Starring
Melissa Benoist (Jay & Silent Bob Reboot)
Mehcad Brooks (Necessary Roughness)
Chyler Leigh (Not Another Teen Movie)
Jeremy Jordan (The Last Five Years)
Floriana Lima (The Punisher)
Chris Wood (The Vampire DIaries)
David Harewood (Hoemland)
Recurring/ Notable Guest Cast
Calista Flockhart (The Last Shot)
Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf)
Katie McGrath (Jurassic World)
Brenda Strong (Starship Troopers)
Frederick Schmidt (Mission Impossible: Fallout)
Andrea Brooks (When Calls The Heart)
Ian Gomez (The Morning Show)
Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman)
Sharon Leal (Dreamgirls)
Nadine Crocker (Cabin Fever)
Laura Benanti (Royal Pains)
Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse)
John DeSantis (Thirteen Ghosts)
William Mapother (Lost)
Jason Gray-Stanford (Bones)
Dean Cain (Lois & Clark)
Robert Gant (13 Reasons Why)
Helen Slater (City Slickers)
Carlos Valdes (The Flash)
Harley Quinn Smith (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)
Robin Atkin Downes (Babylon 5)
Rahul Kohli (Izombie)
Brit Morgan (Friend Request)
Grant Gustin (The Flash)
Steven Valentine (Mike & Molly)
Peter Gadiot (Matador)
Ian Butcher (The 100)
Tamzin Merchant (Carnival Row)
Teri Hatcher (Lois & Clark)
Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: TLJ)
Darren Criss (American Crime Story)
Michael J Rogers (Siren)
Rahul Kohli (Izombie)
Gregg Henry (Black Lightning)
Jordana Taylor (A Wrinkle In Time)
Malina Weissman (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Mark Gibbon (Man of Steel)
Supergirl went through some pretty fundamental changes in the transition from Season 1 to Season 2. Not only did the series add several key new cast members (and lose another), production shifted from Los Angeles to Vancouver as the series itself hopped from CBS to The CW. That shake-up wound up working in the show’s favor. unfortunately, over time it became clear that Supergirl still has some significant problems to work through before it can stand alongside the best of the Arrowverse.
The move to The CW did seem to work in the show’s favor for the most part. Even ignoring the fact that that it made crossovers with the other Arrowverse shows much easier, that shift helped Supergirl feel slightly more cohesive when held alongside its siblings. Stylistically and tonally, Supergirl felt very much like like a good-natured sister series to The Flash. And with The Flash often being unnecessarily mired in its own darkness this year, it often fell to Supergirl to be the bright, cheery, optimistic alternative.
There’s also the fact that the crew working on these Arrowverse shows have gotten pretty skilled at making the most of their limited VFX budgets. Supergirl was a very expensive series for CBS, yet the often lackluster special effects didn’t always make it apparent how much money was being poured into the show. In Season 2, however, Supergirl looked better despite costing its new network less. That was especially true with the shots of Kara flying or those depicting Martian Manhunter in his true form. There were still cases where the show’s reach clearly exceeded its grasp in terms of special effects (particularly in the season finale), but on the whole Supergirl became a better-looking series in its second season.
Bucking the usual trend, the new season picked up exactly where the previous one left off, with Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) and Martian Manhunter (David Harewood) examining the mysterious space pod that crashed outside National City. That paved the way for the introduction of Mon-El (Chris Wood), a Daxamite refugee and new love interest for Kara. Mon-El’s arrival signaled a general change in direction for the series, one that saw the DEO set up a new headquarters in National City and the focus shift more towards the growing tension between Earth’s human citizens and the growing number of alien immigrants. The main villains of the season (including Brenda Strong’s Lillian Luthor and the members of Cadmus) sought to take advantage of that human/alien tension. Given the general state of the world these days, showrunners Andrew Kreisberg and Ali Adler could hardly have picked a more inspired and relevant direction for Season 2.
