S01.E01: The Resurrection

[luckyroll3]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

isn't Salim Akil the showrunner?  He wrote the pilot and if so, I think this show will maintain its flavor

I'm still salty about how the Akil's ruined The Game, so......

 

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

also rather than standing around and watching the bad guy get beaten up by the superhero, their asses ran!

That was great!  Also, when both sisters, individually, showed that they can defend themselves when appropriate.  Seemed very true to life for 2 girls raised by a single dad.

[Monty9]

I liked it, a lot. My nitpick is that Black Lightning seemed to take a long time to get to the motel. He walks to the tailor, they discuss supersuits (without a cape! Edna Mole would have approved), and it's night before he gets there.  But I liked the action, the cast was great, he had cool powers, and I really liked the reveal of the older daughters superpowers.

 

[shallow] When the shower scene was happening

me: Woo! [/shallow]

[Enero]

From the previews this looked really cheesy, but I decided to check it out due to the cast. Loved it! And it wasn't cheesy at all. 

It was sad seeing Amanda Davis doing the reporting at the start of the episode. She was a long time anchor woman here in Atlanta who passed away unexpectedly last month. 

I really enjoyed all the relationships right off, the sisters, Jefferson and his daughters, the relationship with his ex-wife and the list goes on and on.

I agree with others who stated that Lala was chilling right off the bat. I didn't find the guy he worked for all that scary and like others found him to be a little off, but perhaps he'll get better with more screentime. 

Like with all these superhero shows I couldn't help but ask, when BL was rescuing his daughters from the hotel, how they could not recognize him. LOL. I mean really, he has such a distinctive look that even that suit can't hide. LOL. 

Interesting twist with Jennifer having some kind of power. I wonder if Anissa has it too, but it just hasn't manifested yet?

Anyway, I'm all the way in with this one. Very excited to see where this goes. 

Edited January 17, 2018 by Enero

[Twilight Man]

4 hours ago, OoogleEyes said:

Wait, so the daughter has superpowers too? Did she know before this?? (I never read the comic)

Awesome 

Spoiler

 

Anissa is Thunder and Jennifer is Lightning.   The two have appeared (much, much younger) in a few DC Comics Shorts that they used to show in between the Green Lantern cartoon and Young Justice.

They also got a few moments dedicated to them (now a bit older) in DC Super Hero Girls shorts as well.

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by saoirse
Added spoiler tags

[phoenics]

3 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

This times a billion... I love Iris.. But it's like she's not a blk woman... I mean it Never comes up... Is central city like salt Lake or somn.. Same goes for Cisco.. I don't need a lot but come on show.. I mean on arrow at least felicity gets to talk abt being Jewish  and legends made a note of it a few times with jax and the new lady... Hell even James pointed it out in season one of supergirl... But Joe west a blk cop.. Iris west Allen a blk reporter.. Hell even captain Singh  barely ever.. If ever make note if their minority status... Like not talking abt it makes it go away... And Barry... Raised by a blk man and it never shows or comes up in anything... Ugh.. Still love the show

I feel the exact same way - it's part of why I loved Black Lightning - the show is very grounded in blackness and a reality where mentioning blackness is normal.  It's very telling to me that Arrow highlights the Jewish background of Felicity Smoak (and she's white passing - so would you know she was Jewish if she didn't identify verbally?), yet they don't delve into the blackness of the West family on The Flash.  The only time they've ever done that was with Wally saying "white shadow" and Barry looking at his hand when Wally said they were brothers (when Barry had amnesia).  

Such a terrible missed opportunity with The Flash to call it out in subtle and respectful ways - but I suspect the lack of black (women) writers in the writing room is part of the reason why.

Black Lightning has black showrunners/producers and a diverse writing room, so they pull this off flawlessly.

[formerlyfreedom]

Just posted this in the main forum, but please avoid comic spoilers in episode topics; if you feel it's important, please use spoiler tags. Thank you!

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Monty9 said:

[shallow] When the shower scene was happening

me: Woo! [/shallow]

Same.

[Ohwell]

Same.

[mxc90]

I had to laugh at how many times crazy Will got beaten up in this episode.  

1. Kicked in the groin from Jennifer

2. Took a punch from La La

3. Pistol whipped by La La

4. Flipped over to the ground by Anissa

5. Electrocuted and dropped on his car from Black Lighting

It goes to show: sometimes you can't knock sense into people.

