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Archive for 2015
The real key to ‘Supergirl’s’ success? Millennial wish-fulfillment.
Yes, let’s.
Keeping in mind that critics have still only seen the first episode (which, if nothing else, looked expensive to make) there are many reasons to see “Supergirl” as more than just another byproduct of the mania for comic-book culture. Even if the series bombs in the ratings (it’s always possible) or peters out after a few episodes, the pilot ought to be studied by other would-be creators and writers — and even viewers — for everything it gets right.
A short list would include . . .
Writing and editing. “Supergirl,”co-produced by Greg Berlanti (who helped make niche hits for the CW out of “Arrow” and “The Flash”) with Ali Adler, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter, doesn’t waste a word or a swoosh getting started.
And, unlike so many he-man super stories of the multiplex, it doesn’t involve a long and excessively metaphorical origin tale. It’s as simple as this: As Krypton was exploding, baby Kal-El’s parents rocket-shipped him off to faraway Earth, where, with its yellow sun, they hoped he’d grow up to be a strong symbol of peace and hope. Trailing not far behind in her own rocketship, his older cousin, Kara Zor-El, was supposed to babysit Kal-El and make sure it all worked out.
But when Krypton exploded, it knocked Kara’s ship into the Phantom Zone, where time stands still. When her ship finally broke free and landed on Earth, Superman was all grown up and Kara was still 13, so she was adopted and raised by a scientist couple. Which brings us to . . .
Casting. Although she’s not exactly unknown (especially to “Glee” viewers who made it past season 3), 27-year-old Melissa Benoist is one of those rare out-of-nowhere casting miracles. She does a remarkable job of inhabiting the lead role — not just in the cape-related flying and fighting scenes, which are hard to make convincing, but also in a role that requires her to become a new kind of secret-identity nerd (the Clark Kent factor), who is less likely to keep her powers hidden from her trusted friends. Which, in a way, leads to ...
Melissa Benoist and Calista Flockhart in “Supergirl.” (Trae Patton/CBS) Kara protests Cat’s top-down decision, in the Daily Tribune stylebook, to refer to National City’s mysterious new flying hero as Super girl (instead of Superwoman), but acquiesces when Cat gives a succinct argument that “girls” (of any age) can be indomitable.
Compare all of this to what the old “Wonder Woman” looked like in the jiggle-rific prime-time schedule of the mid-’70s; it feels like Kara/Supergirl says more — in literal dialogue — than Lynda Carter’s heroine would say in an entire season. One way or another, we’re making progress.
Still, it turns out that “Supergirl’s” strongest asset is not the fact that she’s female, it’s that she’s young. Which leads to perhaps the smartest idea in “Supergirl” . . .
Millennial wish-fulfillment! “Supergirl” is one of the few shows on TV that seems to effortlessly embrace both the inhibitions and independence of someone who is proudly young, without a single scene that involves texting etiquette, swiping or whining (in tones of vocal fry) about how hard her life is compared to everyone else’s. She’s already seen her planet blown up (along with its economy and job opportunities) — so what else you got?
In her secret identity, Kara only pretends to be cowed by a Gen-Xer boss (Flockhart), when, in just a few quick but necessary scenes, we see how she masterfully and capably navigates the workplace.
Instead of kvetching with a crowded apartment full of snarky roommates, Kara lives alone in an exposed-brick loft — an achievement that seems super enough in today’s market. Yes, the big apartment is a reminder that “Supergirl” is pure fantasy — but it’s a helpful fantasy nonetheless. Her world is light years apart from, say, HBO’s “Girls.”
Melissa Benoist with Mehcad Brooks, who plays James Olsen. (Warner Bros. Entertainment /CBS) “Supergirl” is a reminder of how little TV audiences get to purely idealize a young woman and root for her amazing abilities, instead of joining her for a wallow in self-absorbed millennial misery and relationship mistakes. Whether or not actual millennials, who tend to avoid broadcast TV like the plague, will respond to this aspect of “Supergirl” is unknown. (And I’m sure they just adore the way I manage to both celebrate and condescend from one sentence to the next.)
All of this is not to say that “Supergirl” features a heroine who has leapfrogged over the usual quarter-century, post-collegiate qualms. Kara’s biggest and most relatable vulnerability (besides Kryptonite darts) is that she worries that she’s somehow not living up to her potential, to what her parents dreamed for her. Like many from her generation, she seeks her mother’s input — even if mom is just a hologram. Should she remain a closeted alien (“Supergirl” invites a nifty twist to our immigration debate, as it applies to actual aliens) or should she become her truest, most heroic self?
