tv echo

The Flash/Supergirl Musical Crossover Photos Released Russ Burlingame- 03/07/2017 http://comicbook.com/dc/2017/03/07/the-flash-supergirl-musical-crossover-photos-released/ Photo Gallery: http://comicbook.com/dc/2017/03/07/the-flash-supergirl-musical-crossover-photos-released/1

‘Arrow’ Review: “Fighting Fire with Fire” Nora Dominick Mar. 7, 2017 http://emertainmentmonthly.com/index.php/arrow-review-fighting-fire-fire/

Ratings for this week's TWD episode (7x12-Say Yes) were 4.71 demo and 10.163 viewers... http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/walking-dead-season-seven-ratings/

I'm cautiously optimistic about 520... I say "cautiously" because I don't want to be disappointed. Here are the WM and SA quotes that were referenced upthread:

The print issue of the new Entertainment Weekly (dated March 10, 2017) includes an article on DC Rebirth. From the GA blurb in that article is this Benjamin Percy quote...

"My name is Danny Rand. After 15 years in a monastery, I have come home with only one goal: to save my city. But to do that, I must become someone else. I must become something else..." (source)

Arrow Round Table: Prometheus Is Revealed! Paul Dailly at March 6, 2017 3:00 pm. https://www.tvfanatic.com/2017/03/arrow-round-table-prometheus-is-revealed/

Not surprised by the current poll results (Felicity joining Helix way in the lead with 42%, Delicity scenes in 2d and 3d place, Oliver scenes in single digits)... POLL : Favourite scene from Arrow - Fighting Fire with Fire Posted by Bradley Adams at March 05, 2017 http://www.spoilertv.com/2017/03/poll-favourite-scene-from-arrow.html

In his Mar. 2nd facebook chat, SA said: "Moreover, I think that Oliver's underlying concern is with two parts. One, the fact that this is a microcosm of a larger pattern of behavior with Thea that has led her to want time away from not only the mayor's office, but everybody. So clearly, she is going through something similar to what she went through with her blood lust last year. Currently, Felicity just joined a rogue technology organization that has questionable morals. And neither one of them is talking to Oliver about it." Well, neither Thea or Felicity are talking to Oliver about what they're doing because they don't trust that he won't just blab whatever they say to his reporter girlfriend.

I'm an Olicity shipper, but yet I can't help hoping that the head of Helix turns out to be a very attractive, very intelligent guy who isn't completely evil, who has great chemistry with Felicity, and who treats her with respect. I'm also almost at the point where I hope that they spin off a new show (with new showrunners) about Helix fighting evil in the world and trying to atone for past sins.

I'm surprised that more comic purists aren't complaining about Chase not being the Vigilante. Or if they are, I'm not aware of it.

You're welcome! I've been feeling so discouraged by Arrow this season that I sometimes think this forum is what's keeping me watching the show, one tedious episode after another.

Oliver being Mayor is like Laurel being a D.A. - there's an inherent, unavoidable hypocrisy.

FYI: The wait time period, if you don't want consecutive posts to merge, is now around 5 minutes (thanks to the kindness of Admin., David. T. Cole).

Some may argue that too much Olicity was the problem with S3 and S4 (I disagree), but jbuffyangel makes a good point that the season's Big Bad is the real, primary focus of each season and where the Big Bad fails, the season has problems - S3's Big Bad was a weak Ra's al Ghul and S4's Big Bad was Damien Darhk ('nuff said). However, I don't mind Chase being Prometheus as much as she does, and I don't think he is the major problem this season. But I totally agree with her outrage over Oliver's asking Felicity for help with his Susan problem... BURNED: ARROW 5X15 REVIEW (FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE) jbuffyangel MARCH 05, 2017 @ 00:53 http://jbuffyangel.tumblr.com/post/158014154128/burned-arrow-5x15-review-fighting-fire-with

FYI: If anyone cares, Stydia got knocked out by Isak and Even (Skam), who are now in the Final 2 against Magnus and Alec (Shadowhunters)... http://www.eonline.com/news/833507/tv-s-top-couple-2017-vote-in-the-top-2-now

Caution: I've read and posted a few reviews (like A.V. Club and Filmoria) that gloss over or just don't mention the whole Susan situation and Oliver asking Felicity for help. Also, I don't post every review, but I do post mostly mainstream media reviews with a few fan reviews thrown in.

