The Starling City Times: News and Media about Arrow

[way2interested]

Just now, SmallScreenDiva said:

Too bad Oliver doesn't really have a staff outside of the other Arrow folks because I'd also love for somebody to say, "Mayor Queen? Your wife is here" or something like that.

I mean, Thea would totally still say that. 

[Primal Slayer]

8 Ways Smallville’s Green Arrow Is Better Than The CW’s (And 7 Ways He’s Worse

15. BETTER: ARCHERY

14. WORSE: HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

13. BETTER: ABIDES BY HIS NO-KILL RULE

12. WORSE: CONTROL OVER HIS EMOTIONS

11. BETTER: FOUGHT MORE POWERFUL ENEMIES

10. WORSE: KEEPING HIS SECRET IDENTITY 

9. BETTER: TEAM PLAYER

8. WORSE: HIS SIDEKICKS

7. BETTER: HIS GADGETS

6. WORSE: HIS VILLAINS

5. BETTER: MORE COMIC ACCURATE

4. WORSE: OVERSTAYED HIS WELCOME

3. BETTER: DOESN’T NEED TECH SUPPORT

2. WORSE: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BLACK CANARY

1. BETTER: HE SAVES THE WORLD, NOT JUST A CITY

https://www.cbr.com/green-arrow-smallville-better-worse/

[WindofChange]

33 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

Quote

8 Ways Smallville’s Green Arrow Is Better Than The CW’s (And 7 Ways He’s Worse

15. BETTER: ARCHERY

14. WORSE: HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

13. BETTER: ABIDES BY HIS NO-KILL RULE

12. WORSE: CONTROL OVER HIS EMOTIONS

11. BETTER: FOUGHT MORE POWERFUL ENEMIES

10. WORSE: KEEPING HIS SECRET IDENTITY 

9. BETTER: TEAM PLAYER

8. WORSE: HIS SIDEKICKS

7. BETTER: HIS GADGETS

6. WORSE: HIS VILLAINS

5. BETTER: MORE COMIC ACCURATE

4. WORSE: OVERSTAYED HIS WELCOME

3. BETTER: DOESN’T NEED TECH SUPPORT

2. WORSE: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH BLACK CANARY

1. BETTER: HE SAVES THE WORLD, NOT JUST A CITY

https://www.cbr.com/green-arrow-smallville-better-worse/

15. Arrow's Oliver is just as good at archery, he just doesn't rely on it too much
11. Malcolm Merlyn/Slade were both incredibly powerful but ok...
10. Smallville's Oliver elected to reveal his identity, it was his preference
5. I'd argue Smallville's GA was probably more comic accurate because he was a supporting characters and not the main one
4. Smallville's GA didn't overstay his welcome, he was one of the more interesting side characters on the show
3. Why does not needing tech support means you're automatically better? He actually did have some support with Watchtower but they didn't focus on that
2. Smallville's GA was friends with BC, Arrow's GA screwed over multiple BCs and barely interacts with the current one so I'd say his relationship with BC on Arrow is actually worse
1. Arrow's Oliver tried to save the world in season 4 by stopping Damien Dahrk but ok... Star City still needs a lot of help so IDK why Oliver should focus on saving other places before he fixes his own city.

Edited January 1, 2018 by WindofChange

[Primal Slayer]

Merlyn and Slade weren't "powerful" and they did bring up Watchtower in tech support but they didn't provide the same kind of indepth help that Felicity does.

[lemotomato]

I think it says something that neither of the live action GAs went with the pointy hat, tights, and goatee van dyke look. Or ended up with BC. Comics, schmomics

[Primal Slayer]

5 minutes ago, lemotomato said:

I think it says something that neither of the live action GAs went with the pointy hat, tights, and goatee van dyke look. Or ended up with BC. Comics, schmomics

These lies

[WindofChange]

13 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

they did bring up Watchtower in tech support but they didn't provide the same kind of indepth help that Felicity does.

Smallville wasn't built to be a non-powered superhero show, therefore they didn't focus on Chloe being watchtower even more but she was the eyes and ears of the team and did provide information when the team needed it. 

Even before Felicity was introduced Oliver/Diggle required tech to find whoever they wanted which is a much more realistic route for a non-powered superhero show. So I don't get why not having tech support is better in this case. Needing a lot of tech support is realistic. From analyzing blood to hacking organizations to creating tech to help team members both on and off the field. 

