry to their DC Arrowverse with SUPERMAN AND LOIS. Superman is a character who has had many, many incarnations on screens big and small, and the CW has had a lot of superhero shows over the past decade. But while key elements to Superman’s well-known legend are present, SUPERMAN AND LOIS feels different on both counts, and a worthy addition to a crowded slate.

SUPERMAN AND LOIS spends a few minutes reminding fans of the story between the titular couple, which is both a refresher on the often-told origin story and an outline of what choices have been made differently in this version of the tale. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch reprise their lead roles from earlier CW DC appearances. Then, we catch up with the couple in Metropolis, where Lois is “the most famous reporter in the world” while Clark’s Superman is successfully keeping the planet safe. And they have twin fourteen-year-olds at home, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass, Little Fires Everywhere) and Jordan (Alex Garfin, The Peanuts Movie), who sometimes feel a bit overlooked by their busy parents, especially Clark, whose secret they don’t know.

The primary plotline in the pilot of SUPERMAN AND LOIS finds Clark feelings out-of-touch as a father and struggling to right that. He still saves people, but he’s realizing that he needs to be present at home, as well, a sentiment that Lois agrees with, but her father, General Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh, Nip/Tuck), does not. So when Clark is laid off by The Daily Planet and his mother, Martha (Michele Scarabelli, Alien Nation), passes away, he takes the opportunity to move his family to Smallville and try being a stay-at-home farmer-father.

In true hero fashion, Clark has multiple motivations for doing this, besides his wife telling him to be a better dad. Lois strongly suspects something rotten is going on in the dying small town as a rich man forces residents into reverse mortgages and buys up properties. Also, moody Jordan exhibits superpowers, although his brother, star athlete Jonathan, does not. And the boys discover Clark’s secret. So he’s trying to get back in touch with them while helping them cope with tough stuff in the only way he knows how – the same way his parents did with him.

Smallville is full of memories, of course. Besides the farm, there’s Clark’s ex, Lana Lang Cushing (Emmanuelle Chriqui, Entourage), who works for the bank. Her husband, Kyle (Erik Valdez, Graceland), is kind of a jerk, though Lana makes excuses for him. Their daughter, Sarah (Inde Navarrette, 13 Reasons Why), is clearly a love interest for Jordan, despite already having a boyfriend. Plus there’s a villainous Luthor afoot because, of course.

But SUPERMAN AND LOIS won’t be a rehash of Smallville or any other Superman adventure because Clark is in a different place. He’s the dad now. And his sons are very different from him. They have their own challenges and relationships, which are pretty different from Clark’s with his parents. All of the Arrowverse shows have some kind of family element, but on this one, family is the central core, with the superhero stuff being the side story. For now, anyway. So it’s a new twist on an old tale, and one I’m very much looking forward to. Fresh Superman is not something I expected in 2021, but SUPERMAN AND LOIS delivers.

There are two things that bother me a bit about the setup. One, Jonathan and Jordan seem way closer and more understanding of one another than any two siblings I’ve ever seen in real life. Two, I get Clark being busy with his Superman stuff, but Lois is an extremely present mother while still maintaining her international reputation? That seems far-fetched. More likely, there’s a missing caregiver who was with the boys a lot before the series begins.

Still, these are small squabbles, and I’m excited to see this iteration. SUPERMAN AND LOIS airs Tuesday evenings on the CW.

STARGIRL Flies a Little Lower Than Peers

Article first published as TV Review: STARGIRL on Seat42F.

The CW has yet another series based on DC Comics characters running right now and this one’s called STARGIRL. It’s a show about a teenage girl who discovers the father she never knew may have been a superhero, and she may have inherited his powers. But the group that killed her maybe-father is still around, and she’s not strong enough to handle them on her own. So she decides to revive the Justice Society of America and staff it with youngsters, intent on stopping the much older baddies.

Brec Bassinger (Bella and the Bulldogs) stars as Courtney Whitmore. As the series begins, her mother, Barbara (Amy Smart, Justified), has just married Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson, Enlightened), who has a son of his own, Mike (Trae Romano, 555). The four move back to Barbara’s hometown, where she has gotten a job. But when Courtney finds Starman’s staff among Pat’s things and the staff responds to her, she decides Starman (Joel McHale, Community) must be her father and decides to follow in his footsteps. This is much to the chagrin of Pat, Starman’s former sidekick.

The premise doesn’t feel too coincidental, though Barbara’s employer verges on that trope. Pat and Barbara found each other in a sweet, simple story. Teaming Courtney up with her step-father is relatively novel for a television series, leaving Barbara to bond with Mike in more mundane plot threads. Though the separation can’t possibly last long.

A lot of the running time of the first six episodes doesn’t dwell on much character development. Instead, it sets up all the heroes and villains, as Courtney quickly recruits a diverse team to help her out. Pat, of course, isn’t pleased, but gets dragged along for the ride as Courtney ignores his instruction again and again. At the same time, we see the villains come back together and further nefarious plots, conveniently not having made much progress in the past ten years. Small skirmishes abound, but the season seems poised for a large battle at the end.

STARGIRL is unique in CW’s superhero lineup in that it isn’t directly tied to the Arrowverse. Made for the DC streaming app (which premieres episodes a day before the CW, and at least for the first two installments, longer versions of those episodes), Stargirl made a cameo in last fall’s big event, but is said to currently exist on a new Earth-2. But has the Arrowverse even established that there is a second Earth again?

Those logistics aside, STARGIRL is its own thing. A teenage drama with superheroes isn’t a new concept, nor is an origin story. The fact that the kids involved are assuming identities once held by adults makes it a bit of a ‘junior’ type situation. Kids battling adults also makes it seem like a made-for-kids show. At least, that’s what similar properties have been geared towards in the past.

Honestly, a lot about STARGIRL feels made for a younger audience in a way that the rest of the CW’s DC lineup does not. While there is death and destruction, the emotional implications of them aren’t dwelled upon, rushing onto the next big thing. Part of this can be attributed to Courtney and her mindset at present, but overall, it makes the series feel weaker than it could be. Romance doesn’t even really play in much, either, the focus more on butt kicking than crushing. McHale is wasted in a cameo, and thus far, Wilson and especially Smart haven’t been given much more than typical television parent stories in a kid show, either. Which, when taken all together, makes STARGIRL the least developed in the lineup.

