Supergirl Pilot Thread (and reaction)

I disagree with the spoiler idea. Spoiler tags work if you are only partially interested in the subject, but this would be akin to 'here within lies a glimpse to the Garden of Eden... you don't have to take a look, but if you do...'
It's bad eniugh being in the UK! God only knows when we will see her - six months after the fall release? Unless they can work out a dual release schedule, which given the hype and hits the show has recieved would be great.

I respectfully disagree with the idea that fans wouldn't say anything or go out of their way to find out. Browncoats are just as passionate about Serenity/Firefly as we are about this show, and somehow, when Serenity was screened to a select audience at San Diego Comic-Con over a month before it's theatrical release, there were no rumors or spoilers to be had as to what was going to happen in the film. The fans that knew stayed quiet and said nothing to anyone that wasn't part of that screening.

Also, Fats went almost a whole day without saying anything about the First Look before it went public

Monty wrote: I disagree with the spoiler idea. Spoiler tags work if you are only partially interested in the subject, but this would be akin to 'here within lies a glimpse to the Garden of Eden... you don't have to take a look, but if you do...'
It's bad eniugh being in the UK! God only knows when we will see her - six months after the fall release? Unless they can work out a dual release schedule, which given the hype and hits the show has recieved would be great.

That was actually my point. Given that any of us (and everyone else) can now download and watch the full Pilot, we can't ignore it for six months. If you censure the discussions on SWM, then it will still get discussed on other sites. If people don't want to participate, don't read the spoiler thread. But that will take a lot of willpower, especially as bits leak out from other sites.

We can't undo the Torrent release of the Pilot. The genie can't be stuffed back in the bottle. It's in the wild.

You people constantly talking about this is eroding my ability to say "No, I will wait!".

Honestly, I skipped the Flash trailer, and did the right thing. But I'm not known for my patience, and SIX MONTHS! What kind of evil plot is this? (BTW, has anyone seen Elon Musk's Twitter icon? Genius.)

Seriously, is CBS going to look at high torrent numbers as a bad thing and run away? Or will they look at low torrent numbers and go "people aren't interested?" Bah!

Still no matter, watching it early means I MUST watch it when it comes out, and if it's not on Hulu, that probably means buying the season somewhere. CBS isn't good about putting things on Hulu. It certainly better be nicely available somewhere it can play through my Roku.

I read a few articles on this, and the universal opinion seems to be that there is a good chance that WB or CBS released this deliberately because they Want us to watch it. And the people who have seen it seem to Think that it is pretty good which is no surprise given the trailer that we have all seen several times.

Which brings us to the great dilemma. Wait 6 months now and then after you view it you will only need to wait a week for the next episode, or watch it now and starve for the next 6 months before the next episode will become available. Or you could just watch the pilot once a week until then.
Decisions, decisions.

I don't think there's any doubt it was a deliberate leak at all. It's actually a good two-fold metric for them. First, it guages initial reaction based on how many times its downloaded. Second, it gives them an idea of the show's staying power when you measure the number of downloads vs. the number of viewers in the initial airing.

Just speaking for myself, I plan on spending the next six months watching episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, various DC Animated movies, and the second season of Young Justice to while away the time. Sure, Kara never made it onto YJ, but Cassie is just too damn adorable in that show, so it's just as good.

shadar wrote: I understand all the points made below relative to copyrights, spoilers, etc, but come on, there's a fucking elephant in the living room.

How do you live in that house for six months and pretend there isn't an elephant in the living room?

My suggestion: Open another topic that allows for free, open and extensive discussion of the trailer, including screen captures. Give it a distinctive name like: SPOILER SUPERGIRL PILOT SPOILER. If people want to read it or contribute to it, then fine. If you want to wait and avoid spoilers, then don't open or read that topic. Simple and totally under the control of the reader.

Of course, you will still smell the elephant every time you tiptoe past.

I agree with this. I think the pilot was leaked on purpose by the studio (just like The Flash pilot was) in order to generate publicity among the comic book fan community and to quell any worries some of us may have after viewing the trailer.

I'll probably go view it at some point but I'll still be tuning in for the premiere in November (or whenever) along with my 9 year old daughter.

