And The Golden Arrow Goes To...: Awards, Nominations, and Recognition

[NumberCruncher]

He could have easily just given the results, but nope--there had to be commentary that's deliciously shadetastic. I am thoroughly amused. Never change, GATV.

[calliope1975]

And what he wrote for Laurel winning least favorite is so biased.Like give it up with the DJ he's been in 2 eps and then he died,Laurel has been awful for 3 seasons.

 

That write up for Worst Character was laughably bitter. It's a fan site, I get it, but wow. I avoid that site on purpose, and didn't go into the comments, and now I'm feel I'm perfectly justified with that decision.

[quarks]

For those who want a one page summary, the Green Arrow TV awards:

 

Best episode:

 

The Fallen, 44%

My Name Is Oliver Queen, 13%

The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak/The Climb (tie, but no percentage given)

The Brave and the Bold,  7%

 

(I'll admit: this one surprises me - I would not have expected "My Name Is Oliver Queen" or "The Secret Origins of Felicity Smoak" to rank that high. Tastes differ?)

 

Worst episode:

 

Canaries, 34%

My Name is Oliver Queen, 14%

The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak, 10%

Midnight City, 9%

 

(And here I'm just surprised that "Midnight City" wasn't ranked higher. Huh.)

 

Best Actor

 

Stephen Amell, 68%

John Barrowman, 17%

David Ramsey, 8%

Colton Haynes, not worth a mention (sorry Colton)

Paul Blackthorne, keeping Haynes company

 

Best Actor, Female

 

Emily Bett-Rickards, 72%

Katie Cassidy/Willa Holland "splitting the rest pretty evenly."

 

(Katie Cassidy did take this in 2013, with 43%; Willa Holland/Susanna Thompson split the rest of the vote that year. EBR wasn't in the running that year because she wasn't a series regular.)

 

Best Guest Star

 

Charlotte Ross, 35%

Katrina Law, 12%

Grant Gustin, percentage not listed.

 

(This doesn't match up with ratings/total viewers, but Gustin does have his own show and Law was in more episodes.)

 

Favorite Writer

 

Marc Guggenheim, 63%

Oscar Balderrama, Wendy Mericle, about the same, percentage not listed.

 

Favorite Director

 

Antonio Negret, 70%

Thor Freudenthal, 7%

Glen Winter, 3%

 

Best Villain

 

Malcolm Merlyn, 26%

Ra's Al Ghul, 20%

Al Sah-him, 16%

 

Favorite Character

 

Felicity Smoak, 57%

Oliver Queen, 13%

Laurel Lance, 9%

 

For what it's worth, in season two, the ranks were Felicity Smoak (55%), Oliver Queen (no percentage), Slade Wilson and Sara Lance.  Slade and Sara, of course, were barely in Arrow this season.

 

Least Favorite Character

 

Laurel Lance, 53%

Felicity Smoak, 16%

Chase the DJ, 9%

 

I will go on record here as agreeing with GreenArrow TV that really, Chase the DJ should have been ranked higher. How quickly we forget the awfulness in death.

 

Laurel has "won" this category for two seasons now, even with competition from that DJ. Left unmentioned: in season 2, Laurel Lance got 42% of the vote in this category, with Isabel taking 10%, and Dr. Ivo coming in third and Felicity fourth, no percentages.

 

Biggest Shocker

 

Oliver killed by Ra's - 42%

Death of Sara Lance - 22%

 

Nothing else, I guess, was that shocking.

 

Best Action Sequence

 

Oliver vs Ra's on the mountain - 28%

Team Arrow vs. the League of Assassins - 16%

Oliver vs Ra's on the dam, 3rd place, no percentage.

 

No love for the major stunt sequence in episode 18? Hmm.

 

Best Pairing

 

Oliver and Felicity, 78%

Nyssa and Laurel, 5%

Oliver and Laurel, 3%

Oliver and Diggle, 3%

 

Oliver and Felicity have won for three seasons now. In season one, 56% (compared to Oliver and Laurel at 24% and Thea and Roy at 7.3%); season two, 83% (compared to Sara and Oliver, 3%, Laurel and Oliver, 2.4%, and write in votes for Oliver and Slade.)

