1) Welcome to Completely Comics Episode 67: Completely Arrow!

Troy, Will, Omniac from www.allthingsgeek.info and Aaron (the Comic Book Jerk) talk about CW’s new show Arrow.

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2) Introduce Us

Troy Diggle
Williver Queen

3) Introduce Guests

Omniac from Dead Television Society  http://www.deadtelevisionsociety.com/
Comic Book Jerk  http://comicbookjerk.com/

3) “Arrow” TV Show Talk

We start out discussing the Comiic Book origins of the “Arrow” and then discuss our general thoughts about the show, “Arrow”. While we planned to discuss each episode of the show, (below are Arrow episode synopsis from Wikipedia) we quickly changed it up and our love of the show Arrow comes out…

*Show Synopsis from Wikipedia

Episode 1: “Pilot”
After a shipwreck that claims the life of his father, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his mother Moira, his younger sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home but sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he has become, he tries to reconcile with his former girlfriend, Laurel, for cheating on her with her sister, who also died in the shipwreck. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly masquerades as a hooded vigilante archer by night, attempting to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory as his late father had entrusted him to do before his death. Oliver’s first personal task is to take down corrupt millionaire Adam Hunt, who has scammed millions from various people in Starling City. Laurel’s father, police detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante. Meanwhile, Oliver’s mother is revealed to have an agenda against her son, having orchestrated a kidnapping to determine what his father told him after the shipwreck.

Episode 2: “Honor Thy Father”
Laurel brings a civil suit against millionaire Martin Somers, who is also one of Oliver’s targets, for the taking part in drug trades with the Chinese Triads that ultimately led to the death of a young woman’s father. As the hooded vigilante, Oliver threatens Somers to make him confess to the murder as penance for all of the wrongs he has done to the city. Instead, Somers contacts the Triad, who sends their assassin, China White, to kill Laurel. Oliver saves Laurel from China; he also captures and gives an audio recording of Somers’ confession to Detective Lance. Meanwhile, Oliver’s mother and Walter push Oliver to take a position at the company. Oliver intentionally embarrasses the family at the opening of the company’s new applied sciences division to get out of it, knowing that he cannot honor his father’s request to fight for the city and be the man his mother wants him to be at the same time. A flashback to Oliver’s time on the island shows him being attacked by an unknown hooded figure wielding a bow and arrow.

Episode 3: “Lone Gunmen”
Oliver tracks down another millionaire from his list, but before he can get the answers he wants the man is killed by an assassin known as Deadshot. Initially, the police suspect that the vigilante, whom they refer to as “The Hood”, is responsible for the murder, but the evidence begins to prove that he did not kill anyone. Oliver decides to build a new dance club above his hideout to explain where he goes at night. While comparing the competition, Oliver finds Thea, who reveals that Laurel and Tommy had been sleeping together during Oliver’s abscence. Laurel becomes suspicious when Oliver does not react to the news. Meanwhile, Oliver uses the assassin’s M.O. to learn his true identity, and enlists the help of Detective Lance to stop Deadshot from assassinating more of the wealthy. Oliver manages to stop Deadshot, apparently killing him in the process, but his bodyguard Diggle is shot during the assassination attempt. Oliver is forced to reveal his true identity to Diggle in order to save Diggle’s life. In another flashback, it is revealed that the archer who attacked Oliver was actually trying to help him. Oliver misunderstands and escapes, but is pursued by an unknown group of armed professionals.

Episode 4: “An Innocent Man”
Diggle awakens in Oliver’s hideout, where Oliver offers Diggle a chance to fight at his side and help the city. Diggle turns him down, calling him a murderer. Later, while watching the news, Oliver discovers a connection between Declan, a deathrow inmate, and Jason Brodeur, one of the men on his list. In his vigilante persona, he enlists the help of Laurel to prove the man innocent before he is executed. Working together, the pair uncover the truth, but Jason Brodeur has his bodyguard stage a prison break so that he can have Laurel and the inmate killed before the truth is revealed. Oliver sneaks into the prison dressed as a guard, with a ski mask to hide his face, and saves Laurel and Declan. The bodyguard ultimately confesses to Declan’s innocence. Diggle meets with Oliver and agrees to work with him so that he can both protect the city and protect Oliver from losing his humanity. Detective Lance arrests Oliver on suspicion of being the vigilante after seeing footage of him changing into his disguise before the last Deadshot confrontation. Meanwhile, Walter discovers that Moira has been keeping the salvaged and sabotaged family yacht hidden in a warehouse.

Episode: 5: “Damaged”
Detective Lance charges Oliver with murder, so Oliver hires Laurel to be his attorney. Given Oliver’s time on the island, the district attorney offers Oliver an insanity plea with an indeterminate amount of time spent in a psychiatric facility under a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. Oliver declines, and offers to take a polygraph test for Detective Lance to prove his innocence. Although his test indicates he is telling the truth about not being the vigilante, the experience causes Oliver to have flashbacks to his time on the island. Oliver specifically remembers when he is caught by the armed professionals and tortured by Deathstroke before being saved by the hooded archer, which he shares with Laurel. While under house arrest, Oliver maintains his bachelor playboy facade by throwing a prison themed party and reveals to Diggle his plan was to get caught so that he could convince everyone that he was not the vigilante from the start. To accomplish this, Oliver has Diggle dress as the vigilante and go after a German arms dealer who is in the city to sell automatic weapons to the city gangs. Oliver’s plan works and the charges are dropped against him. Meanwhile, Moira meets with the an unknown associate, who is tied to the list that Oliver has, regarding the vigilante attacking members of their secret organization. Walter leaves the house after confronting Moira on her deception.

Episode 6: “Legacies”
Oliver begins preparing to take on another individual from his father’s list, but Diggle argues that he should expand his work and help the police take down a group of bank robbers. Oliver initially refuses, believing that it detracts from his mission to right his father’s wrongs; Diggle is able to persuade Oliver in the end. Oliver uses police files and IT specialist Felicity Smoak to deduce that the robbers are actually a family unit, and that the leader Derek Reston worked for Queen Industries before Robert Queen outsourced 1500 jobs to China and the Reston family lost their home as a result. Feeling guilty, Oliver tries to persuade Derek to right his own wrongs, but when he learns that the family are going to rob another bank he chooses to stop them. During Oliver’s confrontation, Derek is shot and not killed. Meanwhile, Tommy throws Laurel a fundraiser to help her pro-bono law firm, CNRI, stay in business; Tommy hopes that this will show Laurel that he is serious about wanting a relationship with her. Flashbacks also reveal how Oliver first discovered the target names in his father’s notebook.