Watching the pilot ahead of time won't change my desire to watch the show. Or my desire to tune into the broadcast pilot (albeit by DVR). That's just a one hour intro. I'm looking forward to a few seasons of episodes that will hopefully total up to 45 or maybe as much as 60 hours of entertainment. Pilot is mere drop in the bucket (finger's crossed, anyway).

But I haven't taken the time to figure out the whole BitTorrent thing for OS X yet. Just knowing it's out there to watch and that I don't have to wait six months to see it is comforting enough.

Meals eaten slowly are more enjoyable. (But starvation isn't).

shadar wrote: Watching the pilot ahead of time won't change my desire to watch the show. Or my desire to tune into the broadcast pilot (albeit by DVR). That's just a one hour intro. I'm looking forward to a few seasons of episodes that will hopefully total up to 45 or maybe as much as 60 hours of entertainment. Pilot is mere drop in the bucket (finger's crossed, anyway).

But I haven't taken the time to figure out the whole BitTorrent thing for OS X yet. Just knowing it's out there to watch and that I don't have to wait six months to see it is comforting enough.

Meals eaten slowly are more enjoyable. (But starvation isn't).

Actually, Shad, networks put more stock in live viewing numbers than in DVR. In the minds of Network Execs, watching something via DVR says 'sure I'm interested, but not as interested in it as I am in what I watched live'. So, it's sort of a half mark to them. If it's a question of you physically not being able to watch it live, then yes, DVR is best. But if it's a question of watching 'Gotham' vs. "Supergirl' live, then it's going into the 'prefers Gotham over Supergirl' statistic column. And they know exactly how many people are watching each show live, thanks to cable boxes.

Considering how easy it was for even me to find the pilot, I think it's safe to assume this was deliberate. CBS is not convinced. Despite the millions that tuned into the trailer, they want everyone to see the pilot, and see who shows up for more. I get Swm policy on pirating...but cmon...in this instance we should apply common sense. Especially when you consider that they've done this before

Oh...and as for what I thought of the pilot. I will simply say this.....what more could We ask for?

ArgentDragon wrote:

shadar wrote: Watching the pilot ahead of time won't change my desire to watch the show. Or my desire to tune into the broadcast pilot (albeit by DVR). That's just a one hour intro. I'm looking forward to a few seasons of episodes that will hopefully total up to 45 or maybe as much as 60 hours of entertainment. Pilot is mere drop in the bucket (finger's crossed, anyway).

But I haven't taken the time to figure out the whole BitTorrent thing for OS X yet. Just knowing it's out there to watch and that I don't have to wait six months to see it is comforting enough.

Meals eaten slowly are more enjoyable. (But starvation isn't).

Actually, Shad, networks put more stock in live viewing numbers than in DVR. In the minds of Network Execs, watching something via DVR says 'sure I'm interested, but not as interested in it as I am in what I watched live'. So, it's sort of a half mark to them. If it's a question of you physically not being able to watch it live, then yes, DVR is best. But if it's a question of watching 'Gotham' vs. "Supergirl' live, then it's going into the 'prefers Gotham over Supergirl' statistic column. And they know exactly how many people are watching each show live, thanks to cable boxes.

I probably screw up the statistics then, because I NEVER watch a show live. Not since the invention of the DVR. Not about to start now. The reason is simple -- I can't stand commercials. DVR lets me skip over them. And I'm on DirecTV satellite and not a cable box. If the networks only care about live watchers, then they are doomed.

I also watch a lot of episodes on AppleTV or Netflix, etc. Every year, more of that is on-line as opposed to DVR.

To be honest, I can't understand why anyone would adjust their life to watch a show when the network decides to show it. There are so many options to do it your own way.

shadar wrote:

I agree that it's silly to arrange your life around a show given the technology. Unfortunately, it's the nature of the American television business models. The higher the live ratings, the more they can sell those commercial spots for. And Supergirl is going to be competing for the most coveted demographic. it used to be that shows were given time to develop an audience, but these days, if a show doesn't perform to expectations, especially a costly FX-intense show like Supergirl, it'll be cancelled after just a couple episodes. We have an advantage in that there's a full season commitment already, so a cancellation order would come later in the season or right after the end of the season (like Constantine). But, if the initial live numbers are good, we could have a renewal for another season within the first couple of episodes (like Flash). The key is having a huge viewership for the pilot and a minimal drop-off for the second and third episodes.

