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.

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.

Not Teen TITANS in new DC UNIVERSE

Article first published as TV Review: TITANS on Seat42F.

DC Universe is a new subscription service from DC Comics. Members get access to comic books, television shows, movies, and more from the company’s properties. To help gain subscribers, the service is also offering brand-new content, the first of which is a small screen drama called TITANS.

If you’re not familiar with the comic of the same name, or even the very-different animated series Teen Titans, TITANS is a group of young superheroes led by Robin, Batman’s former sidekick. There have been different versions, but this one is dark, very dark, and bloody. So adults only, please.

As we meet Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites, The Giver), his alter ego, Robin, hasn’t been seen in a year. Most people assume he’s dead. But really, he’s just working as a detective, recently transferred from Gotham to Detroit, Michigan. Grayson has a soft spot for battered children, possibly because of his own tragic past (his origin story is shown very briefly, and in a way that makes sense for the current story). Which leads him to Raven (Teagen Croft, Home and Away), a young girl suffering from something that looks very much like demon possession. Some very bad man are after her because of it.

There are four leads in the TITANS superhero team. I give credit to the show for not trying to rush them all together or give them equal time. Most of the pilot is focused on Grayson and Raven, first separately, then together, though not with the same amount of screen time. About halfway through, we also get a side story in Austria involving Kory Anders, a.k.a. Koriand’r, a.k.a. Starfire (Anna Diop, 24: Legacy). Except she doesn’t know any of those names, with no memory of who she is or what she is doing. Unfortunate, since, of course, there are men trying to kill her. And then the fourth member, Gar Logan / Beast Boy (Ryan Potter, Big Hero 6), is saved for just the closing scene of the episode, for a bit in Ohio. This feels more natural than most coming-togethers of super-powered teams.

It’s no surprise that TITANS’ pilot is well thought-out and cohesive. DC Universe has enlisted Greg Berlanti, creator of the CW’s DC Arrowverse, to oversee the project, alongside Fringe / Star Trek: Discovery writer / producer Akiva Goldsman and DC animated scribe Geoff Johns. These are three, well, Titans, of DC television, and it pays off to have the first effort headed up by people who already know what they’re doing.

While Marvel has dominated the film world for the past decade, DC is king of the small screen. It makes absolute sense to start developing work for their own streaming service, maybe even an integrated world, in the way Marvel has done with the movies, rather than just keeping feeding other networks. TITANS is the perfect entry point for this effort.

As for whether the price of DC Universe is worth it or not… Well, CBS All Access is my go-to example of bad pricing for a single network’s service. DC Universe is cheaper than CBS, as it’s commercial free at $7.99/month or $75/year, versus $9.99/month or $99/year (though CBS All Access offers a cheaper commercial version, whereas DC does not). However, it also looks to already have at least as much programming available as All Access, plus comics and other additions. While the library size pales in comparison to Netflix or Hulu, which are just slightly more expensive, it’s also more focused than any of the above, meaning subscribers will have more of what they want and less they’re not interested in. So yeah, I’d say it’s worth it, and despite (or because of) not having read hardly any of the comics, already purchased my year pass.

TITANS is available now exclusively on DC Universe, and releases a new episode every week.

Journey to KRYPTON

Article first published as TV Review: KRYPTON on Seat42F.

Are you tired of all the superhero television shows out right now? If you aren’t, SyFy has a new entry in the genre called KRYPTON. And if you are tired of them, KRYPTON might be something a bit different, since it takes place on the alien world two centuries before the birth of Superman. Hence, it’s not a bunch of people with powers running around. If tonally it didn’t feel so similar to other SyFy programming, I would say this is a very unique take on what has become a saturated market, giving it a hook to allow it to break through. As it is, it’s still pretty good.

As only a casual Superman fan (with basic knowledge primarily from movies and TV, not the comics), KRYPTON is a completely new story, full of things I’d never heard of, so I don’t know if it follows established mythology or is something original. Either would be a valid choice for a show to make, but I don’t know if it’s a very loose reimagining, like Gotham, or if it sticks close to previously established backstory. A cursory internet search seems to indicate the latter, with some liberties taken.

