Plot: What’s it about?
If you’re a fan of comic books or, more to the point, comic book heroes and villains, then the last decade has been good to you. Very good. I realize that there were superhero movies before 2008, but I’m going to go ahead and say that the success of Iron Man really paved the way for what’s become the norm. Iron Man gave way to a slew of Marvel films like Thor, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy and let’s face it – the Marvel Universe isn’t just limited to the big screen. Not to be outdone, DC films really had the upper hand on Marvel with their Superman and Batman films. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins trilogy really showed what could be done with a great story and a capable director. Switching gears to the small screen, we’ve also got a lot of familiar faces to choose from. While Bruce Wayne isn’t featured in Gotham, we do get the backstory of Gotham city and some of its more nefarious characters. Likewise with Supergirl, we don’t get the man of steel, but rather his feminine counterpart. Is it too much or are we just getting more of what we want?
Like any first season, this one has a bit of history and with the case of Supergirl (Melissa Benoit) we do see how she came to Earth from her home planet of Krypton. She was sent as a young teen to watch over her famous cousin, but she got trapped in the prison Fort Rozz and arrived on Earth years later after Superman was well known. She was taken in by the Danvers family and raised, hiding her powers. She outs herself in the pilot when she rescues her sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) from a plane crash. And suddenly Kara begins to take on the same struggle as her cousin. She tries to balance her day job as assistant to media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) with her new responsibilities of saving the world. As Supergirl, she starts working with Alex, who works for a top secret government organization that fights aliens. Their boss there is Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), a friend of their father. Meanwhile, at CatCo, there is a new photographer, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks). Yes, THAT James Olsen, who not only knows Superman, but knows who he is. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that’s a crash course in Supergirl’s history.
Video: How’s it look?
I’ve got to say that gone are the days when you can really tell the difference between a television show and a feature film. Supergirl really looks flat out good on Blu-ray, as expected. Having never seen the show over the air (HD or otherwise) I had no basis of comparison, but it exudes everything we’d expect from a Blu-ray. The 1.78:1 AVC HD encode has razor sharp detail (Supergirls’ outfit mimics that of Henry Cavill’s in the films), flesh tones are warm and bright, contrast is strong and colors are bold and bright. This is a good-looking show and Warner’s set does it justice.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is also something I really can’t find fault with. Granted, it’s not on par with some of the Hollywood blockbusters, but for a weekly television series I was pretty impressed at what it sounded like. Vocals are strong, pure and crisp, surrounds are surprisingly active and the front channel holds everything together very well. I’ve often remarked at how the line between television and movie soundtracks have an increasingly blurred line and this is further proof.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted Scenes – Seven deleted scenes (spread across all three discs) don’t offer a lot considering it’s an entire season we’re talking about. These run about fifteen minutes and are nice to have, but aren’t integral to the show in the least.
- Supergirl: 2015 Comic-Con Panel – If you can’t promote a comic-book themed show at Comic Con, then you’re pretty much S.O.O. aren’t you? We get a panel of the show’s cast and producers as they give us a bit of information on the show, what it will be like and how it will tie into some of the other DC-based shows out there.
- The Man from Mars – We get a look at the Martian Manhunter, a.k.a. J’inn J’onzz, who is featured in the season.
- A World Left Behind: Krypton – As we all know, Supergirl is from Krypton and we get a brief look at how the planet is depicted on the television show.
- Gag Reel – Sorry I have to say it…shenanigans on the set.
The Bottom Line
There are a ton of options out there if you’re into comic-themed television shows. Marvel has their share (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as does DC (Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and Gotham) so if you’re a bit tired of the Man of Steel, this might be a good show to check out. It’s surprisingly well-made and I actually found myself enjoying it. The Blu-ray looks and sounds good and it’s got enough supplements on the disc to warrant a purchase.