That general direction worked because it was clearly and immediately topical and more because it spoke to the general appeal of the Superman franchise. More than ever, Kara emerged as a shining beacon of hope and optimism in troubled times. The season’s political elements were never really more political or controversial than a call for empathy and understanding among all peoples. And with a lead actress as charming as Benoist lighting the way, it’s impossible not to be won over by the show’s feel-good approach to superhero storytelling. More than ever, Benoist is the rock upon which this series rests.
Mon-El’s debut only furthered Kara’s growth this year. Wood proved a fun addition to the cast, but his character really shone whenever the series focused on the growing romance between Mon-El and Kara. As the prince of a xenophobic and hedonistic world, Mon-El arrived on his new homeworld with plenty of rough edges. It was a lot of fun watching Kara help smooth over those edges and inspire Mon-El to become a hero even as the two fell in love. The two characters experienced their share of ups and downs over the course oft he season, and while the general trajectory of their romance was often predictable, the execution never failed to impress.
Mon-El wasn’t the only high-profile addition to the series in the early Season 2 episodes. The show finally stopped playing coy with Superman and cast an actual actor in the role (Tyler Hoechlin) rather than simply obscuring a stunt double in shadow. That may well be the best change the series made in Season 2. Within seconds, it became clear that Hoechlin was a worthy successor to actors like Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain, bringing a warmth and charisma to the part that’s been sorely lacking in certain other live-action Superman performances lately. The only disappointing part about Superman’s inclusion this year is that he didn’t appear more often. I can understand the desire to keep the series focused on its title character, but the Kara/Clark dynamic is simply too good not to exploit to its fullest.
This season also introduced two members of the Luthor clan in the form of the aforementioned Lillian and her estranged daughter, Lena (Katie McGrath). Lillian left quite a bit to be desired. One of the biggest problems with Season 1 was the show’s inability to generate nuanced, three-dimensional villains. Between Strong’s overly intense performance and the character’s general lack of memorable characteristics, Lillian did nothing to reverse that trend. Lena, at least, fared better than her mother, mostly because the writers had the foresight not to treat her as a villain. Instead, her defining struggle all season was her desire to redeem the Luthor name and prove that she shouldn’t be defined by her brother’s actions. The fact that Lena and Kara became close friends over the course of the season added an extra appeal to Lena’s character arc, as it only served to highlight the question of whether Lena is truly as selfless and noble as she claims. The season failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion to that arc, but I’ll get to that in a bit.
Alex (Chyler Leigh) proved to be another dependable member of the Supergirl cast this year, with some of the season’s best moments focusing either on the bond between Alex and her sister or the romance between Alex and Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima). Alex’s struggle to come to terms with her sexuality proved to be one of the more compelling subplots of the season, particularly thanks to the terrifically executed coming out scene in “Changing.” As much as the Arrowverse can frustrate with the insistence on forcing every available character into some sort of romantic subplot, the Alex/Maggie material gave this season real sense of emotional weight. In a show crammed full of metahumans and aliens, the ordinary human drama often stood out more than anything else.
If any portion of the show was damaged by the shift to The CW, it was the CatCo characters. Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) all but vanished this season as the move to Vancouver ƒwled to Flockhart departing as a series regular. The show was poorer for her absence. Worse, Cat’s absence called into question whether Supergirl even needs the CatCo elements at all, a question the show was never really able to answer this season. Sure, the perpetually cranky Snapper Carr (Ian Gomez) made for an entertaining foil to the Kara as she pursued her budding journalism career, but too often the CatCo subplots felt superfluous and unnecessary to the larger picture. Does Kara actually need a day job in addition to her DEO work?
The two real casualties of the Season 2 shift were James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) and Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan). The Kara/James romance was basically cut short as soon as it began in the Season 1 finale, leaving the latter character adrift and in search of a new purpose. That was disappointing, but the real frustration came with the decision to transform James from intrepid photojournalist to honest-to-goodness superhero. James’ transformation into Guardians never felt like a logical extension of his Season 1 journey. Nor did his ongoing Guardian exploits add anything to the show. Equally frustrating is the way Winn became sucked into James’ delusions of superhero grandeur, preventing him from having any real storylines of his own (apart from a rather underwhelming romance with an alien). Just as the show has been struggling to justify the continued focus on CatCo as a whole, this season did little to suggest that James should remain an active player going forward.
