Poll: Arrow - The Best Show on TV Today

[gamernerdtg2]

Wow people. Super critical. That's ok though...

I thought it felt like Batman for the first two episodes, but it leaves Batman and goes into something different. Batman doesn't have a corrupt family. Batman uses more than one weapon. No one knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne (at least, that's as far as I know), but he reaveals himself to Tommy and to others through out the 1st season. The producers totally drew some of their inspiration from the Dark Knight series, but it's not a Batman clone like I thought. Check the whole series out. The finale is solid.

I like the actor for Oliver Queen. If you were stuck on an island (according to the TV plot) for 5 years and went through what he went through, you'd be looking like Oliver Queen. I don't see him coming back from that experience being all Shakespearian.

Felicity Smoak is HOT! I know she's never naked on the show because this isn't HBO, but I love her character.

Moira Queen's character is so complex, it's not even funny. Susanna Thompson is great for that role.

Diggle rules. The Dark Archer was super slimy evil, and I believed how powerful that character is.

I think they killed the right person in the finale. You knew someone was gonna die, but I didn't see that coming.

These types of undertakings are never going to line up with the comic book. I've seen too many comic book-to-movie, or comic book-to-TV show adaptations to know that the die-hards aren't going to get what we want. I'm completely sold on everything that the show has offered up to this point.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I watched the first season to it's completion and I liked it. Best on TV? Far from it, I would say above average.

Game of Thrones holds the title of best series on TV in my eyes.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

I LOVE "Arrow". I think it's a great show and I'm not going to insult it by saying "if you switch your brain off". Stephen Amell is getting used to the character still. The original season of ANY show is a teething experience and I think "Arrow" has done exceptionally well, with very few filler episodes or at least very good ones. Remember, Ollie was stuck on an island in life and death situations every day, he is emotionally scarred and could never be Smallville's carefree GA. The character himself is just learning to be GA as well and that's also going to take time to get right.

Overall, I think "Arrow" has put in a strong first season and I personally cannot wait for the second.

Also, at least there's some action and parkour unlike "The Boring Dead" and it's things... and stuff.

I wish I saw this before I posted. Yes I agree about Oliver Queen, and I think he shows growth throughout the 1st season. Looking forward to the 2nd season.

 

[repeating integers]

I prefer Suits, personally.

 

[Edguy]

I like it, but some of the writing is down-right horrible. The love triangle between Queen, his best friend and that annoying love interest was so cringe-worthy it almost made me turn the video off, whenever i was brought up, which was way too often. Also, the constant recapping made the characters seem like complete weirdos. It's like they expected none of their viewers to have seen a single previous episode. It generally suffers from incredibly cliched writing, but is saved by a decent overall story arc and the flashbacks, which are the best part of the show by a long shot. Leagues away from, say, Game of Thrones though.

 

[redknightalex]

I haven't seen it and probably won't take the time to either. Just doesn't seem to be much more than a regular TV show...only without the cops, doctors, and whatevers.

Personally, I think a small Canadian-produced show called Continuum is my favorite so far. Season 2 has yet to air in the US but Season 1 was amazing. I also don't watch The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones so take of that what you will.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Best show on TV? Easy there! Have you not seen Game of Thrones?

I enjoy it. I think it's far from the best but it's fun and I don't have to put a lot of thought into watching it. At the very least it's better than Smallvile which I... Hated.

 

[omega 616]

snip

Yup, love the balls of it!

Spoiler

There are a few things that annoy me though. The island stuff, I like the idea of showing how he became such a badass through trail by fire but the plot is fucked up! The guy rescues him, takes care of him, then betrays him, then rescue, then betray, then rescue, then betray ... the fuck guy!

Tommy being self sacrificing goes against his character. Oliver and Tommy where basically the same, both party animals who had very rich parents and played the field ... Oliver gets "Killed" but actually turns into a man, Tommy grieves and becomes a man? "I'm so sad my best friend died, time to man up and stop partying"?

