tv echo

Count me in with those who don't like the paralysis storyline and hope it's temporary.

Can't wait to hear what self-congratulatory comments come out of Mark Pedowitz's mouth...

The above io9 article, titled "7 Reasons It Sucks to Be a Superhero Girlfriend", makes some good points, but I also disagree with some points - or rather, I consider them more failures that need to be corrected in today's superhero stories. Also, I previously posted a similar sentiment to the following in the Relationships thread:

EW is soliciting stuff from fans this month (fan tributes, fanfic, fan photos, fan stories, etc.) and will post the best ones online... Happy Fanuary! Everything you need to know about EW's month dedicated to you – the fans! BY EW STAFF Posted December 29 2015 — 12:19 PM EST http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/29/ew-fanuary-everything-to-know

The new Star Trek series will launch in Jan. 2017 on CBS, with the hope/expectation that it will run for many seasons. I hope that they cast a bunch of talented but unknown actors. I loved Michael Weatherly (and also a young Jensen Ackles) in Dark Angel. He played a much different character from DiNozzo. However, I've always been fine with DiNozzo and in fact, prefer him to the increasingly grating Abby on NCIS.

I never seriously considered that the EPs might deviate from Oliver/Laurel as endgame until they had Oliver hook up with Sara again in the present day (late S2). I think they realized that starting Oliver and Laurel off in Season 1 with a cheating, sister-swapping back story and hostile female lead was not working, but I thought they would separate them, give Oliver other love interests, make Laurel the BC and have her join his crusade, and then get them slowly back together in later seasons. I mean, even in a Dec. 2013 interview with KC (mid-S2), KC was saying that Oliver/Laurel was endgame and that Felicity was just a fling. Felicity kept me watching in S1 long after I would've otherwise quit the show. Although I was hoping for Oliver/Felicity, I didn't think it would happen and didn't let my hopes go up until the S2 finale with Oliver's 'ILY' fake-out. Then there were MG's Sep. 2014 comments about how we would see Oliver & Felicity grow "closer and closer" over the course of the 2.5 comics, culminating in their first date in 301. Tbh, though, I'm still not sure it's set in stone that Oliver/Laurel are over permanently.

I've only quoted 2 out of the 5 things discussed by Laura Hurley (balance the ensemble and no love triangles)... DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow: 5 Things It Needs To Do Differently From Arrow And The Flash Laura Hurley 7 Jan 2016 http://whatculture.com/tv/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow-5-things-it-needs-to-do-differently-from-arrow-and-the-flash.php

Caleb Green was a new character introduced in the 2.5 comics. I don't believe he was ever mentioned on the show.

I thought this was interesting (also, a yin-yang reference in connection with Oliver and Barry!)... Should ‘Arrow’ and ‘The Flash’ Take a Break From Crossovers? Nick Cannata-Bowman January 06, 2016 http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/should-arrow-and-the-flash-take-a-break-from-crossovers.html/?a=viewall

I wasn't sure where to post this, but since the TCA was mentioned in this thread (yes, I know there will be no Arrow panel, but the EPs may still attend)... TCA Kick Off: Burning Questions for TV's Top Executives JANUARY 06, 2016 10:00am PT by Lesley Goldberg , Michael O'Connell http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tca-kick-burning-questions-tvs-852406

Nothing we don't already know... 5 Reasons Why Felicity Smoak Can’t Be Dead on ‘Arrow’ Jan. 6, 2016 http://www.hollywood.com/tv/reasons-why-felicity-smoak-cant-be-dead-on-arrow-60511184/?hw_ref=hb-featured

I'm tired of the promos for 410 including the gravesite scene, making it appear as if that scene is part of the next episode. I kept seeing that promo on The CW last night.

In advance of Saturday's opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in China, Disney recruited Chinese pop star LuHan ("China's answer to Justin Bieber") to do a music video... LuHan鹿晗_Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Promotion Song_The Inner Force MV Article: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6835394/chinese-pop-star-luhan-releases-official-star-wars-the-force-awakens-music

