LEAKED!
So the pilot is online, and I'm seven minutes away from pushing play.
So the pilot is online, and I'm seven minutes away from pushing play.
Supergirl TV Series is being work on.
- Thread starter yenny
- Start date
From what everyone has said, yeah it would be too expensive. At least the version of the show they're making now. And it's easy to see why, since making someone fly convincingly on screen probably costs a whole lot more than simply making them run fast like on Flash.
Although I do think it's very likely Berlanti would at least bring her back for occasional guest appearances on those shows, if all else failed.
One thing is, if it lasts long enough on CBS, then they can probably piece together a few minutes of various stock footage of Benoist flying. Sure it isn't ideal, but it could go a long way to help tighten the budget should they go that route.
But I think that's one of the reasons they went to CBS. Though I was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with the unwritten rule of three series per franchise per network. AFIAK L&O never had more than three at a time. CSI had three going at once, and now NCIS does. I'm sure there are other examples.
But I have to think that SG and Legends were in pipelined around the same time and they probably figured Legends was the less costly idea of the two.
But I think that's one of the reasons they went to CBS. Though I was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with the unwritten rule of three series per franchise per network. AFIAK L&O never had more than three at a time. CSI had three going at once, and now NCIS does. I'm sure there are other examples.
But I have to think that SG and Legends were in pipelined around the same time and they probably figured Legends was the less costly idea of the two.
I only watched the first 5 minutes so far and freakin love it already! The tone seems perfect and thankfully doesn't have that overly cute rom-com feel that was present in the first trailer.
It's way too late right now though, so I'll wait and watch the whole thing tomorrow when I'm more awake and can enjoy it properly.
I wasn't going to watch it and wait till it airs. But I caved to peer pressure. My SWTOR guildies, all grabbed it and were watching it together over voice chat. They do this every week for Shield, Arrow and Flash, but since I'm an hour behind I don't usually get to participate.
To that end, I was having a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.
Buuutttt....
[[I'll do my best to avoid spoilers.]]
It definitely wasn't without its fair share of problems.
For starters, I think the dialog is kind of clunky. Now, I know Berlanti CO. isn't always the best when it comes to dialog, especially expo, but they're usually able to cover it up with good chatter. That is totally missing here. Also, the really dramatic dialog seems to be really "safe" (for lack of a better word). There isn't a lot of there there. The two key drama scenes seem forced and rushed.
"Forced and rushed" seems like a good description of it overall. I think they tried to cram too much into the pilot. I don't know if a full two-parter would've been necessary (They don't really do those anymore.), but I think a 60 minute episode would have helped a lot.
It goes by really fast.
After the dialog, I think the next most noticeable issue is the acting. It's really hit or miss. Flockhart is outstanding, but I expected her to be. Chyler is the weakest link, but I'm not really surprised. The last time she played The Sister, she wasn't much more than window dressing. As for Benoist herself, she's mostly pretty good, but there are two or three beats where she just totally swings and misses. The bad guy is terrible, but he's just a baddie of the week. So no big deal.
The caveat to all this is I think both these issues may have been because of the director. Both the Arrow/Flash pilots had David Netter and he's fantastic. Glen Winter directs this one. While he's mostly worked as a DP, he has directed a good handful of episodes going all the way back to Smallville, even. But I went through his IMDB page and nothing really exceptional caught my eye. I think it's important to have a strong, experienced director for a series pilot because he's so responsible for helping the actors settle into their roles and, probably more importantly, setting the tone of the show. And when you compare this to what Nutter did with Flash, Arrow, and especially Smallville (Which, to this day, I think is one of the best TV pilots I've ever seen.), the direction here seems really weak.
Moving on, though, the good stuff is really good. The action scenes are fantastic. The effects, in general, are really outstanding. The flying looks movie quality.
The plot structure/Act breakdown is identical to Flash and Arrow. And I think that's a good thing, overall. For the most part I've always found the pacing of those two shows to be really good. If it wasn't for the too much content issue, I think it would have come off much better otherwise.
The humor is also good, probably better than the other shows. There were several times I literally laughed out loud.
Overall, it shows a lot of promise. There are definitely things to be concerned about, but they are, for the most part, the sort of issues one expects from a pilot and can be easily fixed. The set-up is strong and engaging and, as long as it can ride out the bumps, should make for a very solid series.
**On a totally unrelated note, I'm watching an early episode of Criminal Minds as I'm typing this, and a very young and David Ramsey is playing the killer.
To that end, I was having a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.
Buuutttt....
[[I'll do my best to avoid spoilers.]]
It definitely wasn't without its fair share of problems.