Oliver's love life. He is in love with Laurel but Tommy is dating her, after Tommy breaks up with Laurel 'cos he knows Oliver and Laurel still have a thing. Oliver says almost one sentence and Tommy changes his mind completely? Then Laurel talks to Oliver and after almost one sentence they do the nasty and Tommy catches them? What the fuck, will somebody have some conviction?

Laurels dad is a fucking numpty. I get why he hates Oliver but he hates the vigilante as well? You could say "he has a feeling that they are the same people" fair enough but he has been proven wrong on that one a few times AND the vigilante is doing what he can't ... he actually stops criminals, rather than just put them into a prison.

EIDT, whats with the raging boners for game of thrones? Is it all the sex? Come on, you can tell me ... it will be our little secret.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

Why does Smalllvile come up when people talk about Arrow?

Game of Thrones? I'll have to check it out. I've passed it off as another excuse to show sex on TV. I hope I'm wrong.

I wasn't really talking about Cable television (HBO, Showtime, etc). I was talking about regular TV.

 

[DownTharr]

Steady on, it's not The Walking Dead (I'm yet to watch Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or Hannibal, so feel free to disagree with me here).

I did see one episode... I think it must have been the second or third, but it wasn't great. The acting was terrible, and the script didn't help.

Walking dead has nothing happening, though ARROW's just eh.

Off Topic: When will your army of militant bears take over ze world! I'd like to know when I should leave.

 

[DownTharr]

Why does Smalllvile come up when people talk about Arrow?

Game of Thrones? I'll have to check it out. I've passed it off as another excuse to show sex on TV. I hope I'm wrong.

I wasn't really talking about Cable television (HBO, Showtime, etc). I was talking about regular TV.

Game o' thrones has little sex, and the sex it has is natural (no models with fake tits, etc) and to your smallville point, there both superhero shows done well.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

snip

Yup, love the balls of it!

Spoiler

There are a few things that annoy me though. The island stuff, I like the idea of showing how he became such a badass through trail by fire but the plot is fucked up! The guy rescues him, takes care of him, then betrays him, then rescue, then betray, then rescue, then betray ... the fuck guy!

Tommy being self sacrificing goes against his character. Oliver and Tommy where basically the same, both party animals who had very rich parents and played the field ... Oliver gets "Killed" but actually turns into a man, Tommy grieves and becomes a man? "I'm so sad my best friend died, time to man up and stop partying"?

Oliver's love life. He is in love with Laurel but Tommy is dating her, after Tommy breaks up with Laurel 'cos he knows Oliver and Laurel still have a thing. Oliver says almost one sentence and Tommy changes his mind completely? Then Laurel talks to Oliver and after almost one sentence they do the nasty and Tommy catches them? What the fuck, will somebody have some conviction?

Laurels dad is a fucking numpty. I get why he hates Oliver but he hates the vigilante as well? You could say "he has a feeling that they are the same people" fair enough but he has been proven wrong on that one a few times AND the vigilante is doing what he can't ... he actually stops criminals, rather than just put them into a prison.

Try seeing those things from another perspective.

Spoiler

Yao Fe is the dude that trains Queen on the island, and his motivations are not always clear because Fires (guy in charge on the island) has Yao Fe's daughter. That's why you see the rescuing, capturing, etc. It's a tricky situation.

Would you rather Tommy lived on for the second season? There's nothing really to live for with his character. His dad destroyed the Glades, his mom is gone, and his best friend took the love of his life. Where is Tommy's story going from there? Is he going to become the new "Dark Archer" or something? Naw. I like Tommy's character, but it made sense to kill him off. I can't see him living in area that his father destroyed - always being reminded that his dad destroyed the Glades. He had to die.

Oliver's love life - he always loved Laurel. He was a playboy, so he was immature. After 5 years on an island, he still had feelings, but felt that his life as Arrow would get her killed or put her in danger. That's why there was all kinds of "yes", but "no" going on.

Laurel's dad actually comes around. He's blinded by the loss of his other daughter, but he changes. As he accepts his daughter's death, the rest of his character is able to balance out. He's able to be a better father to Laurel. As you know, he actually works with Oliver in the latter episodes, so he definitely changes.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

Why does Smalllvile come up when people talk about Arrow?