“You want to help?” snarls the head of the government’s Department of Extranormal Operations, who is none too pleased to see Supergirl’s brash arrival on the scene. “Go back to getting someone’s coffee.”
There you have the one sentiment that millennials say they most despise: Being told to wait their turn. Superman and his world stand for an unambiguously uber-mensch service to the cause. Supergirl very clearly and without a hint of cross-generational acrimony says: Move over and make some room.
'Supergirl' is likable all right, but not so super
CLEVELAND, Ohio – CBS is suffering from a severe case of superhero
envy. Other networks are thriving with series based on comic books, so
little wonder this has inspired the familiar programming cry of, "Hey,
we want one, too."
Fox has a hit with the stylish Batman prequel, "Gotham." The CW has
successfully double downed with "Arrow" and "The Flash," also from the
DC Comics world. And ABC certainly likes the heroic ratings posted by
"Marvel's Agents of "S.H.I.E.L.D."
CBS, which specializes in forensic-heavy crime dramas, has more viewers than any other programming entity. They have more crime-solving detective heroes than you can shake a toe-tag at. You can't swing a body bag without hitting one of them at the No. 1 network.
But superheroes have been in short supply at CBS since the 1970s and the glory days of Lynda Carter's "Wonder Woman" and Bill Bixby's "The Incredible Hulk." This has left CBS programmers green with envy --- green as deadly kryptonite, green as the Arrow's costume, green as the Joker's hair.
So, "Supergirl" to the rescue? Maybe. Maybe not.
The pilot episode for CBS' "Supergirl," which airs at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, on WOIO Channel 19, does manage to get off the ground, yet it never really soars to the heights of the supercharged "Gotham" and "The Flash." Nor is it as immediately intriguing as those two DC-inspired shows.
Melissa Benoist ("Glee") is extremely likable as Kara Zor-El, the visitor from Krypton who becomes Supergirl. The supporting cast, for the most part, is likable. Indeed, it's all, well, likable.
But it's nothing to write home to Krypton about (if Krypton hadn't blown up, that is). There's nothing genuinely super about "Supergirl," which fields an uneven series opener that's a ragged mix of fun possibilities and annoying drawbacks.
While the potential is there, "Supergirl" will need to settle into a more consistent flight pattern when it glides into its regular 8-9 p.m. Monday time slot on Nov. 2. And the top priority on the agenda should be better scripts.
That's not out of the realm, since two of the executive producers, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, also are at the helm of "Arrow" and "The Flash." They know how to do this, so let's see if "Supergirl" can gain altitude now that all of the exposition is out of the way.
Monday's premiere explains how 12-year-old Kara Zor-El was sent by her parents from the doomed Krypton to protect her cousin, Kal-El. Her ship was thrown off course, however, and her arrival on Earth was delayed. By then, Kal-El was known as Superman, and there no longer was a reason for her mission.
She is taken in by the Danvers family, growing up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex. After 12 years of keeping her powers a secret, Kara decides it's time to embrace her superpowers and her destiny. Of course, it's not easy.
Wearing glasses and assuming the mousy persona (sound familiar?) of Kara Danvers, she goes to work for incredibly tough media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart). Here, she finds friends and allies in IT technician Winslow "Winn" Schott (Jeremy Jordan) and anything-but-nerdy James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), a rugged and famous photographer.
Soon after taking to the skies, Kara learns of a super-secret government agency headed by Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), and she learns that her foster sister (Chyler Leigh) is somehow involved.
It all leads to a new direction, a new costume, the inevitable showdown with a supervillain and the revelation of a must-have evil genius determined to destroy Supergirl. You're not quite certain who is scarier: this evil mastermind or the "Devil Wears Prada" boss played by Flockhart.
Lighter in tone than "Arrow" or "Gotham," "Supergirl" nonetheless laces the action with feminist themes that should pack more of a wallop. They're great messages, but they're badly delivered, clumsily dumped into poorly written exchanges in clunky and overt ways.
This is where a winning cast and what should be a winning concept are badly served. The dialogue is at times embarrassingly cheesy, and not in a playful way that slyly winks at the audience. The producers should glance over at the CW's "iZombie," another DC-based series, to see how this kind of thing can be done so wonderfully well.
Like Kara's ship, the pilot has an unfortunate tendency to stray off-course.
Still, despite the drippy and dreary dialogue, there are many glimmers of promise here. The relationship between Kara and Alex could prove to be one of the more compelling aspects of "Supergirl" (much more interesting than the same-old-same-old Kara and Kat exchanges). And playing James Olsen (no Jimmy, no bow tie) as a hunky and confident confidant is a refreshing twist.