[Lady Calypso]

What a strong pilot, and it made me feel for each of the main characters. I had a difficult time getting through the first episode of Luke Cage, but this definitely surpasses it in terms of originality and intrigue.

I felt myself enjoying each of the Pierces, even teenager Jennifer, who could have easily got on my nerves. I do like that the girls have a solid relationship. I also like that we weren't dropped into an origin story with Black Lightning, although it looks like we're getting an origin story with Anissa instead. She seemed mighty surprised at the end.

I'll learn all of their names hopefully soon. I will say that La La is definitely not an intimidating name, though he is an intimidating character. Maybe that was the point? To have a less intimidating name to not be underestimated? 

Harpoon Guy, whose name already escapes me, was verging on a bit corny, but I'll give him another chance. The detective was an interesting character, as was James Remar's character. 

I enjoyed the atmosphere, the music, and even the special effects. I'm definitely in for the long haul. 

[Galileo908]

I thought this was a hell of a ride, can't wait to see what comes next!

[retrograde]

Really enjoyed this. I'm not familiar with the comics, but love that the hero is an older guy with kids and an ex-wife and some life experience behind him. Makes for a refreshing change from the other CWDC shows. 

[rmontro]

6 minutes ago, retrograde said:

Really enjoyed this. I'm not familiar with the comics, but love that the hero is an older guy with kids and an ex-wife and some life experience behind him. Makes for a refreshing change from the other CWDC shows. 

That's what really stood out for me too, that the main character was an older adult.  I was expecting BL to be much younger.  I guess they have the kids to balance that out, but I really liked the change.

This show reminds me a lot of Luke Cage, it has a similar feel and setup, but actually feels a little grittier.

They seemed to go out of their way to show the actions of the bad cops.  Not sure they needed to fan the flames of that particular dysfunctional relationship.  One incident of profiling would have been enough probably.

[Quickbeam]

Just watched. Loved it. I realized when there are that many people of color on a show the lighting is finally tailored to their tones! You get to see all the warmth and architecture of the face. We really enjoyed this especially the actor playing BL. He’s huge and really holds his screen time well.  

[rollacoaster]

7 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Just watched. Loved it. I realized when there are that many people of color on a show the lighting is finally tailored to their tones! You get to see all the warmth and architecture of the face. We really enjoyed this especially the actor playing BL. He’s huge and really holds his screen time well.  

You are so right about the lighting! Everyone just glows. 

I could weep for joy at the awesomeness of this show. I want it to last a long, long time. Please, TPTB, DO NOT screw this up!

[diebartdie]

I thought it was a great show, a special show, an awesome show and it had one heck of a sound track! I fully believe it is not part of the Arrorverse though, as much as I love all those shows, they are just all so silly compared to this one. Fantastic!

[miracole]

Quote

 I fully believe it is not part of the Arrorverse though, as much as I love all those shows, they are just all so silly compared to this one. Fantastic!

I hope the Arrowverse stays far away from this show. I saw more smart, reasonable and competent people on one episode of this show then I've seen in all the years of Arrowverse shows combined. Also Black Lightning got a shout out on ESPN's SportsNation today!

[UNOSEZ]

29 minutes ago, miracole said:

I hope the Arrowverse stays far away from this show. I saw more smart, reasonable and competent people on one episode of this show then I've seen in all the years of Arrowverse shows combined. Also Black Lightning got a shout out on ESPN's SportsNation today!

That cuz we all been waiting so long for something like this.. That's inclusive representative.. And most importantly good.. That's why I can't wait for blk panther 

[RachelKM]

Just finished watching this on recommendation from a friend (I was wary after getting burned out by Arrow and The Flash).  OMG, I loved this show! Please TV Gods, the the show carry on at this level.  I felt all the characters were grounded and well established in the time allotted and I like the case (Hello, Cress Williams. I've missed you, Mayor Hayes)

People have generally expressed most of my thoughts.  So I'll just say that I hope the ex wife is a significant character presence.  She and Jefferson had a ton of chemistry and I liked what we saw of her in this episode. (Also, really like the actress.  I've seen her in a number of things.)

[In2You]

I've been wanting a Black Lightning show since those DC shorts years ago. This show exceeded my expectations. Finally a superhero show where being black is not ignored. Where topics that truly affect the community are acknowledged. 

They already did a solid by casting Christine Adams and China Mcclain and Nafessa and Cress definitely impressed me.

