Spoilers DC TV Arrow/Flash Universe Crossover Discussion

[Christopher]

Part 2 did suffer a bit from the Arrow's style of a lot of mumbling and brooding so I rate part 2 just a bit under part 1. Can't wait for part 3 and part 4.

Part 2 was definitely slower-paced than Part 1, but it makes sense that they needed to take a breather after all the big action and emotion of Part 1. It looks like Part 3 is probably going to have a lot of talk and exposition in the Earth-X scenes, plus the heroes' escape from the prison camp (probably with help from the resistance), alongside Iris and Felicity (and Cisco?) trying to liberate "Stalag STAR Labs," and then Part 4 will ramp things back up to full-scale team-ups and action.

I notice how much they're relying on "bottle show" techniques to save money and time for the big action. They've written it so that they can set huge swaths of Parts 2 & 3 on the standing STAR Labs sets, and it looks like much of Part 4 is on the Waverider sets. Plus there was the big rehearsal dinner at CC Jitters in Part 1. On the other hand, apparently the church interior was a specially built set -- which makes sense given all the action and destruction that had to be staged there, but it must've been really expensive.

Hmm, I wonder. The Earth-X city we saw in the teaser was recognizably an alternate version of Los Angeles or National City, since its skyline included the distinctive US Bank Tower. So I wonder if maybe we'll see a redress of the DEO sets used as the Nazi villains' HQ.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I was thinking that I gave Orville crap about blue Rob Lowe that we shouldn't give a pass to Sara taking advantage of a drunk and vulnerable Alex. But I admit to double standards because I was cheering Sara having her Captain Kirk moment.

The German name would be Überfräu, I think, if you interpret "girl" as "young woman." If you're gonna translate half, might as well translate the whole thing. (I would've thought Überfräulein, but apparently that term of address has fallen out of favor because it's seen as condescending. Übermädchen would be the literal translation, but that would refer to a girl child.)

But then you would lose the pun (Supergirl/Übergirl).

 

[Romulan_spy]

Part 2 was definitely slower-paced than Part 1, but it makes sense that they needed to take a breather after all the big action and emotion of Part 1. It looks like Part 3 is probably going to have a lot of talk and exposition in the Earth-X scenes, plus the heroes' escape from the prison camp (probably with help from the resistance), alongside Iris and Felicity (and Cisco?) trying to liberate "Stalag STAR Labs," and then Part 4 will ramp things back up to full-scale team-ups and action.

Yeah, I definitely think that is a good outline of how the crossover will go.

I notice how much they're relying on "bottle show" techniques to save money and time for the big action. They've written it so that they can set huge swaths of Parts 2 & 3 on the standing STAR Labs sets, and it looks like much of Part 4 is on the Waverider sets. Plus there was the big rehearsal dinner at CC Jitters in Part 1. On the other hand, apparently the church interior was a specially built set -- which makes sense given all the action and destruction that had to be staged there, but it must've been really expensive.

Good observation. A crossover like this would be very expensive especially on a TV budget. Plus, the producers have to juggle the work schedules of a lot of actors. It is a monumental task. But I think the producers have done an outstanding job with the resources that they have. Now, if they had the budget of a blockbuster like Justice League, I am sure they could do even more. But they do a fantastic job with what they have.

 

[Christopher]

I was thinking that I gave Orville crap about blue Rob Lowe that we shouldn't give a pass to Sara taking advantage of a drunk and vulnerable Alex. But I admit to double standards because I was cheering Sara having her Captain Kirk moment.

I don't know if I'd call it "taking advantage." As Kara said, nobody can drink Alex under the table. The drink may have relaxed her inhibitions somewhat, but no more than Sara's, probably, since they were both knocking the drinks back pretty heavily. I'd say they were about on an equal footing and did something that they both were into at the time. I don't think Sara's the type of person who would've gone through with it if she felt her partner were impaired and unable to consent. It's just that Alex isn't comfortable with it in retrospect because she still has a lot of baggage about Maggie, and is still feeling her way toward acceptance of her sexuality. In the aftermath, she didn't feel Sara had done anything wrong -- she felt she had done something wrong by having a meaningless one-night stand with someone whose name she didn't even remember.

