The CW found a hit on its hands with the DC Superman based Smallville series, panning out to 10 successful seasons, showcasing an array of DC Comic characters, the one character who became a regular part of the show was Green Arrow.
The conflicted playboy billionaire won the hearts of Smallville fans and secured himself as a rising star in the JLA and for DC Comic fans in general. After the finale of Smallville and the continuing success of our favourite archer, it was decided that Arrow deserved a show of his own. **Note this is NOT a spin off show, and the character is completely un-related to the Smallville universe.
**Note to the reader/fanboy I will not be comparing this show to the comic books or to Smallville, but purely based on its own merit and story.
Arrow revolved around Oliver Queen, a billionaire brat who is on a cruise ship with his father when a huge storm hits and maroons him on an island for five years. His father and the crew all perish and we are given a quick flash of his rescue in the opening scenes of the episode.
Queen then returns to Starling City (the most perfect name in my opinion!) to reunite with his family and with his sights set on vengeance against all those that wronged him and the city. Reuniting with his mother Moira (Susanna Thompson), sister Thea aka Speedy (Willa Holland) are among the touching emotional scenes that Oliver, played by Stephen Amell manages to pull off flawlessly. Amell is the perfect Arrow, he can pull off the hauntingly beautiful, avenging character and slip into the happy, go-lucky, charming playboy with conviction. The training scenes will have girls and gays swooning everywhere, they are intense and very impressive on the screen.
Other main characters are that of Lauren "Dinah" (Kate Cassidy) who DC fans will soon come to know as 'Black Canary' and Ollie's best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) who setup an interesting and tied backstory that should see some good flashbacks for the rest of the season.
Acting nods also go to Jamey Sheridan who plays Ollie's dad in the flashbacks, a touching and caring father who makes the ultimate sacrifice for his son.
The pilot is more Batman Begins meets Revenge more than anything else comic book wise to compare it to, Queen narrates through the episode, guiding the watcher through the events to a climactic and all too abrupt finish.
Arrow not only surpasses my expectations for this series but raises the bar for comic book television. People can sprout Marvel Movie madness but DC know how to nail a TV show and captivate a weekly audience.
Arrow is screening Wednesday nights on The CW Network.
Review by Alaisdair Dewar.
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