tv echo

I enjoyed this episode. Felicity never said that Barry was The Flash... Oliver: "Curtis, if you think this is hard, wait until I actually start training you." Curtis: "What happens then?" Oliver: "The last guy got an arrow in the leg before it even started." Curtis: "That was Roy, right?" Oliver: "Also Roy, but I'm talking about Wild Dog." Felicity: "And you did put two arrows in Barry Allen's back." Curtis: "I'm starting to sense a pattern." Felicity: "Don't worry. His bark's way worse than his bite."

From 502... Oliver: "No mask?" Felicity: "No chance." Oliver: "What? It's out of their league, too. They're too green." Felicity: "Some could say the same about you. I've been waiting five years to make that joke. The convention center has 20 entrances. You can't be on them all. Throw them around the perimeter for three extra pairs of eyes. What could it hurt?" Oliver: "Now, you know I don't have a bedside manner." Felicity: "There's having no bedside manner, and then there is being physically and emotionally abusive." Oliver: "It took me years five in Hell to turn into someone capable of going out there. You know who didn't have five years? Laurel Lance. And now she's dead." Felicity: "Oh, were those five years just full of pain and suffering, or did you have someone who taught you?" Oliver: "I had a few people who taught me, and I'm trying to teach them." Felicity: "What, to take a punch? An insult? You keep expecting them to do what you're telling them to do, and then you're not giving them any reason. You just keep jabbing them with a cattle prod, expecting them to perform, and the guy that you called reckless got us our only clue we have so far." Oliver: "You were right." Felicity: "As much as I usually love hearing those three little words, gloating right now would be like kicking a puppy." Oliver: "I failed these recruits as a leader." Felicity: "Well, that's because you're not a leader. Well, in your defense, you never set out to be. You never planned on doing this with partners. Though, I don't think you really ever had a way around that one." Oliver: "How so?" Felicity: "When I got to know you - the real you - I was in awe. I had never met somebody so passionate. So focused and determined to make a real difference. But the recruits didn't get to see the real you because all you showed them was this angry guy in a mask, like scary angry." Oliver: "I just thought that if they didn't know who I was, it would make things easier." Felicity: "How would that make things easier for them?" Oliver: "For me. Easier for me. When I was in the Bratva -" Felicity: "You never talk about your time in Russia." Oliver: "Nobody in the Bratva uses their real names. Nobody knows anything about anyone's life before they were Bratva." Felicity: "Sounds lonely." Oliver: "It's effective. They teach you that the only person you can trust is yourself, that without personal attachment, there can be no loss. Laurel, Thea, Dig, even Roy. I let them into my crusade. I let them in - Then they left. I was protecting myself." Felicity: "I just think you're missing something." Oliver: "Only one thing?" Felicity: "The reason the original team worked so well... was because of the trust and respect that everyone had for Oliver Queen, not the Green Arrow. Oliver is the one who makes a good leader. He's the one that runs a good team. He's the one that I chose to stand by and that I continue to choose to stand by."

Oh, okay - I thought RG was younger - maybe his Wild Dog character is just coming across as younger.

After reading MG's latest comments, I've lost all desire to read or post any 502 episode reviews today. Maybe tomorrow.

I actually enjoyed 501 and 502. But reading spoilers (like the recent MG & WM interviews) just discourages me. I wouldn't read too much into the "Tina" auditions posted in the Spoilers thread, except to the extent they confirm the casting sides used for that character. Those videos were posted by the women themselves and not by Rapaport Casting, so there were probably tons more audition tapes sent in but just not posted on youtube. We also don't know yet who got the part. Arguably, the age range does make it seem like the woman would be more age appropriate for Oliver than, say, Wild Dog.

The "Tina" casting call specified actresses in their 20s-30s, so I guess if you can pass for someone within that age range, you're fine.

I just posted a bunch of "Tina" auditions in the Spoilers thread that I found on youtube. I find the different interpretations of the same dialogue fascinating. The actresses' ages range from 19 to 31, I believe. The auditions appear legit, but if anyone knows or finds out differently, please let me know.

IIRC, someone here suggested that they might try to equate Felicity's keeping the Flashpoint/Diggle's child change secret with Oliver's keeping his son secret (of course, it would be a false equivalency). Remember that Flashpoint is also supposed to have something to do with KC's appearance in 510...

I thought this was cool...