For starters, I think the dialog is kind of clunky. Now, I know Berlanti CO. isn't always the best when it comes to dialog, especially expo, but they're usually able to cover it up with good chatter. That is totally missing here. Also, the really dramatic dialog seems to be really "safe" (for lack of a better word). There isn't a lot of there there. The two key drama scenes seem forced and rushed.
"Forced and rushed" seems like a good description of it overall. I think they tried to cram too much into the pilot. I don't know if a full two-parter would've been necessary (They don't really do those anymore.), but I think a 60 minute episode would have helped a lot.
It goes by really fast.
After the dialog, I think the next most noticeable issue is the acting. It's really hit or miss. Flockhart is outstanding, but I expected her to be. Chyler is the weakest link, but I'm not really surprised. The last time she played The Sister, she wasn't much more than window dressing. As for Benoist herself, she's mostly pretty good, but there are two or three beats where she just totally swings and misses. The bad guy is terrible, but he's just a baddie of the week. So no big deal.
The caveat to all this is I think both these issues may have been because of the director. Both the Arrow/Flash pilots had David Netter and he's fantastic. Glen Winter directs this one. While he's mostly worked as a DP, he has directed a good handful of episodes going all the way back to Smallville, even. But I went through his IMDB page and nothing really exceptional caught my eye. I think it's important to have a strong, experienced director for a series pilot because he's so responsible for helping the actors settle into their roles and, probably more importantly, setting the tone of the show. And when you compare this to what Nutter did with Flash, Arrow, and especially Smallville (Which, to this day, I think is one of the best TV pilots I've ever seen.), the direction here seems really weak.
Moving on, though, the good stuff is really good. The action scenes are fantastic. The effects, in general, are really outstanding. The flying looks movie quality.
The plot structure/Act breakdown is identical to Flash and Arrow. And I think that's a good thing, overall. For the most part I've always found the pacing of those two shows to be really good. If it wasn't for the too much content issue, I think it would have come off much better otherwise.
The humor is also good, probably better than the other shows. There were several times I literally laughed out loud.
Overall, it shows a lot of promise. There are definitely things to be concerned about, but they are, for the most part, the sort of issues one expects from a pilot and can be easily fixed. The set-up is strong and engaging and, as long as it can ride out the bumps, should make for a very solid series.
**On a totally unrelated note, I'm watching an early episode of Criminal Minds as I'm typing this, and a very young and David Ramsey is playing the killer.
Since this hasn't been posted yet here, Michael Auselio of TV Line just dropped some interesting spoilerific information about Supergirl, courtesy of recurring guest star Laura Benanti:
http://tvline.com/2015/05/19/greys-anatomy-season-12-spoilers-arizona-callie-new-loves/
In light of the Pilot leaking, I ended up spoiling myself on a detail about it that she alluded to in her comments to Auselio, and, without getting into specifics, I can definitely see why what I learned about made her want to do the series.
http://tvline.com/2015/05/19/greys-anatomy-season-12-spoilers-arizona-callie-new-loves/
In light of the Pilot leaking, I ended up spoiling myself on a detail about it that she alluded to in her comments to Auselio, and, without getting into specifics, I can definitely see why what I learned about made her want to do the series.
I wasn't so sure if I liked that casting.
Although I'm now curious if Kara's little ship didn't go exactly were it was programmed to go and do what it was supposed to do.
Although I'm now curious if Kara's little ship didn't go exactly were it was programmed to go and do what it was supposed to do.
That was fun. Once the cast settles in and gets comfortable it will be really good.
I dunno about that. They had convincing wirework and matte effects for flight in Superman: The Movie in 1978, much the same kind of wirework that Supergirl is using (just with greenscreen rather than front projection); but the speed effects used for The Flash in 1990 were groundbreaking stuff, pushing the state of the art at the time. Flying is easy; just hang someone in midair and move the picture behind them. They had the basic principle in place as far back as the George Reeves Superman in the '50s, and everything since has just been a refinement of that technique (except for the full-digital Superman of the last couple of movies, which is more a refinement of the flying cartoon Superman of the Kirk Alyn serials). The Flash's powers require a lot more image modification/duplication to create blur and speed effects, a lot more physical interaction with the environment, lots of complicated editing, and the like. And that's just for the comparatively simple stuff they did in 1990. Modern speedster effects as seen in Smallville and The Flash entail a lot of Matrix-style speed ramping and bullet-time work, which requires either very sophisticated high-speed camera setups, elaborate computer graphics, or both. Plus the current Flash has the added complication of the lightning-bolt animation, as opposed to the simple red blur of his TV predecessor.
Granted, this depends on how elaborate the flying sequences are. Just showing Supergirl in flight is pretty easy (aside from the digital cape animation), but takeoffs and landings are probably a bit more complicated, and if she's getting into aerial fights and catching airplanes and unspooling tornadoes and stuff like that on a regular basis, that could get pretty expensive.
They probably have a digital model of her for the fancy stuff that can't be done with wirework, just like the Flash is clearly digital in many of his more elaborate action moments. So they wouldn't be limited to stock footage. Although they might have to settle for a less detailed rendering of the digital Supergirl if they have a tighter budget.
There were four Law & Order series on NBC at one point: the original, SVU, Criminal Intent, and Trial by Jury.
I dunno, it seems to me that the whole idea behind Legends of Tomorrow was, "Man, we really like Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, and Wentworth Miller, and so do the fans. Let's make up an excuse to put them all in a show together, even though it makes no sense." It seems like it grew specifically out of the existing shows and their recurring casts, rather than being something that was conceived separately and shopped around like Supergirl. So it was always a given that LoT would be on the same network as Flash and Arrow.
Can we please avoid spoiler talk in the thread since it's leaked, or at least please spoiler code anything you may wish to discuss. Some of us will not be pirating it.
Oh, good grief, another leak? How do these keep happening? It's become almost expected now -- a studio announces plans to release a trailer at some big, exclusive event in a week or two, then some sleazy pirate gets hold of it and releases it online, so the studio releases it officially the next day and hastens to come up with some alternative bit of new material to debut at the special event. Even aside from the illegality of this kind of piracy, it's just so damn rude to spoil other people's big events like that, to steal their thunder and ruin the drama and deny them the right to control how they present their own creations. Honestly, whatever happened to basic courtesy? Not to mention patience?
Still... when the trailer came out and it was fully 1/7 of the episode, complete with pretty much giving away the whole plot, I wondered why they didn't just release the entire pilot online. If the trailer drummed up such interest, maybe the whole episode would've done even better. Now that the leak's happened, I wouldn't be surprised if CBS officially released the whole thing online in a day or two. If that happens, if it becomes available to watch legally and with the creators' consent (however reluctant), then I'll watch it. Hopefully it'll add even more to the buzz for the show and end up helping it rather than hurting it.
Still... when the trailer came out and it was fully 1/7 of the episode, complete with pretty much giving away the whole plot, I wondered why they didn't just release the entire pilot online. If the trailer drummed up such interest, maybe the whole episode would've done even better. Now that the leak's happened, I wouldn't be surprised if CBS officially released the whole thing online in a day or two. If that happens, if it becomes available to watch legally and with the creators' consent (however reluctant), then I'll watch it. Hopefully it'll add even more to the buzz for the show and end up helping it rather than hurting it.
^^^
*shrugs* It's the nature of digital data to be easily copyable. To complain about it as futile as complaining that gravity holds us down on Earth. We can invent something to prevent leaks just as we've invented planes, but even the best designed planes can be brought down. The best CBS and other media companies can hope to do is lock it down as best as they can and have contingency plans for leaks.
*shrugs* It's the nature of digital data to be easily copyable. To complain about it as futile as complaining that gravity holds us down on Earth. We can invent something to prevent leaks just as we've invented planes, but even the best designed planes can be brought down. The best CBS and other media companies can hope to do is lock it down as best as they can and have contingency plans for leaks.
I'm petty sure the "leak" is just a sly marketing move by the studio/network.
Yeah, but people with a sense of decency don't just walk away with other people's possessions just because they happen to be lying around. If you found someone's wallet lying in the street, you wouldn't think it was okay to steal their money just because it was easy. If you're an ethical person at all, you'd try to return it to them. Respect for other people's property is just one of the basic rules that civilization needs in order to function. This isn't a technical problem, it's a cultural problem.
Cars get stolen all the time too. If someone stole your car, would you appreciate it if I told you it was futile to complain about it because it's just one of those things? When people do wrong by other people, it is absolutely okay to speak out and say that's a bad thing. Even if all you accomplish is expressing sympathy for the victims, that alone is worthwhile.
Then I really wish someone would come up with some better defenses against these jerks. I'm sick of seeing them ruin so many people's plans.
If a digital copy leaks prior to an official release, odds are it came from the digital distributors (or some employee thereof) in which case all they need do is encode a watermark into the data somewhere so they know who violated their service contract and act accordingly. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they actually do.
That or as has been suggested it's an intentional leak meant to grab a little publicity.
As tempted as I am to watch, I'm going to resist until it is released officially.
I've never understood what exactly people get out of pirating this stuff. To me it just wouldn't be worth the risk of getting my ass thrown in jail just to post a TV show or movie that'll be on TV or in theaters in a few months. Do people pay to watch these or do the pirates get money for hits?
I've never understood what exactly people get out of pirating this stuff. To me it just wouldn't be worth the risk of getting my ass thrown in jail just to post a TV show or movie that'll be on TV or in theaters in a few months. Do people pay to watch these or do the pirates get money for hits?
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