7) Other Arrow podcasts you may enjoy:
Quiver: The Green Arrow Podcast at: http://quiverpodcast.com/
Rogue Arrow Podcast at: http://roguearrow.blogspot.com/

8) Contact Information:
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Help out the show by going to www.completelycomics.wordpress.com/helptheshow (don’t forget to check out the Comic Radio!

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From Villains United #1, written by Gail Simone, drawn by Dale Eaglesham

Everyone’s jealous of Deathstroke’s new pirate boots. Everyone except Lex Luthor.

The basic idea behind this mini-series is that the majority of super-villains have wised up and joined a union. Lex Luthor and some other key ne’er-do-wells from the villainy scene reformed the Secret Society. He had Deathstroke, the world’s deadliest assassin. He had Black Adam, the evil version of Captain Marvel, as muscle. He had the Calculator working out the logistics (and he didn’t wear that goofy outfit). He had Talia Al Ghul for the benefit of her army of trained killer. And lastly, he had the telepathic dwarf Dr. Psycho around to help convince those less eager to come aboard. So they set out to recruit all of the talent in the criminal underworld for their organization, and were met with almost unanimous approval. There’s even a cool little montage of all these villains being approached by representatives of the Society and agreeing to join up. And then they got to Catman. And he said no.

See? Told ya.

So the Society teaches him a lesson. They don’t attack his body, they decide instead to injure his pride. Literally. They killed the family of lions he’d been living with, and he didn’t care for that one little bit. So, when he was approached for membership in an opposing group of villains, the Secret Six, he was more open to the idea of team work. The Six were a group comprised of various low-level villains being more or less blackmailed into working against the society by a shadowy figure known only as Mockingbird. And they weren’t fucking around… they recruited Catman to replace the Fiddler, who they had executed for poor performance in a recent operation.

Deadshot, Catman, Cheshire, Parademon, Ragdoll, and Scandall all getting burned at once.

So, this ragtag crew of has-beens and never-wases embark upon their mission to terrorize the Secret Society. And you know what? They actually do all right! They hit the Society where it hurts, and it’s not long before they get the attention of Luthor and company. I don’t want to spoil the fun stuff, but suffice it to say that each side has an agent working toward the other’s goal and Mockingbird’s true identity comes as a great shock to the Six, the Society, and the reader. After the grand showdown, the Secret Six (give or take) decide to continue operating as a team without Mockingbird’s leadership, and go freelance to any cause that pays. This leads into their eponymous min-series and subsequent ongoing title, which I’m currently reading whenever I have a free moment.

Gail Simone does a great job of bringing a distinct personality to every character in this book. She brings welcome changes to the preexisting characters, she manages to turn Catman from a joke into a bad-ass who you believe can hold his own against Batman himself. She makes Deathstroke into a sympathetic anti-hero who loves his family by keeping them at arm’s length. She adds a new level to Cheshire’s ruthlessness. And as far as the new characters go, she introduces Scandal, the team’s liaison to Mockingbird, who is herself more than meets the eye. She brought in disturbing comic relief in the form of Ragdoll, the twisted, surgery-addicted, prim contortionist with a heart of gold and his guardian Parademon. A good 45% of of Parademon’s dialogue consists of warning other characters against hurting Ragdoll. And much of what Ragdoll himself says will leave you a bit queasy.

That’s all for now, geeks. I’ll be back soon… once I’ve finished with the Secret Six’s adventures.

All images and characters depicted are copyright of their respective owners.

-The Suicide Squad’s “Death of The Family” tie-in!  What starts as a funeral for a friend turns to Harley face to “face” with her beloved Joker.

-Mean while Amanda Waller discovers the Squad’s traitor! But has the war with Basilisk already been lost?

STORY BY: Adam Glass

ART BY: Fernando Dagnino

COLORS BY: Matt Yackey

LETTERS BY: Jared K. Fletcher

COVER BY: Ken Lashley, Matt Yackey

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

COVER PRICE: $2.99

RELEASE DATE: Wed, November 14th, 2012

Why am I watching? I was a big fan of Mike Grell’s run DC Comics’ Green Arrow comic book. I watched a lot of Smallville on the CW. So the CW adapting another DC Comics hero to the small screen attracted me.

I Watched It

Oliver Queen survives a shipwreck, spending five years on an isolated island. While there, he learns to use a bow and arrow to defend himself and to hunt for food.

When he returns to civilization, he finds that criminals, of all stripes, have overrun his city. He dons a disguise, takes up his bow and arrow, and goes for vengeance.

On the Bubble

There are some smart things going on here.

The CW seriously amped up the soap opera factor. When the ship sinks, Oliver is with his ex-girlfriend’s sister. The ship was sabotaged, in an attempt to kill Oliver, his father, and some of the other passengers. Oliver’s mother was behind the sabotage.

Oliver’s father killed another survivor and committed suicide to preserve Oliver’s life. Before killing himself, the senior Queen gave Ollie a notebook. In it were a list of industrialists guilty of any number of crimes . They’re Oliver’s first targets.

Paul Blackthorne plays the father of the Lance sisters (one deceased in the wreck Ollie survived, and one a public defender), and a police detective hunting the vigilante Green Arrow.

The CW made the cast younger. In the comics, Oliver Queen was an older man. In the TV show, Oliver is in his twenties.

Making Oliver a ne’er-do-well who sobers up and learns something about “real life” while on the island was smart. We all like stories about people turning their lives around.

Also in its favor is its casting. Stephen Amell plays Oliver Queen and he looks like he can do the things that we see on screen. The rest of the cast is pretty darn good. We’re big fans of UK actors Colin Salmon and Paul Blackthorne, so seeing them onscreen is a treat for me.

