DC Live Action

[Avaitor]

Yeah, the price is a turn-off, but I don't see it sticking around for that long. Every other week, you can get the Arrow sets on sale for around $20, even on Blu.

For like $50, I'd get this out of curiosity. Otherwise yeah, this would be a pass.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, I didn't even notice the price. That's nuts.

I saw both seasons of Arrow on DVD available at Wal-Mart for $16 each. The Blu-Rays were $24 each. If you bought both seasons of Arrow and figure that The Flash will probably retail for around  $40 when it initially releases, you could buy three good seasons of television for well under $100, so the pricing of this BD box-set makes absolutely no sense.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Or for the same price you could preorder the complete series set of Justified.

They should have tried a bit harder on the price.

[Foggle]

Or for the same price you could preorder the complete series set of Justified.

They should have tried a bit harder on the price.

And for $50 less than that triple pack, you can get the complete series of The Wire on Blu-ray!

[Spark Of Spirit]

Arrow Season 4 trailer!

Damian Dahrk looks like a real contrast to where Ollie currently is. He reminds me of Blood, except not even bothering to hide what his intentions are. And considering everything that has happened to the city since Merlyn nearly leveled it, I can understand the populace being frustrated about it. I do like that Oliver (of all people) seems like the one with the sunniest personality here, which should hopefully blend in with the new Green Arrow persona this season will have.

Now to wait for the Flash and Supergirl trailers.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

There was a Constantine cameo in there as well. Now that I think about it, since we already know that Sara is getting resurrected before Legends of Tomorrow, it's pretty obvious what he'll be (presumably) helping Team Arrow with in his crossover appearance.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Excited.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I've been watching season 3 of Arrow again on DVD and so far I think the criticism is not only entirely overblown, but nearly unjustified.

I say "nearly", because I'm only a bit over halfway through the season and most of the complaints have yet to show up yet.

People who hated season 3, really should rewatch it. They've apparently missed a lot of good stuff.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, I never agreed with most of the criticisms. For example, some people complained about the flashbacks leaving the island just because it was different than what we were used to, but I loved that it expanded on Oliver's character and rich history.

It's not a perfect season by any means. It does get a bit too soap-opera-ish at times, but it has a lot of great episodes in it as well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Everything up to the point of Ra's wanting to make Oliver take his place is pretty great. I'll probably do a top ten episode list when I'm done watching, but I can say a few things up to Nanda Parbat (the episode where The Atom first appears) which I think a lot of people have forgotten.

