Poll: Arrow - The Best Show on TV Today

[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.

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.

Not really a selling point, it's just better then most in my opinion. Well it's DC comics and green arrow's been on the justice league, though yeah no super powers per say, its DC's version of Hawkeye.

 

[wulfy42]

Me and my wife have watched most of the episodes. I was a long time Smallville fan, but this was the first superhero show for my wife (couldn't even get her to watch heroes!).

She is pretty bored over all by the show, and I'm more middle of the road on it. I'll watch it with her, but not by myself.

I kinda have 2 kinds of shows, ones I'll watch by myself because I like them so much (Elementary, Supernatural, Modern family etc), and ones I'll watch with my wife (Law and order SVU, Mike and Molly, The middle etc).

Arrow falls in that second category for me, so it's really up to if she wants to keep watching it, or wants to watch an episode at any time. I believe we are 2 episodes behind right now.

Personally I enjoyed Smallville much more, and even though it's a different show, it's hard not to compare it. Smallville did start off a bit slow and took awhile to grab my attention, so I have been hoping Arrow would as well.

I think the actors over all are doing a decent job, it's just that I'm not really a fan of batmanesque heroes (ones with no real powers that basically use gadgets, arrows etc to get the job done). I can enjoy shows like that, but there have been tons of them, so I'm a bit burnt out. Arrow, so far, has not brought in any really cool super powered enemies/heroes etc. That may change as time goes on, but so far it's all played out in such a way that you could pretty much believe it was happening in our universe.

I see what they are doing, trying to make it a more realistic show and get you involved in each character more then in their powers etc, but I still feel like it's missing something. There is a ton they could be doing with the DC universe, and I guess I keep waiting for them to start doing so.

 

[chikusho]

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.

Granted, I've yet to watch the season finale, so maybe some of the issues I have with Moira are resolved there. It's just that I perceive her being communicated more as a victim than what really serves the story. The island parts I find are arguably the most interesting, even though I can hardly stand Olivers look and wimpy persona during those scenes. Also, I could buy his recklessness if Oliver was more clear on having some sort of death wish. Currently he just sits on way more information than the viewer just to move the story along.

But yeah, the relational tension in the show is pretty great. I still hold the opinion that most of the drama is created by lying. Oliver is lying about his secret identity (as well as his feelings) in order to "do good", Moira is lying about her involvement in the undertaking in order to "protect her family", Laurel is lying about her connection to "The Hood", and her father lied by using this connection as a means to catching him. Tommy is lying for Olivers sake, Thea is lying about her psychological state, Malcom is lying about of his status as a supervillain. Hell, even on the island, soldiers are lying by pretending to be victims of their own brutality, Yao Fei is lying to get his daughter safe. I just wish that they would strike some sort of balance here. Unless this ambiguity is the main point they are trying to make. In which case, all they've communicated is that honesty wins out every time.
Hell, the only person relatively honest is Felicity Smoak.

Oh well, I'll stop myself here. Also, thank you.

 

[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.

Not really a selling point, it's just better then most in my opinion. Well it's DC comics and green arrow's been on the justice league, though yeah no super powers per say, its DC's version of Hawkeye.

I think Hawkeye had powers in the Avengers movie though... Will def have to check Game of Thrones. I may even chime back in on this thread about it.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

Granted, I've yet to watch the season finale, so maybe some of the issues I have with Moira are resolved there. It's just that I perceive her being communicated more as a victim than what really serves the story. The island parts I find are arguably the most interesting, even though I can hardly stand Olivers look and wimpy persona during those scenes. Also, I could buy his recklessness if Oliver was more clear on having some sort of death wish. Currently he just sits on way more information than the viewer just to move the story along.

But yeah, the relational tension in the show is pretty great. I still hold the opinion that most of the drama is created by lying. Oliver is lying about his secret identity (as well as his feelings) in order to "do good", Moira is lying about her involvement in the undertaking in order to "protect her family", Laurel is lying about her connection to "The Hood", and her father lied by using this connection as a means to catching him. Tommy is lying for Olivers sake, Thea is lying about her psychological state, Malcom is lying about of his status as a supervillain. Hell, even on the island, soldiers are lying by pretending to be victims of their own brutality, Yao Fei is lying to get his daughter safe. I just wish that they would strike some sort of balance here. Unless this ambiguity is the main point they are trying to make. In which case, all they've communicated is that honesty wins out every time.
Hell, the only person relatively honest is Felicity Smoak.

Oh well, I'll stop myself here. Also, thank you.