Still…After burning out on Smallville, and with the amount of soap opera they’re throwing at me, I can’t commit to Arrow yet. I don’t care how many parallels they try to draw with Hamlet (explicit in Ep. 3).

WTF

So far, the nods to the comic book have included Ollie’s ex-girlfriend, whose full name is Dinah Laurel Lance – making her the future Black Canary. Another nod to the comic books is the appearance of Deadshot in the third episode. There’s a visual reference to another DC Comics villain, Deathstroke, in the first episode.

It bodes ill that the series feels the need to borrow villains from Teen Titans and Batman rather than from Green Arrow’s villains.

Granted, the Green Arrow’s central rogues gallery is pretty weak. Brick? Clockwork King? The Rainbow Archer? Please. That said, they could have invented something new.

Strangely, Merlyn is one of Ollie’s buddies in the show. In the comic books, he was an archer idolized by young Oliver Queen and who eventually become a mercenary. Since the TV Merlyn is sleeping with Dinah, Ollie’s ex, there is some potential conflict built in there, no matter how calm they see about it now.

That said, even after four episodes, it’s too early to tell.

Then again, it’s two more episodes than I watched of Last Resort.

Thoughts?

What comic book adaptations did you like, or despise, on the small screen?

mp3

Episode 37 we are all over the place. Just look at the keywords if you don’t believe me.. One thing is for sure, Halloween isn’t over until you listen to this. Not really, but I’ve always wanted to use that stupid line.

Episode 37: Spooky Scary Halloween Edition (Not Really)

Extras:

-Bloodhaven gets a shout-out(If only Nightwing could make an appearance)

-Moira has her hands dirty somehow, but isn’t happy about it.

-Iron Heights, a famous DC Comics prison, makes an appearance

-Walter aint no fool

-Detective Lance continues to have dialogue reminiscent of an obnoxious cartoon character

DC Entertainment presents “Con Away From Con” 5.2 Questions with “Arrow” star Stephen Amell at the NY Comic Con.

Amell says he’s being re-introduced to comics and he’s really enjoying it.

There’s no doubt that “Arrow” is full of action sequences and that’s a major draw for the show, but the episodes are focusing on characters and their development.

“We showed a reel at our panel that was two and a half minutes long and we have China White, we have Deadshot, we have Deathstroke, we have The Huntress we have a character that I can’t talk about at all. he’s not at liberty to talk about.”

“But most importantly, I think we’re serving the story well in terms of seeing what Oliver’s dealing with and what he’s going through.”

Stay tuned to “Arrow” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CW50 in Detroit.

Deadshot is targeting people who are candidates to buy a clean energy project at an auction and Queen’s stepfather, Walter, is one of the bidders. As Arrow, Queen corners Detective Lance and tells him that he cannot cover the entire auction alone and needs his help, then disappears. Lance reluctantly places officers at vantage points, but not before Deadshot kills one of his men and it becomes apparent the target is Walter. As Deadshot takes aim, Lance pushes Walter down and Queen rushes out to assume his secret identity. He kills Deadshot in a showdown but his bodyguard, Dig, is shot in the process; Queen rushes Dig to his lair and treats his wounds. When Dig wakes up he sees Queen sitting there in Arrow’s famous outfit – his secret is out.

Photo courtesy of CW

While this main story occurs, the Oliver Queen part of the story threads its way through as he tries to maintain his public persona. He decides he to build a nightclub, as a cover, in the warehouse where he has set up his lair. He takes his best friend, Tommy, and Dig to see it, and Tommy persuades him to visit a new club in the downtown area to see what clubs have become in the time he’s been away. Laurel is also at the club and Queen’s very drunk sister, Thea, spills the beans that Tommy and Laurel were seeing each other while Oliver was presumed dead. Queen tells Tommy that he doesn’t have anything to worry about, giving his blessing to the relationship. Tommy visits Laurel and tells her that he wants to be the man she deserves, and she decides to give him a chance.

During flashbacks we see a continuation of Queen’s experiences after the shipwreck. While being chased after landing he had been shot through the shoulder by a mysterious man in a green hooded jacket, and we now see that same man has brought him to a cave and treated his wounds. Queen escapes but is caught in a suspended rope trap and when the hooded man rescues him, again, he tells him it’s not safe to be out there alone. A troop of men in black military gear find the destroyed rope trap, obviously searching for someone, presumably Queen or the hooded man.

Photo courtesy of CW

One of the many things I love about this show is the separation of the three parts of the tale: the time Queen was on the island, his assumed identity as Arrow, and the persona he feels a need to maintain in public, and it works so well because Stephen Amell plays each one of them in a distinctly different way. Post-shipwreck Queen is terrified and completely overwhelmed with his situation, showing fear and weakness. Arrow is brooding and focused. Public Oliver Queen is lighthearted, quick to smile and rebellious.

Despite his womanizing exterior, I feel that Tommy is genuine in his feelings for Laurel and I can see him really trying hard to make it work. For her part, though, I think the flame Laurel is still obviously carrying for Oliver (evidenced by her “trolling” for articles about him on the internet!), and his for her, could be the cause for some future heartbreak.

Photo courtesy of CW

One thing that did go un-mentioned was the fact that in the names of victims that Deadshot had tattooed across his body, “Andrew Digger”appeared. One can only assume this is the brother of Queen’s bodyguard, who we discovered this week was killed on the job – could be an interesting side story to explore later!

Guy Bee’s stellar direction and continued multi-layered performances from the cast brought us another intriguing and explosive episode of Arrow, one that I’m sure will keep us glued to the TV at the same time next week!

Arrow airs on The CW and CTV on Wednesdays at 8/7c

The time has come for the last of the New Fall TV Reviews. The column is CW heavy– as the network tries a new plan of starting their programs later than the other networks…. To cut down on the many breaks between first-run episodes. (The CW used to begin their new TV season nearly a month before everyone– necessitating long breaks between new episodes).

It been a fun ride– and hopefully none of these shows will be cancelled before these reviews are posted.

I’ll be rating each show using the following designations: Live! (a show I will try to watch every week), DVR/App (I like it, but can wait till the weekend to watch), Check Back (could be good, but I’ll wait a few weeks and see if it gets better before watching again) and Netflix (I’ll wait till the whole season is over before checking it out). I’m never going to suggest “not to watch” because shows can get better and my taste will not always be your taste.

