Melissa Benoist IS Supergirl!

I was thinking back to the last time that Superhero mania hit CBS. The was the 1966 - 1968 period, starting with live action Batman and Robin, produced by Hanna-Barbera.

That was followed with Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles, Atom Ant, Space Ghost, Dino Boy on CBS.

Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, Young Sampson and Goliath, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio on NBC.

Even a version of the Fantastic Four appeared on ABC.

With the exception of Batman and Robin and the Fantastic Four, the shows mostly used minor or unique characters with little or no comic book presence.

Then everything crashed in 1968 as superheroes went out of vogue. Other than a long run of Wonder Woman, we didn't get many enduring superhero shows after that. A smattering here and there.

Now we're awash in them again. The big difference this time is that we are getting a heavy hitter like Supergirl. In fact, most of the shows involve first or second level characters with strong comic book runs.

So if the 66-68 period was the first golden age of TV superheroes, this round might be even more gilded. For all of my concerns, its nice to see such major characters hitting the screen. For a while before something else comes along.

As fans, we need to let the studios know what we like and don't like in the hope that we can influence things our way, at least a bit. To be supportive of the shows even while we are critical of decisions we don't think are appropriate. I truly believe that fans influenced Smallville over its long run. We also got the best version of Kara to ever appear on the screen, by far, (thank you Laura V), but also many disappointments.

Maybe I'll be proclaiming that CBS's Supergirl beats Smallville's Supergirl someday. I really, REALLY hope so, despite my concerns for the current trajectory.

By the way, digging deeper into Whiplash as opposed to Glee (which I absolutely detest), I found a clip of Melissa that makes me rethink things a bit. The breakup scene from Whiplash. Maybe she does have the range for the Kara side of the role at least, given she's likely to be someone everyone dumps on. In this case, she handles this breakup scene with a total and complete asshole better than most:







Shadar

While I can understand a lot of the fears being expressed, and CBS' recent track record justifies those fears, I am very optimistic about this show.

1) Greg Berlanti is the Producer and showrunner, the same producer and showrunner for Arrow and The Flash
2) CBS owns the CW (the C is for CBS, the W is for Warner Brothers)
3) Alexandria Danvers being the genius sister hints at her being 'Team Kara', in the same vein as Team Arrow and Team Flash
4) I don't think Alexandria is going to be the villain because
a) if she hates Kara that much, why wait however many years before turning on her (Alex could have provided proof to the government at anytime and they would have swooped in to nab Kara)
b) if the rumblings are true and Kaitlin is going to go villain after getting her powers, I don't think they'd do the same story (former friend/confidant turns on hero) again in Supergirl, since it was also done in Arrow with Deathstroke and the theme might be running a bit thin now.
c) If there is a cross-universe like I suspect, then we already have Lex Luthor in the Arrow-verse via Big Belly Burgers (a subsidiary of LexCorp). No real need for 'Lexi' if the real deal exists.

Of course, a great deal of this hinges on the three shows sharing the same universe, which I think is a better than average chance of being true. Batman already exists in the Arrow-verse, Lex now exists, Superman is a logical step further for existing as well. Remember that the set-up for Kara's show is that Superman just appearing boosts Kara into revealing herself and becoming a hero as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that at the end of this season of Arrow and Flash, there's going to be big happenings in Metropolis and a certain 'strange visitor' revealing himself.

Some folks would say: if that's true, why not show Batman and Superman? But that's missing the whole point of the Arrow-verse. Berlanti is taking lesser known characters from DC and putting the spotlight on them. Everyone knows all about Batman and Superman already; there's not many stories that could be told with them that the general public doesn't already know. But, ask the general public about Green Arrow? He's the archer with the boxing glove arrow. The Flash? He runs real fast. Supergirl? She's a female Superman. That's what people generally think about those characters. They can be fleshed out more and have stories told that may be familiar to us, but are totally fresh and exciting for the general public. Also, look at what a fantastic job the Arrow-verse has done at taking B, C, and even D list villains and making them shine. When Arrow started, who would have thought that Meryln would turn out to be such a deep villain, given his treatment in the comics as basically 'evil Green Arrow'? Heck, who would have thought Rainbow Raider would have been as awesome as he turned out on Flash?

The pieces are all still in the air, let's let a few of them settle and see what picture starts to form.

