S01.E01: Chapter One: The River's Edge

[MarkHB]

Quote

Series Premiere.  As a new school year begins, the town of Riverdale is reeling from the tragic death of high school golden boy Jason Blossom. Archie Andrews is still the all-American teen, but the summer’s events made him realize that he wants to pursue a career in music — not follow in his dad Fred’s footsteps — despite his forbidden relationship with Riverdale’s young music teacher, Ms. Grundy. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Archie must look for a new music mentor and turns to Josie McCoy  but she is focused solely on her band, Josie and the Pussycats. Weighing heavily on his mind is also his fractured friendship with budding writer Jughead Jones. Meanwhile, girl-next-door Betty Cooper is anxious to see her crush Archie after being away all summer, but she’s not quite ready to reveal her true feelings to him. And Betty’s nerves, which are hardly soothed by her overbearing mother Alice aren’t the only thing holding her back. When a new student, Veronica Lodge arrives in town from New York with her mother Hermione there’s an undeniable spark between her and Archie, but Veronica doesn’t want to risk her new friendship with Betty.

[Primetimer]

Since when does Archie have abs? Since the venerable comics series got adapted for The CW. Will a murder mystery and a bunch of hot teens be enough to bring the brand into 2017?

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[AndySmith]

This...looks like it has nothing to with Archie. It's like they threw in Dawson's Creek, Pretty Little Liars, Gossipi Girl, and a bunch of other shows in a blender, and slapped the names and hairstyles of the Archie characters solely for the name recognition. I mean, it might end up being a good show, but Archie this ain't.

[DanMSchro]

I just genuinely CANNOT with Archie's hair.

[palmaire]

I don't have any feelings or nostalgia about the comics one way or the other but am in, at least initially, for the whiff of a Twin Peaks-ian mystery vibe, and because of my lasting fondness for the Everwood and Jack and Bobby era Berlanti.

[Pete Martell]

I can't think of one attempt to knock off Twin Peaks that I actually enjoyed. Hell, as much as I love Twin Peaks (parts of it anyway), it wasn't hugely original in of itself. Yet people keep trying to do their own version anyway. I'd rather Berlanti focus on some of his other shows that have spun out of control. 

I enjoyed Archie Comics when they were simple and fun and sure, a bit stupid, but we probably need that in today's world more than ever. Sadly those are no longer made, replaced by "edgier" comics, and this interchangeable puddle that, going by the description, also seems to be knocking off Dawson's Creek as well. It's just cashing in on the names of characters who have nothing to do with any of this. 

Edited January 26, 2017 by Pete Martell

[starri]

2 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

It's just cashing in on the names of characters who have nothing to do with any of this. 

Except again, this is produced by creatives at Archie. 

[Pete Martell]

54 minutes ago, starri said:

Except again, this is produced by creatives at Archie. 

I assume the same people who are involved with the new comics. I'm not trying to say Berlanti somehow stole the characters, obviously Archie Comics are involved, I just mean that the Archie Comics or Riverdale I would want to see have nothing to do with this. Things like Archie's torrid affair with Ms. Grundy - to me that's just stupid, lazy trash. 

[MarkHB]

3 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I assume the same people who are involved with the new comics.

Right; one of the EP's (and I believe the writer of the pilot) is the current Chief Creative Officer at Archie and probably instrumental in all the "new Archie" stuff.

[starri]

10 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

I assume the same people who are involved with the new comics. I'm not trying to say Berlanti somehow stole the characters, obviously Archie Comics are involved, I just mean that the Archie Comics or Riverdale I would want to see have nothing to do with this.

That's fine, no one should be forcing you to like or watch it.  All I'm saying is that about ten, fifteen years ago, Archie came to a point where they, as a company, had to evolve or die.  They chose to evolve, and it's worked out pretty well for them.  

I have no idea how this show is going to turn out.  I suspect i will find it a guilty pleasure.  But I am generally in favor of things that don't stay static.  That frustrates me as fan of comic books, and the willingness to branch out is how the New Riverdale comics and Afterlife with Archie hooked this almost 40-year-old.

[janeta]

I had no idea this had anything to do with Archie...i too thought it was a long drawn out whodunnit. Oh well, i'll see how it goes.

and since i never read the comic--are Cheryl and Jason and Miss Grundy in the original books?

