Dr. Bob's minions tire away endlessly to help the good Doctor in the name of science,
but with what little downtime they get they would like to share with you fine people!
Crisis on Multiple Shows:
The Greg Berlanti / DC TV Universe in a nutshell
By Abby Smith
Warning: This information could be construed as spoilers, but I promise I'm just talking about general knowledge and no big twists.
It's fair to say that I'm not really a big DC fan. I have a lot of time and energy invested in the Batman family, but I could not tell you thing one about the Green Lantern, except what I've picked up reading advertisements at comic book stores. I had a dear friend who was particularly fond of the Flash. Of course Dick Grayson has a number of one-on-one conversations with Supes, and other helpful crossovers like that, but my knowledge of the DC Universe is pretty thin.
In fact, I didn't remember a "green arrow" at all. Like acquaintances in a big city, I feel like I'd seen him around, but I was still fuzzy on the details. So my first formal introduction to Oliver Queen was the CW show Arrow. What can I say? Stephen Amell and his abs had me intrigued right away. It has since spawned multiple delightful spin-offs, so without further ado, my guide to the DCTVU!
Arrow: The first of the DC shows started by Greg Berlanti. Arrow tries to be grounded in reality like the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, which means that the actors do a great job of talking about earthquake machines and the League of assassins with straight faces. Arrow also introduced Barry Allen, who is better known to some as...
The Flash: while Arrow aims for realism, Team Flash is fully on board the crazy train. So far, Barry has faced off against Gorilla Grodd and King Shark in addition to his many colorful human foes. Did I mention that Mark Hamill reprises his role as the Trickster with brilliant levels of scenery-chewing? The Flash has, in true DC fashion, come up with a narrative way to cross universes in the multi-verse, which brings us to our next successful venture...
Supergirl: OMG, you guys, Melissa Benoist is killing it. It's so refreshing to see a Kryptonian that believes in truth, justice and optimism when held up against the DC movie that shall not be named that came out this spring. And bright colors! Jeez, what does that Snyder guy have against colors?! Anyway, CBS recently aired a crossover episode where Barry is able to visit Kara in her universe by running really fast. The result was a super team-up that was so much better than the other DC movie that shall not be named.
Unfortunately Kara Danvers couldn't find a home on CBS, so she'll be joining the CW next season. I am optimistic that the show will maintain its quality, but one never can tell with any major changes (like how I was so excited that Stephen Moffat would be running Doctor Who before he ran it into the ground). That brings us to the other new kid...
Legends of Tomorrow: Personally, I am charmed by the time master Rip Hunter and his band of misfits. Ratings and critical reception have not been as overwhelmingly positive for this ensemble show, but I recommend it strongly. The Flash and Arrow had a few episodes where some characters decided to "leave town for a while" and they coincidentally all ended up as characters on Legends of Tomorrow! Wasn't that lucky for us?!
But seriously, it's fun, it's funny, and the cast has great chemistry to sustain an A-plot and several B- and C- plots every week. I would encourage you to catch up with this little gem before it gets disappeared by some studio bigwigs.
Previously on Minion Musings...