1. The standalone episodes are some of the best in the series. They all contain great moments of character building, action, and great usage of DC properties (Brother Eye!) that handily beat any of the previous ones.
2. The crossover. It's been said before, but the crossover between Arrow and The Flash was a great way to both give Barry a better understanding of how serious his job was and to give Oliver a better understanding of the person he isn't anymore.
3. Felicity is not a Mary Sue. Now, this does happen a few times in the last few episodes (which, if I remember right, was my least favorite part of the season), but she makes mistakes and has to deal with them like everyone else.
4. The Brick arc. I've heard people say this was pointless because it didn't lead anywhere. They clearly didn't watch it. I actually wish it was longer, as I think this is my favorite part of the season. This was about the team realizing that they weren't in this mission just for Oliver anymore. That the world goes on without The Arrow and the bad guys will not stop coming. For Diggle, Felicity, Roy, and even Laurel, these were excellent episodes establishing them as no longer Oliver's sidekicks, but full fledged heroes of their own. When Oliver gets back, he has to deal with the change, and it's quite startling.
5. Wildcat. He was underused, yes. He disappears after the Brick arc and is hardly mentioned again. But he not only helped Laurel train to become a better fighter, but had an interesting past of his own that was fleshed out pretty well. Of all the side characters, he was one of the best.
6. Ray Palmer. I know most of the complaints center on him being Felicity's boyfriend, but here's the thing: that doesn't happen until 16 episodes into the season. Before then he was the smart, charismatic guy with a strange project under his hat.
7. Merlyn's past. This ties in to the end of the Brick arc, but it is an absolutely fantastic episode. While I got tired of the character (and the whole league) by the end of the season, this was pretty much his peak.
8. The flashbacks continue Oliver's descent. I think people forgot the point of the flashbacks was to establish the character Oliver was by the start of season 1. In case nobody remembers, that wasn't a very good guy who got off the island. The only real change to this flashback compared to the others is that it's not as clear-cut as to how it relates to the present day storyline. How it relates is that the theme of the season is Oliver finding out just who he is and what he is capable of which is why torture and murder are brought up so much in flashbacks and in the present and why Oliver loses his identity as The Arrow to become Ra's. In the Hong Kong flashback we see Oliver getting military training and learning once and for all that he can't be the person who left on the boat again. The theme of the season is as solid as the ones in the first two season. It just isn't as overt.
9. Thea goes through a lot and changes more than any other character. While before she was basically the "normal" member of the family, here she has to choose between Merlyn and Oliver as to how she progresses with her life and the choice isn't always clear-cut. Her character arc is a lot better than you hear about from people who hated the season.
10. Roy really was underused. This is a bit sad because the episodes where he is in focus are some of the strongest in the season. But as we get more and more focus on the league, he has less and less to do. Really, Nyssa does more than he does by the end of the season and she's a fairly one-note character. It's a shame that the actor left the show, but I can't really blame him there. That said, when he was used, he was used really well. As Red Arrow/Arsenal he was a perfect fit for Oliver's partner in combat and the Brick arc showed he could be every bit as good as him given the chance.

I still have some episodes to go (including the awesome Suicide Squad episode), but I think a lot of the complaints center on the fact that the last few episodes of the season are very slow and that they had to wait so long between episodes where very little occurred. I think watching them over in succession on DVD will give people a better impression of the whole season.

Season 4 should be exciting if they apply what they learned here.

[Avaitor]

Win an Arrow Funko prize pack, just by answering a survey!

It's a really quick and easy one too, so it's worth hitting up!

[Spark Of Spirit]

Friendly reminder that season 2 of The Flash and season 4 of Arrow are starting this week!

In celebration, here are my top 10 episodes of Arrow season 3:


10 - "Suicidal Tendencies" (Episode 17)

This episode has two stories that intersect quite well. The first involves the Suicide Squad and Deadshot coming round as a character full circle from where he started and the second involves The Atom and The Arrow coming into direct conflict over the best way to be a hero. I find this episode is very underrated since none of the whiners complaints for this season are in this episode at all. It's classic Arrow through and through and the ending is one of the best. Suffice to say it was basically the last standalone episode in the season, which is a shame because the standalone episode in season 3 were quite excellent as a whole. We could have used more of them.


9 - "The Calm" (Episode 1)

This is the premiere, and what a premiere it was! Not only was the set up for season 3 very elaborate, it was all laid in this episode. But even though it is all set up, it is extremely entertaining. We meet Ray Palmer, a bomb threat is dismantled, and Sara comes back. And then there's that ending. I'm pretty sure no one saw that coming.


8. "My Name Is Oliver Queen" (Episode 23)

Yes, this is the season finale, and yes, it's low here. I'll admit that the main storyline of season 3 is not as strong as the one from season 2. It gets very repetitive by the end ("I lied to protect you", "You're trusting Merlyn?", "This is a bad idea, Oliver") where basically almost every scene includes talking heads in either Thea's apartment, Oliver's lair, or Nanda Parbat. This wouldn't be so bad if there was more happening, but it's basically a lot of arguing with very little getting done. The finale is where things finally get done. Ra's gets unchained from the plot, Oliver gets to stop playing around, and Lance finally loses his character regression long enough to do something positive. Then there's Thea finally reaching the potential we all knew she had. It's a great finale to a story that could have been better, but is certainly no disaster like that one season of Angel or disappointment like Buffy season 4. It was a good story all told.


