Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, Floriana Lima, Chris Wood, David Harewood, Frederick Schmidt, Rich Ting, Lynda Carter, Dichen Lachman, William Mapother, Dean Cain, Grant Gustin, Benda Strong, Calista Flockhart, Ian Gomez, Katie McGrath, Tyler Hoechlin, Sharon Leal, Terri Hatcher, Harley Quinn Smith, Kevin Sorbo.
There can be no doubting the impact that graphic novels have had on society, the mark they left, the sense of optimism in dark times that they asked their readers to embrace, and the artistic appreciation to which in less than enlightened times were the bane of schoolteachers and parents alike.
That impact was greatly enhanced by the mediums of television and cinema, for without the early pioneers that insisted the likes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon could transfer from the often maligned funny pages to the weekly black and white serial at the cinema, then the hardcore of D.C. Comics growing catalogue also made their timely entrance on screen; and whilst early attempts at cinema progression were to be applauded, looking back on films such as the successive Superman movies or Supergirl, they struggle in comparison to how they have been portrayed in the serial format which television affords them in the 21st Century.
While D.C’s main rival, Marvel, has for the last decade dominated cinema in their adaptions of all things heroic, it is to television that D.C. up until now, have made strident leaps that would make the Man of Steel blush in envy, and in the second season of Supergirl that sense of optimism, that insight into the modern reader and their passion for the character’s continued evolvement, is be applauded.
If the 1970s seem like ancient history to today’s television consumers, then the 1950s is another place entirely, the subjects raised during George Reeves time as Superman pale into insignificance compared to the life today, but as Supergirl continues her adventures, the reflection on screen is not pushed down the throat of the viewer screaming, but instead is intelligently shown to affect us all, and in all honesty tremendously explored via the relationships encountered by sisters Kara Denvers/Supergirl and D.E.O. operative Alex Danvers, portrayed with real force by Chyler Lee, and a cast that includes David Harewood, Chris Wood, and the appearance of the superb Teri Hatcher, Dean Cain and Katie McGrath.
Even with the inevitable crossover which bookends the series with the appearance of Tyler Hoechlin as an inspired choice of casting as Superman, the focus is drawn throughout on Melissa Benoist, the sense of optimism and brightness she brings to the role of Supergirl is refreshing and seemingly eternal.
It is always challenging to progress from any high reached in a first series, the state of inertia that slowly creep into the proceedings as viewers search for the novel and the new, has to be considered, but Supergirl balances the act with deftness and deference to its past, one that makes it a blast to be entertained by.
Ian D. Hall