Yah you really need to see the finale. There's not one character who isn't affected by their decisions. We can talk about that after you see it. Very well done. I'm not sure I'd call it lying in this context, more hiding, "smoke in mirrors" and keeping secrets. A lie is a deliberate attempt to deceive - Oliver does this throughout the show, but he does it for the "good of the city". Trust me... I really want to spoil it but he pays for it. He pays for it and thought that was well done. I love Felicity, and I love Diggle. Those are my two favorite supporting characters on the show.
Ugh, I'm looking at your response and really wishing that you'd have seen the Finale. Every character you mentioned gets addressed.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

i like it alot.

however, i wouldn't dare list it in my top 5 shows, but it is some good fun to watch, as long as you don't go in expecting the most intricate story with the most morally of gray people around for added depth.

still, i'm enjoying the heck out of the flashback parts, really cool stuff

 

[gamernerdtg2]

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.

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.

Dude, forgive my "daddy brain". I have a brand new 9 month old and it wears on you. Thank you and the other poster for catching my faux pas.

Sean Bean is enough for me to check out Game of Thrones (if his character is still alive). I haven't heard anything bad about that show. We'll have to check it out.

I'm surprised that you haven't mentioned Downton Abbey!
The season 2 finale ended very cliché in a USA soap opera way, but the rest of the show is great. BBC is hard to beat.
I'd also say that Lutheris a great show, especially the last show of Season 2.
The Brits are masters of drama, I have to say. Too many master actors and actresses... I randomly ran into Chiwetel Ejiofor in Brooklyn on an elevator! Very cool, down-to-earth person...but I digress...

As for Arrow - John Barrowman's choices in that episode were SO appropriate. It showed his character's flaw/weakness. Before the finale, I thought that the Dark Archer was too strong for Oliver Queen...he actually is too strong. I don't want to spoil though. (There you go QUEEN lol.)
Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) does the "Doe Eyes" thing very well...she's got a pretty and expressive face. I like the fight scenes with her earlier in the season, but they are probably done with a stunt double. There's something about Cassidy that works beyond the way she uses her eyes to convey emotion, but I haven't figured it out yet. We'll see where they take her character.

Blackthorne does a great job of convincing me that Detective Lance moves from being a brick head to someone more compassionate. He becomes a better father to Laurel, and a better character in general.

I applaud the music (Blake Neely)because he's not afraid to be rhythmic. My wife and I are musicians and composers, so we are very picky with these things. We really enjoyed his work on The Mentalist. In this current climate of rock without the "roll", a rhythmically charged, almost "funky" TV score is a very welcome thing. I love that crazy synthesized sound he uses in the end credits - he uses it during the finale very effectively.

I can't say that Breaking Bad or Dr. Who,Hannibal or the other shows you've mentioned have caught my interest. I will check out Game of Thrones. I highly recommend Downton Abbey if you're into relational drama, and Luther. Idris Elba is the man, and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan...again I won't spoil.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

i like it alot.

however, i wouldn't dare list it in my top 5 shows, but it is some good fun to watch, as long as you don't go in expecting the most intricate story with the most morally of gray people around for added depth.

still, i'm enjoying the heck out of the flashback parts, really cool stuff

Moira Queen is pretty dagone grey until the last few episodes.
The story is woven together very well, and since you liked the island stuff, I'm sure they'll tie in those characters during the 2nd season. I'm very curious how that's going to be done.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

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

LOL - I should have made that an option actually.

Tepid means - lacking in passion, force, or zest. No enthusiasm, or conviction.

I totally disagree with you there. At the very least, the fight scenes and the island scenes are full of "force", passion and conviction.

But I seriously should have made your option one of the choices.

 

[Atmos Duality]

LOL - I should have made that an option actually.

Tepid means - lacking in passion, force, or zest. No enthusiasm, or conviction.

I totally disagree with you there. At the very least, the fight scenes and the island scenes are full of "force", passion and conviction.

But I seriously should have made your option one of the choices.

The passion they're presenting doesn't move me; usually, the "DR-DR-DR-DRAAAMA" annoys me more than anything, though I understand what they're going for.

I dunno. Something about the show just puts me off.

 

[SirDeadly]

It's currently my second favourite show behind Game of Thrones. I can't wait for season 2! I actually liked the female characters unlike most people it seems, that probably has something to do with some of them being quite good looking though.