But then you would lose the pun (Supergirl/Übergirl).

Well, U and Ü aren't the same vowel sound any more than U and O are, so phonetically they're about equally close. (Let's see, U in English is a close back rounded vowel, Ü is a close front rounded vowel, and O is a close-mid back rounded vowel.) And both "Over-" and "Super-" are acceptable English translations of "Über-," although "Over-" is arguably more accurate.

Plus, the producers have to juggle the work schedules of a lot of actors. It is a monumental task. But I think the producers have done an outstanding job with the resources that they have. Now, if they had the budget of a blockbuster like Justice League, I am sure they could do even more. But they do a fantastic job with what they have.

It's too bad that TV movies apparently aren't a thing anymore. It might be easier to do a big crossover like this as a movie special filmed between seasons, rather than trying to accommodate it in the schedule of the regular seasons. On the other hand, in that case they'd need to allocate extra money for shooting it. This way, they get to pay for it using the budgets of four different shows, although it's considerably costlier than four typical episodes would be (hence the need for the other shows to do FX-lite episodes like "Midvale" or "Therefore I Am").

 

[Dick Whitman]

I really hope all episodes of this are released on DVD/Blu ray together . Spitting up the episodes to only be available on the 4 season sets of each series like they did with Invasion would be complete BS!

 

[Kirk Prime]

I really hope all episodes of this are released on DVD/Blu ray together . Spitting up the episodes to only be available on the 4 season sets of each series like they did with Invasion would be complete BS!

Netflix would have your back on this issue.

 

[dahj]

Better question, where did Oliver get the Kryptonite?

Bruce Wayne.

Why was she flying near the Sun?

Maybe an attempt to somehow get more of that sweet sun power?

Diggle and Lyla MIA, as well.

Diggle's currently got a boo-boo in his shoulder.

Pretty sure Evil Tommy specifically said that all lands are now "The Fatherland". So wherever she landed, it would have been under Nazi control for generations.

This begs the question why did she land on Earth at all?
Usually the Els shoot their kids our way because humans are a bit backward but basically decent people.
What in Rao's name would posses them to aim their kids at a planet ruled by an evil regime bent on exterminating anyone that's different? May as well shot them to Apokolips...

 

[tomalak301]

It's too bad that TV movies apparently aren't a thing anymore. It might be easier to do a big crossover like this as a movie special filmed between seasons, rather than trying to accommodate it in the schedule of the regular seasons. On the other hand, in that case they'd need to allocate extra money for shooting it. This way, they get to pay for it using the budgets of four different shows, although it's considerably costlier than four typical episodes would be (hence the need for the other shows to do FX-lite episodes like "Midvale" or "Therefore I Am").

Is the last time we had a mini series like this the BSG premiere? I’m getting a BSG and even Farscape Peacekeeper Wars vibe watching this. I do agree though. I wonder if I would be better to do this as a special during the summer or maybe even before all the show’s premiere. I could see this airing in September before premiere week. You just need to get rid of the relationship drama which may be hard.

 

[Marc]

Is the last time we had a mini series like this the BSG premiere? I’m getting a BSG and even Farscape Peacekeeper Wars vibe watching this. I do agree though. I wonder if I would be better to do this as a special during the summer or maybe even before all the show’s premiere. I could see this airing in September before premiere week. You just need to get rid of the relationship drama which may be hard.

But Barry and Iris's wedding was a good rationale for them to be in one place and Barry was in the Speedforce prior the season opener so it wouldnt' have worked.

 

[Corran Horn]

Diggle and Lyla MIA, as well.

Diggle was mentioned as being in the hospital, at least.