P.S. Shadar, actually the last CBS superhero show was the Bill Bixby 'Incredible Hulk' series (NBC got the post-series movies), which turned out fine. Yes, it was going on 40 years ago, but they can put out something of quality when they put their minds to it. And I think given how Marvel is kicking DC around like a government mule, they want quality to cash in on some of the success of Marvel's formula.

You're right, I forgot about the first Flash TV series. And that was pretty darn good as well.

Melissa would be the perfect actress to portray Supergirl.

shadar wrote: I
By the way, digging deeper into Whiplash as opposed to Glee (which I absolutely detest), I found a clip of Melissa that makes me rethink things a bit. The breakup scene from Whiplash. Maybe she does have the range for the Kara side of the role at least, given she's likely to be someone everyone dumps on. In this case, she handles this breakup scene with a total and complete asshole better than most:

]

If Supergirl gets people to watch Whiplash.....

Well we live in a very strange, but kinda wonderful world.

castor wrote:

shadar wrote: I
By the way, digging deeper into Whiplash as opposed to Glee (which I absolutely detest), I found a clip of Melissa that makes me rethink things a bit. The breakup scene from Whiplash. Maybe she does have the range for the Kara side of the role at least, given she's likely to be someone everyone dumps on. In this case, she handles this breakup scene with a total and complete asshole better than most:

]

If Supergirl gets people to watch Whiplash.....

Well we live in a very strange, but kinda wonderful world.

Well, it's working for me. Whiplash is now on my Must See list, solely because of Melissa's casting.

The only way to address my doubts about her is to be impressed by her performance in a dramatic role. Not sure I will be in Whiplash, but I'll give it my best try. The clip was encouraging. Loved her eyes in that scene. Windows into the soul.

Shader

Not sure if anyone have a similar thought as me.

In this Internet age whereby you can virtually see "spoilers"anytime and any day, I for one am hoping NOT to read about anything about the new show...just so that when I watch the show, I can actually look forward to be properly entertained and surprised. Just don't want to know too much, in an age whereby everyone else seems to know everything...

Has anyone noticed that casting announcements stopped after the James and Kara, and the production start date has been pushed back a month. I don't know enough about the inner workings of TV production to know if that's a concern or just normal.

But I do know the show's executive producer said in January that the schedule was getting tight for the pilot, presumably to have it match up with CBS' plans for the Fall. That's before the latest apparent delay. Could this turn into a Winter replacement show instead of Fall?

Or maybe I'm reading the tea leaves all wrong.

I don't have a clue about the relationship between the show's developer (Warner) and their customer (CBS) or how these things work out.

Maybe Castor can shed some insight into the general working relationship between producers/developers and network customers and what any of these apparent delays might mean.

Shadar

shadar wrote: Has anyone noticed that casting announcements stopped after the James and Kara, and the production start date has been pushed back a month. I don't know enough about the inner workings of TV production to know if that's a concern or just normal.

But I do know the show's executive producer said in January that the schedule was getting tight for the pilot, presumably to have it match up with CBS' plans for the Fall. That's before the latest apparent delay. Could this turn into a Winter replacement show instead of Fall?

Or maybe I'm reading the tea leaves all wrong.

I don't have a clue about the relationship between the show's developer (Warner) and their customer (CBS) or how these things work out.

Maybe Castor can shed some insight into the general working relationship between producers/developers and network customers and what any of these apparent delays might mean.

Shadar

There could be lots of reasons for the production delay, ranging from scheduling conflicts with some of the actors to the environment of the locale (rain and/or snow) to dealing with the local government for a few more tax breaks.The environment is the most likely factor, since this winter has been harsher than almost anyone predicted. It could turn into a mid-season or winter premier, just depends on how long the delay is and what the nature of the delay is. If it's weather, it'll be resolved shortly; if it's something like the planned visual FX aren't as developed as the producers were hoping for, it could be longer.

CBS and Warner Brothers have a long working partnership. After the WB Network started failing, CBS bought in and the network became the CW. CBS has their own television production company and studios, but are part of a huge corporate entanglement, basically being CBS/Paramount/Viacom/King World. So, it'll either be a joint CBS/WB production or, hopefully, WB production and CBS broadcasting/distributing.