I mentioned how the move to The CW helped Supergirl in terms of facilitating more Arrowverse crossovers. The weird thing is that Supergirl itself didn’t benefit much from that trend. Yes, Kara was a
big part of the “Invasion!” crossover, but the Supergirl episode, “Medusa,” barely tied into that crossover other than a bit of quick setup at the very end. And while the Flash/Supergirl musical team-up more than lived up to the hype, that was a Flash episode, not Supergirl. I’d like to see Supergirl benefit more directly from these crossovers in the future. Fortunately, that seems to be the case with next year’s four-way crossover. Supergirl definitely had its ups and downs over the course of Season 2, as all the Arrowverse shows tend to do. In general, the season hits its peak in February thanks to a string of excellent episodes focused on Lena’s troubled family history and the resurgent threat of Cadmus. Unfortunately, the show seemed to lose its momentum after that point, with the final three episodes ranking among the worst of the season. Supergirl seems to have inherited Arrow’s habit of completely falling apart in the homestretch.
In many ways, Supergirl improved in its second season as the show moved to The CW and bolstered its already solid cast with several new favorites. This season not only looked better, it managed to blend epic superhuman conflicts with very real, authentic character drama and a status quo marked by plenty of anti-alien sentiment in National City.
I’ve enjoyed Jason Mewes’ body work since I first saw him in Clerks; I’ve laughed at his antics, his catchphrases and his overall screen persona. I firmly believe that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back would have been nothing without him, he is one of the main reasons it’s one of my favourite comedies of all time. Naturally, I’m impressed at how much he has grown through the ups and downs in his life, and how his friendship with Kevin Smith and being part of his cinematic universe has shaped him up into this person now ready to break through with own art in order to make a name for himself. Of course, he had help to be able to craft his creation, which instinctively deals with his own persona, a mixture of his artistic and real self, trying to be taken serious as an actor in Hollywood. His film deals heavily with aspects of his very own life, like his addiction to drugs, his silly catchphrases and his long-time friendship with Kevin Smith, whom as expected, performs in this film as himself, having two or three scenes, one of which has an apparently enormous closeness to reality when he and Jason find themselves arguing over hidden bitter resentments.
Following advice from Fernando (Jaime Camil), whom lends him a book on method acting, Jason decides to pursue this business so that he can be believable as a serious actor, but in ends up driving him insane. Acting-wise, Jason is quite solid in his rendition; it’s obvious he’s dealing with a fictionalized version of himself, but is a good one, considering he is not a professional actor. His debut as a director, however, is not met without flaws, but as someone without any filmic experience it’s not a bad production, it’s quite decent as a resulting product.
When it comes to the plot, there’s some sillyness to it, but it’s a sillyness I can understand, it’s not even goofiness related to Jason’s character in Kevin Smith movies, but one that it’s fitting with the comedy/crime tone that Mewes tried to conduct. So overall, if you’re a Jason fan, and understand where he’s coming from, you’ll sure get a kick out of this.
In the opening credits, hands made of sewing needles create a button-eyed doll to resemble a girl before sending it out into a void. The doll is of Coraline Jones, an 11-year-old who moves with her parents to Ashland into the Pink Palace Apartments. The other residents include retired actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and eccentric Russian acrobat Mr. Bobinsky.
Coraline’s parents neglect her, being busy working on a garden catalogue. She meets Wyborn “Wybie” Lovat, the grandson of the landlady, Mrs. Lovat, and also meets a black cat that follows him. While exploring, she is given a doll that resembles her by Wybie and finds a small brick-sealed door which can be unlocked only by a small black key with a button handle. That night, Coraline follows a mouse through the door, where she discovers the bricks gone, replaced by a corridor. Coraline goes through into the Other World, where doubles of the real-world residents have buttons for eyes. Her Other Mother and Father are more warm and attentive than her real parents. After dinner, she goes to sleep in her Other Bedroom. To her dismay, Coraline wakes up in her real bedroom and is unable to convince her parents that she visited the Other World.