Edited January 27, 2017 by janeta

[RandomWatcher]

I didn't love it, but I didn't completely hate it.  I'll likely stick with it because I have nothing else to watch on Thursday night and I'm not about to binge watch Supernatural.

[benteen]

Yeah, it was weird and brooding.  Kind of like Archie, who is a bit of a statue in this.  Maybe he's taking lessons from a super wrinkled Luke Perry.  The actress who plays Veronica is great though and the Betty and Veronica dynamic is the strongest.

Jughead is a shitty writer.

Edited January 27, 2017 by benteen

[SimoneS]

This is a typical CW show, all white with token diversity. I do like the actress who plays Veronica a lot. She is compelling. Archie, Betty, and everyone else not so much although Jughead might be interesting if he gets more to do.

[Bort]

I like the cast, but the writing leaves a lot to be desired. Reminds me a lot of Pretty Little Liars, which has the same problem. Good cast, shitty writing. I liked Betty and Veronica a lot, which is good, since they seem to be the lynchpin characters. 

Archie looks uncannily like Stefan from Vampire Diaries. It was kind of freaking me out.

[Chaos Theory]

Ok I tried with this show but by the end of the episode I want Betty to just kill everyone in the town.  Pretty good indicator I am not going to like the show.

Although I did think Betty and Veronica had much better chemistry with each other then either of them had with Archie.

[callie lee 29]

I grew up on Archie (early 40's here), every once in awhile I'll pick up a double digest at the check out line, and this is not the Archie I grew up on. But that's okay. As much as I love that comic it probably wouldn't make great tv. I thought this was pretty good. It's gonna be a learning curve for me to get used to, but that's fine. Beats anything else on at the hour. 

I will say there's something about Veronica that's throwing me off. Not sure what it is.

Edited January 31, 2017 by callie lee 29

[WhosThatGirl]

Luke Perry is playing a dad.

Thats all for right now.

[SeanC]

35 minutes ago, janeta said:

and since i never read the comic--are Cheryl and Jason and Miss Grundy in the original books?

Yes to all three.  Though Miss Grundy has been, ah, considerably reimagined.

[Sakura12]

35 minutes ago, janeta said:

and since i never read the comic--are Cheryl and Jason and Miss Grundy in the original books?

Yes. However Miss Grundy is an old woman. Cheryl and Jason also went to the rich prep school not Riverdale. Basically this show is using all the names from the comics but none of the personalities. 

It was okay, not great. I'll give a couple more episodes. I do hope that the mystery isn't as simple as Cheryl killing Jason. Of course it looked like they were hinting at a Game of Throne story with Twincest between those two.

I do like Veronica. The rest of them are okay. The writing is weak and cliche. But I usually give pilots a pass, because 9 out of 10 times pilots are terrible. That's why I give shows 4 episodes to make a decision on whether or not continue watching. 

[ihavenoidea]

Archie was the least entertaining character in the entire episode.

I liked it though.

[HunterHunted]

On Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 2:17 PM, palmaire said:

I don't have any feelings or nostalgia about the comics one way or the other but am in, at least initially, for the whiff of a Twin Peaks-ian mystery vibe, and because of my lasting fondness for the Everwood and Jack and Bobby era Berlanti.

3 hours ago, starri said:

That's fine, no one should be forcing you to like or watch it.  All I'm saying is that about ten, fifteen years ago, Archie came to a point where they, as a company, had to evolve or die.  They chose to evolve, and it's worked out pretty well for them.  

I have no idea how this show is going to turn out.  I suspect i will find it a guilty pleasure.  But I am generally in favor of things that don't stay static.  That frustrates me as fan of comic books, and the willingness to branch out is how the New Riverdale comics and Afterlife with Archie hooked this almost 40-year-old.

 

I was not a fan of the old Archie comics. Everytime I've dipped into the newer Riverdale and Archie stuff, I've really enjoyed it. I appreciate the willingness of TPTB at Archie Comics to change and innovate. I liked the pilot. I'll give it a chance.

[bmoore4026]

Well, I'm liking this, so far.  I'm totally in Team Veronica's corner, though I do like Betty.   And, yes, they are a better focus for this show than Archie.

