Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Supergirl Show News From TCA 2016 - Vandervoort! Master Jailer! Alan Moore!


I haven't covered all the news and casting but when it comes as fast and furious as it did 2 days ago, I feel I need to comment. Especially because this news is so fantastic that I felt compelled to discuss it. At the Television Critics Association tour on Monday, the Supergirl show crew announced some bombshells. This Entertainment Weekly article does a good job of recapping them:
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/11/supergirl-laura-vandervoort-indigo-master-jailer

Settle in, there was a lot of news. And of course I have lots of things to say about so many of these. So some blurbs from the article will be followed by my usual banter.

Laura Vandervoort has been signed to star on the show starting in episode 15. She has been cast as Indigo. Indigo was a Titan who started out as an innocent robot but was then revealed to be Brainiac 8, sent back in time to kill Donna Troy. But here is the blurb describing her in the show.

Indigo is described by producers as a living, strong-willed supercomputer who was sentenced to Fort Rozz after turning against the people of Krypton. Now on Earth, Indigo will let nothing stand in her way.
“She’s badass,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg says. “She’s going to look awesome. Definitely not going to look just like Laura. Being one aspect of the Brainiac program, she comes in through computers, so Winn is actively involved in that episode. She has a very interesting backstory. She was one of the Fort Rozz prisoners, but how she came to be and how she ended up on the prison, and what she’s been doing on Earth is part of the fun and the surprise of the episode.”
I am pretty pumped to have Vandervoort on the show, continuing the nice sense of legacy in the show. And bringing in a Brainiac derivative is great. Can't wait to see more. But let's be honest. We all know what we want.

We now have the chance to see all three actresses who have played Kara all together in one scene! This better happen!!

In other villain news, soap star Jeff Branson has been cast as the Master Jailer. In the comics, the Jailer was Carl 'Moosey' Draper, a brilliant scientist who grew up in Smallville, insanely jealous of Superboy and obsessed with Lana Lang. Here is the blurb from the article.

Jeff Branson will recur as the forceful and unrelenting jail guard on Fort Rozz who showed no mercy. Now on Earth, he is hellbent on catching all of the Fort Rozz escapees and brutally bringing them to justice.

One thing I like about this is that here he is one of the staff on Fort Rozz. I was wondering if there were any good guys on that prison. It'll be interesting to see if he has been hunting (and maybe executing) the Rozz escapees during all these years. Maybe be will play another ethical foil to Supergirl.


Lastly, in what I think is a brilliant move, the show will riff on the famous Alan Moore story 'For the Man Who Has Everything" in episode 13. In that story in Superman Annual #11 (a story everyone should read), Superman is given a vision of what Krypton would be like had it not exploded. It isn't all rosy. Kara has a bit part in the story, maybe something for me to highlight later. As for the Supergirl show:

“There was something about that particular story that, to me, was almost even more resonant for her,” Kreisberg said, noting that it’s a good guess that this will be the episode that features young Kal-El. “For Superman, when it happens to him, it’s his wish for something that he never had. But for her, she wants something back that was taken from her. It really is like her stepping into this fantasy of what life would’ve been like if she had never left Krypton and had grown up there, if her parents were still alive, if she had grown into the person and the life that she wanted to lead. Again, because it’s coming at a time where she’s feeling so low about her life on Earth, it becomes that much more potent… She’s actually getting back everything that was taken away from her and the only way out of it is to reject it. Imagine how horrible that’s going to be.”

Everything Kreisberg says makes perfect sense. She remembers Krypton. She would have an understanding of what life would be like. This is something she would truly want, unlike Kal who has no memories of the place. I can't wait to see this. Given how hard it was for Superman to reject the vision in the story, I am sure it is going to rip out Kara's heart. And this gives Melissa Benoist another juicy emotional scene for us to see.This also is a good explanation for the casting of a young Kal-El, news we heard about a while ago.

I don't know if they will do the 'Black Mercy' flower as the explanation for this dream. Could it be a telepath? Coma?


Lastly, we finally get confirmation that the Jane Doe in 'Blood Bonds' is BizarroGirl. Over on CBR, we get news of episode 12 called simply 'Bizarro'. Here is the article:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/kara-battles-a-bizarro-version-of-herself-in-supergirl-episode-12-synopsis

And the blurb:
"Bizarro" – Kara faces off against her mirrorimage when Bizarro (Hope Lauren), a twisted version of Supergirl, sets out to destroy her. Also, Kara grows closer with Cat’s son, Adam (Blake Jenner), on SUPERGIRL, Monday, Feb. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

I don't know much about Hope Lauren but she certainly looks enough like Melissa Benoist to fool people from a distance. My guess is Max Lord unleashes her to besmirch Supergirl's character. I also bet that she starts out looking normal and slowly 'bizarro-fies' over the episode until she dies at the end. Let's see if I'm right.

Anyways, nothing not to love about any of this news. Laura Vandervoort!!!  