First introduced in 1959, Supergirl is every bit as good a candidate for a contemporary prime-time makeover as the Flash or the Green Arrow. But "Supergirl" is facing two questions trickier than any supervillain. First, can the scripts improve? And second, even if they do, can a comic-book character survive in a CBS environment that's more typified by the initials "NCIS" than DC?
CBS, which specializes in forensic-heavy crime dramas, has more viewers than any other programming entity. They have more crime-solving detective heroes than you can shake a toe-tag at. You can't swing a body bag without hitting one of them at the No. 1 network.
But superheroes have been in short supply at CBS since the 1970s and the glory days of Lynda Carter's "Wonder Woman" and Bill Bixby's "The Incredible Hulk." This has left CBS programmers green with envy --- green as deadly kryptonite, green as the Arrow's costume, green as the Joker's hair.
So, "Supergirl" to the rescue? Maybe. Maybe not.
The pilot episode for CBS' "Supergirl," which airs at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, on WOIO Channel 19, does manage to get off the ground, yet it never really soars to the heights of the supercharged "Gotham" and "The Flash." Nor is it as immediately intriguing as those two DC-inspired shows.
Melissa Benoist ("Glee") is extremely likable as Kara Zor-El, the visitor from Krypton who becomes Supergirl. The supporting cast, for the most part, is likable. Indeed, it's all, well, likable.
But it's nothing to write home to Krypton about (if Krypton hadn't blown up, that is). There's nothing genuinely super about "Supergirl," which fields an uneven series opener that's a ragged mix of fun possibilities and annoying drawbacks.
While the potential is there, "Supergirl" will need to settle into a more consistent flight pattern when it glides into its regular 8-9 p.m. Monday time slot on Nov. 2. And the top priority on the agenda should be better scripts.
That's not out of the realm, since two of the executive producers, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, also are at the helm of "Arrow" and "The Flash." They know how to do this, so let's see if "Supergirl" can gain altitude now that all of the exposition is out of the way.
Monday's premiere explains how 12-year-old Kara Zor-El was sent by her parents from the doomed Krypton to protect her cousin, Kal-El. Her ship was thrown off course, however, and her arrival on Earth was delayed. By then, Kal-El was known as Superman, and there no longer was a reason for her mission.
She is taken in by the Danvers family, growing up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex. After 12 years of keeping her powers a secret, Kara decides it's time to embrace her superpowers and her destiny. Of course, it's not easy.
Wearing glasses and assuming the mousy persona (sound familiar?) of Kara Danvers, she goes to work for incredibly tough media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart). Here, she finds friends and allies in IT technician Winslow "Winn" Schott (Jeremy Jordan) and anything-but-nerdy James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), a rugged and famous photographer.
Soon after taking to the skies, Kara learns of a super-secret government agency headed by Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), and she learns that her foster sister (Chyler Leigh) is somehow involved.
It all leads to a new direction, a new costume, the inevitable showdown with a supervillain and the revelation of a must-have evil genius determined to destroy Supergirl. You're not quite certain who is scarier: this evil mastermind or the "Devil Wears Prada" boss played by Flockhart.
Lighter in tone than "Arrow" or "Gotham," "Supergirl" nonetheless laces the action with feminist themes that should pack more of a wallop. They're great messages, but they're badly delivered, clumsily dumped into poorly written exchanges in clunky and overt ways.
This is where a winning cast and what should be a winning concept are badly served. The dialogue is at times embarrassingly cheesy, and not in a playful way that slyly winks at the audience. The producers should glance over at the CW's "iZombie," another DC-based series, to see how this kind of thing can be done so wonderfully well.
Like Kara's ship, the pilot has an unfortunate tendency to stray off-course.
Still, despite the drippy and dreary dialogue, there are many glimmers of promise here. The relationship between Kara and Alex could prove to be one of the more compelling aspects of "Supergirl" (much more interesting than the same-old-same-old Kara and Kat exchanges). And playing James Olsen (no Jimmy, no bow tie) as a hunky and confident confidant is a refreshing twist.
First introduced in 1959, Supergirl is every bit as good a candidate for a contemporary prime-time makeover as the Flash or the Green Arrow. But "Supergirl" is facing two questions trickier than any supervillain. First, can the scripts improve? And second, even if they do, can a comic-book character survive in a CBS environment that's more typified by the initials "NCIS" than DC?
Tuned in: CBS’s ‘Supergirl’ pilot soars
Early next week CBS debuts the latest superhero series, and despite
its superfluous nature given the raft of superhero programs on TV,
available via streaming services and at the movies, “Supergirl”
(8:30-9:30 p.m. Monday, KDKA-TV) charms through its strong casting and
earnest storytelling.