And Cheryl Blossom needs a house dropped on her.

I loved the little touch with Riverdale's town motto being a town "with Pep" because they all the characters first appeared in Pep Comics.

Still don't know why they couldn't have made Moose blonde or 6'5".  I can understand why they've backed away from making him borderline mentally retarded.  That shit won't fly nowadays.

And all three of Josie and The Pussycats are black.  I'm cool with it.  Just wondering if their bitch manager or Bleep will show up.  Given this show, Bleep will have a meth addiction.  Go ahead, picture that.

Still don't know why Ms. Grundy is hot...and fucking Archie.  Given that I'm picturing the two as their comic counterparts, it makes  me want to scrub myself raw with a chicken.

Edited January 30, 2017 by bmoore4026
Because it was Bleep and not Gleep

[CatMomma]

8 minutes ago, benteen said:

Yeah, it was weird and brooding.  Kind of like Archie, who is a bit of a statue in this.  Maybe he's taking lessons from a super wrinkled Luke Perry.  The actress who plays Veronica is great though and the Betty and Veronica dynamic is the strongest.

Jughead is a shitty writer.

This.  Betty and Veronica were the only parts of the show I found interesting and I kept wishing it was a show entirely about them. It was a little teen angsty for my taste, but both were the strongest actors on the show and I felt real affection for both characters.

But, damn, Veronica  Why did you have to go there?  That just pissed me off. I expected it from Archie because he seems like a bit of an idiot. I know it was a love triangle in the comics, but I thought the show would approach it better and, ya know, maybe make it hard for Veronica and Archie to act on their attraction. But, nope, Betty opens up to Veronica, so of COURSE she can't last more than a few minutes without resisting the magic that is Archie. I really wanted to see a strong female friendship without a boy getting between them.

Speaking of, why the hell is every awful person on this show a woman? Even Betty's sister was a victim of the mother, not the guy who played her emotions and led her on.  

I'll give it a few more episodes, but if the show continues in this direction, I can't watch.  

[SeanC]

Archie banging Miss Grundy? Slander! Archie would never do anything that potentially interesting.

I enjoyed this overall. I do sort of wonder whether this series would work better without the Archie Comics connection, in the sense that a lot of the goofy names kind of take me out of it whenever they're brought up (and we haven't really gotten much of people using "Jughead" yet). But of course, the Archie tie-in probably got this greenlit.

Betty and Veronica are definitely the stars of this, thus far (the actress playing Veronica, especially, is really good). Which, I suppose, isn't much different from the comics. Incidentally, the Betty/Veronica kiss that was clearly included solely so that it could be used out-of-context in the trailers amused me (unless this is heading toward an Archie/Betty/Veronica threesome, which, I guess, since this episode involved them both going as Archie's dates, shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, heh).

The show has a decent visual style so far, which is nice.

Also, the best actual "Dark Archie" will always be the "Last of the Innocent" arc of Ed Brubaker's Criminal comic.

Edited January 27, 2017 by SeanC

[jay741982]

I'm in on this show. Agreed with the poster who said Betty and Veronica seem to have more chemistry with each other than with Archie. Also hoping it's not Cheryl that killed Jason and definitely picked up on the twincest vibes. Felt bad for Betty her mother sounds and seems horrid with basically driving her sister to that home plus being in love with Archie who'd rather kiss the new girl and bang the teacher than have any romantic feelings for someone he calls prefect yet feels he doesn't deserve her . My theory for who killed Jason is Polly broke out and killed him OR Daddy Cooper 

[NorthstarATL]

It was cute enough. Some things worked better than others. I liked that they made Veronica and Betty friends before the inevitable triangling of things, and that neither Archie or Veronica intentionally set out to hurt Betty, even though it was bound to happen. I also liked that they made Lodge a Bernie  Madoff character. I thought they could have fleshed out Jughead more than just making him suddenly a writer and omniscient voiceover. Why not use Kevin for that, since he was more involved?

  What did Josie and the Cats do to have that horrible song foisted upon them? There HAD to be a better period piece to at least allow them to show why they are a "big thing".  Reggie probably should have been Kevin's hookup. A much better choice than Faux Moose IMO.

  Apa's cute. I spent two seasons with Abe's hair on Walking Dead, so I have no problem with dye jobs. Wonder why they didn't budget some blonde for Kevin and Moose, though. You'd think that would be more common.

  My original guess about Jason

Spoiler

may have been wrong, as it was based upon him not being IN the show. But since he's been cast, then my assumption is that Betty's crazy sister killed him, because it affects the cast, but doesn't make one of them the killer.

[jay741982]

4 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Archie banging Miss Grundy? Slander! Archie would never do anything that potentially interesting.

I enjoyed this overall. I do sort of wonder whether this series would work better without the Archie Comics connection, in the sense that a lot of the goofy names kind of take me out of it whenever they're brought up (and we haven't really gotten much of people using "Jughead" yet). But of course, the Archie tie-in probably got this greenlit.

Betty and Veronica are definitely the stars of this, thus far (the actress playing Veronica, especially, is really good). Which, I suppose, isn't much different from the comics. Incidentally, the Betty/Veronica kiss that was clearly included solely so that it could be used out-of-context in the trailers amused me (unless this is heading toward an Archie/Betty/Veronica threesome, which, I guess, since this episode involved them both going as Archie's dates, shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, heh).

The show has a decent visual style so far, which is nice.

Also, the best actual "Dark Archie" will always be the "Last of the Innocent" arc of Ed Brubaker's Criminal comic.

I think Veronica and Betty should hook up. I so rolled my eyes and got tickedwhen Veronica sang Bettys prasies yet kisses Archie. The scene made me dislike her and yes I wish their relationship wouldn't be ruined by a man. So Archie just can't resist Miss Grundy and Veronica yet has Betty on a pedestal am I seeing this right?

[Sakura12]

I'm all for Betty and Veronica ditching Archie and dating each other. They are both much more interesting then he is. I know they are trying to show him as the brooding, mysterious, irresistible, musician, but so far he's just dull. 

Yeah, it's good that they changed Moose's character, that would not work in this day and age. I wonder if they'll make Jughead asexual in this version since they can go further with it then the comics. 

Betty's sister Polly is also in the comics, only she's a successful business woman in San Francisco. 

[jay741982]

8 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

I'm all for Betty and Veronica ditching Archie and dating each other. They are both much more interesting then he is. I know they are trying to show him as the brooding, mysterious, irresistible, musician, but so far he's just dull. 

Yeah, it's good that they changed Moose's character, that would not work in this day and age. I wonder if they'll make Jughead asexual in this version since they can go further with it then the comics. 

Betty's sister Polly is also in the comics, only she's a successful business woman in San Francisco. 

Betty and Veronica are definitely more interesting than Archie. I agree that Moose from Comics wouldn't work in this show. As for Jughead being Asexual. There's an interview where Cole Sprouse says he fought for Jughead to be Asexual to no Avail

[memememe76]

I liked it. I am in the for the season. Is Kevin in the comics? I thought Reggie would be the closet gay but I am fine with Moose. 

[jay741982]

39 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Ok I tried with this show but by the end of the episode I want Betty to just kill everyone in the town.  Pretty good indicator I am not going to like the show.

Although I did think Betty and Veronica had much better chemistry with each other then either of them had with Archie.

LOL yeah by the end the character I liked the most was Betty. What Archie and Veronica did ticked me off

[MarkHB]

10 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

I liked it. I am in the for the season. Is Kevin in the comics? I thought Reggie would be the closet gay but I am fine with Moose. 

Yes, they introduced Kevin several (probably more than several now that I think of it) years ago.  I wonder if they'll do much with Reggie; I don't know if they'll need much of him for smartassery and conflicts given the way the show is structured.

The show is actually a lot better than I had expected; I loved Veronica's "my specialty is ice" speech.

[willco]

I'm about 100 years past the target audience for this show ( I actually bought the comics as a kid, they were 25 cents then !),  but I wanted to see what they did with it. I didn't hate it, I rolled my eyes at times, but I'm a sucker for a mystery. Thing is, the mystery- Jason's death- doesn't seem that compelling. At first, I guessed that it was suicide, but no one shoots themselves in the forehead. So, it's murder, but it won't be the sister. Actually, it might be interesting depending on where they go from here. I'll watch for a while, but can't say I'm sold for the long-term, like I can for some shows. That I know.

[Lady Calypso]

As a kid, I was a huge fan of the Archie comics. It's been a little over seven years since I've last read them so there are characters that I have to pause to remember, but I was not looking forward to this show because I knew it would ruin the nostalgia.

That being said, it did take me about halfway to enjoy it enough to continue.

I am on Team Get Away From Archie, since I don't find him appealing and don't see how three girls are in love with him. Well, it seems like more than that but the main three of Betty, Veronica, and Miss. Grundy (oh, I miss the original Miss. Grundy). I have no interest in Archie/Miss Grundy and it actually makes me feel grossed out. If she doesn't get arrested at some point this season, I'll be disappointed. I really don't like her already. 

I am so rooting for Betty and Veronica to choose each other over Archie. I don't know what they see in him, since he's probably the blandest male in a sea of bland males. It's actually a fairly bland show to begin with. The lighting makes me want to fall asleep, and the characters deliver their lines with a slight monotone voice. 

I loved Veronica up until they decided that she would make out with Archie. I'm really hoping it was just because it's the pilot and nothing more. She may have the most personality, but I do think they're going to absolutely tarnish Betty and Veronica in favour of a stupid guy. It might not even happen right now, but I can see Veronica slipping back to her old ways and turning on Betty for whatever reason. I am not looking forward to that at all. 

I like Betty the best. The actress may not be the strongest, but she's still actually good. I like her introvertedness, and I've always enjoyed Betty the best in the comics. Plus, her relationship with her mom seems like it'll be the most interesting.

I liked Jughead in the little that we got of him.

35 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Betty and Veronica are definitely more interesting than Archie. I agree that Moose from Comics wouldn't work in this show. As for Jughead being Asexual. There's an interview where Cole Sprouse says he fought for Jughead to be Asexual to no Avail

I'm definitely sad if this is really the case. Having Jughead as an asexual male would really be groundbreaking. As an asexual woman, there hasn't been proper representation in any sort of media and having Jughead as officially asexual in the comics would have really made strides on television. 

I do think the mystery is going to be one thing that keeps me watching. I'm always a sucker for a good mystery. Cheryl and Jason definitely seemed to have a Twincest vibe, so I won't be surprised when that's the major secret Cheryl's keeping. I'd find it interesting if she killed her brother, but right now, I don't even have any good guesses. Maybe Polly, but I wonder if that's too obvious as well. Maybe Betty's mom? 

I'm sold because of Betty, Betty/Veronica, Jughead, and the mystery for now. I'm still warming up to the other characters. Oh, and maybe Mr. Andrews. Not only because of Luke Perry, but his "don't lie to me" speech was surprisingly well done. 

[Pete Martell]

4 hours ago, starri said:

That's fine, no one should be forcing you to like or watch it.  All I'm saying is that about ten, fifteen years ago, Archie came to a point where they, as a company, had to evolve or die.  They chose to evolve, and it's worked out pretty well for them.  

I have no idea how this show is going to turn out.  I suspect i will find it a guilty pleasure.  But I am generally in favor of things that don't stay static.  That frustrates me as fan of comic books, and the willingness to branch out is how the New Riverdale comics and Afterlife with Archie hooked this almost 40-year-old.

The changes I'm talking about in the comics weren't from 10-15 years ago, they were a few years ago when they basically decided readers should only like the "new" and "edgy" Archie (the new comics and this Dawson's Creek/Twin Peaks thing) to the point where no other material is now even published, outside of reprints. So that's not for me. It's not that I object to change in of itself. It's that I have no desire to see what they apparently now see as brilliant (like Ms. Grundy nailing Archie). But if that's what gets readers, if they love the show as well, more power to them, we all need something to enjoy in the world. 

Edited January 27, 2017 by Pete Martell

[jumper sage]

4 hours ago, starri said:

That's fine, no one should be forcing you to like or watch it.  All I'm saying is that about ten, fifteen years ago, Archie came to a point where they, as a company, had to evolve or die.  They chose to evolve, and it's worked out pretty well for them.  

