Like myself, most new shows of the 2012-2013 TV season have finished their freshman year. I decided that in order to save time, I will write brief assessments of all of the new shows that I watched. These include the ones that I highlighted back in September (with the exception of Elementary, whose pilot didn't hook me enough to keep watching) as well as a few that I picked up along the way. To avoid information overload (and also to give my fingers a break), I will do this in two posts, each one briefly summarizing and assessing three shows. I won't include spoilers since my hope is that you might decide to watch one or more of these shows if you haven't seen them.
For my first post I will discuss NBC's Revolution, The CW's Arrow, and ABC's Last Resort.
Revolution
Brief Summary: Fifteen years after a mysterious blackout rid the world of electricity, Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) must rescue her brother Danny (Graham Rogers) from the militia of the Monroe Republic, one of the republics that arose to replace the United States government. Along the way, Charlie learns about her family's involvement in the blackout.
Assessment: Revolution began as one of my favorite new shows, but in the middle of the first half of the season it lost some steam. Not much happened as Charlie, Miles (Billy Burke), and the rest of their gang made their way to Philadelphia to rescue Danny. The show picked up again for the midseason finale (you can read my review for that episode here), but then the second half was the same as the first. It started out strong, was a little slow in the middle, then picked up toward the end. For the most part, I really enjoyed the last few episodes, especially the season finale. The end of the finale made me very excited for the next season. It seems like they're going in a completely different direction for the second season, which I think is a smart move.
Overall Rating for the Season: 3.5/5
Arrow
Summary: (Based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow) After being stranded on an island for five years, wealthy playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) returns to Starling City to right the wrongs of his father as a masked vigilante. Flashbacks reveal what happened to Oliver during his time on the island.
Assessment: As a fan of DC Comics, I was very excited for Arrow, and it did not disappoint. In fact, it quickly became my favorite new fall show. The acting and writing were both very good, and the action sequences were excellent. What made the show even better for me was the inclusion of several minor DC characters and subtle references to the comics. The island flashbacks started out somewhat weak, but they became much better once Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) was introduced. I would recommend this show not only to fans of DC Comics but also to people who like exciting, action-packed TV shows. Because the show is on The CW, there is of course a love triangle subplot, but that is overshadowed by the rest of the show.
Rating: 5/5
Last Resort
Summary: After U.S. Navy Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) refuses an order to fire a nuclear missile from his submarine, he is attacked by another US sub. He and his crew, including his second-in-command Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman), take refuge on a small island.
Assessment: Power struggles and government conspiracies abound in this short-lived ABC drama. Last Resort was canceled about halfway through its 13-episode run, but fortunately that gave the writers time to craft an ending that gave some closure to those who stuck with the show. I was one of those people. I don't think it was good enough to deserve a second season, but I enjoyed the show while it lasted. Braugher and Speedman were both great in the lead roles, but there were too many minor characters to keep track of. The conspiracy plot was intriguing but also somewhat confusing. Overall, I liked the show, but I'm not sad to see it go.
Rating: 2.5/5
That's it for part one. Stay tuned for part two, where I will discuss Go On, The Following, and Nashville.
Showing posts with label Stephen Amell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Amell. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Friday, November 16, 2012
Arrow "Legacies" Review: A Break from the Norm
It's been far too long since my last post, and there are two reasons for that. 1) I've been quite busy the last month, so I haven't had much time to write. 2) For most of my shows, I don't watch them until the night after they air, so sometimes I feel like it's too late to write about them. However, I'm making an exception today because I watched Wednesday's episode of Arrow last night, and I thought it was a very strong episode and worth writing about.
First, I want to recommend this show to any of you who haven't been watching it. You don't need to be a comic book fan to enjoy it (although there are some nods to DC Comics, but those are irrelevant). Also, it's not your typical CW-style show. It has a darker tone and it isn't directed at teenage girls. It could easily be on any other broadcast network, and I would even go so far as to say it's better than some shows on the Big Four (CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC). Arrow is a great story of a man correcting the wrongs of his father and starting a new life as an entirely different person after five years of solitude. Plus, the action sequences are brilliantly shot and choreographed. So I recommend at least giving it a shot.