Despite vague warnings from her neighbors, Coraline frequents the Other World during night. She meets the mute Other Wybie, the Other Mr. Bobinsky, and the Other Misses Spink and Forcible, who are young and perform theatrical acts. When the Cat also enters the Other World, it is able to talk.
On the third visit, the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay forever, but buttons must be sewn over her eyes. Horrified, Coraline attempts to flee. The Cat reveals to her the true sinister nature of the Other Mother and the Other World. She demands the Other Mother let her go home, but she transforms into a grotesque version of herself and imprisons Coraline in a dark chamber behind a mirror. Inside, Coraline meets the ghosts of the Other Mother’s previous victims, including Mrs. Lovat’s long-lost twin sister. The ghosts reveal that the Other Mother sent them rag dolls that resembled them in order to spy on them and find out what was wrong with their lives. The Other Mother then lured them into the Other World, where she promised them endless games and entertainment, but once they accepted her offer, she sewed buttons over their eyes and “ate up their lives”. To free their souls, their real eyes need to be retrieved. Coraline promises to find them.She is suddenly pulled out by the Other Wybie, whose mouth has been stitched shut. He helps her escape. Back in the real world, Coraline is led by the Cat to a mirror in which she sees her parents writing “HELP US”. She also discovers a rag doll that resembles them fused together, indicating that the Other Mother has kidnapped them. Coraline then burns the doll.
Coraline returns to the Other World to propose a “game” to the Other Mother. If she cannot find her parents and the children’s eyes, she will stay forever. Coraline manages to retrieve the children’s eyes. The Other World gradually turns into grey stone and disintegrates, leaving only the living room in the Other Pink Palace. She confronts the Other Mother, who now has an arachnoid form, with sewing needles for hands. A ghost child warns her that the Other Mother will never let her go, even if she wins. Coraline finds and frees her parents from a snow globe and throws the Cat onto the Other Mother’s face; the Cat rips her button eyes out. Coraline escapes, slamming the door on the Other Mother’s hand, severing it. Her parents return home with no memory of what occurred.
Two and a Half Men was a television situational comedy (sitcom) about a carefree, womanizing bachelor whose life is turned upside down when his neurotic bother and son move in. The series first aired in 2003 and was widely received by audiences, as well as critics — winning the People’s Choice award for Favorite New Comedy Series. The show’s success is an excellent rounded cast, witty dialogue, and all-around goofy storylines. What it boils down to is that Two and a Half Men is a fun-filled sitcom that is nonstop with laughter.
In the series’ pilot episode introduces one of the three main characters, Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen). He is an easygoing bachelor with a fabulous house on the beaches of Malibu. For work, he is a successful composer and writes jingles. Life is perfect for Charlie, with little responsibility, lots of money, and oodles of women. While spending an exotic evening with a female friend, Charlie’s life is disrupted when his brother Alan (Jon Cryer) shows up. Alan was married to Judith (Marin Hinkle) for twelve years. They have a son together named Jake (Angus T. Jones). Alan comes to Charlie in a time of need, after Judith kicked him out.
Charlie reluctantly lets his brother stay with him, but agrees on a temporary basis. Unfortunately for Charlie’s wild social life, Alan and his son Jake turn a short stay into a permanent one. Joining the two and a half men are Evelyn (Holland Taylor), the Harper boys’ domineering and loving mother, Rose (Melanie Lynskey), the crazy next-door neighbor who had a one night stand with Charlie and has been stalking him since, and Berta (Conchata Ferrell), the tough house keeper who is more than willing to put Charlie in his place.
