Supergirl

[薔薇語]

That looks like such a cheap and cheesy costume. Who ever thought that it would look good on screen should consider a different career. I know people have been making fun of Apocolypse but he looks like he was divinely inspired compared to Red T. there.

 

Foreign Orchid.

[Hermit]

We'll see what CGI and Camera work can do to save it

[Greywind]

That's also Red Tornado before he became a hero.

[薔薇語]

That's also Red Tornado before he became a hero.

 

 

So instead of being a cheesy looking hero, he is a cheesy looking villain. 

 

Foreign Orchid. 

[Christopher R Taylor]

Not a real attractive outfit but with coloring effects it will probably look tolerable on camera.  A lot of costumes look pretty lousy in person but great on screen.

[wcw43921]

I like the look of him, m'self.

[薔薇語]

Maybe the power of film and post-production touchups can fix him. I am just not convinced that it can be done. For me the big issue here is that R.T. looks like a guy who has been painted a cheap dark red and thrown into an even cheaper bleh-red 'suit'. He does not look like an android at all. And I guess my image of R.T. was more that his "suit" was just his body rather than two layers of cheap and uncomfortable fabric on top. Plus the colors are so meh. I realize I tend to prefer the subdued colors but this is out there even for me. 

Things I would recommend for fixing it:

First is to reduce everything down to a single layer. There is no need to have multiple layers for this character. 

Second is to go with a slightly brighter red. It doesn't have to be "Vision" red, but getting closer to that would be good. I actually imagine that it was the appearance of Avenger's Vision that dictated the color palette that the director and producers chose for R.T.

 

Third, keep the helm but drop the bottom chin strap. Have it be something that slides down to the actor's sideburns and then melds into his face via make-up-magic. 

 

Forth: Gold-Gosh-Darnit! Embrace the gold on this character. Once again, I think they are trying to avoid some of the vision comparisons but they should squash that idea. They are not going to avoid that no matter what they choose to do with the color palette. One thing they could do to avoid some of the comparisons is embrace some the distinguishing marks - like the strong gold trim marks that lace his body and head. That would make the character pop a whole lot more and help draw attention aware from the obvious bad make-up job and costume choices. 

 

Fifth is to alter the eyes in some way. I am not sure how but something must be done because those are the most distracting part of his face. The way they clash so strongly with everything else about him only highlights the fact that he is really an actor in make-up rather than the Red Tornado. Perhaps they could give him colored contacts to help. Maybe even just changing the makeup on his face might help A LOT. I know that Vision had his eyes alter a bit (contacts plus post-production photoshop) but they do look 'human' for the most part. So there is something about the color choices going on there that make his eyes fit in with the character, rather than his eyes making him incongruent  with the character. The make up team should try experimenting with a variety of shades and contact lens choices to achieve a similar effect. 

 

Foreign Orchid. 

[assault]

What Red Tornado should look like.

[zslane]

It's some sort of armor, clearly. The problem is that when armor has such a noticeable texture, we can't help but wonder why it has that texture. If the show doesn't explain such an odd armor texture, it will just become distracting. But maybe the producers are just hoping non-discerning viewers will just think it looks "cool" and not be distracted by it.

 

Ultimately, I think the character will work or not work depending on the actor's portrayal, not the costume. At least it's not completely muted color-wise. Of course, it still has that we-don't-trust-the-audience-to-accept-bright-red feel that the The Flash's season one costume had, but it could have been worse: it could have been black with red trim.

[Grailknight]

The look will be fixed somewhat by CGI. I really hope they cover the eyes, he needs to look mechanical.

[Christopher R Taylor]

OK that original Red Tornado bit from the Golden Age is truly whacky and great fun.  Ma Hunkle!

[Hermit]

And it's on tonight. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it tonight, but I hope to at least record it

[wcw43921]

Saw the premiere, Loved the premiere.  Loved the actress playing Supergirl.  Loved the fight scenes.  Loved the scene where Kara said goodbye to her parents on Krypton.  Don't really care for the fact that Kara's sister works for an anti-alien bigot, but I suppose we have to have some sort of conflict beyond the fight scenes.