On 1/16/2018 at 10:02 PM, Lantern7 said:

 

Geez . . . that was painful to watch, and that's with tonight's Flash factored in. No, I like it. The concept of Black Lightning has a solid foundation, and it's a pity he's relegated to this string. Also, he was only represented by proxy in cartoons (Black Vulcan and Surge; I wouldn't be shock - heh - if BL served as inspiration for Static). Also, we don't have somebody starting out like Ollie, Barry and Kara. No, we got a guy coming back because he had no choice.

 

Black Lightning was Static's mentor in the Young Justice cartoon. And not as a proxy but his actual name.

[mojoween]

I’ve glanced past and dismissed stories about this show for months and had no intention of watching it.  As it happened Tuesday morning, I was reading the paper and a story about Black Lighting was on the very last page and as I looked at the picture the name Cress Williams jumped out from the caption and I thought “dammit!  I have no time for more TV but how am I supposed to NOT watch this?”  I had no idea he was the star until Tuesday.

This isn’t even really my genre of show but I loved it anyways.

One thing that I was puzzled about was it seemed like Jeff gave up Black Lighting on the urging of Lynn.  But then when it’s HER daughters who need help suddenly she wants him out of retirement?  Interesting dynamic that I hope they explore in future eps.

[UNOSEZ]

10 minutes ago, doram said:

How is it puzzling she wasn't willing to sacrifice her children for her principles?

Lol.. Exactly..

[CletusMusashi]

I fear that any time somebody claims "I'm not afraid of The One Hundred," my immediate thought is always going to be "Well, you shouldn't be. It was a very silly show."

[MDKNIGHT]

I missed something.  Jefferson seemed surprised that his daughter was in the 100 club when he was talking to his ex but if he didn't know she was there, why did he go there?

I enjoyed it and am impressed that so far they are doing such a good job of mixing comic book over the topness with gritty realism.  Pirana aquariums with police profiling for instance.  I think the actors are doing well.  In a show like this you have to sell the seriousness or it falls into camp which is not where they want to go. 

 

I wanted to strangle the younger sister because rebellion is one thing but going to a club where they may sell you into white slavery is just rediculous.  OTOH I wish I could say real life teens are never that dumb and I can't, so I'm letting that go. 

I really like that the older sister got arrested for protesting against the 100 and that the police look at doing that as worse than BEING in the 100.  Unfortunately reminds me that before I went to peacefully protest in the Women's March last year some people were encouraging the police to beat us up for cluttering the side walk.  Fortunately the Washington DC cops were polite as they could be, and there was no violence.  I kind of feel bad for the nice cops that have to watch their job portrayed as a bunch of bigots abusing their power but OTOH portraying stuff that does happen, like being pulled over for no good reason, can be beneficial, shining a light on an injustice. 

BTW in case anybody thinks stuff like that doesn't happen I was once going to the wedding of my roommate in Long Island, dressed for a wedding, had a wedding gift in my lap, my dad was driving and we got pulled over for no reason.  Not speeding, no broken tail light, NO reason.  White cop asked us where we were going and why we were going there and didn't explain himself , then let us go.  In case you hadn't guessed we are not Caucasian.  That scene really brought it back.  I could feel Jeffersons's feelings... anger because it isn't fair, fear that you or a loved one can get hurt if something goes wrong, and embarrassment.   The actor showed it all on his face. 

I'm definitely continuing to watch.

[formerlyfreedom]

5 minutes ago, MDKNIGHT said:

I missed something.  Jefferson seemed surprised that his daughter was in the 100 club when he was talking to his ex but if he didn't know she was there, why did he go there?

He tracked her with some sort of smart phone app, so that's how he found her, but officially, he 'thought' she was at a small house party. It was brief, when he got home, and called Anissa to find out where Jennifer was, since she wasn't home.

[heat]

"I missed something.  Jefferson seemed surprised that his daughter was in the 100 club when he was talking to his ex but if he didn't know she was there, why did he go there?"

He was acting surprised because there were rumours on the news that Black Lightning was back, and he didn't want her to suspect that was true. 

[possibilities]

I don't usually go for superhero shows, but I loved this so much, I found myself squeeing repeatedly. I love that the daughters are not "damsels in distress" even when they're in trouble. I was worried the show would be about how Daddy Saves The Day and the girls would be a thorn in his side because of their chronic helpless reckless stupidity. But it's anything BUT that!! They are both tough and brave, he acknowledges their behavior as normal even when they do stuff that leads to trouble-- no victim blaming and no infantilizing. The women are all kick ass badass awesome-- smart AND gorgeous AND powerful.

