Arrow S01E01 – Review

By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg (story

The Story: Sure bullets pack more punch, but when was the last time you zip-lined with one?

The Review: Much as anyone loves the idea of getting to watch their favorite superheroes on live-action TV every week, some pretty big obstacles get in the way of that particular dream.  As a modern audience, we expect greater realism (read: money) from the stories and special effects than the people who watched Lynda Carter spin into costume on Wonder Woman.  And the more extensive a superhero’s powers, the more opportunity there is for a show to disappoint.

If you take all that into consideration, Smallville was a pretty impressive series, balancing both the fulfillment of comic book dreams and budgetary restraints for ten seasons—kind of the Holy Grail of television longevity.  I imagine, however, that the folks at the CW weren’t keen on going through that that kind of expense again.  While the aborted Aquaman project presented all kinds of watery CGI that made producers’ heads spin, Arrow seems more manageable.