DC TV

I just watched a trailer for the new Flash series on the CW. If you're interested in the Extended trailer, here it is.

Now there had been rumors and things said about this new show for a while and it was going to be a spinoff of the universe in which the popular show Arrow aired in. And of course, it was going to be aired on the CW. Yes the wonderful network that brought you Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill.

Now I've seen a couple of episodes of Arrow and I have to say that it actually is pretty good. Its still cheesy, its still got some shitty acting, but its fun to see Oliver Queen on the screen. So I'll let it slide.

The other thing about Arrow is that Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow, while a great property of DC is too obscure for a feature film. Its just not well known enough for DC to take a chance on, especially in the trouble they are in right now trying to get their Justice League movie off the ground.

So while I would prefer the series go on a network I can take seriously, I actually don't mind Green Arrow turned into a television show.

Furthermore, a show like Gotham that follows Jim Gordon from the Batman universe makes sense for TV. Its an obscure enough character and a viable enough world that a TV show could exist without any effect on the cinematic world.

And that's been a theme between the two shows. Arrow and Gotham are not connected to Man of Steel or any of the films coming up in the DC universe. They're just shows that happen to take place in that universe but the two are totally separate, and that is the smart thing to do.

Its not a smart idea to have TV shows and movies be connected so much that events in one effect events in the other. Thats the problem Marvel's Agents of Shield had. They couldn't do anything drastic that could be referenced in the movie because audiences who didn't see the show would have no idea what was going on.

If Oliver Queen showed up in Batman v Superman, audiences who haven't seen the show would be really really confused on who this character is.

So how does this connect to the new Flash TV show?

The new Flash TV show is suppose to be connected to the world of Arrow. It tells the story of Barry Allen, a clumsy crime scene investigator who is "Struck by lightning" (Sigh) and gains the power to run real fast.

Put aside the fact that Barry Allen looks as though he's being played by one of the members of One Direction and the set up is actually pretty good. The trailer, while incredibly CWish, has the set up for a great story. A kid gaining superpowers and then using them to do good in the world.

The problem I have with this is that The Flash is not an obscure character or a side character in another character's world. The Flash is one of the Justice League. He's a crucial member.

Now they haven't been totally clear about which members of the Justice League they're going to focus on but as far as I know, they can't use Barry Allen now. At least not for a while.

To be fair, that may have never been their plan. Like I said, I don't know what members of the Justice League they're going to use in the movie following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. (Now that I think about it, I need to do another Justice League related post. There have been a lot of things I haven't talked about like the new title to the Batman v. Superman movie)

As of right now, we know Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg are going to be in Batman v Superman. Maybe the Flash just doesn't fit in with that ensemble and the vision Zach Snyder has for the Justice League.

But that's not my biggest issue with this trailer. I watch the trailer and all I see is the prospects for a movie go wasted on a TV show but then I see the big CW as the tag for the movie.

And it really confuses me why DC is still sticking around with the CW as the distributer of their source material.

Like I said before, Arrow is actually alright for what I've seen. But its being executed by people who know their audience is teenage girls mostly. Yes Arrow brings in most testosterone to the audience but Arrow is full of high school drama bullshit, shitty acting, and things that shouldn't be in a superhero show.

I think the CW believes that because all these actors look like J Crew or Victoria's Secret models that they can act when the exact opposite is the case. A lot of the times, these people could never find work outside of the CW.

And I don't mean to totally bash on the CW. If they have a model of business that works for them then they should follow it. I'm more concerned that DC is just stuck in the old ways of things that they're not willing to go out of the box and figure out new ways to entertain us. And I know why they're stuck in that funk

Now I may be saying something incredibly heretical and I know some people may hurt me for this but I have to say it.

Smallville was not that great...

To be fair I've only seen about half of the first season, and I'm sure it gets better as much of you will tell me. But its not so much that I don't think the show is good, its more that it didn't have the impact that DC thinks it did.

While it was a popular show at its time, I could ask a lot of people today if they've seen Smallville and the overwhelming answer would be no.

The Reason? It was on the CW.

At the time, sure it was inventive that they had a superhero show in a time when superheroes weren't as cool as they were now. But times have changed and people like Superheroes... but they still don't like the CW.

Now part way through writing this I suddenly realized that it makes sense that all these shows are on the CW. The CW is in part owned by Warner Brothers which owns DC comics and all its characters.

Why wouldn't they keep it close to home and probably save money in the process? However, that only underscores the problems I have with DC these days. They're not willing to take any risks.

Why run your characters on a channel that aires mostly teeny bopper bullshit? Because its safe, its worked before.

I was actually really surprised when I saw that Gotham was picked up by Fox.

My point is that despite the fact that Smallville was successful on the CW back in the early 2000s does not mean that that will continue to be the case for other properties. Its time for DC, Warner Brothers, whoever, to start taking risks. On the small screen, and on the big screen. Do something we've never seen before and take chances. That is the only way DC is going to compete with Marvel who has taken their risks and won big by doing it.

As far as the small screen goes, Gotham is a step in the right direction. We'll have to see if it actually is something different, if its DC wading into uncharted waters, or the CW just trying to breach its walls.

I would really rather see the former happen. But with a show like The Flash coming out, I don't really know how much hope there is for DC taking more risks.

But those are my thoughts? Are you a fan of Arrow or are you looking forward to The Flash. I want to hear why? Why are you a fan of the CW and what keeps bringing you back? Comment and Discuss below.

I'll leave you with this. You can never go wrong with Badman from College Humor. Enjoy!