Tag Archives: Arrowverse TV shows

Feb 3 2022

Twilight Of The Arrowverse

The Flash, the flagship TV show of the Arrowverse, has been renewed for a ninth season. “YAWN”

Legends of Tomorrow might be renewed for an eighth season, but being the TV show airs on The CW, its renewal is likely. No surprise, if it is renewed.

Batwoman…er, is this thing still on?

To be serious, the Arrowverse has seen better days. That was back when Arrow was in its early seasons and The Flash was considered one of the best superhero TV shows. But now, the interconnected TV shows based on DC superheroes are considered outdated, some of them have had problematic productions and there is little excitement over them.

Yes, Superman & Lois is a great superhero TV show and is part of the Arrowverse, but even that show seems embarassed to be associated with the Arrowverse. Nearly all of its episodes do not have any references to the larger Arrowverse. One notable episode that guest-starred the Arrowverse mainstay, John Diggle (David Ramsey), only annoyed fans of Superman & Lois because the show is very well done with superior writing, acting and special effects.

These Arrowverse TV shows are masterminded by Greg Berlanti. He is also behind better received, non-Arrowverse shows like Titans, Stargirl and Doom Patrol, so he can produce quality TV shows and the early days of the Arrowverse confirm this. However, the proper Arrowverse is creatively running on fumes and, aside from Superman & Lois, need to be put out to pasture. At least Arrow quit while it was more or less ahead in its seventh season when its star Stephen Amell decided to leave the show. Even at that point, Arrow had seen a decline in quality, although its final season was generally well done.

The issue of TV shows that go on for too long is a common one with most TV shows on The CW, which is now up for sale by its owners WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS. If and when the sale goes through and, particularly if WarnerMedia is spunoff by its owners AT&T, the future of the Arrowverse is dim.

So, we could be looking at the twilight of the Arrowverse.

This will generate collective yawns from most viewers and fans who have moved on from the Arrowverse. It is a shame because at one point, the Arrowverse TV shows were some of the best and most engaging superhero fare on TV. Honestly, when Arrow debuted on October 12, 2012 and spawned other TV shows, it was an exciting time since they were the only game in town. During that time, as Marvel Entertainment dominated the box office, DC ruled the airwaves. But eventually the competition caught up and surpassed the Arrowverse. Not just Marvel, but even DC, as edgier and better produced shows like Doom Patrol, and now Peacemaker, captured our attention.

The problem with the Arrowverse is that they are quickly churned out, have limited budgets and it shows. Most of the shows feel the same. They usually have the main character/superhero who has some back up team providing support, which is odd since the comic book counterparts operated by themselves or with little support. This team consists of some annoying computer or tech nerd who talks too much, a grounded, more mature, mentor, the love interest who has nothing to do and winds up becoming an integral part of the team for no reason, and a young protege superhero who tries to follow in the hero’s footsteps. The villains are hit or miss and often badly overacted. When the villain does connect that foe then becomes overused by the shows’ tired writers.

Also, the average Arrowverse show dwells too much on vapid romantic sub plots that are good sleep tonics for anyone who is not a lovesick teenager. Being that the shows on The CW are geared towards younger viewers, this helps explain the worn out formula and emphasis on romance with the Arrowverse TV shows.

Another flaw is that the Arrowverse shows have too many episodes per season, which betrays its outdated model. Try to name a show currently airing or streaming with over 20 episodes in a season. Good luck with that. The point is that by churning out so many shows in a limited time period it is difficult to produce quality episodes. This amounts to lots of filler episodes that can be skipped. What’s worse is that the main story arc for a season meanders on and is unfocused.

With all these flaws it is hard to deny the Arrowverse has outlived its shelf life. The Arrowverse is clearly in a twilight phase of its existence and it’s sad to observe. The Arrowverse helped set the mode for a modern, interrelated TV universe where characters would casually appear in any given show. This TV universe deserves to be commended for its contribution to the geeky arts even as it is in its final moments.

Jun 14 2020

Crisis With The Arrowverse TV Shows

Lately, headlines announced some issue or another befallen one Arrowverse TV show after the other, and this gives the impression that  the Arrowverse TV shows are in trouble. It seems collectively, the superhero shows hit their peak earlier this year with the crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, and things largely went downhill from there.

This is just a broad generalization, some of the Arrowverse TV shows are doing fine, namely Black Lightning and Stargirl, but there is a sense that these superhero shows have run out of steam and feel dated.

The Hood

Arrow, the show the live-action DC superhero TV universe is named after, concluded its eight-season run earlier this year, just as it had found renewed energy. The reason the show ended was because the main actor who played Green Arrow, Stephen Amell, wanted to leave to resume a more normal life. For anyone, who doesn’t know, these shows are filmed in Canada, which requires the cast and crew to be away from their families. Arrow was justly celebrated when it ended, but there were questions of how the the Arrowverse would continue without its flagship show. Other shows like The Flash have eclipsed Arrow in terms of popularity and ratings, but the Arrowverse still seems empty without Green Arrow stalking around in the dark alleys telling bad guys “You have failed this city!”

Older, remaining Arrowverse shows such as The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl are running low on creativity. For the most part, the episodes and scripts are bland and uninspiring. The Flash ended its season with its main character no longer having his natural powers and his wife trapped in another dimension. But it was so dull and shrug inducing. The Flash has had problems in recent years with coming up with engaging villains and story arcs. For too long, the show relied on evil speedsters, but the new batch of villains are just blah. Then there is the undeniable fact that the actors seem bored and going through some drama, which will be covered shortly. It is just a shame, given the excitement most fans felt for the show and its lead character after the thrilling encounter between the TV version of the Flash with his DCEU counterpart during “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. The crossover event was supposed to provide a new spark of creative energy but very little has happened aside from some Flash villains being reimagined and not very well; although Lex Luthor’s revamping in Supergirl was interesting.  At the very least the meeting between the two Flashes rekindled interest in the upcoming movie version of the Flash.

Legends of Tomorrow is a mere shadow of its initial premise: C-list superheroes who time travel to get some respect. That is still there somewhere but it has been buried lately in these nonsensical magic-related plots and most of the original cast is gone. Some of the replacements are not very compelling, though to its credit Legends of Tomorrow does a decent job of being goofy and funny. Some episodes are very humorous and the show wisely figured out long ago not to take itself too seriously and embraced its comedic tone. However, other shows like Doom Patrol overshadowed Legends of Tomorrow by being quirkier and more insightful superhero shows.

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