And I love how ordinary everything is. I mean, other than the superpowers.

Big yes on this show!!

And I don't even usually like Cress Williams.

Kudos to everyone involved in making this thing.

The CW has not ruined Crazy Ex Girlfriend. It's remained subversive and awesome for 3 seasons now, and it was originally not meant for The CW, either (I think they had originally made it for Showtime). Rachel Bloom (CXG's showrunner) has said in interviews that they fully support her, and don't interfere with things that frankly I am shocked they get away with. So maybe there's hope that the network will celebrate and not tamper with Black Lightning, too.

[Chyromaniac]

Wait- a CW superhero without an entire mission control squad? Who apparently managed to keep a secret identity for years? Who doesn’t fight crime in Vancouver’s favorite warehouse, alley, parking garage, hospital room, or rooftop? Who has an actual job that they actually do? Who (for now, at least) has relationships with other characters, that don’t involve the crime fighting enterprise?

I’m in.

[Miss Dee]

The part that's still sticking with me days later is the fear and panic in Jefferson's voice as he begs his oldest daughter to keep her hands on the dashboard where the cops can see them.

Already 110% on board with this show.

[johntfs]

On 1/17/2018 at 11:02 PM, miracole said:

I hope the Arrowverse stays far away from this show. I saw more smart, reasonable and competent people on one episode of this show then I've seen in all the years of Arrowverse shows combined. Also Black Lightning got a shout out on ESPN's SportsNation today!

From Roland Martin (and holy shit, it's been a while since I've seen Roland Martin) Black Lightning takes place in a world that has other superpeople in it with his commentary on "heroes vs vigilantes."  I suspect that the show takes place on the same world/universe as Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. 

14 hours ago, Miss Dee said:

The part that's still sticking with me days later is the fear and panic in Jefferson's voice as he begs his oldest daughter to keep her hands on the dashboard where the cops can see them.

It's sticking with me, too.  This seems like a show that will be a bit of a breakthrough to White people making real certain aspects of Black life they wouldn't have gotten like "Why was he so spooked about the daughter's hands?  You mean he thought they could all really get shot by the police?  Holy shit, that's fucked up!"

I have to admit that scene makes me want Mick Rory from LoT to show up and "cook some bacon."

Edited January 21, 2018 by johntfs

[Dee]

This was pretty good; not flawless, but a definite step up from the usual CW fare.

[BaggythePanther]

13 hours ago, johntfs said:

From Roland Martin (and holy shit, it's been a while since I've seen Roland Martin) Black Lightning takes place in a world that has other superpeople in it with his commentary on "heroes vs vigilantes."  I suspect that the show takes place on the same world/universe as Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. 

It's sticking with me, too.  This seems like a show that will be a bit of a breakthrough to White people making real certain aspects of Black life they wouldn't have gotten like "Why was he so spooked about the daughter's hands?  You mean he thought they could all really get shot by the police?  Holy shit, that's fucked up!"

I have to admit that scene makes me want Mick Rory from LoT to show up and "cook some bacon."

 Could have sworn that “The Hood” was the first major vigilante on Earth 1, and The Flash (and other metas) were the first super powered people on Earth 1, so I think it’s just an Easter Egg. Or it’s social commentary about how Black Lightning was a vigilante for years but the general populace only took notice of vigilantes/super powered people once it hit white communities.

 

Also, I don’t think I’ve seen this mentioned: I was doing a rewatch and I noticed that when Black Lightning fought the 100 Gang his goggles were clear. When he came face to face with his daughters he hit a button and the goggles became opaque. I thought that was a nice touch.

[Quark]

I loved this.

[johntfs]

2 hours ago, BaggythePanther said:

 Could have sworn that “The Hood” was the first major vigilante on Earth 1, and The Flash (and other metas) were the first super powered people on Earth 1, so I think it’s just an Easter Egg. Or it’s social commentary about how Black Lightning was a vigilante for years but the general populace only took notice of vigilantes/super powered people once it hit white communities.

Except that we know for sure that your first statement is not true.  Hawkman and Hawkgirl were super-powered and reincarnated since the days of Ancient Egypt.  Several members of the Justice Society of America were also super-powered and this was back during World War II.  We may well find that dark matter was somehow involved in Black Lightning getting his powers.  Hell, it might turn out that Eobard Thawne as Harrison Wells was directly involved in that.