And, hey, it’s not like the medium of filmed entertainment is overflowing with female superheroes, so on that level “Supergirl” stands out.
“Can you believe it? A female hero,” notes a citizen of National City
after Supergirl reveals herself to the world. “Nice for my daughter to
have someone like that to look up to.”
Executive produced by Greg Berlanti, who’s also behind The CW’s “The Flash” and “Arrow,” and written by Mr. Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash”) and Ali Adler (“The New Normal”), “Supergirl” soars, thanks in large part to its star, actress Melissa Benoist (“Glee”). She plays Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl) with a mix of awkward, dorky insecurity and bravery that makes her instantly likable.
The back story begins on Krypton as a 13-year-old Kara is sent away from the dying planet in an escape pod following her baby cousin, Superman. The plan is for her to shadow him on Earth and protect him, but Kara’s pod gets waylaid in the Phantom Zone, where no one ages. By the time she gets to Earth 24 years later, Superman is well-established and doesn’t need her protection. He places her with an adoptive family — Helen Slater, who played Supergirl on the big screen in the ’80s, is her mom; Dean Cain, who played Superman on ABC’s “The Adventures of Lois & Clark,” is cast as her dad in some nostalgic stunt casting — and Kara tries to have a normal, superpower-free life.
As a young adult, she gets a job at National City media company Catco, run by imperious Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart, “Brothers & Sisters”), who defends giving the new superhero the name “Supergirl” instead of “Superwoman.” Cat also gets the show’s best, funniest lines.
Tune in for the optimism reminiscent of the “The Flash” and early Christopher Reeve “Superman” films but do stay for Cat’s cutting zingers that seem far more entertaining than any of the rote fight scenes.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Cat says to Kara at one point, “I can’t hear you over the color of your cheap pants.”
At work, Kara nurtures a friendship with IT guy Winn (Jeremy Jordan, “Smash”), but she’s oblivious to his romantic interest in her. Instead, Kara is smitten by James (not “Jimmy”) Olsen (Mehcad Brooks, “Necessary Roughness”), the company’s new art director. (What he’s art directing in the Catco portfolio isn’t clear: The Tribune newspaper? Some magazine?)
Along the way Kara learns her sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh, “Grey’s Anatomy”), from her adoptive family, has a secret that will eventually involve Kara/Supergirl. That’s all part of the pilot’s set-up that also introduces a villain-of-the-week story generator: A prison ship escaped the Phantom Zone and crashed to Earth, and its prisoners went free.
Supergirl’s job will be to round them up.
That plot contrivance seems both repetitive of the metahuman villains created by radiation on “The Flash” and a little weak in general. “Supergirl” will only soar long-term if the show puts more emphasis on the characters and their relationships, otherwise it risks becoming just another CBS procedural with a superhero lead instead of a criminal investigator. Given their work on “The Flash,” there’s reason to believe the show’s producers can accomplish that if CBS executives give them the leeway.
And if nothing else, the “Supergirl” pilot sets up the series, which moves to 8 p.m. Mondays on Nov. 2, in high-flying fashion.
Making ‘Supergirl’
Fans raised on “Superman” stories, take note: Although he’s mentioned in the “Supergirl” pilot and viewers get a glimpse of his cape, he won’t appear on screen in “Supergirl.”
“He will be a factor in her life, but you won't see him exactly on screen,” said executive producer Geoff Johns at an August CBS press conference. “He’s gonna be more in the background. But he does play a part in her evolution of becoming a superhero.”
Like Superman in the comic books, TV’s Supergirl will be vulnerable to more than Kryptonite.
“It was important for us, especially to have a weekly TV show, to put her in situations where she isn't all powerful, so that you can root for her,” Mr. Kreisberg said.
“Sometimes there’s a tendency with Superman to sort of make him so powerful that there isn’t any danger. And going in week in, week out, you want to feel like Supergirl might not survive any of these things. And a lot of that is based on the comics — there are plenty of things besides Kryptonite that can take her down.”
Mr. Kreisberg said “Supergirl” came together more fully formed sooner than expected, which he said was similar to his experience on “The Flash.” But he knows a superhero show has to demand attention because there are currently so many superhero stories available.
“At any given moment, there are feature films on — ‘Avengers’ or ‘Dark Knight’ or ‘Man of Steel’ or ‘Iron Man’ or ‘Thor’ — and you can get your kick from this stuff anywhere,” he said in a teleconference with reporters earlier this week. “We have to bring something singular and special every week.”
