So I was watching clips of Smallville and I had to wonder why more modern shows feel much more generic and bland than the ones back then. It's not that there are only more epic and emotional moments, but in shows such as Smallville, there always seemed to be something at stake. The action scenes weren't as spectacular as in Flash or Supergirl but they still managed to get the confrontation across to the viewers. The relationships between the characters were also much more believable and well-written. Now, it feels more like "Character A talks to character B casually once and they're friends"
What changed? What causes this "generic" feeling in more modern shows? Some examples from Smallville:
>click first link >it's gay ass impulse I can see where you're coming from but come on OP.
Grayson Young
I always love how people here hate that scene but I honestly think it is quite an endearing bro scene. why people call especially this scene gay is beyond me because it's clearly a big-brother-little-brother dynamic that is going on. Also, the way Clark is trying to get Bart to stay is also pretty believable
Gabriel Price
Instead of the one cape show, CW ended up having 3, 4, and now 5 cape shows, but they still have the same pool of writers, so they inevitably get stretched thin. It's pretty evident that they have one good writer that gets passed around the shows, so when one show's quality goes up, the others flop When you compare CW shows with Gotham, the style difference is greater still
I don't think people HATE it per se. It was just painfully 2000s
Ian Roberts
>So I was watching clips of Smallville and I had to wonder why more modern shows feel much more generic and bland than the ones back then If Smallville is your example of how much better shit used to be, you're clearly a nostalgiafag.
Their idea of a creative episode is doing a 40 minute version of whatever movie was popular at the time. They literally did a Hangover rip off.
I'm not going to pretend that any of these CW shows are good short of the first season of Flash, but goddamn, Smallville was horrible.
Connor White
The CW shows are pretty generic too though. I like to watch Flash and even Supergirl to some extent but they all feel the same. Legion and Gotham are the only shows that truly feel different and special.
I am also watching the fourth season of Heroes at the moment and even that is much better quality-wise than the more modern shows
Tyler Diaz
The later seasons were worse than the earlier ones though, especially season 9 and 10, which pretty much showed the artistic degradation of the show (Hangover episode was in the middle of S10 iirc)
I think it's not exactly nostalgic to say that Smallville had a perfect blend of freak-of-the-week episodes and overarching storyline episodes. The character relationships between Clark & Lex, Clark & his parents, Clark & Chloe etc. were goat-tier
Jonathan Torres
>smallville is terrible >first season of flash is good
getaloadofthisguy.jpg
Caleb Edwards
OP here. the first season was pretty good. Beats me though why the writers chose to NOT continue all the plot points they had initially thought out for the characters
>Eddie having a shady past as a cop in a different city >Robbie being a series regular >Barry solving cases with cool animations as shown in episode 1, providing a great opportunity for detective episodes
Landon Ramirez
The first season is good. Its like a universally agreed upon thing.
Stop being a contrarian nostalgiafag.
Evan Butler
CW shows are generic because it's the same formula since Smallville, only they have to stretch the writing staff to 4 shows Gotham and Legion are what I think FOX is going with, style over substance. Lucifer is the same way, and that new X-Men show is likely also going to be the case, if it doesn't suck monkey dick NBC can't do a cape show, and ABC is ABC
Kevin Smith
>style over substance
that applies partially to Legion due to the psychological stuff but Gotham? The style is very unique and great but the substance, while over the top, still feels like a fun ride
Robert Murphy
The thing people liked about the first season was the promise of hype that never delivered
Hunter Ramirez
The style over substance thing is my personal opinion, but I do agree Gotham is great. Personally I think last year shows go Gotham > Arrow > Legion > LoT > Flash > Supergirl.
Chase Gutierrez
tv styles have changed and you aren't used to the old way anymore. So when you see it, it seems fresh. It wasn't that fresh at the time, the dialog was stuff you would see in all the dramas of that time.