13 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

Merlyn and Slade weren't "powerful" 

I suppose they aren't as powerful as Darkseid/Brainiac/Doomsday/Zod... But again, both shows are different. Smallville embraced the weird because Clark is from another planet, that doesn't work on Arrow. So while Oliver from Smallville did face stronger villains (even though he wasn't the one to take them down in the end) those villains never suited Arrow so it's not really a fair thing to say. If Arrow did write villains like that into the show it's pretty obvious Arrow's Oliver would've defeated them in some way shape or form

Edited January 1, 2018 by WindofChange

[Primal Slayer]

If you get down to the actual biological nature of each show there would be no comparison beyond looks buts that's boring. 

[WindofChange]

Just now, Primal Slayer said:

If you get down to the actual biological nature of each show there would be no comparison beyond looks buts that's boring. 

Which is why the article is dumb and kind of pointless... There is no comparison because both shows in essence are very different. Smallville's Oliver and Arrow's Oliver aren't the same but neither are necessarily better than the other because the circumstances that they've been put into are vastly different. 

[Primal Slayer]

1 minute ago, WindofChange said:

Which is why the article is dumb and kind of pointless... There is no comparison because both shows in essence are very different. Smallville's Oliver and Arrow's Oliver aren't the same but neither are necessarily better than the other because the circumstances that they've been put into are vastly different. 

It's CBR, it isn't some think piece lol. It's the nature of the game that hasn't started with Arrow or die with Arrow.

[WindofChange]

5 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

It's CBR, it isn't some think piece lol.

I know, doesn't mean it shouldn't be subject to criticism, which is what I was doing. 

5 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

It's the nature of the game that hasn't started with Arrow or die with Arrow.

Again, why does this mean articles of this nature can't be criticized or discussed? 

Edited January 1, 2018 by WindofChange

[Primal Slayer]

I didn't say they couldn't be criticized or discussed, I'm all for it. Them not existing because the two are different is something is what I wouldn't agree with.

[lemotomato]

14 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

These lies

Still no van dyke. And I'm pretty sure that was Oliver dressed up as Robin Hood for a party, while dating Lois Lane.

[catrox14]

8 minutes ago, WindofChange said:

I know, doesn't mean it shouldn't be subject to criticism, which is what I was doing. 

Again, why does this mean articles of this nature can't be criticized or discussed? 

And rightfully, mocked. LOL

[Primal Slayer]

6 minutes ago, lemotomato said:

Still no van dyke. And I'm pretty sure that was Oliver dressed up as Robin Hood for a party, while dating Lois Lane.

Still a pointy hat. Batman and Superman haven't worn underwear in live action in forever. Everyone expects changes to a degree.

I love it when Lois gets to date the billionaire playboys, when she dated Bruce in DCAU briefly and Oliver, it was fun times. 

[insomniadreams88]

8 minutes ago, lemotomato said:

Still no van dyke. And I'm pretty sure that was Oliver dressed up as Robin Hood for a party, while dating Lois Lane.

That is the closest - and the only situation in which - a live action Oliver Queen should get to the comics look. 

I just don’t think I’d find a GA that looked like the comics version all that intimidating in a live action TV show/movie. 

[Primal Slayer]

I'm still waiting for Arrow to do a Halloween episode and have everyone dress up as campy heroes. Such a wasted opportunity.

[lemotomato]

9 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

Still a pointy hat. Batman and Superman haven't worn underwear in live action in forever. Everyone expects changes to a degree.

And yet 6 seasons in, SA still gets questions about when Oliver is going to adopt the "classic comic GA look".

I mean if we're going to be really technical about it Oliver dated Sara when she was BC and Laurel Lance before she became BC. Point is that none of that lasted because they don't work on TV.

Edited January 1, 2018 by lemotomato

[Primal Slayer]

1 minute ago, lemotomato said:

And yet 6 seasons in, SA still gets questions about when Oliver is going to adopt the "classic comic GA look".

I mean if we're going to be really technical about it Oliver dated Sara when she was BC and Laurel Lance before she became BC. Point is that none of it lasted.

Yeah, some fans still want the Van Dyke, some fans still want Superman to return to underwear. But no one expects him to be in straight up spandex and pointy that I've seen.

[Mellowyellow]

Personally I thought Oliver's look during his reunion kiss with Felicity was the closest he's ever looked to the comics look. He looked older in that shot and very whiskery, complete with the mask and hood.