Of course, kids grow, and a show can mature. So perhaps STARGIRL will move beyond its childish beginning as it continues. For now, though, I recommend taking it at face value. If you don’t mind a heavy teenage bend on your dramas, then this one’s for you.

At the time of this writing, STARGIRL is six episodes into a thirteen-episode run. New episodes run on the DC app Mondays and air on the CW Tuesdays at 8PM.

Peachy KEENE

Article first published as TV Review: KATY KEENE on Seat42F.

Note: The review only covers the pilot of the series.

The CW’s newest drama is KATY KEENE. A spin-off of Riverdale set in the Big Apple, it’s about a group of young adults looking to fulfill their career and relationship aspirations. Less highly stylized than the mothership, though still with a healthy dose of hyper-reality and charm, and carrying over one established supporting character, this show should be really good. And it probably would be if not for awful writing.

The fault lies not in the performances. Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) is spunky, cheery, and thoroughly convincing as Katy Keene. Ashleigh Murray’s Josie McCoy feels like a second lead, which makes sense, given that she’s already been developed on Riverdale and should have a prominent role in the new venture. These two are strong enough to hang a show on.

The supporting characters are also delightful. Pepper Smith (Julia Chan, Saving Hope) is the worldly, wild woman with sage advice. Jorge / Ginger Lopez (Jonny Beauchamp, Penny Dreadful) is easy to root for. Francois (Nathan Lee Graham, LA to Vegas) has the early 00s gay best friend vibe now in a boss suit. Gloria Grandbilt (Katherine LaNasa, Truth Be Told) and Amanda (Helene Yorke, Masters of Sex) are deliciously awful villains. KO (Zane Holtz, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) serves his role as eye candy and dutiful boyfriend, and Alexander Cabot (Lucien Laviscount, Snatch) seems like he’ll be a slightly better-developed version of that.

But those supporting characters get to the heart of the problem. Their characters revolve solely around the leads. They don’t seem to have their own lives and personalities separate from interacting with Josie and, primarily, Katy. They exist only to further her plot, and so the world feels a lot less realized than other shows on the air right now.

Similarly, KATY KEENE goes for emotional payoff over a story that makes sense. Katy rebels against a boss and immediately gets a dream job with encouragement to pursue her talents. Ginger gets to tell off a jerk casting director in a speech that, in different context, would feel arrogant and coming from spoiled brat, sure to get him blackballed before his career even begins. If Pepper is so worldly, why is she spending every evening hanging out with Katy? Amanda and Gloria are written to be self-obsessed, but we only see them doing so in ways to hurt our protagonist, and the way high school peers would, not adults.

There is plenty of room for a fairy tale on the airwaves, and you could definitely call KATY KEENE that. If it committed more fully to the hyperreality stylings of Riverdale or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, it might even be easier to overlook how it thumbs its nose at reality because that would signal to the audience that what they’re watching is not in any way tied to the world we know. Yet, because KATY KEENE feels grounded in an actual place and time, it clashes with those sensibilities and instead feels half-finished at best, or cartoonish at worse. And the fact that so many of the characters are paper-thin is the final nail.

Might the series get better in subsequent installments? Absolutely. A bit of retooling, and this could be something worth watching. But the blatant bad-ness of the pilot turned me off in a major way to the point that I don’t even care enough to watch the second episode and see how the cliffhanger resolves. In a landscape with less quality programming, I’d give it more of a chance because it is spun off of a show I enjoy. But in the current climate, there’s just no room for a show that doesn’t know what it is, or can’t make up its mind.

KATY KEENE airs Thursdays at 8/7c on the CW.

Investigating NANCY DREW

Article first published as TV Review: NANCY DREW on Seat42F.

After the success of Riverdale, it’s not surprising that the CW looked for other well-known properties to darken and expound upon. Enter NANCY DREW, which premiered this week, and was developed by CW staples Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, along with Noga Landau. The drama finds the famous literary girl detective entering adulthood and dealing with the death of her mother, surrounded by peers who she doesn’t consider friends. Toss in sex and the supernatural, and NANCY DREW is adapted into a show typical for the network’s fare.

Nancy Drew is an obvious character to undergo this treatment. She’s already been adapted into television and movies multiple times, each with their own take on the sleuth. She also evolved over the years in her book series, changing with the times. So there isn’t a definitive version of the heroine that the series must live up to. Instead, for a character that has already proven highly malleable, there’s a long leash as to what can be done with her.

Virtual newcomer Kennedy McMann stars as the titular character in this version. In keeping with the network’s other programming, Nancy is surrounded by a group of friends, not totally unheard of in the written works, but also not nearly so present in most iterations. They include her current hookup, Ned Nickerson (Tunji Kasim, Nearly Famous), old nemesis and boss George Fan (Leah Lewis, Guidance), rich girl and fellow waitress Bess Marvin (Maddison Jaizani, Versailles), and a new addition to the lore, perhaps to make the cast more gender balanced, burnout dishwasher Ace (Alex Saxon, The Fosters).

And in keeping with CW formula, there are a couple of adults tangentially involved. These include Nancy’s dad, lawyer Carson (Scott Wolf, The Night Shift, Party of Five) and his love interest, Detective Karen Hart (Alvina August, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), as well as socialite Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith, Proven Innocent).

NANCY DREW has a ton of clichés for a teen drama, even if the main characters might not quite be teens anymore. They are more advanced in their careers than most people their age, with George running the diner and Ned having his own autobody shop. There’s at least one who engages in inappropriate behavior with a much older adult. There’s forced drama between them, with Ned boasting a criminal past, even though there’s zero tension that he might actually be dangerous. And the small town setting allows for huge coincidences, like the fact that Nancy’s father represented Ned in court and keeps his file readily accessible to her.

