From a business
perspective Archie Reboot was a textbook example of how to make an established
character fresh for the 21st century. Great redesigns that stayed
true to the spirit of the characters and a team of top talent working on the
new titles. However, Archie’s editors must understand one business principle:
Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
What makes or breaks
relaunches is how a publisher plans for the next five to ten years, not how
they work in the first two or three. And from what I’ve seen from comic relaunches
from Marvel in 1998 and DC in 2011, the editors focused on the short-term sales
at the expense of their long term growth. Sure the reboots got a lot of
attention in the beginning and even lots of sales. However, that was followed
by a steady decline in sales. Archie’s editors have to watch that pattern to
avoid making the same mistakes.
Archie’s editors also
have to watch is long term talent development. Yes, an A-list talent Mark Waid
is writing Archie now. But what happens around issue #12, #24 or #36 when Waid
finishes his run? What happens when the artist decides to leave? Too many
editors at comic publishing houses launch their rebooted books with A-list
teams but don’t focus on building up new talent to take their place at the end
of their runs. And that causes their books’ sales to flounder when the B
creative team takes over.
It’s the declines in sales when the B
creative team takes over that can make or break a relaunch like they did with
Iron Man and Captain America’s titles in 2000. If the audience can’t connect
with the second creative team of artists and writers the book won’t be able to
go the distance. Again, publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
And too many comic
publishers today sprint for short-term sales spikes from relaunches instead of
focusing on a plan that helps them build a long-term audience with readers. A
smart publishing professional is making plans for the departure of top talent
36 months before they leave. Having them work on second and third tier books to
cut their teeth and get the audience familiar with their work. That way the
transition between A and B talent isn’t felt by the reader when they pick up a
comic.
Unfortunately too
many comic publishers don’t focus on building up the secondary creative team to
take the baton from the celebrity writers like Waid. That’s been what has
impeded Marvel’s growth after relaunching with Heroes Return in 1998. Because
editorial no plan for what to do after the A talent like Mark Waid, Kurt
Busiek, George Perez and Sean Chens left, Most of Marvel’s relaunched books
wound up lost and directionless.
Archie’s editors
have to focus on the bigger picture or else they can wind up in the same
predicament as Marvel’s editors ran into in 2000 and DC is right now after
their new 52 relaunch collapsed and Convergence fell flat with readers. Developing
new talent right alongside the veteran celebrity talent will enable readers to
get to know the new writers and artists and lead to a smooth transition when
they take over for veterans.
So far no comic publishing house since
the 1990’s has developed a strategy to maintain their growth after a relaunch.
I’m hoping Archie can buck the trend and create a business model that other
comic publishing houses can use to expand their growth.
Archie had an
amazingly executed relaunch. But maintaining that success will be the
challenge. Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. Keeping the positive
momentum going will require their editors to have the vision to focus on the
big picture of building the brand not just a few issues of an acclaimed creators’
run.
I’m noticing a
pattern with these Berlanti Production DC TV shows. Around Season 2 the writing
starts to fall apart. After Watching The Flash’s head scratching Season 2
finale I’m left wondering if there’s a Berlanti Curse on their productions.
I saw a similar
decline in the quality on Arrow on Season 2 right after Deathstroke killed
Ollie’s Mommy. The Flash was running right along into the finale until that
proposal for a race from Zoom. So Zoom’s gonna cause all this terror on two or
possibly three earths, kill a bunch of people, take Barry’s powers, Kidnap an
Earth 3 Jay Garrick, Kill’s Barry’s dad all in an effort to get Barry Allen to
race him.
What the Fuck?
Oh yeah, Zoom made
this magnetron or whatever to destroy the universe. But the whole season’s storyline
just collapsed with that climax. All setup with next to no payoff. The Flash
spends 22 episodes building up Zoom into a superbad who’s supposed to be
feared, kills a bunch of people including Barry’s Dad and all he wants is a
race against a superhero from another earth?
Damn. Just Damn. He
coulda did all that in one fuckin’ episode. Then we could have moved on to some
of the more important rogues like Mirror Master or Mr. Element.
As The Flash built
into the lackluster climax of the finale we have Barry splitting in two, The Speed
force ghosts Ex Machina coming to get Zoom (Nice CGI) after Barry beats them and
the revelation that Jay Garrick on Earth 3 looks like Barry’s Dad. I’ll have to
say The Golden Age Flash costume was pretty odd looking. And the explanation
for Jay wearing the tin cap was just crap. Then after everyone goes back to
their earth Barry gets so EMO that he decides to run back in time and stop
Reverse Flash from killing his mother.
Setting up a time
paradox for Season 3 and another run around the vicious cycle of bad writing.
Again. Damn. Just
Damn.
Er…Barry couldn’t
have done that in Season 1? Then we could have built into Jay Garrick &
Earth 2 in a nice organic fashion with a crisis on Earth’s 1 and 2 needing
Arrow, Supergirl and the Legends of Tomorrow to face it in a 4-part crossover.
But Death angst, and drama had to be padded out for an entire season with a
LAME of a villain who paid off like a $5 food stamp without the book in 2016.