I have no idea how this show is going to turn out.  I suspect i will find it a guilty pleasure.  But I am generally in favor of things that don't stay static.  That frustrates me as fan of comic books, and the willingness to branch out is how the New Riverdale comics and Afterlife with Archie hooked this almost 40-year-old.

I have loved the Archies since the early 1960s and still get the digests.  I remember the reboot and I liked it.  Do you have the dual editions of Archie marrying each of the girls.........................................?  So good!

I am all in on this show!  Did I miss Jughead? 

[jay741982]

5 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

As a kid, I was a huge fan of the Archie comics. It's been a little over seven years since I've last read them so there are characters that I have to pause to remember, but I was not looking forward to this show because I knew it would ruin the nostalgia.

That being said, it did take me about halfway to enjoy it enough to continue.

I am on Team Get Away From Archie, since I don't find him appealing and don't see how three girls are in love with him. Well, it seems like more than that but the main three of Betty, Veronica, and Miss. Grundy (oh, I miss the original Miss. Grundy). I have no interest in Archie/Miss Grundy and it actually makes me feel grossed out. If she doesn't get arrested at some point this season, I'll be disappointed. I really don't like her already. 

I am so rooting for Betty and Veronica to choose each other over Archie. I don't know what they see in him, since he's probably the blandest male in a sea of bland males. It's actually a fairly bland show to begin with. The lighting makes me want to fall asleep, and the characters deliver their lines with a slight monotone voice. 

I loved Veronica up until they decided that she would make out with Archie. I'm really hoping it was just because it's the pilot and nothing more. She may have the most personality, but I do think they're going to absolutely tarnish Betty and Veronica in favour of a stupid guy. It might not even happen right now, but I can see Veronica slipping back to her old ways and turning on Betty for whatever reason. I am not looking forward to that at all. 

I like Betty the best. The actress may not be the strongest, but she's still actually good. I like her introvertedness, and I've always enjoyed Betty the best in the comics. Plus, her relationship with her mom seems like it'll be the most interesting.

I liked Jughead in the little that we got of him.

I'm definitely sad if this is really the case. Having Jughead as an asexual male would really be groundbreaking. As an asexual woman, there hasn't been proper representation in any sort of media and having Jughead as officially asexual in the comics would have really made strides on television. 

I do think the mystery is going to be one thing that keeps me watching. I'm always a sucker for a good mystery. Cheryl and Jason definitely seemed to have a Twincest vibe, so I won't be surprised when that's the major secret Cheryl's keeping. I'd find it interesting if she killed her brother, but right now, I don't even have any good guesses. Maybe Polly, but I wonder if that's too obvious as well. Maybe Betty's mom? 

I'm sold because of Betty, Betty/Veronica, Jughead, and the mystery for now. I'm still warming up to the other characters. Oh, and maybe Mr. Andrews. Not only because of Luke Perry, but his "don't lie to me" speech was surprisingly well done. 

Betty is definitely my fave and Jughead is intriguing and so is the mystery . Like you I didn't want them tarnishing Betty/Veronica for a guy. Guh the stupid closet scene with Veronica and Archie was eye roll worthy. Betty is the only one of the three who I feel loves Archie . The other two are lust. Though Bettys mom is Horrid I think her words of warning about the lady Lodges will cause Betty to not trust Veronica which Frankly after the closet scene she shouldn't something in her look made me feel she's not guilty about the kiss

[MarkHB]

10 minutes ago, jumper sage said:

I am all in on this show!  Did I miss Jughead? 

He is the guy writing in the booth in Pop's.  If you look closely, that beanie he's wearing is cut in the shape of a crown.

[PTVjones]

I find this show to be the best and the worst things about prototypical WB/CW shows combined. 

I echo the poster who said that Archie looks remarkably like Stefan Salvatore. However, even when Stefan was simply Elena's love interest, I found his character to be entirely more compelling than this Archie. However it is a pilot and I'll give that time. 

Betty and Veronica, or Joey (the girl from home that gets no love) and Jenn (the girl from NY that's instantly loved) are the best parts of the show. Even though honestly for Veronica's character it really DOES NOT make sense that she'd hook up with Archie. A girl who went to Spence in Manhattan  of all schools wouldn't give Archie the time of day, even if she's trying to be a reformed good girl. If she did, I think it would take more than what... the first few days of school? 

