Arrow/The Flash/Legends of Tomorrow/Supergirl SUPERTHREAD [***SPOILERS - The CW***]

pixelburp

Black Lightning is surprisingly enjoyable. It's a slow build but it's coming into its own with strong characters and an intriguing arc. Definitely more grounded than the other CW shows; I hope it stays separate to the rest cos so far it certainly exists in its own universe.

Penn

Yeah I enjoyed Black Lightning. It wasn't anything particularly special or wonderful, but it was a solid story, very well acted and presented, very likeable characters and the shorter season helped keep things focused. It had its flaws, but was still an enjoyable watch.

The Flash is just dragging, and they really need to shake things up next season. Much better villain this year but he's been poorly used for a lot of it, and the focus on Iris as team leader is just nonsense, and they repeatedly fail to use Cisco's abilities in any real way.

Haven't watched Arrow or Supergirl bar the crossover episodes.

Legends was hands down the best Arrowverse show though. The characters are all so great, they have so much fun with the show and while a few episodes were flops, most episodes were great. It never takes itself too seriously but can still throw in some surprisingly deep characterisation and scenes.

pixelburp

My only complaint about Black Lightning is that it comes off a little constrained by its network; it has a rough edge and isn't afraid to show the blood & the harshness of life for those at the bottom of society - but it's all PG13, so has to pull back from going full-on The Wire. Little things like the not-too-crude-for-the-censors language bring me out of the story when characters just go 'damn'

The Flash is wearing even me out, and I've stuck by it through & through. It desperately needs a shake up, but I guess that won't happen while the overall CW superhero franchise remains so generally beloved on social media. It feels like the writers have absolutely no idea, or interest, on what to do with any of the characters and are just phoning it in. Wells & Cisco are about the only good reason to tune in now.

Supergirl wears its format a little better, and while it has problems of its own (such as similar issues over characters with nothing to do, eg James Olsen) it gets by in that not everyone's a flippin' meta, the extended cast is allowed their own personal arcs, plus the natural charisma of said cast; honestly I'd watch Melissa Beniost read tax legislation. And I don't find it's 'politics' that annoying; it's there but it's far from obnoxious IMO & is generally more playful with its open .... I dunno, hashtag era feminism. That awful, truly awful Flash episode set during Iris' hen party was a good example of that kind of feminism done wrong.

HandsomeBob

The thing about the CW shows is that for all their flaws, they all retain a distinct level of watchability. Even with the ones I don't really follow like Arrow and Supergirl, if I come across the odd episode on Sky I can still be entertained even if I'm not following the story.

I thought the CW superhero craze would have worn out at this stage but their schedule still seems to be thriving. Have to commend them on that.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Having done of a bit of mass culling of shows recently myself, Legends of Tomorrow is the only of the CW Superhero shows that survived the massacre and as stands the only one I finished this season and will be returning to next season, and I'll still watch the crossover too.

At one point I thought I'd stick with these shows to the end, but the problem with that is that it looks like they'll all go on several more years, therefore will probably just flounder about the place until an end is in sight - Legends just gets away with that, because their "floundering about" is just a hell of a lot of fun. It started out pretty dodgy in its first season, but once they started embracing the fun of it all, that show has just gotten better and better.

If I hear that Season 7 of Arrow, Season 5 of The Flash, etc ends up being phenomenally good, I'll probably dive back in to those shows next summer, because I do still enjoy the characters, so if they're doing the shows right, I'll be back on board.

As much as I thought Black Lightning was fantastic in the beginning, I have to agree with others that have said it's PG-13 status holds that show back - it could be so much more, and unfortunately watered down gritty storytelling just won't keep my attention with all the great TV out there at the moment.

TL;DR: I've dropped all the other shows, except for Legends which I think has gone from strength to strength since that dodgy first season.

martingriff

Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »

Having done of a bit of mass culling of shows recently myself, Legends of Tomorrow is the only of the CW Superhero shows that survived the massacre and as stands the only one I finished this season and will be returning to next season, and I'll still watch the crossover too.

At one point I thought I'd stick with these shows to the end, but the problem with that is that it looks like they'll all go on several more years, therefore will probably just flounder about the place until an end is in sight - Legends just gets away with that, because their "floundering about" is just a hell of a lot of fun. It started out pretty dodgy in its first season, but once they started embracing the fun of it all, that show has just gotten better and better.

If I hear that Season 7 of Arrow, Season 5 of The Flash, etc ends up being phenomenally good, I'll probably dive back in to those shows next summer, because I do still enjoy the characters, so if they're doing the shows right, I'll be back on board.