This episode, titled "Legacies," really showcases the supporting characters, especially Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). So far in the series, Tommy has mainly provided comic relief and given a glimpse of Oliver's life before the island. However, in this episode we see a deeper side to Tommy and that he has feelings for Laurel (Katie Cassidy). He tries to win her over, but we can tell that she has reservations because of her past with Oliver. This sets up what will likely become a love-triangle. Donnell and Cassidy played those scenes very well and we can see via their acting the complications of their relationship. Also, although Laurel is ultimately supposed to end up with Oliver (at least according to comic canon), we can't help but be sympathetic for Tommy thanks to Donnell's portrayal.
Another supporting character that has gotten more screen time lately is John Diggle (David Ramsey). He is now working with Oliver in his fight against corruption, and it is great that Oliver has someone in whom he can confide (it also gets rid of the need for the voiceover, which was my biggest complaint from the pilot). Ramsey is one of my favorite actors on the show and Diggle one of my favorite characters, so I'm glad he has a larger role. In this episode, Diggle convinces Oliver to stop the Royal Flush Gang, a family of bank robbers loosely based on a group of the same name from the comics. Oliver is reluctant because he wants to focus on the task given him by his father, to stop the corruption of Starling City's wealthy, and finds street crime a distraction from that task. However, Diggle is able to convince him that by stopping the Gang, he is still saving the city.
I really like this plot because it provides a nice deviation from the plots of the previous episodes, in which Oliver takes down a corrupt billionaire every week. By giving Oliver a different motivation, we see a different side to him. However, the father of the family was a former employee of Oliver's father and got laid off, which led to the life of crime of his family. I have a problem with this because Oliver was atoning for the sins of his father, which means that his motivation was not as selfless as I would have liked. That said, this episode provided a bridge to what will hopefully happen in the future: Oliver stopping street crime.
The only other thing I want to say is my one issue with this episode. I didn't completely buy the scene in which a drunk Thea (Willa Holland) throws herself into Tommy's arms. It wasn't really the scene itself that bothered me but rather Holland's acting at that moment. I thought her drunkenness was a bit overdone, which is a shame because I thought Holland did great in her other scenes, especially those with Donnell. I understand that this is part of the character, but I thought Holland just overdid it this time.
Other than that, I thought this was one of the strongest episodes so far. And that's saying a lot because I thought every episode has been good so far. The show is off to an excellent start and I look forward to the rest of the season.
A few minor notes:
-Tommy invites Laurel to Coast City, which is the hometown of Hal Jordan, AKA the Green Lantern.
-The burger joint seen a few times in the show, including the end of this episode, is called Big Belly Burger, and that is taken from the comics, where it is a well-known burger chain.
-We see Felicity Smoak again in this episode. I really like her character, and I hope that she too becomes part of Oliver's team as the tech expert.
First, I want to recommend this show to any of you who haven't been watching it. You don't need to be a comic book fan to enjoy it (although there are some nods to DC Comics, but those are irrelevant). Also, it's not your typical CW-style show. It has a darker tone and it isn't directed at teenage girls. It could easily be on any other broadcast network, and I would even go so far as to say it's better than some shows on the Big Four (CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC). Arrow is a great story of a man correcting the wrongs of his father and starting a new life as an entirely different person after five years of solitude. Plus, the action sequences are brilliantly shot and choreographed. So I recommend at least giving it a shot.
This episode, titled "Legacies," really showcases the supporting characters, especially Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). So far in the series, Tommy has mainly provided comic relief and given a glimpse of Oliver's life before the island. However, in this episode we see a deeper side to Tommy and that he has feelings for Laurel (Katie Cassidy). He tries to win her over, but we can tell that she has reservations because of her past with Oliver. This sets up what will likely become a love-triangle. Donnell and Cassidy played those scenes very well and we can see via their acting the complications of their relationship. Also, although Laurel is ultimately supposed to end up with Oliver (at least according to comic canon), we can't help but be sympathetic for Tommy thanks to Donnell's portrayal.