Arrow
CW Wednesdays
8:00 pm ET

After a full year with no new Smallville episodes, the appearance of Arrow on the CW is a welcome sight. When the show was announced, there was a lot of talk wondering how it would fare. I believe the discussions were valid. If Smallville premiered in Today’s TV climate, the series probably wouldn’t have lasted past its Third Season… And even that prediction is me being kind… It may not have lasted a full year. But Arrow benefits from Smallville’s decade long run– as the  CW and Warner Brothers continue to figure out how to bring more Comic Book franchises to TV.

One of the key ingredients to enjoying this show: Remember you’re watching comic book characters. Over the years, many producers/writers have made huge mistakes when bringing superhero properties to TV and Film. Their biggest mistake? Attempting to make the characters populating these projects seem like real people. That only works if you go full throttle with the concept– making the entire universe populated by these characters realistic too. (Best example: Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy.)

Arrow felt like I was watching Green Arrow comic. Viewers favorably responded too– and the show has received a full season order.

The cast is good… And Arrow plays to the teenage female demographic (that lives off CW programming) just enough to help boost viewership past Smallville’s core audience. I have no problem with this… Especially since the producers couldn’t count on the low number of New 52 Green Arrow comic fans to make the show a hit. In the end, I believe the way Arrow decides to integrate DC characters and continuity will determine how long the show survives. Smallville became a stronger show when more classic Superman villains and allies began to appear on the show (and were weaved into series’ continuity).

The producers seem to understand this, as Arrow’s opening shot provides a quick glimpse of Deathstroke’s mask. Knowing the Huntress, Deadshot and Constantine Drakon will also be added soon brings hope for a good season. I do have one worry: Green Arrow is not known to have a plethora of supporting characters (like Superman)– so to put so many in the first season could be short-sighted.

The other toss-up factor: John Barrowman.

Captain Jack Harkness has signed on for the ambiguous role of “Well-Dressed Man”… And this character could ultimately make or break this show. The actor has a significant, intimate following– so there will be a huge influx of viewers when his first episode premieres. Arrow’s challenge is to hang onto these fans. If they misuse Barrowman, many of his rabid fans will stop viewing– and spend their free time blasting Arrow on the internet.

As a first episode, Arrow’s premiere did what it needed to do… And didn’t compromise the essence of the Green Arrow character. If I did have other things to watch on Wednesday night, this show would still beat them all.

Chicago Fire
NBC Wednesdays
10:00 pm ET

This is going to be a short review. Why? Because nothing really happens in this pilot– other than three calls to the fire station and then some action scenes showing how the firemen and first responders deal with these situations.

In a sense, producer Dick Wolf is simply carrying on the tradition of his Law & Order franchise– now focusing on firefighters. I think the existence of Chicago Fire highlights why there are so many police procedurals on TV and firefighters kinda get the cold shoulder. There is no story to putting out a fire. Crime involves a natural progression of cause and effect plus suspense– and each new case comes with a satisfying narrative climax once the case is solved. Firefighters (as far as this show has told us) go to fires, put them out– then leave. And while I have the utmost respect for firefighters and wish they received more credit than they do– they are just not entertaining enough to devote a dramatic show to.

The creators could have picked up the slack between calls by emphasizing the characters. But there was little effort put there. I’m not sure if they were going for realism or trying to not be melodramatic, but I was told nothing of consequence to make me care about any of the characters in this pilot. I barely know their names, since they were hardly used.

If this was an episode half-way into a season, I would probably think differently about it. As the pilot for a new show having to compete with Nashville, there is nothing that compelled me to keep watching.

Nashville
ABC Wednesdays
10:00 pm ET

Fox has Glee, NBC has Smash and now ABC has Nashville. Unlike the other two shows, Nashville is a pretty good show. Having Connie Britton as one of the stars helps tremendously. She seems to have an innate ability to grab your attention, act her heart out in every scene and make it feel genuine. It also helps they have original songs and not just campy covers. Still, if you don’t have at least a modicum of interest in any kind of Country Music, it’s hard to say if you will enjoy the show… Since that’s what Nashville is about.

I do suggest that if Country Music is out of your comfort zone– at least check out the pilot.

I will say I was a skeptic about this show– especially after watching Glee and Smash develop. I also get very leery when a network calls a new series “The #1 Show of the Season!” before it even premieres. But the first 5-10 minutes of this pilot did some of the best setup this season– and most shows use their entire pilot to set-up audiences for what’s to come.

The story and acting didn’t let up for the whole hour. While it does derive many of its dramatic elements from other Prime Time Soap Operas, Nashville never gets melodramatic. The characters feel real in their actions and reactions. The situations, while predictable at times, never feel gimmicky. And by the end of the show, you have a unique and emotional connection to every character. When was the last time you actually cared about a supporting character at the end of a pilot?

And as I mentioned before, there will be original songs in every Nashville episode– which is a great thing to have… Because, unlike Glee and Smash, producers won’t have to scour for existing songs to fit each episode’s plot. If they do this right, Nashville could become a true musical theater show by having songs that are meant for each episode– just like every song in an original Broadway Musical is meant for only that play.

Nashville gives us a lot in the first episode… So much, that I’m going to have to check it out each week– and I hope some of you come along with me. I think ABC might have been right with their premature marketing… Just this once.

Beauty and the Beast
CW Thursday
9:00 pm ET

Let me count the ways this show is completely unworthy of an hour of anyone’s life:

1) Kristin Kreuk – I struggled with her on Smallville. It’s worse here, where she is a fashion model thin detective that supposedly can kung-fu the crap out of two large men while wearing skinny jeans… Yet still can’t act her way out of a paper bag.

2) This is really Beauty and the Hulk– despite the whole point of the original Beauty and the Beast story being that love is about who you are on the inside. Given this, every retelling of this story usually has a character with some sort of monstrous appearance. But this Beauty and the Beast has an attractive ex-military man who– having been part of an experiment to make him a super solider– turns into a killing machine he can’t control when he gets angry…. But somehow never seems to want to hurt Kreuk’s character. If you want to know the rest of this story, just re-watch 2008′s Incredible Hulk movie– since the stories are basically the same and the film has much better actors in it.

