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** SPOILERS ** Supergirl Pilot Discussion

10 Jul 2015 16:48 #43114 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic ** SPOILERS ** Supergirl Pilot Discussion
Does anyone know if the Pilot being showing at the San Diego Con is any different than the one that circulated via Torrent back in May? Just wondering if they made further tweaks or edits.

There was discussion earlier about the pilot being a bit overly long, and also about the fact that its initial showing on TV will start at a very unusual 30 minutes after the hour, if I'm remembering correctly, suggesting the show might be 90 minutes with commercials and lead-ins and maybe previews of first regular episode, etc.

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10 Jul 2015 18:04 #43117 by fats
i was meant to be going to SDCC but plans changed, but from the people that saw the video at SDCC they have reported that it was the same as one "leaked".

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31 Aug 2015 20:33 #43988 by j2001
Replied by j2001 on topic ** SPOILERS ** Supergirl Pilot Discussion
I've finally watched the pilot. I didn't want to at first, I usually wait for one season to be complete before starting to watch it but in the end I succumbed to curiosity.

I have mixed feelings. I can safely say that I'd watch and buy this series even if it was the worst thing ever, just because it's friggin' Supergirl. It's not like I'm not grateful for having Supergirl produced with a meaningful budget and a suit with muscle padding. But that doesn't prevent me to have mixed feelings.

Although you guys seem all very happy with Melissa Benoist, I can't help but thinking she's too "cute" for the role. In the real world she's 27, in the show she's 24, but she looks like she's in her late teens... and acts accordingly. The way she overacts and overreacts to just about everything makes her more similar to a high school student rather than an adult. And it's not just her, it's the whole production. All the characters talk and act as if they were on a Disney Channel show, with easy, short, stereotyped lines. If you have seen The Nine Lives Of Chloe King you know what I'm talking about. Fights and explosions aside, this looks like your average teen romantic comedy.

And that brings me to the main problem: the target audience. I'm not saying I could reasonably expect it to be people in their thirties, but this looks like it's aimed to pre- and early teenagers. Arrow isn't like this. Smallville wasn't as well.
I'm afraid we will never see complex character developments, complex story arcs or subplots, nor even a few sexy moments. Do you remember the episode of Smallville in which Lana gains temporary superpowers and fucks Clark so vigorously the whole house shook? Or when Kara meets Lana for the first time and she's wearing only a bikini, the camera lingering on her perfect body as Lana blushes? I'm afraid we won't see anything like this in Supergirl. Just take a look at the way they handled the first costume try out in the pilot, the one that left Benoist's midriff exposed. "I wouldn't even wear this at the beach", and that's all. It could have been a funny sexy moment and they just got it out of the way as soon as possible.

From the production point of view, I can say they made the safest bet. A Supergirl show might appeal more to young teenagers than adults. But I'm a bit disappointed that the people of Arrow decide to settle for that.

I still hope they'll change something before going on air. The pace, for example. While watching the pilot I wondered if I was watching a pilot or rather a season recap. They just crammed so much stuff into one episode you could almost see the writers trying to shorten each and every line in a race against time, forcing the characters to be flat and disneychannel-like.

Yet I am very excited to have an expensive Supergirl show on TV and I'll watch the fuck out of it no matter what.
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31 Aug 2015 23:58 #43990 by shadar
Replied by shadar on topic ** SPOILERS ** Supergirl Pilot Discussion

j2001 wrote: I've finally watched the pilot. I didn't want to at first, I usually wait for one season to be complete before starting to watch it but in the end I succumbed to curiosity.

I have mixed feelings. I can safely say that I'd watch and buy this series even if it was the worst thing ever, just because it's friggin' Supergirl. It's not like I'm not grateful for having Supergirl produced with a meaningful budget and a suit with muscle padding. But that doesn't prevent me to have mixed feelings.

Although you guys seem all very happy with Melissa Benoist, I can't help but thinking she's too "cute" for the role. In the real world she's 27, in the show she's 24, but she looks like she's in her late teens... and acts accordingly. The way she overacts and overreacts to just about everything makes her more similar to a high school student rather than an adult. And it's not just her, it's the whole production. All the characters talk and act as if they were on a Disney Channel show, with easy, short, stereotyped lines. If you have seen The Nine Lives Of Chloe King you know what I'm talking about. Fights and explosions aside, this looks like your average teen romantic comedy.

