Please, for the Love of All Things Good and Holy, Watch 'Supergirl'

When Supergirl premiered on CBS in fall of 2015 it got fantastic ratings that quickly dropped off.  Over a few weeks the number of viewers dropped while the quality of the show shot up.  The seventh episode "Human for a Day" had less than three fifths as many viewers as the pilot despite being one of the best hours of SuperTV ever made, and I say that as someone who has seen every single episode of Lois and Clark, all ten record-breaking seasons of Smallville, and a few dozen 50's era Adventures of Superman.  (Speaking of which, Supergirl should at least get a chance to retell the "Panic in the Sky" episode, something of a right of passage for Superman adaptations.)  By the season finale Supergirl had less than half of the viewers of the first episode.  Numbers like that made a renewal seem unlikely but yesterday the second season was confirmed along with a move from CBS to the CW, home of sibling shows The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow.  The networks have given Supergirl another chance and now I'm asking that viewers do the same, not just because I might like a third season, but because I think you'll find that you will, too.

Like all recent adaptations of Superman, Supergirl faced the challenge of putting a fresh spin on a cultural icon nearly eighty years old.  The solution was to shift the focus from Earth's greatest champion to his younger cousin, the fantastic Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, a modern Mary Tyler Moore type trying to make her way in a Superman's world.  Kara was sent as a thirteen year-old by her parents to protect her infant cousin Kal-El, but she took a detour in space and time, winding up on Earth years after Kal-El had grown into Clark Kent and taken the mantle of Superman.  Making Kara the protagonist allows the show to meta-embrace the looming shadow of the Metropolis Marvel and explore all the same themes as a typical Superman story, like idealism, alienation, and hope, while putting more emphasis on the growing cultural conversation of feminism than Lois Lane alone can provide.

Speaking of gender, one of the early criticisms of Supergirl was its similarity to romantic comedies, specifically The Devil Wears Prada.  The comparison is fair, but only because Clark Kent has always been just one chromosome away from a clumsy, wide-eyed, adorkable rom-com protagonist.

Makeover!

The real problem is that so many people think The Devil Wears Prada is a romantic comedy.  It's much more accurate, even if slightly more sexist, to call it a "chick flick" since it treats its main character's personal relationships, platonic and romantic alike, as an afterthought, which is kind of the whole point of the movie.

Let's go back to the "Human for a Day" episode.  Stories about superheroes losing their powers are a common occurrence.  It seems like Smallville had two for every Tom Welling ab muscle and Supergirl's sibling show The Flash has just ended one as it nears the end of its sophomore year.  Still, Supergirl handled it better than most, turning a tired trope into an opportunity for insight and poignancy.  One scene, likely inspired by an issue of the Superman comic book released several months earlier, sees Supergirl suit up and stop an armed robbery despite being every bit as bullet proof as you or I.  She does it not with her fists or her fiery eyes but with conversation and compassion.  The image of her hand shaking like a leaf, due in equal parts to fear and a broken arm, is more powerful than a thousand Kryptonian haymakers.

The back half of the season got a slight ratings bump from a crossover with CW's The Flash.  The writers had to know it was coming and they made the most of it, turning out another of their best episodes for slightly different reasons than "Human for a Day."  It isn't quite as subtle or heart-wrenching but it's possibly one of most delightful episodes of TV in years, rivaled only by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  When Barry "The Flash" Allen suddenly appears from another dimension he becomes fast friends with Kara.  They then spend the better part of "Worlds Finest" reveling in each other's adventures and oddities.  "You're an alien?  That's so cool!"  "You're from another dimension and you time travel sometimes?  That's so cool!"  Cue the vomit of cynics while everyone else massages their aching smile muscles.  The lovefest isn't entirely devoid of meaning, though.  Barry also moves the story along by giving Kara some advice that prompts her to go for it with her love interest, Jimmy Olsen, who is cool for some reason.  In the climactic battle (one of 2016's few instances of heroes fighting villains instead of each other) Kara manages to prove herself and win back the affection of the public she lost a few weeks earlier thanks to some brainwashing Red Kryptonite.  It couldn't be more heartwarming or uplifting if all the extras were replaced with puppies.

Look at that!  I got this far without talking trash about Zak Snyder!  That was nice while it lasted.  The reason I resent the director so much is that his depictions of Superman are severely lacking in hope and optimism, the tent poles of the character's appeal.  There's a line from the classic 1978 Superman movie that defines the Man of Tomorrow to me.  His biological father, who sent him to Earth to save him from Krypton's destruction, among other reasons, tells him from beyond the grave "[humans] can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be.  They only lack the light to show them the way."  If Zak Snyder insists on snuffing out that light, we are fortunate that Supergirl is up to the task.  The CW is willing to let her shine, but are you ready to come out of the darkness?

