As I sit here and begin to type this, the credits for the first episode of CBS’s Supergirl are rolling and I’m trying to think of the best way to put my feelings into words. There was a lot of hype for Supergirl and with it came a lot of people who claimed it was going to suck before it even aired. I know, we all do stuff like that. I had a feeling the last Fantastic Four movie was going to suck before it came out but you know what? I gave it a chance because that’s what a decent person does. I bet that tomorrow there will be a ton of negative reviews and a plethora of those reviews were from people who sat down ready to hate it. So what did I think of Supergirl? Well stay tuned. But be warned, this post is going to have SPOILERS. So if you haven’t watched the episode then turn back.
I live tweeted this episode because I like to remind myself that I have very few followers but also because I wanted to support the show. Good or bad Supergirl is something different from CBS a network that usually just produces mindless crime dramas, brainless reality shows, or tired sitcoms. CBS isn’t that different from the other big four (NBC, ABC, and Fox) and each of them have their own show or shows that break away from their norm. Fox has Gotham, ABC has Once Upon a Time, NBC has Heroes Reborn. But good for CBS for trying to capitalize on the fact that people love superheroes. Let’s just hope they keep the show around long enough for it to find it’s audience. I for one liked Supergirl even though I think they could have handled the first episode differently. Here’s my review.
Supergirl opened with a very quick origin story, which was good because it’s a well known one. Even if you’re not familiar Kara Zor-El you’re familiar with her more famous cousin and they have similar stories (at least the part involving Krypton). Dean Cane had a cameo in the origin montage and I love seeing him in anything Superman related. I think it says a lot about him that years after Lois and Clark he still wants to be a part of the universe. After the origin we get a first glimpse of what I referred to at the time as “Devil Wears Parada in the DC Universe.” I liked it but it felt old, like a trope that’s been milked dry. But I was still on board to give the show a fighting chance.
This review isn’t going to be scene for scene like some of my TARDIS Talks. I’d rather use this time to talk about my first impressions of the show. While I liked this first episode a lot it felt like they pack two hours worth of content into an hour long show. It felt rushed and forced. There were a couple emotional moments between Kara and her sister which I enjoyed but I lacked any emotional investment. I think the show runners were trying too hard to make the first episode epic. They just tried to cram too much into it and I’m afraid I lost some important information in the process.
The first part of Kara being Supergirl was straight out of Superman Returns when Superman makes his grand reentrance by saving the the plane Lois was on. It didn’t feel like a rip off though as Jimmy Olsen comments that that’s how Superman first saved the day so it more of a tip of the hat. The part where Winn helps Kara find a costume was funny, well done, and actually quite informative. It was my favorite part of the episode. It even shows why the cape is a thing and how easy it is to ruin a costume. I only wish they made a nod to the white costume from the very unpopular 90’s Supergirl comic… which brings me to her name.
Kara Danvers. Wow. They really went with Danvers? If you remember the comics, Linda Danvers was a girl who was dragged into the dark underworld and was supposed to be a sacrifice for a demon but Matrix (a female superhero created by an alternate universe Lex Luthor) intervened and ended up fusing with Linda Danvers and thus became Supergirl. Yeah, stupid huh? I own the full run. I bought it for 30 bucks on ebay thinking I was really lucky. Then I read them…. But enough about crappy comics. Onto the show.
Like I said earlier, my favorite part of the episode was the costume montage but the final fight between her and Vartox (Owain Yeoman) was pretty cool too. There were times when the CG looked campy but it’s a TV show. They don’t have the budget of a big time movie so I’m willing to overlook it. I wish we got to see her learn how to fight. Before this episode she had never used her powers for good before but she’s suddenly able to fight a bad guy? I know, she saved the day in the costume montage and probably learned stuff along the way but we didn’t really get to see that. At least we got to see her use her powers a lot. Smallville was a great show but one of the downsides was waiting to see Clark grow into his powers. With Supergirl we get them all right away. We got strength, flight, and heat vision.
The actors did a great job. Melissa Benoist(Glee) plays a great Kara. I stopped watching Glee years ago but my girlfriend says that it felt like the writers didn’t know what to do with her. Luckily the Supergirl writers did a better job. Mehcad Brooks (True Blood) is a fantastic actor but he’s to buff and handsome to be Jimmy Olsen, however I’m willing to give him a shot. People are probably going to focus more on the fact that he’s Black but the color of someones skin doesn’t matter when it comes to acting. Michael Clarke Duncan was a fantastic Kingpin even though Daredvil the movie sucked. Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist, Turn: Washington’s Spies) did a great job as the bad guy but was woefully underused. I blame the short running time for that one. As for everyone else, I really didn’t get a feel for them. I bet you they’re all good but was hard to tell when the episode jumped all over the place.
In the end I think Supergirl is going to be a good show. The first episode was enjoyable but it could have been great if it was longer and less rushed. Hell, this could have been a two parter. Part one could have ended with the first fight between Kara and Vartox OR with Kara being taken to the secret base and finding out her sister has been part of The Department of Extranormal Operations along with Hank Henshaw (also known as Cyborg Superman for the DC fans out there). Episode 1 could have done a million things differently an been better but at least it wasn’t bad.
I urge anyone still reading this to stick with Supergirl. Give it a chance. CBS is a lot like NBC and Fox and if a show doesn’t get good numbers in it’s first season, they’ll drop it, which is a shame because some shows need the first season get their footing and then really take off in the second. Keep watching Supergirl. I think it’s only get better with time.