For me, The Flash lost a lot of momentum after Tuesday’s Finale. An entire season worth of build
fell into a Black hole of absolutely terrible writing. It seems like the show’s
story model is running around in a circle that’s turning into a vicious cycle.
Time travel is turning into a Deus ex machina for Flash writers to get
themselves out of a jam and the storytelling is just going around and around instead
of moving ahead. What started out as a promising sci-fi show is starting to
head right off the rails creatively.
Seriously, I’m
starting to think there’s there a Berlanti Curse. Because these Berlanti
Productions crumble into dust in their sophomore seasons. They start out strong
in the first season setting things up, but around the second season the writing
starts falling apart. Arrow fell apart around season 2.5 and the Flash started
slowing down around Season 2.75. With the way things are going Supergirl and
Legends of Tomorrow will start a similar decline as well. Can a Berlanti
Production get to Season 3 without collapsing? I’m still waiting to see if it’s
possible.
If Flash starts
running down Arrow’s road of declining quality, I have a feeling we’re in for a
shittacular season 3 that will make Arrow’s season 3 look like one of the best
things ever produced on television.
Here’s some advice
for the Flash producers: Less time travel, More Rogues. And get Wentworth
Miller back on this show so he can chill out as Captain Cold. He’s chewing
scenery on Legends of Tomorrow.
Berlanti
Productions has good production values and they know how to cast an actor for a
role. But the big problem for all four of their shows has been the inconsistent,
and sometimes AWFUL scripts being pumped out by their writers. It’s clear to me
that they need new showrunners and new writers because the scripts being
produced on all four of their shows just aren’t GOOD in most cases. That Flash
finale and a couple of episodes leading up to it needed another polish, Many
episodes in Supergirl needed a serious rewrite. Legends should have NEVER been
greenlit, and Arrow just needs...to be cancelled The Season 4 finale was literally shit on a plate.
If Berlanti
productions could just get its writing together they could make some classic
superhero TV shows. But as it stands now the stories just aren’t compelling
enough to be must see superhero TV. Berlanti productions needs new writers and
they need them NOW.
Archie Comics has
been on a roll over the last decade. These days Archie has been producing some
of the freshest and original comics in the industry. I can’t say a bad thing
about Archie, the comics being published there today are all top quality.
Archie Comics has
been taking creative risks over the past decade. And they’ve all been paying
off. All the revamps from Archie to Sabrina to, put fresh take on old
characters and make them relatable to a new audience of readers.
Why do Archie’s
revamped concepts work? Plain and simple they don’t change the heart and soul
of the original concept of who Archie is. While there are cosmetic changes to
the designs of some of the newer publications, they’re still Archie at heart.
The characters may look more humanized in more recent publications, but they’re
still easily recognizable as Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Reggie and
still act like Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Reggie.
Moreover, Archie’s
publishers didn’t take their old designs and chuck them in the garbage like DC
Comics did with the New 52 when they rebooted the DC Universe. In the Archie
world there’s room for BOTH old and new look versions of Archie. You can still
get the classic Dan DeCarlo styled Archie in reprints right along with stories the New Look
versions. Thanks to the lack of continuity baggage Readers don’t have to deal
with the headaches of reboots at Archie. They can just pick up a comic and
start reading.
The launch of Kevin
Keller a few years ago was a clinic on how a publishing house introduces a new character to
readers. A great character design, rock solid character development, and strong
push, lots of support from the publisher in regular Archie comics and his own
ongoing series helped him find an audience.
And the revamped
Sabrina has consistently been one of the best horror comics out there. Robert
Hack has done an amazing job of taking the Teenage Witch and making her fresh for
new readers. Again, you can still find the classic version right along with the
new one.
Even the new Jinx
kicks ass. When a publisher can take an obscure character like Lil’ Jinx and
make it fresh and new for readers it shows how talented the creators are
working there.
And that’s what’s
so great about Archie these days. The new versions capture so much of the
spirit of the original you want to buy them and give them a shot. And with
talent like Mark Waid, Fiona Staples, Anne Wu, Robert Hack and great talent working on Archie books the
quality has gotten so high that you can’t help but give them a second look. In
the cases of the new revamp Archie books they give Marvel and DC books a run for their
money.
I’ve been loving
most of the new stuff from Archie, but I’d love to see a revamped Josie from
Archie in the style of the new books. And PLEASE bring back Pepper this time! I
know she’d work well with today’s readership. I think it’d work well. And maybe
they could even transition it to PussyCats Josie later on. C’mon Archie make
this happen!
If I ever got to
write comics I’d love to work at Archie at some point in my career. I like the
direction the house is going in and I think my style of action and humor would
be a good fit there. And I think I’d be able to make a contribution to their
catalog on a run of comics, maybe even revamp Chuck Clayton into something like
oh, John Haynes. Come to think of it, Archie could use a Goth character in
their revamped lineup. I’d love to create one…
I’m not a fan of
the new Ghostbusters reboot. The Original 1984 Ghostbusters was a major part of
my childhood. I not only watched the movie, but watched the cartoon every
weekday afternoon on Channel 5 and Saturday morning on ABC. And even though I
was 15, I had ALL the Real Ghostbusters toys. And I still have them to this
day.