The new wait period if you don't want merging posts is apparently now around 1 hour(!), so there will definitely be multiple reviews in the same post in the future... Agents of GEEK Podcast Episode 63 Craig Wack & Tatiana Torres Mar. 3, 2017 http://agentsofgeekpodcast.com/wordpress/ -- Since Craig and Tatiana didn't review Arrow last week, they discussed 514 and 515 together. -- Craig said that Thea/Felicity's teaming up to discredit Susan Williams before she could expose Oliver as the GA was "the right move." Tatiana added: "For real. I want to smack Oliver on the head. Like, would you rather she had given up your secret?" Craig: "Right. Have her tell your secret and have you arrested?" Tatiana: "Also, she's not even that good of a girlfriend. Obviously." Craig noted that they've rarely been together, so he doesn't know "what's going on." Tatiana: "Stupidity. Stupidity." Craig pointed out that, for four years, Oliver has been "so focused on saving the city, but all of a sudden this one particular woman comes around, and he's like, 'yeah, we'll deal with the city later.'" Tatiana added that, for four years, Oliver's been "so close to Thea and so worried about Thea all the time, blah, blah, blah, and then he has the f**kin' gall last week to be like, 'you're turning into our mother' ... She should hit him." -- Tatiana said that she was "so pissed this week" because, even though Thea's "always had a small role, she always makes the most of what she's given," and this week she was like, 'oh, I have to go find myself, you're right, I am turning into mom.' The hell! Like, you already gave up superhero-ing, and now you're giving up politicking? Like, I don't want you to go, I'd like to keep Thea, please!" Craig added that they've slowly "stripped away her value to the show." He would've preferred it if they had made Thea "the real power behind the throne" and made her the "actual, functional mayor of Star City" Tatiana agreed and said that she had been "really excited to see that." -- Craig said that it's just in these last three weeks that we've suddenly spent a lot more time in Oliver's mayoral office than in the Arrow Bunker. He joked that SA must've gotten tired of "getting in the leather" and just wanted to put on the mayor's suit for awhile. -- Craig: "It's aggravating as all get out because Oliver has been acting like a lunkhead and, you know, has done some real dickish things, chief among them in this week's show... He's like, 'yeah, I know that I killed your boyfriend and all, and I know that you're my ex, but it would really, really be cool for me if you get my other girlfriend back for me because you're the one who -'" Tatiana interjected: "Felicity! Don't do it! Stop it. You're better than this." Craig added that Oliver "laid the guilt trip" on Felicity and she helped him. -- Craig said that Susan got her job back, "even though she is committing the fire-able offense of sleeping with the mayor while she's on the city hall beat, and now I guess, because of Oliver's magic dick, she's deciding to sit on this story that is the biggest story." Tatiana: "Don't pretend you love him that much, you liar!" Craig: "Right. You're only getting close to him to prove that he is in fact - you know, that he did spend - at least that he is a part of the Russian mob!" He also noted that Susan's been working with that private detective and "he knows just as much as she does." Tatiana: "Yeah. So what's to stop him from releasing it." Craig thought that the impeachment process "would've been the logical time to drop that story," so the private detective must be wondering why Susan didn't publish the story. Craig said that it was just another one of those "giant plot holes". -- Tatiana did want to give them credit for the Prometheus reveal. Craig agreed and gave them "kudos for running counter to comic canon." However, he felt that "they weren't done with that yet" and that "there's going to be another switcheroo in there." Tatiana was surprised because she thought that they had confirmed that Chase was the Vigilante in show. Craig had reservations about whether there really was 7 episodes' worth of stories left of Oliver and Chase just "working side by side, and sort of battling each other at night." -- Tatiana pointed out that there's still "stuff happening with Felicity and how's that going to affect everything." Craig agreed and also added there was "the new buddy comedy team of Wild Dog and Mr. Terrific," as well as "Nu Canary." Tatiana hated Paul for divorcing Curtis, but she really likes Tinah, although she snarked that she must be really good at her job because "she got promoted super fast, we just didn't see it." Craig laughed: "Suddenly, she's gone from, like - I know she's got experience and everything, but you would think there'd be some sort of probationery period where she would learn how to do paperwork and stuff. But no, it's like, you know, five minutes after walking on the job, ... she's on the mayor's protective detail, which is convenient now because it gives everyone the opportunity to hang around Ollie's office." -- Tatiana noted that the only ones who don't have jobs now are Felicity and Curtis, and wondered how they're supporting themselves. Craig suggested that maybe they're drawing some sort of checks from Palmer Tech. -- Craig thought that the Pandora/Helix story is "going to be an interesting direction" for Felicity. He didn't want to call her 'Dark Felicity,' but noted that she seems "more willing to take things into her own hands, and not sorta be on the sidelines... and make an impact on her own." Craig also thought that Helix is giving off the vibe of being like the "DC version of HYDRA." Tatiana agreed, although she felt bad because "Felicity deserves to have all the win, she literally is like the best one." Tatiana also liked how Felicity was "orchestrating the team to protect Ollie, she was like, 'it doesn't matter, I'm in charge.'" -- Craig noted that the problem with Oliver in these last few episodes is that "he seems happy to be a spectator to his own life... Here he is about to lose his job and potentially go up the river for murder, and he's more concerned about getting his girlfriend back than, like, saving his skin as mayor." Tatiana: "It's nonsense is what it is. It's nonsense." -- Now they're wondering who the Vigilante is, since he isn't Chase. -- Craig hoped "for better days ahead for Arrow." He thought there were good "individual small bits," but they can't put it all together: "Oliver is kinda dragging the whole show down, and they really need to get Oliver back into another situation here to have him be heroic." Tatiana suggested putting Oliver with Diggle more because "he's always better with Diggle than with Stupid Lying Reporter people."

If you look at past EP/SA comments about Susan Williams, it really does look like they believe Susan is being presented as a good reporter and a good person (just like they believed last season that Samantha Clayton was being presented as a good mother and a good person). The EPs apparently also believe that they are presenting Oliver and Susan in a genuine, believable relationship - and WM even used the word "chemistry"(!) to describe them... Summary of the Susan spoilers to date (in chronological order) - some have come to pass, and some are yet to come: -- S5 will introduce the recurring role of Susan Williams, a journalist from nearby Coast City who comes to Star City “looking to make a name for herself” by targeting Oliver Queen for a big story. She will be played by Carly Pope. In the DC comics, Williams is married to Jim Jordan, the little brother of Coast City's resident Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. (Jun. 29, 2016 TVGuide/TVInsider tweet & article, and Jul. 1, 2016 TVLine article, page 39 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "Susan Williams is actually a character we’ve been wanting to do since season 1. We’ve always wanted — and every year we talk about it, and every year, for whatever reason, we don’t get a chance to do it — there to be a reporter that would basically represent the city, but also clash with Oliver. We felt, with Oliver as mayor, this is the perfect year to finally do this, to finally introduce the dynamic of the press in Star City. Bethany Snow’s (Keri Adams) not going anywhere, but Susan very much looms very large for Oliver and his administration. She’s not a pushover, and she’s someone who Oliver’s going to have to work very, very hard to win over." (Oct. 4, 2016 Entertainment Weekly article, page 45 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "One of the fun parts of the show is that you can put these characters in and the Easter eggs and the fans that know this universe so well respond to it on varying levels of excitement and whatnot, but the thing about her character that’s so intriguing is that it operates on that level. It also operates because she’s someone who’s very intrigued by Oliver, who’s going to uncover some secrets that Oliver has, which is going to be really fun, and is a fun nod to the Green Lantern, who obviously we could never bring on the show." (Oct. 28, 2016 CRB article, page 47 of Spoilers thread and page 215 of Mind Your Surroundings thread) -- SA: “Susan appears to be up to no good, but in reality, she’s just following a very interesting story. I mean, the Mayor of the town where she is a news reporter was clearly not on an island for five consecutive years, which, by the way, I feel like it’s about time we did that. I mean, I always think back to the first Nolan Batman where I think it’s Ra’s al Ghul says ‘the world is too small a place for someone like Bruce Wayne to disappear.’ Theoretically, Oliver Queen… even if he wasn’t as famous, and he wasn’t, he did ‘perish’ in a very famous incident within our story, so I always thought when he was in Hong Kong that someone would stop him and be like ‘you look like Oliver Queen!’ But no. So I’m glad that it’s happening.” Also SA: "Hopefully it’s building to something that we’ve talked about doing on the show for a while... We’ve had, in separate instances, with the first person being Slade, who discover Oliver’s secret or a secret that he is keeping if not the secret, and they threaten him with it... I think that it would be interesting, if we go back to that storyline of her having information, that maybe she threatens him with it, but maybe his counter is different than what we’ve seen before. I also think that it would be most interesting if Susan Williams wasn’t just necessarily a spy in the weeds, in the way that there was no redeeming quality in Isabel Rochev. She was there to play Oliver from the beginning. So, maybe Susan Williams is learning something, but concurrently, maybe her relationship with Oliver will become dynamic and she won’t want to do what she did to Thea in the earlier part of the season. ... I've had a couple of scenes with Carly, who's doing a great job as Susan Williams, and I do think that it's - that there'll be some exploration of a certain element of romance between the two of them and I hope that - I hope that it's - I hope that people enjoy it because I've found it to be really dynamic so far." (Nov. 3, 2016 Seat42F video of SA interview and Den of Geek and TVLine articles, page 48 of Spoilers thread, and Nov. 7, 2016 GATV article, page 48 of Spoilers thread) -- On reporter Susan Williams, DR: "You know she's up to no good, you know that." (CCXP-Sao Paolo Expo, Dec. 3, 2016): Video clip in alwaysbett tweet, page 1242 of Spoiler Discussion thread) -- The conspicuous “vodka shot” in 509 was not a clue to any agenda Susan might have, but it was more a nod to her ongoing investigation of Mayor Queen’s past. WM: "Were we too obvious with that? ... I would call that foreshadowing more than anything else... Susan is certainly on that [Oliver-in-Russia] train, for sure.” (Dec. 13, 2016 TVLine article, page 50 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Oliver and Susan are] going to go ‘all in’ [on the relationship] at some point, for sure. But one of the things that’s interesting about [Susan] is that they do have a genuine relationship — she really does care about Oliver, and vice versa — and yet she has been on this track of trying to find out who he is and what he’s up to. And not just as the mayor, but beyond that.” Per WM, in exploring the man behind Mayor Handsome (including his apparent side trip to Russia while “stranded” for five years on Lian Yu), Susan “is going to be asking some hard questions... and that’s going to put both of them into physically and emotionally dangerous territory.” (Dec. 30, 2016 TVLine article, page 50 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "There’s going to be a very cool and awesome payoff to Susan’s investigation of Oliver. That payoff is going to come sooner than you think. In other words, it’s going to come sooner than the season finale." (Jan. 24, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 51 of Spoilers thread) -- MG: "Oliver's trying to make things work with Susan, as we saw in the big midseason finale." On whether Susan's secret investigation into Oliver's ties to Bratva could lead to further revelations that could cost Oliver his double life with Susan, MG: "[The question] will inevitably come up, is it possible for Oliver to continue with Susan while he leads this double life. To which I say, stay tuned." (Jan. 25, 2017 ComicBook article, page 181 of Relationships thread) -- On whether we find out what Susan's after sooner rather than later, WM: "Yeah, Susan definitely has a very specific drive. I think what’s cool about where we’re taking her is, yes, we’re going to find out what she’s up to and how much she knows in the back half of the season, but — starting in [season] 5 [episode] 7 — they have a really genuine connection. I think she is, for all of her journalistic ulterior motives, also a really good person and they have a genuine chemistry. So, it’s going to get complicated for her and for him as well. It’s not going to be as straightforward as a reporter exposing some truth about the mayor. It’s going to be complicated by the fact they genuinely care about each other." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- Per WM, Oliver's "burgeoning relationship" with Susan Williams will be a bright spot for him. WM: "I think there are, for him, places of light and hope." (Jan. 25, 2017 ScreenerTV article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- WM: "[Oliver's] got hope! He’s got hope in the form of the mayor’s office and this burgeoning relationship with Susan Williams." (Jan. 25, 2017 CBR article, page 52 of Spoilers thread) -- In response to fan who questioned Oliver's intelligence in dating/sleeping with a reporter who's investigating him, SA replied: "Based off this season so far and what we know, Oliver has been wrong to trust Evelyn. And that's it so far." (Feb. 8, 2017 LuluLemonLime83 tweet, page 53 of Spoilers thread) -- On how Oliver's ignorance of what his girlfriend Susan's doing will play into their future, MG: "I'll just say, based upon what little—I try to avoid online, but it's online, so it's impossible to completely avoid stuff—but it seems like the general prevailing theories about how we're going to play that subplot off are wrong. That's kind of my impression. Everyone's expecting something we're not doing, for better or for worse." (Feb. 15, 2017 TVGuide and IGN articles, page 53 of Spoilers thread) -- On Chase kidnapping Susan, WM: "We really wanted to build him up as someone who is extremely good at being ten steps ahead of Oliver and really being psychological, in the way that he manipulates him. One of the ways he does that is by going after the people that Oliver cares about. We’ve seen villains do that in the past, but Adrian does it in a way that’s a little bit more specific. Not to take any wind out of the sails of the story, but his goal is very clear. He really has no drive to kill Oliver. It’s purely based on torture. So, in taking Susan, that is where we’re headed. For how long, I can’t tell you, but he’s definitely headed toward that. And it’s all part and parcel of this drive to break Oliver down, psychologically, as opposed to physically. We’ve seen Slade and Merlyn take him on, hand to hand. This is much more of a mental game." (Mar. 1, 2017 Collider article, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- SA: “When he initially finds out [that Chase kidnapped Susan], it’s just very simple — ‘The first chance that I get, I’m going to kill you’ — and to this Adrian basically laughs, because Adrian has a full checkmate over his head — he has someone that Oliver cares about and if Oliver kills Chase, then that person dies.” (Mar. 1, 2017 Entertainment Weekly article, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- JS: "I think that there is a means to an end for each move that he makes. That’s not part of Prometheus, but that’s part of Chase, for me. When I look at Prometheus, I look at the skill set. He’s out on the streets. That’s one aspect of this. The part that Chase is doing is the mental game. It’s the chess match. That’s what Chase has been playing, this whole time. He’s been moving pieces that he knows Oliver is not going to be able to keep up with. I think that Susan is a very, very important piece of that puzzle, and Chase knows that. There are other very important pieces on that chess board that he’s going to move. Susan is a very, very important piece and a very good move, in the big chess game that’s going on. You get to see how that relationship develops between the two. Susan may feel betrayed by Oliver, so it’s interesting to see how Chase will try to navigate those waters and get to his next move." (Mar. 1, 2017 Collider and IGN articles, an Mar. 2, 2017 Den of Geek article, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- On why Chase kidnapped Susan instead of someone like Felicity or Thea, WM: "We really wanted to build him up as someone who is extremely good at being ten steps ahead of Oliver, really being psychological in the way that he manipulates him and one of the ways he does that is by going after the people that Oliver cares about. We’ve seen villains do that in the past, but this year Adrian does it in a way that’s a little bit more specific." (Mar. 2, 2017 Den of Geek article, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- SA: "Um, I think that Oliver was right for the way that he handled that situation in - I guess it would've been episode 514 and 515, for no other reason than he didn't that Susan Williams would've exposed him as the Green Arrow. And she hasn't." (Mar. 2, 2017 SA facebook video, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- JS: "Susan may feel betrayed by Oliver so it's interesting to see how Chase will try to let's say navigate those waters, how he can get to his next move." (Mar. 2, 2017 Den of Geek article, page 54 of Spoilers thread) -- Rumor: Susan Williams will be held by Chase for more than one episode. (Mar. 2, 2017 Oliverdant tumblr blog post, page 3 of 515 episode thread)