 

[Smiley Face]

snip

Thanks for the suggestions. I was enjoying Downton Abbey, but it got too soapy for me, and I just had to stop watching a few episodes into Season 3 - I'll pick it up again, eventually, if only because I compulsively finish things, but I had to put it away for now. As for Luther, it's caught my eye a few times now, I keep hearing good things about it, so I'll definitely check it out some time in the next few weeks.

And yeah, Game of Thrones... it's not that it excels in one particular area, but that it does it in so many. It's really something else.


Captcha: dueling banjos. That sounds pretty awesome.

 

[TyrunnAlberyn]

Is it a really fun show? Hell yeah, although me saying that might be in part to me simply being a huge nerd for things like this. Is it the "best"? I rather doubt it, it suffers from some problems that tend to kick my suspension of disbelief down a notch if I pay attention to them (not the least the fact that it's yet another show where there are no ugly people unless they're out and out villains, because that is so obviously like the real world... oh wait... ).

As for all the people blindly singing the praises of Game of Thrones... this is for you:

Spoiler: Contains some cursing, enter at your own peril ;P

 

[Goofguy]

It's an entertaining show with good production values but it is far from the best show on TV. Some of the acting is cringe worthy, particularly anything involving Laurel or Thea's love lives. And Detective Lance's scenes can be painful to watch due to how bad he is at his job and how he is consistently assigned to cases involving the Queen family when there is a clear conflict of interest.

However, I do really like the flashback scenes. They've all been good and each relates well to the corresponding present day plot of that episode. I'm looking forward to the next season.

 

[Edguy]

It's an entertaining show with good production values but it is far from the best show on TV. Some of the acting is cringe worthy, particularly anything involving Laurel or Thea's love lives. And Detective Lance's scenes can be painful to watch due to how bad he is at his job and how he is consistently assigned to cases involving the Queen family when there is a clear conflict of interest.

However, I do really like the flashback scenes. They've all been good and each relates well to the corresponding present day plot of that episode. I'm looking forward to the next season.

This pretty much sums up my quarrels with the show, as well.

 

[BakedZnake]

If anyone decides to watch game of thrones, don't read the books first. Not only it'll ruin it with spoilers, but also some changes they are making in the tv series isn't sitting very well with me

 

[Edguy]

If anyone decides to watch game of thrones, don't read the books first. Not only it'll ruin it with spoilers, but also some changes they are making in the tv series isn't sitting very well with me

Do like me; watch season one, read book one, watch season two, read book two etc. Works perfectly.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

Is it a really fun show? Hell yeah, although me saying that might be in part to me simply being a huge nerd for things like this. Is it the "best"? I rather doubt it, it suffers from some problems that tend to kick my suspension of disbelief down a notch if I pay attention to them (not the least the fact that it's yet another show where there are no ugly people unless they're out and out villains, because that is so obviously like the real world... oh wait... ).

As for all the people blindly singing the praises of Game of Thrones... this is for you:

Spoiler: Contains some cursing, enter at your own peril ;P

Thanks I'll check that video out. I'll still check GoT out anyway.

Detective Lance is pretty? Heck no. The Dark Archer is a fairly decent looking dude, and he's literally insane. My wife actually likes Diggle, and doesn't think much of Oliver Queen. Moira Queen is a very attractive woman to me, especially for an older person. She is beautiful, but her character is straight evil. You don't realize that until the very end.
Laurel Lance is an ok looking person, she's not gorgeous IMO. Felicity is hot, but she's a nerd so it's ok.

Being a nerd is fine. I just don't share many of the criticisms that nerds tend to have. But it's all good!

 

[gamernerdtg2]

LOL - I should have made that an option actually.

Tepid means - lacking in passion, force, or zest. No enthusiasm, or conviction.

I totally disagree with you there. At the very least, the fight scenes and the island scenes are full of "force", passion and conviction.

But I seriously should have made your option one of the choices.

The passion they're presenting doesn't move me; usually, the "DR-DR-DR-DRAAAMA" annoys me more than anything, though I understand what they're going for.

I dunno. Something about the show just puts me off.

It's all good. It may not be your thing if you understand what they're doing, but can't get invested. That's fair. I certainly didn't think everyone would agree with me.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Best on T.V is a bit of a Stretch but its certainly my favourite shows.

I like what they did with Tommy..

Spoiler

I felt like towards the end of the season, he was turning to darkness a bit with how things were going, I thought eventually it would be him who becomes the true Merlyn, but they pulled the ole bate and switch

Being a bit of a DC fan I enjoy the Fan service and all the little juvenile pleasures they've put in for fans.

also Slade as Bad ass