[dtissagirl]

Winning for the third year in a row, “Olicity” seems to still be the #1 choice among online fandom for Best Pairing on Arrow. The win at 78% wasn’t as big as the 83% of last year, but the fans certainly mobilized to get this “ship” the top spot. (The couple also won a MTV award earlier this year, as well.)

 

 

There's so much hilarity in this paragraph alone, I'm literally LOLing.

 

1. Putting the two key words in quotations, so you can read them with air quotes.

 

2. the #1 choice among online fandom - meaning there's an OFFLINE fandom that doesn't ship O/F. guys, truly, there is, they just hate computers and the internets and all technology, woe! IF ONLY they came online, woe.

 

3. The win at 78% wasn’t as big as the 83% of last year - Diss! Yo, 'shippers, last year you did better, bwahahaha, lookie you lost 5% of the vote TAKE THAT.

 

4. the fans certainly mobilized - meaning O/F 'shippers ~organized~ a massive vote in this category so they could win it. Which they did, but the intention is to make it look like this is wrong doing.

 

5. Oh, hey afterthought, there was that Ship of the Year thing with MTV, but who cares, here's some parenthetical vague comment that doesn't link anywhere nor give an accurate description of the award.

[Morrigan2575]

Lol those results are amazing.More proof that nothing really changed in terms of popularity since last year.

And what he wrote for Laurel winning least favorite is so biased.Like give it up with the DJ he's been in 2 eps and then he died,Laurel has been awful for 3 seasons.

Exactly! I would have put R'as over DJ DBag because he took up way more screen time.

[quarks]

Exactly! I would have put R'as over DJ DBag because he took up way more screen time.

 

Ok, fair enough, but I am clinging to my fact er ok opinion I guess that Chase the DJ was certainly worse than Felicity.

[lemotomato]

3. The win at 78% wasn’t as big as the 83% of last year - Diss! Yo, 'shippers, last year you did better, bwahahaha, lookie you lost 5% of the vote TAKE THAT.

A 5% drop, you guys! Surely, the tide is turning and Olicity is not a popular pairing anymore!

5. Oh, hey afterthought, there was that Ship of the Year thing with MTV, but who cares, here's some parenthetical vague comment that doesn't link anywhere nor give an accurate description of the award.

I'm sure he thought that throwing that tidbit in shows that he's not biased. Or something. Edited August 7, 2015 by lemotomato

[tangerine95]

Exactly! I would have put R'as over DJ DBag because he took up way more screen time.

Yeah I barely even noticed the DJ.Laurel and Ras were the worst for me.Ray Palmer behind them only because he showed some potential in the last couple of episodes.

[lemotomato]

Yeah I barely even noticed the DJ.Laurel and Ras were the worst for me.Ray Palmer behind them only because he showed some potential in the last couple of episodes.

I voted for Ray because nothing he did in the last 3 episodes could make up for how much I disliked him during the rest of the season (I couldn't even stand to watch the last crossover to Flash).

Given how there were so many more characters to dislike this season, I wonder if Laurel still won with such a large margin because people were voting for her out of spite for the site.

[wonderwall]

I know I voted for Laurel because out of all the characters, she's the only one I'm indifferent to. The others like Ray or DJ or Malcolm make me angry, but at least they make me feel something. With Laurel, she's just there..... She's been bad for 3 seasons, that's why next year I'll probably vote for her too (unless the writers completely botch up some other character)

[tangerine95]

For me it comes down to Laurel because she's the reason Sara died,the reason Digg got sidelined,they killed Oliver off for no reason other then so she could suit up.She impacts the show in a bad way more then any other character I dislike and has more screentime then any of them. I don't even hate her as a character she's to inconsistent and badly written to get a grasp on.I hate her for being dead weight on the show.

[Chaser]

Dom!Felicity, Live! with Stephen and Emily, Felicity being used for PR for SA's WWE appearance and this? It's like Christmas.

 

I love it when sites that are all bitter and negative about Felicity put up a poll….and then get trounced. So much petty, so much glee.