Game of Thrones? I'll have to check it out. I've passed it off as another excuse to show sex on TV. I hope I'm wrong.

I wasn't really talking about Cable television (HBO, Showtime, etc). I was talking about regular TV.

Game o' thrones has little sex, and the sex it has is natural (no models with fake tits, etc) and to your smallville point, there both superhero shows done well.

Arrow is a superhero show? What powers does Oliver Queen have? Deadshot is the closest character that I can think of with powers, but all the characters in Arrow are regular folk with nothing super. The comic must be different though.

We'll have to look at Game of Thrones. Not sure if natural sex is a selling point, but we'll check out the show.

 

[dando300]

Its good but its no Game of thrones. That said game of thrones beats everything.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

I enjoy the show, but I have a lot of issues with it.
First of all, it's stupid how he's supposed to be an expert soldier and infiltrator, yet constantly runs straight towards people spraying at him with machine guns, yet he is never touched by a bullet. They never sell the fact that he's supposed to be good at this, instead of just being blessed by some lucky fairy. I had hopes that they would be more clever about his MO, but this got turned into silly comic book very quickly. You're just supposed to assume that he's some sort of demi-god who knows all and is capable enough to get into and do anything the plot requires.

I also dislike how victimized Olivers mother is. I would have much preferred her to be more involved and convinced of The Undertaking plot. But I guess they would have to kill her off or send her to jail or something pretty soon, which would kill the opportunity for family drama.

Also, it's apparent that the central theme of this show is lying, yet they never reach any satisfying conclusions or comment on the morality of it.

With that said, the choreography is very well done, and I really like the diversity and strength of the cast.
It's visually cool, and while the whole "green eye paint" thing makes no sense, it looks pretty badass.

I think this could easily be one of the better shows on TV right now if they just chose to inject some sense and logic into it.

I would say that the central theme is tension. Relational tension. It's also something that drives the entire first season.
Arrow (the TV series version) is not a super hero, nor is anyone else on the show. I have nothing else to compare this show with except Batman, but it pulls away from Batman after the 2nd or 3rd show. His MO is reckless because he came off of an island, etc, and he doesn't know how he's going to do what his dad asked him to do...think that through some more.

I thought Moira Queen was brilliant. You seem to be more into morals and such, her character was hard to decipher until the last show - she gets what's coming to her because her character is in fact, evil...but it's not a clear cut evil, and that's why I like her character. I like how innocent she seems on the surface.
I think the outcome of the moral choices gets delayed until the last show - again, tension. In this case, tension through moral ambiguity.

I think they go a great job of showing how Oliver moves from being a looser playboy to Arrow by the island flashbacks.

Great post btw.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

You know, I never really thought of Arrow as a super hero. They do a great job of convincing you that he's a regular dude who learned how to fight through hard knocks. I think that bringing in the "super" aspect would kill the whole show. So I don't really see the connection with Smallvile and Arrow.

The modern interpretations of Superman are so terrible I can't watch them. It's not cool to be "super" today because you have to be flawed. That's why I'm shocked that so many of you have issues with Oliver's character. He's one of the most flawed protagonists I've seen in a while, yet I root for him. I like the ambiguity of him being a "vigilante" but also being a protagonist. His character grows a ton through the first season as Oliver, but also as Arrow.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I choose hidden option 5: I've seen it, and I think it's bad.
Not awful, not insulting. Just tepid and bad.

 

[omega 616]

snip

Yup, love the balls of it!

Spoiler

There are a few things that annoy me though. The island stuff, I like the idea of showing how he became such a badass through trail by fire but the plot is fucked up! The guy rescues him, takes care of him, then betrays him, then rescue, then betray, then rescue, then betray ... the fuck guy!

Tommy being self sacrificing goes against his character. Oliver and Tommy where basically the same, both party animals who had very rich parents and played the field ... Oliver gets "Killed" but actually turns into a man, Tommy grieves and becomes a man? "I'm so sad my best friend died, time to man up and stop partying"?

Oliver's love life. He is in love with Laurel but Tommy is dating her, after Tommy breaks up with Laurel 'cos he knows Oliver and Laurel still have a thing. Oliver says almost one sentence and Tommy changes his mind completely? Then Laurel talks to Oliver and after almost one sentence they do the nasty and Tommy catches them? What the fuck, will somebody have some conviction?