Anything more than that and it'll look like superman with the bright underwear. 

I loved the kiss but I prefer the younger, hotter GA look during the "just in case" kiss.

Edited January 1, 2018 by Mellowyellow
Frigging autocorrect

[LeighAn]

2 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

Merlyn and Slade weren't "powerful" and they did bring up Watchtower in tech support but they didn't provide the same kind of indepth help that Felicity does.

Chloe hacked and monitored surveillance cameras and provide tech support just as much as Felicity does. Especially in the seasons where Green Arrow/Oliver was a main character. And when Chloe wasnt doing it Tess or DrHamil were. 

[Primal Slayer]

I havent watched Smallville practically since it ended but I dont remember Chloe doing half the work Felicity does. 

[LeighAn]

2 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

I havent watched Smallville practically since it ended but I dont remember Chloe doing half the work Felicity does. 

She did. 

[tv echo]

TVLine Readers' 2018 Wish List for the Arrowverse, Grey's, The 100, Younger, NCIS, Horror Story, The Gifted and More
By Team TVLine / December 25 2017
https://tvline.com/gallery/tv-wish-list-2018/#!3/wish-list-arrow-2/

Quote

“Since this season’s theme on Arrow is ‘family,’ I would love to see Felicity getting pregnant at the end of Season 6 and having a baby in Season 7. My ‘Olicity’ ‘shipper heart would explode of happiness.” –Silvia

Edited January 1, 2018 by tv echo

[Hiveminder]

On 12/18/2017 at 10:10 AM, tv echo said:

I had a variety of reactions while reading through this article (laughter, eyeroll, disbelief, major eyeroll, nods, disgust, more eyerolls, bafflement)...

17 Terrible Things Everyone Forgets Oliver Did On Arrow
12.16.2017   by Irina Curovic
https://www.cbr.com/shafted-17-terrible-things-everyone-forgets-oliver-did-on-arrow/

17. STARTED DATING FELICITY WHILE MARRIED TO NYSSA
16. KILLED HUNDREDS, CRITICIZED HELENA FOR KILLING
15. COULD HELP MCKENNA HALL BUT DOESN’T
14. SHOT AN ARROW THROUGH ROY’S LEG
13. LIED TO FELICITY ABOUT WILLIAM
12. CHEATED ON LAUREL WITH SARA
11. TORTURED PEOPLE
10. FATHERED A CHILD WHILE DATING LAUREL
9. ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
8. CHOSE TO LET HIS FAMILY BELIEVE HE WAS DEAD
7. BRUTALLY KILLED HUNDREDS
6. MADE A DEAL WITH BRATVA TO HAVE PROMETHEUS KILLED
5. LET ROY TAKE THE FALL FOR HIM
4. USED LYLA AS BAIT, LEFT SARA UNATTENDED
3. ASKED DIGGLE TO BE GREEN ARROW WITHOUT REGARD TO HIS FAMILY
2. KILLED BILLY MALONE
1. SKINNED A MAN ALIVE

 

Attempted suicide is on this list. Seriously? I’ve never felt this combination of rage, disappointment, and sick before. 

 

22 hours ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

Too bad Oliver doesn't really have a staff outside of the other Arrow folks because I'd also love for somebody to say, "Mayor Queen? Your wife is here" or something like that.

 

He has an assistant! We saw him for a couple of seconds in season five. 

[BkWurm1]

8 hours ago, LeighAn said:

Chloe hacked and monitored surveillance cameras and provide tech support just as much as Felicity does. Especially in the seasons where Green Arrow/Oliver was a main character. And when Chloe wasnt doing it Tess or DrHamil were. 

 

8 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

I havent watched Smallville practically since it ended but I dont remember Chloe doing half the work Felicity does. 

2

After season 8 scattered everyone that had been a "hero" or part of Oliver's loosely formed team, it was Chloe that made Watchtower, tracked everyone down, organized them, rehabbed Oliver into being a hero again, and set all the protocols for everyone going out in the field using coms and having back up and provided the live reports on where to go and what to do.  By the back half of season 9 even Clark was following the program.  Chloe was so deep in the machine they made jokes about her being big brother (incidentally she tracked and surveilled every team member and even read all their emails and monitored their phone calls and all she got was questioned if she was going too far, nobody quit in a whiney huff)  Then after season 9, the duties of Watchtower were passed on to Tess Mercer.  So while it wasn't the focus of the series, the Justice League put together by Chloe had just as much tech support as Arrow.  It's just that Smallville rarely focused on the normal hours of the heroes being on call or being out in the field.    

