This Year’s Supergirl

Originally published at Bitch Flicks

At 8 years old, I would wake up early every Saturday morning to tune in and watch Superboy. Over the years, I’ve been a faithful viewer of the original George Reeves Superman series, Lois & Clark, the Bruce Timm animated series, the live action films, and of course the comics. I’m a comic book guy through and through. For me, Superman isn’t just a superhero. He is THE superhero. I’m very protective of the Man of Steel’s mythos and legacy. Suffice it to say, I had my concerns when the CBS series Supergirl was announced.

Somehow when I wasn’t paying attention, my reaction evolved from, “The pilot was cute, I guess I’ll tune in,” to “Jesus Christ is it Monday night yet? I need my Maiden of Might!!!!”

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: A New Kind of Hope

One of the more enjoyable parts of Supergirl’s inaugural season is the refreshing and bold decision to place this National City hero squarely in the present as a Millennial. The bright and optimistic (and inclusionary!) perspective is drawn clearly in Kara’s idealistic worldview and personified by the bright and hopeful characters she has chosen to surround herself with (more on that in a minute). If Arrow is about the fight against a cold cynicism with The Flash about overcoming tragedy via the love of family, then Supergirl is about staring down the challenges of life with hope and optimism.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Drone Strike

I have to admit, the penultimate episode of Supergirl’s first season was definitely not my favorite. I’ve been a big booster for this show, even before it premiered, but last week’s culmination of the “Myriad” storyline was not nearly as satisfying as it could have been. Of course, there were some strong moments — as is the case with every Supergirl episode, Calista Flockhart is the MVP — but I really wasn’t feeling the villains’ evil plot this week, especially considering this was being alluded to all season-long.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Blood is Thicker Than Kryptonite

Am I the only one who thinks Supergirl came back sooner than expected? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that one of my favorite shows is back on the air, but since the other DC shows — namely Flash, Arrow, and Legends — don’t return until the week of January 19 I assumed Supergirl would be joining them then. Also doesn’t help that there isn’t a new episode next week either. Still, Supergirl is back — for this week, at least — and they pick up right where they left off before Christmas.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Family Matters

Still playing catch up on our recaps, but I didn’t want to go into the holiday break without talking about what was easily the best episode of Supergirl to date. And that’s saying a lot considering how much I enjoyed the last episode. But the mid-season finale — called “Hostile Takeover” — took things to a whole new level and I can’t wait to see what they have in store once 2016 rolls around! Not to mention the fact that NOC-favorite Lexi Alexander will be helming an ep in the new year.

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Supergirl is a Total Drag

Welp. We’re down seven episodes on CBS’ new Supergirl series, and I can now definitively say that not only does it suck, but it’s also a drag.

Let me clarify: TV shows can suck and still be worth watching. They can feature horrible dialogue, break characterization for cheap plotlines, deploy so many reversals that situations and relationships become meaningless, flub the acting, swell the dime-store music, and commit any number of fundamental visual storytelling sins… while still being hella fun to watch.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: My Favorite Martian

Full disclosure: I wasn’t really looking forward to last night’s Supergirl. After the big cliffhanger in last week’s excellent entry into the season — in which Kara cuts herself on a piece of glass, demonstrating her loss of powers — I was disappointed the show was already going the no powers route so soon. This trope gets explored in nearly every iteration of the Superman/Supergirl story. But boy was I wrong! “Human For a Day” might be my favorite episode so far!

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Anger Management

After a couple of weeks of out-of-order continuity, we finally got back on track with “Red Faced,” the latest episode of Supergirl. In addition to the live action debut of Red Tornado — and despite the internet’s jokes when the look was revealed earlier, the Red Tornado actually looked pretty good in action. Still wish they kept his blue cape, though — the episode probably delivered the strongest storyline of the season so far.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Lord Have Mercy

The fifth episode of Supergirl on CBS finally aired last night, and now we know how the continuity glitches from last week’s episode would be resolved. In case you didn’t know, the episode “How Does She Do It” was scheduled to air last week, but was postponed after terrorists attacked several sites in Paris and Beirut. Instead, they aired the Thanksgiving episode that introduced Livewire, but also picked up a couple story threads that weren’t woven until last night. So was the delay worth it?

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Electric Boogaloo

After the horrific attacks in Paris and Beirut over the weekend, CBS decided to postpone the already scheduled episode of Supergirl — which apparently centered around a terrorist attack in National City — and instead aired the Thanksgiving episode that was slated for next week. This shuffle in the schedule could have led to some continuity gaps, but apart from a weirdly resurrected Jimmy/Lucy relationship, it didn’t feel too out of place. So what did we think of the latest incarnation of Livewire’s origins?

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Flight Song

With each passing week, I’m becoming more and more impressed with Supergirl as a series. Sure, the pilot was already strong, but last week’s episode definitely raised the bar. Now with episode three in the can, the sky’s the limit for Supergirl to blaze its own trail. It’s just too bad the ratings are not keeping pace with the quality of the series. Come on, America! Tune in because this show could use your eyeballs!

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: Strength in Numbers

After a strong debut last week, the second episode of Supergirl’s inaugural season took a bit of a ratings hit, losing 30% of the audience that tuned in for the premiere. And that’s too bad because those people who decided not to come back missed a really strong follow-up episode and a better indication of what kind of show Supergirl will be. Still, nine million viewers is nothing to sneeze at. To put those numbers in perspective, The Flash and Arrow get a total of about six million viewers a week. Combined.

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NOC Recaps Supergirl: This Show Flies Up, Up, and Away

It feels like we’ve been riding the Supergirl hype train for more than a year now. Now that the show has finally arrived — behind a massive marketing campaign that made it the most watched new show of the season! — the rest of the general public is finally beginning to see what we’ve been saying since from jump: Supergirl, the show, is legit and the best thing to happen to live action superhero adaptations since The Flash debuted — which also stars a Glee alum and is produced by the same folks, coincidentally.

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If You Perceive “Girly” Superheroes as Lesser, isn’t the Problem You?

Last night, CBS and Warner Brothers television released a six-and-a-half minute sizzle reel for Supergirl, this fall’s hotly anticipated entry into Greg Berlanti’s DC television dominance universe. Starring Glee alum Melissa Benoist as the eponymous hero, the preview exuded a sense of fun, joy, and lightness often missing from DC’s live action comic adaptations — not including CW’s The Flash, of course, coincidentally a show also starring another Glee alum.

But how did the internet respond?

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Cat’s Out the Bag: Calista Flockhart is in Supergirl

Calista Flockhart is the latest name officially attached to the CBS Supergirl. The Golden Globe-winning actress has been cast as Cat Grant!

Flockhart, most well known from Ally McBeal, Brothers & Sisters, and being the lucky woman who captivated Harrison Ford, will portray Cat Grant as a “self-made media magnate and founder of CatCo” where Kara/Supergirl is her assistant. My first thought: Ohmygod, it’s going to be a superhero Devil Wears Prada, isn’t it?

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