It was a good show though, until Lex left
Carson Allen
shit, still haven't watched the whole LoT season yet. I hope it's good
The funny thing is that my opinion on the shows really changed after a few seasons. During their first seasons, I thought Flash > Gotham > Supergirl but now it's pretty much Gotham > Supergirl >= Flash. Since Supergirl accepted the campy thing and turned down the SJW bullshit, especially by getting rid of Ally fucking McBeal
Gavin Flores
>Since Supergirl accepted the campy thing and turned down the SJW bullshit, especially by getting rid of Ally fucking McBeal
... they were able to make the show more watchable
Oliver Scott
except season 2 was way worse with SJW drama because of Alex suddenly being a lesbian and her annoying ass gf
Wyatt Baker
sure is Sup Forums in here
Jose Clark
How?
Jeremiah Cook
Name ONE good live action cape show! You can't!
David Jones
Know thy audience. CW audiences don't care for the SJW. They want drama or worse, melodrama, so the Lesbian Alex thing was just another plot for more crappy drama about muh Maggie LoT shaped up in the second season. I would have ranked it higher if Legion didn't surprise me with those styles. I know people don't like the phrase, but it really was a "DUDE TURN OFF YOUR BRAINS" show, and all the better for it.
name ONE tv capeshit scene that has the same amount of feels
Aaron Thomas
They actually have a pretty different set of writers on Supergirl and Arrow's writers are definitely different than the Flash's but I haven't seen much arrow post the crossover in S3 so I'll grant that may have changed.
The problem is the show-runners, in particular on the Flash, and the problem is the network 'interference' or 'influence' from The CW, but it's their formula.
Lot has improved hugely and I didn't hate the shortened S1, I just am not fond of Rory doing a poor Doctor imitation as Rip nor of Savage's arc. S1 when it didn't largely feature Rip or largely deal with Vandal Savage, was comparable to S2. But the second season was balls out crazy that even when Rip came by, I found it less annoying.
This is what they need to do more of in Supergirl and The Flash. I don't object to both of them being more serious and having more melodrama, but I'd rather have some comic book science/logic and stuff to mellow that shit out.
literally the worst thing about the entire season. it felt so forced
>alt right >crying
what the hell are you on about? I just wanted to create a thread to talk about my favourite cape show and discuss why modern shows feel so entirely different
Tess all the way. She actually had a proper backstory while Lena is just a bland and more tame version of Lex but with mommy issues
those fucking feels. can't post that one without the better scene from the episode before it though
>Its like a universally agreed upon thing By idiots who watch CW trash? Yeah, fuck off.
Justin Lewis
Generic is probably the wrong choice of words.
And emotional is probably not the right correct.
Isaac Smith
>literally the worst thing about the entire season. it felt so forced
The Daxamite plot, all the inconsistencies that go with it, including what should be greater age variances between the parents and Mon-El - hell, simply keeping the Mon-"EL" name, all of that was far, far worse. Other things were comparably problematic to idiotic.
>while Lena is just a bland and more tame version of Lex but with mommy issues You mean versus the daddy issues Lex had on Smallville
Carson Sullivan
marvel cinematic universe blandness has ruined everything
Christopher Moore
If anything, Smallville was more generic than modern CW shows. Monster of the week teen drama with a few occasional hints to the Superman mythos. Anytime a comic character showed up, they'd wear a stupid brightly-colored hoodie. The show losing its focus after Lex left.
Anyone know the episode with the person that can see the future and when they touched Clark they saw the Superman cape and said something about how he'll live forever?
Modern Capes are generic overall >MCU generic >DCEU generic >Rebirth generic >legacy generic >CW shows generic
Dylan Wright
You are confusing it a bit. The kid who ran into Clark at the school who was reluctant to touch people, he just saw sky and the sensation of flight, no cape.
I forget the specifics of Hereafter but she's the one that Lex with the white suit and all the skeletal bones. I don't remember that she said anything to Clark - wasn't she reluctant to tell him what she saw?