[NumberCruncher]

I'm a Felicity lover and I didn't vote for Laurel as worst character so I don't get the bitterness that it's simply unjustified hate because of the Olicity shippers. In my case, that vote definitely belonged to Ray because his presence on the show was 100% unnecessary to the plot. He is the epitome of dead character weight and therefore not worth my viewership. Seriously, if you were to take him out of S3, you really wouldn't impact things all that much in terms of the vigilante activities on the show since he spent 3/4 of the season...not actually fighting crime.

One thing about that poll that I find quite interesting is that the Oliver/Laurel voting percentages haven't deviated at all between S2 and S3. I guess that surprised me a bit given the canon issue that became such a hot-button topic on all the message boards/comment sections/FB timelines this season. After all, a lot of the canon crowd gravitates to GATV and I would have assumed they would have voted for O/L en masse--especially with Laurel assuming the BC identity, but alas--that apparently wasn't the case.

Edited August 7, 2015 by NumberCruncher

[tangerine95]

That's because they don't have the numbers,they voted but it wasn't enough.They dominate those places like FB for example because Olicity/Felicity fans just like the picture or video or just vote on GATV and don't engage with them as much as they used to.

[dtissagirl]

3% actually looks to me be an accurate percentage for ~online~ Laurel/Oliver 'shippers

[apinknightmare]

After all, a lot of the canon crowd gravitates to GATV and I would have assumed they would have voted for O/L en masse--especially with Laurel assuming the BC identity, but alas--that apparently wasn't the case.

 

Maybe they did, and just can't match the numbers O/F fans put up? I'm not sure - was this a poll where you could vote more than once?

[tangerine95]

3% actually looks to me be an accurate percentage for ~online~ Laurel/Oliver 'shippers

But we all know they are the silent majority in casual viewers.

[Chaser]

Maybe they did, and just can't match the numbers O/F fans put up? I'm not sure - was this a poll where you could vote more than once?

One vote per person (or computer). 

[pootlus]

3% actually looks to me be an accurate percentage for ~online~ Laurel/Oliver 'shippers

 

But you forgot random quotes around words you find to be mildly distasteful in order to passively-aggressively dispute the vote tally :)

[dtissagirl]

But you forgot random quotes around words you find to be mildly distasteful in order to passively-aggressively dispute the vote tally :)

 

I'm not scared of admitting my biases, but I'll cop to marking ~words~ ~like~ ~this~ for mockery, yes. :)

[Guest]

I'm a Felicity lover and I didn't vote for Laurel as worst character so I don't get the bitterness that it's simply unjustified hate because of the Olicity shippers. In my case, that vote definitely belonged to Ray because his presence on the show was 100% unnecessary to the plot. He is the epitome of dead character weight and therefore not worth my viewership. Seriously, if you were to take him out of S3, you really wouldn't impact things all that much in terms of the vigilante activities on the show since he spent 3/4 of the season...not actually fighting crime.

 

Same. I voted for Ray. I hated his character and the effect he had on Felicity's character. He was absolutely pointless. Laurel felt like such a lesser problem in s3, for me personally, even though I had a lot of issues with her arc. So this so-called bias is pretty unfair. I have no doubt some shippers voted out of pettiness but not everyone. I hate it when they generalize. 

[wonderwall]

I mean it says a lot when the Olicity fans promote their couple better than the CW PR department promotes the show........ There's also a little 20 second video that goes with this but couldn't embed it. 

 

[Chaser]

I felt Ray had more of a point then Laurel. A mirror to Oliver, a choice for Felicity, a spin-off in the works. The problem with Ray was it was done so poorly it ended up not benefiting anyone. Laurel's story may have been done marginally better but I can't forgive it because it didn't need to happen at all. And because it did, Sara died and Diggle was cheated a storyline he had earned (Quentin too for that matter).

[steeledwithakiss]

I had a problem with both Palmer and Laurel. At the end I voted for Laurel because she's still on the show whereas we are more less rid of Palmer. Their journey to heroism was an insult to all the other heroes on the show and especially Oliver, IMO.

[lemotomato]

Now that I think about it, what's the point of having a "least favorite" category at all? (I mean, besides being obvious click bait) It's inevitable that something like that encourages the negativity that the site owner is admonishing people for. 