As much as I thought Black Lightning was fantastic in the beginning, I have to agree with others that have said it's PG-13 status holds that show back - it could be so much more, and unfortunately watered down gritty storytelling just won't keep my attention with all the great TV out there at the moment.

TL;DR: I've dropped all the other shows, except for Legends which I think has gone from strength to strength since that dodgy first season.

Can I ask what you found so bad in Arrow Season 6 and The Flash Season 4 (besides Iris we all agree on Iris:pac:)

Lithium93_

I've stuck with Legends & The Flash, don't really bother with Supergirl or Arrow (crossover being the exception).

martingriff

Lithium93_ wrote: »

I've stuck with Legends & The Flash, don't really bother with Supergirl or Arrow (crossover being the exception).

I drop in and out of Supergirl at times if it is on when the TV is on and it is all over the place this season. I like the Reign. When they have bad episodes there bad but there has been some good one's this season so I just read up or watch an episode or so before the crossover just to be sure. Arrow for the last 2 season's I feel has gotten back well even Felicity after they got married was okay!!!. There major fault is the B Team keep Curtis out of the field stop making Wild Dog so bad as I feel he could be a good character and would rather him then Diggle at times. Black Canary has not grown on me and could leave

Also Starring LeVar Burton

martingriff wrote: »

Can I ask what you found so bad in Arrow Season 6 and The Flash Season 4 (besides Iris we all agree on Iris:pac:)

I though Arrow started the season strong, coming off a fantastic season 5, and really enjoyed Cayden James, but it came repetitive in the latter half of the season, having the two teams continuously question each others trust, and Diaz didn't make for a compelling villain, even though I love Kirk Acevedo as an actor - the character just doesn't do it for me. It's not necessarily that I thought the season was bad, it certainly has it's strong points, and it's head and shoulders above Season 4, but I think the biggest problem I have is that they're struggling to fill 23 episodes, and it just kills the pace.

The same goes for The Flash, it's the 23 episodes that kills the momentum, but overall I did enjoy most of the season. And I actually have zero problem with Iris. I get why people don't like the way that role has evolved, but Iris was never an issue for me in the season.

I also enjoy Supergirl for the most part (I know I didn't even mention it in my previous post), but just didn't have an overwhelming desire to return to it following the hiatus.

It's probably less of an issue I have with the shows themselves, rather I was incredibly ruthless when culling the shows - there's just a lot of good TV out there and not enough time to watch it all. There have been other shows that I wanted to check out, but wasn't getting around to them because I already had so much on the go, and Legends was the only of the Arrowverse shows that I felt I loved every minute of every single episode this season, so it's the one that dodged my proverbial bullet.

It's not a case of "I'm not watching this anymore because it got s**t", but more of a "there's only so much time in the day and some things need to be cut even if I still enjoy them, and I just have to stick with the ones I enjoy the most".

Perhaps next summer when there's a lull in programming, I'll decide to watch Season 7 of Arrow, etc in the space of a week or two. I might enjoy it a bit more that way, without all the breaks for weeks on end.

martingriff

Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »

I though Arrow started the season strong, coming off a fantastic season 5, and really enjoyed Cayden James, but it came repetitive in the latter half of the season, having the two teams continuously question each others trust, and Diaz didn't make for a compelling villain, even though I love Kirk Acevedo as an actor - the character just doesn't do it for me. It's not necessarily that I thought the season was bad, it certainly has it's strong points, and it's head and shoulders above Season 4, but I think the biggest problem I have is that they're struggling to fill 23 episodes, and it just kills the pace.

The same goes for The Flash, it's the 23 episodes that kills the momentum, but overall I did enjoy most of the season. And I actually have zero problem with Iris. I get why people don't like the way that role has evolved, but Iris was never an issue for me in the season.

I also enjoy Supergirl for the most part (I know I didn't even mention it in my previous post), but just didn't have an overwhelming desire to return to it following the hiatus.

It's probably less of an issue I have with the shows themselves, rather I was incredibly ruthless when culling the shows - there's just a lot of good TV out there and not enough time to watch it all. There have been other shows that I wanted to check out, but wasn't getting around to them because I already had so much on the go, and Legends was the only of the Arrowverse shows that I felt I loved every minute of every single episode this season, so it's the one that dodged my proverbial bullet.

It's not a case of "I'm not watching this anymore because it got s**t", but more of a "there's only so much time in the day and some things need to be cut even if I still enjoy them, and I just have to stick with the ones I enjoy the most".