Another supporting character that has gotten more screen time lately is John Diggle (David Ramsey). He is now working with Oliver in his fight against corruption, and it is great that Oliver has someone in whom he can confide (it also gets rid of the need for the voiceover, which was my biggest complaint from the pilot). Ramsey is one of my favorite actors on the show and Diggle one of my favorite characters, so I'm glad he has a larger role. In this episode, Diggle convinces Oliver to stop the Royal Flush Gang, a family of bank robbers loosely based on a group of the same name from the comics. Oliver is reluctant because he wants to focus on the task given him by his father, to stop the corruption of Starling City's wealthy, and finds street crime a distraction from that task. However, Diggle is able to convince him that by stopping the Gang, he is still saving the city.
I really like this plot because it provides a nice deviation from the plots of the previous episodes, in which Oliver takes down a corrupt billionaire every week. By giving Oliver a different motivation, we see a different side to him. However, the father of the family was a former employee of Oliver's father and got laid off, which led to the life of crime of his family. I have a problem with this because Oliver was atoning for the sins of his father, which means that his motivation was not as selfless as I would have liked. That said, this episode provided a bridge to what will hopefully happen in the future: Oliver stopping street crime.
The only other thing I want to say is my one issue with this episode. I didn't completely buy the scene in which a drunk Thea (Willa Holland) throws herself into Tommy's arms. It wasn't really the scene itself that bothered me but rather Holland's acting at that moment. I thought her drunkenness was a bit overdone, which is a shame because I thought Holland did great in her other scenes, especially those with Donnell. I understand that this is part of the character, but I thought Holland just overdid it this time.
Other than that, I thought this was one of the strongest episodes so far. And that's saying a lot because I thought every episode has been good so far. The show is off to an excellent start and I look forward to the rest of the season.
A few minor notes:
-Tommy invites Laurel to Coast City, which is the hometown of Hal Jordan, AKA the Green Lantern.
-The burger joint seen a few times in the show, including the end of this episode, is called Big Belly Burger, and that is taken from the comics, where it is a well-known burger chain.
-We see Felicity Smoak again in this episode. I really like her character, and I hope that she too becomes part of Oliver's team as the tech expert.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
'Arrow' Pilot Review: Meet the Emerald Archer
Last night The CW aired the pilot of its new show Arrow. The show follows the life of DC Comics superhero Green Arrow (although here he simply goes by Arrow) in his early years. This is The CW's second superhero show, the first being Smallville, which finished its run in 2010.
In the pilot, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), a rich twentysomething who had spent most of his time partying, is finally rescued after spending five years on an island after a shipwreck that killed his father and the sister of Oliver's (now ex-) girlfriend Dinah "Laurel" Lance (Katie Cassidy). Oliver returns to find Starling City corrupted, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. He dons a green hood and a bow and arrow to save the city from corruption. Meanwhile, he is hunted by Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne).
One aspect that was created for the show is Oliver's family. In the comics, both of Oliver's parents are dead, and he has no siblings. In the show, however, Oliver's mother Moira (Susanna Thompson) is alive, and Oliver has a younger sister Thea (Willa Holland), whom Oliver has nicknamed Speedy. (If you're familiar with the Green Arrow comics, you know how important this nickname is. If not, and you want a peek at what may happen later in the series, look up Speedy on Wikipedia.) Also in the picture is Moira's new husband Walter Steele (Colin Salmon), Oliver's best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), and Oliver's new bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey). As you can see, there are many supporting characters, each, I'm sure, with their own role in the overarching story. Some roles are hinted at by the end of the episode, some may be guessed by those who know the comics, and some have yet to be revealed. Hopefully the writers can make good use of all of these characters.
Speaking of the writers, the men behind the show, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim, did a great job with this episode. The dialogue was strong, and I like that they are using flashbacks to show Oliver's time on the island. My only complaint is Oliver's voice-over that they used throughout the episode. For some reason, it didn't seem to fit in some instances. I think I can get used to it, though, provided that they use it mainly in the flashback sequences, during which it is likely that Oliver will be the only character and there will be little to no dialogue. In any case, the voice-over writing could be sharper.