[Chaser]

I'm very much against least/worst categories. I don't think they serve a purpose. If fans want to know about what is least poplar, look at a Best category and read it bottom to top.

[BkWurm1]

I know I voted for Laurel because out of all the characters, she's the only one I'm indifferent to. The others like Ray or DJ or Malcolm make me angry, but at least they make me feel something. With Laurel, she's just there..... She's been bad for 3 seasons, that's why next year I'll probably vote for her too (unless the writers completely botch up some other character)

I went the opposite reasoning. I was mostly indifferent to Laurel so I chose DJ Douchebag since I just hated him every moment.  He in his few episodes was more demeaning and obnoxious than Laurel was in the whole season. Oh I hated him.  

 

So happy Mama Smoak took top honors for Guest Star.  I love KL but she felt too much like a regular to be the best Guest star. 

[lexicon]

I'm a Felicity lover and I didn't vote for Laurel as worst character so I don't get the bitterness that it's simply unjustified hate because of the Olicity shippers. In my case, that vote definitely belonged to Ray because his presence on the show was 100% unnecessary to the plot. He is the epitome of dead character weight and therefore not worth my viewership. Seriously, if you were to take him out of S3, you really wouldn't impact things all that much in terms of the vigilante activities on the show since he spent 3/4 of the season...not actually fighting crime.

One thing about that poll that I find quite interesting is that the Oliver/Laurel voting percentages haven't deviated at all between S2 and S3. I guess that surprised me a bit given the canon issue that became such a hot-button topic on all the message boards/comment sections/FB timelines this season. After all, a lot of the canon crowd gravitates to GATV and I would have assumed they would have voted for O/L en masse--especially with Laurel assuming the BC identity, but alas--that apparently wasn't the case.

 

Unless...that was them voting en masse...all 3% of them. LOL. I'm sorry this is all just too funny.

[BkWurm1]

This was in the opening paragraph for the GATV Awards.  Oh, the shade. 

 

Voting is limited to one vote per IP, so to our knowledge that keeps the Awards from being “fixed,” and every winner is won fair and square. Sometimes it’s because a fan base cares enough to mobilize the vote – but as far as we are aware and are concerned, the results are accurate.

 

Is mobilizing the same as reporting there is a poll? 

[Chaser]

He runs a fan site. It depends on fans caring about the show. Is it bad to care too much? Or is he just frustrated that the fans he wants to care, simply don't care enough? 

 

What's your shade Craig? 

[steeledwithakiss]

He's so bitter, bless his heart. That is what media want, for people to care, to engage. That's how it works. Apathy is the death knell of comics, tv shows, and every kind of entertainment. Hence the bad publicity is still good publicity saying. He's trying to minimize the results, saying it doesn't mean anything because the other fans didn't "mobilize" enough or people tried to punish LL by voting for Canaries. Of course it still is just an online poll, it is not a big deal. What is a big deal though for the show/network is a fanbase putting Arrow's name out there. It might look silly for a lot of people how the Olicity fandom cares but they seem to be one of the few trying to get positive buzz for the show. Winning awards is a fun and easy way to just do that.

Edited August 8, 2015 by steeledwithakiss

[NoWayOut]

These are polls from GATV, a site with a seemingly pro-Laurel / comic canon GA/BC userbase. Am I supposed to believe they didn't care enough to mobilize the votes? They voted. They just didn't have the numbers to win.

[BkWurm1]

This is in the write up for the "Best Pairing" category for GATV.  It's about Nyssa and Laurel.

 

Nyssa’s training and Laurel’s friendship seemed to improve both characters,

 

I absolutely agree I liked Laurel better for it but I was already Nyssa's fan.  I guess it did give us another side of Nyssa.  

[statsgirl]

The whole idea of "mobilizing the vote" is just silly because 1. people can vote only once and 2. if a lot of people who don't usually go to his site went there because of the polls, surely that's good for him.  And Felicity getting 17% of Least Favorite Character shows that the Laurel fans were there, voting.

 

 

Sometimes it’s because a fan base cares enough to mobilize the vote

Does that mean that the Laurel and Lauriver fan base didn't care enough?

