Arrow

[HaemishM]

To be fair: How screwed would they be if the TV versions were better than the movie versions?  The movie people would get hammered...

I'm fairly confident that will be the case anyway based on what I've seen out of the movie fucksticks so far.

[Evildrider]

It's official.. Green Arrow. 




Also Comic-Con highlight reel.

[Evildrider]

It looks like Matt Ryan may show up on Arrow this season if they can get things worked out with DC and his schedule. 

[Tannhauser]

He looks cool as shit.

[Threash]

It's about time, everyone else on the show had a cooler costume than him.

[jgsugden]

It looks like Matt Ryan may show up on Arrow this season if they can get things worked out with DC and his schedule. 

NBC might be the bug in the pickle jar. 

The contract with NBC for the show may not be completely killed by cancellation of the show, and it could have terms that limit the use of the character that survived the cancellation.  Also, even if the contract language didn't give them rights to stop it, the threat that NBC might sue, even without contract grounds to do so, may make it untenable. 

NBC's blessing would probably be necessary, and they could withhold it unless they can get some concession - although they might give it just to foster good will.  Who knows.

[Evildrider]

I doubt NBC has anything to do with it considering the show was being shopped to other networks.  Anyway it was the producer of Arrow that said it was up to DC.

[jgsugden]

I doubt NBC has anything to do with it considering the show was being shopped to other networks.  Anyway it was the producer of Arrow that said it was up to DC.

That isn't exactly what I saw.  The quote I've seen:

“Yeah, we really want to do it. It’s something we've been talking to DC about and it's just a question of some political things, but also the actor's schedule. We're trying to work it out, but we don't know 100 percent if it's going to happen But we're really optimistic and we would love to have him.”

They're talking to DC, but it isn't clear that all the politics are in DC's control from that quote.  These deals are not simple.  We'll see.

[Evildrider]

Matt Ryan confirmed to show up as Constantine on at least 1 episode of Arrow this season.   

[jgsugden]

They've said the Legends of Tomorrow cast evolve. I'dove to see him go there... and with Constantine comes Specter and Dr. Fate, potentially.

[HaemishM]

Well, both were foreshadowed pretty heavily on the NBC series, so I don't see why they couldn't add either character.

[Tannhauser]

Give me a cool Dr. Fate goddamit! 

[Evildrider]

Diggle has become Blackneto!

[HaemishM]

Jesus, I thought that was like a Photoshop Friday joke. Holy fuck.

[Khaldun]

4th season trailer.

I dunno.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-st-arrow-season-4-trailer-20150904-embeddedvideo.html

[HaemishM]

What's not to like?

Other than Digg's helmet, I'm cool with everything I saw.

[Khaldun]

Damian Dahrk is not doing it for me.

Was nice to see Constantine though.

[Khaldun]

Ok, Damian Dahrk is actually pretty good. Better than Ra's al-Ghul as a big bad.

Mostly a pretty good start to the season. Makes me realize how patchy and weak last season really was. Never found its ground.

[Evildrider]

Ok, Damian Dahrk is actually pretty good. Better than Ra's al-Ghul as a big bad.

Mostly a pretty good start to the season. Makes me realize how patchy and weak last season really was. Never found its ground.

I wonder if losing the Suicide Squad people changed a lot of last season.  There was supposed to be a big story line for them.

[HaemishM]

I like the actor playing Damian. When he's allowed to really ham up the evil, he's pretty good at it.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Interesting note, he has voice acted as both the flash and the green arrow in the past.

[Slyfeind]

Holy crap, he was fantastic. DUM DUM DUGAN IS A MAGICAL BAD GUY NOW AAAAAA!!!

I was skeptical about Diggs' helmet, but seeing him in action, it's not bad. Not great, but it doesn't detract from the character at least.


Overall, the first episode worked for me. The dialog is a bit more Whedonesque, which I appreciate. (Is "Whedonesque" a thing anymore?)

