[TV Show Review] Arrow (TV Series 2012- Season 1)

Posted on September 18, 2013 by thegrandshuckett in TV Shows // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: Spoiled millionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing-presumed-dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.

Producers: Greg Berlanti, David Nuttier (pilot), Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg

Original Channel: The CW

Runtime: 43 mins/episode

Main Cast:

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen
Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance
Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn
David Ramsey as John Diggle

Review: by The Superior Spider-Sam

With the ending of Smallville, the CW needed a new show to keep its comic/superhero fandom; thus, Arrow was born. The show was marketed as having a darker, grittier tone than Smallville and drew comparisons to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. When I heard all of this praise, as a fan of Smallville and Nolan’s Batman, I was pissed. I thought there was no way a show about a lesser hero could compare to the likes of Superman and The Batman! Nonetheless, GG and I, along with our good friend Tim, got together and watched it as a part of of our weekly Saturday Roundup. Was I wrong? Was it worth all of the hype? You’ll see below, but let’s get it out the way now. THIS SHOW IS F$%*ING AWESOME!!!!

What I Liked:

This would be a much shorter review if I could just discuss what I did not like about the debut season of this show. But alas, you should understand why this program deserves your time. I can’t go into everything that made this show so awesome, so I’ll (try to) stick to less than 10 highlights from this season.

The Pacing

Off the bat, viewers are introduced to Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. Literally, the first few seconds of the premier episode show the expert archer doing his thing, shooting arrows. This isn’t Smallville, where viewers had to sit through 2 seasons waiting for superman to figure out he had heat vision and was from another planet. Instead, viewers are immediately introduced to Oliver Queen, a billionaire who was rescued from an island where, for 5 years, he survived and learned archery. Such a jump at the start without any background expedition could have been disastrous; fortunately, it was not, due in large part to the 2nd thing we loved.
The Dynamic Storytelling

This show employs what a lot of other shows attempt and mostly fail to use, the flashback. We meet Oliver when he has already returned to his city delivering some Bow and arrow Justice after his time spent on the island; however, there are flashback sequences that show exactly what happened to make him what he has become. These flashback sequences aren’t corny tacked on crap, but instead begin to weave a tale of their own. We have to admit that there were certain points where we wished the island sequences lasted longer and even more instances where we were wishing for the full hour to be devoted to Oliver’s chronicles on the island. I feel I must stress that the flashbacks do not occur simply to add exposition for something that Oliver is encountering in the current day; it is simply chronicling his life on the island. What this means is that the viewers are essentially getting 2 very well told stories in one series. That’s like a bargain!
The Tone

Arrow FEELS like a primetime show. It’s nowhere near as campy as it’s predecessor, Smallville, and that works for this series. People die. Green Arrow is NOT a typical hero; he will kill bad people. We were critical before we watched, but we can confirm that this show is similar in tone to Batman Begins.
“YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!”

This is Green Arrow’s catchphrase that he often says to the corrupt individuals he faces. The idea of a catchphrase is admittedly a kind of lame, but when you say it after being a total badass, it works. Here, check this out and see for yourself…

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)

Okay this guy is the real deal. I have not see Stephen Amell in any roles prior to this, but I think even if I had I would always remember him as Green Arrow. I feel and relate to the character Oliver Queen, and COMPLETELY believe his metamorphosis from the weak trust fund brat on the island to the hardened avenger of the city. This is in large part to Amell’s performance. On the island, he plays the stupid, useless, weak, spoiled, cheating douche perfectly, yet in the present he is completely opposite as he chases down motorcycles on foot and snaps necks. These two polar opposite performances are a joy to watch. Good writing is at work here but you have to give it up to Stephen. Oh and lets not forget that this dude is RIPPED! Seriously, was he trying out for Man of Steel before this?

David Ramsey as John Diggle

There was Chloe Sullivan in Smallville, Harley Quinn in Batman the animated series, and now we have John Diggle in Arrow. What these characters have in common is that they are characters not based in any comic lore that were inserted into television shows and became fan favorites. We Like Diggle. He provides some of the shows limited comedic relief, and he is generally easy to like. As Oliver’s bodyguard, friend, and eventual brother in arms, Diggle is always there to help the Emerald Archer even when he doesn’t know it

The Musical Score and Wardrobe

I want to point this out because I’m not sure if other reviews will do so. I must praise the wardrobe department on this show. Not only does Green Arrow’s outfit not look comic book-y, but it’s also actually pretty cool. The green leather and outlining with the wool covering actually seems practical to wear when compared with other comic heroes, and it looks damn comfortable.