1984’s Ghostbusters
was also one of the major influences on my writing. Much of the dark humor in
The Temptation of John Haynes is partially inspired by the film.
When I look at the
2016 reboot it disgusts me. It looks like a poorly done Saturday Night Live
sketch filled with feminist claptrap and girl power clichés. It’s a shallow
film that doesn’t capture the spirit of the original film nor does it understand
the nuances of the story or the commentary made in between the lines of the
comedy of the original.
The four female
Ghostbusters are poor caricatures of the original quad. There’s a nerdy one, a
fat one, a stupid one and a Black one. Not to mention a Mangina version of
Janine Melnitz, the secretary. And while the three white girls are an insult,
the Black female they chose for the role of Winston Zeddmore’s female
counterpart is extremely offensive. This hulking Black woman is practically the
size of Ernie Hudson (who is over six feet tall himself) and her voice is about
two octaves lower than his.
Damn. Just Damn. If
this isn’t cooning I don’t know what is.
Worse, this Black
female is a loud obnoxious neck-rolling eye snapping Lawd Jesus mammy
stereotype. Yeah, I know Ghostbusters is comedy. But this female’s portrayal is
not funny. It’s a slap in the face to the subtle and subdued portrayal Ernie
Hudson gave in the 1984 Ghostbusters.
What most people
don’t know is that the portrayal of Black women as unattractive is subtle form
of racism that Hollywood Movie studios use to make white women appear more
appealing to viewers. Hollywood movie studios don’t want Americans thinking of
Black women as beautiful. So they make efforts to minimize a Black woman’s
beauty so the White women will appear to be more attractive than they are.
This is why the movie
studios push the fat mammies, loudmouth ball-busting sapphires, and jezebels as
the standard for Black females in their movies and TV shows. And why they make
black women appear to be hard and masculine. The whole idea of an attractive,
soft, feminine Black woman makes White liberals in Hollywood uncomfortable
because it’s bad for business. If Black women are following their own beauty
standard they won’t be buying products made by White and nonblack companies
like Korean hair weaves, bleaching creams, and hair care products.
In contrast to the
fat, ugly, and pathetic looking White women in Sony’s 2016 Ghostbusters the
Black female looks like the ugliest person in the room. She looks like a
she-beast, a chick with a dick.
And along with her
grotesque appearance is her even uglier attitude. Her Lawd Jesus over-the-top
mammy behavior pretty much repulses anyone and prevents the viewer from seeing
her as likeable. She’s a minstrel in a comedy of errors that shows the world
how incompetent most feminist girl power types are onscreen and how racist they
are in real life.
Unfortunately this
isn’t the first time this stereotype about Black women has been perpetuated. In
Captain America: Civil War There’s a scene where the Black Widow is confronted
by one of the Panther’s aggressive masculine acting female bodyguards. Not to
mention the scene early the movie when Tony Stark is confronted by a Skrong
Independent Black female.
When it comes to
Black women on film White Liberal Hollywood has no interest in presenting our
softest, most feminine and attractive sistas to the forefront as a standard of
beauty. No, the idea of a truly beautiful Black woman makes White women
insecure. And the idea of a strong woman who has the strength of character to
stand by her Black man makes them terrified. So they trot out big fat black
mammies like the one featured in Ghostbusters reboot and Gabourney Sidbe and
say they’re making efforts to present a positive image of Black women in the
media. It’s no different than what Hollywood did in the 1930s when they passed
over our most beautiful women like Nina Mae Mckinney, Fredi Washington, and
countless other Black beauties and put them in a second best category while
pushing big fat Black mammies like Louise Beavers and Hattie McDaniel as the
standard for Black women.
Yeah, Sony is
launching an All-Female Ghostbusters. But I won’t be going to see it. The
portrayals of Black women in this film set the race back a hundred years. The
only way to stop Hollywood from presenting these negative images of Black
people is to vote with my wallet and that’s just what I’m going to do.
I’ll go on record
as saying CBS fumbled the football on this one. Focusing on short-term things
like production budgets vs. a long-term strategy of rebuilding their schedule.
But this par for the course with executives today. They just can’t see the big picture.
Someone needs to
tell CBS’ executives Michael Weatherly just left NCIS. And the way things are
going that show is nearing the end of its 17 o so year run. CBS also cancels
every one of its aging CSI shows and Mike & Molly. So instead of leaving new
better performing shows on the schedule or moving it to a night to fill in a
hole or two in the schedule they move it to a netlet like the CW.
WTF?
Some would be happy
that Supergirl got a second season. But I’m not. Moving to the CW could be the single
worst thing to happen to this show.
Yeah, moving
Supergirl means it’ll skew a younger demographic. But that comes at a cost. The
show is on a smaller netlet with a smaller audience. A network that’s a pale
shadow of its predecessor the WB. In some parts of the country you can’t even
get the CW. Yeah, you can watch episodes online, but that doesn’t help with
ratings.
With the CW being a
netlet, and not a network that means the budget is gonna be half of what it was
on CBS. That’s BAD for a sci-fi show like Supergirl. That means the special
effects are going to go from the near Marvel Studios quality to 1980s Salkinds
level. Or we may just get Kara running around like Clark did on Smallville. And
J’onn stuck in human form. Viewers are gonna notice the jarring changes in
production and get turned off.