But that’s not all that NANCY DREW has working against it. It just feels flat. While I don’t think any of the actors, taken separately, are horrible, none are stand-outs, either. The pacing is weird, the twists feel forced, and the story feels gimmicky. The supernatural element comes across as forced in. The romantic aspects are unbelievable. The murder mystery and town lore isn’t compelling. Not to mention, a big chunk of the pilot is just a huge exposition dump, which isn’t a great way to start a series. Backstory is told to us right off the bat, rather than doled out over time as the tale progresses.

Even Nancy’s mother death, which could be formative, is hokey, used as an excuse for the cheery Nancy to go dark, making her backstory the lighter substance of what the character usually is, though I can’t imagine anyone being cheery in the environment presented, clashing with the tone of the show. Veronica Mars did this same type of story so much better, and with a new season of that having dropped just a few short months ago, this will definitely suffer by comparison.

In case you couldn’t tell, I didn’t like NANCY DREW. While I may not be the show’s target demographic, I usually enjoy shows in this vein, new and old, including Riverdale, Dawson’s Creek, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Vampire Diaries, and even Gossip Girl. I appreciate a good soapy spectacle, even if it’s a bit fluffy. However, NANCY DREW just doesn’t have enough attractive elements going to reach even someone predisposed to like it, so I can’t recommend it.

If you want to anyway, NANCY DREW airs Wednesdays on the CW.

In Swoops BATWOMAN

Article first published as TV Review: BATWOMAN on Seat42F.

The CW’s Arrowverse expands again with BATWOMAN, a new drama that launched last night. The story begins when Kate Kane (Ruby Rose, Orange is the New Black) leaves an intensive training program to return to her home city of Gotham. The woman she loves has been kidnapped by a supervillain and she wants to help. Rejected by the paramilitary organization that has replaced the missing Batman in keeping the city safe, which happens to be run by Kate’s father (Dougray Scott, Hemlock Grove), Kate discovers cousin Bruce Wayne’s (not yet seen) secret and dons the cowl herself.

BATWOMAN has some major things going for it. It features the first lead lesbian superhero on television, and she’s just one member of a diverse cast. There are complex, convoluted relationships that won’t easily be worked out and some intriguing surprise twists in the pilot. It’s dark, which makes sense because the darkest contribution to the Arrowverse is Arrow itself, about to begin its final season. It’s also dark like Batman, and we’re in his setting.

The darkness also works against it, though. Arrow has always been the least fun of the group. While it is respected for kicking off the whole interconnected universe of DC Comics television, it has given way to lighter shows that have heft without being depressing. Do we really need a replacement in this category?

It’s also a bit messy. The connections between Kate and Bruce aren’t fully explained, and the show chooses to briefly mention or hint at several family relationships, rather than really exploring them. While this does keep the story moving, people who haven’t read the comics may struggle to figure out how all the characters are connected, both to Batman and to each other. For instance, while Batman fans will likely assume Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson, Unproductive) is Lucius’ son, that isn’t confirmed in episode one. It’ll probably become clear in time, but the series doesn’t take the minutes to do it right off the bat, making it less accessible.

It’s also confusing how BATWOMAN connects to Arrowverse immediately. If it’s set on Earth 1, which is a fair assumption to make since all the shows except Supergirl are, we’ve already seen Earth 1’s Batwoman. It occurred last year during the big crossover event, and she was already established as a hero. Yet, in the pilot of Batwoman, she hasn’t yet donned the costume. I’m expecting and hoping for a big time jump soon to bring her back in line with the other series before the next crossover, which will be coming soon. Otherwise, it could be really weird and off. Unfortunately, there’s no mention as to when that is actually taking place, though the fact that Batman is said to have been gone for three years indicates this may be starting just a little before her 2018 introduction.

This complaint about the timeline isn’t all bad. While jumping forward in the tale so soon after premiering could very well be awkward, I’m glad BATWOMAN took the time to explore the hero’s origin story. She’s not nearly as well known as a Superman or Spiderman, so skipping over it is not optional. The origin itself is interesting, especially the parts about her sister, and I’m glad it’s included.

The main villain in BATWOMAN seems to be Alice (Rachel Skarsten, Lost Girl), and she’s not only crazy, but has lots of cool secrets. I also like Kate’s step-sister, Mary (Nicole Kang, You), who feels anything but a stereotype.

Of course, the fact that Kate is gay is also groundbreaking and will provide important stories. One started right away is that Kate’s love interest, Sophie (Meagan Tandy, Teen Wolf), is married to a man despite Kate and Sophie’s past. There’s a military component, too, and the service’s unfriendly attitude towards homosexuals, though I don’t see BATWOMAN being as overtly political as Supergirl.

I have mixed feelings about the pilot of BATWOMAN. I’m far from ready to write it off, but I’m not fully on board yet, either. Hopefully, it will find its footing before it has to put its own stories on hold to deal with the larger universe it’s a part of.

BATWOMAN airs Sundays on the CW.

BLACK LIGHTNING Strikes The CW

Article first published as TV Review: BLACK LIGHTNING on Seat42F.

If you’re a big fan of the CW’s Arrowverse, a collection of television shows based on DC Comics properties that connect with one another, you may have mixed feelings about new series BLACK LIGHTNING. Although it joins the network with like source material, it is tonally quite different than the other series, and for now at least, it isn’t connected into the bigger picture. But if you just like superhero shows, this one is a fine addition to the genre.

BLACK LIGHTNING centers on Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams, Hart of Dixie), a metahuman who used to fight crime as the titular hero. Nine years ago, urged by his now ex-wife, Lynn (Christine Adams, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Jefferson hung up the mantle and focused on making a difference in his troubled community as a high school principal. Now, however, gang violence is on the rise. After his younger daughter, Jennifer (China Anne McCalin, House of Payne), gets pulled into the mess, Jefferson decides to go back to his previous vigilantism. This is much to the delight of Jefferson’s dear friend and helper, tailor Gambi (James Remar, Dexter), who has an upgraded suit ready to go for him.