Apparently the merge threshold for consecutive posts in the same thread has been changed, so now you may see multiple media reviews merged into the same post. Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that, since I can't wait out the required time in between each post in order to keep them separate (it used to be around 4 minutes, but now I have no idea what it is)... Allison Brennan and Lavinia Kent analyze 'Arrow' episode 'Fighting Fire With Fire': Big reveal, but has something changed? Mar. 3, 2017 http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2017/03/03/allison-brennan-lavinia-kent-arrow-recap-fighting-fire-with-fire/ Arrow Pulls a Batman Begins With Its Big Prometheus Reveal March 2, 2017 by Kelly Konda https://weminoredinfilm.com/2017/03/02/arrow-pulls-a-batman-begins-with-its-big-prometheus-reveal/

Another pic of MG (not working on Arrow)...

Arrow Season 5 Episode 15 – “Fighting Fire with Fire” Review 4th March 2017 Kevin Perreau http://www.filmoria.co.uk/arrow-season-5-episode-15-fighting-fire-with-fire-review/

Fake Nerd Guys podcast interview with MG (no spoilers) - posting here because of the behind-the-scenes info... FNG Special #3: Interview with Marc Guggenheim Mar 1, 2017 http://fakenerdguys.libsyn.com/fng-special-3-interview-with-marc-guggenheim -- MG talked about how he transitioned from being a Boston lawyer to an L.A. writer. -- MG talked about writing Marvel X-Men comics and about Eli Stone. -- FNG guy: "Arrow's been excellent this year. We've been really enjoying it." -- MG debunked rumor that Arrow was initially supposed to be a spin-off of Smallville. Instead, MG said: "I'll tell you what happened. So basically, Greg Berlanti, uh, was at ABC Studios... and he made a deal to return to Warner Brothers, where is, we know, he started and, you know, when they were sorta talking, he mentioned that he had a take, um, to do the Green Arrow on television. Um, it had no relation to the iteration of Green Arrow that you see in Smallville. It was a completely different take - a brand new take. Um. And, you know, then he got to Warner Brothers and then something happened, um, where this movie that Greg and I and Michael Green wrote came out, uh, with - involving another DC character also with 'Green' in his name. (FNG guys laugh) Um, and the reception, shall we say, was not great. Um, so right on the heels of that, like in the case of the worst timing ever, um, Peter Roth at Warner Brothers Studios came to Greg and said, 'hey, so that, uh, take for Green Arrow, I would love to see you go forward with it.' And, again it was terrible timing because, you know, both Greg and I were licking our wounds, uh, over the whole Green Lantern experience. Um. And, you know, Greg came to me and said, 'listen, I've got this take for Green Arrow,' he told me what it was, and I was really blown away by it. Um. But, you know, we were both sort of feel - and he was asking me if I would do it with him. And, you know, we were both feeling this kind of, you know, trepidation about approaching, you know, another DC character. Um. And, you know, after a lot of soul searching and discussion, we basically realized, like, you know - where things sort of went off the rails for us with the Green Lantern is - at the end of the day, we weren't responsible for the whole product. Um, you know, we did a few drafts of the screenplay that got rewritten by another, uh, you know, writer. And then, of course, got - went on to be directed by someone not Greg. So, um, you know, the only way, I think, we could sort of feel like we were, you know, willing to try to do this again is if we were able to do it with a lot more control over the process than we had with the Green Lantern. So, to that extent, what we ended up doing was, we said to the studio and the network, 'look, we're not going to - we're going to do this outside the normal development process.' You know, in pilot development, there are these - all these steps. You write a story [unintelligible word], you write an outline, you write, you know, draft upon draft. You get notes in every stage. And there's, you know - it's called 'development' for a reason. There's a lot of development. And, you know, Greg and I