Reading the tie-in comics really helped me understand a lot of stuff - esp. the 2.5 comics, which included the whole story about Caleb Green calling Oliver a "selfish and self-centered child of privilege", which then made Oliver doubt himself. The comics make this big distinction between who Oliver is now and who Oliver was before. Both Felicity and Diggle make this distinction clear to Oliver. In fact, even not getting his family's company back is tied into the fact that Oliver wants to distance himself from his former life and his former self: Felicity: “Look, here’s the point I’m really trying to make – You’re a hero. Maybe you weren’t before. Caleb Green was right about who you were before the Queen’s Gambit went down. But since then, you’ve become someone else. You’ve become something else. And make no mistake, that something else… is a hero. If you were the man Caleb Green says you are, do you think John and Roy would follow you into battle? If you were the man Caleb Green says you are, you wouldn’t have inspired a team. You wouldn’t have inspired me. And all of us – including you – wouldn’t fight every single day to make this city a better place. And you have to admit, it’s a pretty amazing city.” Diggle: “Oliver… you’re not getting your family’s company back.” Oliver: “What are you talking about?” Diggle: “Green held up a mirror to you. To your old life. And you’ve been running from that image for the past month. I can’t think of a bigger reminder of that old life than Queen Consolidated.” Oliver: “I’m sure there’s a point in there somewhere, but for the life of me I can’t find it.” Diggle: “You may think you want the company back, but deep down, you know you’ve moved on from it.” Oliver: “It’s my father’s legacy, John.” Diggle: “So was Green, in a way. That’s my point. You’re your own man. Charting your own course. Just think about it.” Oliver wants and needs no reminders of his past life and his past persona - not Queen Consolidated and certainly not "Ollie" as a nickname. He may let the people who're used to calling him by that nickname call him "Ollie" (Thea, Laurel), but I think he likes the fact that the new people in his new life (Felicity, Diggle) call him "Oliver". I would also point out that there have been in-show references and actions indicating that Felicity and Diggle (and Thea) are the people closest to Oliver now. Sometimes an adult will call another adult by a diminutive of their name as a way of diminishing them (when they have no childhood reason for doing so). However, in the case of Barry, I think it was done jokingly.

Yeah, it's a weird time. But maybe they wanted a summer hiatus tie-in comic and during that time, O&F were happily traveling and then living together in suburbia, so there was no Arrow out fighting bad guys - and they probably thought no one would buy Arrow tie-in comics about an Arrow-less Team Arrow.

I just posted the TV Insider article in the Green Arrow In Comics thread because, yes, it is a new DC Comics series about Malcolm Merlyn.

Malcolm gets his own comics (go to link to read interview with JB)... The Secret Past of Arrow's Malcolm Merlyn Revealed in New DC Comics Series Rich Sands January 6, 2016 9:45 am http://www.tvinsider.com/article/63671/arrow-the-dark-archer-malcolm-merlyn-dc-comics-series-john-and-carole-barrowman/

I don't think this is spoilery... https://twitter.com/JamesBamford/status/684615974847287296

Here's a good read from Lexi Alexander's blog... Of Fear and Fake Diversity Jan. 3, 2016 http://www.lexi-alexander.com/blog/lexi-alexander/blog-2 Reason for her EEOC appointment: Feds investigate lack of female directors in Hollywood http://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-investigate-lack-of-female-directors-in-hollywood/

I bet the EPs love this... Why 'Legends of Tomorrow' could be DCTV's own 'Guardians of the Galaxy' By Lauren Gallaway | Tuesday, Jan 5, 2016 5:47 PM http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/why-legends-of-tomorrow-could-be-dctvs-own-guardians-of-the-galaxy

Arrow makes two more lists... Olympus Athens’ Top 10 Favorite Television Episodes Of 2015 By Olympus Athens | Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 at 8:30 pm http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2016/01/05/top-10-tv-episodes-2015-athens Top 10 TV Shows I Didn’t Have Time to Watch in 2015 (But Will in 2016 … Hopefully) by Maddy Myers Tuesday, January 5th 2016 at 4:21 pm http://www.themarysue.com/2015-tv-shows-no-time/

More grave speculation - this time from Den of Geek (discusses Felicity, Diggle, Thea, Laurel, Sara, Quentin, BM)... Arrow season 4: Who is In The Grave? Rob Leane 1/6/2016 at 7:39AM http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/arrow/251747/arrow-season-4-who-is-in-the-grave

https://twitter.com/MericlesHappen/status/684149792335761411 P.S. Has someone already commented on the fact that the number on Felicity's Funko box is "320"?

Online poll at ComicBookResources - you can vote for Arrow (currently in 2nd place)... What Was Your Favorite Comic Book-Based TV Series of 2015 http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=poll&id=382 This poll opened Tuesday, December 29th and will close at 09:01am PST on Friday, January 29th, 2016.

Here's my thought on Felicity's alleged 'overreaction' to Oliver lying to her in the Flarrow crossover (before time travel erased that interaction). I initially chalked it up to the EPs' speed storytelling. However, it could also be that Felicity knows Oliver so well by now that they have a kind of mental shorthand for their conversations. After 3+ years, their relationship is so tight that they know each other really well. It's just like when Felicity didn't want to talk to Oliver in 301 because she knew how he was going to react after their date blew up. Or when Oliver had these mental conversations with Felicity while he was Al Sah-him. So when she had the conversation with Oliver in the Flarrow crossover, she was mentally jumping ahead and ending up with her conclusion regarding lack of trust. Anyway, that's my rationalization.