The acting was solid all around. I especially liked Amell and Cassidy, and I think the two have great chemistry. Throughout the series, Amell will have to play many different versions of the same character: the Oliver on the island, fighting to survive; the Oliver who interacts with his friends and family, hiding his secret; and Arrow, fighting crime in Starling City. After seeing the pilot, I think he will do a fine job. Cassidy's Laurel is a legal aid, so she represents the legal side of the war against corruption. Cassidy successfully portrays Laurel as both a powerful woman and an emotionally conflicted girl who just found out her ex-boyfriend, who was cheating on her with her sister, just came back from the dead. Blackthorne also stood out as the head detective in the Arrow case. I have a feeling that in the foreseeable future, Det. Lance will stop at nothing to catch this vigilante, and Blackthorne hinted at this through his acting in the pilot. The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job. No one else really stood out, but I don't have any complaints either.
Arrow might be my favorite show of the new season, not only because I am a comic book fan, but also because it was executed so well. I look forward to learning about Oliver's time on the island and how these characters will interact. Also, I'm excited to see what DC characters will be incorporated into the show (one of which was clearly hinted at very early in the episode). I have high hopes for this show, so hopefully in future episodes it can deliver as well as it did last night.
In the pilot, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), a rich twentysomething who had spent most of his time partying, is finally rescued after spending five years on an island after a shipwreck that killed his father and the sister of Oliver's (now ex-) girlfriend Dinah "Laurel" Lance (Katie Cassidy). Oliver returns to find Starling City corrupted, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. He dons a green hood and a bow and arrow to save the city from corruption. Meanwhile, he is hunted by Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne).
One aspect that was created for the show is Oliver's family. In the comics, both of Oliver's parents are dead, and he has no siblings. In the show, however, Oliver's mother Moira (Susanna Thompson) is alive, and Oliver has a younger sister Thea (Willa Holland), whom Oliver has nicknamed Speedy. (If you're familiar with the Green Arrow comics, you know how important this nickname is. If not, and you want a peek at what may happen later in the series, look up Speedy on Wikipedia.) Also in the picture is Moira's new husband Walter Steele (Colin Salmon), Oliver's best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), and Oliver's new bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey). As you can see, there are many supporting characters, each, I'm sure, with their own role in the overarching story. Some roles are hinted at by the end of the episode, some may be guessed by those who know the comics, and some have yet to be revealed. Hopefully the writers can make good use of all of these characters.
Speaking of the writers, the men behind the show, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim, did a great job with this episode. The dialogue was strong, and I like that they are using flashbacks to show Oliver's time on the island. My only complaint is Oliver's voice-over that they used throughout the episode. For some reason, it didn't seem to fit in some instances. I think I can get used to it, though, provided that they use it mainly in the flashback sequences, during which it is likely that Oliver will be the only character and there will be little to no dialogue. In any case, the voice-over writing could be sharper.
The acting was solid all around. I especially liked Amell and Cassidy, and I think the two have great chemistry. Throughout the series, Amell will have to play many different versions of the same character: the Oliver on the island, fighting to survive; the Oliver who interacts with his friends and family, hiding his secret; and Arrow, fighting crime in Starling City. After seeing the pilot, I think he will do a fine job. Cassidy's Laurel is a legal aid, so she represents the legal side of the war against corruption. Cassidy successfully portrays Laurel as both a powerful woman and an emotionally conflicted girl who just found out her ex-boyfriend, who was cheating on her with her sister, just came back from the dead. Blackthorne also stood out as the head detective in the Arrow case. I have a feeling that in the foreseeable future, Det. Lance will stop at nothing to catch this vigilante, and Blackthorne hinted at this through his acting in the pilot. The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job. No one else really stood out, but I don't have any complaints either.
Arrow might be my favorite show of the new season, not only because I am a comic book fan, but also because it was executed so well. I look forward to learning about Oliver's time on the island and how these characters will interact. Also, I'm excited to see what DC characters will be incorporated into the show (one of which was clearly hinted at very early in the episode). I have high hopes for this show, so hopefully in future episodes it can deliver as well as it did last night.
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