just wanted to sort of go away and, you know, basically just - just write the script. Um. And then we were going to present it to the, you know, the studio network, saying, 'okay, here's the script, make it, don't make it, up to you, um, but this is our mission.' Um. And that's what happened." -- On looking back to S2 and whether he has any regrets that maybe Slade Wilson was utilized too soon, MG: "Uh, you know, that's a good question... The answer's 'no,' um, because - and this sort of circles back to Eli [Stone] - You know, one of the things that we learned with Eli was to burn through plot really fast. Um. And the reason we did that on Eli was, we were always on the verge of being cancelled. So, there was no, like, saving this for season 3, because we didn't know if we would have a season 3. So, we sort of learned not to delay gratification and just get to the good stuff as soon as we could. Um. So, there was never any discussion with Arrow, uh, of - of waiting. Even though we were never on the bubble, we still brought that storytelling philosophy into Arrow because, um, we discovered that, even though we were doing it on Eli out of necessity, we liked the result. We liked how urgent the narrative was when you weren't delaying gratification. Um, you know... I definitely recognize that there's a narrative, um, that has cropped up that, uh, season 2 of Arrow was the best and - you know, of the various seasons, in large part because Slade Wilson was such a great villain and a compelling character. Um. But I don't know - and I don't disagree with that. It's sort of like, you know, it's very hard to top Wrath of Khan. Um. That said, I think there have been some really good Star Trek movies that have come out since Wrath of Khan... We always continue to sort of swing for those fences. Um, you know, I'll be curious to see what people think of season 5 when all is said and done. Um. There's a lot of stuff that's still coming up with Prometheus that I think, you know, positions him as one of the best villains, um, that we've had on the show. I would never, um, sort of get into the game of 'is he better than Slade Wilson or not?' Um. Like I said, there can only be one Wrath of Khan. But, uh, I think - I think, you know, when you learn, uh, sort of what Prometheus' game plan is, um, a lot of the things that he's gonna do, um, you may be - you may be ranking him pretty high... He may be The Voyage Home." -- On whether they can get Batman on the show, MG: "Well, I think we've sort of always operated on the assumption that Superman and Batman were off the table. Um. And, you know, obviously Superman has appeared on Supergirl, um, so it does raise the question, like 'where's the line?' Um, you know, would I love to do Batman on the show? Yes, of course... I've been very open and notorious about my love of Batman and how enjoyable, you know, it would be involved with a live action version of Batman. Um, you know, that said, you know, it's not something we spend a whole lot of time thinking about because I really don't think it's in the cards at the moment, particularly not with either Gotham on the air and with, you know, now the Matt Reese Batman movie being developed. Um, it doesn't seem terribly likely to me that we'll see Batman on the show, but, uh, you know, who knows? Um, you never know. Um. I've definitely learned in this business, particularly with these shows, that you never say never... We're doing things on the shows that we never in a million years imagined we would do when we first started Arrow." -- On whether there's a character that they wanted but couldn't get, or whether they've had free rein all this time, MG: "Yeah. I'm hard-pressed to think of a character who we wanted on the show and weren't able to get." FNG guy mentioned Nightwing and Harley Quinn. MG: "Yeah, I mean, I would say that, with Harley - Harley was definitely the trickiest one because of the probably Suicide Squad movie. Um, we were probably lucky to get away with what we got away with... We never had plans to have Nightwing on the show. Again, not for lack of wanting to, but you know, we always operated on the assumption that he would not be available to us, so we didn't spend a lot of, you