Stuff You Should Be Watching: Supergirl

Supergirl Mondays on CBSThere are many issues that have come about in the recent glut (and let’s be honest, it’s getting to be a glut) of superhero-themed entertainment. A lot of it, especially in the DC side of the world, is in the realm of grimdark. Dark lighting, angsty, brooding heroes, lots of death, and precious little to smile about.

It’s also a Super Sausage Fest.

So when the trailer hit for Supergirl last spring, with bright colors and Supergirl herself wearing a huge bright smile and being happy about using her powers, with a clear sense of humor and cheek, a lot of people went “THANK FUCKING GOD.”

Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Superman, sent from Krypton as a 13 year old girl to protect her cousin (sent as a baby as Krypton was imploding). However, her ship got caught in a storm or something handwavey, and she landed on Earth long after Clark Kent grew up and was Supermanning it across the universe (and she had not aged because space-time continuum something-something) so he dropped her off with some foster parents and she grew up knowing full well who she was and how her powers worked.

Ten years later, Kara Danvers (her adopted parents’ name) is working at a magazine in National City, as the lowly assistant of the editor-in-chief (Cat Grant, a Miranda Priestly type delightfully played by Calista Flockhart in her best work since The Birdcage). Kara’s a bit hapless when it comes to life and figuring out what she wants to do with the gifts she has. Her sister (Chyler Leigh, lately dead on Grey’s Anatomy) encourages her to hide her powers, but then is on a plane with engine failure, and Kara saves the plane and decides that this superhero business is also right for her.

With the help of James (Jimmy) Olsen, recently moved from the Daily Planet (and Superman’s BFF) and Wynn Schott(Jeremy Jordan, who you may remember from Smash, though I don’t blame you if you don’t), Kara comes up with a uniform, and works on figuring out the extent of her powers. Her editor names her “Supergirl,” and things go from there.

We’ve had three episodes so far, and there’s good stuff there. Melissa Benoist is, as one critic said, “a ray of light.”

Supergirl flying gif - big smile as she flies over the city

Her smile is huge and she has the right amount of vulnerability in not being sure how people adult, much less how SHE should adult, and strength, and pure joy when she’s doing her job. Supergirl likes people and she wants to keep them safe, as opposed to a Dark Knight Who Shall Not Be Named, who doesn’t really like anyone, and just wants to punch criminals in the throat.

Calista Flockhart, as I said, is doing her best work in ages, and even Dude!Roommate was delighted at the line, “I can see the frown on your face, I just don’t care enough to ask why it’s there.”

And this:

Calista saying If you perceive Supergirl as anything less than excellent isn't the real problem you?

There’s the definite potential problem of Supergirl just being “the girl version of Superman” and the show is addressing that head on- Kara isn’t thrilled with being saddled with the Supergirl name, and she REALLY doesn’t want to be constantly compared to her cousin (who has been saving the world for years and she’s just starting out). I think the fact that the show and the showrunners are aware of the issue and addressed it head on was smart. (Also Kara doesn’t have high heeled boots, which BLESS.) Kara needs to figure out who she is and how she wants to fit in, and even her friends keep telling her that she’s over her head.

Kara saying I can FLY to her friend who is not impressed

I can’t help but love a show that’s aware of that- that trying and failing and learning from that failure to trying better is normal. How many of us have hit the point of, “I’m not immediately good at this, so I’m a human disaster and shouldn’t try anymore?” This goes back to the point of seeing ourselves in fiction and learning how to function by example, and if all of our female heroes aren’t allowed to screw up and then be shown learning and getting better, that’s not helpful. If all we get are examples of effortless perfection or completely irredeemable disasters, what do we learn from that? (I’ll give you a hint- it’s that we can be one or the other, and if you’re not effortless perfection you are obviously a complete disaster and it’s no wonder we’re all neurotic).

I really think this show would do much better on the CW with the other DC shows (Arrow and The Flash). CBS is an odd network to have picked up this show, and CBS’ weirdness about streaming only on their own website and not hooking up with Hulu (like EVERYONE ELSE) is annoying if that’s how you consume your television. That’s how a big chunk of the target audience for this show, and I think CBS tends to skew older and more traditional. We’ve been having the “how people consume television is changing!” discussion for LITERALLY YEARS now, so why don’t the broadcast networks get it? Adapt or die, and you’re not adapting, so don’t be surprised that you’re dying.

The ratings are in a freefall- and much as I am loathe to say, “Look, if this show fails, it’s just gonna prove to television execs that shows about women don’t work so they won’t make any more,” there’s a little bit of that. Look how long we’ve had to wait for a female-led Marvel movie- and they keep changing the target date for Captain Marvel (Spring 2018 at last report). Things keep shifting with the Wonder Woman movie. There’s a LARGE audience clamoring for a Black Widow movie, and Marvel won’t make us one. It’ll make BANK, and even if it doesn’t make as much bank as Thor 3, they’ve got so much monies from the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe that the entire Disney Studios board could go swimming in it, ala Scrooge McDuck.

