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Doux News: March 8, 2015

This week: A costume for Supergirl -- Stealth-watching Gotham -- Returning shows -- This week in casts -- This week in cats, and I actually have cat material this time

The new Supergirl has a new costume. What do you think? I think it's pretty cool, classy instead of flashy. But then again, I liked Tom Welling in basic black. I like Stephen Amell in muted green leather with a hood. Brightly colored spandex just doesn't do much for me. (Okay, the boots are terrible, but at least they're not bright red.) Opinions? Comments?

Stealth-watching Gotham

Jada Pinkett Smith is leaving Gotham. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, because I don't watch Gotham. I'm very aware that Gotham is the sort of show we usually cover, but we're not. The thing is, the person I live with does watch Gotham. That means I mostly sit in the same room when the episode airs and involuntarily stealth-watch while I'm doing something else. I swear, every time I look up, there is a scene of horrendous violence or torture (the last time I looked up, and I don't look up often, a disembodied eyeball hit the floor). The future Commissioner Gordon leaves me cold, and it feels like the show is all unrelentingly dark character development of future villains. My biggest problem with it, and I get that I have no right to complain when I haven't given the show a proper chance, is the extreme lack of Batman. Smallville didn't have Superman, but it did have Clark Kent. Gotham has a child as the future Dark Knight.

So you guys who are into the show -- I need your opinion. How do you feel about Gotham? Do you find the lack of Batman distracting?

Returning shows

Orphan Black returns Saturday, April 18. Here's a season three trailer:




Community returns Tuesday, March 17 on the confusing Yahoo Screen, whatever that is. Six seasons! They made it! Although I bet we don't get a movie. Here's a season six trailer.




No trailer for Orange is the New Black, which will return June 12, and Billie will go nuts trying to review thirteen episodes in a timely fashion. Maybe I should just do a seasonal review?

This week in casts

-- Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG-1), a fave of mine, will be joining The Originals in the recurring role of the much discussed but not yet seen Dahlia. Woo hoo!

-- Sarah Michelle Gellar (guess which show she's known for) will voice an as yet unnamed character on Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels.

-- Carrie Preston (True Blood, Person of Interest, The Good Wife) just got a starring role in an NBC pilot. No title yet, but it sounds sitcommish so I probably won't watch it. But as always, I wish her well.

-- Rutina Wesley (also True Blood) and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) have joined the cast of the ABC pilot Broad Squad, which is unfortunately about groundbreaking female cops in the 70s. Broad Squad? Really?

-- Anna Paquin (also also True Blood) is in talks to star as Madame X in a miniseries on HBO. Have you guys seen the old Madame X? What a tearjerker. It might be interesting to see it updated. Or not.

This week in cats

Someone has started making music for cats based on the idea that the music should be species-specific, like including purring sounds. My cat Fox didn't react to it, but Fox likes people music. The only thing Fox doesn't like is The Walking Dead. He always leaves the room when it's on. We call it "the growling show."

I saw this clip on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, and I feel compelled to share it with you all. It's just wonderful. The cat's face before it "misbehaves" is priceless.



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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

14 comments:

  1. Love Supergirl's costume. I think it's perfect. I really like the boots, although I wonder how practical over the knee boots are for superhero things. Interesting you mentioned Arrow. Supergirl's new costume was designed by Colleen Atwood, who is also responsible for Oliver and Barry's costumes. I really like the way they keep the classic look while toning down the colors, making it all a little more mature.

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  2. They also announced this week that Lost Girl will be returning Friday, April 17, at 10:00 p.m. on SyFy (yea?), and Hannibal will be back for Season 3 on Thursday, June 4, at 10:00 p.m. Apparently Hannibal will be airing after David Duchovny's new show about Charles Manson, so with Gillian Anderson as a regular on Hannibal this season, Mulder and Scully will sort of be reunited on NBC Thursday nights this summer.