Kept/canceled
ABC canceled summer cop drama “Rookie Blue” after six seasons.
Syfy canceled “Defiance,” starring Murrysville native Julie Benz, after three seasons.
Fox ordered a full first season of procedural “Rosewood.”
ABC gave a full 22-episode first-season order to “Dr. Ken.”
ABC Family renewed “Switched at Birth” for a fifth season; Hulu ordered a 13-episode second season of “Casual” for 2016.
E! renewed docu-series “I Am Cait” for a second season to air in 2016.
After 12 years, Discovery Channel canceled “Mythbusters,” which will begin airing its final and 14th season on Jan. 9.
Another digi-net
Sinclair Broadcast Group will launch another digital subchannel on its stations nationally. COMET, a co-venture with MGM, launches Oct. 31 with a mix of fantasy, sci-fi and adventure programming, including the TV series “Dead Like Me,” “Stargate SG-1” and “Stargate Atlantis.”
In Pittsburgh, WPNT will carry COMET as Channel 22.3.
Channel surfing
Trade reports this week suggest Netflix is developing four 90-minute “Gilmore Girls” reunion movies to be written by the show’s creator. … Broadway fans, take note: PBS debuts “Billy Elliot the Musical Live” (9 tonight, WQED-TV). … FXX airs a marathon of 25 “Treehouse of Horror” episodes of “The Simpsons” in consecutive order starting at noon on Halloween and airing through 12:30 a.m. Nov. 1. … Michelle Veintimilla, a 2014 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, debuted Monday on Fox’s “Gotham” as Bridgit Pike/Firefly, and she’ll appear again in Monday’s episode (8 p.m., WPGH). Ms. Veintimilla’s also had roles in filmed-in-Pittsburgh productions “Not Cool,” “Those Who Kill” and the upcoming movie “Love the Coopers.” … The 16th annual “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” sweater drive kicks off at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh with an appearance by Mr. McFeely (David Newell) at 11 a.m. Nov. 6. … On Wednesday, YouTube will launch a $9.99 monthly ad-free subscription service, YouTube Red, featuring original programs, including scripted series and reality shows featuring YouTube stars. … This weekend Amazon will sneak its original series “The Man in the High Castle,” offering free viewing of the show’s first two episodes at www.amazon.com/maninthehighcastle. The entire first season will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers on Nov. 20.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” WPXI anchor schedules and WQED local programs. This week's Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Hellevator,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “The Simpsons.” Read online-only TV content at post-gazette.com/tv.
This week’s podcast includes conversation about “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “American Horror Story: Hotel” and new shows we wish we could keep watching but don’t have time to see. Subscribe or listen to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette podcasts at iTunes or at https://soundcloud.com/pittsburghpg.
And, hey, it’s not like the medium of filmed entertainment is overflowing with female superheroes, so on that level “Supergirl” stands out.
Executive produced by Greg Berlanti, who’s also behind The CW’s “The Flash” and “Arrow,” and written by Mr. Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg (“The Flash”) and Ali Adler (“The New Normal”), “Supergirl” soars, thanks in large part to its star, actress Melissa Benoist (“Glee”). She plays Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl) with a mix of awkward, dorky insecurity and bravery that makes her instantly likable.
The back story begins on Krypton as a 13-year-old Kara is sent away from the dying planet in an escape pod following her baby cousin, Superman. The plan is for her to shadow him on Earth and protect him, but Kara’s pod gets waylaid in the Phantom Zone, where no one ages. By the time she gets to Earth 24 years later, Superman is well-established and doesn’t need her protection. He places her with an adoptive family — Helen Slater, who played Supergirl on the big screen in the ’80s, is her mom; Dean Cain, who played Superman on ABC’s “The Adventures of Lois & Clark,” is cast as her dad in some nostalgic stunt casting — and Kara tries to have a normal, superpower-free life.
As a young adult, she gets a job at National City media company Catco, run by imperious Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart, “Brothers & Sisters”), who defends giving the new superhero the name “Supergirl” instead of “Superwoman.” Cat also gets the show’s best, funniest lines.
Tune in for the optimism reminiscent of the “The Flash” and early Christopher Reeve “Superman” films but do stay for Cat’s cutting zingers that seem far more entertaining than any of the rote fight scenes.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Cat says to Kara at one point, “I can’t hear you over the color of your cheap pants.”
At work, Kara nurtures a friendship with IT guy Winn (Jeremy Jordan, “Smash”), but she’s oblivious to his romantic interest in her. Instead, Kara is smitten by James (not “Jimmy”) Olsen (Mehcad Brooks, “Necessary Roughness”), the company’s new art director. (What he’s art directing in the Catco portfolio isn’t clear: The Tribune newspaper? Some magazine?)