3) The show tries too hard to make female characters masculine. I am all for strong women roles, but the character given to Nina Lisandrello was cartoonish– as they tried to make her seem like every male gritty beat cop in New York (on TV). If they really thought they needed a masculine counter point to Kruek when it came to police work, they should have gotten a male actor. That is not female empowerment, this is just saying women can’t be allowed to act like women in certain TV roles.

4) The most obvious season plot line ever. Yeah, sorry… I’m spilling the beans– since you really should not watch this show. The mother of Kreuk’s character helped create the super solider serum that created the Bulk. (See what I did there?)

Anyone that tries to say or find anything good about this show is in denial. There wasn’t one redeemable aspect to the entire hour.

Emily Owens M.D.
CW Tuesdays
9:00 pm ET

If you read my review of The Mob Doctor, then you basically know all the problems with Emily Owens MD. The only difference is– while The Mob Doctor latched onto the mobster theme to appease male viewers, Emily Owens M.D.’s writers thought it would be good to channel the television classic, Degrassi High.

Since I could be considered a professional patient in real life– I know I want my surgeons to have the emotional maturity of an 11-year-old. (I say this because there is a twelve-year-old patient in the pilot that’s more mature than Doctor Owens– so she set the bar for comparison.)

I understand the concept of Delayed Adulthood is real– I live it every day… But to have a character finish med school as a surgeon– then have her life still be that of a childs is not the same thing. That’s just pandering to the lowest common denominator of the CW’s demographic. I remember getting hit from all sides as a teenager with the “women mature faster than men” line. This show basically says, “Nah, they don’t.” It also tells teenage girls it fine not to grow up– since, apparently, Hospitals and Doctors are just like High Schools and the Students that populate them. That’s what Emily Owens M.D. wants everyone to believe at least… High School should never end. Growing up is icky– though not as icky as repairing a ruptured colon.

Like The Mob Doctor, there were good moments of a compelling medical drama in Emily Owens MD. Mamie Gummer does an excellent job playing a doctor. But there is so much more crappy teen drama than medical drama here– so her fine performance gets lost very quickly.

Since it does share the same problems as The Mob Doctor, it’s likely to get cancelled as well. But even if it isn’t, I can’t recommend checking this show out– unless you are a pre-teen, socially awkward girl.

So ends the 2012 Fall TV Premiere Season. There are a couple of stragglers from here through November, but nothing that seems too gripping or begs to be watched. While I’ll be going back to my Monthly column again, I’ve got another special treat for you all…

Next year is the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. Starting on October 22nd, I’ll be watching one story arc of Doctor Who– starting all the way back to The Unearthly Child (with William Hartnell as the First Doctor). At the end of each Doctor’s run, I’ll write an extra Screen Burn™ Column focusing on each Doctor– possibly even two in the case of Tom Baker, since he was on for so long. Hopefully, these columns will finish up in time for the Season Finale of the current Doctor Who Season 7 run… But before the start of the many 50th Anniversary Specials set to air next year. If you want to follow me as I watch, I’ll LIVE TWEET using the hashtag of whichever doctor I’m watching (i.e. #FirstDoctor, #SecondDoctor). So keep an eye out for both my regular Monthly Column and the Special Doctor Who Columns starting in November!

First of all, Deadshot’s real name is Floyd Lawton. He was born the youngest of two brothers, and he had quite and adoration for Edward, his big brother. The two of them lived with their mother, Genevieve, and their father, the wealthy and powerful George Lawton. Now, Edward was good in everything he did (sports, studies, girls), while Floyd wasn’t. He lived in his brother’s shadow, but still loved and idolized him. To compensate the good attentions given to Edward, Floyd bacamen quite a little delinquent, putting up every kind of possible trouble. At a certain point, Genevieve, who had quite an evil side, decided to use her sons to get rid of her hated husband, and put up some lies about him, telling David and Floyd that George was a violent and evil man, who would have killed her if someone didn’t do something before. Edward, the always good son fond of his mommy, decided to help her and agreed to kill his father, on Genevieve’s suggestion; Floyd, on the other hand, didn’t fall for it, and refused to harm his own father. For this brave decision, he was closed in the houses’ shed. From the window, Floyd saw Edward shooting George (the shot would have paralyzed him), broke free, grabbed a gun and climbed a tree: from a branch, he tried to save his father by shooting his brother’s rifle, meaning to disarm him, but, at the last moment, the branch broke, Floyd fell, and he ended up shooting his brother in the face, killing him instantly. Not a lucky guy, indeed. His brother’s death by his own hands took away every meaning Floyd gave to life at all, and forged him into an assassin.

Lawton began to travel the world, building up his markmanship and becoming infallible with a rifle, a gun or any kind of fire-arm. The main intent behind this obsession with aim was Floyd’s promise to himself, that the one which killed Edward would have been his last missed shot. When he arrived in Gotham City, Floyd witnessed the amazing deeds of the Batman, and decided to take his place as Gotham’s protector, following someway his brother’s footsteps as the hero. For the occasion, he created a costume and the identity of Deadshot, the new lethal vigilante. His plan went horribly wrong: his capabilities in fighting crime weren’t enough to make Gotham’s citizens see him as the new hero, and Deadshot became quite frustrated because of it; he decided to change his plans and to become the master of the city’s underground criminality, giving up to his original nature. Batman and Commissioner Gordon managed to publicly unveil his schemes, and Deadshot was arrested. Years later, Lawton stole a device from the Penguin, who had been put in a cell near to his one, that allowed him to escape from prison. Seeking vengeance against Batman, Lawton reinvented his Deadshot’s identity as a killer, and began to kill innocent people to gain Batman’s attention. After some fights with the Caped Crusader, Deadshot eventually used his unique skills to become an assassin-for-hire, making a name of himself as the best marksman ever lived, a killer who never misses a shot. After continuously being captured by Batman, Deadshot finally received an offer he couldn’t refuse, and became a member of the Suicide Squad, a secret team used by the Government for dirty works, led by Amanda Waller and formed by convicted criminals.