KRYPTON begins with Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe, The Halcyon) watching his grandfather (Ian McElhinney, Game of Thrones) executed and his family stripped of their title. The House of El is no more, and Seg and his parents are forced to live with the un-titled down in the ghettos of the city. Years later, Seg is coming of age and, despite family grudges, saves the life of Daron-Vex (Elliot Cowan, Da Vinci’s Demons), the chief magistrate who executed Seg’s grandfather. Daron offers Seg the chance to join the House of Vex and bind with his daughter, Nyssa (Wallis Day, Hollyoaks), the youngest of five, who otherwise probably wouldn’t marry anyway. This might be an opportunity for Seg to climb back up the social ladder, or it could be Daron’s chance to fully conquer the Els once and for all.

If that doesn’t sound complicated enough, don’t worry, it gets even more twisty within the first hour. See, Seg may be making a child with Nyssa (which does not involve sex), but is sleeping with Lyta Zod (Georgina Campbell, Broadchurch), a soldier. And Seg’s parents, Ter (Rupert Graves, Sherlock) and Charys (Paula Malcomson, Caprica), are secretly continuing Seg’s grandfather’s work to try to save their race. Also, Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos, The Vampire Diaries) arrives from the future to warn of Brainiac’s (Blake Ritson, Da Vinci’s Demons) impending coming, the villain intending to destroy Krypton before Superman can even be born. So there’s a LOT packed into this series opener, and I haven’t even mentioned all the series leads.

It takes some time to get into KRYPTON. Not only is there a dense story, but the society is so much different than ours. The caste system feels very outdated, even while the planet is futuristic. Procreation without physical intercourse and babies raised in bubbles cared for by machines feel cold and impersonal, which matches much of the rest of the culture we’re seeing. Except in the lower class, which still parties and fights and loves at will. Is this a cautionary tale or a commentary? The refusal of some to listen to science and fact hits a little too close to home in the current political climate.

All of this is very interesting, and I found myself more and more drawn in as it played out. Where my hesitation lives is that most of the central characters are good looking, very young adults, an overdone television trope, and the tone of the program is not as weighty as it could be with the material. I hope it finds its legs, but I fear it will be a ‘typical’ Syfy show lost in the crowd.

KRYPTON airs Wednesdays on SyFy.

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.

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.

The Legends Continue

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season' on Blogcritics.

New to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital is DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season. A spin-off of fellow CW series The Flash and Arrow, Legends finds a group of misfits, both heroes and villains, who are not notable to history banding together to protect all of time. The Complete Second Season is basically a continuation of the first year, but with several of the team members swapped out. A new set of villains, pulled once again from the two parent shows, helps make the adventure fresh.

I loved the premise of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow from the start, and appreciated many of the characters in the ensemble, but was underwhelmed with season one. Thankfully, season two does much to correct that right away. The first year was saddled with an uninteresting story arc that weighed things down. The Complete Second Season does have an ongoing plot thread, but it travels to many more time periods, takes itself less seriously when it’s appropriate to do so, and deepens the characters, making the show into the fun romp it should have always been.

Not every episode is gold, and sometimes the effects and scale of action have to be lesser than they should be for budgetary reasons. But even some of the duller ones, like “Abominations,” have exciting elements that make the most of the money, like Confederate zombies! Yes, the show plays fast and loose with the premise; plenty of things the characters do or see should change history seriously and they don’t, while minor changes have large impacts. However, the season starts and ends strong, with swashbuckling and adventure, and overall, it’s a pretty entertaining run.

A big part of how much enjoyment The Complete Second Season has to offer are the antagonists. The Legion of Doom is comprised of three previously seen villains: speedster Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher), who has a very powerful motivation in these episodes; incredibly dangerous magic master Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough); and the always charming Malcolm Meryln (John Barrowman). Even before they are joined late in the game by former Legend Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller), they have engaging chemistry that makes one gleefully anticipate every scene they’re in as a group. They set a high bar for season three to live up to.