Along the way Kara learns her sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh, “Grey’s Anatomy”), from her adoptive family, has a secret that will eventually involve Kara/Supergirl. That’s all part of the pilot’s set-up that also introduces a villain-of-the-week story generator: A prison ship escaped the Phantom Zone and crashed to Earth, and its prisoners went free.
Supergirl’s job will be to round them up.
That plot contrivance seems both repetitive of the metahuman villains created by radiation on “The Flash” and a little weak in general. “Supergirl” will only soar long-term if the show puts more emphasis on the characters and their relationships, otherwise it risks becoming just another CBS procedural with a superhero lead instead of a criminal investigator. Given their work on “The Flash,” there’s reason to believe the show’s producers can accomplish that if CBS executives give them the leeway.
And if nothing else, the “Supergirl” pilot sets up the series, which moves to 8 p.m. Mondays on Nov. 2, in high-flying fashion.
Making ‘Supergirl’
Fans raised on “Superman” stories, take note: Although he’s mentioned in the “Supergirl” pilot and viewers get a glimpse of his cape, he won’t appear on screen in “Supergirl.”
“He will be a factor in her life, but you won't see him exactly on screen,” said executive producer Geoff Johns at an August CBS press conference. “He’s gonna be more in the background. But he does play a part in her evolution of becoming a superhero.”
Like Superman in the comic books, TV’s Supergirl will be vulnerable to more than Kryptonite.
“It was important for us, especially to have a weekly TV show, to put her in situations where she isn't all powerful, so that you can root for her,” Mr. Kreisberg said.
“Sometimes there’s a tendency with Superman to sort of make him so powerful that there isn’t any danger. And going in week in, week out, you want to feel like Supergirl might not survive any of these things. And a lot of that is based on the comics — there are plenty of things besides Kryptonite that can take her down.”
Mr. Kreisberg said “Supergirl” came together more fully formed sooner than expected, which he said was similar to his experience on “The Flash.” But he knows a superhero show has to demand attention because there are currently so many superhero stories available.
“At any given moment, there are feature films on — ‘Avengers’ or ‘Dark Knight’ or ‘Man of Steel’ or ‘Iron Man’ or ‘Thor’ — and you can get your kick from this stuff anywhere,” he said in a teleconference with reporters earlier this week. “We have to bring something singular and special every week.”
Kept/canceled
ABC canceled summer cop drama “Rookie Blue” after six seasons.
Syfy canceled “Defiance,” starring Murrysville native Julie Benz, after three seasons.
Fox ordered a full first season of procedural “Rosewood.”
ABC gave a full 22-episode first-season order to “Dr. Ken.”
ABC Family renewed “Switched at Birth” for a fifth season; Hulu ordered a 13-episode second season of “Casual” for 2016.
E! renewed docu-series “I Am Cait” for a second season to air in 2016.
After 12 years, Discovery Channel canceled “Mythbusters,” which will begin airing its final and 14th season on Jan. 9.
Another digi-net
Sinclair Broadcast Group will launch another digital subchannel on its stations nationally. COMET, a co-venture with MGM, launches Oct. 31 with a mix of fantasy, sci-fi and adventure programming, including the TV series “Dead Like Me,” “Stargate SG-1” and “Stargate Atlantis.”
In Pittsburgh, WPNT will carry COMET as Channel 22.3.
Channel surfing
Trade reports this week suggest Netflix is developing four 90-minute “Gilmore Girls” reunion movies to be written by the show’s creator. … Broadway fans, take note: PBS debuts “Billy Elliot the Musical Live” (9 tonight, WQED-TV). … FXX airs a marathon of 25 “Treehouse of Horror” episodes of “The Simpsons” in consecutive order starting at noon on Halloween and airing through 12:30 a.m. Nov. 1. … Michelle Veintimilla, a 2014 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, debuted Monday on Fox’s “Gotham” as Bridgit Pike/Firefly, and she’ll appear again in Monday’s episode (8 p.m., WPGH). Ms. Veintimilla’s also had roles in filmed-in-Pittsburgh productions “Not Cool,” “Those Who Kill” and the upcoming movie “Love the Coopers.” … The 16th annual “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” sweater drive kicks off at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh with an appearance by Mr. McFeely (David Newell) at 11 a.m. Nov. 6. … On Wednesday, YouTube will launch a $9.99 monthly ad-free subscription service, YouTube Red, featuring original programs, including scripted series and reality shows featuring YouTube stars. … This weekend Amazon will sneak its original series “The Man in the High Castle,” offering free viewing of the show’s first two episodes at www.amazon.com/maninthehighcastle. The entire first season will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers on Nov. 20.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” WPXI anchor schedules and WQED local programs. This week's Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Hellevator,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “The Simpsons.” Read online-only TV content at post-gazette.com/tv.