And the stories….Yeah,
they’re headed for LAMESVILLE if the show is headed to the CW. Instead of the
sci-fi comic book type stories we had on CBS may get more of the meandering
syrupy soapy plots that are a staple on shows like Arrow and The Flash. Stories
that have made Arrow unwatchable over the last two seasons. Can this Damien
Dork season END already?
On the CW Black
James Olson will probably have his role minimized.Or he’ll be revealed as an Earth-3 doppleganger who hid the
real Jimmy Olson in a pod. Andto appease the mostly white female CW audience, some
hunky twentysomething White guy will be made the new love interest. And we’ll
probably get a meandering storyline regarding Kara’s quest to find her father.
*YAWN*
The sad part about
this move is that CBS and Warner Brothers will have blown a major opportunity
to reach families and children with a superhero property. Supergirl was doing
well with family audiences, something Warner Brothers and CBS desperately needs
to build its reputation with. That was money in the bank for both long term in
terms of licensing, merchandising and building a DC Universe on television. But
executives at CBS and Warner Brothers can’t see it because they have tunnel
vision.
Man, it’s like we
DC fans can’t get a break. The program that best represents DC Comics and shows
that DC characters can work onscreen just like Marvel Studios gets put on a
netlet by CBS executives and gets its budget cut.
Damn. Just Damn.
When Supergirl
premiered this September it was the first time in five years I actually got
excited for a DC Comics property. The show was literally a DC Comic come to
life onscreen, and a program that showed a DC Comic property could be made to
compete with Marvel Studios superhero properties. Unfortunately, the same old
gremlins at WB and CBS that sabotaged DC Comics properties in the past came to
throw a Kryptonite monkeywrench in Supergirl’s production like they did with
The Flash(1990) Birds of Prey, Smallville, Arrow, Gotham, and Legends of
Tomorrow. The way I see it the greatest nemesis to DC Superheroes aren’t DC super-villains,
they’re the executives running things at CBS and Warner Brothers.
I went to see
Captain America: Civil War this weekend. And I’d have to say it’s the best
Marvel Studios film to date. Captain America: Civil War brings a Marvel comic
to life in an action packed film that does not disappoint. Just like a great oldschool
comic, Captain America Civil War leaves the viewer counting down the days
anticipating the next film.
Watching Captain
America: Civil War it’s clear to me that Marvel Studios learned their lessons
from the clunky and uneven Avengers: Age of Ultron. Cinematically Captain
America Civil War has a slower pace, tighter story, easier to follow visual
effects and much better character development. Instead of trying to cram 200
issues of comics into one film, Marvel Studios tells one story set in a
cinematic universe of superheroes. This storytelling approach makes the film
easier to watch and a much more enjoyable movie experience.
What did I love
about this film? The fact that Marvel studios wasn’t afraid to take risks. Instead
of adapting the dreary, depressing and divisive Civil War story from the Marvel
Comics, Marvel Studios decides go in a different direction for its cinematic
universe. While the story crafted for the screen was original it captured the
spirit of Classic Marvel comics from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and made it
fresh for 21st Century viewers. Because Captain America Civil War is
NOT an adaptation of a comic, it tells fresh exciting story filled with twists
turns and surprises. Just when you think you have this movie figured out, it’ll
throw you a curveball.
I really liked the
story in this film, it evoked memories of 2004’s The Incredibles. Just like
that film, mankind fears the violence and destruction that The Avengers
participate in when they stop the bad guys. So they propose the Slovenia
Accords to control The Avengers. Tony wracked with guilt from the creation of
Ultron is for it, While Captain America is against it. The conflict is about
the ideals and values of superheroes until it gets personal for both Tony and
Cap.
However, what makes
Captain America: Civil War compelling is the fact that it’s humans not
superhumans that are the greatest danger to the Marvel Cinematic Earth. Like
Syndrome in The Incredibles, Men like Tony Stark, Thunderbolt Ross and Helmut
Zemo show us that but ordinary people who lose control of themselves are more
dangerous than any super villian. And in their quest to try to get control over
situations beyond their control they wind up crossing moral and ethical lines
without regard to the cost of the lives and livelihoods of others. And the
damage they do to intangibles like trust and integrity actually do more damage to
society than all the death and destruction they do in any of the epic battles
in Civil War.
It’ll be
interesting to see how all of this is reconciled over the next few Marvel
Studios movies. Does Tony work towards reclaiming the trust of his friends? Or
does he keep making compromises to his core values that send him into a bottle?
I’m thinking Infinity War makes the world realize how much worse things can be
without the Avengers there to protect them.
Another thing I
liked about this film is how humanized the characters are. There’s a lot of
subtlety and nuance to the characters in this story and a lot of depth and
dimension on them. No one is perfect in this story, and no one makes easy
decisions. Viewers really see how tough it is to be a superhero and the how
they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. In this story you
come to understand sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t end up with a
happily ever after like in the comic books, but a hero has to do what’s right
because it’s the right thing to do. No major characters die, but you truly see
the human cost of the war between both sides in this story.