Less successful is the way the team has changed. While the Hawks were good characters to jettison, Captain Cold’s presence is missed, and too different when he returns on the other side to be comforting. Neither Nate (Nick Zano) nor Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) are that gripping. The former would have been much more interesting had he not eventually gotten powers. The season suffers from the decreased presence of Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill), though the benefit of his absence is the welcome increased importance of Sara Lance (Caity Lotz). I’d say this mostly makes the makeup of the group a wash, though the chemistry between those around for both years has strengthened delightfully, with Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) having an especially compelling arc in how he relates to everyone else.

As far as bonus features go, I’d say this release has the minimum needed to be decent, but nothing particularly special. There are a handful of deleted scenes and a fun gag reel. The Comic-Con panel included is from 2016, so not a terrible way to get excited before watching the season, but far less valuable after you’ve seen the episodes, and since its on the last disc, that’s likely when people will view it. It would be far wiser to include the 2017 panel instead, but they did not.

There’s also a featurette on the “Invasion!” crossover between all four CW DC shows, Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. The Legends contribution to the miniseries is the finale, and the episode itself is pretty good. But the featurette itself seems to be talking about ideas that aren’t fully communicated on screen, and I found the full story to be relatively disappointing. It didn’t quite living up to what I’d hoped for, changing course too much between parts and shifting the makeup of the combined group hourly without satisfying explanation as to why.

Yes, this is a mixed review, but overall, I would recommend DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season. I’d say that just for Victor Garber’s performance alone, but he’s far from the only redeeming quality. This batch was better than the first, and I’m optimistic about where the show will go from here.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Second Season is available 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.

THE FLASH Zooms Past the Competition

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


Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.

While the DC comic universe fails to find success on the big screen, it excels on the small, especially for the shows that air on the CW. The best of these is The Flash, which follows speedster Barry Allen and his friends as they fight metahumans in Central City. The Complete Second Season of The Flash comes to Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, September 6th, with the four-disc set providing all twenty-three episodes and a host of extras.

The Flash – The Complete Second Season picks up right where the first year left off. Barry (Grant Gustin) saves the world from a temporal vortex, but in the process, attracts the attention of the people on the other side. Let’s call where those other people live Earth 2, because that’s what the show names their locale. Like their counterparts on our Earth (Earth 1), Earth 2 residents deal with metahumans, but while many of their faces seem familiar, with all of the main cast popping up in alter ego form, their personalities do not.

Introducing Earth 2 is convenient for The Flash. It lets the actors on the show have some fun, with heroes tapping into their inner villain. It also keeps things unpredictable, including who someone is at times, since there’s always another character who looks exactly the same lurking nearby. It opens the door for another version of The Flash from the comics, this one named Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears, Masters of Sex), and a new big bad, Zoom. Most importantly, it allows The Flash to retain Tom Cavangh in the cast, whose Harrison Wells turned out to be the bad guy in season one, and was promptly killed.

Normally, I would worry that having Cavangh come back as a very different Dr. Wells cheapens the other Wells’ death. In this case, however, it does not, partly because fans weren’t sad about the first one’s death. The Flash has firmly established the differences between the various characters that each cast member plays, and because the tone of the series is fun, rather than high drama, it enhances things to bring back a solid actor as someone else. I don’t want to give much away about the ending of the season, but I found myself very, very grateful for the convention at year’s close.

Which is not to say that The Flash doesn’t have some new players this year, too. Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale, Dance Academy), Joe’s (Jesse L. Martin) long-lost son, shows up, as does Harrison’s daughter, Jesse (Violett Beane, The Leftovers). Again, I often find it annoying when TV programs bring in new family members, but again, The Flash bucks the trend and makes these two worthwhile contributors who help the show, not hurt it. This is a rare series that can go in expected directions, but use its charm to make that all right.

There are a LOT of extras on The Flash – The Complete Second Season. There’s the now-obligatory shortened Comic Con panel that we all wish was longer, along with deleted scenes and a gag reel. I am also very excited about the inclusion of an episode of Arrow from the shows’ two-part crossover, both halves of which are also in Arrow’s recent release, the doubling up beneficial for those who only follow one of the series (though you should watch both).

