Black Lightning on the CW

[Elmo]

In the first act, it's clear why this is not in the Arrowverse. Inclusion there would be far too limiting to the direction this show is already taking.

First mention of "That fast guy in Central City" and this story loses 100% of its impact. This is a powerful start to a promising show.


---- aaaand the disappointing reference. Let's keep it at that.

Disagree. I still see no logical reason for this not to be a part of the Arrowverse. If you have an established DC universe on the same network, why not have every new DC show be a part of it? It just makes sense.

That being said, the show is damn good so far. Looking forward to next week.

[Jackalope89]

Disagree. I still see no logical reason for this not to be a part of the Arrowverse. If you have an established DC universe on the same network, why not have every new DC show be a part of it? It just makes sense.

That being said, the show is damn good so far. Looking forward to next week.

There was a brief mention of other people fighting crime in other cities, but nothing specific.

But so far, it really is a good episode, especially for a series premier. Half expecting him mentioning working with a guy in a bat costume though, lol.

[Jim Kelly]

I never expected to see a TV show of this quality on the CW. Then again, I guess the pilot wasn't made for the CW, so it remains to be seen if the same quality will continue in future episodes. It still could become CW, I suppose.

As a rule of thumb, most good TV shows don't have great pilots. So maybe the reverse could also be true--sometimes when a TV show has a really great pilot, it's hard to live up to those expectations on a weekly basis.

I think it fits better on Earth-38--Supergirl's Earth--if only because it has Inspector Henderson. Here's a character who was originally created for TV in the early '50s, on ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, and he's still around in 2017.

[Koriand'r]

I thought I'd get a good effort, maybe a promising start to an adequate CW superhero show, but what I got was BLOWN AWAY!

[Surf]

Jefferson's ex is pretty hot, FWIW.

Yea, yep. She's got a nice frame.
British too.

[TheInvisibleMan]

Disagree. I still see no logical reason for this not to be a part of the Arrowverse. If you have an established DC universe on the same network, why not have every new DC show be a part of it? It just makes sense.

That being said, the show is damn good so far. Looking forward to next week.

just let the show breathe

can't black people have nothing on their own?

[numberthirty]

Disagree. I still see no logical reason for this not to be a part of the Arrowverse. If you have an established DC universe on the same network, why not have every new DC show be a part of it? It just makes sense.

That being said, the show is damn good so far. Looking forward to next week.

Just because something might be a perfectly sensible option doesn't mean that you should only have one option.

If it works, just let it do it's thing.

[blackbolt396]

Tobias Whale. Awesome!!!!

He sold me on the show.

[Jim Kelly]

They seemed to always use the Tobias name in the pilot, not Whale. And yet Tobias had all the nautical stuff going on at his lair, just like a Batman villain would do if his name was Whale. And Tobias is Jefferson's white whale. I haven't read MOBY DICK, but I know that trying to kill the white whale was Ahab's downfall. It's hard to see how Jefferson is on the right path if he's repeating the same patterns that screwed up his marriage and left him broken.

Loved seeing Gambi in this. The token white guy. James Remar brought to the character a certain Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon vibe. This is Peter Gambi. I guess we've never seen his brother, Paul Gambi, in the Arrowverse, but there was a Gambi laundry and dry cleaning service in the pilot for THE FLASH.

[Midvillian1322]

He sold me on the show.

Havent got to watch it yet. Dudes a C list Albino rapper, but none that matters. Can he act?

[KabutoRyder]

just let the show breathe

can't black people have nothing on their own?

I'm a veteran black guy, been on this earth 35 years now and I am perfectly OK with Black Lightning being in the Arrowverse and want it at some point to connect so we can get some kinda crossover.

That would not make the show any less 'our own'.

Just sayin.

[TheInvisibleMan]

id be fine with a tangential connection, kind of like how Supergirl is in another universe/its like Earth 16 or something

im good with Black Lightning being an entirely separate Earth (but at least let it establish itself on its own for the first season)

[AJBopp]

I'm a veteran black guy, been on this earth 35 years now and I am perfectly OK with Black Lightning being in the Arrowverse and want it at some point to connect so we can get some kinda crossover.

That would not make the show any less 'our own'.

Just sayin.

In my opinion, locating this show in the Arrowverse is somewhat limiting to the potential. You put something there, and the show has to follow certain narrative conventions from other shows. In the first episode, I think BL demonstrated how powerful it can be by not being beholden to any preconceived conventions. I really want this show to flourish, and not have online critiques of it degenerate into "...but that makes no sense because on Arrow this happened...."

Plus, I see no particular draw to having BL cross over with other heroes/storylines. It's a much better done show than any of the others. Associating this show with those devalues something that, at least at the start, is enormously good.

[blackbolt396]

Havent got to watch it yet. Dudes a C list Albino rapper, but none that matters. Can he act?

Well in my opinion he seems to be perfect for the role ,He gives off the vibe of a true badass.

[KabutoRyder]

In my opinion, locating this show in the Arrowverse is somewhat limiting to the potential. You put something there, and the show has to follow certain narrative conventions from other shows. In the first episode, I think BL demonstrated how powerful it can be by not being beholden to any preconceived conventions. I really want this show to flourish, and not have online critiques of it degenerate into "...but that makes no sense because on Arrow this happened...."

Plus, I see no particular draw to having BL cross over with other heroes/storylines. It's a much better done show than any of the others. Associating this show with those devalues something that, at least at the start, is enormously good.

A well thought out opinion. I disagree with you on how it limits anything. And if people want to lodge complaints that start with 'well this happened on Arrow' then that'd dumb to begin with. I think the show is fine and brings a completely different dynamic than any of the other shows. And that's what you want. Each other them has to bring a different vibe for the show and I think they do. Can you tell they are made under the same mold, sure, but it doesn't stop them from having their own identity to me. Arrow is the street justice show, Flash (should be anyway) the light hearted fun super power show, LoT is straight over the top cheese, knows its cheese and runs with it and I loooooooooooooove it, Supergirl, I dunno I only watch here and there, but I just take it as the yay feminism show. BL offers a different dynamic and I don't see how linking it in the Arrowverse would take away from that.

And I'm a fan of crossovers for TV shows. From back when it was Homicide / Law & Order, to the various Law & Order shows, CSIs, Chicago shows, etc. I'm a sucker for a good crossover.