    It's interesting to hear you complain about the violence and gore on Gotham. Isn't it funny how gory violence can really bother you on one show, but less so on others? I tried watching The Shield awhile back, and I made it about halfway through Season 2, but didn't want to continue because I wasn't up for the relentlessly violent content (no matter how much I enjoyed CCH Pounder's Claudette). It was too depressing to immerse myself in that world, even at a one-a-week pace. And yet, I watch a host of excessively violent, gruesome, and depressing shows, where that issue doesn't seem to be a showstopper for me. Maybe the setting for The Shield was too realistic. Maybe there wasn't enough beyond the violence to engage me. Or maybe it was just one gory show too many for me at this point.

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  3. I would love if you guys started reviewing Gotham. My husband and I have been watching, and enjoying, it. I've read some other sites' reviews and some also complain about the lack of Batman as well as changing some origin stories.
    It is a little bit hit and miss, but I think much more hit.
    I have enjoyed disliking Jada Pinkett-Smith's over the top character (although I may be the only one lol) - especially her cleverness and willingness to do anything (like gauge out her own eyeball) - and Penguin has just been a joy up until the last couple episodes.
    The child Bruce Wayne character has been a little shoehorned in some episodes but is currently in a nice arc trying to take on corruption in Wayne Enterprises, and the actor that plays him is quite good. He is best, though, in the episodes that connect him with Selena. I don't find him boring, and in most Batman movies Batman is the most boring character...
    The only character I truly dislike (not in a good way) is Barbara. She's just kind of there, moping around the outside, to provide some angst for Gordon I guess but is utterly boring, has no personality of her own, and her actions make no sense. Not sure if it's the actress or the writers - probably both.
    Now I've written all of this, and haven't even mentioned Gordon or the violence or darkness of the show. I like the noir feel of the show (they overdid it in the first several episodes but it's settled down now). I really enjoy the character of Bullock, Gordon's partner, who is jaded, and Gordon himself although he does go "lawful stupid" as we call it in D&D.
    I don't find the violence to be horrible. I think it's maybe on par with Walking Dead in some episodes... definitely not a kid's show... but not as bad as many, and the violence does generally play a role in the storyline or make a point.
    Disclaimer: I'm watching more as a fan of detective shows than as a Batman fan (although I like Batman too and have seen a couple movies, and the Adam West TV show is required viewing... he's from my hometown). I don't have a lot of knowledge on, say origin stories and such. I can tell they were going for more of a feel from the comics where things were a lot grittier (I think)
    However, a friend of ours also watches and loves Gotham, and is a huge Batman fan and goes into long discussions about comics versus movies versus the show. So it's possible for a Batman fan to like it :).

    Sorry for writing a novel! Have a great day.

    If you want an episode to start with - I really enjoyed the scarecrow one.

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  4. Oh, I also enjoyed "Rogue's Gallery" even better... even though it has Barbara in it. (The Scarecrow does have a little lazy writing in the police work, but makes up for it otherwise, in characters, setting, and the other storylines)

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  5. I'm enjoying Gotham too. Of the new shows this season I think it's the best one, though I enjoy The Flash too.

    The problem I had with it in the beginning was the two boooring detective leads. But behind them there is an excellent supporting cast, especially the child Bruce Wayne and Alfred. And I'm sorry to hear that Jada Pinkett Smith will leave the show. I'll miss her.

    I usually get irritated when there is too much unnecessary gore and violence. But I don't mind it in Gotham. It kind of fits with the noir feeling the show has.

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  6. Supergirl needs some new boots, and perhaps a better skirt. Otherwise not too bad, and in motion it might be pretty darn nice.

    I'll have more on Gotham when I put up a article I've been working on that details why I like Gotham, but have some serious issues with it.

    Aeryn Sun is coming to the Originals, that's just awesome. Just her voice alone is enough to get excited (she does an enormous amount of voice over work).

    Seems like a lot of True Blood alums getting work lately.