The central gang are known as the 100, headed by Jefferson’s former arch-nemesis, Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III, Harry’s Law). Whale is a lead character, which indicates something hinted at in the pilot, “The Resurrection” : BLACK LIGHTNING will not a villain-of-the-week procedural. Instead, it is about the environment of one city, with past playing into present, and the situation is more complex that can be boiled down to a sound bite or trailer.

We see this most prominently in Jefferson’s friend, William Henderson (Damon Gupton, Criminal Minds). William is a detective on the force who thinks law enforcement should handle the situation. But clearly, the cops aren’t doing enough, as the 100 operate relatively openly. Even Jefferson has been complicit in their activities, working out a truce to keep them out of his school. So as BLACK LIGHTNING jumps back into the fray, the balance will be upset, which will likely give both good guys and bad reasons for concern.

This is also very much a family drama. Jefferson wants nothing more than to get back with Lynn. While Lynn pressured Jefferson to give up the crime fighting, when their children are put at risk, she doesn’t raise objection when he does what he has to to bring them home safe. Jennifer is rebellious, but seems to have a good heart. Older daughter, Anissa (Nafessa Williams, Twin Peaks), the more obedient and politically active young adult, will be involved in multiple aspects of her father’s life, revealed in a twist at the end of the hour that comic fans will see coming. So there’s a lot going on here.

There will be inevitable comparisons of BLACK LIGHTNING with Marvel’s Luke Cage on Netflix, especially as this series focuses on the larger neighborhood and the past relationships of the characters, making for a similar premise. BLACK LIGHTNING suffers by comparison, not taking its time as much, nor going as deep. But it is a solid series on a non-cable network, which, because of easy access, has the possibility of reaching a different audience. And the lead characters are separate enough in makeup, having some very significant differences, so there’s certainly room for both on the air at the same time. Thankfully, the CW DC shows all go for something a bit different from one another and their competition.

While I love the world building, I think it is smart not to immediately connect BLACK LIGHTNING to the other Arrowverse properties because it is more grounded, more serious than its fellows However, I do hope someday to see the worlds collide, as it’s a cruel tease to fans to have the crossovers so close to reality and not seem them to fruition. If it happens, though, I do hope care is taken to keep Jefferson true to the soul of his own series, and not sanitize him down just to involve him in the larger group.

BLACK LIGHTNING airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW.

Blu-ray Review: 'The Vampire Diaries - The Complete Series'

Article first published as "Blu-ray Review: 'The Vampire Diaries - The Complete Series" on Blogcritics.

The CW, once a struggling also-ran broadcast channel, though still lower than its peers in the ratings, has established itself pretty firmly as a network this past decade or so. One of the series instrumental in building that brand was The Vampire Diaries. Throughout its eight years, it mixed soapy teen angst with a supernatural fun ride. These are the two primary genres that the CW has become known for. This melding of story is not unusual right now in pop culture, but rarely is it done as well as it is here. You can see what I mean as The Vampire Diaries – The Complete Series is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Love Triangle

The Vampire Diaries began as a love triangle between two brothers and a girl. Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) was the ‘good’ guy and the obvious choice. Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) was the brooding bad boy. The Salvatores were vampires, so of course they’d done horrible, murderous things. But Stefan was sorry for them, while Damon seemed completely unapologetic. Elena Gilbert’s (Nina Dobrev) choice was clear, right?

Of course not. As the series went on, layers of complexities were added to all three that muddy the waters. Sometimes it was predictable, the show firmly playing to tropes and familiar conceits. But other times, it found its own unique footing, and had some surprises. Over the course of eight years, the relationships between all three were explored in-depth, and romance was merely one facet of a messy grouping.

Fleshing Out the World

The Vampire Diaries wasn’t just about three people, though. Magic, witches, doppelgangers, family and local history, and werewolves were just some of the elements added as the program went on. Dobrev also played the role of Katherine Pierce, a vampire the Salvatore brothers had history with. Among the main cast members were Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham), whom found power within herself, Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino), who became a furry beast, and Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis), a teacher and historian.

Some of the characters seemed to be a stereotype, but went through major growth arcs. For instance, Caroline Forbes (Candice King) was just the pretty, popular girl at first. Then she hooked up with the wrong guy and became much more interesting. Matt Donovan (Zach Reorig) was the safe, nice guy who stayed away from the supernatural for the longest time, but eventually found his place in the crazy. Ancient, ‘original’ vampires like Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) seemed very mysterious at first, but eventually were fleshed out and went over to their own spin-off.

So The Vampire Diaries may have seemed relatively familiar in makeup at the start, but with the longevity of the series, it had the freedom to go quite a bit further, and it did.

The Blu-ray Release

All eight seasons are packaged in this latest set, on shelves just in time for the holidays. Inside the outer shell, a tasteful design featuring most of the show’s longest-serving leads, there are separate sets with the artwork used when first marketing each season, though the cases are uniform. The appearance is pleasing and looks like it was just put together.

Start opening them up, though, and it’s clear that the older releases were just boxed together. For example, season one contains an insert for The Secret Circle ‘Thursdays this fall.’ That was a short-lived series from many years ago. That in of itself isn’t much of an annoyance, but the fact that only two of the eight seasons contain codes for digital copies is. There are a plethora of bonus features, the same ones previously available, seemingly nothing new added for the incarnation.

The Verdict

The Vampire Diaries was an excellent show, this is a good looking set, and there’s a lot here. The episodes alone will keep you busy for months. Add the extra features, and you’ve got an extensive collection. The disappointing thing is that they didn’t include digital copies for all the seasons. And there is nothing new to make this set worth it if you already own most of the seasons. I do recommend getting The Vampire Diaries. But I only recommend The Complete Series if whatever seasons you don’t already own price at more than this package. Hopefully, one day we’ll get a more retrospective set; this one is just to complete your collection of episodes.

The Vampire Diaries – The Complete Series is available now.

ARROW Shoots Mostly Straight for Fifth Time

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Arrow - The Complete Fifth Season' on Blogcritics.