Mad Men Report: 'Supergirl' and 'Jessica Jones'

The fall TV season is almost over so Netflix was kind enough to drop one of the most anticipated new shows of the year just in time to remind us all that free time is an illusion.  There is only television.  If you're not caught up on every single critically acclaimed drama you're dead.  To quote the official statement from Netflix "you fools!  You thought Thanksgiving would save you!  You'll spend Turkey Day binging a dark psychological thriller with a strong female lead and you'll... (dramatic pause) 'thank' us for it.  Ha.  Ha ha ha.  MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"  Anyway, the question is how much can each current show distract me from finishing the critically acclaimed drama Mad Men which I started just before the fall premieres.  This week two very different shows about female superheroes are attempting to prevent me from finding out how rich white men in the 60's treated women, homosexuals, and racial minorities.  I hope it's with compassion and understanding!

Jessica Jones

The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe focuses on Jessica Jones, one of the very few comic book characters created since the 70's to gain any traction.  Jones first appeared in 2001's Alias by Marvel maestro Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos.  Now she is following up the magnificent Daredevil series as part of the MCU's street level world of heroes on Netflix.  Jessica Jones is a gritty neo-noir like Daredevil, but it immediately sets itself apart from all of its predecessors by captivating the audience without any of the standard action.  Jones has super powers but there's no stylized martial arts or glitzy technology.  The only fight scene in the first episode is little more than a tussle between two silhouettes ending with Jessica's opponent going through her window.  Instead, all of the tension comes from the horror of an immoral monster who can control minds.

The episode starts slow.  It's all about introducing Jones and her poor, sad, punk rock, gumshoe life.  She drinks whiskey, gets in and out of her blue jeans, and goes on assignments as the one-woman Alias Investigations.  Mostly she tries to work through her PTSD after escaping the grip of the malicious mastermind Zebidiah Kilgrave.  A mother and father hire Jones to find their missing daughter who turns out to have been taken by Kilgrave.  That's when things get much more interesting very fast.

Jones is played by Krysten Ritter, star of short-lived comedy Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23 and nine episodes of Breaking Bad.  As Jessica Jones she finally gets a chance to take center stage of a drama and Ritter owns it.  She's tough but vulnerable in a way that's not nearly as cliche as it sounds and she delivers witticisms with a dry iciness.  She is joined by Rachael Taylor as Jones' friend and confidant Patsy Walker, a former model who hosts a radio show for some reason.  Eka Darville plays her lovable junky neighbor Malcolm and Carrie Anne Moss plays corporate lawyer Jeri Hogarth who frequently hires Jessica.  Mike Colter appears as Jessica's love interest, the iconic Luke Cage who will have his own Netflix series next year.  David Tennant does not appear in the first episode but I have faith that his portrayal of Kilgrave will be terrifically horrifying.

Mad Men threat level: 7/10

Supergirl

I didn't give Supergirl a rating when it first premiered partly because I still wasn't quite sure what to think of it.  I'm a big Superman fan and I'm still pretty upset by his most recent live-action adaptation. I never expected Supergirl to have Man of Steel's treacherous "dark and gritty" tone but there's still a lot of baggage there.  Through the baggage I could see a lot of potential in the adventures of Superman's young cousin Kara (Melissa Benoist) and slowly but surely Supergirl is proving capable of living up to it.

Supergirl is created by the same team that have been doing incredible work with the super hero shows Arrow and The Flash.  One of the many ways those two are so impressive is that they are related and take place in the same universe but are wildly different.  Arrow is a grim epic similar to Chris Nolan's Batman films while Flash is charming and lighthearted; its closest cinematic parallel might be Marvel's The Avengers.  Thankfully, Supergirl is much closer in tone to The Flash.  Anything starring a Superperson should be fun and optimistic.  Actually, the two might be a little too close.  They have similar looks, tones, and dialogue.  However, a major part of Kara's character arc is going to be stepping out from another hero's shadow.  It's not fair to expect her to do that right away and likewise the show deserves a chance to differentiate itself from its peers.

Admittedly, the first episode looked a lot like The Devil Wears Prada, with Kara and her coworkers cowering before their demanding boss Cat Grant, but once you accept the superficial similarities as part of the show, its easy to see that the relationship between Kara and Cat is one of the most interesting on the show.  The recent episode "Livewire" especially cracked Cat's tough exterior and revealed that Supergirl is more important to her than just a profitable news story.

"Livewire" was a strong step forward in a lot of ways.  It showed that Kara's adopted father, as played by Dean Cain, died before the show began.  That's disappointing but it makes sense to focus on Kara's relationship with her mother and other female characters like her sister and Cat Grant since the show is obviously intent on making a feminist message.  At times, that message has come across a little ham-fisted.  That's normal for the pilot of a show but it carried over to a couple too many of the following episodes.  Finally, in "Livewire" the show did a little more showing than telling.  It helps that Kara's female mentors are played by fantastic actresses, her mother is Helen Slater, who performed as well as anyone could as Supergirl in the much maligned 1984 film, and Cat is played by Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart. Also, Brit Morgan of cult-classic series The Middleman was great as the episode's titular villain Livewire.

Mad Men threat level: 7/10