Arrow: S01E01 - Pilot.

Okay, context. I don't watch a lot of TV and any TV I do I normally hear about years after the thing has started and end up so far behind, I have no one to discuss the show with. TV seems to have this whole pop music thing going on where if you join a show a year or two later, everyone is like 'that show is old, no one cares about that anymore' and it's like, 'oh, okay then...'. About the only big shows I was ever into with everyone else was Lost, but that show was both so long and so utterly terrible I gave up before I could bitch with everyone else about the ending. And so, I'm constantly on the look out for the next big show, both in terms of something interesting to watch...and something interesting to discuss. My friend pointed me in the direction of this show and I honestly didn't pay that much attention, he is one of my best friends and we have very similar interests in stuff but he is one of the most laidback people I know in terms of shows and shittiness (I mean he is probably the only person I know who thinks Supernatural is still good, HAH!), so a recommendation from him...doesn't say a whole lot but even IMDb were raving about this and I thought that site was exclusively for people to bitch about things everyone else likes, so that really says a lot that everyone is digging it over there. Plus it has Katie Cassidy in it. So let's give it a try. Enjoy!

I actually wasn't going to originally watch this, because I've never seen Smallville (a classic example of a bloated show I was way too late to join) but as the show developed it ended up completely free from any Smallville trappings at all, thank goodness. Arrow, if you didn't know, is about DC hero Green Arrow, I really have no idea what it is about CW and this guy, I mean I like Green Arrow but why is he getting such a huge push? So far the critics have praised the general gritty, realistic tone of the pilot but have criticised both the acting and dialogue. What did I think? Well, let's dig in!

The pilot is almost exclusively an origin story for our hero, Green Arrow, with just enough to have the episode feel like it is moving forwards, rather than backwards. A playboy asshole named Oliver Queen gets stranded on an island, has to survive for five years on it and after doing so decides to use his new found skills to become a superhero. An island with Deathstroke on it too if that long, clumsy shot of his mask is anything to go by. Subtle, Arrow, subtle. A lot has changed during his five years on the island, more than just himself and his adjustment back into 'normal life' isn't an easy one. Before the episode is over Queen gets kidnapped and a mystery starts to develop surrounding his father. Oh, he also gets to go full on Robin Hood too, yay!

The show handles the source material well, both Queen's time on the island and the way the transition back into 'normal life' is dealt with too. I can't help but kind of hope for flashbacks throughout the show to his time on the island though, see him form into the weapon he is at the start of the show which I'm guessing will happen given the Deathstroke mask. There are some odd changes though, some make sense and others less so, like for example Dinah (Black Canary) or 'Laurel' as she is called in this, is far removed from all the superhero trappings that permeated her backstory, making her a far less interesting character but she definitely fits in this Nolanesque superhero world that Arrow has gone for better this way than if they'd gone for a straight adaptation. Other changes, that make a lot less sense, but still aren't necessarily bad changes are things like Speedy. It would appear that in this if Green Arrow is going to get a sidekick, it will be his sister - there was a female Speedy but that is basically where the similarities end but they decided to also mix this new female Speedy in with a drugs subplot like the original Speedy, Roy Harper, had in the comics. Like I said, this isn't necessarily a bad change, but it is just kind of an unnecessary one.

Most of the cast, I don't really recognise, I don't really know if that is a sign that I need to watch more TV or if they just went for a gamble here, either way I think the acting was pretty solid throughout. Stephen Amell sure makes a great Oliver Queen, it is probably helped that he's scripted like such a badass, shame they shaved his head and his beard though, I was hoping they were going to separate this Green Arrow much further away from that fag who played him in Smallville. And it was nice to see familiar faces like Colin Salmon plus I can't wait to see the gorgeous Katie Cassidy in the Black Canary get up.

The pilot has some noticeably poor CGI and pretty crappy looking sets in places but overall it's a stunning looking show, it's well filmed, has some filters to really make colours pop and give it a crisp feel and is well directed.

I'm hesitant to call this an action show, although there are action scenes, both of which are spectacular, the episode was heavier on the drama and origin story of Green Arrow than it was an the action. Either way, the action is, as said, spectacular. It's visceral and fluid, brilliantly choreographed. It just has this real sense of spectacle in the action scenes, at times it's more like watching a movie than it is a TV show and it just bleeds style. If I was to have any complaints, the show does have a tendency to try a little too hard at times, the editing can end up feeling a little awkward in places as it's trying to ram in so many stylish camera movements and stunts at one time with it all moving perhaps a little too fast for its own good, I mean slow down, you're editing this like it's a machine gun!

The pilot is brilliantly paced, although it isn't quite as action packed as you'd probably expect it too, every scene has an obvious purpose and builds up the story, which leaves you completely immersed and the thing seems to fly by.

That is how you fucking do a pilot, you better believe I want to see the rest of the season, I just hope it isn't like Sarah Connor Chronicles which seemed to put its entire budget and excitement all in the pilot leading to a truly boring overall season. And if you were wondering why the two felt similar, David Nutter (the director of this) has basically built his career on directing spectacular pilots to otherwise meh shows (this includes Supernatural). Because about the only thing that really worries me about this show, is if Arrow can really keep up this spectacular, movie like feel through a whole season, it was the shows biggest strength and would probably have been a lot more mediocre without it. I hope it doesn't start with a bang and then due to budget constraints of TV shows end up spending the rest of the season being incredibly boring but hey, only time will tell and let's not end on a negative, this was a great start.

Pros;

• The show is really clever, there are so many elements added into this episode to give you a reason to come back, even if you didn't necessarily enjoy the pilot.
• Good cast. 
• Good acting. 
• Man Green Arrow is a badass.
• Looks pretty damn decent for a TV show.
• Brilliant action.
• Brilliant pacing.

Cons;

• Were the changes to the source material really necessary?
• Where is that badass beard and moustache combo, Ollie?
• The show really tries hard to not be confined by what it is, a TV show, I'm worried this may cause problems later on due to budget constraints. We'll see. 
• If you came looking for an action show, you might be disappointed by how little action there really is (although both scenes are great).

Think About It!

-Locke