• Sons of Anarchy
• Boardwalk Empire
• Dexter
• Homeland
• Revenge
• Supernatural
• American Horror Story
  

• Vegas
• 666 Park Avenue
• Nashville
• Arrow

Breaking Bad

Mad Men

Doctor Who

••

Series about DC Comics in the Eighties?

No, wait. That was Fifth Avenue.

Did I miss something, or wasn't there a "Vegas" TV series just a few years ago?

Unfortunately, I think I'll pass on "Arrow" (Sorry Marc). I am just too tired of superhero properties being adapted by Hollywood and changed so that they don't come off as "superhero." Frankly, I can't give this show a pass on that matter just because a poster from the board is connected to the show. Sadly, it's going to be another example of Hollywood twisting things to suit its way, and being embarrassed by the source material. I've had enough of that.

Think I'm wrong? The people involved with the making of the show have been giving interviews bragging about making it different from the comics. In the interview at the link below, the fact that Oliver Queen ("Arrow," nope... no color, that would be "comic booky," right?) kills people, and that there will be no superpowers, not even if Black Canary appears (Laurel, it seems, instead of Dinah, Lance... changed for no reason other than to do so, it appears) is touted as a good thing:

Interview with ARROW creators.

And there's this one:

Creators behind ARROW Don't See It As A Superhero Show.

Here's some select quotes from that article:

Marc Guggenheim, from the article wrote: ...I’m so surprised by the number of questions we’ve gotten about DC characters and superheroes and everything. It’s interesting to me because we don’t really see the show as a superhero show... We see it as more like a crime thriller.

So "surprised," Marc??? Green Arrow -- The character you are adapting -- IS A SUPERHERO!! Did you really get blindsided by such questions?

And...

Andrew Kriesberg wrote: ...Oliver could just as easily have a gun and a ski mask. The only thing that even makes it a comic book is the fact that he wears a hood. The only reason he does that is it’s not so much to wear a costume as much as it is that’s how he feels most like a predator. That’s how he gets back into the mindset of the hunter on the island. And to conceal his identity. He’s not wearing tights. He’s not dressing up to dress up. Given that, there is very little about it that’s sort of comic booky...

Sigh.

Yeah, superheroes suck. They don't sell, either. Look at that big flop, "The Avengers."

And what makes this worse, it's one of our own doing this. Wasn't Frank Miller's "The Spirit" enough of a fellow comics person pissing on the source material?

I don't care WHO it is making the show, if you are embarrassed by the source material, or want to change things so much to make it "your's," come up with something on your own and leave it be.

So, yep, "Arrow" will be a big pass for me this Fall.

Thom wrote: ...That was Las Vegas, set in contemporary times; Vegas is set in the 1960s...

Thanks for the clarification, Thom.

• Boardwalk Empire
• Dexter
• Homeland
• Revenge
• Parenthood
• Happy Endings
• Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  

Matt,i agree with everthing you`ve said.Based on everything i`ve read i am not expecting it to be `our` Green Arrow at all.Changing Dinah to Laurel is just plain wrong,why change it? Will there be a line in the end credits...`Not based on the DC comics character much at all`?

Thanks, James and Bill. I wasn't sure if I should have aired my complaints, being that Marc Guggenheim is a regular poster and I didn't want to come across as bashing him, but I also know that most everyone here has had similar complaints about other people working in movies and television who have done something like what Marc and his partner Andrew Kriesberg are doing with the Green Arrow and it seems to me that it's unacceptable no matter who it is that does it. Marc seems like a great guy from what I've read of his posts on the board, but I am very unhappy with the changes made on that show, AND the reasons given in interviews by both Marc and Andrew. It all boils down to "we don't want viewers to think this is like a comic book." That is just rotten to me.

This isn't jumping to any conclusions without any evidence, either. We have several interviews where it is not only stated, but stressed that the shows creators do not want viewers to see this as a "superhero" show.

And going over this again, I can't help but wonder what Marc meant with this quote:

"...I’m so surprised by the number of questions we’ve gotten about DC characters and superheroes and everything. It’s interesting to me because we don’t really see the show as a superhero show...  We see it as more like a crime thriller..."

That comes across to me like someone saying this sort of thing if one was making an adaptation of "King Kong":

"I'm so surprised by the number of questions we've gotten about giant apes and the Empire State building and everything. It's interesting because we don't really see the movie as a action thriller or monster flick... We see it more as a musical with giant bunnies."

Ugh.

So disappointing.

Re: Mr. Matt Hawes and "Arrow":

You, sir, get the Slow Hand Clap from me.

Returning shows for me:

Parks & Recreation, The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, Once Upon A Time, Community, Modern Family, and Burn Notice.

Supernatural is a toss up. Last season didn't do too much for me. Will give it one last chance but if it doesn't deliver early I'm out.

Will be checking out Revolution. Other than that I really haven't paid that much attention to any new shows.