This week’s podcast includes conversation about “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “American Horror Story: Hotel” and new shows we wish we could keep watching but don’t have time to see. Subscribe or listen to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette podcasts at iTunes or at https://soundcloud.com/pittsburghpg.
CBS' 'Supergirl' is rare female superhero, embracing her powers
BURBANK, Calif. – Watch out, villains! Superman has a crime-fighting cousin: Supergirl.
The younger hero, a Krypton native who resisted her super powers growing up, embraces them as a 24-year-old who protects her earthly home, National City, from an intergalactic criminal onslaught in CBS’ Supergirl (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT).
“It’s all brand new. She’s just happy to use her powers at all,” says Melissa Benoist, who plays TV’s newest superhero and her alter ego, Kara Danvers, a mild-mannered assistant for a great, metropolitan multimedia empire.
“I like to think of this season as a crash course in how to be a superhero,” she says. “It’s about someone learning and understanding who they are and how to harness their strength and use it to be the best possible person they can be.”
And to fight nasty villains, save National City and try out some very cool powers.
“Every time I’m flying, I’m having a blast,” Benoist says on set, clad in her Colleen Atwood-designed outfit, complete with knee-high boots, short skirt and leather cape, all in red, contrasted by a textured blue jersey sporting the iconic red “S.”
The fun of entering the DC Comics canon can’t be underestimated, says Chyler Leigh (Grey’s Anatomy), who plays Alex Danvers, Kara/Supergirl’s adoptive sister and a top scientist and operative at a secret agency.
“Everybody’s inner nerd loves the comics and that whole life,” says Leigh, decked out in an all-black agency ensemble complete with a utility belt that might make Batman envious.
Executive producer Greg Berlanti, who's had success overseeing CW's DC Comics-inspired Arrow and The Flash, sees a connection between Benoist and Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in Richard Donner’s 1978 film.
“Melissa’s very optimistic and hopeful, qualities you see in Kara,” he says. “She exhibits what I think (Reeve) did in terms of that affability and familiarity. When she’s Supergirl, it’s that same innocence that he had as Superman, but still that inherent goodness. It’s just so cool to be part of something that honors that tradition."
Supergirl’s optimism is closer to The Flash than the darker Arrow, Berlanti says.
“The mythology is epic. You can go off-planet and (have) flashbacks to Krypton,” he says. And the workplace comedy component is different, too. “The fact that we’re able to do a little bit of that screwball comedy (Superman was) able to do so successfully makes it a little different.”
In a field long dominated by men, Supergirl provides a superhero role model for girls and young women, but she symbolizes values anyone could admire, Benoist says. That could help on CBS, which offers an opportunity to attract a broader audience than the smaller CW, but also greater expectations.
Supergirl is a positive thinker, Benoist says. “She’s all about hope and being good and kindness and doing the right thing, helping others. It’s not always all about her.”
The younger hero, a Krypton native who resisted her super powers growing up, embraces them as a 24-year-old who protects her earthly home, National City, from an intergalactic criminal onslaught in CBS’ Supergirl (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT).
“It’s all brand new. She’s just happy to use her powers at all,” says Melissa Benoist, who plays TV’s newest superhero and her alter ego, Kara Danvers, a mild-mannered assistant for a great, metropolitan multimedia empire.
“I like to think of this season as a crash course in how to be a superhero,” she says. “It’s about someone learning and understanding who they are and how to harness their strength and use it to be the best possible person they can be.”
And to fight nasty villains, save National City and try out some very cool powers.
“Every time I’m flying, I’m having a blast,” Benoist says on set, clad in her Colleen Atwood-designed outfit, complete with knee-high boots, short skirt and leather cape, all in red, contrasted by a textured blue jersey sporting the iconic red “S.”
“Everybody’s inner nerd loves the comics and that whole life,” says Leigh, decked out in an all-black agency ensemble complete with a utility belt that might make Batman envious.
Executive producer Greg Berlanti, who's had success overseeing CW's DC Comics-inspired Arrow and The Flash, sees a connection between Benoist and Christopher Reeve, who played Superman in Richard Donner’s 1978 film.