There are also a ton of featurettes on special effects, which is great for a show that has so many, and some shorts focuses on important story points, such as Barry and Iris’ (Candice Patton) relationship, the backstory of Firestorm, an introduction to Dr. Light, and many more. A lot of these maybe should have been in the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow DVD set instead, given that some of those featured are main characters on that spin-off, but at least fans get them here, better than never seeing them at all. Overall, it’s a ton of material, much of it good (though some is fluff), and I give the set high marks for its bonus features.

The Flash – The Complete Second Season will be released this Tuesday.

DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Aired A Couple Days Ago

Article first published as DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Review on Seat42F.

 

Thursday, January 21^st brings one of, if not the, most anticipated mid-season premiere on the broadcast networks. DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, a spin-off combining characters from the popular shows The Flash and Arrow, launches, expanding the comic book universe on the network, and making three simultaneously running series set in the same universe. It’s the culmination of the crossovers that have worked very well for the two shows, and a chance to see some fan favorite characters a lot more often. While Marvel is winning at the box office, DC is dominating the small screen.

The premise of DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW is well publicized, so I don’t mind recapping it here. Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill, Doctor Who, Broadchurch) comes back in time from a bleak future in which Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) is destroying the world. To prevent catastrophe, Rip assembles eight people remembered in history as legends to team up and stop Vandal before his rise to power. These include: Professor Martin Stein (Victor Garber) and Jefferson Jackson (Franz Drameh), who together become Firestorm; the resurrected Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), now the White Canary; Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), a.k.a. The Atom; the immortal Hawkman (Falk Hentschel) and Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee), also known as Chay-Ara and Khufu, who have their own history with Vandal; and the villainous Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell), dubbed Captain Cold and Heat Wave because of their weapons.

The group is undeniably fun. By including antagonists alongside protagonists, there is natural conflict and varied motivations. The spectrum runs from the idealistic (Ray) to the in-it-for-themselves (Leonard and Mick), from those seeking redemption (Sara) to those just out for adventure (Martin). Some have a personal stake in the outcome, while others want to prove something to themselves. None stand out as “the” star, all coming from second-fiddle status on Arrow and / or The Flash, making DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW one of the truest, most balanced ensembles assembled.

While not all of the actors are on the level of Garber or Darvill, both fantastic actors, they are well used in these roles. The writers have smartly figured out the characters, and played to the strengths of the individual performers as much as possible. Miller and Purcell are delightfully re-teamed after their stint on Prison Break as brothers, albeit with a totally different chemistry. Overall, it’s a nice assembly.

I wouldn’t say my review of the pilot is quite as glowing as how excited I am about the premise. With expectations high, DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW has a lot to live up to, and while it gets off to a decent start, it still has some way to go.

The main flaw I see is that this series was created when a group of people thought “Wouldn’t it be fun to see ____ together with ____.” It’s a hodgepodge of characters, not at all like an Avengers best-of-their-class team up. This is a great concept, but it takes a lot of skill and finesse to make it work. The first two hours fall just a bit short of that, at times having some really good interactions, particularly between Sara and Leonard, but at other times, feeling more like the idea is better than the execution.

There is hope, however. While the premise seems a bit weak at the start, there is a twist late in the first hour that does a lot to righting the course of the story and making things that seem off make more sense. I can’t reveal what I mean by that, but if you can get through that rocky beginning, it will result in a good pay off. The second half of the pilot, which will air a week later, is much better because of it.

At the end of the day, I remain excited about this show. It has a bit of maturing to do, not hitting the ground running as strong as The Flash did, but with a better start than Arrow’s. The sheer adventure element is so much fun, and I do look forward to the character growth that will surely emerge, as well as the larger scale story that this series is tailor-made to tackle. The CW has very valuable property on their hands with their DC partnership, and I hope they continue to make good use of it.

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW premieres Thursday, January 21^st on the CW with the first half of the two-hour pilot.