Having brought his physical condition to a more than excellent level, naturally agile and athletic and, above everything else, having mastered and incredible aim and knowledge of fire-arms, Deadshot surely comes up to his boasts to be the greatest marksman ever. An assassin with deep emotional wounds, who always seeks someone who can fill the hole left by his brother’s death, Deadshot is nevertheless one of the most dangerous men alive, with no superpowers, but armored and equipped enough to be more than a challenge for every super-being.

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story)

The Story: If arrows work so well against bullets, how do you explain the Spanish empire?

The Review: As a show grows, it usually does one of two things: keep on doing what it does best or constantly trying new things in an attempt to reinvent itself—or perish.  Following my usual pattern of analogizing things to NBC sitcoms, I give you two examples: 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation.  At some point, 30 Rock embraced its weirdness and never looked back, perhaps to its detriment.  Parks and Rec, meanwhile, continues to evolve week by week.

In the end, Parks and Rec remains nearly as solid as it began, while 30 Rock has waxed and waned as it struggles to find new variables to fit into its comedic formula.  Arrow will do well to emulate the P&R strategy.  It simply cannot sustain itself with a weekly pattern of Ollie taking down yet another scummy CEO in an urbanized “Monster of the Week” format.  Thankfully, we see the show continuing to take steps to break up the rut before it digs itself too deep.

The entrance of Deadshot proves that there are bigger foes to fry than corporate honchos, and that greater use of the rich well of DC lore is in the works.  But the writers must be much, much more adept at using that resource if they want to put it to best use.  I dare to say that if Deadshot has any popular appeal today, it’s almost certainly due to Gail Simone’s brilliant conception of his amoral, Dean Martin-esque casualness towards his profession.  We get pretty much none of that here, reducing him to a dangerous, but lifeless marksmanship rival for our hero.

We also see some attempts to branch out storylines separate from the core that is Ollie.  In these instances, the writers make too little effort to deepen the relationships between the supporting cast, making any kind of conflict or resolution among them almost ignorable.  Thea and Moira’s mother-daughter tension is hardly original to begin with, even with their luxurious surroundings, and whatever reconciliation they reach towards the third act works only from Willa Holland and Susanna Thompson’s strength as actors, not from any real value in the scene itself.

Same goes to Tommy and Dinah’s budding relationship.  That they had a fling behind Ollie’s back surprises no one, not even Ollie (making the big bean-spilling in his new club that much less affecting), but Tommy’s genuine affection for Dinah may surprise you.  Actually, “surprise” may be too strong a word; let’s say that it gives you some pause.  After all, we didn’t get to see much of Tommy’s philandering ways to make his sudden vow to go straight all that impressive.

If the show really wants to go in a new direction, it should pay attention to the potential it has set up itself.  Now that Ollie has given the relationship his semi-blessing and he’s come to some kind of understanding with Dinah himself, the show should have the guts to avoid any lame love-triangle nonsense in favor of a long-term friendly trio, with Ollie as odd man out, until an occasion to bring Ollie and Dinah together inevitably arises.

Besides, Arrow continues to demonstrate its willingness to try new things at this early juncture to keep the show from falling into old habits.  The cutesy “we both know what’s going on here, but we just won’t talk about it” thing between Diggle and Ollie finally gets thrown out.  Ollie may have a new flame and ally in the I.T. nerd seemingly too self-conscious of her own awkwardness to realize she has a sexy bod, making any lack of social graces (“Right, but [your father’s] dead—I mean, he drowned—but you didn’t, so that means you can come down to the I.T. department and listen to me babble.”) irrelevant.  Even more interestingly, a strange, but potently tense kind of trust begins to simmer between Detective Lance and the vigilante he’s trying to shut down.  Develop all of these things, and the writers may have an original show on their hands.

Conclusion: Some missteps here, some strong steps there, and in the end, you get an episode as solidly entertaining as the last.  There is a lot of potential here, and unlike in a movie, it’s not too late for the show to capitalize on it.

Grade: B

- Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: - I appreciate Dinah’s instinctual window-minimizing when bestie Joanne sees her reading the latest news on Ollie’s endeavors.  I’ve had to do the quick-draw minimize myself, although I’ll spare you the inglorious details of what I was laughably failing to hide from whom.

- I was rather taken aback at the woman whom Deadshot shot in the back, but I suppose in a society striving for gender equality, women are just as likely to be injured bystanders as men.

- Kate Bishop used it, Zatanna used it, and now Dinah uses it, and still the use of “self-defense classes” as an explanation for being able to nonchalantly take down trained thugs with no sweat rings as false and lame as ever.

Network: the CW

Date: 10/24/2012

Airs: Wed. 9/8c

Alright, since my internet was having issues, I did not get the chance to post this week’s review of Arrow, so let’s do this!!! This week was just as awesome as every other week. Now I have come to the conclusion that Ollie cannot wear his shirt at least three times an episode, and tested my theory on Wed. night. Well, I feel short one, but he did not wear his shirt at least TWICE! Woot!

The episode opened with Ollie talking about awesome he is being a superhero… okay, not really, he was talking about his mission and the people was targeting in his typical voice-over (a lot of people seem to have issues with the voice-over, but I don’t, I think its cool and adds to the comic book feeling of it all). Ollie while talking is doing sweet pulls with a bunch of concrete slabs used for construction. And when he decides he’s done, lets them drop and explode apart! God, I love this show.

We then cut to a scene where he is back on a rooftop, looking to have a little chitty chat with a bad guy (can’t remember the guy’s name right this minute) but he is one of the many baddies Green Arrow went up against in the comic books. I have come to love that this show likes to slip in subtle things for real hard core nerds, while maintaining enough interesting things for the people not so familiar with the jokes (mostly me, I have not read that many of the comics that didn’t involve Black Canary, so I get a few jokes, but not all). So while talking to the guy on the roof, another fun guy shoots our villain and he falls into the pool. Ollie is like WTF? Dude? You killed that guy! And tries to find the shooter, but he’s bouncing. It’s DEADSHOT!!! Yes, he is the villain of the week. Awesome.

