I’ve now watched all five parts of the crisis crossover. Overall I dug it. The fifth part was probably my favorite of them all because it was fun. Although they can make all kinds of big explosions and other effects now that weren’t possible in the early days of superhero movies and TV shows (I remember back in the ‘90s seeing what it took to make Dean Cain’s yuppie Superman fly... those effects can now be achieved on most mobile devices), something missing from a lot of the recent big budget superhero stories is the fun factor. Yeah, the earth is in danger, yeah grief is hard, but kicking super-villain ass is supposed to be fun, and I think the finale captured that. My only real criticism of the finale is Batwoman had very little to do. If nothing else, watch the last two minutes of the finale; it features two nods to the SuperFriends animated series.
When Supergirl debuted on CBS, I felt the actress who played her looked way too immature for the role, but Melissa Benoist has definitely grown into the cape... and pants. The crisis series was centered around hope, and Supergirl was the paragon of hope. As hope is in short supply in the real world, it was nice to see it portrayed well on the small screen. On Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 11:20 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > I’ve now watched through part three. First, a note to the folks at the > iTunes Store. Supergirl lists it as “Part 1“, Batwoman lists it as “Pt. 2”, > and The Flash lists it as “Part Three”. For someone with mild OCD like me, > that makes me want to punch somebody. > > SPOILERS AHEAD... > > As with the first part, there are reasons to praise the second and third > installments, and reasons to want to punch somebody. I was most looking > forward to seeing (not just hearing) Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne. He did > not disappoint... but his part of the story did. I’d read enough spoilers > to know he was not going to put on the cape and cowl, but I still wanted > him — to the extent it was possible — to BE Batman. Failing that, I wanted > him to be the Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond. So I was disappointed that > his character turned out to be anything but heroic. Contrast that with the > part played by John Wesley Shipp, who was The Flash in the largely > forgettable 1990s TV series; his “Earth 90” Flash was given a fun character > arc, complete with a flashback featuring the always lovely Amanda Pays > (familiar to fans of Max Headroom). > > A note about Lex Luthor: A little goes a long way. I like Jon Cryer, but > the smug-factor of Lex is ratcheted way too high. That said, his > interaction with the Smallville Superman was tremendous fun. > > Good usage of Black Lightning, though I’m reminded of the Apache Chief > episode of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law when Black Vulcan took umbrage > to his race being a part of his name, stating “Maybe we should just call > [AquaMan] White Fish!” > > The Green Arrow in purgatory storyline seemed like padding, almost like > they wound up with a few too many SuperFriends, and had to give a few of > them something to do. > > Batwoman has at least remained a constant character. Supergirl acts brave > in one installment, puzzled in another, and despondent in another. Batwoman > remains resolute, with a chip on her shoulder, but ready to do whatever > needs doing. > > I confess that when the musical score incorporated a bit of John Williams’ > Superman theme, I choked up a bit. Maybe because Williams has a way with > music that transcends all other mortal men, or maybe because it evoked a > bit of the positive, bright Superman from my youth, or both. Superman was > always intended to exist in a positive, well-lit universe, and although it > would be almost sacrilegious to CGI Christopher Reeve or even George Reeves > into the Crisis series of episodes, I kind of wish they’d do it. > > I could extrapolate plot-holes and continuity issues, but that’s a more > pedantic level of criticism than I’m prepared to share. Ultimately, the > Crisis crossover ought to be fun, and despite some issues, it > > On Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 11:00 AM Kevin M. <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> >> >> On Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 10:57 AM M-D November <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Kevin - I can expand on some of your other points when I have more time, >>> but most of your complaints about the crossover story (the antimatter wave, >>> the Shadow Demons, etc.) come straight out of the comic event of the same >>> name, and are not inventions of Greg Berlanti and his writers. Please >>> address your complaints to DC Comics, circa 1985, New York, NY. >> >> >> That’s fair. In which case the comic series storyline wasn’t >> well-written. It happens. Often. >> >> I’ll write up part two later. Despite the at-times weak storyline, it is >> still fun to watch. >> >> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/ecaf3cda-6070-45c8-b3b3-93b431a4e300%40googlegroups.com >>> . >>> >> -- >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4B%3D0%2Bx%3DrU9OmqBr6EYzoqpbAmLt8ZqLJHvOW_aNLS_Gfg%40mail.gmail.com.