The writing on this
film is rock solid and the characterizations spot on. All the old characters
act just like their comic book counterparts, but the new ones stand out
prominently. Black Panther is a BOSS onscreen. His adapted origin is changed
quite a bit, but when he’s onscreen he commands the screen. Chadwick Boseman
disappears into the character and brings him to life with regalness, nobility
and intelligence. If there’s a Black Panther Movie coming, I’ll be first in
line to see it. Boseman will carry that one to number one at the box office
easily.
Spider-Man’s story
is different too, but still great. Even though Aunt May is now a MILF, this is
the best adaptation of Spider-Man to ever come to film. This is the awkward,
geeky kid we all grew up reading in the comics struggling to find out what kind
of hero he wants to be. Spidey steals almost every scene he’s in. I love the
fact that he’s a great contrast to the more seasoned and experienced heroes and
in awe of them. I can’t wait to see more of him in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe.
The fight scenes
are absolutely spectacular in this film. The battles are big and look and feel
like a comic book come to life. The scenes of Cap fighting Crossbones in the
inciting incident looked like they were was ripped from a 1989 Mark Gruenwald
Keiron Dwyer comic. And a scene of Cap and the Falcon in the bar looked like a
panel taken from a 1970s comic. There’s a scene of Iron Man firing repulsors at
Cap holding his shield taken straight from a cover of Civil War comics, and the
battle at the airport evokes the big rubble filled battles John Byrne and
George Perez used to draw at Marvel. I never thought we’d live in an age where
a comic book can come to life, but here we are.
I only have a
couple of gripes about this movie The first is that Negro woman who pulled the
guilt trip on Tony Stark at MIT. That scene pretty much reinforced a stereotype
about fat Black single moms. The fact that she stated she was a government HR
worker who came all the way to an MIT use shaming tactics on Tony and
emasculate him was a scene that really annoyed me. With all the positive
portayals of Black men in this film, this was the one that made me say to
myself:
Damn. Just Damn.
I know Marvel desperately needs
diversity in its superhero movies, but did we really need the Skrong
Independent Black woman coming into a movie and using the superpower of her big
mouth? That scene needed to be rewritten or just cut out of the movie
altogether. I’d rather have a scene of pre Spectrum Monica Rambeau talking to
Stark than the mammy they stuck in that scene.
The second gripe is
about the inconsistently invincible Iron Man. In the Avengers: Iron Man Mark 6
can take on Thor and Captain America in a fight, and in Avengers: Age of
Ultron, Hulkbuster is shown beating up the Hulk, but Mark 46 which is more advanced
than both the Mark 44 and Mark 6 is getting wrecked beyond repair by the far
less powerful Captain America and Winter Soldier in the final battle. Seriously,
Stark needs to get on his quality control. Right now the older Mark 6 looks
stronger than ANY of his more advanced upgrade suits onscreen.
The final gripe is the
handling of Zemo. Yeah, The Russos were trying to show that a mere man was able
to manipulate superheroes like puppets on a string and get them to fight each
other. And that he was a villain that used a more subtle psychological approach
to achieve his means. But his story kind of got lost because he was so behind
the scenes. I get the fact that his subtlety was a contrast to all the dynamic
superheroes onscreen, but I’d like to see a villain I’d love to hate in a
Marvel Studios movie again. The last great villain who had a good time while he
was kicking superhero ass was Loki, and that was years ago. Marvel needs
another villain we love to hate in their movies and they need him NOW.
Captain America:
Civil War is the must see movie of the year. To truly appreciate it you have to
go see it on the big screen at your local movie theater. I highly recommend you
go out and see this one, you will definitely enjoy it.
I’m a big fan of
CBS’ Supergirl. And I’m a novelist and a screenwriter. My specialty in both
areas are stories featuring strong heroines and bad girls. From my work in novels
like Spinsterella, traditional screenplays like All About Marilyn and All AboutNikki, and my work in fantasy stories like the Isis series I’d like to think
I’d be a good fit working on a show like CBS’ Supergirl.
If I were the
showrunner for Supergirl, I’d be working on building on the solid foundation of
Season 2. What’s in that pod? Streaky the Super Cat. Hey, even a Supergirl
needs a pet. And the show needs to move past all those alien menaces from
beyond and go a bit more local.
The way I see it
Season 2 for Supergirl needs to have a stronger focus on Kara’s life in
National City. The DEO would be downplayed to the background and the focus
would be on Kara protecting National City from local menaces. And while Kara
made her efforts to protect National City there’d be more of a focus on relationship
with the residents of the city and the heroes and villains of the DC Universe.
There’d be more
Kara at Catco, more running around National City and less chasing alien menaces
for the DEO. Why should she do that when J’onn can? Besides, that stuff just
slows the show down. I’d focus more on building the rogues gallery a bit more
organically, with an emphasis on the interpersonal relationships between Kara
and her bad guys. The bad girls of the DC Universe would get a big focus if I
were writing the show.
Kara got a
promotion and I’d apply a trick or two from my E’steem series stories regarding
it. Having her trying to balance work and crime fighting.