Nicholas Roberts
Name three capeshows that aren't generic. You can pick them from any era.
Brandon White
SOMEBODY SAAAAAAAAAAVVVVEEE MEEEEEE!
Parker Brown
>Smallville was horrible Take it back desu
Ian Mitchell
>supergirl >not sjw bullshit You don't have to lie online
Jose Rogers
This was such a sad episode
Grayson Wright
LET YOUR WARM HANDS BREAK RIGHT THROUGH
Lucas Bell
Legion, Daredevil S1 and if we can include cartoons then BTAS. Otherwise you win
Cameron Williams
I would add Arrow s1 and s2. We didn't have a dark Knight eqsue TV show before
Hunter Mitchell
But is true though.
Andrew Rogers
y u gotta remind me man
Eli Baker
>That first clip
That was the most homoerotic thing to have ever aired on television and I can't believe people on Sup Forums genuinely enjoyed Smallville. It's gotta be nostalgia, this show bored me to tears.
Aaron Jackson
>Eddie having a shady past as a cop in a different city They thought it was more interesting to make him a genuinely nice guy.
>Robbie being a series regular He left for "X-Files".
>Barry solving cases with cool animations as shown in episode 1, providing a great opportunity for detective episodes Would've been neat, but ironically it slowed down the episodes.
Easton Adams
>end of episode >it's an emotional scene >pop song starts playing
God, the noughties did love their formulas.
Christopher Lee
The kid saw the cape, old lady saw that he'd live forever
>season two adds lesbians >season two also gets rid of the interracial couple the entire first season built up to Its both really
Caleb Gomez
>tfw my thread is still up
honestly, that's nice to see
not the guy but Season 1 was pretty solid, mostly due to Eobard's hijinks. the drop in quality during Season 2 was pretty steep though
as someone who prefers the DCEU, I must say that the MCU blandness is only to be blamed on Disney. The entire Phase 1 excluding Avengers 1 was very solid and each movie had its own unique feeling. After Disney took over completely, the blandness started to kick in. It's just the suits that tried to make a formula for the entire franchise (which worked pretty well for them)
yeah, the costume designers were really shitty. maybe it was due to the budget being used for effects most of the time. whether you believe it or not, Smallville's effects were pretty high-quality for a TV show back then
>those scenes
literally two of my favourite and most watched scenes in Smallville. the music and Lex walking out of the room, goddamn. The Clark and Lois scene was so beautiful too in combination with So Much For My Happy Ending running
I would argue that MoS and BvS are all but generic. SS and WW reek of genericness even though both have great camera work (some would call it cinematography) which makes them nicer to watch than most other cape movies. I'd say you're right with the rest of the stuff though
Camden Williams
I said "toned down". I didn't say they got rid of it entirely. the lesbian shit was pretty fucking stupid and inconsistent. I assume you have forgotten the constant remarks during season 1 though. that was horrible and barely watchable
>They thought it was more interesting to make him a genuinely nice guy
and it didn't really bring anything to the table in my eyes. I think they should have just gone all out and made him Eobard in disguise or something. Hell, they could have even made him Eobard who bumped his head after going back in time or something, it would have been better than Eddie "literally who?" Thawne
Tyler Williams
As a fellow man who also prefers DCEU, not generic doesn't mean better. On the other hand, it makes the selection more interesting because we have contrasting contents to consume. Likewise on TV, Legion and Gotham are vastly different from CW shows which are the standard bearer of CapeTV, and we are all better off for their existence.
Evan White
>blaming Disney for Perlmutter
Bentley Watson
You missed the whole point of Eddie.
Caleb Carter
bump :^)
Parker Peterson
>as someone who prefers the DCEU
I wouldn't disagree with you that the MCU is very bland and largely generic. It's the McDonald's of movies.
But the DCEU is a convoluted mess. It's the soup kitchen of movies where the crazy people are screaming at every meal and at least one person dies from a shiv wound.
