Arrow Arrow General Discussion Thread

[Nathan]

Maybe they didn't give him a mask, because they didn't want him to look too much like Deathstroke. Or maybe they could give him the Arkham City design in the future.

 

[Savage]

I don't think he needs the mask. I like the look he's got, even though the eye-piece can be toned down a little bit. That mustache would be badass, though.

 

[protocida]

The Arkham City design is bad.

 

[solidsnake86]

Deadshot having a costume is something they can do down the road if they bring him back. That's the great thing about a tv series. Since they got the full season order should be interesting to see who they bring back for another episode.

 

[Sawyer]

The Arkham City design is bad.

Agreed. It just looks hokey. The comics version looks sleek and awesome. The simpler, the better.

 

[Mikelus]

So far the balance between action and relationships is pretty solid, plus it makes Oliver more interesting than being a lone wolf. If Smallville despite all its faults, lasted for so long, Arrow, which has better action scenes, should be fine if they keep the main characters interesting enough for the CW audience.

 

[The Englishman]

So far, it's really only been the henchmen(except for the ring-leader of the masked guy who abducted Oliver in the pilot) I'm sure Oliver won't be able to kill off someone like Deathstroke after one meeting.

I am looking forward to Deadshot.

It looked like he killed Constantine Drakon in the pilot...

I don't think he needs the mask. I like the look he's got, even though the eye-piece can be toned down a little bit. That mustache would be badass, though.

I always liked Deadshots look in Batman: Gotham Knight.

 

[mr. peasant]

Nikita has never had particularly high ratings, each time it's been close to not getting another season, apparently it has good numbers in Europe which is why they keep the show on, the fact the premiere dipped below a million for a series low has not helped.

Well 2 eps in I guess is too soon to be sure of anything, but this network as a rule caters more to the audience that prefer the personal issues over the adventure story, Arrow will have to balance things carefully with that in mind.

I agree. If Arrow is to model itself after any CW show, I think it should be The Vampire Diaries. That show is brilliant in how they balance between the relationships and the overarching plot; as well as how they connect the two together.

 

[Savage]

It looked like he killed Constantine Drakon in the pilot...


I always liked Deadshots look in Batman: Gotham Knight.

God, do I hope that wasn't Constantine. That was just...pathetic. It feels like X-men: The Last Stand where the writer just read names off of a list and made up characteristics for them.

And his look in Gotham Knight was pretty cool. Not sure why I feel the facial hair is more important than the mask. I just always thought Floyd Lawton had a cool look without the mask. Like an evil Tony Stark.

 

[MarvelKnight]

It looked like he killed Constantine Drakon in the pilot...

Ah, yeah, Forgot about that. Appreciate the correction

 

[MarvelKnight]

I agree. If Arrow is to model itself after any CW show, I think it should be The Vampire Diaries. That show is brilliant in how they balance between the relationships and the overarching plot; as well as how they connect the two together.

True.

 

[flickchick85]

Nikita has terrible ratings? Is this just the third season that's been getting bad ratings? It's only one episode in.

I understand how important these relationships are. It just feels very much like I've been there with Smallville already. It feels very soap-opera-ish. Guess I'm just used to shows where they'll acknowledge the personal issues that they have but realize "We have more important things right now. We'll finish this later."

Yeah, Hunter's right. Nikita has ALWAYS been a bubble show in danger of cancellation because it's never had good ratings. And while I personally feel it's the best show on the network by a mile, it's that very element you're talking about - the way it refuses to let the soapy elements take center stage - that is keeping Nikita from catching on with the network's target demo, imo. So while following Nikita's lead in focusing on the action/adventure aspects might make Arrow a better show, it's not likely to happen if they want the show to be a hit on this network. I think the soap opera's here to stay.

 

[Savage]

Well that's a shame. CW is too soap opera-y, Fox cancels almost everything unless it has insanely high ratings, CBS caters to the elderly and relies on being formulaic so you can start watching at any episode, it feels like there are no good networks for shows like Nikita unless its on cable. That really blows. I'm really glad it hasn't been cancelled thus far.

Sorry for the rant. It just boggles my mind what keeps ratings up. It's no wonder most of my favorite shows have been cancelled. Well at least this show has the Green Arrow elements going for it and the Soap Opera elements aren't nearly as bad as most of CWs shows.

 

[Hunter Rider]

^^^ Actually the stereotype of CBS is way off IMO, Person of Interest is on that network, it is pretty much Batman meets The Equalizer with the pre-cog gimmick of Minority Report, it's even more foscused on story than Nikita with no love interest at all and the 4 main characters are all just partners working on the case at hand or overarching series plot.

 

[Savage]

^^^ Actually the stereotype of CBS is way off IMO, Person of Interest is on that network, it is pretty much Batman meets The Equalizer with the pre-cog gimmick of Minority Report, it's even more foscused on story than Nikita with no love interest at all and the 4 main characters are all just partners working on the case at hand or overarching series plot.

CBS actually has shows with arcs now? I gotta check this out. All my family ever watches are that NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds stuff that I fall asleep through.

 

[marvelrobbins]

I assumed Person of Intrest except for maybe season finale and premiere was just procedual show with no connection between episodes.CBS shows usually have no overarching series plot.Of course i used to think fringe with just the monster of the week X-FIles type episodes without much ongoing story.