[Tannhauser]

I liked it.  Especially liked how Digg kept saying he had to go 'he had a wife and child at home'.  Yeah we get it Digg, you're a real adult!  LOL

No but good stuff mostly.  New bad guy is interesting with his cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  Looks like mystical powers are entering the DC verse.  Well more overt than Rhas' super ninja-karate-mystical kung fu.

Only stumble; Ollie gets off the island then Hong Kong and he goes to...Coast City?  dafuq?  Laughed at that one.

[Khaldun]

Was an amusing Easter Egg in Coast City by the way, if you looked carefully.

[Evildrider]

I liked it.  Especially liked how Digg kept saying he had to go 'he had a wife and child at home'.  Yeah we get it Digg, you're a real adult!  LOL

No but good stuff mostly.  New bad guy is interesting with his cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  Looks like mystical powers are entering the DC verse.  Well more overt than Rhas' super ninja-karate-mystical kung fu.

Only stumble; Ollie gets off the island then Hong Kong and he goes to...Coast City?  dafuq?  Laughed at that one.

I just figured that he felt ashamed at the shit that he had done and didn't want to go back to his family.  Hence apparently being The Hood and fighting crime in Coast City to redeem himself somehow.

[Tannhauser]

True, but I was amused thinking back to the island with all of his angst to get back to Starling City.

[Evildrider]

True, but I was amused thinking back to the island with all of his angst to get back to Starling City.

It is still like 2-3 years away from the first episode in the flashbacks though.

[satael]

The whole John Constantine stuff felt really rushed and didn't do any favors for the character's future prospects when it comes to television (or movies). 

[Khaldun]

Rushed and cheap. Didn't feel remotely 'special'. And that was possibly the least magical presentation of magic I've ever seen, and the dullest representation of a trip into the afterlife ever.

[HaemishM]

I agree that it was VERY rushed, but I still like that they used the actor for the character, and for the most part, got him completely right.

As for Constantine's future in TV - there isn't any. If someone hasn't picked it up by now, they aren't going to, not with this actor. I just hope they bring him back on the DC shows every once in a while.

[Khaldun]

He looks and sounds like Constantine but if they're going to use him again, it should really be as the con man, plotter and magnificent bastard version of the character, not as Mandrake the Magician.

[Riggswolfe]

I haven't read the Constantine books. However, I love the way this actor approaches that character. I watched that and immediately wished the CW would pick that series up and run with it. Or hell, buy the character from NBC and have him as a recurring character on another show. Something. I want more of that character.

[jgsugden]

Legends of Tomorrow is supposed to have a bit of rotating cast.... Constantine could go there so day if the stars align....

[HaemishM]

I could easily see Constantine getting a guest spot on Legends.

[Khaldun]

Is it just me or is this show really starting to suck?

It's never been wildly consistent but with last season some and this season a lot they just don't seem to be able to set a tone or figure out what kind of story they're telling. This isn't yet "Fun Liberal Oliver Queen Green Arrow" but damned if I know what the character really is at this point. He isn't even really the alpha dog of his own pack, unlike Batman with his little army of hangers-on, where you know that Batman is the BFG of the group and everybody else is not quite at that level. I don't get the sense that Ollie is the guy they all have to turn to for strength or support or leadership. I also think he lost a bit of something important when he lost that sense of being the sole survivor of five hard years--he's not doing the salmon ladder thing, and he's mostly just batting eyes at Felicity.

Felicity might also be the problem--she's gone from being amusing and cute to being actively fucking annoying. Diggle too has become kind of just a mess of contradictory story-telling hooks. Thea might be the only character who is making some degree of sense.

Star City *and* the Island also make almost no sense as settings--the world-building here is really starting to fall apart, after a pretty good first two years.  Why put Oliver back on the same island for these flashbacks? It would make as much sense to put him somewhere else that's crazily isolated.