And that brings me to the main problem: the target audience. I'm not saying I could reasonably expect it to be people in their thirties, but this looks like it's aimed to pre- and early teenagers. Arrow isn't like this. Smallville wasn't as well.
I'm afraid we will never see complex character developments, complex story arcs or subplots, nor even a few sexy moments. Do you remember the episode of Smallville in which Lana gains temporary superpowers and fucks Clark so vigorously the whole house shook? Or when Kara meets Lana for the first time and she's wearing only a bikini, the camera lingering on her perfect body as Lana blushes? I'm afraid we won't see anything like this in Supergirl. Just take a look at the way they handled the first costume try out in the pilot, the one that left Benoist's midriff exposed. "I wouldn't even wear this at the beach", and that's all. It could have been a funny sexy moment and they just got it out of the way as soon as possible.

From the production point of view, I can say they made the safest bet. A Supergirl show might appeal more to young teenagers than adults. But I'm a bit disappointed that the people of Arrow decide to settle for that.

I still hope they'll change something before going on air. The pace, for example. While watching the pilot I wondered if I was watching a pilot or rather a season recap. They just crammed so much stuff into one episode you could almost see the writers trying to shorten each and every line in a race against time, forcing the characters to be flat and disneychannel-like.

Yet I am very excited to have an expensive Supergirl show on TV and I'll watch the fuck out of it no matter what.


Now that the wonder of actually HAVING such a show has worn off (which certainly colored my initial enthusiastic reaction), your review is excellent. The demographic is definitely younger than the other shows you reference, however given I'm in my late 60's, I have trouble parsing the differences between 14, 18 and 24. They are all ridiculously young.

I saw from the beginning that it was a bit "bubblegum" as I call it, but cute and perky and a little over the top silly isn't all bad. This is a superhero show, and we all knew from the start that it wasn't going to be dark, moody and complicated.

I suspect most of us on this forum could formulate a show that was more appropriate to Supergirl's character, but this overly dramatic but lightweight show is what we have, so I'm with you and intend to enjoy it. We'll know more about the target audience when we see the kinds of ads they run with it, and what age group they are aimed at.

The only thing that rankles a bit is that Smallville came pretty close to the right mood and flavor with Laura V, and that could have spun off into a REALLY interesting Supergirl show. But it didn't. So we get cute and Disney'ish. If it works (makes good audience and money) then perhaps a more nuanced show might develop later on.

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01 Sep 2015 03:22 #43994 by lfan

j2001 wrote: I've finally watched the pilot. I didn't want to at first, I usually wait for one season to be complete before starting to watch it but in the end I succumbed to curiosity.

I have mixed feelings. I can safely say that I'd watch and buy this series even if it was the worst thing ever, just because it's friggin' Supergirl. It's not like I'm not grateful for having Supergirl produced with a meaningful budget and a suit with muscle padding. But that doesn't prevent me to have mixed feelings.

Although you guys seem all very happy with Melissa Benoist, I can't help but thinking she's too "cute" for the role. In the real world she's 27, in the show she's 24, but she looks like she's in her late teens... and acts accordingly. The way she overacts and overreacts to just about everything makes her more similar to a high school student rather than an adult. And it's not just her, it's the whole production. All the characters talk and act as if they were on a Disney Channel show, with easy, short, stereotyped lines. If you have seen The Nine Lives Of Chloe King you know what I'm talking about. Fights and explosions aside, this looks like your average teen romantic comedy.

And that brings me to the main problem: the target audience. I'm not saying I could reasonably expect it to be people in their thirties, but this looks like it's aimed to pre- and early teenagers. Arrow isn't like this. Smallville wasn't as well.
I'm afraid we will never see complex character developments, complex story arcs or subplots, nor even a few sexy moments. Do you remember the episode of Smallville in which Lana gains temporary superpowers and fucks Clark so vigorously the whole house shook? Or when Kara meets Lana for the first time and she's wearing only a bikini, the camera lingering on her perfect body as Lana blushes? I'm afraid we won't see anything like this in Supergirl. Just take a look at the way they handled the first costume try out in the pilot, the one that left Benoist's midriff exposed. "I wouldn't even wear this at the beach", and that's all. It could have been a funny sexy moment and they just got it out of the way as soon as possible.

From the production point of view, I can say they made the safest bet. A Supergirl show might appeal more to young teenagers than adults. But I'm a bit disappointed that the people of Arrow decide to settle for that.

I still hope they'll change something before going on air. The pace, for example. While watching the pilot I wondered if I was watching a pilot or rather a season recap. They just crammed so much stuff into one episode you could almost see the writers trying to shorten each and every line in a race against time, forcing the characters to be flat and disneychannel-like.

Yet I am very excited to have an expensive Supergirl show on TV and I'll watch the fuck out of it no matter what.


