What’s the name of the show? Supergirl
When does it premiere? Monday 26 October at 8.30pm on CBS (and Thursday 29 October at 8pm on Sky1 in the UK).
How many superhero shows are on TV these days? Well, there’s The Flash and Arrow over at the CW, Gotham on Fox, Heroes: Reborn on NBC, Marvel’s Agents of Shield on ABC, and Daredevil, Jessica Jones and three other shows in the works on Netflix, so the short answer to your question is: a lot.
What makes this one different? Like Arrow and The Flash, this one is executive-produced by Greg Berlanti, who has a track record of turning comic book material into hits. Ali Adler, a veteran of Family Guy, Just Shoot Me and The New Normal, also serves as an executive producer and wrote the pilot.
So other than being about a super girl this one isn’t any different? But that makes all the difference. Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) is Superman’s cousin and was shipped to Earth from their exploding planet to protect him. However, she ended up in the Phantom Zone (cheesy, I know) where time doesn’t exist. She arrived on our planet as a little girl while Superman is all grown up. He gives her a foster home with a California couple (played by former Supergirl Helen Slater and former Superman Dean Cain) who have a daughter about the same age named Alex (Chyler Leigh). Now she’s in the big city working for horrible media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) and crushing on photographer James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks).
Sorry, but that sounds pretty much like all the other superhero shows. Yes, but don’t you see how the gender roles are reversed? Supergirl, of course, is a woman, but so is her demanding boss. Also the non-powered crush objects, both Jimmy and co-worker Winn (Jeremy Jordan), have little agency in the story, a role usually reserved for sidelined female characters. In this story a Y chromosome is basically kryptonite. Then there is the whole sister dynamic between Kara and Alex, who just happens to work for the DEO, the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, which is sort of like the CIA for alien stuff. The shift adds lots of emotional layers and new levels to the storytelling. It also shows us, by example, just how chauvinistic so many superhero shows really are.
Does the show preach feminism? No, it shows rather than tells. However, one of the best moments of the pilot is when Kara takes offence at the “girl” in Supergirl, saying it diminishes the character and is anti-feminist. Kara’s boss Cat demonstrates that there is a lot of power in the label “girl” so if anyone has a problem with it, maybe that’s their own issue. Honestly, a delightfully snippy Flockhart is one of the best parts of the show.
Does Supergirl have the same powers as Superman? Yes. Flight, strength, heat vision, enhanced-senses, looking amazing in a cape – it’s all there.
Does she have the same villains? No. Apparently when her spacecraft came out of the Phantom Zone it brought Fort Ross, an intergalactic prison full of alien baddies, with it. (Also cheesy, I know.) So all the convicts are now on Earth and planning some sort of revenge on the planet. How they’ve been here for 15 or so years and not been noticed or captured beforehand is anyone’s guess.
Do the powers look cool? Yes, the special effects are top-notch and there are a number of great action sequences that feature Supergirl saving a crashing plane and fighting the first in what is sure to be a long line of extraterrestrial villains.
Is this show any good? Well, it is very conventional. Unlike Gotham, which is taking a bit of a different approach with the “Batman as a kid” angle, most of these shows are stuck in very familiar formats. There’s a villain each week and an overarching threat for the season (which is revealed at the end of the pilot and could make for some great conflict). I’m sure Supergirl will knock that bit out of the park.
The real question is what else is going to fill up an hour of television each week. Most other shows are about a dark brooding hero who is so tortured he has to help others (Arrow) or a do-gooder just learning about his powers (The Flash). Supergirl is something else. She already has a decent mastery of her abilities and a can-do attitude that doesn’t lend itself to stressed-out breakdowns in shadowy alleys.
This is sort of a superhero show with heart and optimism. It’s about a young woman trying to figure out her purpose in the world and wanting to do the best, not only for herself, but also for all the people she could be helping. If the pilot is any indication, there will be some romance, but not any more than any other sci-fi fare. What is refreshing is that this is a hero who operates mostly in the daylight and brings that sunshine along with her. I’m not sure how much of that has to do with her gender, but the combination of those two aspects makes this show refreshing.
Are we going to see Superman at any point? Hell no. There must be something involving the image rights to the character at play, because they don’t even utter his name and we only see him as a baby and in silhouette. Instead everyone refers to Superman as “him”, “my friend in blue”, “the big guy”, or “my cousin”.
So Superman and Supergirl are cousins but they don’t even talk regularly? No, but do you talk to most of your cousins on a regular basis?
No. See.
Should I watch this show? I’m afraid those who watch all those other shows might reach a little bit of fatigue with the genre and I would say skip this one unless you are really a diehard fan. For everyone who has stayed away, I think this could be the superhero show to watch. It’s fun, fast-moving, generally good-natured and shattering the glass ceiling in a single bound.