SUMMARY OF 502 SPOILERS: S5, Episode 2: The Recruits -- Production code: 502. Shoot Dates: July 15-27, 2016. Director: James Bamford. Writers: Speed Weed & Beth Schwartz. Airdate: Oct. 12, 2016. (MG tweet, page 39 of Spoilers thread, and SpoilerTV article, page 44 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 synopsis: "SUIT UP — Oliver’s (Stephen Amell) new recruits for Team Arrow are Curtis (Echo Kellum), Wild Dog (guest star Rick Gonzalez) and Evelyn Sharp (guest star Madison McLaughlin). Unfortunately, the Green Arrow’s training methods prove to be too much for some of them to handle. Meanwhile, in the flashbacks, Oliver’s initiation into the Bratva continues. James Bamford directed the episode written by Speed Weed & Beth Schwartz (#502). Original airdate 10/12/2016." (SpoilerTV and TVAddict articles, page 44 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 promotional pics posted. (SpoilerTV article, page 45 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 promo video posted. (502 promo video in dtissagirl post, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 "Stronger" preview video posted. featuring EK. (Oct. 10, 2016 502 "Stronger" video, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- CTV 2 Arrow promo video featured Oliver, Wild Dog and Curtis. (CTV 2 Arrow promo video, page 44 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 promo videos posted. (Oct. 11 & 12, 2016 502 promo videos, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- 502 dialogue tease: "Yeah, I’m sure that kicking things off by lying to everyone is an awesome idea.” (Oct. 11, 2016 Arrowwriters tweet, page 1173 of Spoiler Discussion thread) --- New team recruits include Evelyn Sharp (Madison McLaughlin), Rene Ramirez (Rick Gonzalez) and Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum). (SDCC, Jul. 23, 2016: Video of Arrow Comic-Con 2016 Highlight Reel, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- Evelyn Sharp (Madison McLaughlin) will return beginning in 502. (Jun. 21, 2016 Variety and TVLine articles, page 38 of Spoilers thread, and Sep. 30, 2016 MadisonMcLaugh tweet, page 45 of Spoilers thread) -- Rory Regan, aka Ragman (Joe Dinicol) will debut in 502. (Entertainment Weekly article, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- On what happened to the nukes in mid-air last season, MG: "They landed harmlessly. We’ll be dealing with one in this week’s episode (502)." (Oct. 10, 2016 MG tumblr post, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- On how Felicity is coping with the nuke killing thousands of people, MG: "Yes, we will deal with that head-on starting with this Wednesday’s episode." (Oct. 10, 2016 MG tumblr post, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "In the first five episodes, we face head-on the decision that Felicity made [that led to the destruction of Havenrock]." (Sep. 9, 2016 Entertainment Weekly article, page 43 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 9, 2016, EK tweeted: "Yo, I had a blast working a Fraturday with @officialrickg and @MadisonMcLaugh. It's going down! #ArrowSeason5." (echok tweet, page 39 of Spoilers thread) -- In Jul. 14, 2016 facebook video chat, SA: "We are on Day 8, which typically is the last day of an episode. We are on Day 8 of 501, 502 - we cross boarded our first two episodes, which I'm actually kinda enjoying, um... but we cross boarded our first two episodes... for a variety of reasons - never done it before on the show. We flipped an episode once, but we've never done it before. And I - and I gotta say, um... it kinda feels different. It feels a lot like the pilot. I think that, uh, stylistically, thematically, um, visually, violence-y, we are getting back to some of the things that, uh, our show does really well. So from that standpoint, I'm very, very excited." (SA facebook video & transcription, page 39 of Spoilers thread and page 443 of Social Media thread) -- In Jul. 14, 2016 facebook video chat, SA: "I actually got to do a funny ad lib today that if you're a fan of the pilot of the show, and something that the doctor says to Moira when she first sees me about the state of my... body, I guess - uh, he's not being weird, he's being a doctor. Um, there's an actual callback to that, assuming it makes the cut, in 502." (SA facebook video & transcription, page 39 of Spoilers thread and page 443 of Social Media thread) -- On Jul. 15, 2016, fan tweeted pic showing on set cast chairs for RG, EBR, EK and MMcL. (sacredsmoak tweet, page 39 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 16, 2016, JBam tweeted: "Fraterday with @ChadLColeman ? I'll take it. Welcome to the family." (JBam tweet, page 39 of Spoilers thread) -- DR was in the Arrow production offices on Jul. 20, 2016. (ArrowProdOffice tweet, page 1095 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- In 502, Sgt. Diggle reassures a nervous soldier before heading out on a mission to stop some Chechnyan terrorists. (Video in Oct. 12, 2016 IGN article, page 46 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 20, 2016, SA tweeted that he hadn't worked with DR and EBR together since April. (SA tweet, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 20, 2016, SA was filming in an interior repurposed Arrow set and wearing white shirtsleeves and tie that looked dirty and bloodied. (SA facebook video, page 40 of Spoilers page) -- On Jul. 20, 2016, CLC tweeted that he was in Vancouver shooting Arrow. (CLC tweet, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 22, 2016, papp tweeted set up for Arrow filming at old, rundown warehouse with Russian sign. (FloriansEdits tweet, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 22, 2016, Adrian Holmes, who plays Lt. Frank Pike, posted a pic of himself with JBam and TR. (AH instagram post, page 40 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 27, 2016, JBam posted b-t-s pic of camera monitors with comment: "Setting up a shot....episode 5.02.....#Arrow....top secret....Chad Coleman in the house!" (JBam instagram post, page 41 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 27, 2016, MMcL tweeted b-t-s pic of herself on set with EBR, EK, Rick Gonzalez and Joe Dinicol. (MadisonMcLaugh tweet, page 41 of Spoilers thread) -- On Jul. 30, 2016, JBam tweeted: "Thanks #ArrowSeason5 Cast & Crew for the greatest experience of a lifetime. We are about to roll on our last shot of episodes 501&502!" (JBam tweet, page 41 of Spoilers thread) -- On Aug. 8, 2016, per SA, they are having "such a fantastic time shooting the first part of the season of Arrow," he is "so excited" and he's getting "constant texts from James Bamford who is in Los Angeles cutting 501 and 502." Per SA, Bamford was "like, 'this stuff is insane, it's sick'" and Bamford was cutting together a fight that SA couldn't say the name of the fight "because it's actually a callback to another fight that we've done on the show." (Aug. 8, 2016 SA facebook video, page 460 of Social Media thread) -- On Aug. 29, 2016, Brian Ford Sullivan tweeted: "Got to see #Arrow 502! You're gonna love @officialrickg & @JoeDinicol! And the costumes! It's like they jumped out of the comics! So cool!" (briforsul tweet, page 43 of Spoilers thread)