 

Antonio Negret winning at 70% just shows how important a social media presence is.

 

While they both distorted the season, I think Malcolm Merlyn distorted it more than Laurel did, but I voted for Laurel because JB's just so much fun chewing the scenery and KC isn't.

 

Maybe there just wasn’t enough Caity Lotz, maybe people just don’t like the new Count Vertigo as much as they liked Seth Gabel, maybe Oliver was missed, or maybe people just want to pick on something that featured heavy Laurel, but in any event, “Canaries” ended up with Worst Episode dishonors with 34% of the vote.

Er, wasn't Oliver in Canaries?  Yelling at Laurel, and then forgetting she was there?

Edited August 8, 2015 by statsgirl

[steeledwithakiss]

This is in the write up for the "Best Pairing" category for GATV.  It's about Nyssa and Laurel.

 

I absolutely agree I liked Laurel better for it but I was already Nyssa's fan.  I guess it did give us another side of Nyssa.  

I don't know, having her put Nyssa's life above Oliver's, and so willingly without a hint of hesitation, didn't endear me to her. I know it's not a popular opinion, but i didn't enjoy it.

[statsgirl]

Isn't it typical Laurel though? When they thought Oliver was dead in January, she said that Oliver's come back from the dead before. It was like "same old, same old" for her whereas Nyssa is her new BFF.  So it doesn't surprise me that she'd put Nyssa's life above Oliver's then.

[Chaser]

Laurel not being broken up at all over Oliver was kind of hilarious to me. I know at one put she made a comment about knowing Oliver her whole life, but it was the same episode where she was cool with writing him off and even offered to take him out so Diggle wouldn't have too. Given the entire show, I really don't believe they were ever really friends. So I was fine with her putting Nyssa's life over Oliver's. Felt honest.

 

Putting Nyssa's life over Lyla's? Nope. Not Okay At All. Esp getting in Diggle's face about it and acting like she had the high road. That's where they lost me.    

[apinknightmare]

It's like she completely forgot that Nyssa KIDNAPPED HER MOTHER a year ago, haha.

[wonderwall]

It's like she completely forgot that Nyssa KIDNAPPED HER MOTHER a year ago, haha.

And tranqued her as well :p

[Chaser]

Didn't that lead to Sara trying to kill herself so she wouldn't have to go back to the LOA? 

[apinknightmare]

Didn't that lead to Sara trying to kill herself so she wouldn't have to go back to the LOA?

I'm not sure if it led to that (I can't remember the chain of events) but that was certainly part of it.

Edited August 8, 2015 by apinknightmare

[statsgirl]

Didn't that lead to Sara trying to kill herself so she wouldn't have to go back to the LOA? 

I think so.  That was the point at which Sara realized the League was relentless (It took Oliver till 3x19 to get it) and she tried to kill herself to get the point through.

 

But Nyssa is just one more thing that Laurel SWFed from Sara.

[steeledwithakiss]

Laurel not being broken up at all over Oliver was kind of hilarious to me. I know at one put she made a comment about knowing Oliver her whole life, but it was the same episode where she was cool with writing him off and even offered to take him out so Diggle wouldn't have too. Given the entire show, I really don't believe they were ever really friends. So I was fine with her putting Nyssa's life over Oliver's. Felt honest.

 

Putting Nyssa's life over Lyla's? Nope. Not Okay At All. Esp getting in Diggle's face about it and acting like she had the high road. That's where they lost me.    

I never bought they were ever friends, but selling out a person you loved half your life who's been trying to protect the city up until recently for an assassin who kidnapped your mother because you had a milkshake together? That's cold and doesn't speak well of her sense of loyalty. I wouldn't want someone like that on my team. Do not get me started on her saying Lyla's life was worth Nyssa's.

 

I think they should have put Diggle and Felicity on the list because even if they didn't share a lot of scenes together, the one when they think they're dying and Felicity tells him she doesn't regret anything because she got to know him was really touching and believable.

 

They should separate romantic pairing and platonic ones for next time.

[kismet]

Now that I think about it, what's the point of having a "least favorite" category at all? (I mean, besides being obvious click bait) It's inevitable that something like that encourages the negativity that the site owner is admonishing people for. 