Arrow Is also proof you can do story with some ongoing story.

 

[flickchick85]

CBS actually has shows with arcs now? I gotta check this out. All my family ever watches are that NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds stuff that I fall asleep through.

Yeah, Person of Interest is Jonathan Nolan's show, and is currently the only CBS show I ever watch. Granted, it did start out as a fairly regular CBS-demo-friendly procedural type of show, but once it had those viewers on board, it started focusing more on its overarching story. It's a serialized show that also does quite well in the ratings, making it something of a CBS anomaly, imo.

I will say though, it's not as heavily-serialized as Nikita, so I think its success can be attributed to being generally friendly to the network's usual demo (who, as you said, skew older...the ages of the leads in the show help with that too), while simultaneously offering Batman-esque types of stories, complete with the Nolan name attached, that bring in the younger demos.

So while I'd like to say Nikita would do better on CBS, I'm not sure it could bring in the older viewers like PoI does, because it's lead characters fall into a noticeably younger age bracket than any of the scripted dramas on that network, and because it's more heavily-serialized than that demo is used to. While it could do slightly better on Fox or even NBC, they'd also be quicker to cancel it, and I honestly don't think there's a broadcast network that show would really thrive on. Cable is probably where it would be better off.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Flickchick sums it up Savage, but would Maggie Q and Shane West skew that much lower in the age bracket than the casts of Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS: LA?

Both those shows also have running plots as well as cases of the week, but as Flickchick says it is not as much so as Nikita, it's more like USA's shows where there is a case of the week and an ongoing bigger plot that will feature more some weeks than others.

 

[flickchick85]

Flickchick sums it up Savage, but would Maggie Q and Shane West skew that much lower in the age bracket than the casts of Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS: LA?

I don't know if they actually are significantly younger than the casts of those shows, but they certainly look it, imo. Actually, my inability to buy Shane West as any kind of "senior agent" was a problem I had for quite a while when I first started watching that show...especially once they delved into his rather extensive backstory. It's like he was 17 when he started his family or something. If the show weren't on the CW, I'm convinced they would have cast someone more believable in that position as Michael (I've since gotten over it and like him in the role, for the record). Nikita, the Division "veteran" who got out of there 3 years prior, was 27-years-old in S1, and her true co-lead is Alex, a character who was 19-years-old in S1. CBS shows typically go for leads that range from 30-somethings to 50-somethings. Hawaii Five-0 are probably their youngest cast, and they're ALL 30-40-somethings, even the "rookie."

 

[Human Torch]

I'm predicting Thea doesn't become "Speedy" but is the outlet for all the Drug abuse/Ollie as a mentor stuff that having the Speedy character would entail.

Chances are when they do get around to Roy he won't be called Speedy and won't be a side-kick/partner until the 3rd/4th season or so.(should they last so long!)They'll probably have him as a recovering substance abuse victim-possibly a friend of Thea's.

 

[Savage]

I'm predicting Thea doesn't become "Speedy" but is the outlet for all the Drug abuse/Ollie as a mentor stuff that having the Speedy character would entail.

Chances are when they do get around to Roy he won't be called Speedy and won't be a side-kick/partner until the 3rd/4th season or so.(should they last so long!)They'll probably have him as a recovering substance abuse victim-possibly a friend of Thea's.

I like where you're going there but I'm going to push it further. Roy could be one of Thea's friends from a rehab clinic. Ollie becomes friends with this kid but Roy relapses and brings Thea down with him, resulting in her overdosing one day. At first Ollie is furious with him but, he himself being responsible for the death of Laurel's sister, finds a kindred spirit in Roy and mentors him to become a better person the way he has. I think that'd make for an interesting storyline.

 

[Human Torch]

I like where you're going there but I'm going to push it further. Roy could be one of Thea's friends from a rehab clinic. Ollie becomes friends with this kid but Roy relapses and brings Thea down with him, resulting in her overdosing one day. At first Ollie is furious with him but, he himself being responsible for the death of Laurel's sister, finds a kindred spirit in Roy and mentors him to become a better person the way he has. I think that'd make for an interesting storyline.

That sounds good.I hope they decide to go in that direction.

 

[gohei_]

Really excited for a new episode tonight.

 

[protocida]

^ I hope not.

 

[mr. peasant]

I like where you're going there but I'm going to push it further. Roy could be one of Thea's friends from a rehab clinic. Ollie becomes friends with this kid but Roy relapses and brings Thea down with him, resulting in her overdosing one day. At first Ollie is furious with him but, he himself being responsible for the death of Laurel's sister, finds a kindred spirit in Roy and mentors him to become a better person the way he has. I think that'd make for an interesting storyline.

To be entirely honest, I really hope the show doesn't go down the sidekick route. I find the entire idea pretty hokey and more often than not, it undermines the original character. The entire practice started as a way to appeal to young comic book readers; serving as an escapist character/audience surrogate for them to self-project into so as to imagine that they too could take part in the superhero's adventures. Very often, it's not until they graduate from their sidekick status and start becoming their own, separate individuals independent of the their respective mentors that they start becoming interesting.

In a show like Arrow, there is no such reason for such a tactic. Rather, I hope that the show will instead continue with the route they have initially started on with Huntress. That if there are to be other heroes featured, they are independent operators doing their own thing and with their own agenda/motivations. I feel that it helps broaden the show's universe a little.