The dialogue seemed overly affected, too referential for no real point. Again, perhaps this is the Dawson influence but I guess there's a microscopic line between overly self aware and pretension.

Will watch the next few episodes to see where it goes... 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I really liked it.  I stan Veronica already.  By the end of the episode I was really won over.  Veronica is perfect, mentioning television and movies randomly for no reason?  It's so me.  I loved that shot of her amazing body in the previews.  LOL. She's not stick thin; she's very curvy.  I love how the way she looks and they way they do her makeup makes her look like an actual cartoon drawing.

Archie is the weirdest.  The actor who plays Betty seems great so far.  Like a more talented version of the blonde on Quantico.

Yeah, why no Reggie?  Interesting.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Racj82]

1 hour ago, MarkHB said:

He is the guy writing in the booth in Pop's.  If you look closely, that beanie he's wearing is cut in the shape of a crown.

Archie also calls him Jughead.

Why do teens shows have to so often be formulaic?

Love triangle out the gate

The unsubtle gay guy who sleeps around. Oh and the closeted gay jock.

Bitch female queen of the show with underlings.

Parents of the teen characters have their own backstory.

For the love a god, stop with the statutory rape plot lines. I this happens in real life. Far too often. But, it being used as shocking/titillating storyline is played the fuck out. It was shocking on Dawson's Creek in the late 90s. It's 2017. Just stop.

Stop reaching for the easiest cliches.

[Lord Kira]

Meh.  The show was pretty generic. Not bad, not great. Just generic. Generic characters, mean cheerleaders, murder mystery, teacher/student plot, etc. Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill did most of these things over a decade ago so there is a lot of 'been there, done that' with this show. It really didn't do anything new.

Archie himself is the weakest thing about the series so far. He just your typical bland, pale-faced, angsty character that all of the women love for some reason. He's like Edward Cullen or Stefan Salvatore. The acting was mediocre compared to literally every other character. Every time he was on screen I was bored.

If I was a hardcore Archie fan I would be annoyed at them making Moose bisexual, but as I was never that deep into the Archie franchise the change doesn't bother me. But I feel for any fans that may be upset. I get upset at changes from source material all the time when I was adaptations of work I like. 

I never read much of the material with Kevin so I can't comment on him much, but I was amused at Cheryl calling him out as the gay best friend. Ha. The actor was solid though.

Cheryl Blossom was the cliched mean girl that was old 20 years ago. Maybe the show will use some of her Afterlife with Archie background to make her more sympathetic.

Reggie was there.

The adult characters were fine. This was my first real exposure to Hermione Lodge in any form, given that my experience with the Archie world so far has been Afterlife with Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (go read them). Hermione was fine. A bit predictable but the actress was good enough and she had some good moments with Veronica.

Luke Perry was good. I'm glad the show avoided the cliche of having the father push his son to play sports and take over the family business. He was just upset at his son lying to. I did like his scene with Hermione and not hiring her.

What saved the show for me was the Betty/Veronica dynamic, mostly because of the actresses that portray them. They are very talented and were the only characters in the show that had any chemistry.  They pulled my attention in every scene the were in. The only thing that annoys me if the love triangle. I know the love triangle is a staple of the Archie franchise, but I can't see what makes Archie so amazing on this show.  I can already tell the fandom with ship Betty/Veronica way more than any pairing involving Archie. The writers would be smart to have them as the focus of the show.

I'll tune in next week mainly for Betty and Veronica. Hopefully it gets better.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Lord Kira

[starri]

4 hours ago, Pete Martell said:

The changes I'm talking about in the comics weren't from 10-15 years ago, they were a few years ago when they basically decided readers should only like the "new" and "edgy" Archie (the new comics and this Dawson's Creek/Twin Peaks thing) to the point where no other material is now even published, outside of reprints.

The Digests usually feature some new material, done in the old house style.

I was actually pretty impressed.  I don't know what exactly I was quite expecting, but How to Get Away with Murder crossed with Archie actually worked.  Perhaps because they managed to mostly cast a bunch of appealing people.  And I was impressed by KJ Apa's American accent.  I kept waiting for him to slip and I don't think he did.