The fifth season of the CW’s Arrow comes with much anticipation for long-time viewers, and it’s now available to own. Beginning shortly after the death of Laurel Lance, fans know we will get to see Oliver tested. We’re not sure if he will try to rebuild a new team or fall back to his bad habit of shutting people out. In these twenty-three episodes, we get into the makeup of the lead character, and see how he has matured in the way he deals with events.

Changes

Oliver (Stephen Amell) has changed over the years. He doesn’t deal with setbacks the same way he used to, showing that growth arc. It was not long ago that Oliver had to be convinced not to be a lone wolf. He has now matured. The Complete Fifth Season brings that to glorious fruition as he adds four new members to his vigilante squad. (Later, four becomes five with the inclusion of Dinah (Juliana Harkavy).) Oliver has to trust these people, let them in. And he can’t take years to get to know them the way he did with Diggle (David Ramsey) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rikards). Almost surprisingly, he does.

That trust doesn’t come without its complications. Each of the four, Curtis (Echo Kellum), Rene (Rick Gonzalez), Evelyn (Madison McLaughlin), and Rory (Joe Dinicol), have their own pasts and demons. Two of them don’t make it through the season with the team. It doesn’t go smoothly for the others, either. There are a lot of added complications with these new characters, as well as subplots for them. They nicely expand the universe without taking away from the core of the show.

Mr. Mayor

What we see of Oliver expands, too, as he now spends his days as mayor of the city. Obviously, it isn’t easy for a superhero to also have such a demanding day job. Arrow doesn’t always handle the balance realistically, at times minimizing the time he spends in the office. But there are certain situations that get very interesting with Oliver’s dual role.

It makes sense to include Thea (Willa Holland) and Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) in this thread. Adding Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra) to the mayor’s side of the story is a good decision, too. Although, ultimately, I wish they hadn’t gone the way the writers did with Chase. Not that I have a problem with what Chase represents, just that I wish it had been someone else.

Tying Up the Past

A big element of Arrow has long been flashbacks to his life during the five years he was missing, just prior to the series’ beginning. These usually end up dragging down the show, and so it’s great to know that The Complete Fifth Season contains the last of them. As fascinating as Anatoly (David Nykl), the main addition to these sequences this year, is, like in past years, Arrow spends too much time on this subplot. By halfway through, one is just waiting for it to end. Unfortunately, the conclusion, which was full of promise since it needed to connect to the pilot, didn’t land all that well.

This is in stark contrast to the excellent ending of the main story. This season cleverly brings back a lot of characters from years past, many who died, and things are tied together satisfactorily. There is real emotional heft in these installments. I’m glad the show will continue, but this definitely feels like the end of a major chapter of Arrow.

Bonus Features

Arrow – The Complete Fifth Season comes with a slew of extras. One featurette focuses on the new team, appropriate and solid, and at about ten minutes, a good length. Another tackles the primary villain from this season, as it should. There is a gag reel and deleted scenes. I usually complain about including last year’s Comic Con panel instead of the most recent one. However, it works here because there are plenty of tidbits that aren’t just about this season.

The final featurette concerns Arrow‘s 100th episode. This also happens to be the show’s contribution to a four-show crossover. In my opinion, this is the weak link in the event because much of it takes place in a fantasy world Oliver and friends are trapped in. This might have been appropriate for such a monumental episode of Arrow. Having to tie it into the crossover story waters it down. The result is something pretty disappointing. It’s easy to see why when you think about all the elements going into it.

Conclusion

In all, though, this is a strong season of Arrow. There are great new characters, a few surprising twists, and a clear evolution of an aging series. Arrow – The Complete Fifth Season is available now.

THE FLASH Comes Back Around

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'The Flash - The Complete Third Season' on Blogcritics.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season has arrived! The show’s junior year begins with Barry Allen having altered time to save his mother’s life. Unfortunately for Barry, that comes with a whole host of unforeseen consequences. Barry seeks to reverse the new timeline, dubbed Flashpoint, but despite his best efforts, things don’t exactly go back to normal. There are many consequences for him to deal with, testing the superhero in new and challenging ways.

I like The Complete Third Season‘s premise a lot. Many shows and movies have dealt with time travel, but few have gotten into the realistic intricacies of it. The fact that Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash (Grant Gustin), changes something doesn’t meant it can easily be undone. In The Flash, time is portrayed as a fragile thing, and while much can be set back to the way it was, there will always be differences that cannot be undone. Barry learns his lesson early in the year not to screw with the past again, though he has to deal with the fallout from his actions for a long time to come.

The character-driven story goes hand-in-hand with the neat science fiction element. The best superheroes aren’t perfect, and learn the hard way that their actions have consequences. Even if they do something with the noblest of intentions, the world doesn’t always let them off the hook. This is a very hard lesson to learn, but an authentic tale to tell. The weight of it gives a new angle to Barry that I enjoyed very much.

Hanging over the whole season is another time-travel related problem: tossed briefly into the future, Barry sees Iris West (Candice Patton), the love of his life, perish at the hands of Savitar, the Big Bad this year. Obviously, Barry wants to change this future, and has a very hard time doing so. This opens up the dichotomy of time also being hard to change, and even after learning a lesson, there may be a desire to repeat the mistake. This complexity, combined with the above, makes for a very pleasing run of episodes.

There are many other highlights in the twenty-three episode season. I loved the musical crossover episode with Supergirl, “Duet,” which made good use of the strong singing talents of both casts. Patton did an excellent job portraying an Iris that could accept her fate. Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) flirty relationship with new frenemy Gypsy (Jessica Camacho, Sleepy Hollow) is fun, as is the inclusion of H.G., the third major character played by Tom Cavanagh in three seasons. Adding Julian Albert (Tom Felton, the Harry Potter films) to the cast nicely shook up the dynamic. A visit to Gorilla City made for a cool way to play up the different worlds The Flash deals with. And it is very hard not to be delighted by Caitlin’s turn as Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker), evil as she may be.