This show has a lot of promise, and I have hopes that’ll find it’s footing. I like seeing a woman superhero who is also a fun, happy woman. She’s not a tomboy, or trying to prove that she’s better than the boys and boy-things, and there are enough women in the show that no one needs to worry about being “The Ur Example of Woman-ness” (or the Smurfette Principle).

Kara saying Shouldn't she be called SuperWOMAN?!

If you haven’t given Supergirl a shot, please do. Kara’s smile will make your day better.


You can see episodes and clips on CBS.com, and it’s on demand in select markets using the CBS app, CBS All Access. You can also purchase streaming access at Amazon and iTunes.

Are you watching? How do you like it? If not, think you’ll give it a try?

Comments are Closed

  1. Lostshadows says:

    I went into the pilot really wanting to like it, and I just didn’t. I’m not sure why.

    I have nothing against the non-grim and gritty. (I grew up watching Adam West era Batman and Superfriends and my first comic book was Uncanny X-Men #153. (Kitty’s Fairy Tale! The X-Men have never been less grim.)) So I don’t think it’s that.

  2. Hannah says:

    I watched the pilot and enjoyed it. Plus, I found it really family-friendly! Unlike a lot of superhero shows, I felt like it wasn’t too violent or sexy to have on while my 3 yo daughter was in the room and she enjoyed the “girl power” aspects of it, although she still calls the title character “Supermangirl.” Yeah. My 9 yo son would enjoy it too but he has so much homework this year that TV is all but a forgotten pleasure for him. I hope more people watch!

  3. Heather T says:

    I’m sorry — I gave this show a try and can’t recommend it. Calista Flockhart is great, but Supergirl/Kara is portrayed as a just-shy-of-ditsy ingenue and it makes me want to spit bullets. Maybe a different actress could have pulled it off, but I just want to slap her and tell her to grow up. I like Jimmy Olsen, but I dislike that within the first episode there is a set up to have two guys like her — because good grief, isn’t a women to be judged by how desirable she is to men? Every trope in the book is covered, and I am left with a hearty helping of “meh.”

  4. Heather T says:

    I will say to Hannah that if I had kids it probably would be fine for them and a nice change from all the male-themed superhero shows.

  5. Joanna says:

    I’m really enjoying this show – and I couldn’t get into either Arow or The Flash. This show is silly at times but it is also fun. And I’m really enjoying the cast. I loved Melissa Benoist in Glee and she is delightful here, as is Calista Flockhart and all the others. I enjoy dark shows but sometimes I really need to watch something brighter and more fluffy and this fits the bill!

  6. Rin says:

    I’m enjoying watching Super Girl. It reminds me a lot of Lois and Clark, which I LOVED growing up. It’s got its issues, sure, but there’s joy and earnestness.

    Now if only CBS would lighten up on their streaming policies… Why they create so many barriers to their own content baffles me, especially since it’s a broadcast network, not cable.

  7. Kate says:

    The pilot was good, but the second and especially the third episodes were better. So I guess, if you went in wanting to like it but didn’t…maybe give it a second try? I thought that third episode was just wonderful.

  8. Kay says:

    Eh, not my cup of tea. I’m not a big fan of any of the CW shows, though. I’m personally more pumped up for the Jessica Jones Netflix show.

  9. Caro says:

    Supergirl airs here just DAYS after it airs stateside which is AMAZING as I grew up in an Ireland where everyone knew who had shot JR Ewing because the papers told us so before the season had even started here. What an age to be alive. I really love this show so much. I am delighted that superhero shows and films are getting such creative attention, even if I do find fault with them at times, but Supergirl has a lot of heart and has the kind of optimism you see in The Flash with people working together and trying to change things for the better. I think there’s a kind of heroism about knowing how bad the world is but staying positive and using your super abilities to help anyway. It’s why I get so annoyed when people talk about making Superman relatable because (a) what I said in the previous sentence, and (b) being Clark Kent makes him relatable! I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, a lot of which gets related to my family at the dinner table because that’s how I roll. I’m glad to see that Supergirl is taking a much different tack.

  10. I tend to give superhero shows a ton of side eye because they’ve always been a bit campy for me (and this is coming from the person who still loves Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman). When I heard about Supergirl and the fact that she was going to be portrayed by Melissa Benoist that side eye got even bigger. I can’t stand her. She drove me berserk on Glee. I still don’t know why I even gave it a chance, but I’m glad I did. It isn’t enough to get me to flip from The Voice on Monday night, but I enjoy watching it on demand on Tuesday mornings.