Having the show on CBS is a double-edged sword. There's more money and more exposure for the show, but the expectations are dramatically higher. The good news is that Arrow and Flash are pulling in all the right demographic numbers (eg. Arrow this past week pulled in just under 3M viewers and was ranked 3rd for the hour in the 18-34 age range). Even if Supergirl is going to be in a separate universe and not tie into Arrow and Flash, there will probably be some bleed-over of those numbers into at least the first few episodes.

If CBS is going the usual Network route, Supergirl will have @26 episodes a season, and the initial order will only be for a half season; so 13 episodes will have been ordered. If the numbers are good, then the rest of the season gets ordered, and possibly a second season if the numbers are fantastic. I believe Arrow got it's second season order before the half-season break.

Supergirl got what 's called a blind series order from CBS. Which means, if it does not go to series CBS would have reimburse Warner Bros TV for money lost on developing Supergirl. This is what happened last year with Warner Bros and Fox with Gotham.

Not much to add, though i would comment that it may be likely they are pushing it back to winter, or at least latish fall

About a month ago They mentioned the tight production schedule to get a show like this(and it is: to put in perspective Superman vs Batman with wonder woman was accouned about 2 and a half years ago and they haven't released a trailer) so i would guess they maybe giving it some time to breath. Which is good.

If there filming it in LA which i think they are announcing its not bad weather here so that shouldn't be a problem. However still have sets to build costumes(not just hers. We need a lumberjack outfut(. Though i am pretty sure Benoist is warped with Glee, they may possibly want to bring an actor for an existing TV show or doing a movie.Also theres the old line on the forum of "Well shes going to work out!!"- i doubt much of that, but she probably needs a certain amount of stunt training and wire work(not that she is going to do all of it but some of it).

Also a lot of the special effects are stuff you really can't do until you have her in the outfit, however some of it is CGI which is stuff you can start at least before hand. If they are going to do a big Train crash effect that takes time-however thats doable.

I will comment no one benfits if the show fails. CBS can still cancel the show before it begins after the pilot but yeah i don't think they want to. So maybe give it a little time. In the old days it used to be "September 15 or so...and here is are new lineup of shows, one after another!". Now adays they roe it out a little slower.

ArgentDragon wrote:

shadar wrote: Has anyone noticed that casting announcements stopped after the James and Kara, and the production start date has been pushed back a month. I don't know enough about the inner workings of TV production to know if that's a concern or just normal.

But I do know the show's executive producer said in January that the schedule was getting tight for the pilot, presumably to have it match up with CBS' plans for the Fall. That's before the latest apparent delay. Could this turn into a Winter replacement show instead of Fall?

Or maybe I'm reading the tea leaves all wrong.

I don't have a clue about the relationship between the show's developer (Warner) and their customer (CBS) or how these things work out.

Maybe Castor can shed some insight into the general working relationship between producers/developers and network customers and what any of these apparent delays might mean.

Shadar

There could be lots of reasons for the production delay, ranging from scheduling conflicts with some of the actors to the environment of the locale (rain and/or snow) to dealing with the local government for a few more tax breaks.The environment is the most likely factor, since this winter has been harsher than almost anyone predicted. It could turn into a mid-season or winter premier, just depends on how long the delay is and what the nature of the delay is. If it's weather, it'll be resolved shortly; if it's something like the planned visual FX aren't as developed as the producers were hoping for, it could be longer.

CBS and Warner Brothers have a long working partnership. After the WB Network started failing, CBS bought in and the network became the CW. CBS has their own television production company and studios, but are part of a huge corporate entanglement, basically being CBS/Paramount/Viacom/King World. So, it'll either be a joint CBS/WB production or, hopefully, WB production and CBS broadcasting/distributing.

Having the show on CBS is a double-edged sword. There's more money and more exposure for the show, but the expectations are dramatically higher. The good news is that Arrow and Flash are pulling in all the right demographic numbers (eg. Arrow this past week pulled in just under 3M viewers and was ranked 3rd for the hour in the 18-34 age range). Even if Supergirl is going to be in a separate universe and not tie into Arrow and Flash, there will probably be some bleed-over of those numbers into at least the first few episodes.