10 comments:

Neal said...

I am so excited for 'For the Girl Who Has Everything.' Can't wait to see all these new characters!

Gene said...

Very glad to see Lara Vandervoort make it on the show. I have never heard of Indigo before now, so it will be great to see her without any preconceived notions.

With Lara V, the "Girl who has everything" episode and the rumors of a Flash/Supergirl team up this season, I'm getting the feeling the producers are pulling out all the stops as insurance to make sure Supergirl gets renewed for another season.

Gene

Anonymous said...

Yeah glad to see Laura VV has landed on her feet, I have a feeling she could have a great "Heel Turn" in her waiting to happen. And I'm just generally glad that Brainiac is making an appearance (of a kind) on Supergirl, hell the Superman media empire has ignored the Coluan Criminal for far too long.
The Hardcore Kal El fundamentalists on other websites are all up in arms about the show's whole sale appropriation of tried and true Superman rogues by Supergirl's producers....I guess they are as sick as I am of seeing Superman's film antagonists oscillating between Luthor, Zod and then the F List Jobbers...
:)

JF

KET said...

"The Hardcore Kal El fundamentalists on other websites are all up in arms about the show's whole sale appropriation of tried and true Superman rogues by Supergirl's producers.."

Well, it's not like the WB movie division hasn't had years of opportunities to use more than Luthor and Zod from the Man of Steel's rogues gallery. Since it's been said that Berlanti and Co. have never been refused a character they've requested for their shows (unless the rights no longer belong to DC Comics anymore), then folks should really be feeling lucky rather then upset. Besides, it's not like Arrow hasn't been using rogues from Batman's gallery for several seasons already. :)

BTW, all of the TCA news sounds good for SG, plus....it looks like there'll be a Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz flashback where we'll get to see more Dean Cain as Jeremiah Danvers....and Project Cadmus as well?!

KET

Anonymous said...

Believe me, was TICKLED PINK at all the news coming out for the Supergirl TV series!

Jan 18 -- Winslow Schott Sr (aka Toyman).

Jan 25 -- ANOTHER anti-alien human... a senator, no less. I'm hoping less of an Amanda Waller-type and more depth than the
1dimensional / note General Lane. Personally I'm hoping for a conversion to Supergirl's side, just as another counterbalance to the
negativity of Lord and Lane.

Feb 1 -- BIZARRO GIRL!! WHEEEE!!

News of an adaption of "For The Man Who Has Everything" and Laura V guest starring on the show is just icing on the cake! The possibility
of Helen Slater, Laura V and Melissa B onscreen at the time... Oh Boy, Spontaneous Nuclear Fusion right then and there!

Hope the promo pics are of all 3 of them in Supergirl costumes, or at least S-tshirts, standing together! That'd make this Supergirl
fan VERY happy!

Not sure about the news of Cadmus showing up on this series... I was immediately struck of the JLU storyline of Supergirl / Kara In-Ze and
Galatea when I heard that. Didn't hate the episode, and I loved how Nicholle Tom played against herself in the dual roles.

To TPTB for this show! Keep pulling out the stops! I'm loving it!


Regards

MetropolisQuartet said...

Hiya - I've been enjoying your column (just discovered it). Good stuff & we agree on quite a bit. Here's my page on Supergirl's costumes - mostly from the early Bronze Age - hope you enjoy it!

http://metropolisplus.com/Supergirl/

Pax, harmonia,

Brian G. Philbin

Anj said...

Thanks for all the comments!

I think that the show does seem to be in a bit of a 'rush' and maybe that is to try to assure a second season.

So much has happened faster in this season that I anticipated. The J'onn reveal, a fight with a doppelganger, a loss of power, a secret identity crisis all happened sooner in a first season that I think typical.

I'm not complaining. This season has had the gas pedal down and it makes the show incredibly entertaining.

I hope we hear about season 2 soon.

Anonymous said...

I just wish the scripts weren't riddled with plot holes (expl Astra's exit strategy re The DEO) they've got the ensemble the core concept is preemo the writing needs to come up a notch or two.....

JF

KET said...

"expl Astra's exit strategy re The DEO'

Okay...Astra was looking to recruit her niece by pretending to falter during their big aerial fight in "Hostile Takeover". However, in "Blood Bonds", Astra hadn't expected that Kara would have enough resolve to not only face any fears about whether her mother actually committed genocide, but also face off against General Lane's xenophobia and sexism without throwing a single punch. I think that Astra's original plan was to have Non and his goons ambush the DEO during the prisoner exchange; but she knew that wouldn't work out without besmirching the family honor once again. "Blood bonds us all."

So there it is.

KET

Anonymous said...

So I guess there is no hope at all of anyone ever doing a non-Kryptonian Brainiac outside of the comics. On S:TAS it was a neat idea strongly tied to why the Kryptonians didn't notice the impending disaster. On Smallville it was weaker but understandable. Here it just seems like a wasted opportunity.