Sebastian Davis
You have to be joking. The people who worked on Smallville were embarrassed to be working on a DC show. They said it enough times. They were so desperate for it to be no flights, no tights yet that stopped being interesting after a season. Everything about the show was incredibly half assed from the costumes to the way it utilized DC characters even at the end. Member Darkseid? Or Doomsday? Or the bastardization that is Deathstroke? Or how about how they gave Impulse literally the same costume as Green Arrow but red and yellow? The actors even made fun of it in an interview. And yet after all of that restraint they go and have an episode featuring their version of the Legion of Doom who somehow have their classic costumes and hate superheroes that have barely been active enough to get any supervillains. Even though none of them had been mentioned on the show prior.
The CW shows aren't perfect but at least they're not embarrassed by the material and go all-in on the more comic book-y aspects that make the DC universe great.
The only thing Smallville had going for it were the waifus. Chloe, Lana, and Lois comprised 70% of my masturbatory thoughts in the 00's. That's the only reason I wouldn't call the entire series a complete wash.
Nathan Lopez
CAN'T WAKE UP
Ian Peterson
People that hate Smallville are either underage or not like muh comics fags.
Zachary Watson
Smallville was a much more better show because it focused on the love between family in a more friendly and smart way then any other CW show. Imo Flash rushed this making Joe seem annoying and not a father-figure to Barry at all. Same goes for any type of bond in the show, its too rushed
Wyatt Thomas
>it makes the selection more interesting because we have contrasting contents to consume.
this is literally my definition of unique movies which kinda makes the whole universe better in my opinion
>Likewise on TV, Legion and Gotham are vastly different from CW shows
and both of those shows are objectively better than the rest. as much as I like watching Flash, it's too generic to be as good as the others. the sets alone in Gotham make the show more promising than Flash
well they changed it so obviously, my point doesn't stand the way you think it does. I just didn't like the way he came and went. they could have used the character in a great way but the actor just went on to another show so we're left with nothing
>But the DCEU is a convoluted mess
I honestly like the execution of the movies for the most part (SS was a mess during the first third) but yeah, they really went all out after MoS. I mean they are raking in the dollars but it's too much too early on. I disagree on the part that every character needs a solo movie but at least the Suicide Squad should have been introduced before the characters actually being in the movie. don't even get me started on the "Elseworld" movies or the Joker movie. I don't know what the fuck the executives are thinking. Them forcing Snyder to cut down BvS was enough proof that those fucks should be nowhere near the directors
Parker Walker
Most of your complaints are based on the costumes. Care to give sources when talking about the cast being embarrassed about the show?
>The CW shows aren't perfect but at least they're not embarrassed by the material and go all-in on the more comic book-y aspects that make the DC universe great
Smallville is literally the only reason why Flash, Gotham and Supergirl exist but you obviously don't want to see that. It went on for 10 seasons and paved the way for other superhero shows because it was as successful as it was. It also showed CW that going apeshit on the comicbook part can be a good move.
Just started reading Season 11. It's actually a decent comic
The family part in Smallville was always great to watch. The actors especially just had a perfect harmony
>making Joe seem annoying and not a father-figure to Barry at all
I really have to disagree since the conversations between Barry and Joe are pretty well written. Why is Joe annoying though? He's pretty much the best character in the entire show because he's the most understanding of the bunch
Also, for the people who liked Smallville, here's an interview from two weeks ago between Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) and Tom Welling (Clark). Pretty interesting trivia and funny as fuck
And the new CW shows are leagues more "embarrassed" in their content. Cisco as a character is a testament to that.
>We can't have them call themselves their codenames >Let's just have some annoying gimmick character shout them out because he's a nerd
Levi Morgan
good point although I think that this is just the writer's sense of humour. it feels forced but most nicknames are just used as a way to lighten up the mood.
have to admit that I have no clue how giving the heroes and villains names could be done in a more natural and non-campy way though