The Complete Third Season does expose a glaring problem with setting multiple television series in the same universe, though. Savitar is a truly terrible villain, and the possibility of losing Iris is just about the worst thing Barry can imagine. Yet, Barry doesn’t call upon the Green Arrow, Supergirl, or any of his other super-powered friends for help (save a one-episode appearance by Snart (Wentworth Miller)). Given how serious the situation is and how desperate he becomes, Barry should be making use of any avenue available to him, so it doesn’t make sense that he doesn’t recruit his pals from the other shows. The mid-season crossover event was OK, but there really should be more integration in a story with such intense stakes.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season comes with a wealth of extras, including TEN featurettes! Unfortunately, one of them is the 2016 Comic-Con panel for the show, and as covered in other recent reviews, sticking it on the last disc of the set isn’t very helpful; we really need next year’s panel, or, at minimum, put it on the first disc to view before the episodes. But the other featurettes, covering a variety of topics, are good, and there are also deleted scenes and a gag reel.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital.

SUPERGIRL Returns

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Supergirl - The Complete Second Season' on Blogcritics.

Supergirl, formerly of CBS, moved to the CW network this past year, joining fellow DC properties Arrow, The Flash, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. This did result in some changes, though most of the core cast and tone stayed the same. If you haven’t had the change to see what’s different and what’s not, you’ll now have that opportunity, as Supergirl – The Complete Second Season is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital.

The biggest change you’ll see in The Complete Second Season over the first is a more serial nature. CBS is known for doing stand-alone procedurals. Supergirl departed from that formula more than most shows on the network, but more often than not, there was a villain-of-the-week for the Girl of Steel to face. Season two was much more ongoing, with plots not resolved for many episodes, and forcing viewers not to miss a chapter or risk being lost.

Another change is that Supergirl was able to participate in crossover events with the other DC shows. This series does take place on a different Earth than the others, but the producers found a way to make it work. In season one, Barry Allen / The Flash (Grant Gustin) made a one-episode appearance in Supergirl, but that’s about as far as things got. Although Supergirl didn’t have a full “Invasion!” installment like the others this year, the hero herself did take part in the other episodes, and she wasn’t the only character that was allowed to come over. There was also a musical hour that combined the casts of Supergirl and The Flash, and Supergirl was given a device to allow her to travel back and forth again in the future, a convenient plot twist. So lots more synergy.

Those are all positives, but there was one big negative to the change in venues. Because Supergirl moved its production to Canada, where the other CW shows film to save on costs, cast member Calista Flockhart departed as a lead. She did appear in the first two episodes of the season, and then returned for the final two. For awhile, the in between was so good that I forgot to miss her. But the moment she returned, it was like a gut punch, as no one replaces her presence, and the series would be better with her more regularly in it.

Which is not to say there weren’t good parts of season; remember, I just said I forgot to miss her. I loved new character Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath, Merlin) as a friend for Kara (Melissa Benoist). Snapper Carr (Ian Gomez, Cougar Town) was a great presence. Desperate Housewives Brenda Strong and Teri Hatcher (the latter also a former Lois Lane) made absolutely wonderful villains, and no one can complain about Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) as President. And Supergirl greatly expanded its roster of aliens, introducing viewers to many different species and worlds as it presented allegory and metaphors on race relations and the failings of our current president and the hatred he spews (sometimes a tad too heavily, but mostly fine).

There was also a lot more romance in season two of Supergirl, though thankfully it never took over the course of the show and was handled well. J’onn (David Harewood) got into a very complex relationship with fellow Martian M’gann (Sharon Leal, Dreamgirls) in a Nazi-like story (her type of Martian committed genocide against his). Winn (Jeremy Jordan) was played by an alien named Lyra (Tamzin Merchant, Salem), until he wasn’t. Alex (Chyler Leigh) came out of the closet and into the arms of Maggie (Floriana Lima, The Family). In fact, just about everyone but James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) got some love, which is fine, since he was pretty much the only one getting any in season one.

The one complaint some fans have is that they didn’t like the introduction of Mon-El (Chris Wood, The Vampire Diaries) as a partner for Kara. I actually don’t mind Mon-El himself, finding him an unobtrusive presence, sometimes bordering on sweet. I do think the show used him mainly the same way a female love interest might be used for a male superhero in the past, often staying at home and out of danger. But that’s OK, overdue in 2017.

My only real complaint is that Supergirl did go a little overboard with proving that the title character was better and stronger than Superman (Tyler Hoechlin, Teen Wolf). I think there was a way to do it without making the legendary hero look like an inept buffoon, and unfortunately, this show went too far tearing him down to make her look good. It’s Mon-El’s job to be Kara’s inferior, not Superman’s.
And I’m just going to say it, I didn’t care for James as The Guardian. I found the subplot boring.
But overall, a strong season, well worth the watch, and an improvement over the first year. Now if only they could convince Flockhart to make it up to Vancouver a little more often…

As far as extras, Supergirl – The Complete Second Season does pretty well. There are five featurettes, four of them good. (I hate the obligatory wrestling episode in this genre, and didn’t need a featurette on it.) There was audio commentary on one episode, which I would like more of. There were also some very short bits that I wish we could hit ‘Play All’ on. But again, overall, I found most of the material enjoyable and informative.

Check out Supergirl – The Complete Second Season on blu-ray, DVD, and digital now.

VIXEN - THE MOVIE

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Vixen - The Movie' on Blogcritics.

I’m sure most people interested in superheroes know of The CW’s excellent DC lineup, which includes Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. But did you know that The CW Seed, the online off-shoot of the network, also has a DC animated series called Vixen? Originally released as two seasons of a handful of short installments ranging from four to seven minutes in length, all of the run has now been combined into Vixen – The Movie, available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

Vixen - The Movie does sort of feel like a movie. It isn’t super obvious where one episode from the web series ends and another begins, other than if you assume it happens at scene changes. And while the overall run is kind of segmented into three parts – season one, a fifteen-minute interlude, and season two – the story of Mari McCabe (Megalyn Echikunwoke, The 4400, House of Lies) finding her identity and her powers, which involves controlling the spirits of animals, does help it gel together, albeit without a very definitive ending. Still, the whole thing, overall, comes across as more cohesive than I expected.