Perhaps next summer when there's a lull in programming, I'll decide to watch Season 7 of Arrow, etc in the space of a week or two. I might enjoy it a bit more that way, without all the breaks for weeks on end.

I agree with the villians for Arrow and Flash. I think Arrow tried a 2 villian arc with Diaz going into next season either as the big bad or a bigger bad will come either in the guise of the

Lonbow Hunters or The Quadrant

. I strongly agree with you on the 2 teams. I think Wild Dog could be a good character if they stop his character been all over the place. Curtis has to stop been a fighter. As for Dinah I have no idea.

I think Flash may go the 2 arc villan with

Cicada been 1 and something to do with Killer Frost

sky88

for me legends is the only must watch of the shows left.

Flash is still watchable as is supergirl.

Arrow started off good in season 6 but once the team started fighting it was a disaster and i just had to drop it but ill be wiilling to give s7 another go.

never got into black lightening at all

sky88

Forgot to mention that i think that all the shows bar legends & black lightening need to cut the number of episodes in a season. 22 is far too much at least down to 18 would cut out a lot of the filler episodes.

pixelburp

Absolutely, and it's a problem across the board with most Network shows ATM; between HBO and the various streaming services, there's plenty of evidence about how lean & punchy shows become when the flab is cut from their seasons.

EoinMcLovin

sky88 wrote: »

Forgot to mention that i think that all the shows bar legends & black lightening need to cut the number of episodes in a season. 22 is far too much at least down to 18 would cut out a lot of the filler episodes.

Totally agree on this. What about splitting the seasons like they do with Suits. Do 9 episodes in the fall like usual but then have the other 9 air sometime in March. It would mean a longer break but they could have separate storylines for each half like Agents of Shield did in season 4 having 3 different pods (Ghost Rider, LMD and Agents of Hydra)

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Yeah, shortened seasons would solve a lot of the issues they've been having.

pixelburp

The fact that in 4 seasons of The Flash, nobody has repaired the roof of Star Labs always feels a little emblematic of just how staid and rigid the CW formula is at this stage. They literally won't make the slightest cosmetic tweak to the show for the sake of some / any development.

Lithium93_

According to TVLine,

Keiynan Lonsdale

will be leaving Legends Of Tomorrow after it's 4th Season Premier.

Penn

Lithium93_ wrote: »

According to TVLine,

Keiynan Lonsdale

will be leaving Legends Of Tomorrow after it's 4th Season Premier.

"I've finally found somewhere I belong.... I'm leaving now. Bye!"

Poor Wally. Though admittedly if Constantine is joining and Ava is staying on as a series regular, show would have been bloated. Makes sense to get rid of Wally.

EoinMcLovin

Batwoman Series in Development at CW, if picked up will air in 2019.
Makes complete sense as the crossover could act as the pilot

https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/batwoman-series-cw-1202874978/

pixelburp

Getting ahead of themselves a little though, aren't they? Would prefer they tighten up the shows they do have, instead of spreading themselves even further.

EoinMcLovin

pixelburp wrote: »

Getting ahead of themselves a little though, aren't they? Would prefer they tighten up the shows they do have, instead of spreading themselves even further.

And Berlanti is producing it too

Lithium93_

So the Legends Of Tomorrow writing team started an Instagram account, and well he's back .

https://www.instagram.com/legends_of_tomorrow_writers/?utm_source=ig_embed

Lithium93_

The crossover this year is being moved to Episode 9 of all shows, bar

Legends Of Tomorrow

as they won't be involved in said crossover, and the reason it's being moved forward an episode is due to The Flash's 5x08 episode, which is the shows 100th episode and the producers of the show want to mark it without it being part of the story being told in this year's crossover.

EoinMcLovin

Ruby Rose has been cast as Batwoman
https://deadline.com/2018/08/ruby-rose-cast-batwoman-the-cw-dc-crossover-tv-series-lesbian-superhero-arrowverse-1202441696/

pixelburp

Only know her from John Wick 2, but given she played a mute, it didn't exactly give much indication of her acting ability. Fans of Orange is the New Black don't seem to be as kind

EoinMcLovin

Lithium93_

Superman & Lois Lane

confirmed to appear in the Crossover this December.

martingriff

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Superman & Lois Lane

confirmed to appear in the Crossover this December.

So does this confirm what earth it is on

EoinMcLovin

martingriff wrote: »

So does this confirm what earth it is on

Yeah I'd say the crossover event happens in Earth 38 and Batwoman is from that Earth.

EoinMcLovin

Elizabeth Tulloch has been cast as

Lois Lane

TVLine