Matt Zimmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matt_zimmer) wrote2007-10-06 07:04 pm
matt_zimmer) wrote2007-10-06 07:04 pm
The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes Reviews (Spoilers)
Also reviews for the third season premiere of Doctor Who (I'm WAAAAAY behind) and the latest episodes of Smallville, Bionic Woman, and Reaper.
The Batman "Vertigo"
Pretty cool episode. Nothing TOO special but Green Arrow's debut had a lot of nice touches.
I wonder if Count Vertigo was affected by JLU's Bat-Embargo. If not, he should have been in the Legion of Doom.
I loved Bruce's mistake in telling his date she needed time to fix her make-up. SO focused on getting the job done he showed that he can be totally tactless. I don't EVER see Kevin Conroy's Batman EVER having any flaws so this was appreciated.
Interesting to get an origin for Green Arrow since he never got one on JLU. I have to say I find his origin story more than a little bit ridiculous (and I have since I heard about it from the comics) and this version didn't exactly sell me on the concept of Robin Hood Castaway. Still, it's interesting that we might be getting origins for characters on this show that we never got around to in the DCAU.
Interesting that Bruce and Ollie found out each others' secrets. I love that once it was revealed that Bruce was Batman Ollie trusted him at once. On a lesser show trusting Bruce would have still been an issue and it would have been milked for melodrama. Good for this show.
I liked the episode. Not as good as the Superman one but I had been afraid they wouldn't be able to hold onto last season's quality but they did a fine job. ****.
Legion of Super Heroes "Cry Wolf"
I KNOW they are going for a darker feel this season but outside of Phantom Girl and Chameleon Boy all of the characters were VERY unlikable. Cosmic Boy is the ultimate butthole for not believing Timber Wolf wasn't a murderer (or at LEAST not taking longer to decide a verdict like Phantom Girl told him to). For his part Timber Wolf did NOT act like an innocent man. It shows Phantom Girl's strength of character that she believed him despite the fact that he was being a total butt. There were many cool things about the episode like the animation and the fact that they didn't go overboard with Timber Wolf's narration but I actually LIKED most of these characters last season and they aren't making it easy for me to keep liking them. How much of a jerk was Timber Wolf for telling Phantom Girl he didn't have any friends after she risked prison to try and help clear him?
Eh, I've seen Superhero shows that were "adult" not making the characters so hard to enjoy. This was nearly on the level of Marvel Comics' Lionsgate DTVs. I was not impressed. **1/2.
Smallville "Kara"
I was actually surprised that this week was better than last week's since most of the season premieres are followed up with lackluster outings. I want to see what Homeland Security is going to do with that crystal. I had been convinced Lex had nabbed it but I was pleasantly surprised.
Supergirl as a character was okay. I am VERY interested in Jor-El's warnings about her. I love that we finally saw the Superman Shield in Kara's picture of Baby Clark.
Okay, so we found out how Lana survived. She "killed" her clone. I thought it was interesting that they said that the clone was never "alive" because if it HAD been Lana would have been guilty of murder. I'm still not convinced she didn't know that it was never alive. She is enough of a horrible person to actually do something like that.
Lois is finally working at the Daily Planet! But am I the only person who finds her and Chloe's editor totally annoying?
Still no sign of Lionel. I hope he pops up again soon.
I know it sounds like I had a lot of complaints but really I enjoyed the episode a lot. ****.
Reaper "Charged"
Great second episode. Usually second episodes of series suck but this pretty much kept up the quality of the pilot. I loved all of the jokes (especially Sock's exes' bit about comparing Sock to a pencil.)
I like the Devil on this show. A Lot. I KNEW Ray Wise was great at being creepy but I never expected him to be so great at being naturally funny. He's a blast.
I love Sock running away rather than lying to Sam's Mom.
SO many fun things in the episode. This show is a keeper and I expect great things from it in the future. It reminds me so much of Buffy except that like Buffy's first season this is pretty standalone too. I don't think I'd MIND a story arc but I'd be plenty happy if the show just stayed monster of the week. ****1/2.
Bionic Woman "Paradise Lost"
I don't know how much of it was due to network interference but the "retooled" second episode of this show ran circles around the Pilot. It's shocking to say this considering how much Firefly's The Train Job sucked but I think the changes made from the pilot were for the better. I like the idea that Jamie will probably be doing a new mission every week. The political intrigue and spy stuff was not actually something that would make me want to watch this show every week. MUCH better than last week's.
Jamie's little sister is still annoying as all get-out though. ****.
Doctor Who "The Runaway Bride"
The show had a LOT of work to do to get back into my good graces after splitting up the Doctor and Rose but this episode was a good start. I love how the Bride and the Doctor have SUCH a combative relationship and I love that she kept ignorantly bringing up Rose and how the Doctor lost her. My favorite instance of this was when the Doctor was encouraging her to jump to the TARDIS from the car and he told her to trust him. When she asks if the person he lost trusted him I LOVED the Doctor puffing up with pride and saying that she is still alive. Best moment of the episode.
The concept of the Spider-people being behind Earth's creation was a wonky one and was handled pretty well. I didn't like the fact that Donna's fiance turned out to be such a creep. A little too pat.
I liked the episode and can't wait to meet Martha next episode.
The Batman "Vertigo"
Pretty cool episode. Nothing TOO special but Green Arrow's debut had a lot of nice touches.
I wonder if Count Vertigo was affected by JLU's Bat-Embargo. If not, he should have been in the Legion of Doom.
I loved Bruce's mistake in telling his date she needed time to fix her make-up. SO focused on getting the job done he showed that he can be totally tactless. I don't EVER see Kevin Conroy's Batman EVER having any flaws so this was appreciated.