Edited January 1, 2018 by BkWurm1

[tv echo]

'Arrow' Villain Michael Emerson Recalls His Most Memorable 'Saw' Fan Encounter
By RUSS BURLINGAME - January 1, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/01/arrow-michael-emerson-saw-fan-encounter/

Quote

Onscreen, Lost and Arrow star Michael Emerson has a habit of playing characters who are the most menacing person in the room -- but during a recent interview with ComicBook.com, he recalled a story about being startled by a group of menacing strangers -- only to learn that they were big fans of his work.

While discussing the perils of fandom (among other things) last month, Emerson told ComicBook.com about the surprising encounter, in which a group of young men approached Emerson when he was out with his wife, actress and producer Carrie Preston.

“One time, Carrie and I were at the food court of a mall in Los Angeles or somewhere,” Emerson recalled. “It was kind of late and we were the only ones there. And there was this whole group of kind of dangerous-looking teenage boys came toward us from a couple of different directions. I thought ‘Uh-oh, what’s this going to be?’ And the kid that was the leader of the group, apparently, says ‘Hey, man — I liked you in Saw. That was cool.’”

The group dispersed without incident after a few cordial words with the actor, who can recall being glad that the young men were interested in him for his work -- but the experience was memorable enough that he can still remember (and laugh about) it years later.

“I’m always surprised when people remember that particular performance,” he said. “I guess who wouldn’t remember it? It was kind of a classic movie. I guess I’ve just tried to put it out of my head because it was so damn violent and such a hard shoot….I was glad to get through that shoot with my life and all my limbs. It was shot fast and rough. I had an epic fight sequence in there with Danny Glover, of all people. I was glad to survive that!”

Edited January 2, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Another short MG interview from ACE Comic Con (Dec. 9-10, 2017) - no spoilers, no Arrow talk...

ACE Comic Con - Geeking Out With Arrow Writer Marc Guggenheim
Published on Jan 2, 2018, by Den of Geek

[tv echo]

No spoilers, I don't think...

Michael Emerson: The Villains Have Become "My 'Arrow' Family"
By RUSS BURLINGAME - January 4, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/04/michael-emerson-the-villains-have-become-my-arrow-family/

Quote

Emerson joined ComicBook.com to speak about Arrow, his upcoming guest appearance on Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle, and more.

Has it been gratifying for you going into finally being able to talk about the character a little bit, and not just be the looming force of, "Hey, eventually you will know who I am?"
Yes. Instead of always previewing or teasing it, we can now actually talk about the details and being in the show and performing, yes. It's good. It's always better when the work is out there and people are putting it all together and thinking about whether it fits or doesn't, and if it's a contribution or not. I hope it's a contribution. You never know.

You're so new to the family. They are. They're seven seasons in, and I just show up on their doorstep one day and they threw some clothes on me and I go out and I start saying lines. You hope that it serves the larger purpose. I think it's going well. I'm having a good time. It's such a sweet company. The whole crew and the cast also are just really nice and down to earth people. It's so pleasant.

I hope they've enjoyed it and that they've had fun. They've written a good character and it brings a certain malevolent energy to the undertakings. I enjoy those dark, desperate face offs with me and Stephen Amell, making threats over a ticking bomb, that kind of thing.

It's a lot of fun. It's fun, because I guess I've been in what you might call genre shows, but never something that was purely genre, a superhero or comic book kind of narrative. It's fun. Good and bad and the villains and heroes are more clearly defined, and there's more of a shorthand about good and evil. The plots and the battles and the alliances and feuds are most swiftly and economically drawn, I guess you could say, if that makes any sense at all. It's been fun in that regard.

In the span of your long career, you've done a lot of different sorts of projects, both naturalistic and really heightened, almost stage-like settings. Is it fun when you go some place like Arrow where you can really just go broad?
Well, yes, it is fun, because there's still a theater actor somewhere deep inside me trying to get out. If you get to be a little bit broader villain, that's satisfying. ...

Does it also help you almost in the sense that you talked about joining this cast that's already got their relationship set and has already got their patterns set -- but your character was literally written in such a way that you've been a kind of looming, offscreen presence, so that you don't feel completely like a newcomer?
Yes, and it makes him a natural outsider. That works to your advantage on that first day, and probably as long as you play the role, but particularly on that first day, it's all right if you don't have a warm understanding of the nuances of all the other characters.

It's all right if you're a bit of a bull in a china shop and a bit of a shock, so that if your tone or your style is a little bit new or odd, maybe that's all for the good. I think you're right about that.

Now that you're a recognizable actor, is that freeing because people trust you, or is that more of a challenge because you're trying to do something creative, and you have some directors who are just like, "No, but I want that Michael Emerson in my head or in another project?"
I have not had a lot of requests to recreate something I've done before. They may have it in their head, but no one will usually say it, at least in those terms.

I have to tell you that everything I've done in the last year, I've had a lot of character parts lately, and certainly no one on the set of Arrow has referred to or cited anything that I did earlier. It would be very natural to say, "Think Mr. Finch only," or something like that. I think everybody thought we're going to do something completely different from that, and then you realize as you go along, episode after episode, that some of that performance bleeds in.

At the end of the day, I'll think, "Well, is that appropriate? Is that good?" I say, "Well, no, I don't need to be in the business of making it different just so that it has no relationship to anything I did before." You trust that it's just me, just me the actor, saying lines and stuff and inhabiting the space as a character. You have to trust that context and writing will make it different enough, at least I hope that's the case.

There are similarities that I find as I go along between Mr. Finch and Mr. James, like the formality of speech, a shared kind of sardonic sense of humor, some of those things. Maybe those are qualities that I have in my own DNA, in real life maybe. Maybe my friends would say, "Oh, Michael's very formal in his speech," or something like that. Sometimes you bring stuff to roles you're not even conscious of, I guess.

We have now seen essentially that Cayden James is the ringleader of this ragtag group of menaces that Team Arrow have been dealing with all season long. Once you are getting some face time with people who aren't just Steve or Emily, has it been fun to go around the room of super villains and play off some of these other larger than life archetypes?
Yes, it's cool. It's like an axis of evil on the show. It's fun because all these characters are so different, one from another, that they live up to the breadth and specificity of good comic characters, but it's fun and a little thrilling to see them embodied by real humans with different ways of talking, dialects, or physical carriage, different styles.

It's good that way, and I have especially enjoyed these last couple of episodes I've found where we are all together a lot, because it is such a swell bunch of smart, funny actors. We have so much to gab about between scenes. In a way, that axis of evil is my Arrow family in a way. We're all on the same boat, too. Kind of in the hierarchy of a TV cast, we are the spicy guest players.

Edited January 5, 2018 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Huh? ...

A Defense of 'Olicity'
By NICOLE DRUM - January 6, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/07/arrow-defense-of-olicity/

Quote

However, while the Olicity pairing isn't perfect, it's become an integral part of Arrow and while it may not be universally popular -- and we acknowledge that the whole wedding part of “Crisis on Earth-X” is a solid reason to be unhappy with Olicity -- it does bring a bit of realism to the show in how not only it impacts Oliver’s work as Green Arrow, but in how it allows other characters to develop outside of the trappings of a romantic relationship.
*  *  *
Another reason the Olicity pairing benefits the show is one that has been most clearly seen and explored in this, the show's sixth season and that's the development of female characters in their own right and not as love interests for the hero. While there are those fans who take issue with someone other than Laurel Lance being part of Team Arrow as Black Canary, Dinah Lance (Juliana Harkavy) has seen some significant character development this season. Between finding her footing as part of Team Arrow in the wake of the events on Lian Yiu as well as the revelation that her believed-dead partner and love is not only alive but one of the bad guys, Dinah has been given some room to develop into a fleshed-out character with her own motivations and history. The same can be said for Earth-2's Laurel Lance/Black Siren (Katie Cassidy.) Fans have gotten small glimpses of Laurel's life prior to coming to Earth-1 as well as having gotten to see her operate as an adversary whose only real tie to the team is that she looks like someone they used to know, though the dynamic between her and the Earth-1 counterpart of her father (Quentin Lance, played by Paul Blackthorne) is something the show seems poised to delve deeper into.

Without Oliver being in a relationship -- in this case specifically the Olicity relationship -- neither of these characters would have the same level of character independence. That is particularly true for Laurel Lance/Black Siren, as it would have been all too easy for the show to have pursued a relationship between Oliver and the doppelganger of his dead ex-girlfriend. And while how things play out in the second half of Season 6 remain to be seen, with Felicity and Oliver now truly and irrevocably together thanks to their impromptu marriage, it's unlikely that the show would try to go down that road now.

Edited January 7, 2018 by tv echo

[Hiveminder]

11 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Huh? ...

A Defense of 'Olicity'
By NICOLE DRUM - January 6, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/07/arrow-defense-of-olicity/

It looks like someone told her to write something defending Olicity, and she just went with the first nonsense that popped into her head. Olicity is good because other characters had character development? What?

Edited January 7, 2018 by Hiveminder

[Mellowyellow]

Wow that was very.......basic

Reminds me of when I was in year 1 and had to write about my school holidays.

I had a very good school holidays. The reason I had a good holiday was because I went to the zoo. At the zoo I saw lots of animals. I like animals. 

[tangerine95]

lol basically that comes off like let Felicity be sacrificed as LI so Dinah and BS can be their own characters instead of a part of a ship with Oliver even tho this very site has been crying about it for years.Not transparent at all.

Edited January 7, 2018 by tangerine95

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

Huh? ...

A Defense of 'Olicity'
By NICOLE DRUM - January 6, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/07/arrow-defense-of-olicity/

Seems like the headline should be

A "Defense" of Olicity

Maybe she put the quotes in the wrong place.

That was terribad

[Featherhat]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

Without Oliver being in a relationship -- in this case specifically the Olicity relationship -- neither of these characters would have the same level of character independence. That is particularly true for Laurel Lance/Black Siren, as it would have been all too easy for the show to have pursued a relationship between Oliver and the doppelganger of his dead ex-girlfriend. And while how things play out in the second half of Season 6 remain to be seen, with Felicity and Oliver now truly and irrevocably together thanks to their impromptu marriage, it's unlikely that the show would try to go down that road now.

I Thought so many of the complaints about Olicity were because Felicity was "taking over the show?" not being sidelined as part of a main couple? Regardless I feel like Felicity has had more character development than Dinah or BS despite being designated LI, getting to know William on her own terms, starting a new company, having the CJ storyline with Alena and being able to have her own POV on getting married, not to mention kicking ass in the crossover in general. 

BIB that many comic fans (although by no means all) have been clamouring for since 509? BS has had such minimal screentime so far this season that she's had just that one scene with Quentin that maybe/maybe not hints at fondness for her E1 doppelganger's father and she's not been in the slightest bit independent unless you count killing when CJ said not to, she's always been following orders of someone else. And if the show hints at redemption I expect Nicole Drum might start beating another tune about BS and Oliver, even though it was partly their lack of chemistry together which necessitated a change in main pairings in the first place. 

Dinah's mostly just been part of the group, a supporting character in Diggle's storyline and completely annoying in the noob break up with OTA with the Vigilante storyline. I guess Vigilante is her own storyline but it hasn't exactly showcased her well and a lot of people cried foul when he was revealed to be Vince because they didn't give a shit and it was transparently written to give her something to do because otherwise she'd be standing around in the background of the bunker.

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

However, while the Olicity pairing isn't perfect, it's become an integral part of Arrow and while it may not be universally popular -- and we acknowledge that the whole wedding part of “Crisis on Earth-X” is a solid reason to be unhappy with Olicity -- it does bring a bit of realism to the show in how not only it impacts Oliver’s work as Green Arrow, but in how it allows other characters to develop outside of the trappings of a romantic relationship

 

It's  curious that the writer forgot, and by forgot, I mean conveniently ignored the actual major character development Felicity had before becoming a full blown LI for Oliver, as well as the continued character development, both in and out of a romantic relationship with Oliver. Likewise, the author  leaves out that Laurel actually had major  character development of her own, in and out of being a LI for Oliver.  It just happened  those character developments were in opposite trajectories for being the endgame LI for Oliver.

 

ETA: it's an obvious attempt to devalue the importance of being Olivers LI if said LI is  Felicity Smoak.

[tennisgurl]

So basically they’re saying that the best part of Olicity is that by taking up the “couple” mantel, it allows other people to...not be love interests? So, essentially, Felicity exists only to be a love interest. She could be a blow up sex doll for all she matters to this author. Wow...

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

So basically they’re saying that the best part of Olicity is that by taking up the “couple” mantel, it allows other people to...not be love interests? So, essentially, Felicity exists only to be a love interest. She could be a blow up sex doll for all she matters to this author. Wow...

I will bet you dollars to donuts, this wouldn't be written if Laurel were the end-game LI. 

[kes0704]

7 hours ago, tv echo said:

While there are those fans who take issue with someone other than Laurel Lance being part of Team Arrow as Black Canary, Dinah Lance (Juliana Harkavy) has seen some significant character development this season.

It’s hard to take this article seriously on any level but when they can’t even get the character names correct, it makes it seem more likely that they don’t watch the show at all. 

[LeighAn]

8 hours ago, tv echo said:

Huh? ...

A Defense of 'Olicity'
By NICOLE DRUM - January 6, 2018
http://comicbook.com/dc/2018/01/07/arrow-defense-of-olicity/

Omg there is sooooo much wrong with this article. Seriously ComicBook.com don't defend Olicity, we're good with you never defending Olicity.

Lets break it down. Again it's another article that tries to spin the narrative that Olicity is universally hated. I'm sorry 5 pissed off Reddit dude bros and like 8 pissed off WestAllen fans and a couple of articles on blogs no respectable media writers ever heard of does not make Olicity universally unpopular or hated. 

But okay lets ignore the amount of social media traction they achieve more then anything else in the entire Arrowverse/Flarrowverse due to their general popularity with audiences. 

How has Dinah been fleshed out in her own right? She's still really only a prop for Diggles injury issues, Quentins dead daughter issues and Olivers trust issues. Her judging other people's character development has been fleshed out- her own character development? Well she'd have to stop putting herself into others people's business first to actually get some. 

We have not actually seen glimpses of Black Sirens life before coming to earth 1 and in fact didn't Marc say that Earth 2 flash backs were not something he was interested in? That it didn't fit the tone of their show? 

Also NO if there was no Olicity it wouldn't be all too easy to have Oliver  and Black Siren hookup because A. Black Siren is mudering pyscopath who kills for fun and sport. B. She's still played by an actress who Stephen has terrible chemistry both when they were playing romantic love interests and when they were playing friends. C. She's also still played by an actress who the reason she was pushed out of the love interest role, pushed out of the main female character role eventually killed off to come back as a minor character is that she's just not that good at being  more then a minor character. I mean even in this season there was a scene that literally required her to walk in a straight line and she couldn't do that without looking awkward or strange.  

[insomniadreams88]

That was ... exactly what I expected from an article with that title from that site.

I'm not even going to touch on the whole developing female characters/love interest bit. 

Calling Dinah Drake Dinah Lance just makes me want the show to give us a Quentin Lance/Dinah Drake romance. 

I'm assuming that whoever wrote this is assuming that if not for Olicity, they would have done something completely different with E2 LL to even consider an OQ/E2 LL romance and recast the role, considering 1) she's a villain who worked with a villain who kidnapped his son and killed his son's mother, so really, I don't see how that relationship could ever work with the same story and 2) that wouldn't solve the anti-chemistry problem between SA and KC.

I also can't get over this:

Quote

 And while how things play out in the second half of Season 6 remain to be seen, with Felicity and Oliver now truly and irrevocably together thanks to their impromptu marriage, it's unlikely that the show would try to go down that road now.

Something about this sentence (especially the part I bolded) just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's because it's written on that site. 

[Trisha]

CW boss 'optimistic' that Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and Legends will return

http://ew.com/tv/2018/01/07/arrow-flash-supergirl-legends-tomorrow-renewals/

Quote

The news comes as Arrow is currently in its sixth season, typically when networks enter into contract negotiations for its leading actors. “I cannot discuss casting negotiations, but I do believe some members of the cast are already signed for longer,” Pedowitz says.

I thought SA always said he was contracted through to S7. Does anyone know if he meant until S7, or until the end of S7? I guess I always assumed it was the latter, but this makes it seem like he’s negotiating now. (Also despite what Pedowitz says, it is very odd for the CW not to make their slam-dunk renewal announcements at the TCAs, as is him bailing on the onstage panel.)

[Primal Slayer]

SA said he was signed on for 7 as did Colin back in the day so I dont think it is specifically Arrow that is holding them up.

[apinknightmare]

12 minutes ago, Trisha said:

Does anyone know if he meant until S7, or until the end of S7?

He made a comment a year or two ago that he was contracted until the middle of the next US president's term, so he's contracted for a full 7. 