Breakout character is clearly Veronica.  And I hope they continue with Jughead Mars.  I'm still disappointed they're going away from him being asexual, because I think that would help them lean into the idea of him being Riverdale's ultimate outsider.

[Chaos Theory]

I've never particularly liked comics.  I don't hate them.  They are just not my thing.  I do enjoy the movies/Tv they have spawned thow.

That being said this reminds me of why I stopped whatching The Affair. A dude I thought was a first rate asshole that everyone on the show was madly and eternally in love with.  Don't get it.  Archie seems to me to be exactly the kind of guy I don't like that will spend their series breaking the heart of Betty the one character I actually do.  

So unless the show is going to turn Betty into a first rate monster/serial killer (like they did with the Anne Hale in the underrated but awesome WGM Salem) I am probably going to be out.  

[Sakura12]

7 hours ago, PTVjones said:

Betty and Veronica, or Joey (the girl from home that gets no love) and Jenn (the girl from NY that's instantly loved) are the best parts of the show.

The creator of Dawson's Creek based Joey and Jen off of Betty and Veronica since they were around first. 

As a fan of the comics from years ago when I read them all the time. I'm fine with making the edgier and modern, but that doesn't mean giving it every teen cliche from last 20 years. Sleeping with the teacher not that shocking. Plus Pacey's teacher was more shocking because she didn't look like she just graduated from college. 

They should make Jughead Asexual because that's a story that hasn't been told before on a teen drama, while the closeted jock has. 

I would even have Betty and Veronica realize they don't need broody dull Archie and drop him and become BFF's. 

[palmaire]

Maybe it's still coming or my eyes have gritted over, but I didn't see the promised darkness or subversiveness. It's a teen soap with all the expected archetypes. There are crushes, secrets, and a dead guy but daytime serials have explored that territory for 50+ years. I thought it was well enough done but turns out I have no interest. The actors aren't egregiously old to be playing sophomores but they seem so to me.

Cheryl Blossom did make me grit my teeth in impatience, if that counts.

[benteen]

Quote

The adult characters were fine. This was my first real exposure to Hermione Lodge in any form, given that my experience with the Archie world so far has been Afterlife with Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (go read them).

I would definitely recommend them if it wasn't for the fact that they only release about 1-2 new issues a year.  That's because the writer of Afterlife was so involved in getting this series created.  Mark Waid's current Archie series is excellent and I've enjoyed the Jughead series too.

I didn't realize that was Moose at the end.  The problem with not casting someone who looks like comic book Moose.

Having read Archie Comics over the years, I've always favored Betty more but I like Veronica more here.

Edited January 27, 2017 by benteen

[ZoloftBlob]

Quote

A dude I thought was a first rate asshole that everyone on the show was madly and eternally in love with.  Don't get it.  Archie seems to me to be exactly the kind of guy I don't like that will spend their series breaking the heart of Betty the one character I actually do.

I'm not quite "This!" yet but getting there. It's more, to me, that Riverdale isn't anywhere near as small as my high school was so it isn't as though Betty really doesn't have many other options to choose from. What I'd like to see, which won't happen judging by the tone of the show, is for relatively smart and witty Betty to accept that Archie isn't ready for a real relationship and maybe neither is she, and for her to remain friends with him but accept she can do better for a boyfriend. Like, I am not ready to say Archie is just a straight up asshole but if he keeps it up, he's there.

As I put it to a friend, this show is just utter trashy guilty pleasure. Like if we rebooted Scooby Doo and everyone was gay and into drugs. Hey didn't Josie and the Pussycats cross over with that too? :D

Also - NONE of them look young enough to be in high school.

[DearEvette]

I decided to watch.  But yeah, it feels like they made a salad of every other CW show and then put some Twin Peaks dressing on it.  But even that wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't made the characters so flat.  Not a single of one them has nuance.  Veronica is the best of the lot but then they just had to make her kiss Archie.  Also even for CW the writing is bad.  Josie's overly explanatory expositional introduction was horrible.  I felt bad for both the actress and the character to be saddled with that shit monologue.  Who talks like that?

I'll try it once or twice more but almost solely because of Veronica.  She's doing the heavy lifting.  The actress who plays Betty is also good and I have to admit I am interested to see how they develop B&V's friendship.