After the season one pilot episode, the series continues with Charlie, Alan, Jake, and company getting used to their new lives together. The show’s comedy follows two primary avenues. First, Charlie and Alan have opposite personalities. While Charlie is carefree and easygoing, Alan is neurotic and compulsive. They have different expectations of life and their personality clashes make for some fun moments. Second, the formulation of the Charlie-Alan-Jake relationship is constantly at the fore. Charlie’s hip lifestyle isn’t exactly the best influence for a 10-year-old boy, but Jake, on more than one occasion, takes after his uncle. And it drives Alan crazy to no end.In general, the comedy comes off rich. The three primary characters (Charlie, Alan, Jake) have a great chemistry together. Sheen’s character Charlie resembles his role of Charlie Crawford from Spin City. He has a quick and dry wit that plays well against Cryer and Jones. Cryer is especially good with his neurotic character and delivers a convincing performance. Jones brings a youthful innocence that compliments Sheen’s womanizing personality and Cryer’s neurotic behavior. The supporting characters offer decent additions to the cast, but are as strong as the three lead characters.
For fun season one episodes, some of the best deal with Charlie’s lifestyle shaping Jake. “If They Do Go Either Way, They’re Usually Fake” is a classic episode and a perfect example of the wonderful chemistry between the three lead actors. While having breakfast, Jake witnesses the undressed half of one of Charlie’s female friends. The incident peaks his interest in the female form (to Alan and Judith’s dismay). The result is several fun moments with a sexually-charged boy, a supporting Charlie, and two unhappy parents. “Big Flappy Bastards” is another fun one, where Jake rebels against Charlie’s authority and he learns what it means to be a parent.
Other fun episodes include “The Last Thing You Want Is to Wind Up With a Hump”, a solid episode with sex at the fore and a few desperate soccer moms, “Camel Filters And Pheromones”, Berta’s attractive granddaughter sets a (metaphorical) fire in the house, “An Old Flame With A New Wick”, Charlie’s ex-girlfriend resurfaces as a man and it is an awkward situation for the two and a half men, and “Can You Feel My finger?”, Charlie has a pregnancy scare and considers having a vasectomy.
Overall, Two and a Half Men is a fun sitcom with a strong leading cast and solid writing. The season one episodes are a great collection of episodes that will leave you laughing at every turn.
Smallville Season 10 is the culmination of a 10 year journey which set out to follow the life of a young Clark Kent as he accepts his destiny and becomes Superman. So did Smallville go out with a bang or a whimper?
I for one love the final season of Smallville….whenever you are trying to finish off a story it can be difficult especially with a character as iconic as Superman and with the weight of 10 years of expectation but amazingly it manages to produce an end that is befitting of a superman. This season really is all about how Clark Kent finally becomes Superman and almost every episodes deals with this acceptance of destiny. The season kicks of where season 9 ended with Clark Kent falling to his apparent death….this episode kicks off the season on the right note, with nods to the past seasons as well as hints for what the future holds. This season has so many memobrable episodes such as Homecoming, the 200th episode that is one of the best episodes have ever produced, other highlights include: Supergirl, Harvest, Abandoned, Luther, Icarus, Fortune (one of the funniset Smallville episodes ever!), Kent and Booster. You can see just by the number of episodes listed just how good the final season was.
However, what could make of break this season was the two part Finale in which we fianlly see Clark Kent embrace his destiny. I believe that this episode is one of the best finales ever produced, it is important to remember that Smallville is more about Clark Kent then Superman and as such this character takes the focus for the majority of the episode and it benifits for it. These episodes also include the return of Lex Luthor and I think that the scenes between him and Clark are perfect. Also, when Clark finally puts on the suit we get to see more Superman action then I’m sure anyone was expected. And the final scene is a perfect way to finish the story.
Tom Welling has played Clark Kent for 10 years and every season we have seen him grow as and actor and a director and I think that he has managed to bring new life into this character and took him in a truely unique direction. Although, this show wouldn’t be what it is/was if it wasn’t for the rest of the supporting cast especially Erica Durance who in my mind is the best Lois Lane that the screen has seen and thanks to her acting she has become just as much of the Smallville story as Clark Kent himself.Thank you Smallville for 10 great years and for breathing new life into a an inconic character…you will be missed!