know, bandwidth, uh, you know, breaking a Nightwing story or coming up with a Nightwing story. Um, as far as using Bludhaven, um, the truth of the matter is, there are only so many DC cities that, you know, that you can reference. Um. So Bludhaven, you know, I've always liked the conceit of Bludhaven... There are some DC cities that sound, let's say, less Golden Age than others. Um, uh, and more modern than others. So, um, I tend to, you know, want to use those, rather than the ones that are, you know - that feel a little dated... I will say, the vast majority of rumors [on the internet] are false." -- FNG guy complimented SA's performance on 513 (Spectre of the Gun) and MG talked about writing that episode (similar comments that he made in previously posted media interviews). LOL, he mentioned the 513 "pivotal" scene between "Cisco and Felicity, uh, where Cisco makes the point that, you know, we've stopped talking to each other." MG can't even remember which characters are on which show! He also praised SA's acting. -- On what S6 will look like without the island flashbacks, MG: "We're already sort of talking in broad strokes about season 6, and I - I just think it'll be nice. Um. You know, the flashbacks have always been the hardest part of the show. You know, they're the hardest part to write and they're the hardest part to produce because it's really like doing, you know, one-and-a-half shows. Um. So, you know, I think it'll just allow us to be a little lighter on our feet in terms of the narrative. And I think, you know, it'll also be nice to see, you know, that money that we spend on the flashbacks end up on the screen in the present day, you know, in other ways. I really want to, like, you know, push the -you know, I think the production value of Arrow has always been very, very high, but I feel like there's an opportunity next year to really push it - push it forward, uh, you know, even more. Um, and also, you know, like 513, um, we always, you know - even since season 1 - done, you know, what I call nonlinear flashbacks or the, you know, the non - you know, non-Lian Yu, telling-single-story flashbacks, um, you know, which we still want to keep as part and parcel of the show's, uh, you know, narrative, you know, narrative tool box. Um, so that - that won't change. But I think - I think it'll be good - we also have a very cool - I think, cool plan for how to end the flashbacks this year." -- MG talked about the 100th episode and how they never had a chance to think about that episode outside of the crossover. His only regret was "scheduling limitations" that prevented them from bringing more characters over. They talked about how far Arrow had come and MG said that they always wanted each season to have its own "identity" so that you could watch an episode and know which season it was from. -- FNG guys and MG then talked about LoT. MG did talk about how difficult it would be for Sara or Ray to make a visit back to Arrow because they're on a time ship in their own story, although they'd love to do it and just haven't had the opportunity yet. MG also didn't sound hopeful about Constantine becoming a regular on LoT.

Spoiler Room: Scoop on Once Upon a Time, Arrow, Supergirl, and more NATALIE ABRAMS MARCH 3, 2017 http://ew.com/tv/2017/03/03/spoiler-room-once-upon-time-arrow-supergirl/

I agree that some of this season's plots could include things that might've been originally considered for previous seasons... S4's Oliver/Poppy flashback romance contrasting with Oliver/Felicity present day romance (We never saw this happen.) -> S5's Oliver/Susan relationship contrasting Oliver/Felicity relationship? (Less sure about this.) S4's Damien Darhk fighting Oliver using intellect/wits (I distinctly remember an EP interview prior to S4 where we were told that Dahrk would be unlike previous Big Bads, because Oliver would have to fight him using his intellect, not his muscle. Sorry, I can't find the source citation.) -> S5's Prometheus fighting Oliver using intellect/wits? S2's Slade corrupting those Oliver loves (Remember that midseason finale showing Felicity when Slade said this? And then we never saw this happen.) -> S5's Prometheus corrupting those Oliver loves?