Also, let’s give it up to the series composer Blake Neely for his musical score. That intro music with its dramatic tone and fast pacing is top notch.
Comic Book References

Even with the ones you will miss at first, Chief Creative Officer for DC Comics Geoff Johns’ influence can be felt in this show as it goes deep into the DC universe database to bring us characters that we did not even know existed, such as Wintergreen and Guillermo Barrera (Brutale). We also meet some of the more familiar faces in comics, such as Slade Wilson (Deathstroke), Roy Harper (Red Arrow), Dinah Lance (Black Canary), Helena Bertinelli (Huntress),and Count Vertigo, and there are references by name to better known characters like Nightwing and Green lantern as well.

The Cast/ Writing/Acting

Stephen and David did stand out, but almost the entire cast excelled throughout the season. It would be too much to go into detail, but just know that the combination of the writing and the actors’ portrayals was wonderful. For example, Colin Donnel as Tommy Merlyn was amazing. This guy played Oliver’s best friend, and since the show’s protagonist is Oliver, you would expect that I’d root for him to succeed at least more times that not; however, whenever the two friends had a spat, thanks to the excellent writing and character development, I found myself drawn more to Tommy’s side. That’s just one of several examples so hat’s off the Colin and the rest of the crew for an amazing job especially when it came to initially casting of Manu Bennet (of Spartacus fame) as Slade, who is great, and John Barrowman, Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who, who plays Malcolm Merlyn beautifully.

John Barrowman was awesome. That is all you need to know.

What I Didn’t Like:

Most of these will be nitpicks; however, one thing of which I’m sure, that a lot of people who watched this show can agree on, is that Willa Holland’s character Thea Queen is completely unlikable. I don’t know what it is: her face, her attitude, her delivery of the lines, or maybe the way she was written; but, Oliver’s sister Thea is unlikable. And let’s be clear, she is not truly evil; what I mean is I just do not like her character. She is spoiled, bratty, and has the worst mentality ever. Her decisions often make no sense, and she is SO quick to judge without knowing anything.

Count Vertigo, played by Seth Gable, seems over acted in his appearances. Gable tries to go the route of Heath Ledger’s Joker and come off as maniacal, but he falls short. Instead, we get a guy who looks like he’s on meth with a crazed smile and talks like he’s doing a scary voice from a children’s book. He does clean it up a bit in his second appearance, and overall his performance is not a terrible thing; but, it’s something that stands out in an otherwise flawlessly acted season.
The rest of these are personal knit picks…

Oliver has a nanny in the pilot episode to whom he speaks Russian…where does she go? She literally is never shown again. I get that she was used to show us and his family that Oliver knows Russian, but, if the knowledge that he knows Russian has no impact on his family life, couldn’t he have just spoken Russian to one of his recurring Russian contacts?

Oliver does not shut the hell up in the first episode. None of us who watched Arrow together liked the USA show Burn Notice. A BIG reason for that is the main character self narrated the entire time. We can see what he’s doing. There is no need for a voice over at all! Fortunately, Oliver’s voice isn’t nearly as annoying, and the self-narration drops significantly by episode 2 and disappears by episode 6.

There were several weird seemingly unnecessary differences and variations from the comics. Green Arrow in the comics is known to serve Star City; however, in the show he serves Starling City. In the comics, “Speedy” is the name given Green Arrow’s sidekick Roy Harper, but , although Roy Harper is in the show, Oliver calls his sister, Thea, Speedy. In the comics, Dinah Lance, whom Green Arrow marries in the comics, is renamed Laurel in the show.

4.5

Summary

I am now reading Green Arrow comics. I NEVER used to read Green Arrow comics. That’s how good this show is. Seriously, if you are looking for a new show to watch or debating whether to hop onto the Arrow train, I urge you to check this out. If you do not… then you have failed this city.

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