So Ollie gets the heck out of Dodge and back to the Arrow Cave. He realizes he was grazed by the bullet that hit the other guy, and starts sewing himself up, (no shirt numbah 2!!) and when finished, he realizes that the bullet was not only deadly, but poisoned, just to make sure that the mark is deadsville. Ollie is like “Not Beuno!” and goes to his box of tricks and finds some weird weed? Grass? Calm down organic hipster Ollie. He eats a bit of it and drinks water, falling to the floor for a while. Nap time is over soon though, because he pops up the next morning.

Meanwhile, the cops find the body of the dead bad guy from earlier, and one of the cops think that it was Arrow that did it (since he isn’t officially Green Arrow, the cops call him the Hood, lol) but Detective Lance is like “Naw, we actually need to do some actual police work on this one” and does some cool investigation… looking around? And the cops figure out that the motive and science involved with the shooting doesn’t consist with Ollie’s work so far. They realize that there was indeed another shooter.

Ollie pops out of mini poison coma and is like “Dude, where’s my car?” and heads home, realizing he slept on the cold floor all night. He comes home to find that Thea, our annoying little sister, has been brought home by the cops because she got crunk and busted into a store, destroying displays and stealing clothes- because she’s classy with a K and two dollar signs. Ollie and Diggle talk for a minute- oh and can I say that Diggle has become the perfect person in the three episodes this show has been on? I have come to just sit and wait to see what insanely awesome thing he’s going to say next. This one was he was asking about Ollie’s night, since he excused himself for the bathroom and never came back. Lol. Diggle’s best line “I guess I’ll just have to watch you pee from now on.” And Ollie was like “uh… I guess?” And goes to see what’s up with Thea and Mama Queen.

Well, turns out that the reason why Thea and Ollie were such horrible children was the lack of parenting. Ollie watches as Thea refuses to go to school after the stunt she pulled and isn’t even grounded. Mama Queen is like “Well, at least your alive, my work here is done.” Ollie gets in Mama Queen’s face, explaining to her that was exactly why he was such a dick- he had no real discipline and that children want to be disciplined, they want to be parented (completely true! Kids need rules and boundaries.) and he tells Mama Queen that she needs to start parenting Thea or things are only going to get worse.

So with some investigative and Spider-man work, Ollie retreives a stray bullet from a wall in the city (his disguise was a ballcap… hah, Ninja Ollie!) and he figured out that the poison was a signature with a guy who is wanted by Interpol, an assassin. Because he wants to find him, Ollie whips out his Russian and goes to the RUSSIAN MOB! Uh, what? He goes to see the Starling City Branch of the Russian Mob and is like “Hi guys, I’m awesome, give me info!” So turns out that tatoo on his chest, the many pointed star, is the Russian Mob’s symbol for a high ranking officer. What?! Where’d Ollie get this and why is this just now coming up? I’d kept wondering what that tatoo was and now we know! Apparently Deadshot is an assassin for hire and the Russians have used him before.

Ollie decides to start a club over his Arrow cave, giving him a legit excuse to be there all of the time, and Tommy totally agrees with him (Diggle was funny as well, trying hard not to roll his eyes and Ollie called him out on it. Yay friendship!) Tommy and Ollie then decide to go out to a club to scope out the competition and apparently the owner is another person that Ollie pissed off when he was Dick Ollie before the island. Also, we got to see Dinah this episode. She was “trolling” Ollie online, and her friend and co-worker decided she needed to get out, so she convinces her to go clubbing with her. Mama Queen grounds Thea, who ignores her, and everyone ends up at the same club. Ollie and Thea get into a fight at the club and she spills the beans that Tommy and Dinah had a thing once, and Ollie is more annoyed at Thea than he is at the other two. Though, I had my suspicion that he knew all along, he has become so perseptive in his time away, it probably took him two seconds to figure out these two had slept together.

Thea leaves being a Queen Beyotch, and Tommy tries to apologize, but the boys get cornered by the owner and his goons, and a fight ensues with Tommy tries to defend Ollie. Dinah comes in and kicks the living shit out of everyone! HELLS YES! And tells Ollie she doesn’t want his permission or forgiveness for what happened with Tommy, though I don’t think Ollie was ever going to insult her by giving her either (Old Ollie would have, New Ollie, not so much.) So bruised and a little annoyed, Ollie and Tommy go with Diggle to a burger place to have some dinner and lick their wounds. We meet Diggle’s sister-in-law working there, and they have a quick conversation about Diggle “adoting two white boys” (ah, I love you sister-in-law) and tells him that he needs to be more careful or he is going to end up like his dead brother. Story? I hope so.

Tommy and Ollie talk but Ollie tells him that its NBD, he was supposed to be dead, life goes on. Tommy is worried that Ollie is too calm about the entire thing, but Ollie swears that its all good. Ollie gets a call while with Tommy, that Deadshot is staying in the same place he usually does. Meanwhile, another person ends up dead and it turns out that people bidding on a big company are the ones who are dropping like flies in Starling. Deadshot gets a few scenes where he is tattooing the names of his victims into his skin, which was actually kind of cool. The cops stop by to see Walter and Mama Queen, hinting that they think he is either a target or the one orchestrating the whole thing.

Ollie stops by the place with Deadshot and the two have a shootout, but Deadshot manages to get away, but not without his laptop. We are then introduced to a new character, Smoak, who is an IT nerd and hilarious. Ollie isn’t tech savvy enough to get info off of a computer that has a few bullets in it, and swears to her that he spilled coffee on it (her “Srsly?” face was priceless). She finds out that the target for that night is actually the auction where Walter and the Queen family is going to be. Ollie then attacks Detective Lance to get him to help him out, since he can’t protect everyone in a place that size by himself.

