This show has seen a lot of love and hate already. I watched the two first episodes and decided to write a review based solely on those. The reason that I find myself qualified for writing a review this early is that I already know what the rest of the show will be like. It will be bad.
I must sadly say that I didn't like this show, either. But my reasons for it isn't about race-swap or masculinist philosophy. I didn't think the premise was stupid (come on, all the other shows are stupid too), or that they have switched the race of a certain young man (come on, race doesn't matter here), or that it was feminist propaganda (come on, women are allowed in this superhero nerd club), or that it was somehow offending Smallville (come on, Smallville sucked). I didn't like it because it is a terrible show. It is much worse than the Flash, worse than Gotham, worse than Arrow, worse than Constantine, and even worse than Smallville and Lois and Clark. It is the worst show ever to come out of a DC comic – ever. And that is to say a lot.
The cast and acting performances are reason enough to let the show pass you by. Supergirl is played by an actress that is a really bad fit for a power role. The role of Kara is presented like a bland girl that smells like teen spirit on Nickolodeon. She looks 15 and always has a flustered look on her face (which is caused by bad direction and acting, not her actual facial expression). This makes it seem like a big girl in a big world thing, in which she must buy shoes and find love, all while becoming a superhero. It is all pink and fluffy, all about finding the fifty shades of grey... She somehow works as an assistant or secretary for a newspaper, but it comes off as if she works for a fashion magazine. Her boss is just Ally McBeal: nothing good there. The hateful boss theme is awful and pulls the show down in a very vaginized way. Oh, and there's JAMES, the black, hot Jimmy Olsen... What is that about? Why is Jimmy Olsen a black underwear model type that Kara hopes to get a pity date from? And of course he is meant to be the romantic interest of Supergirl, which is completely ridiculous. There is no chemistry between any of the actors, even the important relations seem bland and artificial. There is nothing to enjoy about the characters or acting. This also means: there is terrible direction at work.
And when dealing with a show that features plenty of supernatural action, we need convincing special effects and nice action scenes. But the computer effects are terrible, I mean really, really bad. It looks so incredibly fake and cheap when Supergirl flies and does supernatural stuff. They obviously haven't had the budget that they wanted, and decided to go ahead and try to pull off major scenes anyway. This ruins the whole thing for me. The computerized effects on the Flash are just so much better, for example, and they aren't great, either. Supergirl can't fight at all and when she does, it looks fake and cheap, again ruined by bad CGI.
The worst part of Supergirl is that it seems anti-feminist to me. There is no trace of a strong woman on the show. Much of it lies in the way Supergirl is portrayed in relation to Superman. Kara didn't become a Superhero because Clark became a good one, so she decided to just hide her powers and live like she had none. Until one day, she saves her sister and then wants to be a hero. But what is up with that? How come she was too weak to use her powers for good? Wasn't there any crime that motivated her? She is generally presented as an inferior superman, inferior because she is female, inferior because she is too feminine and cutesy, scared and weak. Her entire way of behaving as both Supergirl and Kara stinks of weakness and cowardice. Even when she fights, she looks scared and cries about being hit. It seems as if they really want to present us with a feminine superhero that is much weaker than any counterparts on other shows of the same type. They had no interest in giving us a strong female in the lead. They wanted to give us a little girl, all scared and puny.
I hated the show for the above reasons in particular. I am not saying that you should hate it, too. I am saying that I, myself, hated it. I feel sorry for the men that hates the show because they see some kind of feminism in the show. There is no trace of a strong woman on it. The men that hates the show for that reason, will not be happy until Supergirl becomes Superboy. And I think that is pathetic to wish for. Supergirl had potential, all ruined by terrible writing, directing and acting. Of course, I also feel sorry for the people who enjoy the show, because they deserve so much better.
I have no doubt in my mind that this show will be cancelled by the end of the first season. See it while t lasts. Or don't. Either way, you won't remember it in a year.
I must sadly say that I didn't like this show, either. But my reasons for it isn't about race-swap or masculinist philosophy. I didn't think the premise was stupid (come on, all the other shows are stupid too), or that they have switched the race of a certain young man (come on, race doesn't matter here), or that it was feminist propaganda (come on, women are allowed in this superhero nerd club), or that it was somehow offending Smallville (come on, Smallville sucked). I didn't like it because it is a terrible show. It is much worse than the Flash, worse than Gotham, worse than Arrow, worse than Constantine, and even worse than Smallville and Lois and Clark. It is the worst show ever to come out of a DC comic – ever. And that is to say a lot.
The cast and acting performances are reason enough to let the show pass you by. Supergirl is played by an actress that is a really bad fit for a power role. The role of Kara is presented like a bland girl that smells like teen spirit on Nickolodeon. She looks 15 and always has a flustered look on her face (which is caused by bad direction and acting, not her actual facial expression). This makes it seem like a big girl in a big world thing, in which she must buy shoes and find love, all while becoming a superhero. It is all pink and fluffy, all about finding the fifty shades of grey... She somehow works as an assistant or secretary for a newspaper, but it comes off as if she works for a fashion magazine. Her boss is just Ally McBeal: nothing good there. The hateful boss theme is awful and pulls the show down in a very vaginized way. Oh, and there's JAMES, the black, hot Jimmy Olsen... What is that about? Why is Jimmy Olsen a black underwear model type that Kara hopes to get a pity date from? And of course he is meant to be the romantic interest of Supergirl, which is completely ridiculous. There is no chemistry between any of the actors, even the important relations seem bland and artificial. There is nothing to enjoy about the characters or acting. This also means: there is terrible direction at work.
And when dealing with a show that features plenty of supernatural action, we need convincing special effects and nice action scenes. But the computer effects are terrible, I mean really, really bad. It looks so incredibly fake and cheap when Supergirl flies and does supernatural stuff. They obviously haven't had the budget that they wanted, and decided to go ahead and try to pull off major scenes anyway. This ruins the whole thing for me. The computerized effects on the Flash are just so much better, for example, and they aren't great, either. Supergirl can't fight at all and when she does, it looks fake and cheap, again ruined by bad CGI.
The worst part of Supergirl is that it seems anti-feminist to me. There is no trace of a strong woman on the show. Much of it lies in the way Supergirl is portrayed in relation to Superman. Kara didn't become a Superhero because Clark became a good one, so she decided to just hide her powers and live like she had none. Until one day, she saves her sister and then wants to be a hero. But what is up with that? How come she was too weak to use her powers for good? Wasn't there any crime that motivated her? She is generally presented as an inferior superman, inferior because she is female, inferior because she is too feminine and cutesy, scared and weak. Her entire way of behaving as both Supergirl and Kara stinks of weakness and cowardice. Even when she fights, she looks scared and cries about being hit. It seems as if they really want to present us with a feminine superhero that is much weaker than any counterparts on other shows of the same type. They had no interest in giving us a strong female in the lead. They wanted to give us a little girl, all scared and puny.
I hated the show for the above reasons in particular. I am not saying that you should hate it, too. I am saying that I, myself, hated it. I feel sorry for the men that hates the show because they see some kind of feminism in the show. There is no trace of a strong woman on it. The men that hates the show for that reason, will not be happy until Supergirl becomes Superboy. And I think that is pathetic to wish for. Supergirl had potential, all ruined by terrible writing, directing and acting. Of course, I also feel sorry for the people who enjoy the show, because they deserve so much better.
I have no doubt in my mind that this show will be cancelled by the end of the first season. See it while t lasts. Or don't. Either way, you won't remember it in a year.