Supergirl (CBS) (1 Viewer)

[Citizen87645]

If Man of Steel had an ounce of the levity shown here, I think many people would have thought it was a better movie.

But would it have been?


The blogs seem to be having a good time making fun of it based on the trailer, which I kind of understand. I don't feel compelled to watch it, based on that trailer alone.

 

[Josh Dial]

Wow, they made that SNL sketch about Black Widow "just struggling to make it as a woman in this crazy, mixed up world..." into an actual show!

 

[Sam Favate]

But would it have been?


The blogs seem to be having a good time making fun of it based on the trailer, which I kind of understand. I don't feel compelled to watch it, based on that trailer alone.

I've gone on at length at how I was not a fan of the dreadfully grim tone of Man of Steel, which you can read over in the Movies forum if you like. I am also not enthused by the tone of the B v S trailer. I have enjoyed Arrow and Flash, and I am hopeful for this show, based on the preview.

 

[Citizen87645]

I'm aware of the general "grim" complaint people have. I just couldn't resist stirring the pot.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

As good as Legends of Tomorrow looked, this look horrible, what a complete utter pile of tripe, at least from a comic book angle, maybe going after the Lois and Clark Crowd, yeah it does have that SNL Skit vibe to it. I think Flash and that Legends of Tomorrow trailer shows the perfect balance of Seriousness to grimness

 

[DaveHof2]

Thought the trailer was almost perfect. You don't go grim and dark with Supergirl. And she's already in costume so we don't have to repeat the ten-year tease that was 'Smallville.' I had my doubts about the casting from the still photos but now I think Melissa Benoist is delightful. Definitely looking forward to this show - just wish it was on CW so we could look forward to Arrow and Flash crossovers.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Wow, they made that SNL sketch about Black Widow "just struggling to make it as a woman in this crazy, mixed up world..." into an actual show!

I'm sure CBS is really wishing that skit hadn't aired so close to their trailer reveal, but I really don't think the character's portrayal here is sexist. After all, a lot of the appeal of Peter Parker as Spider-Man is that he's a young adult who doesn't have his shit together and is struggling to make it in this crazy, mixed up world. I like that she's still entry level professionally, and that she doesn't have it all figured out yet. It makes her easier for me to root for.

Thought the trailer was almost perfect. You don't go grim and dark with Supergirl. And she's already in costume so we don't have to repeat the ten-year tease that was 'Smallville.' I had my doubts about the casting from the still photos but now I think Melissa Benoist is delightful. Definitely looking forward to this show - just wish it was on CW so we could look forward to Arrow and Flash crossovers.

The presence of Superman as an internationally known longstanding presence would seem to argue against it being the same universe, but all of the shows are from Warner Bros. Television and share Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg as executive producers, so you never know.


And if the show doesn't hit CBS numbers this season, but does far better than CW numbers, I could see it moving to the CW next year.

 

[Josh Dial]

I'm sure CBS is really wishing that skit hadn't aired so close to their trailer reveal, but I really don't think the character's portrayal here is sexist.

It's at the very least derivative, ordinary, and paint-by-numbers, as though churned out by a committee--all traits being lampooned by SNL.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's CBS. It's not going to be an innovative, cutting edge take on the character.


I don't mind derivative and ordinary if it's done well, and that trailer gave me a lot of hope.

 

[Josh Dial]

It's CBS. It's not going to be an innovative, cutting edge take on the character.


I don't mind derivative and ordinary if it's done well, and that trailer gave me a lot of hope.

Person of Interest is innovative--of course, people have been critical of that show's recent season (for its innovation, no less!).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Person of Interest is innovative--of course, people have been critical of that show's recent season (for its innovation, no less!).

True enough, and I'm a big fan, but it's still an episodic procedural. It didn't rewrite the network cop show, it just appropriated it to tell its story. Of all the shows on CBS, "The Good Wife" comes the closest to breaking the network's mold.


"Supergirl" is using the standard CBS structure to tell the story of Supergirl. And I'm fine with that.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Looks like it could be good.

I haven't been too excited based on the information put out so far, but this caught my interest. I'll definitely tune in.

 

[classicmovieguy]

Where are Selina and Bianca?

 

[mattCR]

This trailer struck me as horrible. Outside of giving her girlie-girl elements that undercut her agency, the sheer concept of all about Kara in skimpy outfits struggling with work with guy troubles hit me as the SNL sketch come to life.


If the wanted to do a show with a female superhero couldn't they make her just a little bit less of a stereotype role?

 

[zoetmb]

And I just read that Supergirl is getting the 8 PM Monday slot, up against Gotham.


Because that's not going to eat into your audience...