James Olson got
lost in the shuffle of Season 1 and he needs to be pushed back to the forefront.
Kara’s sister got the push and that really slowed the show down, especially
when she became a Mary Sue. People wanted to see the chemistry build between
James and Kara. With a heavier focus on local menaces and Kara and Jimmy have
to work together fighting local rogues instead of alien ones that romance can
build.
Moreover, they
wanted to see the manlier James going out on his own. Trying to establish his
name as a world-class writer and photographer. Trying to balance his
objectivity for journalistic integrity with his feelings for Kara as he’s
creating media for Cat Grant.
Win Schott is
underdeveloped and I’d love to make him a bit more tormented by his legacy
connection to the Toyman. After last season’s rejection by Kara, he’d be a will
he or won’t he bad guy? He’d be getting an offer from this season’s big bad
that would tempt him to join the dark side and follow in his father’s
footsteps.
Max Lord would
still be dicking around, but Compared to this year’s big bad, he’d look like
he’d be out of his league.
DC’s bad girls
would get a big push If I were writing the show. The main villain I’d love to
use is Dr. Cyber. While she’s a Wonder Woman villain, I think she’d work well
here. The way I’d write her she’d be Kara’s Lex, a corporate diva, who just
enjoys making Kara miserable. While Max Lord is a dick, Kara needs that villain
we love to hate. And Dr. Cyber is just enough of a BITCH to make viewers love
to hate her. I’d love to put her on a quest to learn more about Kryptonian DNA similar
to the story I wrote in Isis: The Beauty Myth. I think Cyber and Kara could
have great chemistry together and have the kind of feud that would build into
Must See TV.
Rampage would also get
an episode. Kitty Faulkner would work well on Supergirl and I think she’d be
the kind of nerd girl who could make the dry DEO stuff a bit more fun to watch.
Rampage was an underrated character from the Byrne run on Superman and I think
she’d be easy to adapt to the screen.
For guest spots,
I’d love to do a Zatanna episode. Zee popped up on Smallville, and she’d be
great in a story dealing with magic and Kara’s vulnerability to it. With Tala
as the villain and it’d be a magically fun team-up episode. I could even use a Grown up Yellow Peri for those Superman Purists to make it work.
I’d also love to
write an episode featuring Nightwing. In the episode Dick would be in hot
pursuit of Lady Vic, who is in town to do some merc work for Cyber. There’d be
references to Bludhaven, and some character development for James Olson. I
think James and Dick would work well in a story, both being men trying to get
out of the shadow of their former mentors.
I’d love to do a
Batgirl/Supergirl Crossover, but Dick allows for James’ character development.
I’d also love to
write something with Mary Marvel. Her sugary sweetness would make for a very
funny episode. Plus it’d be great to see Supergirl Vs. Mary Marvel before they
take on the episode baddie.
J’onn and the DEO
would focus on a story arc regarding Kara’s father if I wrote it. While I’d
downplay the DEO I’d love to tie up all the loose ends regarding his
disappearance.
I definitely would
love to do an episode where Kara takes on Lashina, Stompa and Mad Harriet or at
least one of the three who are undercover and get caught doing some spy work
for Darkseid. For this story I’d take another page from my E’steem series stories where of social media has some unforeseen impact on superhero battles. Hard
to have a fight stopping a menace when there’s thousands of cell phones on.
Even harder when you’re having a wardrobe malfunction while in the middle of
one. How Kara deals with the bad publicity from this would make for quite an
interesting story.
This is just me
brainstorming, but If I were the head writer for Supergirl viewers would
probably get a lot of action packed episodes with great stories that capture
the spirit of the DC Universe. Sure it’d cost a bundle, but viewers would see
that $3 million dollars on the screen every week. The way I see it with good
stories there’s no place for Supergirl to go but up, up and away in the
ratings.
There’s a point
where a TV show has run its course. Where it just needs to be put out of its
misery by a network. And the CW’s Arrow is at that point right now.
The CW’s Arrow was
one of the more promising superhero shows when it started. A great premise, A
rock solid cast of actors, great fight choreography, and spectacular set
design. It had all the elements to go down in history as a classic DC Superhero
show like Adventures of Superman, Batman 1966, 1977’sWonder Woman and 1990’s
Flash.
Unfortunately, the
show’s writing has never been its strong point. And because the writers just
couldn’t hit a stride, Arrow has never been able to consistently hit the mark
for great television. Thanks to the uneven storytelling Arrow has never has
been that one bad guy we’ve loved to hate or that one feud that became must see
TV. Instead the show has been bogged down by meandering storylines featuring lies,
secrets, deception, and syrupy sappy CW style romance.
Thanks to the
inconsistent writing, The CW’s Arrow started a steady decline ever since the
middle of the Deathstroke storyline in Season 2 when Slade killed Ollie’s Mommy.
And Season 3 with Ra’s Al Ghul was an absolute disaster. Now I knew going in
that Season 4 was going to be a train wreck, but-
Damn….Just Damn.
What makes Arrow
Season 4 a train wreck is the fact that this year’s storyline takes the show
completely away from the source material. Instead of a focus on the romance
between Oliver Queen and his comic book love, Black Canary, we get Oliver Queen
finally deciding to get with his IT specialist Felicty Smoak.