 

 

I'm very much against least/worst categories. I don't think they serve a purpose. If fans want to know about what is least poplar, look at a Best category and read it bottom to top.

I'm usually not for least favorite character, because it is so broad and how can you compare 1 character to another (especially with the extensive list they provided)? It becomes more personal & less analytical. Yes the DJ was awful, but its a few episodes vs. other characters that have been on for seasons or have a more frequent recurring status. In many ways its like comparing oranges & apples. I honestly, can't even remember who I voted for for least favorite character, because it didn't matter that much to me. Sometimes its nicer to focus on the positive. And in s3 that was scarce at times, so I sorta breezed thru this category for my sanity.

 

On the flipside, I do like having least favorite episode because I do feel it can be more analytical & less personal opinion. Canaries was one of the worst episodes of the season because it lacked everything that makes ARROW good, but included everything that makes it cliche. Bad action sequences, distorted timelines for plot purposes, death to get rid of useless character (DJ), weird team-ups (Roy & MM), repeated story-telling device that were better executed the 1st time (drug hallucinations and fighting oneself metaphorically & physically), over-reliance on gotcha or ridiculous timing moments, forced angst for plot, displaced main character to prop secondary characters, and waste of talented guest actors. The only thing good about The Canaries episode was that OQ finally told Thea, and how Thea handled the info. I love the CL came back, but even her moments couldn't save the show. And I know deep inside I love the old Count better than the new count (so I might be partial in my dislike for the new count). But I also know the new Count can act based on what I've seen him do on other shows, which means his material on Arrow was probably poorly written moreso than poorly acted.

 

But to end on a positive note - For me hands down, The Fallen was the best episode of the season. I had everything that makes Arrow ARROW. Good characters, familial & friend love, hard choices, sacrifice, honor, awesome action scenes, devious villains, crazy yet logical/believable twists & romance. It was the shining star of the season and definitely of the series as well. I'm glad that won*. If I wanted to ever intro someone into the show that would be one of the episodes I would tell them to watch.

 

Edited - Because one & won are not that same thing. But sorta close in this context.

Edited August 8, 2015 by kismet

[EmilyBettFan]

He's so bitter. The fact he screams and blocks everyone who says he's biased is quite hilarious. Because he is biased.

[lemotomato]

I think they should have put Diggle and Felicity on the list because even if they didn't share a lot of scenes together, the one when they think they're dying and Felicity tells him she doesn't regret anything because she got to know him was really touching and believable.

 

They should separate romantic pairing and platonic ones for next time.

The "best pairing" category was "best couple" in the previous two years. Whether the category was expanded to include platonic relationships because there aren't as many romantic couples on the show, or because that was the only way to shoehorn Oliver/Laurel in there, or because he hoped that would dilute votes for Olicity, well, that's up for interpretation.

[TwistedandBored]

My favorite part of GATV awards is in the Least Favorite character write up 

And somewhere, someone on Tumblr has surely screencapped this page as proof that “GATV can’t deal with the results.” 

 

 

 

LMAO! It is like he knows fans out there are aware how salty he is about the winner of this category. I mean at least he is aware everyone knows how bias he is. LOL

[wingster55]

I don't see anything wrong with anything GATV said. Saying online fandom is bad? His entire site is made up of online fans. 

 

As for the results...Oliver/Thea didn't even make the top 4? Jeez. 

Donna Smoak got best guest star? Both Nyssa and Barry deserved that way more imo. 

[tv echo]

RadioTimes' Sci-Fi & Fantasy Champion 2015 - Round 2 closes on August 8th:

http://www.radiotimes.com/scifichampion

 

There are 16 match-ups in Round 2. The only Arrow-related matchup remaining is:

 

Matchup 15
John Barrowman vs. Sam Heughan (SH is leading)

Edited August 8, 2015 by tv echo

[kismet]

I don't see anything wrong with anything GATV said. Saying online fandom is bad? His entire site is made up of online fans. 

 

As for the results...Oliver/Thea didn't even make the top 4? Jeez. 

Donna Smoak got best guest star? Both Nyssa and Barry deserved that way more imo.

taking to supporting cast thread