Producer: CBS
Writer: Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg
Director: Glen Winter
Featuring: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, Calista Flockhart
Release date: USA OUT NOW/UK Sky 1 TONIGHT!

What kind of superhero story is it when the supporting characters are all more interesting than the hero? That’s the underlying problem plaguing the new Supergirl series on CBS. Like all the DC superhero TV shows, Supergirl begins with “My name is…” The rest of the episode’s cliché-ridden script is mostly just as uninspiring.

But that’s always been part of Supergirl’s problem: she’s cute but, for some, lacking  the icon status of her stablemate. Only a few writers like Peter David have been able to make Supergirl’s stories worth reading; even her DC alternate universe persona as Power Girl seems to have more personality. The pilot also loses points for being coy; the only time we see Superman’s face is as baby Kal-El (you know it’s him because of the spit curl). Is this a rights problem or is DC saving the character for the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie? Instead, we get Jimmy, sorry, James, Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), Superman’s pal, now hunky and working with Kara Danvers/Supergirl/Kara Zor-El in National City.

The show suffers from predictability. Kara lives alone in a posh city apartment stocked with Johnny Walker Blue? Check. Insufferable boss? Of course. Unrequited love for the hero? Indeed. Boring, pedantic villains who pontificate instead of just killing her? You know it. A computer hacker able to hack the police database at will? Duh. Supergirl being undamaged by an explosion that kills a villain stronger than her?.

The entire universe is Supergirl’s backyard to explore, but instead she decides to fit in as a powerless nerd complete with Clark Kent glasses. Her adoptive parents the Danvers are played by the movie Supergirl (Helen Slater) and TV Superman (Dean Cain), which was a nice touch.

Fanboys will continue to watch Supergirl, though, because she’s cute. And who knows? It could get better. And sometimes television series need to do their growing up in public……..And may be we can believe a Supergirl can fly…….

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker