the CW

CW’s The Flash: “O Come, All Ye Faithful” Introduces Weather Witch

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Thanks to https://comicbook.com/dc/2018/11/15/the-flash-season-5-episode-7-photos-cicada-weather-witch/ for the story!

By JENNA ANDERSON 

The CW has released new photos for “O Come, All Ye Faithful”, the seventh episode of The Flash‘s fifth season.

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The episode seems to be The Flash‘s latest holiday episode, which will fall before the show’s 100th episode on December 4th and the final installment of the “Elseworlds” crossover on December 11th. And judging by the looks of things, Team Flash’s Thanksgiving will have a pretty interesting twist to it, with the arrival of Weather Witch (Timeless‘ Reina Hardesty).

There’s a bit of serendipity in Weather Wizard factoring into The Flash‘s 99th episode, seeing as he was the first real foe that Barry crossed paths with in the series’ pilot. And seeing as the show has teased the possibility of doing a younger version of the Rogues, it will be interesting to see exactly what Weather Witch’s role in things is.

The photos also hint at some new content related to Orlin Dwyer/Cicada (Chris Klein), the mysterious metahuman killer that the team has been tracking down all season. Several of the photos show Orlin with Grace Gibbons (Islie Hirvonen), who appears to be the young woman Cicada has been visiting in the hospital. It remains to be seen whether or not Grace is Olrin’s daughter, or if these scenes will be a “Therefore I Am”-style flashback sequence, but it sounds like fans will get some answers in one way or another.

“There’s a reason why Orlin is doing what he’s doing.” Klein explained in a recent interview. “There’s a reason why as Cicada he wants all metahumans to die. We will learn what that reason is, and we’ll get to judge Orlin for it. One of the coolest things about The Flash is that with every villain, the fans get an opportunity to judge them on their merits. Every villain has a reason for being, and Orlin’s is a pretty heavy one. This guy comes with a lot of sadness. It’s going to be a tough fight for Team Flash, because Cicada has this dagger that dampens metahuman powers.”

You can check out the synopsis for “O Come, All Ye Faithful” below!

“THANKSGIVING — While Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) grapples with unresolved anger over her father’s disappearance in the future, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Team Flash must stop a powerful new meta, Weather Witch (guest star Reina Hardesty), from killing her own father, Weather Wizard (guest star Liam Mcintyre).

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. “O Come, All Ye Faithful” will air on November 27th.

The CW Reveals Elseworlds Crossover Poster 

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Arrow’s own Stephen Amell took to Twitter to reveal the official poster for The CW’s upcoming crossover event, Elseworlds. The poster flips the Arrowverse on its head with Amell and The Flash actor Grant Gustin switching mantles.

This year’s crossover kicks off with The Flash on Sunday, December 9, followed by Arrow on Monday, December 10, before it all comes to an end in Supergirl on Tuesday, December 11. Not only will destiny be rewritten during Elseworlds, but it will also mark the Arrowverse’s first foray into Gotham City.

The crossover event stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl, Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, and Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent/Superman, among others.

Elseworlds will also mark the debut of Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane, Jeremy Davies as Dr. John Deegan, and Cassandra Jean Amell as Nora Fries, the wife of Mr. Freeze.

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Thanks to Scoop for letting me reprint their article!

http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?ArticleID=219922

Arrowverse stars aim to bring women together with Shethority website

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Read the original story here:

http://ew.com/tv/2018/07/16/arrowverse-stars-shethority-website/

Written by Samantha Highfill of Entertainment Weekly; thanks so very much for allowing me to share your story on my blog!

***

On screen, Legends of Tomorrow’s Caity Lotz and The Flash’s Candice Patton help save the world on a weekly basis as their characters battle metahumans, aliens, and even the occasional demon. But off screen, the actors are focused on a different battle: combating the notion that women should see one another as competition. “Society has pinned women against each other,” Lotz says. “There’s always this feeling of there’s only one seat at the table and if you want it, you better tear that other girl down. But if we want to reach equality, we have to lift each other up.” In order to do that, Lotz and Patton founded Shethority, a digital space where women can come together and, quite simply, talk.

The idea was solidified during the filming of the 2016 Arrowverse crossover, which brought together characters from four CW superhero shows — Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. While their characters teamed up in front of the camera, the women found themselves talking more and more in-between takes. “It’s usually one or two women on each show and all the sudden there were five or six of us and we started really talking,” Lotz says. What resulted was a conversation so impactful that the actors decided they wanted to involve others, from other actors to fans. So together, they launched social media handles for Shethority in October of 2017. “We want it to be a safe space for female-identifying humans,” Legends of Tomorrow star and Shethority member Maisie Richardson-Sellers says. “People can come here, share their stories and be heard.”

Less than a year later, Shethority has more than 120,000 followers and is feeling timelier than ever. “There’s been this movement of female empowerment and women standing up and asking for what they deserve and demanding respect and equality,” Patton says. “Shethority came around the time of the #MeToo and all of these other movements, and I think it has to do with where we are in our society.” Lotz, Patton, and other women use the Shetority pages to talk about what’s affecting them, and they encourage fans to do the same. So far, members have posted about everything from gun violence to body image. “There is no substitute for the authenticity of actually talking to one another,” Arrow star and Shethority member Emily Bett Rickards says. “Any question you have, most likely someone else is having as well. You’re continually learning about yourself and the people around you.” Patton adds, “We found that the more women speak to each other and speak truthfully, we have way more in common than we have differences.”

That conversation has only just begun. On Monday, Lotz and Patton, along with Shethority COO Lynn Sounakhene, launched the Shethority website, which gives members the ability to talk about their experiences in more detail by writing articles or creating longer videos. Additionally, the website features a tab where people can buy merchandise through Represent. The majority of the proceeds from those purchases will go to an organization that highlights female empowerment, with the chosen organization changing every few months. “We need very little money to keep Shethority afloat, so we thought to use the rest of it and give to causes that speak to us and what we’re trying to do,” Patton says. After already donating money to Girls, Inc. and Girls Not Brides, Shethority is currently looking to help GirlForward, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and enhancing opportunities for girls who have been displaced globally by conflict and persecution.

As for what comes next, there are almost too many ideas: Shethority block party! Shethority convention! Shethority book club! There are no limits to the ways in which Shethority aims to bring women together. But regardless of the method, the goal remains the same: Shethority will include as many different voices as possible to show that women are stronger together. “So often we smother our own lights, and we allow society to smother our lights,” Richardson-Sellers says. “Part of Shethority is just giving people permission to shine.”

Shethority

***

About the blogger: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

 

Batwoman coming to the CW

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From http://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/falls-arrowverse-crossover-introduce-batwoman/, thanks for allowing me to reprint it here!

Batwoman will be part of the DC-CW Universe.

With Gotham ending next season, the CW can slowly assimilate the hometown of the Batman Family (and maybe its gallery of rogues other than Ras Al-Ghul – whose incorporation was one of the highlights of the show!).

***

“When Stephen Amell teased that he’d be serving up an announcement this week, I’d assumed it’d have something to do with Arrow moving to a new night, which, as it happens, was confirmed earlier today (it’s relocating to Mondays at 9 pm this fall). But what I didn’t expect was for him to set the internet ablaze.

Believe it or not, none other than Batwoman will be introduced in this fall’s Arrowverse crossover! Marking her historic first appearance in live action, here’s what Amell had to say at The CW’s upfront presentation regarding this momentous occasion:

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that we’ll be doing another crossover event this fall on the CW, and we’ll be introducing a new character. For the very first time appearing, we’ll be fighting alongside Batwoman, which is terrific…

Previously, Bruce Wayne had been name-dropped on Arrow, but there’s no way Batman can make a guest appearance on the show due to Gotham‘s existence. Regardless, being able to secure the services of his cousin, Kate Kane, is one hell of a big deal.

Additionally, CW President Mark Pedowitz had this to offer:

“We are adding the city of Gotham into the Arrowverse. This will be another full-throttled, action-packed event.”

After seeing the heroes of the Arrowverse contend with an immortal, an alien invasion, and Nazis from a parallel Earth in recent years, I’m all for seeing something more grounded this time around, awesome as those other events were. Hopefully more information trickles out of San Diego this July, but journalists and fans alike are no doubt about to begin months of speculating regarding which villains will show up. Stay tuned for more.”

***

Even after I savaged the last two seasons of Arrow, I certainly will tune in for more information!

***

About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

 

 

The CW Fall 2018-19 Schedule

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Changes are coming to our DC-CW shows. Well, at least on the days they are airing.

Originally the DC-CW shows spanned the week, now they are lumped into the first few days.

***

All times are Eastern…

SUNDAY
8-9 PM — Supergirl

MONDAY
8-9 PM — DC’S Legends of Tomorrow
9-10 PM — Arrow

TUESDAY
8-9 PM  — The Flash
9-10 PM — Black LIghtning

***

My internet trolling has not help me learn why. The ratings for the DC-CW shows are still stellar (for the CW) and all the shows ended up in their top ten.

***

About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

A review of the Flash Season Four Finale

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I sat through 21 episodes for THIS shit?

What a bitterly disappointing ending for a fair-to-good season…

Season Four had wonderful potential – the big bad was finally not another omnipotent-he-is-always-one-step-ahead-of-us speedster (he was an omnipotent-he-is-always-one-step-ahead-of-us genius), a whole new rogue’s gallery was forming, and the highlight – the introduction of the Elongated Man!

Hartley Sawyer was perfectly case – he even LOOKED like Ralph!

But the rest of the season just shows the severe limitations of the “Big Bad”-style.

I’ve complained about this style recently and called for its elimination in the DC-CW shows. The last three seasons of Arrow show the style at its worst. But it wasn’t until the last episode of Season Four of the Flash that it finally dawned on me why.

Yes, the Big Bad makes for tedium and repetition (“Hoping this is their chance to stop (insert name of Big Bad) once and for all …” seems to begin the synopsis for 3/4ths of Arrow’s IMDB’s Episode Lists …) but that is only a symptom. The disease is thus:

Nothing. Happens. Until. The last. episode.

Nothing.

No plot progression. No sense of advancement.

The Big Bad Style is interesting and thrilling when you first watch it. But the plot devise has been used in sixteen seasons between the four DC-CW shows, as well as Agents of Shield, Gotham, etc.

Maybe it’s me, maybe these shows are better while binge-watching. I doubt it. I suspect the Big Bad syndrome is even worse – seeing the heroes defeated not once per week but four times in an afternoon – “is this a rerun, did I hit the repeat button?”

Again it goes back to the main problem: “We’ll stop him this time!” “At last! I … oh. Episode 17, nope, you have five more to go before THAT happens.” Until then …

…nothing…

Arrow tried for a different take this season by killing off their Big Bad – revealing that the actual Big Bad was lurking in the background. But then it was back to the “We’ll stop him this time/this will work it HAS to!” …

Meet the new (Big Bad) boss, same as the old (Big bad) boss.

Flash should be better than this. They do done-in-one shows, they do not only character development, but character advancement! The heroes are likeable. The actors playing them fit the roles perfectly – the chemistry of the cast is obvious!

So how do we fix this? Get rid of the Big Boss. Or at least stay away from him or her for more than one episode at a time. Do two- three- or four-part arcs with other villains. Grodd, perhaps, or a more powerful non-Flash villain: Kanjar Ro, the Shadow Thief or Felix Faust.

For gosh sakes, introduce the Green Lantern Corp!

“We can’t, it might conflict with the DC Cinematic Universe!”

Ignore the DCCU; they certainly are ignoring YOU…

***

I think my souring began with the resolution of the mid-season cliff-hanger “The Trial of the Flash” and I never had a chance to recover. For several episodes Flash did not escape from his cell or allow other shenanigans. “If I cannot get out legitimately, I don’t want to do it.” So how does he get released and found innocent of murder?

Illegitimately.

Ralph disguised himself as DeVoe. How can you kill a man who is still alive? Granted DeVoe WAS alive, but it was a fraud on the court. At least Arrow, pulling similar shenanigans some months later, used it against a corrupt system. Here the judge/jury was legit.

The means do not justify the ends. Barry Allen would be the FIRST to tell us that! His reaction to how his team sprung him was conveniently ignored.

Plus, at the final hearing DeVoe’s “widow” was present, but the District Attorney was NOT?! I know this isn’t Law and Order, but STILL…

It was the nadir of the series, in my opinion.

Until this season’s finale…

***

The season finale had its moments – the introduction of Barry & Iris’ daughter from the future, the birth of Joe & Cecile’s daughter (yes, thse are spoilers, who cares? It was a crappy show), even the Thinker’s reference to himself as the “Big Bad” made me laugh.

But the rest of it?

Synopsis: with technobabble that would make the writers of Star Trek Voyager get erections, Barry put his physical self into DeVoe’s mind. This is done with the help of DeVoe’s wife who finally turns to the good side after a 20-episode build-up.

Flash finds Ralph “alive” (an why not the rest of his new Rogue’s Gallery?) and they fight off an infinite number of Thinkers in Matrix-like fashion.  Devoe is finally destroyed because Ralph’s physical body leaves the Thinker’s mind. Of course, why hadn’t anyone thought of THAT …

But, thanks to Holographic Resurrection, the Thinker appears again to menace our heroes! His wife finally defeats him by reaching around the chair and unplugging him.

Yes, they unplugged him.

By now I’d unplugged the Tivo.

***

I love the Flash, I do. I love the charactersl I love the cast.

But I swear to god if this keeps up next year I’m rooting for the bad guy.

And start watching NCIS. Abby Scuito or no Abby Scuito.

Copyright 2018 Michael Curry

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

Arrow Season 6: same old same … old …

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Arrow finished its sixth season limping to the finish line. Not in terms of ratings, though – it was once the CW’s top-rated show and was still in the top four at the end of Season 5. With Season 6 it remains a healthy #5.

But in terms of story ….

Eh.

I still love the show – its first three seasons were some of the best things on TV, especially for a comic book fan. But since then the Big-Bad-style, although popular, dragged the show down. I think for Season Seven they should abandon it.

Seven seasons is traditionally the final season for most shows – casting contracts last for seven years and are negotiated after that on a season-by-season basis. If Arrow goes on to an eighth season, do not be surprised if major members of the cast leave. Those that haven’t already left or been killed off …

To keep the show fresh they need to dump the Big-Bad storyline. That is, one major villain dominating the series for the bulk of the 22 episodes of the season. When it works, it is gripping and exciting! When it doesn’t, it makes for long, tedious stories with neither plot advancement nor real resolution until Episode 22. In other words, the last three seasons of Arrow.

“He’s one step ahead of us!” “This will work! We can defeat him!” Nope. Oh, occasionally the Big Bad has a set back and is even captured! But he will get back on his feet and escape. After a rare episode featuring a new or returning villain in a done-in-one show or a one-episode character study (“I’m leaving for good!”), we are back to the undefeatable Big Bad.

“Hoping this is their chance to stop (insert name of Big Bad) once and for all …” seems to begin the synopsis for 3/4ths of Arrow’s IMDB’s Episode Lists …

The Big-Bad style was done poorly over last three seasons of Arrow. By the time of the Big Finish, I stopped caring… And apparently, I’m not the only one:

Here is a website tracking Arrow’s ratings this season: https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/arrow-season-six-ratings/

Pretty abysmal for a network show, although still respectable for cable/satellite channels. Click on any of the dates and you will usually see Arrow dead last among the networks selected (but note they are comparing, say, the CW to CBS …).

But the highest ratings over the last several weeks were from done-in-one shows: Roy Harper’s and Nysa Al Ghul’s return (Episodes 15 & 16), when we get back this season’s Big Bad, ratings tanked. Almost two hundred thousand viewers stopped watching.

The finale was the highest-rated show since January 25th and was the sixth-highest rated show of the season.

Sixth? The rip-roaring conclusion was only sixth?

Should that be a big enough hint for the producers?

The season began with Cayden James being the Big Bad: from the Arrow Wiki: “Believing Oliver Queen was responsible for the death of his son, the master hacker committed a series of attacks throughout Star City, wanting to avenge his son’s death and formed his own cabal to do so. It was later proven to him that Oliver was not responsible for Owen’s death, and James was subsequently taken into custody. Shortly thereafter, he was killed by the true mastermind behind his son’s death; James’s former associate Ricardo Diaz.”

The second half of the season revealed Diaz, played by the excellent actor Kirk Acevedo, as the true Big Bad.

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Unfortunately, Diaz was much like Adrian Chase (last season’s Big Bad): an Olympian-level (but not too super-powered) athlete who was always one step ahead, had the local law enforcement on his side … yadda yadda ad nauseum…

Season 6 was a cut and paste of Season 5. Both had an exciting conclusion but the dozen-plus episodes leading up to it was tedious television. I may have to treat Arrow Season 7 as I did Agents of Shield 2 & 3: watch only prime-numbered episodes (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, etc.), the mid-season cliff-hanger, and the last two shows. I wouldn’t lose any of the plot.  And that’s a shame.

(Obviously this doesn’t count the line-wide cross-over. This year it was “Crisis on Earth-X” and got Arrow it’s highest rating of the year. The show had no sign of Cayden James or Ricardo Diaz. Hint. Hint.)

And don’t think we didn’t notice Arrow copying this season’s Flash plot with its “our-hero-is-on-trial” sub-plot – Arrow even copied the resolution – with Christopher Chance taking Ralph Dibny’s role!

(and hey, I’ve got to include this: I love Kirk Acevedo’s channeling his inner-Al Pacino as Diaz, but to bring in Rene’s daughter during the trial as a silent threat? Holy Vincenzo Pentangeli!

Google it…)

The solution? Only feature the Big Bad in half your episodes. Make the other 11 done-in-one or two-or-three-part (separate and resolved) story-arcs.

Gaining new viewers in a seventh season will be very hard to do. This might make for a good jumping-on point for what may be its last season.

But what do I know? Who am I?

I may be one of the two hundred thousand viewers lost, that’s who…

 

Original material copyright 2018 Michael Curry

Legends of Tomorrow Season Three – a review

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The third season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow premiered on October 10, 2017, and concluded on April 9, 2018 with 18 episodes. To date it is tied with Supergirl as the fourth-highest rated show on the CW.

Allison Keene of the website Collider did an excellent summary of this season’s Legends of Tomorrow. You can read it here: http://collider.com/legends-of-tomorrow-season-3-finale-explained/ but I will share it in full below. Thank you, Allison and Collider for allowing me to share it.

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***

It’s not every TV show that can pull off a Wild West showdown in a temporal blindspot that includes pirates, a Roman legion, a gigantic Beebo, a death demon, Jonah Hex, Leif Erikson’s sister, and a Themyscira-trained Helen of Troy, but by golly Legends of Tomorrow can and did. It was a marvelous way to tie together the show’s many adventures this season and recycle some costumes to save on a budget so we could enjoy a major CG battle between a cuddle bear and a hell demon (“Malice, you idiots!”). But in true Legends form, it was also surprisingly emotional, juggling several heavy narrative storylines with its trademark joy while never becoming glib. It’s an extremely fine line to walk, but Legends landed beautifully. For those who thought nothing could top “Beebo the God of War,” “The Good, The Bad, and the Cuddly” was a real treat.

Legends of Tomorrow is (as I have written about before) the only Arrowverse show to get better with each season. The series has never been afraid to change up its focus or its cast to better suit the story. Every crew member on the Waverider plays an important part, and each role is distinct. As Captain Cold, Jax, and Stein, and the Hawks exited, the crew only became stronger with the advent of Zari, Wally, Nate, and now Constantine. Even Ava and Gary have been welcome additions from the Time Bureau rather than Rip, who never quite worked with the levity and tone the series has cultivated.

Rip has left the show before only to return, and since we didn’t actually see him perish in “The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly”  I’m not sure that he’s really and truly gone. But if he did lay down his life for the Legends then and there, it was the right time. There wasn’t much build-up to it, but then again, there didn’t need to be. Rip hadn’t been a major part of the show in a long time, but that short line — “I would very much like to see my wife and son again” — packed enough emotional punch to make the moment land. It’s that kind of narrative work the Legends does so well; because it lays the groundwork for these moments episodes and sometimes seasons in advance, it doesn’t need to force a storyline or a mini-arc to explain a particular plot point it needs to get to. It happens naturally.

The same was true of the quick death of Damien Darhk, which was almost lost in this battle-intense finale. But it was a noble death for a character that Legends single-handedly redeemed through the Legion of Doom and in his alliance with his daughter and Mallus this year. Again, the emotional build-up to that moment happened in the episodes prior to it, where it was clear that Damien cared more about his daughter than any potential power grabs, especially after her death. I have a suspicion that we haven’t seen the last of the now-alive Nora Darhk (who in real life is married to Brandon Routh!) and that’s a good thing. She and her father were responsible for a great villain arc this year, and provided us with one of the best TV moments of the year with that fight sequence set to “Return of the Mack.”

The sacrificial deaths really were overshadowed though by a few key reunions, including an alive-and-well Kuasa (in Vixen gear) and the return of Jax. While the Legends have been cruising through time, 5 years have passed for the former half of Firestorm, who is now married and has a daughter (who, for all we know, could be the mystery girl from The Flash). It was really nice to incorporate him in the finale along with almost every character we’ve met along the way this year; it was not only suitably epic, but thematically relevant for a show about a motley crew of heroes. It was a reunion, truly, of the good, the bad, and the cuddly, and if you hadn’t guessed that the team would be creating a Beebo gollum once they introduced that possibility, then you haven’t been paying attention.

And yet.

The fact that the true break-out star of Season 3, Beebo — the purest good — would reappear as a kind of ninja warrior Stay Puft Marshmallow Man who is both hungry and really wants a hug, ultimately exploding (and killing Mallus) in a blue heart-shaped nuclear cloud went above and beyond all expectations. It was the marquee moment of this crazy season, and a thematically on-point, perfect way to wrap things up. Love wins, so kill ‘em with kindness!

The Aruba-set epilogue then took us back to the beginning, where everything kicked off this year, and instead of Julius Caesar it included a Constantine trolling by Gary (the set and the lighting was so distracting here, but I’ll forgive every cost-saving measure because of that Beebo fight). Sara and Ava are still working things out, Wally is fitting in great (and finally getting to use his powers the way a speedster should as part of a team), and Zari has a weird crush on Jonah Hex that is somehow adorable. But Nate also said goodbye to Amaya (and looks like the show is as well), in a way that — like with Damien’s departure — capped off many episodes’ worth of personal struggle. We didn’t need to see a drawn-out farewell from these two, because they’ve spent most of the season fighting their feelings, acknowledging them, and coming to the realization that they can’t have a future together. It was sad, but not maudlin — perfect for Legends.

So after an episode full of amazing references to Voltron, the “chicken people,” Wonder Woman, Vietnam, Blackbeard, and just about every throwaway line from the season (not to mention the sweetness of Mick remembering Ray’s song, and the hilarity of High Nate), we got a new setup for the season to come. “We broke time!” is now “We let out all the demons,” according to Constantine, and the hunt to put them back into the same realm Mallus came from is the right way for Legends to move forward. But what Legends proves above all is that drama can just as potently come from joy, triumph, and friendship as it can from sadness, violence, and death. Legends includes both sides exceptionally well, but regardless, it choose to stay optimistic — an important and crucial distinction that sets it apart from its Arrowverse brethren. Ultimately, the show’s exceptionally fun yet also narratively complex third season was a cuddly explosion of love conquering death. It was, fittingly, legendary.

***

She liked Season 3 better than I did. I liked it, and frankly it is (so far) more satisfying than the other three CW shows (Supergirl, Flash and Arrow; it is unfair to compare Black Lightning, in its inaugural season, to the others). I’ve come to accept that this show is of a sillier bent than the rest; I don’t like it but I accept it.

But I liked this season – at times it is the best season of the show so far! Highlights included:

The return of Constantine.

The shorter season forces the conclusion of the season-long story arc from continuing long past its expiration date (which has plagued all of the other three CW shows this season as well as last year’s Flash and the past two seasons of Arrow.

The return of Constantine.

After a season full of episode after episode of Damien Darhke and the eye-rollingly overused trope of his snatching defeat from the jaws of victory from the Legends; we are finally shown another side in the season’s last episodes – just as he was turning into the Agent-of-Shield’s-Ward of the CW-line (every week for three years being constantly reminded he is the unredeemable and undefeatable villain) he does something unexpected and (more importantly) un-telegraphed (compared to, say, Marlize DeVoe ‘s inevitable redemption on this season’s Flash).

The return of … well, you get the idea…

Themyscira exists in the CW-verse. Is Wonder Woman (or perhaps Donna Troy) a possibility?

The return of Matt Ryan (see how I sneaked that in there?).

The Elvis episode was one of the best DC/CW shows to air so far.

Constantine playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Kid Flash joins the cast. Last season Eobard Thawne snatched victory away from the Legends every week. Every. Week. Now it’s the good guys’ turn. Not overdone, but Kid Flash was only in the later episodes. But beware: it could be as overused a crutch as it was for the Legion of Doom last season.

John Noble’s return as Denethor (it makes up for the shameful Tolkien “homage” of last season)!

I didn’t much like the ET homage episode, but the Legends trick-or-treating with a young Ray was a fun scene!

Did I mention Constantine?

Legends has been renewed and I look forward to its new direction. Join me in watching!

Michael G Curry

Constantine to Join Legends as Series Regular

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From Scoop:

“While a fourth season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has yet to be confirmed, Matt Ryan’s John Constantine has already been announced as a series regular. Warner Bros. Television press release didn’t offer too many details, except to say that Constantine would join the main team aboard the Waverider.

Created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben, Constantine was first introduced in The Saga of Swamp Thing. The character went on to star in 300 issues of DC’s Hellblazer series.

Ryan previously portrayed Constantine for a short-lived TV series on NBC between 2014 to 2015. He later reprised his role as the cult classic character on a season four episode of Arrow entitled “Haunted.” While this was a one-time Arrow appearance, Ryan has since made a few appearances during the current season of Legends of Tomorrow.

Along with appearing in the season finale, and possible fourth season, Ryan will voice Constantine in the upcoming Constantine series. This animated series will debut this March 24, 2018 on The CW Seed.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs on Monday nights at 7:00 pm (Central) on The CW.”

This article originally published on Scoop:

©2018 Gemstone Publishing, Inc. and/or Diamond International Galleries. All other material ©2018 respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. Scoop is published weekly by: Gemstone Publishing Inc., Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, Diamond International Galleries and FAN, the Fandom Advisory Network, 1940 Greenspring Drive, Suite I, Timonium, MD 21093, 443-318-8467. Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., 10150 York Road, Suite 300, Hunt Valley, MD 21030.

My thanks for allowing me to reprint it here.

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DC’s Legends of Tomorrow — “Daddy Darhkest” — Image Number: LGN310a_0366b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Matt Ryan as Constantine and Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary — Photo: Jeff Weddell/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What exciting news! Read my news and reviews of “Constantine” and “Legends of Tomorrow” by using the search engine on my home page.

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About the author: Michael Curry is the author of the Brave & Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, The Day John F Kennedy Met the Beatles and the award-winning Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and How Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt Helped.  Check his website for more releases! Thanks for reading!

A review of the CW’s Arrow (part two)

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A DC-TV Primer: the CW Network’s superhero lineup

Wednesday: Arrow

Part Two

Read Part One here

Arrow the television show and Arrow the character are the Batman of their CW Universe: the flagship, the one the other shows and characters look to for inspiration, guidance and training (willingly and unwillingly for both parties).

Hell of a thing to say for a big Superman fan like me, eh? Like it or not, up until 25 or so years ago I would have said that Superman was the iconic flagship, and would have been correct; but the apparent dislike of the Man of Steel by the editors and writers at DC since have lowered his esteem – at one point making him as laughable as Captain Marvel and the Martian Manhunter were. But that is a whole other blog rant.

When Flash faced his Big Bad Season-Ending supervillain on his own show, the Big Bad taunted him for coming alone. “Who said I was alone?” Flash said. Arrow jumped from the background to stand beside his friend and protégé.

Chills. This is going to be a cool fight! (It didn’t disappoint!)

 

Arrow/Green Arrow was the perfect DC hero for a television drama: a little-known character (but popular in the comic book world) with a simple origin and not a lot of background to burden a program developer.

Millionaire playboy trapped on an island where he learned to shoot arrows. In the early 1970s the character loses his fortune and becomes a social, as well as a crime, crusader.

Quite likely because of the movie franchise, the Batman character was unavailable. In retrospect, it was a good move to go with Green Arrow. Giving Batman the Berlanti treatment would have been fun to watch, but it would not have worked as well.

Let’s face it; Batman’s origins and character are too firmly entrenched. The show would be too burdened by its past (although Gotham – now in its third season – does a great job in re-imagining that past; and is very good in its way, that take on the Caped Crusader would NOT fit in with the DC-CW stable).

 

Being in its fifth season, Arrow shows cracks that are not yet visible in Flash, let alone the sophomore Supergirl or Legends. The cracks are particularly apparent while binge-watching.

The formula (which can quickly become formulaic) for the DC-CW shows started in Arrow:

  1. The uber-baddie that lurks throughout the season culminating in a season-finale final battle. Granted the show does it well: it’s not one long storyline with zero progression {kaff-last-season’s-Agents-of-Shield-kaff}. Other villains show up during the season – some you think MIGHT be the season-finale uber-villain. A viewer can go several weeks without hearing the Big Bad mentioned. This is good.

The show sometimes even makes fun of this: at one point at the Season Three finale, Quentin Lance said (I paraphrase), “a super-villain is threatening to destroy all of Star City? It must be May!” In my opinion that line should proudly stand alongside “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly” and “I saw it in the window and I couldn’t resist it” in TV history.

  1. The mcguffin syndrome that occasionally plagues Flash began with Arrow: bad guy shows himself. Arrow fights bad guy and gets whipped. Arrow’s team finds a flaw and creates a special Arrow to beat bad guy. In between we have scenes advancing the various sub-plots.
  2. The sub-plots: Characters die. They come back. Characters hate Arrow for various reasons (most often of the “I can never trust you again” type) but also come back into “Team Arrow”. (I cringe when I hear or read that term). Quentin Lance seems to hate Arrow in odd-numbered seasons and be his ally in even-numbered seasons.

 

That being said, I LOVE the show! It’s full of comic book Easter eggs (although not as much as Flash) to keep this old viewer happy.

Although even that is not without its faults. Introducing characters like Roy Harper and calling Arrow’s sister by her nickname Speedy pretty much give away their inevitable roles in the show. Their introduction and use of Black Canary was a nice surprise twist, though.

 

By not being tied to a popular back story ala Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, the creators of Arrow can introduce “new” characters: we meet his mother, his father, his sister (I love Willa Holland as Thea Queen – the character grows from self-centered rich girl to a very three-dimensional woman!), Diggle and of course Felicity.

Dave Ramsey as Diggle provides the muscle and back-up when needed and is a great character.

And of course how could I not love she-geek Felicity Smoak played by Emily Bett Rickards?

 

The villains are a mixed breed of one or two-shot baddies to the Big Bad that is finally fought in the season finale. The Big Bads are drawn from DC comics. When John Barrowman was introduced as Malcolm Merlin, we old-time readers knew he was up to no good. Same with Slade Wilson, Brother Blood and Damien Darhk (played by Neal McDonough, who also played Dum Dum in Captain America: The First Avenger movie).

The most surprising Big Bad was Batman villain Ra’s Al Ghul, confirming Arrow’s status as this world’s Batman. Excellently played by Matt Nable; he steals every scene.

For the new season the Big Bad is modern-era villain Prometheus. In the comics he fought the Justice League to a standstill and mutilated Red Arrow/Arsenal.

Uh-oh … once again being a comic book reader may have spoiled part of a future storyline…

 

I’m saving Stephen Arnell for last. The actor who plays Arrow excels at the role even five seasons in – he is serious, but not too Batman-like (read sociopathic) level. Sometimes he even smiles.

 

Oh and by the way, Arrow had Amanda Waller & the Suicide Squad before it was cool. Find those episodes.

 

We likely only have another two or three seasons of Arrow left. Enjoy them.

 

 

 

Original Material Copyright 2016 Michael Curry

 

Characters mentioned and their images are copyright their respective holders.  Thanks to DC Comics, the CW Network and Berlanti Productions and the actors portrayed for the use of their images.

I also thank the original creators of all characters mentioned, whether or not they have been properly compensated (gratmens during the credits aside).