I’m gonna go on
record stating I fuckin’ hate Ollicity. They have no chemistry and I’d rather
see Amell jump the Salmon ladder than Felicity’s bones. Every episode that
focused on Ollicity was absolutely PAINFUL to watch. Felicity’s a cool
character in small doses, like Abby Scuito on NCIS. And she works best when she
can be cute and quirky at her computer terminal. But over the last two seasons
she was given a huge push. Unfortunately, it all feels forced and convoluted.
It’s clear to me
someone on Arrow’s writing team has too much of a fixation on this character.
Because she went from being a great supporting character into Mary Sue
territory. In some episodes over the last two seasons Felicity could do
everything Ollie and Ray Palmer could. Heck, she even got herself walking after
being shot and paralyzed! After the Queen Bee episode this season I had to
wonder if this show was called Arrow or Felicity Smoak? Anyway, it’s just a
sign of bad writing. A writer is supposed to remain objective and focus on the
main character, not the one they like. And Arrow’s writers have shown that they
can’t remain objective and stay true to the source material they’re adapting.
I spent four years
waiting for the prickly liberal who fights for the little guy to show up on
Arrow. Unfortunately all I’ve seen over four seasons is Bruce Wayne Lite taking
on fifth tier Batman villains not fit to job for Jim Gordon on FOX’s Gotham.
And now that Black Canary has been murdered by Damian Dork (Yeah I meant to
spell it that way because he’s that ANNOYING), this show has collapsed beyond
the point where any writer like myself could fix it.
It’s clear we’re
not going to see the REAL Oliver Queen on Batman, I mean Arrow. Taking on his
mission of fighting for the little guy. Taking on his bad guys. And having a
relationship with HIS woman Black Canary. So instead of letting this LAME TV
show limp on for another painful season the CW needs to put it out of its
misery once and for all.
It’s a shame Arrow
never actualized its potential as a TV Show. Stephen Amell is a great actor and
he deserved better than the garbage scripts he was given. Amell was to Green
Arrow what the late Christopher Reeve was to Superman. I wish someone at
Berlanti Productions could have written him a script that would have allowed
him to show how well the Real Oliver Queen would work onscreen. As it stands
now Arrow is one big misfire of a TV show.
Last September
Supergirl premiered on CBS to a record audience of 19 million viewers. And with
numbers like that one would think CBS would be signing for an automatic second
season. However, instead of renewing Supergirl and pushing it hard, executives
at the network are considering cutting the show’s budget and moving it to the
CW.
CBS executives just
don’t know when they has a good thing. And they’re about to make one of the
biggest mistakes since their grandfathers cancelled Gilligan’s Island.
CBS says that the shows $3 million budget
per episode is just too expensive. And they say that the audience shrank
drastically from the premiere. However as I see it the show deserves a second
chance.
Supergirl is a fun,
bright show that’s a breath of fresh air from the dark angry DC superhero shows
like Gotham and Arrow. It captures the spirit of the DC Universe and literally
is like watching a DC Comic book come to life. A fun show that families and children
can watch together. The kind of show that can build an audience long term for
CBS.
The kind of show a
guy like the late Brandon Tartikoff would have stood behind back in the 1980s.
Back in the 1980s when NBC was struggling, Tartikoff wouldn’t be talking about
cancelling a Show like Supergirl. Instead he’d be pushing it like other shows
that struggled when they started like Cheers and Seinfeld.
Shows that went on
to become hits in their later seasons. Shows that are now considered television
classics. The $3 million CBS spends on an episode of Supergirl will pay off in
the long term. Especially when they’ll have huge holes in their schedule in the
next few years. Seriously, how long can a 16-year-old show like NCIS carry CBS?
CBS’ executives
aren’t looking at the big picture with Supergirl. Right now they have an aging
fleet of shows and no real replacements for them. Shows like NCIS are on their
16th or so seasons, The Big Bang Theory is on its 8th
Season, 2 Broke Girls is on its 5th Season and Mom and Hawaii Five-O
is on its third season. And a slew of shows like Mike & Molly and Person of
Interest are leaving the CBS Schedule. CBS really needs to focus on the future
of its network before it winds up in like last place NBC.
Yes, Supergirl has
its crreative issues. As I see it, the show really does need to focus on moving
the DEO to the background and more on building up Kara’s life in National City
as the primary story. The Kryptonian overreaching arc really slowed the show down.
Personally, I’d rather see some more home grown villains like Silver Banshee
and Live Wire instead of alien menaces from far away.
Moreover, I’d love
to see more relationships developed between Kara and her rogues. One of the
best things about Buffy and Xena were the relationships that both heroines had
with their villains every season. Kara really needs that big archenemy that
everyone loves to hate. Astra fell kinda flat, and Non I didn’t really care
about. And while Maxwell Lord is a dick, but this show really needs its
Callisto or its Spike and Drusilla to get the audience energized.
The way I see it, DC
bad girls like Dr.Cyber or Maxima need to pop in for a feud or two. While she’s
a Wonder Woman Villian, Dr. Cyber would be awesome as the season arc villain
for Season 2. She’s just such a diva she’d give Kara a real run for her money
onscreen.
