Archive: Opinions

If you are of a certain age you may remember 'The Adventures of Superman' starring George Reeves as the Man of Steel and Noel Neill as Lois Lane.  In each episode Superman fought for truth, justice and the American way.  That frequently meant saving Lois and Jimmy Olsen from whomever the evildoer of the week happened to be.  It was cheesy and by today's standard the special effects were, well... cheesy.  It was black and white in more ways than one -- good was good and evil was evil.  And it was terrific and highly popular.

Did I mention cheesy?  How many times did we watch Reeves jump through a paper wall, or watch rubber knives bend when they were thrust at him?  Didn't we suspect that the camera was turned on its side while a fan blew downward so it would look like an actually standing Reeves and his flowing cape were flying?  How we loved it when he bent steel beams (no doubt made of rubber) with a straight face!

Then came modern remakes with Christopher Reeves engagingly following in that other Reeve's footsteps, and Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher turning the story into a romantic comedy (I never bought Perry White as an Elvis fan, but I otherwise enjoyed that retelling).

More recently a wave of dark superhero psychological dramas have become popular.  We are funneled into their disturbing back-stories and motivations that led to Batman becoming who he is.  So I was interested in CBS's trailer for next season's 'Supergirl' series, planned to air Mondays at 9pm starting in November.  It is attractive, quirky and -- dare I say it -- wholesome.  It has some great scenes, including a series of tongue-in-cheek bits about how her costume comes to be.

Comic book freaks and critics have been faster than a speeding bullet to criticize.  It's too light weight.  It resembles a Saturday Night Live sketch.  Kara Zor-El (Supergirl's real name) isn't a strong enough female role model.  Supergirl's costume doesn't show enough skin, and its colors are too dark.  And, perhaps most damning, it's cheesy.

I'll take a wholesome superhero in a simple costume over these cumbersome mechanical-looking plastic - heavy metal - transformer-looking comic book characters any day.





Oh come on!  Isn't television supposed to be fun?  Or at least some of it?  What does it say about us as a species that our most popular entertainment involves people killing other people?  What brings us to the movies more than a poster with a sexy man or woman aiming a big honkin' gun?  NCIS is probably the most popular show today.  It is not safe to be a guest actor on that show -- people get killed.  A lot.  And like Bones, CSI and many others, cut up bodies are part of the appeal.  Bones has gotten downright silly about it, finding new ways to spatter guts on innocent bystanders at the beginning of each episode.

Or Mad Men.  I think I am the only one who doesn't like Mad Men (I saw the whole series because my wife liked it).  To me it was a stylish look at nasty, unprincipled people being mean to each other and everybody else just for the hell of it.  Good grief, I've known people who do that.  I don't like them.  I don't want to be around them in real life, and I certainly don't find their fictional counterparts entertaining.

Shows and movies that don't involve dead bodys and guns these days are doomed to fail.  Hart of Dixie, a charming, fun and quirky piece of fluffthat was just cancelled (it can still be viewed on Netflix), is a case in point, although it managed to hang on by a thread for four seasons.  It was in the vein of Northern Exposure and Ally McBeal, gentle, with quirky characters.  Those two shows were quite popular in their day (and, fun fact, Callista Flockhart -- Ally -- play's Kara's boss in the new Supergirl).  These shows are just as entertaining as any of the cookie-cutter cop shows, but in a different way.

But by the numbers, maybe not.  American Idol was never more popular than when it was about a self-involved British record producer humiliating the contestants and his co-judges.  Now that it's about the music, performance techniques and the business of music its ratings are down, and Fox announced next year will be its last.  Is it just me, or is a backstage look at the intricacies and difficulties and the craft of the music business more interesting than some jerk making himself look good at the expense of others?  Evidently it is just me, because ratings are significantly down.

With terrorism and uncertainty and all the darkness in the modern world I guess I do want a Gibbs and crew protecting America.  But sometimes you have to let go of all the negativity and just have a good time.  Supergirl may turn out to be a lousy show.  But if it lives up to its preview it promises to be a weekly dose of happiness.  People getting saved instead of being blown up.  By a girl we can relate to who happens to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and lift large airplanes that are falling out of the sky.

It seriously worries me that people prefer murder and mayhem, and I include me in that.  I love a good murder story mostly because I love the process of solving the mysteries.  On television my wife and I have, over the years, discovered Hollywood rules that kind of spoil the fun.  For example you can almost bet the farm that the most famous guest star did it.  That aside, solving a mystery is fun for me.  Would I like it better if the mystery didn't involve a murder?  Actually yes.  Remember the movie National Treasure?  That was fun.  Would everyone?  I don't know.





I often wonder why genocide still exists in the world after the lesson of World War II.  Or slavery after the lesson of our Civil War?  My reluctant conclusion is that the kind of animal we humans are simply likes to kill and be nasty to other people.  Take that to its logical conclusion and terrorists are normal.  So excuse me for wanting a gentle, positive world in which we build things, accomplish noble goals and make the world better.

And when a plane might crash, a world where a girl in leotards and a cape saves all those passengers and crew from certain death.  Remember US Airways Flight 1549?  The one in which Captain Chesley B. 'Sully' Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles became heros for successfully landing their plane in the Hudson River after bird strikes took out both its jet engines?  Supergirl flying beneath the plane and lifting it back into the sky is the same thing.  Only cuter.  And charmingly cheesy.

When I like a TV show I am pretty much dooming it to ratings failure.  So I may be the kiss of death for Supergirl.  But I am hoping it actually will live up to the promise of the trailer and be successful.  I am looking forward to a weekly hour of wholesome good versus evil, interesting attractive characters with a positive outlook, a good sense of humor and, yes, cheesiness.  The original Superman was cheesy and it was a great show.  Adam West's Batman was the Emperor of Cheesiness and everyone loved that show.  Here's hoping that Supergirl can rise to that bar.  She ought to be able to.  After all, she can fly, can't she?

v11i20