I don't think the contract comment is anything worth analyzing - I'm not sure if there's a transcript floating around with the actual question Pedowitz was asked, but if he was asked specifically about Arrow's contract negotiations, it seems like a fairly broad response since he probably doesn't know who is or isn't signed for however many years right off the top of his head and probably wouldn't care to comment on it if he did.

Edited January 8, 2018 by apinknightmare

[paulvdb]

It's my understanding that the standard contract for actors on a new series is for seven seasons. So I'd expect that to be the case for all cast members who've been regulars since season 1. Which by now I guess is only Oliver, Diggle, Thea and Quentin. Laurel was a regular from season 1, but I have no idea if/how Katie Cassidy's contract situation changed when Laurel was killed off. I don't know what kind of contracts they gave to EBR and other actors who joined later.

[Velocity23]

2 hours ago, paulvdb said:

It's my understanding that the standard contract for actors on a new series is for seven seasons. So I'd expect that to be the case for all cast members who've been regulars since season 1. Which by now I guess is only Oliver, Diggle, Thea and Quentin. Laurel was a regular from season 1, but I have no idea if/how Katie Cassidy's contract situation changed when Laurel was killed off. I don't know what kind of contracts they gave to EBR and other actors who joined later.

Since Katie Cassidy got a new contract i would guess its similar to the one JH,RG, EK got. Just that she gets pay less. 

[Trisha]

7 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

I don't think the contract comment is anything worth analyzing - I'm not sure if there's a transcript floating around with the actual question Pedowitz was asked, but if he was asked specifically about Arrow's contract negotiations, it seems like a fairly broad response since he probably doesn't know who is or isn't signed for however many years right off the top of his head and probably wouldn't care to comment on it if he did.

Yeah, probably for the supporting cast. I'm sure he's fully aware of the contract status of all of his leads, though. 

2 hours ago, paulvdb said:

It's my understanding that the standard contract for actors on a new series is for seven seasons.

It used to be but I think that that the new standard may be six-year contracts.  Nina Dobrev bounced on TVD after year 6.  

[apinknightmare]

25 minutes ago, Trisha said:

Yeah, probably for the supporting cast. I'm sure he's fully aware of the contract status of all of his leads, though. 

Well, sure - I'd say he definitely knows the extent of Stephen, Grant and Melissa's contracts, and maybe a couple more off the top of his head. If he knew others for sure it seems like wouldn't have said, "I do believe..." But he mentions "some members of the cast" - which I would assume spans beyond Stephen, and seems like a generic brushing off of the question because contract negotiations aren't the reason Arrow hasn't been renewed yet like it seems the question asker was insinuating. But who knows. 

[Morrigan2575]

8 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

He made a comment a year or two ago that he was contracted until the middle of the next US president's term, so he's contracted for a full 7. 

I don't think the contract comment is anything worth analyzing - I'm not sure if there's a transcript floating around with the actual question Pedowitz was asked, but if he was asked specifically about Arrow's contract negotiations, it seems like a fairly broad response since he probably doesn't know who is or isn't signed for however many years right off the top of his head and probably wouldn't care to comment on it if he did.

Considering the contracts are with Berlanti/WB not the CW hr probably doesn't know for sure.  Given the full article it just seems like CW is just working on some internal plans (unrelated to Arrowverse) before announcing. Like you said not worth analyzing.

We were discussing this is the MYS thread yesterday. Should we stick to that thread or move talk here?

[quarks]

7 hours ago, paulvdb said:

It's my understanding that the standard contract for actors on a new series is for seven seasons. So I'd expect that to be the case for all cast members who've been regulars since season 1. Which by now I guess is only Oliver, Diggle, Thea and Quentin. Laurel was a regular from season 1, but I have no idea if/how Katie Cassidy's contract situation changed when Laurel was killed off. I don't know what kind of contracts they gave to EBR and other actors who joined later.

Not necessarily - CW shows, for various reasons, have often contracted actors on a new series for three seasons, not seven, and several Arrowverse regulars have stated that they signed contracts for only one or two seasons. Paul Blackthorne made multiple comments after season two about being unsure of his status (thus the cliffhanger ending for him), and his comments since then suggest that he's continued to sign a new contract each year, rather than committing to multiple seasons. The Supernatural cast, who are on legacy contracts to begin with, apparently re-negotiate every year.