The bottom line is: the more live eyeballs watch the first few episodes, even if they mute the commercials, the better chances there are of a second season.

If this was a Delibrate leak...thats kind of the fascinating thing about it.

For this, they don't make a dollar.

They spent 14 million on this pilot. This is going Cost them audience share of the pilot. Maybe not huge but some. And Audience share is how they make there money. So by leaking it they are loosing money.

They are gambling on the fact that a bit of a negative buzz was developing around the show, such that releasing it right away and correcting it with so far mostly posstive reviews would help with that. Fine. Its possible by november that this negative buzz uncorected would have hurt the show. But they are still loosing money today.

Becuse of course the 14 million dollar pilot isn't really make there money but the show over the long term.... such to a degree that there almost willing to throw out the money they would have made from the pilot.

Ahh.

I am not going to say this a good move or a bad move= but its a balsy move.

If the show had been a flop with audiences maybe by november that would have made it poison and i got to belive even if they canceled it today they would have been on the hook for at least 10 episodes for i am going to guess for at least 50 million. so. Props on your moxy for trying. .

IMO this is def. a deliberate release. I just watched it (being from the UK there was no way I was going to wait until next year - even IF it is shown then, as no broadcaster has yet to pick it up - to get a chance to see this.

There is a 7GB version (which I saw) out there that is 1080p and an incredible bit rate (the picture and audio are crystal clear). No FX missing, and some of the shots used are slightly different then the trailer. No way a boot copy has looked so good (at least none that I have ever seen, and I've seen my fair share).

I agree with Castor, it is a brave move. And it sounds like it is generating buzz (mostly positive) which is always a good sign, so looks like it is paying off.

Not going to give any review or descriptions except to say I was EXTREMELY impressed with it. Some really nice touches and really well paced. I already have my money for the box set ready to go.

Can't wait to follow Kara's adventures in November.

Peace.

/K

P.S. If anything in this post is deemed inappropriate, please feel free to delete it mods.

castor wrote: If this was a Delibrate leak...thats kind of the fascinating thing about it.

For this, they don't make a dollar.

They spent 14 million on this pilot. This is going Cost them audience share of the pilot. Maybe not huge but some. And Audience share is how they make there money. So by leaking it they are loosing money.

They are gambling on the fact that a bit of a negative buzz was developing around the show, such that releasing it right away and correcting it with so far mostly posstive reviews would help with that. Fine. Its possible by november that this negative buzz uncorected would have hurt the show. But they are still loosing money today.

Becuse of course the 14 million dollar pilot isn't really make there money but the show over the long term.... such to a degree that there almost willing to throw out the money they would have made from the pilot.

Ahh.

I am not going to say this a good move or a bad move= but its a balsy move.

If the show had been a flop with audiences maybe by november that would have made it poison and i got to belive even if they canceled it today they would have been on the hook for at least 10 episodes for i am going to guess for at least 50 million. so. Props on your moxy for trying. .

I disagree. That $14 million is sunk money at this point. It costs them nothing to leak it. Might it cost them viewing audience for the premiere episode? Maybe, but they are more concerned for the season. They committed to a full season and they need to sell advertising for that full season. If the leak is deliberate, and I think it is, it was a ballsy move by CBS that paid off. Reviews have been mostly positive and it does answer some of criticisms of the trailer.

I watched it and I never download torrents. It was worth it. I could have waited, but now I feel more confident in recommending the show. They only critique I have (SPOILER, SORT OF, BUT NOT REALLY) is that crammed a lot into the pilot, but they kind of needed to. The cast is great and I think the tone is set for a great series.

Go Supergirl!

kikass2014 wrote: IMO this is def. a deliberate release. I just watched it (being from the UK there was no way I was going to wait until next year - even IF it is shown then, as no broadcaster has yet to pick it up - to get a chance to see this.