While I agree that the show is probably not gonna be very dark, I'm gonna reserve judgment from generlizing what the season will be like from the pilot. These days, the pilot's two main goals -- and likely the only goals -- are to:

1. Attract advertisers
2. Get it approved to series

#1 pretty much guarantees that they are gonna play it safe and keep things light, as to not to alienate potential advertisers. #2 , IMO, similarly means that they have to introduce the characters and tell a "complete story" (albeit with the teaser at the end) in the span of about 45 minutes. They don't have time for a "continued" cliffhanger for the episode or a lot of in-depth character development in the pilot, but I would imagine the specific episodes in season 1 will focus more on giving the characters such as Alex and Henshaw and Jimmy more depth and attention.

Regarding Kara's innocence and naïveté, it was a little over the top, but I personally dug the way she loved using her powers and becoming Supergirl. It was a little hokey but I think that is intentional and kinda refreshing. While I doubt she'll get edgy enough as some of the fiction here, I think you'll probably see her get a little edgier and less green as the season goes on --- almost a maturation and galvanisation of her personality to her becoming a superheroine. Right now, it's all giggles and fun but when someone dies or some other tragedy strikes, I think the shows tone -- and Kara's-- will start to shift a little to more Smallville-esque proportions. It probably won't be as dark and gritty as Arrow, but I do see it getting more mature story lines as everyone starts getting into their groove over the course of the season.

ELF

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02 Sep 2015 12:33 - 02 Sep 2015 12:37 #44018 by j2001
Replied by j2001 on topic ** SPOILERS ** Supergirl Pilot Discussion

shadar wrote: Now that the wonder of actually HAVING such a show has worn off (which certainly colored my initial enthusiastic reaction), your review is excellent. The demographic is definitely younger than the other shows you reference, however given I'm in my late 60's, I have trouble parsing the differences between 14, 18 and 24. They are all ridiculously young.

I saw from the beginning that it was a bit "bubblegum" as I call it, but cute and perky and a little over the top silly isn't all bad. This is a superhero show, and we all knew from the start that it wasn't going to be dark, moody and complicated.

I suspect most of us on this forum could formulate a show that was more appropriate to Supergirl's character, but this overly dramatic but lightweight show is what we have, so I'm with you and intend to enjoy it. We'll know more about the target audience when we see the kinds of ads they run with it, and what age group they are aimed at.

The only thing that rankles a bit is that Smallville came pretty close to the right mood and flavor with Laura V, and that could have spun off into a REALLY interesting Supergirl show. But it didn't. So we get cute and Disney'ish. If it works (makes good audience and money) then perhaps a more nuanced show might develop later on.


Thank you! :)

Having the great shadar say my review is "excellent" is galvanizing :D

*

lfan wrote: While I agree that the show is probably not gonna be very dark, I'm gonna reserve judgment from generlizing what the season will be like from the pilot.


You would be completely right and that's also why I usually wait for one season to be complete before watching it

*

lfan wrote: These days, the pilot's two main goals -- and likely the only goals -- are to:

1. Attract advertisers
2. Get it approved to series

#1 pretty much guarantees that they are gonna play it safe and keep things light, as to not to alienate potential advertisers. #2 , IMO, similarly means that they have to introduce the characters and tell a "complete story" (albeit with the teaser at the end) in the span of about 45 minutes. They don't have time for a "continued" cliffhanger for the episode or a lot of in-depth character development in the pilot, but I would imagine the specific episodes in season 1 will focus more on giving the characters such as Alex and Henshaw and Jimmy more depth and attention.


Indeed I think that the production made the safest bet with this pilot (I would have done the same).
Arrow is (way) darker, but the general opinion is that a Superheroine show has to be a bit silly and more carefree because a truly adult, broody superheroine couldn't be taken seriously. Did you watch the Black Widow movie spoof with Johansson herself? All jokes aside, I think that's actually how the general public sees superheroines as main characters. Either it's a romantic comedy, or it's not very interesting to the masses.

That said, the pilot could have been a different episode. For example, the Lost Girl pilot (Canadian show - unmissable for superheroine fans) is the 8th episode in the continuity. They first made the 8th one, got the series approved, and then began shooting the first one. That way you don't have to cram too much content in the pilot because character relationships have already been established.

*

lfan wrote: Regarding Kara's innocence and naïveté, it was a little over the top, but I personally dug the way she loved using her powers and becoming Supergirl. It was a little hokey but I think that is intentional and kinda refreshing. While I doubt she'll get edgy enough as some of the fiction here, I think you'll probably see her get a little edgier and less green as the season goes on --- almost a maturation and galvanisation of her personality to her becoming a superheroine. Right now, it's all giggles and fun but when someone dies or some other tragedy strikes, I think the shows tone -- and Kara's-- will start to shift a little to more Smallville-esque proportions. It probably won't be as dark and gritty as Arrow, but I do see it getting more mature story lines as everyone starts getting into their groove over the course of the season.


Let's hope so :)
Last edit: 02 Sep 2015 12:37 by j2001.

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