And it really needs
to bring in some of the other heroes for a guest spot. I loved seeing J’onn
this season as a supporting cast member. And the episode where The Flash guest
starred was one of the best episodes of the year. I’d love to see more of those
kinds of episodes in the second season. They really captured the spirit of DC
Comics on film. Zatanna, Nightwing, Ted Kord, Miss Martian, Mary Mavel, or
Donna Troy popping in would be awesome and show the world that there’s a larger
world of heroes outside of National City.
But in order for a
show like Supergirl to develop creatively, it needs a home on a competitive
network. And the CW just isn’t competitive. Right now The CW isn’t on most of
the TV stations across the country. And the ones its on sometimes get
pre-empted for local sports like Yankee games and the shows get rescheduled for
the weekends in death slots like Saturday at 6 PM.
Worse, the
reception is absolute shit on some of them. Here in New York It’s a bitch for
me to get Channel 11 with a rabbit ear antenna so I can watch iZombie, The
Flash and…Good Gravy…The abomination of a TV show calling itself Arrow.
So while the CW
skews younger viewers, the network itself isn’t going to be a place the show
can build a larger audience. The CW is nowhere the network it was when it was The
WB in its prime. Back in the 1990’s The WB was competitive, with a strong
broadcast signal, full weeknight lineup, Saturday morning cartoons, and a
Sunday schedule. While the CW today is just a netlet with a two-hour weeknight schedule bogged down
with superhero shows and fantasy. With the schedule already crowded with Flash,
Arrow, iZombie and Legends of Tomorrow Supergirl would get lost in the shuffle.
CBS really needs to
stand behind Supergirl. It’s the kind of show that will find an audience long
term. With the right stories and network support Supergirl can be the kind of
show that builds a following over 3-5 seasons. However, CBS executives have to
learn how to play the long game instead of the short one. Most of the hit shows
that went on to become classics like Cheers, and Seinfeld didn’t do it in the
first season. It was the third season that was their breakout.If CBS played its cards right by the
time NCIS or Big Bang Theory is planning its series finale Supergirl could be
ready to take its place on the schedule and keeping the network competitive.
This Week the New
York City Council is planning on passing a bill to charge residents a nickel
for every paper or plastic bag they get at a store when they go shopping.
And all those
profits go to the store.
Let me get this
straight: The City Council wants shoppers to pay for the bags they get from a
store. In one of the most expensive cities in the world. Where rent is $3500
for a studio apartment. And people pay some of the highest taxes and electric
rates in the country.
And now The City
Council wants to charge them five cents for bags
*FACEPALM*
The New York City
Council says this will lead to a cleaner environment. Yeah, it’ll get cleaner
when people start leaving the city due to the high cost of living. There’s only
so much people can take. And nickel and diming them at the stores they shop at
over a bag may be the straw that breaks New Yorker’s backs.
Not to mention the
customer service nightmare at retail. Want to slow down traffic at the front
end of a store at the registers during busy periods? Have cashiers counting up
bags to see how much they should charge for them. That’ll turn a 20-minute trip
to a supermarket into a one-hour ordeal.
It’ll be hard to
make profits on those bags when people are frustrated about getting out of a
store due to dealing with this nightmare. I can only imagine the losses from
shrink stores will have as angry people leave merchandise on the sales floor after
they walk out because they’re tired of waiting for a cashier to add up how many
bags an order used.
And this policy
will practically put stores that have bag checks out of business. If people are
getting charged extra for bags, and they feel forced to take one in these kinds
of establishments, they just won’t shop there.
The Democrats in
the City Council don’t understand how it was policies like this that led to the
decline of New York City 40 years ago. It was little nickel and dime taxes like
this that had people getting on buses to go shopping in New Jersey and Connecticut
at their malls.
Taking revenue out
of the city. And making it less attractive to residents, travelers, and
tourists. When people get nickeled and dimed over things like bags they tell
their families and friends not to come to the City to visit. That it’s too
expensive. And it’s cheaper to just go someplace else.
But the Democrats
say they care so much about the environment. By giving more money to businesses
a nickel at a time. Again, the only people profiting from this policy will be
businesses themselves. So how does that help the environment?
What the Democrats
in the City Council doesn’t understand is that these are the kinds of policies
that kill a city’s revenue long-term. Yeah, you want a cleaner environment, but
not at the expense of citizens. The fastest way to destroy the revenue coming
into a city is to go around nickel and diming people for doing everyday
business like shopping. That just
drives people out of the city into competing cities and states and when they
see how much cheaper it is to live over there, they just move there permanently
taking jobs and revenue right out of the city.
New York City was
on its way to becoming one of the greatest cities in the world again. But with
nickel and dime policies like charging five cents for a plastic or paper bag
it’s headed back down the road that turned the city into a cesspool from the
1970s to the early 1990s. It was little taxes like this that drove businesses
and residents out of the city and made it virtually uninhabitable. In a city
with one of the highest costs of living, you’d think the City Council would be
focused on ways to improve the quality of life for its residents, not making it
worse.