    Thug cat is a thug. Knock over that glass you fluffy bad-ass!

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  7. Thanks so much for the info on Gotham, guys. Nonei, I really liked your rundown. :)

    Jess, you're totally right about how our level of acceptance of violence on television relates to how much we like a show. I'm one to talk, being a fan of Supernatural and The Walking Dead. It's just that every time I stealth-watch something, I invariably get drawn in at some point, and that's not happening with Gotham. Every time I look up at the screen, it turns me off a little more.

    J.D., I'm looking forward to reading your opinion piece on Gotham.

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  8. I think the kind of violence makes a difference to me. In 'The Walking Dead' it is mostly non-alive humans who get messed up and the same for Supernatural. When those shows start to have people perpetrating the violence on people I start to get anxious and the closer it is to 'real life' the less I like it. I still haven't been able to watch either 'Dexter' or 'Breaking Bad' and I'm not likely to watch 'Hannibal'. But I think you have a point Jess, I have a violent show limit as well.
    I never did get into Gotham although it looked interesting.

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  9. I've really been enjoying Gotham and would love it if you covered it. I love film noirs, and that is what this is.

    I have a love/hate relationship with Fish on Gotham (that's Pinkett-Smith's character). She's so over-the-top crazy, but this is such a huge ensemble cast, and many of my favorites get overlooked, that while I'll miss her I'll keep watching it. Every episode can use more Bullock!

    My biggest issue with this so far (and I do have other issues) is almost every future villain of Batman is 15-20 years older than Bruce Wayne. That's not right. There needs to be more contemporaries or around Bruce's age to be more believable. Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face--all older. So far, only Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and a possible Joker are around Batman's age.

    (And, yes, Bruce has been getting a nice arc about taking down corruption in Wayne Industries.)

    Kat

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  10. I love Gotham and will miss that crazy Fish. Sigh. Yep the eyeball thing but me off..but..spoiler..the character got better. It's a superhero thing. Spoiler over.
    I adore teen!Selina and Ivy..and find Penguin to be fascinating..
    Oh yes..Barbara needs to go far way. I prefer Moreena Baccarin's Lee.
    I like Ryan from the O.C as Gordon too. yes, I saw him on Southland too.
    Best cop show in a long while.
    Supergirl's costume is cute.

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  11. For a modern Supergirl series, that version of the costume is about as good as I could hope for, certainly better than what they tried to do with Wonder Woman a few years ago. I'm still not convinced a Supergirl series is going to work, though. She's an odd character for them to try and establish when we haven't met that "world's" Superman. Plus, Kryptonians are pretty damn powerful, it's tough to present them with many credible threats. Smallville got around that somewhat by 1) showing Clark when he was young and not fully developed in terms of his power level and 2) having Kryptonite cropping up all over town like weeds. :)

    SO thrilled to hear the news about Claudia Black, she's one of those people who should never NOT be on television somewhere, like Amy Acker.

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  12. I like the new Supergirl costume. Liek you, I'm a fan of superhero costumes with more muted colours, unless there is a good reason for the colours being bright.

    As for GOTHAM, I love the show. Now, as a batman fanperson, I would love for a TV show about Batman, but GOTHAM doesn't suffer from not having him. One of the reasons I love the Batman Mythos is the human side of all the villains. With the exception of the Joker, none of Batman's villains are "lets be evil for nthe sake of the evulz!!!". All of his villains have complex and often sympathetic motivations, or at the very least are "human" (emotionally). So, from my perspective, having a show dedicated to exploring that human side of the villains is amazing. Plus, the episode with the red hood was awesome.

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  13. Just want to follow up on this, having seen the full Supergirl pilot. The costume totally works. And they have a cute little sequence showing some evolution of the look to what we end up with. Obviously this show could still wind up being a flop but I enjoyed the pilot, especially Melissa Benoist as Kara. She's totally charming.

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