Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Superman Related Dean Cain in "Supergirl"

I've just watched about half of the pilot so far. (I'll probably watch the other half over the next night or two.) I want to give the show another episode or two before I form an opinion; I could go either way with it so far. (Unlike L&C, the pilot of which had me hooked within a few minutes.)

There is one thing, however, that bugs me. I realize that they want to let Supergirl shine on her own show, and so they must of necessity keep Superman off of it as much as possible. I get that; I truly do. (I don't like it, but I do understand their reasoning.) But what bothers me is that they couldn't even bring themselves to say the name "Superman" or "Clark." They went to contortions of language to avoid doing so: A few of their circumlocutions: "he"/"him" (without giving any explicit antecedent), "the big fellow," and "my friend in blue." The closest they got to calling him Clark or Superman was calling him "Kal-El." It's almost as if her cousin were Lord Voldemort.

Am I being overly sensitive on this one, or was anyone else irritated by their avoiding even mentioning Kara's cousin by either of his Terran names?

Joy,
Lynn

Bugged the absolutely living daylights out of me. And my husband. And a few people I regularly chat with on IRC.

At first, I thought that maybe there was some kind of issue with the rights, but they were using Superman characters - James, Cat, mentioned the Daily Planet. I think they used "Superman" once when he brought Kara to the Danvers.

I don't get it. And I'm underwhelmed by the pilot. I'll give it a few more episodes, but it better find a heart and soul fast (unlike L&C, which worked double time to flesh out the characters and make us care).

And, um, 10 bucks says James is totally in the CK=S know.

I think my "Supergirl Returns" series is going to have a TV show called "Ultragirl," obviously based on Kara, where they have made some hilariously wrong guesses about her interests, secret ID etc. and she's torn between laughing and writing nit-picking criticism.

Overall, I liked it. Yeah, there was a lot of exposition, but it was sure nice to see a superhero who actually LIKES being a superhero and isn't overburdened with angst. I hated what they've made Cat Grant into. Boo!

On the plus side, though, I'm loving the grown-up and yummy version of James Olsen. It feels wrong to have lustful thoughts about Jimmy, but here I am.

Sue, on behalf of grown women everywhere, I hereby absolve you of any misplaced guilt over lustful thoughts about this James Olsen. He's all grown up now (not Jimmy anymore), a Pulitzer Prize winner, and entirely lust-worthy. Plus, I loved his attitude toward Cat. ("Her loss.")

I second just about everything Sue said above.

I just watched the pilot (finally) and I have to say, it's not half as bad as I was expecting. (I've decided keeping my expectations low is the key for everything, barring the upcoming Star Wars that I'm trying and failing to remain neutral about.) It's got a bit more life to it than most of the superhero movies we've been getting as of late, and I'm honestly getting so tired of the whole my-life-was-awful-so-I-became-a-superhero motif. Too much angst and tragedy— and this coming from someone who LOVES angst and tragedy!!!

I think it has a lot of potential, provided CBS doesn't pull the plug early. The gal that plays Kara is downright adorable, and her enthusiasm is contagious. I'm anxious to see how they bring her adoptive family in more— I'm already loving everything they've done with the sister, and it's already one of the healthiest sibling relationships portrayed since I can't remember when. I'm assuming Dean (!! DEAN!!!) will have a larger part in the season to come, simply because there would be absolutely no point in showing him if they weren't going to use him, or paying him for that small a cameo.

The lack of mentioning Clark thing didn't really bother me so much (yet), because I think it was very strategic. They're probably holding off on showing/mentioning Superman so much because they want to go over casting and do a big mid-season/season finale reveal. I hope she at least knows that Clark=Superman, but maybe they're saving that for some fun reveal down the line as well. The one thing that would disappoint me at this point would be if they somehow managed to wrangle Henry Cavill into the part, because I do not want to attach the DC movieverse and tv-verse like that. Frankly, I think DC is at their best when they're working in television format, as their movies have been proving as of late (NOT excited for Superman v. Batman based on every preview I've seen).

So far, I think it's good, wholesome, mostly lighthearted fun. I can't wait to see where they take it.

And finally... yes, James Olsen is positively -worthy. I think I'm in love.

I hope Dean gets some dialog sometime. He was basically furniture in the first ep. Surprisingly to me, hubby liked it too. He can't take Flash or Arrow.
Strangely, I thought I would dislike this James Olson, but I don't and I like where he is coming from, being the buddy of "The Big Guy."
Basically, I like the Berlanti & team stuff. It started out more rapidly than Smallville for sure.
Is it just me, but I got the impression that Kara's workplace buddy designed the costume for her after she demonstrated her powers to him. She seemed inept in the costume design area.
Also I like Calista's pale eyebrows on the super smooth forehead. I think it works for the role and is probably a make-up piece. It adds to her air of mean vacuity.
Hoping for more.
r/
Artemis

Reliably informed episode 2 mentions Superman repeatedly, and refers to Clark Kent and Lois Lane by name.