If CBS is going the usual Network route, Supergirl will have @26 episodes a season, and the initial order will only be for a half season; so 13 episodes will have been ordered. If the numbers are good, then the rest of the season gets ordered, and possibly a second season if the numbers are fantastic. I believe Arrow got it's second season order before the half-season break.

As usual, Castor, thanks for an insider's look and analysis. The next few waypoints I'm watching are when the pilot shooting starts and when the first regular episode shoots. When it shows up on the TV schedule is likely a more complex question. Trick is to get something good out there before (inevitably) the focus in movies and TV move away from superheroes. Catch the wave, if you will.

Right now the enthusiasm for things superhero seem to be enjoying a rising surf.

The big question to be answered in box office and ratings... Will the mass of superhero movies and TV shows (from everywhere) saturate the market iduring the next 2+ years, or will it open the flood gates for more?

And will this wave last until my longed for "animation indistinguishable from live action" technology is ready? That's the point when superhero movies will have no limits.

Imagine being able to capture anything you can envision in your wildest imagination, and do it in a way that looks totally real, with all "filming" done in the belly of a computer. Actors become merely models for the animation, which could improve them far beyond the bounds of merely human.

It has to happen. When is the question.

kshoo wrote: Not sure if anyone have a similar thought as me.

In this Internet age whereby you can virtually see "spoilers"anytime and any day, I for one am hoping NOT to read about anything about the new show...just so that when I watch the show, I can actually look forward to be properly entertained and surprised. Just don't want to know too much, in an age whereby everyone else seems to know everything...

I'm with you.

Can we agree as a group to mark anything with SPOILERS related to the plot? SWM should continue to be a safe place for us...

Actually, I thanked Castor for AgentDragon's excellent insight (sorry!), but Castor has also provided "industry insider" perspectives. As does Lfan.

It's nice to have so many informed and intelligent contributors that I get them confused. An "embarrassment of riches" on my part.


Shader

fats wrote: the info that i have on the delay is due to issues with permits for shooting, all is well otherwise.

fats

Where did you see that it was permit related for the production delay, if I may ask?

Is the show really going to film in Los Angles?

fats wrote:

SupergirlTV wrote:

fats wrote: the info that i have on the delay is due to issues with permits for shooting, all is well otherwise.

fats

Where did you see that it was permit related for the production delay, if I may ask?

I have sources within the production, I cant be more exact.

Fats

Yeah in LA if you need to close down a street or do a big stunt or car chase you need to get permission from the city-which can take awhile, you need to post them on a wall(i have seen the wall-its hillarious). This takes time. You usually bake this time a bit into production time-but ehh.

Castor

shadar wrote:
Right now the enthusiasm for things superhero seem to be enjoying a rising surf.

The big question to be answered in box office and ratings... Will the mass of superhero movies and TV shows (from everywhere) saturate the market iduring the next 2+ years, or will it open the flood gates for more?

And will this wave last until my longed for "animation indistinguishable from live action" technology is ready? That's the point when superhero movies will have no limits.

Imagine being able to capture anything you can envision in your wildest imagination, and do it in a way that looks totally real, with all "filming" done in the belly of a computer. Actors become merely models for the animation, which could improve them far beyond the bounds of merely human.

It has to happen. When is the question.

Well my mentor as a writer was one of the creators of the show Miami Vice. Cop show.

He didn't much care for superheros. Thought they where silly.

If your familiar however with Miami Vice in particular and superheros in general....well

Its not really that diffrent. Similar concepts struggles etc. You have your hero your villian -it works the same. The chain of command can be diffrent. Miami Vice is a lot less realistic i think then something like Batman.

You used to see a lot of cop movies- Lethal Wepion, 48 Hours-but well in the last 10 or so years thats been drying up.

You still see a lot of cop shows--but i think superhero shows are starting to fill some of those up-shows like Powers and Gotham . which doesn't look good takes it litterally. But yeah there is about a dozen cop shows on at one time in america, and new ones cycle in and out all the time(some of which my mentor also worked on). I could see the number being quite a bit higher.

Will this last forever-i don't know. probabbly not but long enough i think. Its mentioned in another Show Sif is back on AOS-and i could kind of see her with her own show. That could be neat-but who knows. I do think Marvel in particular wants to limit there number not increase it.

I haven't had my fill of Jaime Alexandra as Sif. So happy she is back on SHIELD again. TV show would be weird, but I'd be there.