 

One question, perhaps this was answered in the comics--if Kara's mission was to watch over her baby cousin, wouldn't it have made more sense to put then both in the same spacecraft?  Why launch them separately?

 

And an observation--I wonder if any of the cast and crew are science fiction geeks?  Because I'm thinking there's always the chance that Ms. Flockhart's husband might stop by the set to visit his wife--and I know that if I were to run into Ms. Flockhart's husband I would very likely be dumbstruck and ecstatic at the same time.

 

But that's just me.

[Grailknight]

Watched the premiere and loved it. Yes it has some chic flick in it, but this is Supergirl.  The character has a history of of chic flick dramedy. I think it will do fine with audiences of any gender.

[Ternaugh]

I enjoyed it, and look forward to watching more.

[薔薇語]

I just finished watching the pilot. While not bad it never struck me as particularly good. 

Some of what follows it a bit spoilery for those who haven't watched it yet:

Issue number one was all the exposition they used to tell the story. I know this is a pilot so they have a lot of work to do but I felt like most of the episode was devoted to simply explaining, re-explaining, and if you didn't get it the first time explaining once again that Kara is from Krypton. It got really quite annoying after a while. But this is likely a pilot issue and not a series issue. Or at least I hope so. 

I think this show is going to suffer heavily from the Sup problem in a variety of ways. Kara has no particular reason to not talk with Clark on a regular basis and consult with him. But of course that will likely never happen in the show. Also, the government that is trying to stop these baddies seems to be ignoring the fact that there is a Superman around who can actually take on these challenges. 

Speaking of the government, how exactly did they know Kara was Superman's cousin? Are they really implying that Clark was that inept at finding host parents for his cousin? And if this group is so anti-alien, including superman, why exactly are they (reluctantly) welcoming of Supergirl? Seems odd.

Why exactly did Kara open up to the random guy at the company? We as the audience hardly know him. And nothing about the previous interactions would imply that she and he are that close. But randomly she opens up to him with her most closely guarded secret? And it isn't like she lacked options. She could have talked with her sister, her parents, her COUSIN! or even James. Heck, that is just a list I could create based on the characters shown to date in the show; there are certainly a ton more that would have been better than Random Guy Number 1. And why exactly was he the one crafting her outfits? What about being an IT guy at a media conglomerate makes you a competent clothing maker? Especially clothing that is design to not get bullets shot through it? Basically, I am saying that every fiber of my being hates this whole character. 

Speaking of characters I dislike, Kara's mother / aunt seems like a terrible actress. I can't believe she got the role. Did she go to the Shatner school of acting or something? 

On the other side, I really did like Calista Flockhart and Mehcad Brooks. I thought they did their roles well. I also liked the nod to the fans they had when they put Dean Cane as Kara's father. That was nice to see. I just wish those early warm feelings they generated in me would have last the remaining 40 minutes. Also, that was his first and only appearance in this series. Too bad. 

 

Foreign Orchid. 

 

[Pattern Ghost]

I felt like the entire episode was shown in the trailers leading up to it. I'm pretty sure they only left one or two minor plot points out. So, it didn't seem new or fresh to me. I liked Melissa Benoist in the part. Seems like a very good choice of actress and approach to the character. I'll have to see a few more episodes to decide if I like it or not. I'm afraid the writing may be weak, but think it's too early to tell for sure. Pilots are frequently the subject of a lot of studio and/or network interference, so the next few shows may be better.

[Old Man]

Not gritty enough.  Not enough property damage, and the body count was far too low.  And if she's not going to wear body armor, then she ought to wear a more revealing outfit.

 

( Haven't seen it yet.)

[Hermit]

I liked it. Not as much as the Flash Pilot, but I liked it.