Laurels dad is a fucking numpty. I get why he hates Oliver but he hates the vigilante as well? You could say "he has a feeling that they are the same people" fair enough but he has been proven wrong on that one a few times AND the vigilante is doing what he can't ... he actually stops criminals, rather than just put them into a prison.

Try seeing those things from another perspective.

Spoiler

Yao Fe is the dude that trains Queen on the island, and his motivations are not always clear because Fires (guy in charge on the island) has Yao Fe's daughter. That's why you see the rescuing, capturing, etc. It's a tricky situation.

Would you rather Tommy lived on for the second season? There's nothing really to live for with his character. His dad destroyed the Glades, his mom is gone, and his best friend took the love of his life. Where is Tommy's story going from there? Is he going to become the new "Dark Archer" or something? Naw. I like Tommy's character, but it made sense to kill him off. I can't see him living in area that his father destroyed - always being reminded that his dad destroyed the Glades. He had to die.

Oliver's love life - he always loved Laurel. He was a playboy, so he was immature. After 5 years on an island, he still had feelings, but felt that his life as Arrow would get her killed or put her in danger. That's why there was all kinds of "yes", but "no" going on.

Laurel's dad actually comes around. He's blinded by the loss of his other daughter, but he changes. As he accepts his daughter's death, the rest of his character is able to balance out. He's able to be a better father to Laurel. As you know, he actually works with Oliver in the latter episodes, so he definitely changes.

I know I should have watched the season finale before reading that first line of your second paragraph ... my own fault, you did spoiler tag it.

Spoiler

Yao is Liam Neeson at the start, so why couldn't he save his daughter?

I don't think he had to die, maybe move away or something. I would kind of like to see him be the new dark archer, he is pissed that Oliver did actually kill his dad, he festers on it and trains to takes revenge .... then you kind of have a batman joker situation, Tommy wants to kill Oliver but is 5 years behind on training and Oliver can't kill his best friend who's dad he killed.

It would give you a new antagonist 'cos can't you just see the shot of Tommy walking into his dad armory and the camera zooms out from his face to reveal all his dads gadgets.

I'm sick of that bullshit to be honest, "I can't love you 'cos I'm a BAMF and could get you killed". You have a hidden identity for a fucking reason! Spiderman and superman pull the same shit, (although superman is the other way round) why bother having an alter ego if you don't need it ... do what ironman did.

Actually, I didn't know he works with Oliver later on ... I kind of guessed that's what was going to happen when he did the "I'm thinking" face when Ms Smoke gave him that little "I thought the vigilante was a criminal as well ..." speech, backed up with other stuff, such as him confessing his source to the LT and disarming the earthquaker thing.

 

[Ishal]

I started watching it a while ago, and it's not unwatchable, but it is pretty pulpy crap. The action's enjoyable enough, but the conspiracies are stupid, the characters are mostly annoying, and the philosophies are pretty unpalatable.

-Oliver: Can't do emotion, whenever he narrates (Like the start of the episodes) it's grating.
-Digg's entire character arc is obvious from the get go.
-Oliver is a hypocrite regarding his sister, but she's also incredibly annoying, her depression/addiction thing is insulting to anyone who's got firsthand knowledge of either of those things, and the whole "Oliver is out of touch with his family" thing goes way too long, and too stupid.
-Oliver is obviously the Hood. To everyone.
-Considering how often they spell it out, the main story isn't that complicated.
-Laurel's annoying, and the romance plots are goddamn irritating, fucking sexual tension, drama, love triangling "Will they won't they" forced conflict crap.
-Compulsory Detective with a grudge (Who happens to hate Oliver and The Hood).
-Psuedo Martial philosophy "Guns are weapons of emotion, a bow is the weapon of an expert" or something. *vomits*. Because using the bow makes you superior? Better hope the guy who fights with a blunt paper clip doesn't come along. You'll get nailed.
-Constantly running in to beat up enemies with his wooden bow, rather than shooting them. Looks so very silly.
-Never gets hit by sprays of full auto gunfire from multiple guys (Yet when the plot demands, he'll be shot by a novice marksman with a pistol, when he was able to see them and they were unarmed (They had to get out the gun, and then shoot him. Oh god it was stupid).
-Bullshit about "Good/Evil" with the purple chick, and the nature of revenge and justice, which just makes Oliver completely incomprehensible and entirely hypocritical.
-Oliver happily murders or badly wounds henchman (Arrows are fucking dangerous), but always gives their bosses a chance.
-Slade seems to think teaching Ollie to only fight hand to hand is a good idea, and dismisses guns, gives Oliver a gun and tells him to shoot him, and demonstrates that he can take it off him. Good thing guns don't work at a distance, eh?

I know I've listed a bunch of negatives, but it's an ok show. It's just a really flawed one. It could have been excellent, but instead it's just average. The island bits are fun, Digg is awesome, Slade is cool, the action scenes are fun, the Robin Hood style vigilante stuff's fun, but it's not exactly Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. It's more in the league of Big Bang Theory or CSI.

Slade... okay I have to ask. Are Slade and Deathstroke the same character? I know there was a masked mercenary in the show.. was that Deathstroke?

I'm not into comics but I did watch teen titans a while back and liked Slade. I see Deathstroke and they seem very similar

 

[Smiley Face]

I find it somewhat comical that you're literally calling it the best show on TV right now, but can't get the last name of half the important characters right. McQueen? Really?

It's good, but it's not great. The writing is definitely nothing out of the ordinary, a lot of the plots are downright predictable. The music is definitely nothing special. The fighting's pretty well done. You do get some really good acting from some of them - Oliver may seem wooden, but he's supposed to be, and when you go back to the flashbacks where he's a whiny dilletante, the differences are really staggering. There's also Paul Blackthorne as Detective Lance, who does a fantastic job, getting in the comedy beats without turning into comic relief, and John Barrowman, who really shines when he's let off the leash - his over-the-top diatribe in the last episode had me rolling on the floor. Others though - Laurel, for instance - not the best acting.

It's good, but not great, and not the best at the moment. I suppose it just happens to push your particular buttons, which makes it great for you, but I'd have to mark that as subjective.

Other good TV that might beat it out? Hm... Well, Game of Thrones, for one - I mean, THAT'S got amazing acting as standard, and they have such a HUGE cast to meet it. Really excellent writing, costume and set design, all that stuff as well. It's not perfect, every now and again I have a problem with the direction, or the cinematography, or the pacing - but those are exceptions to the rule.

I've been watching Elementary recently, and it's pretty good, I'd say I enjoy it about as much as I do Arrow - more character-oriented, less action. At first I was reluctant to try it, as I assumed it'd rip off BBC's Sherlock, but fortunately it goes in a different direction - it's a police procedural, not a mystery, Sherlock is manic and awkward rather than sociopathic and cold, and they do entirely different things with Moriarty, both good in their own way. Which brings me to...

BBC's Sherlock. Not technically on TV, it`s between seasons, but then again, so is Arrow at the moment, so I'd say it's fair. Hour-and-a-half episodes, really good acting and Chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock and Martin Freeman's Watson. Sometimes it takes them too long to get on with solving the mystery, but that's always a risk, and I'm willing to let it slide for the other things it does right.

Hannibal's also pretty good, though it's still developing so it's too early to say - some parts of it appeal to me (devious manipulative criminal as a protagonist, good acting), whereas others do not (dream sequences, excessive gore). Any scene with Mads Mikkelsen in it is worth watching though. The combination of the framing of a shot and his acting can make a single split-second look speak volumes.

Also Doctor Who, though it has varying quality, but of late it's been pulling itself out of a hole, so getting better.

Also in hiatus, and not really live-action TV, The Legend of Korra. Bit of a non-sequitur, but dammit, I want the second season. They could at least give a date for it...


In short, Arrow's good, one of the better things on TV atm, but not the best - that goes to Game of Thrones and other things in that league (Breaking Bad's not my thing, but I respect its excellent reputation and production values). Still, I'll watch it 'til it goes bad.