We get a little Mama Queen and Thea time where they bond and Thea decides to attend the auction with the family. Deadshot then starts opening fire on the building, narrowly missing Walter, who was pushed out of the way. Ollie gives his mother and Thea to Diggle to protect, and heads off to get his costume. He and Deadshot have a pretty sweet showdown and it ends when Ollie hits him in his glass eye protector- but does question Ollie’s morality with killing people. Basically Ollie is like “If it gets justice, I’ll do whatever it takes” which was kind of interesting and really the mentality of a vigilante. A lot of people are freaking out that Deadshot is dead- guys, this is a comic book, villains never die. That’s the point! They always manage to get away some how or aren’t really dead. Ollie didn’t get the chance to check Deadshot because he saw that Diggle had followed him and gotten shot in the process. He had to rush him back to the Arrow Cave to give him the medicine from earlier. And instead of stringing it out for many episodes, Arrow decided to just lay its cards on the table and have Diggle wake up in the Arrow Cave to Ollie without his hood on and wearing his outfit, going “Hey.” Boom. End!

What’s going to happen?! Is Diggle going to become even more awesome and help him fight crime? I hope so! He is so sassy and fun, I love him and his character just makes me want to hug him. I liked this episode so much- it was the perfect blend of action, plot and family drama and friendship talks. The one thing I like about Arrow is it doesn’t dwell on things too long, which is good because that can get boring after a while. I liked that this episode laid all of the cards on the table: Tommy and Dinah, Diggle, Detective Lance’s theories about Ollie, Smoak being awesome, and even Thea and her mother development. And the flashbacks for this week were pretty cool.

We went back to the island for a bit this week to find a Chinese gentleman was the one in the hood, and was talking to Ollie in Mandarin, which of course he couldn’t understand. He was the one who taught Ollie about the medicine and pulled the arrow from earlier out of his chest. Ollie woke up and left, sneaking on the island, but was caught up in a trap. He is cut down by the hooded man, and we learn that there are some mercenaries or somebody else on that island (we never see above their waists). Hopefully that will be explained next episode! We also got a short bit between Dinah and Tommy about him telling Dinah that he wants to be with her and she’s like “lol, haven’t you read the comic? That’s never going to happen” but Tommy is still holding onto hope. Keep hoping Tommy, keep hoping.

In general this was a great episode and I look forward to next week!

Husker Drama Queen

Synopsis: The best episode of this series yet, and a game changer.

As an aside, the opening shot was just like Smallville, wasn’t it?

What it seems that this episode does is to accelerate everything; whatever plot points were brewing heretofore get stepped up, and we’re still only three episodes in.

I get how the show chooses to keep reintroducing Ollie, as audience members are probably not nearly as familiar with him as they would be Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne. The voice overs still don’t bother me. I just think the Batman parallels are hilarious. And Ollie sure did learn a lot in that five years on Gilligan’s Island.

This episode features Deadshot, a prime villain from the comics, doing what he does best, taking people out, and never missing, even at extreme distances. Poison bullets and all, which Ollie just happens to have a cure for that he learned, where else? On the island!

Thea is being a lil’ Miss BrattyPants, as usual, and I find it quite amusing to watch the lifestyles of the Spoiled & Famous. Breaking and entering and public intoxication even. I know people like her in real life, maybe that’s why I find it all so amusing.

So Detective Lance does his usual investi-prancing, Oliver is of course a detective as well, imagine that! And holy crap, Deadshot’s easy bake tattoos! So, Digg is, just as I said, becoming Alfred, as he can smell Oliver’s nighttime activities. They have an intense racially charged conversation when Oliver is considering setting up shop in the Glades, the Po’ Side of Starling City.

I must say…I do not like Laurel. Like, not at all. From her face, to her voice, to her attitude, I just don’t like her, which is a shame, because I’ve always liked Black Canary. The best scene in this whole episode is when Thea finally outs her sexual relationship with Tommy. I was flashing the rawk sign at the TV when she did that, it was so awesome. But, Ollie did her wrong first by screwing her sister, and then getting her killed, so Dinah is bringing the strikeback. But this plot point is SO tired.

Oliver is constantly & sloppily making it obvious that he’s the hooded vigilante to anyone that’s paying attention; he’s not as good with the secret keeping as Bruce is. So yada yada, Ollie gets some evidence of Deadshot’s activities and modus operandi, as do the coppers. Always lots of ripped abs, tats, and manly action for the ladies. It is the CW after all. Ollie connects to the Russian mob, he speaks their language, they agree to help, and oh yeah kill his whole freaking family in case he’s bluffing. Chilling. I like the way they’ve ratcheted up the stakes tho, that’s the underlying theme & best part of this whole episode. Oliver is starting to see some early consequences from his vigilantic quest. More tension between the Lances & the Queens, yada yada. I do love Walter’s accent & class tho. Quite refreshing to see that kind of black man on TV.

So of course, just as I predicted, Dinah comes in during the club scene, and does wicked judo, because I told you they will give her every opportunity to show up the men, because that’s just the way TV works nowadays. And she didn’t save them as she claims…she grabbed him from behind & the goons just stopped. Whatever. I don’t like her.

We also get a scene with Felicity Smoak, a character from the Firestorm comics. Seems like she’s going to be around for at least 4 eps, that’s cool. No chance of us seeing Firestorm himself because of the ‘no powers’ thing, but that’s cool.

So Deadshot’s targeting Walter at his stock party auction. Oliver makes a stop to bully, I mean, ask Detective Lance for help. Tommy makes an attempt at sincerity, and it seems like he and Dinah are officially a couple again. ‘Cause he’s gonna be a ‘better man.’ *insert eyeroll here* So we know that’s temporary, but the plot de jour of the day is the hero’s love interest being thoroughly screwed by the villain or the best friend. I’m glad Walter wasn’t killed by Deadshot, but there’s resulting mayhem, and Digg gets shot with one of those magic poison bullets. Bat-Arrow and Deadshot have a thrilling, chilling rooftop fight(so exciting!), before GA semi-subdues him. And I love the bow-to-the-throat move, I hope he makes that a signature one. The only thing that really looks janky is that huge targeting monocle of Deadshot’s; did not translate well from the comics.

So, flashbacks to Fantasy Island notwithstanding, Ollie saves Digg from the poison…and reveals himself to Digg! Wow!

So all in all, we see everything moving forward, almost faster than expected, and it looks like Dinah/Laurel might find out next week about Green Ollie. Wicked.

I really enjoyed this one, real action & consequences, both in and out of costume sits really well with me. I hope tho, if they tell all the inner circle who Ollie is, that they have some story left to tell after that.