The weakest point actually is the new stuff, which is inserted into the middle. While it is relevant to Mari embracing the Vixen identity and learning how to control her powers, it also feels weird and out of place, with no virtually no continuity crossover into the two seasons. This is because Mari already seems to have a decent handle on things from instinct in the first thirty minutes, so it’s almost a step backwards to struggle with how to use them later, and we don’t see her continue the job she accepts into the latter section. I would rather the story had just skipped the year that follows to get to the last thirty minutes if they weren’t going to connect it better. Though, is a running time of less than sixty minutes long enough to be considered a movie?

Vixen isn’t as good as the other DC shows, mainly because the world it portrays is even simpler and more two-dimensional than the live-action incarnations. With most superhero series, there’s a certain amount of black and white in how characters view the world, and that’s an accepted part of the genre. But certain occurrences in Vixen – The Movie, such as Mari forgiving Macalester (Sean Patrick Thomas, The District) so easily, or the handling of what a small world Mari is from in Africa, seem cartoonish, rather than real.

But this is a cartoon, and the target audience is more than likely children. For this, it works. It is better than other children’s superhero cartoons I’ve seen, including the two episodes of the short-lived Justice League Unlimited included in this release’s extras. It’s entertaining, Mari’s powers are cool, and there are decent action scenes. The family drama is interesting, and the hero herself is at least lightly layered. I do wish the characters weren’t so still when they aren’t talking or fighting, but I did find Vixen – The Movie enjoyable.

If you’re a fan of the DC shows on The CW, Vixen – The Movie fits into that universe well. Among the characters crossing over into the animated world are Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), The Flash (Grant Gustin), Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), The Atom (Brandon Routh), and Firestorm (Franz Drameh and Victor Garber). These give the universe some cohesion, and make the new film feel a part of the cannon, which it is.

I also like the performers they’ve recruited just for this project, which include Echikunwoke, Neil Flynn (Scrubs, The Middle), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Black Sails), and Anika Noni Rose (The Good Wife, Dreamgirls). So again, overall, pretty good cast.

Sadly, Vixen – The Movie is lacking in bonus features. There are the aforementioned episodes of Justice League Unlimited episodes from more than a decade ago, which feature Gina Torres (Suits, Firefly) as Vixen. I find both of them boring and not great examples of children’s entertainment. Then there’s a very brief documentary about how Vixen fits in the DC landscape, which is interesting, but at only about six minutes, far too short. So the extras are not going to sway a would-be-buyer to make the purchase.

Though, if you’re already a fan of The CW shows, or you have a child who needs a good female superhero role model, or even just a bit of light entertainment, I recommend checking out Vixen – The Movie, available now.

A Different RIVERDALE

Article first published as RIVERDALE Review on Seat42F.

The Archie comics, in print since the 1940s, are a fairly wholesome series. We have all-American Archie Andrews, the classic love triangle of Betty and Veronica, goofy Jughead, the music of Josie & The Pussycats, and so much more, which have become household names.

The CW asks you to see them in a whole new light in their series RIVERDALE, premiering tonight.

RIVERDALE begins with a death and dark secrets. One of the Blossom twins, Jason (Trevor Stines, A Tragic Love Story), disappears while in a boat with his twin sister, mean girl Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch, The Curse of Sleeping Beauty). This throws the sleepy town into disarray, especially when some of its citizens might know something and aren’t speaking up about it because of the type of activity they were engaged in as it went down.

Into this chaos, enter new girl, Veronica (newcomer Camila Mendes), who quickly gets between best friends Betty (Lili Reinhart, The Kings of Summer) and Archie (K.J. Apa, Shortland Street), the latter of whom doesn’t seem to be talking to loner writer Jughead (Cole Sprouse, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Grace Under Fire) at present. There’s also gay pal Kevin (fresh face Casey Cott), who is fending off advances from a closeted jock. So, even just among the kids, there’s quite a bit of drama and strife. And we haven’t even gotten to the adults, who have their own histories and plot, though mostly not as front-and-center as that of the kids.

To be fair, the Archie comic hasn’t always shied away from sexuality. There is plenty relationship drama, and the Jughead on the page even came out as asexual. But the level of sex on the CW is, on average, quite a bit higher, the network being known for somewhat-steamy YA shows (in addition to the superhero variety), and RIVERDALE fits right into the network’s brand alongside peers like The Vampire Diaries and the still-missed Gossip Girl.

In fact, a lot about RIVERDALE will feel very familiar to fans of the network. It’s a group of attractive young people who are involved in ever-changing love triangles, squares, and more-sided shapes, besieged by danger, betrayal, and mystery, and they sometimes make stupid decisions. It has a little bit of Dawson’s Creek season one tossed in concerning a certain teacher, and even if it’s not quite true to the comics, it is true to the spirit of the CW.

That being said, it’s not my favorite show on the network. I like the built-in set of characters, but it was quickly realized that even Archie, who should probably be the exception to the intrigue, would be too boring without it, so they’ve veered his character sharply. I feel like if you’re going to get away from the meaning of the source material, unless there’s a compelling reason to stick to it, you should just make a new show. Giving it known-franchise cred it not enough of an excuse. So, while without the familiar characters RIVERDALE might have trouble gaining purchase, it shouldn’t have used them.

And that is what it comes down to for me. RIVERDALE doesn’t stand on its own without the interest built from the comics (even if you haven’t read them, you know about them), and so isn’t worth watching. There’s an inauthenticity to it, a bit-too-formulaic quality that just keeps it from hooking you in. Even Josie & The Pussycats, though we’re told sing mostly original songs, are mainly doing covers in the first couple of hours. I love most of the shows on the CW, but this feels like CW-light, with little new to contribute, just re-using what’s worked in the past, so I’ll pass.

RIVERDALE premieres tonight at 9/8c on the CW.

Yes to NO TOMORROW

Article first published as NO TOMORROW Review on Seat42F.