CONSTANTINE Yet Another Hero

Article first published as CONSTANTINE Review on Seat42F.

FOX has Gotham, ABC has Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, the CW has Arrow and The Flash, and now NBC has CONSTANTINE. It’s getting very crowded for superheroes on the television airwaves. And those are just the ones directly based on the comic books, as Sleepy Hollow, Grimm, and others could be considered in this genre, too. How does the latest, inspired by a DC character spun off of Swamp Thing twenty-some years ago under the comic title Hellblazer, stack up with its competition?

Well, for starters, CONSTANTINE has a different tone than most of its peers. While other DC series have gone to dark places after the success of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, CONSTANTINE is a horror title, so it necessarily doesn’t have a lot of fun in its DNA. The world is shadowy and washed out, and the titular character and his friends, what few of them he has, all struggle with their inner demons as much as the literal ones invading the world.

John Constantine (Matt Ryan, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Layer Cake) begins the series in an institution. Once mired in the supernatural world, he has distanced himself from all that junk and tried to clean up his life. We soon learn this is because he feels responsible for something that happened to a little girl awhile back, but whatever his reasons are, he’s out of the business and working on bettering himself.

However, just because Constantine is done with demons and such doesn’t mean they are done with him. After all, the show isn’t called Demon Hunter Rehab. So Constantine is forced out of hiding when a threat comes to town that requires his unique skill set. Will he continue to resist, or step up and be the hero that the world needs him to be? Take a wild guess.

Constantine isn’t alone, of course. An angel named Manny (Harold Perrineau, Lost, Sons of Anarchy) is assigned to watch over him, much as Constantine is given the task of protecting Liv (Lucy Griffiths, True Blood), a young woman whose father he knew. Constantine’s best bud, Chas (Charles Halford, True Detective), lends a hand and a taxi, and while not a main character, a reluctant Ritchie Simpson (Jeremy Davies, Lost, Justified) is roped into joining the gang, at least temporarily.

What unfolds is not a standard procedural tale, but rather, an involved narrative that is both scary and dire. I could compare CONSTANTINE to shows like Grimm, Hannibal, Dominion, Arrow, Gotham, and more because it borrows from all of those in tone and style, though isn’t a carbon copy of any of them, either. CONSTANTINE stakes out its own piece of the landscape, and it does manage to feel somewhat unique.

I can’t say it’s among my favorite programs, though, at least not from the pilot alone. It’s not that the pacing is slow, because a lot happens, but I still felt my attention wandering. It’s a bit boring, perhaps because it puts bringing the fright ahead of making one care about the characters, even as it doesn’t commit fully to an action piece. It’s pretty consistent and decently enough made, but just doesn’t grab me the way others have. And it won’t help DC unseat Marvel as Comic-to-Screen King anytime soon.

I will say, CONSTANTINE isn’t really predictable. One of the characters mentioned in this review (not Simpson) isn’t sticking around, at least not full-time. They are neatly written out of the story, kind of making them feel like they’re in a case-of-the-week guest star situation, but with a role that is developed more than most, as if intended to be a main character, then dropped. There is a replacement coming to the story soon, which may change my overall opinion of the show, depending on how the dynamic could shift. So the jury remains out, for now.

CONSTANTINE premieres Friday, October 24^th on NBC.

Robot Chicken flies high

In the season six premiere of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, the show honors the DC Comic Universe, much in the way it has previously done for Star Wars. It's an interesting choice, given how DC's competitor, Marvel, is dominating the theaters right now. Perhaps it was hard to get the rights to Marvel, or maybe the Robot Chicken guys just saw more potential in characters that haven't been played with on screen as much lately. Or perhaps they thought that honoring DC in this way might drum up more interest in DC movies. Whatever the reason, the result is a very funny half hour using many familiar heroes and villains from the comic book pages.

The main group parodied are the Justice League, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and their counterparts, The Legion of Doom, which is led by Lex Luthor. Neither side is presented as very intelligent or successful, in true Robot Chicken fashion. The good guys act like jerks, and the bad guys are sympathetic, more complex characters. They do battle with each other, but other than the big confrontation at the climax, the best parts are just when the characters hang out among their own, ripping on each other. It makes them relatable, like old friends.