[BaggythePanther]

20 minutes ago, johntfs said:

Hell, it might turn out that Eobard Thawne as Harrison Wells was directly involved in that.

Please God, no.

[beadgirl]

This was good!  I like the take -- not an origin story, but a hero coming out of retirement.  The younger daughter I found kind of annoying and bratty, but maybe she'll improve.  And while I'm theoretically glad they showed the encounters with the police, because it's important and true, I also find such scenes stressful and infuriating, so for my own selfish reasons I hope there aren't too many of them.

But I will continue to call him Supervolt.

(yes, I know this was Black Vulcan, but that's because they couldn't get the rights to Black Lightning.)

[Trini]

Yep, I'm in. It was great seeing brown faces as the default: the main family; the good guys; the bad guys; and even the background extras.

I'm here for Jefferson/Lynn!

 

On 1/17/2018 at 0:50 PM, DearEvette said:

 

Not only Alfred but also Edna Mode.

 

Danggit! Got here before me! Gambi's totally an Edna Mode and Alfred pennyworth mash-up, and I love it.

One thing about 'Lala':
Listen - I went to an inner-city high school in a metropolitan city where many of the students were children of 1st or 2nd generation immigrants, so there were lots of names that weren't the typical or common Eurocentric ones. You best believe something like 'Latavius' was going to get shortened down to one or two syllables with a quickness. So I totally get 'Lala'. He got his street cred with that nickname, so I can see him keeping it.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Trini

[Double V]

On 1/16/2018 at 10:11 PM, phoenics said:

I'm just so happy right now.  This is what a show with black characters SHOULD feel like.  REAL.  This show has a plethora of black characters and you can tell - the characters feel real, grounded and authentic.

Honestly, I had the opposite reaction.  The collection of characters was fairly clichéd.  The caring ex-wife that our hero still pines over.  His two young daughters that wandered off of a CW show set.  Some heavy handed stuff.  Some strange inconsistencies (he decries the use of a metal detector at the school, but soon after someone shows up to the school with a gun & directly undermines his moral position), and some painfully bad dialogue.  They presented the town or neighborhood as very rough but then it just looked like a nice neighborhood in Vancouver.  Overall, an uneven presentation.

Far from authentic, it came across to me as a bunch of white writers trying to present the setting and characters as authentic, but their frame of reference wasn't real people but just other, better tv shows (like The Wire).

My other primary problem was that it was largely humorless.  I don't think the superhero conceit works well without at least some humor (though they can go overboard).  I think Arrow at it's peak did the humor best, while Flash is more of a comedy (and works with the character and presentation), and Legends is almost primarily an action-comedy (again, it works for that show). 

I like the adult actors, especially Cress Williams who is much better than the material he was given.  The younger actors just weren't very good and presented with little depth. 

I appreciate the desire to take this show in a different direction than the other CW hero shows, but I think it really needs to find a core that's both compelling tv, a little more mature than the typical CW product, and a little more fun than what they delivered.  If the show stays with this presentation, it will have a difficult time getting to season 2 and it won't get o season 3.

Did anyone else think that "Inspector Henderson" was a deliberate homage/nod to the original Inspector Henderson?

Nice touch if deliberate, nothing if a coincidence.

[DearEvette]

On 1/18/2018 at 2:59 PM, mojoween said:

One thing that I was puzzled about was it seemed like Jeff gave up Black Lighting on the urging of Lynn.  But then when it’s HER daughters who need help suddenly she wants him out of retirement?  Interesting dynamic that I hope they explore in future eps.

Admittedly, I don't think the show did a deep enough dive on her objections, but I didn't the sense that she didn't want him to be Black Lightning because she didn't want him to help people, but was more concerned about the toll it was taking on him.  There were those quick cut scenes of him bleeding out in the bathroom while she was holding him.  And further it played into Henderson's creating of the super-suit that was more bulletproof than his old suit which might go a long way toward alleviating some of her fears.  Of course when your kids are in danger you don't think about how you might get hurt, you just think about saving them.  So in that sense I got that she was able to put aside her fear for him because her fear for them was bigger.

[phoenics]

4 hours ago, Double V said:

Honestly, I had the opposite reaction.  The collection of characters was fairly clichéd.  The caring ex-wife that our hero still pines over.  His two young daughters that wandered off of a CW show set.  Some heavy handed stuff.  Some strange inconsistencies (he decries the use of a metal detector at the school, but soon after someone shows up to the school with a gun & directly undermines his moral position), and some painfully bad dialogue.  They presented the town or neighborhood as very rough but then it just looked like a nice neighborhood in Vancouver.  Overall, an uneven presentation.

Far from authentic, it came across to me as a bunch of white writers trying to present the setting and characters as authentic, but their frame of reference wasn't real people but just other, better tv shows (like The Wire).

 

Hmmmm I thought the producers and showrunners were black?  And that they have a really diverse writing room with black writers?

Also - as long as I've been watching the CW - I've rarely seen black women characters allowed to have much agency at all.  And we got 3 in one episode.  And his daughters walked off a CW show set?  Really?  Black women with agency and who are actually centered in a narrative?  It took 3 seasons for The Flash to barely give Iris agency - and on this show at least they acknowledge blackness and the impact of society on blackness.  Is it perfect?  No.  But it's far better than anything else the CW has done before w.r.t. race.

Also - having grown up in a family of educators - the idea that Jefferson would live in a "rough neighborhood" just because the school is rough?  That's just false.  Gentrification doesn't typically work quite like that.  You can have pockets of nice neighborhoods butting up against run down ones.

Edited January 22, 2018 by phoenics

[phoenics]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Admittedly, I don't think the show did a deep enough dive on her objections, but I didn't the sense that she didn't want him to be Black Lightning because she didn't want him to help people, but was more concerned about the toll it was taking on him.  There were those quick cut scenes of him bleeding out in the bathroom while she was holding him.  And further it played into Henderson's creating of the super-suit that was more bulletproof than his old suit which might go a long way toward alleviating some of her fears.  Of course when your kids are in danger you don't think about how you might get hurt, you just think about saving them.  So in that sense I got that she was able to put aside her fear for him because her fear for them was bigger.

Agreed - I think it was definitely him bleeding out that night in their tub that pushed her over the edge.  I didn't get the sense at all that she didn't want him to help people but more that she couldn't handle him almost dying constantly.  It's kind of like being married to a cop who is constantly in danger.  Some people cannot handle that.  She married a teacher.  She was probably expecting a quiet life.  Not the life of a wife of a super hero who can die fighting crime.

Also - I'd expect any mother to put aside objections like she had when her babies are in danger.  All bets are off then.

[Double V]

58 minutes ago, phoenics said:

Hmmmm I thought the producers and showrunners were black?  And that they have a really diverse writing room with black writers?

Maybe, maybe not.  It just came across as a bunch of white writers trying desperately to deliver an authentic presentation, but it came across as very shallow.

If the creative people on Black Lightning are indeed all or mostly black, that's actually worse.  They delivered a very stereotypical and shallow presentation, like a view of a rough black neighborhood from a bunch of writers living in a nice gated community hundreds of miles away, and their only knowledge about these situations is from other tv shows.

1 hour ago, phoenics said:

Also - as long as I've been watching the CW - I've rarely seen black women characters allowed to have much agency at all.  And we got 3 in one episode.  And his daughters walked off a CW show set?  Really?  Black women with agency and who are actually centered in a narrative?

Yep.  Goodlooking, young, cliched characters.  Exactly the CW formula.  Really.

[phoenics]

13 minutes ago, Double V said:

Maybe, maybe not.  It just came across as a bunch of white writers trying desperately to deliver an authentic presentation, but it came across as very shallow.

If the creative people on Black Lightning are indeed all or mostly black, that's actually worse.  They delivered a very stereotypical and shallow presentation, like a view of a rough black neighborhood from a bunch of writers living in a nice gated community hundreds of miles away, and their only knowledge about these situations is from other tv shows.

Yep.  Goodlooking, young, cliched characters.  Exactly the CW formula.  Really.

I didn't find the show stereotypical - mostly because it was such a diverse presentation of black characters.  They weren't all a monolith - they were all distinct in their own right.  Jefferson felt like an old friend.  The woman at school felt like an old friend.  I did find the harpoon shooting dude a bit over the top - but everyone else felt authentic to me... though I don't know much about gang members or violence... but the sisters felt really real to me and grounded, and so did Jefferson and his ex-wife.  The fact that none of the black women on the show were presented as shrews/ABWs/sidekicks/etc was all kinds of win for me.  The subversion of BL getting his own Alfred was awesome.