7. "Left Behind" (Episode 10)

The Brick arc is my favorite part of season 3. The Arrow is missing and Danny Brickwell is in town messing everything up. Team Arrow bands together to take him on while wondering both if Oliver is dead and to see what they're doing this all for. Laurel begins her move to take the Black Canary mantle, Felicity tries to hold herself together, and Dig and Roy almost kill themselves to stop the bad guys. A lot happens in these episodes that really push the other characters up a notch.


6. "Uprising" (Episode 12)

This is the conclusion of the Brick arc and it's a great ending unexpectedly throwing Merlyn into the mix and showing us just how he ended up the way he is. A full on gang war with just about everyone happens here just in time for Oliver's return with Brick's capture and to talk some humanity into Merlyn. This is an excellent conclusion to this underrated arc that solidifies the supporting cast as just as worth following as Oliver is.


5 - "Guilty" (Episode 6)

For such a new character, Ted Grant gets a great episode to himself that also parallels excellently with Roy. At this point Roy has done a lot of good, but still can't get past his mistakes at the same time Ted can't quite escape what he did as Wildcat and what his own sidekick was responsible for. This is really the only episode either Wildcat or Red Arrow get this season for character development, but it was one of the best, also solidifying the fact that Oliver trusting Roy was not a mistake and that he actually saved his life. This comes into play later on in the season, but it is a great moment right here.


4. "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" (Episode 5)

Probably the single most underrated episode in the season and featuring a new concept for a classic DC villain in Brother Eye, this episode fleshes out Felicity to such a great extent that you really feel like you totally understand where she came from and why she is who she is. I can't say too much about it that wouldn't be gushing about the action scenes, the direction, and the great writing, except to say that this is one of the best episodes of Arrow ever. People who call season 3 garbage need to watch this episode and learn how little they remember from it.


3. "The Brave and the Bold" (Episode 8)

The Flash/Arrow crossover was one of the highlights of both shows. Not only was it fun to see both casts interact with each other, but there were a lot of thematic crossovers as well with Barry learning more about how serious his job was and Oliver learning the line is no longer as blurred as it once was. He isn't the vigilante anymore and can't go back there again. Cross that with Captain Boomerang and some great action sequences and you have one of the best episodes of the series.


2. "The Climb" (Episode 9)

This episode just gets everything right. The title being about Oliver's climb ever since he was stranded on that island and everything that he has been building up to. At the same time his world begins crumbling with the truth about who killed Sara and what really happened to Thea. The episode perfectly establishes Ra's as a threat not only to The Arrow but to everything Oliver stands for. The fact that he is killed and falls back down the mountain excellently sums up everything that happened so far in the season. The only fault with this episode is that the main storyline never reaches this height again. It's a bit of a shame, but that doesn't dilute how good this episode are.


1. "Midnight City" (Episode 11)

This might seem like a random choice for my favorite episode of the season, but here we are. The middle of the Brick arc fully establishes everything from the first episode with Oliver missing, but this is the episode where the team resolves to finally stay together, not just for Oliver but for themselves and their city as well. There are also some really strong turns for the main story in this episode that all turned out to be good moves including the flashback to Hong Kong. All in all, this is simply the best episode in the season.


And those are my picks. Can't wait for the new season to see if they manage to top the last season. I have faith that they can do it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Wow, okay.

Spoiler

Ronnie's dead, Barry's dad is out of jail, Zoom is on the horizon, and Jay Garrick has appeared.

[close]

Doesn't look like season two is going to slow down the pace.

And in Arrow it looks like

Spoiler

someone else is going to die.

[close]

Very good start to both seasons. I'm glad we FINALLY have the Green Arrow.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Both were really strong premieres. My only major issue is that Arrow revealed to us that someone major would die....

Just....why? Wouldn't that be so much more effective if it came as a total shock to us? There's foreshadowing and build-up, which is great. Then there's straight up spoiling it for us, removing a lot of the dramatic tension. This is the latter.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I think it's supposed to keep you guessing who will die and when they will die. Of course, it could also be some elaborate fake-out.

Don't really think it was needed, though.