Some of the chosen targets are pretty easy. Aquaman has long been lampooned, and rather than take a different approach, Robot Chicken goes after him with aplomb, making him central to the larger arc in the episode. However, they do it in a way that still feels fresh, rather than using the same stale stuff (mostly). Watching him jump onto an "invisible jet," only to realize he is being tricked by his friends, is very amusing.

Another running gag is Batman getting his back broken by Darkseid. Many might show the bit three times, following the general rule of humor. Robot Chicken takes it the unexpected step further and does it a fourth. What sells this rule breaking is then the characters acknowledge that they are straying from the accepted path. Somehow, that makes the fourth go-round even better than the first three!

Much of the DC episode has a central story, unlike most Robot Chicken episodes, which thrives in the small bits. This may provide less laughs overall, but when going for a full half hour, it seems necessary and right that scenes go on for more than twenty seconds. In this, the show makes the wise choice.

The stars turned up in spades to lend their voices to this episode. Many of them have guest starred on the series before, but it's cool to hear them all together, and many lend some geek cred. There's Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly), Alex Borstein (Family Guy), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Megan Fox (Transformers), Alfred Molina (Spiderman II), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman himself), and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith lends some vocals.

But besides the big names and big characters the episode is playing off of, Robot Chicken also stays true to itself by tossing its own recurring characters into the mix, like the humping robot, and using may of the regular voice actors like Abraham Benrubi, Tom Root, Breckin Meyer (Franklin & Bash), and the creative team of Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Zeb Wells, and Kevin Shinick. Green even tosses a bit to his wife, Clare Grant. This shows the heart and dedication of those making the show.

All in all, while maybe not as memorable as the Star Wars tributes, Robot Chicken does a good job with the DC universe. Who might they target next?

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! First posted on TheTVKing

Smallville: Absolute Justice an absolute joy

     Long anticipated, Friday night's two hour television movie Smallville: Absolute Justice was more than just two episodes of the CW's popular Smallville series.  It mapped out the direction the show is heading towards.  The story centered on the discovery of an old group of super heroes known as the Justice Society of America.  DC Comics readers will know that this group was the original grouping of heroes.  However, besides adding new, possibly recurring characters such as Hawkman (Michael Shanks, Stargate SG-1) and Stargirl (Brittney Irvin), it also gave us large clues into what Clark's (Tom Welling) fate on the series will be, as per the visions of Dr. Fate (Brent Stait).

     By the end of the tv movie, it was clear that Clark would be forming his own society soon.  Currently, that consists of Chloe a.k.a. Watchtower (Allison Mack) and Oliver a.k.a. Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), as well as the newly reinvigorated John Jones a.k.a. Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris).  While we have seen Clark and company working with other superheroes in the show, they were all strangely absent, as were almost all the rest of Hawkman's team.  This was presumably due to budget and time constraints, though it gives hope that many or all will return soon.  The question is, will it just be another chapter in Clark's life?  Or will that be the new direction the show makes, as the network has no desire to end Smallville, but Welling seems ready to go?  Would a bigger ensemble series where his role is much more limited appeal to him?  It is an intriguing concept for a show that has often reinvented itself.

     For now, though, it seems Clark and his group will soon be facing a large army of super villians, and he is being manipulated into getting heroes together by Checkmate and Agent Waller (Pam Grier, The L Word), who clearly are far from moralistic.  This will be an interesting plot, and will it be connected or seperate from this season's big bad, Zod (Callum Blue, Dead Like Me, The Tudors)?  Other tidbits found out in the two hour special were that Tess (Cassidy Freeman) is a part of Checkmate, and to no one's surprise, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) is still alive, and will be Clark's archnemesis.  Fans have long anticipated Lex's return, and the reveal will only fuel calls to get Rosenbaum back on the show.  Ultimately, for the series finale to be truly satisfying, whenever that ends up being, Lex will have to play a part.

     Smallville continues to air Friday nights at 8pm on the CW.