That it does, Marcus. I've only watched the first 15 minutes or so (Guess what I did during my lunch break today?), but in that time, Superman, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane were all mentioned. We also found out that
My thoughts on the show thus far: Although the program's creators might not admit to it, I suspect the target audience for the show is girls in their mid-to-late teens. Although I am enjoying the show for what it is, I know I would have liked it a whole lot more when I was in that age range. Cat's lack of depth would not have bothered me at all then. (Even now it grates on me a lot less than it does on some of the other posters here.) I really like the upbeat feel to the show; that seems to be something lacking in most things Superman-related recently. I am definitely interested in watching the rest of the first non-pilot episode when I get the chance.

Joy,
Lynn

I enjoyed the second episode better. I accepted that it's target audience is younger than me, so they are intentionally telling things that I would show and making nothing subtle so the kids can follow the story. I actually liked Cat 's speech to Kara about what Supergirl should do.

Now, was it just me, or are they trying to hint at some possible romantic attraction between Kara and James? Their faces seemed awfully close together in one scene and they both looked uncomfortable about it.

It definitely is not just you, HappyGirl. The two of them are definitely attracted to each other, and Win is none too happy about that. I think she see's Win as just a friend.

Love triangle, anyone?

Joy,
Lynn

Yeah, that bit of unrequited interest was pretty obvious.

Now I'm thinking about James: Look, Kara, I'm not sure this is a good idea. I mean, I really like you, but you're a lot younger than me and I don't want your cousin going all Protective Big Brother on me.

Whelp it sounds like we have an explanation for Dean's character's non-presence. He's supposedly dead. I really enjoyed the little looks back, though and hope we get more of them.

I wouldn't be so sure, Christina. This is sci-fi and he's working for a government agency. He could very well be undercover/on a mission to another planet/hurt in an accident and now has superpowers, etc. The family could have merely been told he died. After laying out that line about how he knows so much information about Superman, I doubt that's the last we'll see of him. Dean Cain is a hotter commodity than Helen Slater, and certainly a bigger tv audience draw (he is constantly showing up on Fox News), and Supergirl needs all the ratings it can get. He only has a supporting role on Hit the Floor, which was taping around the same time as these Supergirl episodes, which could easily be worked around since they both shoot in LA. Hit the Floor filming is done now, so his schedule would be open again.

I haven't had a chance to see last night's show yet, but I would guess that there is always the possibility that even if he is dead, his character could still show up periodically in flashbacks.

Joy,
Lynn

Loved Monday's episode, "Livewire". We see it on Tuesday's because we record so we can skip the commercials. Hubby even likes it. I'm betting Jerimiah Danvers isn't really dead. I just
hope he hasn't been turned into a monster by the DEO and HH and has to fight Kara. I bet there is more to his story line.
r/
Artemis

I just finished watching this episode. I am increasingly impressed with the series. It's nice to see Cat being fleshed out a bit. I continue to be amazed that they are able to have such good special effects in a weekly series; although they wouldn't be particularly impressive in a movie, given the limited time and budget they have to work with, they are really making the most of what they have.

I'll put in spoiler tags any even remotely substantive comments I have about the episode, since I don't want to give anything away to anyone who has not yet seen Livewire.


The first few episodes have done an excellent job of setting the stage for more than one multi-episode story arc. And I, for one, am looking forward to the ride.

Joy,
Lynn

*Possible spoiler alert if you haven't seen Monday's episode*





Well, now we have the mystery of Hank Henshaw's red eyes. He is really J'Onn J'Onzz from Mars and a shapeshifter. He said Hank Henshaw died in this dustup in Peru, but *did not* specifically say that Jeramiah Danvers was dead. I still hope for the sight of
Dean again on the the show.
CBS bought the next set of episodes for this year. Yay team!
Berlanti has a magic touch.
r/
Artemis

Yes! I had heard a fan podcaster (Michael Bailey) speculating for weeks that Henshaw was really the Martian Manhunter, but I had thought that that was a longshot. I know that J'onn has appeared in animated shows, but is this the first live action depiction of him? I thought it very well done.

He did say several times that Jeremiah was dead. Among other things, he said that Henshaw had died the same night as Jeremiah, that Jeremiah made the ultimate sacrifice to save him (i.e., J'onn), and that he had died a hero. Of course, it is possible that he was mistaken or is flat-out lying to her.

Each week I look forward to the show a bit more, and I am delighted that it will get, at minimum, one full season. (I fully expect it to be renewed, but that's another story.)

Joy,
Lynn

I'm 100 percent certain that J'onn J'onzz showed up in Smallville I just don't remember the episodes (I know they were the later seasons of the series). I think it's really cool that he's the MM. We'll have to see what that means.