    I agree that it should be on the CW rather than its parent company, CBS. It doesn’t fit on their schedule and they literally had to move their other shows around in order to fit it in. I seriously doubt that it is going to last on that channel because people of my generation (a) don’t have televisions because it is cheaper to watch things online and (b) typically don’t watch CBS unless it is to catch an episode of Big Bang Theory.

    Being such a new show and one with falling ratings, I fear it isn’t going to survive being pre-empted tonight because of its untimely terrorist themed episode. The synopsis sounds awesome, but because of Friday’s Paris attacks, it isn’t going to air. I agree with the decision, but I don’t know that people will even remember to tune in next week when they probably aren’t used to putting it on yet.

  11. SB Sarah says:

    From JImtheRed who can’t comment himself at present:

    I was very impressed with the opening episode (shameless review plug: http://thearmchaircritic.blogspot.com/2015/10/supergirl.html ) Much like THE FLASH, it’s a character who knows that they need help from their friends/colleagues to do their job, and at the same time having a blast using their powers.

    If I have one issue with the show, it’s that some of Supergirl’s support seems to have existed long before she started super-ing. There’s an anti-alien task force that knows as much (or more) about Kryptonians than she does. They even have a special room set up that not only has an interactive hologram of Kara’s dead mother (Ghost Mom — not unlike the Jor-El hologram/Ghost Dad in MAN OF STEEL) and know precisely how much kryptonite will made her functionally human.

    I also want to know how Cat Grant can not recognize that Supergirl (who she’s interviewed, plus has giant pictures of plastered all over the office) looks like her assistant, just with glasses and a different hairstyle.

    Oh, and James Olson, who I otherwise like here, let slip that Clark Kent is Superman pretty damn quickly. Considering he’s the experienced one at the superhero game, you’d think he’d do better at keeping one of the biggest secrets there is.

  12. @scifigirl: They are airing episode 5 instead of episode 4 tonight, they announced that over the weekend.

    @Lostshadows: the second and third episodes are much better- I’m very forgiving of pilots, and will generally give any show a 3 episode grace period (with the exception of Scream Queens, which got cut after five minutes, because Ryan Murphy was on a short leash, and now he’s in the obliette).

  13. K.N.O'Rear says:

    I’ve only watched the Pilot and I may watch a few more episodes just to make sure, but for now it didn’t impress me. It feels a little amateurish and some of the lines sound really, really forced.

    I think it does have potential an I do hope it gets better.

  14. Trish says:

    WAY too cutesy. Superhero shows either skew way too dark or way too cute.

  15. Chris Alexander says:

    I’m glad that I gave it a chance. It’s enjoyable. And, I’m completely fine with my two kids sitting with me to watch it until I scoot them up to bed. There are puzzles and little angst. Sometimes we need fun rather than angst.

  16. T.S. says:

    I agree it’s a great show. I’m enjoying it a lot. I do however have to disagree over DC being a sausage fest. I’ll admit “Legends of Tomorrow” is 2 women to 7 men (however Firestorm is practically one man and can you even count Heatwave at this point?). The Flash though has the main core 2 men, 1 woman. However the Flash also has characters like Iris West and Patty Spivot (plus Linda Park, Golden Glider, and soon Jessie Quick) bringing the women into a more equal footing. Team Arrow is actually 3 women and 2 men right now. Not only that but Arrow has had Katana, Nyssa, the Canary, China White, Shado, Huntress, Lyla Michaels, Cupid, Amanda Waller, etc. (actually Arrow has always had more female heroes/villains between the shows) So…there are a lot of women in those sausage fests.

  17. Iola says:

    I’m loving Supergirl, especially Calista Flockhart as Evil Boss. Unfortunately for the CBS ratings, I’m watching it in New Zealand.

  18. I love Supergirl. Out of all the new shows this year, it’s about the ONLY one I like. Oh wait. It IS the only one I like.

  19. Lostshadows says:

    @Redheadedgirl: Honestly, I didn’t make it through the pilot. Maybe if the early episodes are still on FoD in December I’ll give another shot.(November isn’t a great TV or reading month for me.)

    @JImtheRed: If Superman can get away with a disguise that flimsy, surely his cousin can too.

  20. Dark Banana says:

    Needs more octopus.

  21. LF says:

    I’m kidding, sorry. 😛

    I actually love the show. I don’t care if it’s cheesy/cutesy. I like it.