I may be jumping ship this season. I first became enthused about Arrow because of Oliver's journey, OTA and Olicity. Now Oliver has regressed, there is no OTA, and it sounds like there will be no more Olicity.

Allison Brennan and Lavinia Kent on season 5 premiere of 'Arrow': And we're back! October 7, 2016 http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2016/10/07/allison-brennan-lavinia-kent-arrow-recap-season-5-episode-1/

MG tumblr post on GA Rebirth... http://marcguggenheim.tumblr.com/post/151641753329/what-do-you-think-of-the-current-green-arrow

Some recent MG tumblr posts on big crossover event, LoT and Vixen...

MG was back posting responses to tumblr questions yesterday at http://marcguggenheim.tumblr.com/ - here are some of his nonspoilery posts (I didn't post every one)...

I really don't understand how an Oliver/Laurel wedding in an alt.universe could possibly be a love letter to any fans of the show. Laurel is dead in our universe and this would just be rubbing salt in the wounds of those who shipped her with Oliver. And does anyone who ships Oliver with Felicity (or Sara or anyone else) want to see an Oliver/Laurel wedding? Finally, anyone who doesn't care for shipping at all isn't going to want to see such an event either. I hope that Felicity and Diggle aren't minimized in the 100th episode. Without them (OTA), Arrow probably wouldn't have even made it to 100 episodes. I don't think the same could be said about any other character on the show not named Oliver Queen. -- Andrew Kreisberg (TV Line, Apr. 21, 2013): "[Felicity] is our secret weapon that we didn’t even know we had." -- Andrew Kreisberg (EW, Sep. 7, 2013) on the new fun dynamic between Oliver, Diggle and Felicity: ”One of the crew members actually pointed this out to us. He said, ‘The scripts are really funny this year.’ It’s not just Felicity. It’s having Felicity and Dig and Oliver together. Having that triumvirate... All three of the actors are pretty light on their feet. The characters have survived the Undertaking, and they’ve gotten into a bit of a rhythm. One of the things we’re really exploring is that they’ve really become friends. And they really have become family. There’s an easygoing camaraderie about them that allows them to enjoy what they’re doing a little bit more.” -- Andrew Kreisberg (EW, Jan. 10, 2016): "Arrow took awhile to find itself. Arrow needed Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) which it didn’t have early on, and it had voiceover, which it didn’t need." -- Media tweet (WGFestival, Apr. 16, 2016): "Kreisberg: It was around midseason of Season1 when the show became #Arrow. Guggenheim: Episode 18, everything clicked for us. #WGFestival." -- Andrew Kreisberg (Collider, Aug. 25, 2016): "We’re so proud of Supergirl last season, but it reminded us, a little bit, of Season 1 of Arrow. We knew there was a great show in there and, every once in awhile, we would make it great, but we didn’t know how to do it consistently yet. We really feel like this year, at least for us creatively, we’ve cracked the code and we’re coming out of the gate strong. It’s almost the same trajectory that we had on Arrow, where we started to figure it out towards the back half of Season 1, and we’re coming out of the gate really strong with Season 2." -- Andrew Kreisberg (EW, Oct. 7, 2016): "The experience of Supergirl is more akin to the experience we had on Arrow, where we knew there was a great show in there, and every once in awhile we made a great one, but it wasn’t until the back half of that first season — and certainly the beginning of season 2 — that we really felt like we had a handle of what that show was creatively." -- Stephen Amell (PaleyFest, Mar. 9, 2013): "I don't think that my character had cracked a smile, you know, before episode 3 when I saw [Felicity]. And we were shooting that - I remember calling you guys afterwards. I started saying, 'Emily was really great and that was a really fun scene to shoot.' I had a - you know, I'm legitimately laughing at her as she's bubbling away, and I'm so happy, you know, it was getting lonely in the Foundry with Diggle." David Ramsey: "It was, it was. I mean, how many sit-ups can I watch this dude so? ... Sad. It was very sad before Felicity." -- David Ramsey (Comic Book Central, Mar. 7, 2015): "No one saw Felicity and Oliver coming. Nobody saw that. I mean, Emily, to her great credit, was hired as a guest star on the show. And, um, no one saw that character morphing the way it did. And I've said publicly before, thank - I mean, thank God she did because me - you know, for the first several episodes, even half the season, it was just me and Stephen kinda brooding around Starling City fighting crime. And then you have, thank God, this comic relief in Emily Bett (interviewer interjects, "uh, breath of fresh air") coming in really - breath of fresh air. And - but even with that - and she could very well have stayed in that place where there was some comic relief and you kinda give her some one-liners and it really would stay that breath of fresh air, like you said . But to see the chemistry that she had with Stephen, and that kinda morphed into a romance between Felicity and Oliver - I don't think anyone called that. I think people - I think the fans probably hoped for it, but - but to see it really happen and become something else [unintelligible word] - nobody really knew that was coming." -- David Ramsey (City of Heroes 2, May 15, 2015): "I always say, 'thank God for Emily' because it was just me and Oliver for the first season, just brooding around the foundry. It was like, 'oh God, the foundry and Starling City, and let's save the city, what are we going to do?' Just two men - it was hard for us to talk to each other. Finally Felicity showed up for some levity. But seriously, Emily - I mean, how many good things can be said about Emily? She was never intended to be who she became, at least in the writers' room. She just made the audience - us, the cast members - we just fell in love with her. She's a terrific actor and lights up every single scene that she's in."

Arrow Review: Legacy (Season 5 Episode 1) October 6, 2016 Lissete Lanuza Sáenz http://telltaletv.com/2016/10/arrow-review-legacy-season-5-episode-1/

No spoilers (if you've watched 501)... Chad Coleman on KTLA talking about his role on Arrow Published on Oct 6, 2016, by rana kosec

From THR video interview with the Guggenheim brothers that I just posted in the Social Media thread...

Arrow 5x01 Review: "Legacy" (Planting Seeds in a Garden) Just About Write Oct. 8, 2016 http://www.itsjustaboutwrite.com/2016/10/arrow-5x01-review-legacy-planting-seeds.html

Posting here because the video interview in this article is all about behind-the-scenes stuff (approx. 20 mins.) - also spoilers for 505 and 508... The Guggenheim Brothers Offer a Look Inside a TV Writing Family Dynasty OCTOBER 07, 2016 12:01pm PT by Lesley Goldberg http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/guggenheim-brothers-offer-a-look-936270 -- MG mentioned title/subject of 505 of Arrow: -- MG mentioned how CW shows can't compete ratings-wise with network shows because it's not network but all affiliates. He also mentioned how CW shows like Arrow get pre-empted for sporting events, even sporting events that aren't aired on The CW. -- MG said that they don't do outlines for Arrow and LoT. Instead, he said that they give them story areas and do an "internal beat sheet" which basically functions as their outline. MG: "I think, just the distinction in my mind between a beat sheet and an outline is - an outline is basically a deliverable to the network and studio that you get notes on, whereas the beat sheet is purely for our own internal process." MG also said that, when he show runs, he's always telling the writers not to just give him the outline or beat sheet back in script form. He's a "really big believer that the real magic happens in the writing" and, if the writer of the episode isn't discovering something new in the writing of the script, there's something wrong. He said that he's always discovering something new when he writes an episode. -- MG said that the thing that American television does really well is the production value across the board, but that American television could be pushing the boundaries more. -- When asked for a hint about Arrow's 100th episode (508), MG:

‘Arrow’ Review: “Legacy” Nora Dominick Oct. 7, 2016 http://emertainmentmonthly.com/index.php/arrow-review-legacy/As always, Rickards remains a bright spot in the