I do think they laid it on way too thick with the "everyone hates Kara" angle. I mean, she caught it from so many sides it made me think Peter Parker was incredibly popular by comparison. It seemed like every five minutes someone was telling her how much she sucked. I suppose that is supposed to make her victory all the sweeter but they need to tone it down a little next time, or at least space it out.

 

I'm not sure I'm ready for Jimmy (Pardon me, James) being Cool. But the actor did a good job with the tweaked role.

 

I think I should have avoided the trailers a bit more so the show would have more punch, but some jokes still worked for me the second time. The costume changes (many from the comics IIRC) made me smile. Kara's protest against the news reporter's complaints made me laugh (I mean, for those of who who have played Champions, some of this stuff is downright nostalgic). Kara herself is well acted and so freaking adorable you just want to give her a hug, and yes, cheer her on a little.

 

But what surprised me, and in the best way, were the action scenes. Those were some throw down bad ass awesome explodey moments. I hope they can keep that up, because I know it has to tax the budget. Vortox was brutal, but Supergirl did what we demand of our superheroes and got up and kept at it.

 

You go girl indeed.

 

Does it have elements of a 'chick flick'? Hellbeast boss. Sexist obstacles. Family Drama. etc? Yes. Yes it does. But at the same time, she's not in a romantic relationship yet (And hopefully they won't rush that on her) and like I said, there were some really amazing action scenes. Nevermind that, well, some people, and not just 'chicks' enjoy chickflicks. So if they can find that right balance, we may have a winner.

[Ternaugh]

On the other side, I really did like Calista Flockhart and Mehcad Brooks. I thought they did their roles well. I also liked the nod to the fans they had when they put Dean Cane as Kara's father. That was nice to see. I just wish those early warm feelings they generated in me would have last the remaining 40 minutes. Also, that was his first and only appearance in this series. Too bad. 

 

 

And Helen Slater as her adoptive mother.

[薔薇語]

...she's not in a romantic relationship yet (And hopefully they won't rush that on her)...

 

 

A: Her romantic interest will be Random Guy Number 1 (sorry, I can't be bother to learn that guy's name). 

 

B: There will be signs of a romantic relationship developing within six episodes. If not directly with RGN1, then with someone else who pushes the jealous / friendzoned RGN1 to some stupid act. 

 

Foreign Orchid. 

 

PS: That is probably enough of my negativity. I will keep watching the show for a few episodes and hope it gets better. As mentioned above the fight scenes seem promising at least. 

[Grailknight]

Actually, the dialog implied that James Olsen was going to be her romantic interest.

 

She opened up to Winn(RG1) because he is her best friend at work and she isn't shown to have a large social circle. She had just met James and her sister had just given her the a big downer lecture. I think that they want to avoid using Clark even over phone calls. The parents were there more as an Easter eggs than recurring characters.

[薔薇語]

James Olsen? I don't see it. First, I got the impression that he was a fair bit older than her and took his role to thus be more of guide and mentor. Afterall, she can't apparently use Clark as her Superpowered roll model. So she has to use the next best thing: a guy who apparently knows Sup's secrets and was encouraged to go help her. But I could be wrong. 

As to RGN1, I still didn't get anymore than a "just colleagues" vibe until after opening up. She mocked his hobbies at best and very quickly dodge a possible date. I know she already had one lined up but her reaction seemed squirrelly in the "oh not again!" kind of way. All in all, I did not get the "best buds" vibe from them. 

 

Foreign Orchid. 

[Joe Walsh]

I'm not familiar with the character, so I can't comment on how good an implementation this is of it. But I can say based on the pilot is that I don't care for this show. It's tolerable for the most part, but I look for more than that in a show.

 

Who knows, though. Maybe it'll evolve into something better over time. I'll keep an eye on it.

[Pattern Ghost]

 

 

I'm not sure I'm ready for Jimmy (Pardon me, James) being Cool. But the actor did a good job with the tweaked role.

 

I was thinking about that. It's an unusual take on Jimmy Olsen, but it also cements Kara's role as a newbie hero for those who are familiar with the traditional Olsen to have an older Olsen be put into a mentor role for her.