“Melissa’s very optimistic and hopeful, qualities you see in Kara,” he says. “She exhibits what I think (Reeve) did in terms of that affability and familiarity. When she’s Supergirl, it’s that same innocence that he had as Superman, but still that inherent goodness. It’s just so cool to be part of something that honors that tradition."
“The mythology is epic. You can go off-planet and (have) flashbacks to Krypton,” he says. And the workplace comedy component is different, too. “The fact that we’re able to do a little bit of that screwball comedy (Superman was) able to do so successfully makes it a little different.”
In a field long dominated by men, Supergirl provides a superhero role model for girls and young women, but she symbolizes values anyone could admire, Benoist says. That could help on CBS, which offers an opportunity to attract a broader audience than the smaller CW, but also greater expectations.
Supergirl is a positive thinker, Benoist says. “She’s all about hope and being good and kindness and doing the right thing, helping others. It’s not always all about her.”
Supergirl Is a Smart, Feminist Series (and That’s Why Some People Won’t Watch It)
From left: Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh.
Photo:
Cliff Lipson/CBS
From the minute we hear the voice of transplanted Krytponian Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Kara Danvers, narrating the story, we’re primed to think of the show in terms of voices being heard, images being claimed and reclaimed. Although its four credited “developers” (one of whom is Greg Berlanti of the CW’s Arrow and The Flash) might be horrified to hear the show described this way, because the word is a kiss of death for some (mostly male) viewers, this is a feminist series that’s aware of the cultural and political implications of everything it’s showing us, whether it’s Kara taking issue with a prototype of a costume with a bared midriff or defeating a brawny, hateful, openly sexist foe by, essentially, destroying his symbolic phallus.
Kara was sent to Earth as a baby to watch over her younger cousin, the future Superman, but got waylaid and ended up landing on Earth years after the boy’s arrival. Now she’s trying to find her own way. She leaves her adoptive parents (played by Dean Cain and Helen Slater, who respectively played Superman on TV and Supergirl in a movie) and gets a job at a big-city newspaper run by media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), a petite human steamroller who says things like, “It’s not that I don’t see your frown, it’s that I don’t care enough to ask why it’s there.” Kara dons a costume and tries out her powers for the first time in the pilot episode, learns some secrets about her past, learns that she has a mission; we meet supporting characters familiar from prior incarnations of the story, including a bad guy who is essentially an openly sexist version of General Zod named Vartox (Owain Yeoman), and the newspaper photographer James Olsen (here played by Mehcad Brooks, certainly the most broad-shouldered, deep-voiced, confident “Jimmy” of all time).
All the usual origin-story beats are here, and at first it seems a little bit sad, or perhaps just irritating, that so much of it is just recycling the story of Superman but with a woman (all this is inherited, by the way; it’s from the comics). But soon it becomes clear that Supergirl is dealing in a couple of related subtexts. One is the difficulty of a woman establishing herself as noteworthy and valuable when a man has already done all of the things she’s capable of doing and been acclaimed for them (the ho-hum factor). The other is how hard it is to get the public (represented here by the newspaper’s readers) to think of Kara as the equal of any male superhero when even her allies seem to denigrate her, even though they don't mean to.
“I don’t want to minimize the importance of this,” Kara says, the morning after the superheroine rescues an endangered airplane and makes headlines around the world and is dubbed “Supergirl” by Cat. “A female superhero. Shouldn’t she be called Superwoman? If we call her Supergirl, something less than what she is, doesn’t it make us guilty of being antifeminist?” Cat asks her, “What do you think is so bad about ‘girl’? If you perceive ‘Supergirl’ as anything less than excellent, isn’t the real problem you?”
Well, not necessarily — but it's still nice to hear these kinds of conversations occurring on a CBS series, especially one filled with so many iconic comic-book images and situations. It’s a gauntlet rather brazenly thrown down to sexist fanboys — many of whom will refuse to watch this series because it’s about a young woman who cries sometimes and still misses her dead mother and is still learning how to be a superhero, though of course they’ll say it’s for some other reason. The deliberate echoing of the original 1978 Superman: The Movie — which also let the protagonist make headlines by saving an endangered airliner and had the bad guy demand a face-to-face meeting via high-frequency transmissions that only superheroes and animals can hear — feels like an especially pointed sort of provocation. It’s like the show is flat-out saying, “Here is, literally, the story of Superman — but with a woman. If you are automatically not interested, ask yourself why that is.”
I don’t want to come across as unreasonably enthused about Supergirl because CBS only saw fit to send out the pilot. There could be a precipitous drop in quality in the next few weeks, for all we know. But what’s onscreen here is intelligent, sensitive, and sure-footed, and altogether promising. The show knows what it’s doing and what it’s about.