Interesting to get an origin for Green Arrow since he never got one on JLU. I have to say I find his origin story more than a little bit ridiculous (and I have since I heard about it from the comics) and this version didn't exactly sell me on the concept of Robin Hood Castaway. Still, it's interesting that we might be getting origins for characters on this show that we never got around to in the DCAU.
Interesting that Bruce and Ollie found out each others' secrets. I love that once it was revealed that Bruce was Batman Ollie trusted him at once. On a lesser show trusting Bruce would have still been an issue and it would have been milked for melodrama. Good for this show.
I liked the episode. Not as good as the Superman one but I had been afraid they wouldn't be able to hold onto last season's quality but they did a fine job. ****.
Legion of Super Heroes "Cry Wolf"
I KNOW they are going for a darker feel this season but outside of Phantom Girl and Chameleon Boy all of the characters were VERY unlikable. Cosmic Boy is the ultimate butthole for not believing Timber Wolf wasn't a murderer (or at LEAST not taking longer to decide a verdict like Phantom Girl told him to). For his part Timber Wolf did NOT act like an innocent man. It shows Phantom Girl's strength of character that she believed him despite the fact that he was being a total butt. There were many cool things about the episode like the animation and the fact that they didn't go overboard with Timber Wolf's narration but I actually LIKED most of these characters last season and they aren't making it easy for me to keep liking them. How much of a jerk was Timber Wolf for telling Phantom Girl he didn't have any friends after she risked prison to try and help clear him?
Eh, I've seen Superhero shows that were "adult" not making the characters so hard to enjoy. This was nearly on the level of Marvel Comics' Lionsgate DTVs. I was not impressed. **1/2.
Smallville "Kara"
I was actually surprised that this week was better than last week's since most of the season premieres are followed up with lackluster outings. I want to see what Homeland Security is going to do with that crystal. I had been convinced Lex had nabbed it but I was pleasantly surprised.
Supergirl as a character was okay. I am VERY interested in Jor-El's warnings about her. I love that we finally saw the Superman Shield in Kara's picture of Baby Clark.
Okay, so we found out how Lana survived. She "killed" her clone. I thought it was interesting that they said that the clone was never "alive" because if it HAD been Lana would have been guilty of murder. I'm still not convinced she didn't know that it was never alive. She is enough of a horrible person to actually do something like that.
Lois is finally working at the Daily Planet! But am I the only person who finds her and Chloe's editor totally annoying?
Still no sign of Lionel. I hope he pops up again soon.
I know it sounds like I had a lot of complaints but really I enjoyed the episode a lot. ****.
Reaper "Charged"
Great second episode. Usually second episodes of series suck but this pretty much kept up the quality of the pilot. I loved all of the jokes (especially Sock's exes' bit about comparing Sock to a pencil.)
I like the Devil on this show. A Lot. I KNEW Ray Wise was great at being creepy but I never expected him to be so great at being naturally funny. He's a blast.
I love Sock running away rather than lying to Sam's Mom.
SO many fun things in the episode. This show is a keeper and I expect great things from it in the future. It reminds me so much of Buffy except that like Buffy's first season this is pretty standalone too. I don't think I'd MIND a story arc but I'd be plenty happy if the show just stayed monster of the week. ****1/2.
Bionic Woman "Paradise Lost"
I don't know how much of it was due to network interference but the "retooled" second episode of this show ran circles around the Pilot. It's shocking to say this considering how much Firefly's The Train Job sucked but I think the changes made from the pilot were for the better. I like the idea that Jamie will probably be doing a new mission every week. The political intrigue and spy stuff was not actually something that would make me want to watch this show every week. MUCH better than last week's.
Jamie's little sister is still annoying as all get-out though. ****.
Doctor Who "The Runaway Bride"
The show had a LOT of work to do to get back into my good graces after splitting up the Doctor and Rose but this episode was a good start. I love how the Bride and the Doctor have SUCH a combative relationship and I love that she kept ignorantly bringing up Rose and how the Doctor lost her. My favorite instance of this was when the Doctor was encouraging her to jump to the TARDIS from the car and he told her to trust him. When she asks if the person he lost trusted him I LOVED the Doctor puffing up with pride and saying that she is still alive. Best moment of the episode.
The concept of the Spider-people being behind Earth's creation was a wonky one and was handled pretty well. I didn't like the fact that Donna's fiance turned out to be such a creep. A little too pat.
I liked the episode and can't wait to meet Martha next episode.
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LOSH - I'm still trying to figure out of the Legion are supposed to be characters you like. This episode reminded me a lot of the classic Legion stories where they'll be so obsessed with the rules they made, they put them above whatever the character was going through. Last season was able to get around that (by showing Bouncing Boy give the Substitutes a pep talk), but it seems to me, that's always been a part of who the Legion are.
Smallville - Didn't enjoy it as much as you, but there were bits I like (particularly the super hearing scene). I'm still unsure about if I like Kara or not. The Daily Planet editor is, indeed, a butt.
Bionic Woman - It's been my experience that a lot of pilots tend to be on the sucky side because they're new, the characters need fleshing out, that sort of thing. Jamie cooperating with these guys is a step forward. And was it just my imagination, or was that guy in the beginning Steve Austin?
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LoSH: That may have been a part of the comic book but they shouldn't have made it part of the show especially considering there are only two DC toons on the air. It's not like if we get sick of the characters we can just pick up another of two dozen books.
Bionic Woman: This is true of some shows but it usually isn't true of GOOD shows or at least shows that attract huge fanbases right away (see Lost or Alias).