Yeah, really stupid. Reminds me of the time, 20 years ago, when the New York UPN station put Voyager on opposite Deep Space Nine, also Mondays at 8. And they wondered why those shows never found as big an audience as their predecessor.

Young people, to whom both shows are targeted, don't really watch appointment television anymore, so it doesn't matter. They watch TV on their portable devices and they watch the show when they want to. And if they still do watch TV, chances are they've got a TIvo or other digital recording device. However, if any show gets hurt, it's going to be Supergirl, because CBS generally does not make their shows available online or on VOD for free and FOX does.


Especially since ratings are now based on original broadcast + 3 days, I've always thought this was a luddite strategy by CBS.

 

[DaveF]

Young people, to whom both shows are targeted, don't really watch appointment television anymore, so it doesn't matter. They watch TV on their portable devices and they watch the show when they want to. And if they still do watch TV, chances are they've got a TIvo or other digital recording device. However, if any show gets hurt, it's going to be Supergirl, because CBS generally does not make their shows available online or on VOD for free and FOX does.

Especially since ratings are now based on original broadcast + 3 days, I've always thought this was a luddite strategy by CBS.

And "old" people have DVRs with six tuners and are now blissfully unaware of schedule conflicts.

This was a big problem ten years ago. A nuisance three years ago. Today, it's solved.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

People can also watch episodes online a day later.

 

[MaxMorrow]

I get the concerns expressed by some people, but we're looking at a few minutes worth of trailer, with footage likely pulled largely if not entirely from the pilot. I'm going to give it a chance, and allow the folks behind the series the opportunity to both listen to the feedback the trailer has received and tell the story they want to tell.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This trailer struck me as horrible. Outside of giving her girlie-girl elements that undercut her agency, the sheer concept of all about Kara in skimpy outfits struggling with work with guy troubles hit me as the SNL sketch come to life.


If the wanted to do a show with a female superhero couldn't they make her just a little bit less of a stereotype role?

The trailer is misleading on that front since it deliberately plays up the rom-com elements to make her transition to superhero have more of an impact.


It should be noted that, unlike most episodes of "Arrow" and "The Flash" (as much as I enjoy them), this trailer passes the Bechdel test. It should also be noted that the date Kara is referring to is with her adoptive sister, and not a guy. The guy is pursuing her instead of vice-versa. And the only skimpy outfit she wears is in a gag making fun of some of the skimpier iterations of the comic book Supergirl costume. Certainly all of her civilian clothes are at least as modest as what Felicity wears on "Arrow".


I can see the argument about the early "Mary Tyler Moore Show"-esque elements of her professional station, but as someone who struggled with similar low-rung positions for most of my twenties, I saw it as a generational statement more than a gender statement.

 

[Josh Dial]

Not buying it, Adam, sorry. I anticipate future trailers to completely downplay (or remove entirely) the rom-com aspects and perhaps even some directional shifts for the story.


Let's go through the rom-com checklist, shall we?

• 30 seconds: Kara bumps into a stranger, because uncoordinated, right? The music here is straight out of the rom-com trailer playbook.
• 45 seconds: Kara has a date. The date here is ostensibly the blind date referenced at 1:45, and not with her sister. In any event, whether it's with another female (sister) or a man, it doesn't matter: the clip's entire purpose is to set up a will they/won't they dynamic. The man pursuing a woman is nothing new.
• 1 minute: grabs coat from bitchy boss, incorporating by reference The Devil Wears Prada. Kara's incompetence is further implied with the latte order.
• 1:15: Kara is in awe of Jimmy Olsen (wow, a photographer, how...ordinary), who is allowed to assert his dominance, "James Olsen." Kara is awkward.
• 1:55: Kara doesn't even know her own abilities.
• 3:00: why can't Alex support Kara? Because it feeds into the trope of Kara "discovering herself." Some heroes get origin stories; others spring onto the screen fully formed and kicking ass (Daredevil). Kara gets to discover herself, like a good little rom com star.
• 3:15: Kara tries to speak truth to power, is smacked down by another female in some hack speech/thinly veiled attempt to preempt the feminism "girl vs woman" argument.
• 3:40: stereotypical "turning point" music from all other trailers. Also, Kara isn't gay, so at least that's a relief to the guy (will they?!).
• 4:30: oh golly gee gosh, sure hope she's bulletproof! "Aw, shucks!" isn't so much folksy/Smallville-esque as it is meekness.
• 5:15: "Go back to getting someone's coffee." Probably out of context, but it's clear the clip's entire point is to set up a second struggle in "super world," to go along with her struggle in the normal world. Cue teary-eye confessional with a friend, separated by an apartment door!

Yawn.