    I think part of the reason though why DC/WB/CBS peeps are doing it in that manner is because they’re answering the call of young girls needing female superheroes to look up to, and Supergirl has a lot of very young fans so they have to adjust the episodes to how kids will see it.

    http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/melissa-benoist-meets-super-girl-scouts-on-set-of-supergirl.jpg
    http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/07/23/supergirl-02.jpg?itok=O9DCWTAS
    https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d-cZG6eiSCs/VZBIB63P-SI/AAAAAAAAlEo/MTyldF4afkc/s1600/signingautographic.jpg

    To be fair though, the show’s got a lot of things it needs to improve on. I think what you guys mentioned are valid criticisms, but I’m optimistic it develops along with Supergirl growing up.

  22. I watched the pilot on demand at a friend’s house (I have Hulu and Netflix, no cable or antenna for broadcast channels) and wasn’t altogether impressed. It seemed like the show was trying too hard to take itself seriously and to make the audience take it seriously. But said friend and I watched the next two episodes last week and agreed that the show seems to be finding a good groove between serious drama and almost-campy comedy. It is serious in spots, but seems to be learning not to be *too* serious. Hopefully it continues in that vein.

  23. Ruby Duvall says:

    I’m really glad people like the show. It’s not for me, though. The “feminism” in Supergirl is badly done. Worse, I think the writers (who are mostly male) don’t realize when they’re writing in some pretty problematic stuff. Despite being turned off by that, I hope the show continues and especially that the writing turns itself around to be more self-aware of the sexist tropes it inserts. Because what I’d hate more than a show with clumsy, pernicious messaging is for people (men) to point at it after it’s cancelled and say, “See? Women-led media just isn’t profitable.”

  24. Megan says:

    It was a surprisingly well put together pilot, and episodes 2 and 3 have built – I do like that they are addressing so many obvious Superman issues headon, but I hope they build Kara up a little bit so she’s not *quite* so ‘naive ingenue’ on certain things, But overall I do really like it (also the guy playing James Olsen (aka TK from Necessary Roughness) I adore and it’s nice to see him in this) and think that it has a lot of potential. Is it totally there yet? No. But it is entertaining and has a lot of places to go, although it’d be nice if they didn’t make it so blatantly obvious with the love triangle/upcoming square? (so done with those). I feel like the beginning of a show is always rocky, and this one is fairly solid, it just needs time to develop.

  25. SarahS says:

    Coincidentally, I just wrote a piece about how Callista Flockhart is the person who makes the show worth watching.

    http://fee.org/freeman/supergirl-needs-a-mentor/

  26. We’ve been watching Supergirl at our house, and so far, I’m definitely enjoying it. I do find some of the feminism in it a little heavy-handed, but on the other hand, I still think it’s a step in the right direction. And I’m generally on board with happier, more cheerful superhero stories, particularly with a female lead character.

    Mostly because DC is going completely overboard with the whole dark dark grim darkity darkness thing in their movies, and I’m really done with that, and it’s refreshing to see them NOT doing that on this show.

  27. Erin says:

    I think Angela’s description of the feminism being heavy-handed is right on target. The show also has some really awkward dialog, bad enough that I physically cringe at times. The pilot was chock full of the bad dialog, but now it seems toned down and mostly comes from Menacing Secret Government Ops Dude. I enjoy Kara but Melissa Benoist still needs to perfect her Supergirl persona a little bit. Calista Flockhart is by far the best thing about this show, followed by the yummy man playing Jimmy. I’ll still give it a couple more episodes to see if it can find its footing. It’s better than 99% of the stuff on CBS anyway.

  28. ellid says:

    I’ve been watching it on Hulu with no problems.

  29. Lori says:

    I really like Supergirl. It’s flawed in some ways (ugh the love triangle/best friend in unrequited/unrecognized love) but it makes me so happy. It’s so upbeat and empowering, despite the fact that Kara is still learning and makes some mistakes. It’s pretty predictable in many ways, but sometimes that’s okay. It’s a show that is evolving and I’m hoping the flaws will get ironed out.

    Give it a few episodes if you’re going to try it. I loved the pilot because I could see the potential but my husband needed a few episodes before he was okay with it. 🙂

  30. Heather S says:

    I love Arrow. Love me a wounded hero who tends to forget how to wear shirts and does the climbing pull-up bar maneuver purely for Felicity’s enjoyment. OLICITY FOR LIFE!!!

    *ahem* That being said, I have yet to see Supergirl, but I would really love to. I tend to buy the dvds at the end of the season and binge watch episodes.

  31. Trix says:

    I haven’t seen SUPERGIRL yet, since I’m currently into CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, which airs at the same time on Mondays. (In spite of a few minor flaws, it’s a “Stuff You Should Be Watching” waiting to happen…it plays with a few time-honored contemporary romance tropes, *and* it’s a musical to boot!) I did think Melissa Benoist was woefully underused in GLEE, so I am curious…

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top