The CW is going the romantic comedy route with a slight fantasy bend in NO TOMORROW, premiering next week. A straight-laced, professionally stunted girl meets a free-spirited guy who thinks the world will end in a little over eight months. He plans to enjoy it by working on a bucket list and invites her to join him. She does, with reservations, and what remains to be seen is how long they can keep it up.

At the center of NO TOMORROW is our heroine, Evie (Tori Anderson, Open Heart), a brilliant girl who can be a little passive at times. Who doesn’t understand that, especially women who enter the workplace and want to get ahead, but worry about how they’ll be seen? She’s sympathetic, loveable, and at a very transitional phase of her life, which is the perfect time to build a TV show around her.

Evie is already showing signs of bucking her status quo as the series begins. She isn’t sure she wants to marry her soft-spoken boyfriend, Timothy (Jesse Rath, Defiance), and she’s working on impressing her boss, Diedre (Amy Pietz, Caroline in the City). I love that NO TOMORROW lets us see these things because it means that Evie’s growth arc is driven largely by internal feelings, not just because she met some guy that got her to loosen up. He helps, but he isn’t the whole reason for her change.

Speaking of the guy, Xavier (Joshua Sasse, Galavant) has quit his job when we are introduced to him. He doesn’t mind running up debt and racking up parking tickets he never intends to pay because he truly does believe the world is about to be wiped out by an object from space. He is sincere in this, and while he has tried to warn the public, no one listens to him. So instead of carrying around a sign proclaiming the end is nigh, he has dedicated himself to having the best time possible with the time left.

NO TOMORROW addresses the crackpot elements of the character, and then dismisses them. He isn’t a caricature; he is a caring individual with layers and backstory. He is surely wrong because his timeline would probably only get the show to the end of season one. But that only makes for additional ripe plot possibilities down the road as he deals with the emotional fallout of what he’s done. Or fails to deal with it.

Xavier and Evie are a good pairing. They aren’t a perfect couple, thank goodness, but they have characteristics that push the right buttons in one another. They complement each other on their current trajectories, and while it may seem crazy for Evie to give into him, if you take a step back and really look at it, it’s obvious she’ll be helping him as much as he helps her. They both have flaws that need worked on.

The format of this show is one that slides easily into the half hour sitcom format, but instead, NO TOMORROW is an hour-long drama. Of course, the comedy / drama line has become so blurred these days to be nearly meaningless; this is simply classified as drama because of its running time. But I like that it takes a goofy concept and a fun cast of at-times-cartoonish personalities, and puts them into a framework that allows for greater development.

The pacing flies by, and the series is well put together. It has a terrific, if mostly little-known, cast that goes well with the CW brand, while also being something new for the network. It’s a premise that has been done before, but not quite in this way, and I really enjoyed the first hour.

NO TOMORROW also stars Sarayu Blue (Monday Mornings), and it premieres Tuesday, October 4^th at 9/8c on the CW.

The Right FREQUENCY

Article first published as FREQUENCY Review on Seat42F.

The CW continues television’s reboot / adaptation trend with FREQUENCY. Based on the 2000 film of the same name, FREQUENCY finds a police officer, Raimy Sullivan, communicating with her long-dead father through a ham radio. When Raimy tries to change the past and save his life, the consequences spin out in a butterfly effect, and she soon has a litany of other problems to deal with.

If one wasn’t aware of the plot of the film, one might think, based on the beginning of the pilot, that this is going to be your typical cop show. Being a TV reviewer and having to watch hundreds of shows every year, I have gotten very tired of the repetitive formula that pervades so much of broadcast network programming. Thus, I was already well on my way to tuning it out when the twists started to occur. If you’re like me and pretty much done with that genre, hang in there, because FREQUENCY doesn’t stay in it too long.

Instead, we’re getting a relatively straight-forward mystery that soon becomes convoluted through changes in the timeline. It won’t surprise you to learn (and this is spoiled on Wikipedia and in press materials) that Raimy (Peyton List, Mad Men, The Tomorrow People) manages to stop daddy Frank (Riley Smith, Nashville, The Messengers) from dying. Which Raimy barely has time to be glad about before her mother, Julie (Devin Kelley, Resurrection), disappears, having been taken out by a serial killer in the new narrative. How is the serial killer connected to Frank’s death? Assuming Frank isn’t the killer, which seems unlikely, we don’t yet know.

This is an intriguing question, to be sure, and one that promises to get more tricky as time goes on. The format of FREQUENCY looks to be that Raimy and Frank will have to work together across time to keep making their lives and their loved ones’ lives better, but every time they achieve that in some way, there will be a backslide. Thus, things will continue to get messy, and a happy ending will be a long way off.

There are a few interesting decisions FREQUENCY makes that I’m not sure every version of this story would choose. Frank is still dead in 2016, albeit from a different cause quite a bit later in life, so they can’t be side by side, nor, given the second cause of his passing, is this likely to change over the course of the show (at least not until the end), keeping Frank and Raimy ever separate. Raimy gets to retain her memories of both timelines, though no one else does. And adult characters, including Frank’s pal Satch (Mekhi Phifer, ER) and co-worker Stan (Anthony Ruivivar, Banshee), are played by the same actors in both time frames, set twenty years apart. (Raimy, being an eight-year-old child in 1996, obviously isn’t List in the past, nor is her pal, Gordo, likely to be Nurse Jackie’s Lenny Jacobson in both.)

This last element is something I’m in favor of in general; twenty years is a long time, but also not super long in the scheme of things, and the looks of two different individuals were likely to be too far apart. The problem with it here is that the CW doesn’t exactly give a huge budget to their shows, so the aging makeup and hair coloring isn’t all that great. It is easy to spot early on that Julie is played by a much younger actress than the character’s 2016 age. Which I guess makes sense, given it would be easier to add years than take them away. But it doesn’t quite look authentic.

What will probably keep me from being a total fan of FREQUENCY is that it does seem to rely a little too heavily on the cop show format, despite the great sci-fi elements, and it has a little bit of cheesy shallowness about it that goes beyond just the makeup issues. But it’s pretty good, and I’m sure it will quickly gain a loyal following.

FREQUENCY premieres Wednesday, October 5 at 9/8c on the CW.