Batman has long been DC's only card when it comes to television. Too scared to challenge the constant slew of Marvel movies, we've had little else to try, save one bloated, grim, trainwreck of a superman reboot. The upcoming Batman based movies aren't letting up on the ill advised grimness either, so it falls to a modestly budgeted show about a flying office lady to finally give us some light relief.
And it is nice to have something lighter. Supergirl is all bright colours, cute men, and beaming smiles. Melissa Benoist certainly adds a lot to that, naturally fitting into the role of the glowing, enthusiastic and altogether nicer superhero. Even in the comics, Supergirl was allowed to be a much more human character than her mythic godly cousin, and on screen, it makes such a change to having something a tad more optimistic.
Sadly, the show itself is not very good at all. From beginning to end, there is some ridiculously overwrought melodrama. Bad people pull scowly faces when they talk, and family members say "I will always love you" a lot whilst in front of soft lighting. There is way too much of that schmaltz. Also the show is full of weird, defensive scenes where it tries to handwave the comic's sexist elements. "We can't call her superGIRL, that's anti - feminist!" says Supergirl, to which her boss responds with some bizarre "Na-ah, you're the sexist!" speech. No, the girl thing is actually sexist, and the story trying to brush it off just feels like denial.
Actually, Supergirl is full of problems like that. As a character, Supergirl constantly looks up to her superiors for validation, whether it is her cliched, bitchy Devil Wears Prada boss, or later the idiot, sexist commander who literally tells her to "stick to fetching the coffee". He's talking to a woman can elbow a truck in half, and yet he still mouths off. Considering Supergirl can learn new languages in minutes and read textbooks in seconds, I can't for the life of me figure out why she has chosen to work in such crappy conditions. She isn't Clark Kent, and surely she would be better off as a Nobel prize winning scientist or something.
There was very little I enjoyed about this paltry display, and I won't bother with the rest. Unless Krpyto the wonder dog shows up, I can't see it getting better.
Series Pilot: The Devil Wears Kinky Boots
Batman has long been DC's only card when it comes to television. Too scared to challenge the constant slew of Marvel movies, we've had little else to try, save one bloated, grim, trainwreck of a superman reboot. The upcoming Batman based movies aren't letting up on the ill advised grimness either, so it falls to a modestly budgeted show about a flying office lady to finally give us some light relief.
And it is nice to have something lighter. Supergirl is all bright colours, cute men, and beaming smiles. Melissa Benoist certainly adds a lot to that, naturally fitting into the role of the glowing, enthusiastic and altogether nicer superhero. Even in the comics, Supergirl was allowed to be a much more human character than her mythic godly cousin, and on screen, it makes such a change to having something a tad more optimistic.
Sadly, the show itself is not very good at all. From beginning to end, there is some ridiculously overwrought melodrama. Bad people pull scowly faces when they talk, and family members say "I will always love you" a lot whilst in front of soft lighting. There is way too much of that schmaltz. Also the show is full of weird, defensive scenes where it tries to handwave the comic's sexist elements. "We can't call her superGIRL, that's anti - feminist!" says Supergirl, to which her boss responds with some bizarre "Na-ah, you're the sexist!" speech. No, the girl thing is actually sexist, and the story trying to brush it off just feels like denial.
Actually, Supergirl is full of problems like that. As a character, Supergirl constantly looks up to her superiors for validation, whether it is her cliched, bitchy Devil Wears Prada boss, or later the idiot, sexist commander who literally tells her to "stick to fetching the coffee". He's talking to a woman can elbow a truck in half, and yet he still mouths off. Considering Supergirl can learn new languages in minutes and read textbooks in seconds, I can't for the life of me figure out why she has chosen to work in such crappy conditions. She isn't Clark Kent, and surely she would be better off as a Nobel prize winning scientist or something.
There was very little I enjoyed about this paltry display, and I won't bother with the rest. Unless Krpyto the wonder dog shows up, I can't see it getting better.