I guess the biggest win part to me for the show was that they presented a wide diversity of "black" and I loved that, simply because that's realistic.  We as black folks share a lot of experiences, but we don't all have the same experiences or personalities... 

But this discussion is beginning to feel a bit like the old arguments I used to hear about The Cosby Show (namely that families like that didn't exist - except mine was practically a clone of that family - right down to Spelman/Morehouse=Hillman), so I'll bow out now.

Edited January 22, 2018 by phoenics

[Trini]

1 hour ago, Double V said:

If the creative people on Black Lightning are indeed all or mostly black, that's actually worse.  They delivered a very stereotypical and shallow presentation, like a view of a rough black neighborhood from a bunch of writers living in a nice gated community hundreds of miles away, and their only knowledge about these situations is from other tv shows.

I'd recommend reading/watching some of the interviews with the showrunners (some are in the Media thread) to get a better idea of their background, inspiration, and approach to this show. At least one of the scenes from this episode is based on the showrunner's own experience with police.

[UNOSEZ]

1 hour ago, phoenics said:

I didn't find the show stereotypical - mostly because it was such a diverse presentation of black characters.  They weren't all a monolith - they were all distinct in their own right.  Jefferson felt like an old friend.  The woman at school felt like an old friend.  I did find the harpoon shooting dude a bit over the top - but everyone else felt authentic to me... though I don't know much about gang members or violence... but the sisters felt really real to me and grounded, and so did Jefferson and his ex-wife.  The fact that none of the black women on the show were presented as shrews/ABWs/sidekicks/etc was all kinds of win for me.  The subversion of BL getting his own Alfred was awesome.

I guess the biggest win part to me for the show was that they presented a wide diversity of "black" and I loved that, simply because that's realistic.  We as black folks share a lot of experiences, but we don't all have the same experiences or personalities... 

But this discussion is beginning to feel a bit like the old arguments I used to hear about The Cosby Show (namely that families like that didn't exist - except mine was practically a clone of that family - right down to Spelman/Morehouse=Hillman), so I'll bow out now.

Preach... My community had houses with green grass on tree lined blocks.. My family has been going to college for generations as was the case with most of my friends... And about a ten minute drive and things were rougher..  I've had drinks at the crib with bankers and bangers at the same time.  We aren't a monolith... But those depictions of the 100 rang pretty true to me minus Tobias and his harpoon... I mean I had Old heads talk to me and mine about not running round like they did and staying in school etc.. I think the poster ur speaking to doesn't have a grasp of what the community really looks like that's why I agree with you abt how real it felt... Unlike how they do my girl Iris.. I bet if she called Caitlin or Felicity ratchet there would be sime confused fans... 

[TwistedandBored]

I loved the first episode. I loved the tension and chemistry between Jefferson and his ex-wife who he still loves and wants back. I am here for this reunion already. I also love the girls. They are different but likable at the same time. 

The villain looked too young to have been Jefferson enemy but I though he was good too. 

[DearEvette]

19 hours ago, phoenics said:

I did find the harpoon shooting dude a bit over the top - but everyone else felt authentic to me

I think the over-the-top element of Tobias is a necessary nod to the comic book origins of the show.  Same with Henderson -- the guy who makes super-powered super hero costume in the back of his shop.  I hope the show manages to keep the balance between keeping one foot in the grounded realism with the everyday issues of the family and the OTT hyper-realism necessary to keep a foot in the comicverse.

[johntfs]

For my part the harpoon moment was almost grounded.  Let's recall that Tobias Whale keeps piranhas in an aquarium in his place - and feeds people who displease him to those same piranhas.

[possibilities]

The villain being over the top is no worse than The Joker or other comic book villains. I think it softens the horribleness of it, helping viewers to stay in the comfort that he won't succeed and he's even more fake than the superhero/superpowers. It makes the show easier to be fun vs deeply disturbing.

[johntfs]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

The villain being over the top is no worse than The Joker or other comic book villains. I think it softens the horribleness of it, helping viewers to stay in the comfort that he won't succeed and he's even more fake than the superhero/superpowers. It makes the show easier to be fun vs deeply disturbing.

I agree.  LaLa was scarier than Whale was.  You just know that the only reason the little kid got to sweep the floor instead getting beaten or hurt was that Jefferson was there and Lala wanted to show him how he could also be a "teacher."

Edited January 24, 2018 by johntfs