There is a 7GB version (which I saw) out there that is 1080p and an incredible bit rate (the picture and audio are crystal clear). No FX missing, and some of the shots used are slightly different then the trailer. No way a boot copy has looked so good (at least none that I have ever seen, and I've seen my fair share).

I agree with Castor, it is a brave move. And it sounds like it is generating buzz (mostly positive) which is always a good sign, so looks like it is paying off.

Not going to give any review or descriptions except to say I was EXTREMELY impressed with it. Some really nice touches and really well paced. I already have my money for the box set ready to go.

Can't wait to follow Kara's adventures in November.

Peace.

/K

P.S. If anything in this post is deemed inappropriate, please feel free to delete it mods.

I agree that that the big 1080p version of the Pilot has extremely high production values. It looks completely finished to me, although at 46 minutes, it's 6 minutes longer than the usual 'hour long' broadcast TV show. They are either going to sell less advertising time than usual during the broadcast, or they have to cut six minutes before it shows to jam in the usual amount of commercials.

No credits either, so that means they'll have to cut more. So this is probably the "extended version" of the broadcast pilot. Given it was so jam packed, if they cut anything they will leave out things that are quite revealing and important. Or perhaps they won't repeat some of the footage that we've already seen in the Teaser. Unlikely given not everyone watches Teasers.

Shadar

IO9 has an excellent (non-spoiler) review of the Pilot... which I mostly agree with. Check it out:

io9.com/i-saw-the-supergirl-pilot-and-it...retty-sup-1706318019

The post on IO9 has hundreds of comments, most of them interesting and only a few that are spoilers. Great discussion and amazingly positive for a site that can be very harsh on some movies and shows.

Shadar

Agree. Having followed a few forum discussions, the general opinion seems to be a positive one.

Which is never a bad thing.

Seems like the "gamble" is working. Roll on November.

Peace.

/K

In a i am not sure they will do, but maybe they should do it...

If the episode is 46 minutes long which is a little long for a TV show, and is by all accounts maybe a little overstuffed with material...do you think there is any chance that they would film another hour (well 40 or so minutes ) and make it a two hour event?

I will be willing to bet that would get a pretty good rating for both hours of the program . Also i bet it would be *reasonably* cheep as i would think they would primarily you know non SFX shots-cheeper then filming the rest of the episode(though maybe you add a touch more). And regardless if they did it or not it could help draw some of the people who have downloaded the pilot.

and well maybe let the story breath a little bit longer which isn't the worst impulse-or also give some more room to work with some of the criticisms people have said of the pilot and the trailers.

This kind of thing has been done before-its actually not too uncommon to shoot in effect half a pilot as a kind of test film, knowing that if it gets picked up you'll add more footage.

The two hour pilot is something you sometimes see and with i am going to predict- the first episode is going to get HUGE Ratings doing something to make a night of it isn't the worst impulse

castor wrote: In a i am not sure they will do, but maybe they should do it...

If the episode is 46 minutes long which is a little long for a TV show, and is by all accounts maybe a little overstuffed with material...do you think there is any chance that they would film another hour (well 4o or so minutes ) minutes and make it a two hour event?

I will be willing to bet that would get a pretty good rating for both hours of the program . Also i bet it would be *reasonably* cheep as i would think they would primarily you know non shots-cheeper then filming the rest of the episode(though maybe you add a touch more). And regardless if they did it or not it could help draw some of the people who have downloaded the pilot.

and well maybe let the story breath a little bit longer which isn't the worst impulse-or also give some more room to work with some of the critiisms people have said of the pilot and the trailers.

The two hour pilot is something you sometimes see and with i am going to predict- the first episode is going to get HUGE Ratings doing something to make a night of it isn't the worst impulse

Interestingly, given it's 46 minutes in a 40 minute window (and you know there is plenty on the cutting room floor, so to speak), take 6 minutes off the second 40 minutes, toss in some credits or whatever, and you only need to add 30 additional minutes of content to have a two hour show. The show is overstuffed even with the 46 minutes, it feels too fast and rushed in places, so this might not be hard at all.

I Hope Kara will use her super strength often in civil clothes. What do you think guys?

completely agree