 

[Christopher]

This begs the question why did she land on Earth at all?
Usually the Els shoot their kids our way because humans are a bit backward but basically decent people.
What in Rao's name would posses them to aim their kids at a planet ruled by an evil regime bent on exterminating anyone that's different? May as well shot them to Apokolips...

To compound the problem, they sent both Kal-El and Kara to Earth. Where is Kal-El in this reality? Is there an Overman? And did Kara-X get trapped in the Phantom Zone like Kara-38? Or is she 24 years older and just doesn't look it because Kryptonians age slowly? Did Fort Rozz land on Earth-X? Is J'onn there?

Is the last time we had a mini series like this the BSG premiere? I’m getting a BSG and even Farscape Peacekeeper Wars vibe watching this.

No, Syfy has done about 15 miniseries since BSG, some pilots and some standalone. The most recent was Childhood's End in 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_broadcast_by_Syfy#Syfy_miniseries

And there have been miniseries on other networks, for instance, the History Channel's Roots remake a year or two back.

I do agree though. I wonder if I would be better to do this as a special during the summer or maybe even before all the show’s premiere. I could see this airing in September before premiere week. You just need to get rid of the relationship drama which may be hard.

As much fun as the big comic-book action can be, it's the characters and their relationships that are the real draw of the Arrowverse. Heck, there were moments last night that got me a little misty-eyed because I'm so invested in these characters and how they feel about each other.

Besides, superhero comics have been basically soap opera ever since the start of the Marvel era in the '60s.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I'm assuming given that Kara is a General that the Fuhrer is Kal'El? Seems like the obvious choice.

I like that idea. It appears that on Earth-X, aliens (at least Kryptonians) are accepted as part of the Master Race. Or perhaps these are a different manifestation of the Nazis? Could it be that they have assimilated people of all ethnicities into their society but done so via selective breeding? Only the strongest and healthiest would be chosen as members of the upper echelon.

 

[Reverend]

This begs the question why did she land on Earth at all?
Usually the Els shoot their kids our way because humans are a bit backward but basically decent people.
What in Rao's name would posses them to aim their kids at a planet ruled by an evil regime bent on exterminating anyone that's different? May as well shot them to Apokolips...

I suppose it depends on whether or not there's a time dilation with their journey from Krypton to Earth and or their observations of Earth. It's possible Krypton blew up in the 60's and the last information they had on Earth was from the 1930's, before the divergence from Earth-1's timeline.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I like that idea. It appears that on Earth-X, aliens (at least Kryptonians) are accepted as part of the Master Race.

Maybe Earth X's Nazis saw Kryptonians as the embodiment of Nietzche's superman idea?

 

[Christopher]

Tyler Hoechlin showing up as Fuhrer Overman would be an even better surprise guest appearance than Colin Donnell.

Anyway... I kinda love it that even the actual Nazis from a Nazi-ruled Earth think that Hitler was a loser.

 

[dahj]

Tyler Hoechlin showing up as Fuhrer Overman would be an even better surprise guest appearance than Colin Donnell.

We know Kara is stronger than Kal-El, so really he should be her underling.

 

[dahj]

I'm voting for Evil Cat Grant as the New Fuhrer, by the way.

 

[Photoman15]

Some more thoughts--

There are 53 Karas?

If that's so, where is Kara of Earth 1?
Why didn't anyone ask that?

Don't be "Earth-centric". 53 Earths mean 53 universes where Krypton may or may not exist. Kara of UNIVERSE 1 may still be on Krypton or hiding on Earth-1 or on Mars-1, and so on....

 

[Snaploud]

Count me among the group that thinks that girl (at the wedding) was practically screaming "I'm a time traveler and one of your descendents!" I'm actually surprised Barry didn't call her on it.

As for the idea of Superman as the Fuhrer: it would be hilarious if he were portrayed by Dean Cain instead of Tyler Hoechlin. It would have to have some ridiculous justification, though, so it probably couldn't work.

 

[Romulan_spy]

It was nice to see the Time Vault again.