I watched all ten seasons of Smallville for the supporting actors. TEN YEARS!!! When I started watching it, I did not think that I was signing up for such a long stretch. I did NOT like the previews for Supergirl. The trailer showed the titular character getting a makeover from a straight guy who clearly thinks that she is hot. They reminded me of Saturday Night Live’s Black Widow trailer. I will watch any show if it remotely promises a kick ass chick, but Supergirl seemed like an insecure, giggling school girl. To add insult to injury, Supergirl initially aired on CBS.
I do not watch shows that air on CBS. I loved The Amazing Race, but I could not watch it reliably live because the airtime was always delayed because of sports. If I tried to watch it on the CBS website on my computer or my Smart TV, it would freeze or stop playing. I would occasionally be able to catch it on YouTube until CBS started enforcing its copyright. Amazon Prime members could watch The Amazing Race’s Seasons 1 through 25 at no additional cost, but would have to pay for subsequent seasons. CBS introduced an app for smartphones to view the show for free, but it did not work so when CBS announced that it was going to offer a pay to watch service, I resolved never to watch a CBS show again.
I watch The Flash and never saw the crossover episode with Supergirl. When CBS cancelled Supergirl, and CW picked it up, I decided that I would let my completist nature win and give Supergirl a chance when it came out on DVD during the summer of 2016. I am delighted to say that my first impressions of Supergirl were wrong, and I absolutely adore the show. The crossover episode of Supergirl and The Flash was so good that I watched it two times. Barry and Kara were total geek best buds who could brunch and be enthusiastic about fighting evil together. The best line of the episode was “Fight like women.” Barry was so excited about the existence of aliens.
Supergirl consciously emphasizes kickass women. Kara can fight. Unlike Superman, she does not just rely on her powers, but improves her actual technique. I am annoyed about how often she passes out, and she needs to get better at ducking instead of trying to absorb every blow, but she is still impressive. After a particularly hard day at work, I used to relax by watching The Gilmore Girls, and for a short time, Supergirl fulfilled that function. Supergirl has an adopted, human sister, and she is a consummate warrior and excellent character in her own right. Ally McBeal is The Devil Wears Prada with better intentions who models powerful women at the workplace and illustrates how even a woman as powerful as her must dodge sexist landmines in her personal and professional life. In the first season, there was a casual reference to a female POTUS.
Supergirl is an intersectional delight and represents all the original, American idealistic political principles of Superman. Aliens provide a metaphor for immigration, and xenophobia is one of the major enemies that Supergirl must fight. Supergirl also addresses the fact that as a blond, pretty young woman who looks human, she will be more accepted than other aliens who do not. Supergirl does not play the oppression Olympics, but reveals the privilege and disadvantages of each of its characters.
Supergirl also provides a germane forum to deal with the trauma of genocide (Martians) and survival. The refugee aliens deal with a lot of loss, survivor’s guilt and making the most of this new opportunity. Supergirl gets angry, which is particularly awesome because usually women don’t get to be angry in real life or media representations without being vilified. Supergirl must specifically deal with her family’s legacy. She is psychologically stronger than her cousin, Superman, and has a solid identity as a Kryptonian, not a human, but that means that she must struggle with the moral implications of the Kryptonians’ environmental crisis. Her mother was part of the establishment, but her extended family formed an environmental terrorist group. Neither side was right, but Supergirl must learn from their mistakes to avoid repeating them on Earth.
If I have one complaint about Supergirl, I wanted more time devoted to a specific family member who was a terrorist and immigrated to Earth. I feel like that storyline was cut too short, and there was a promising hopeful storyline that even terrorists could repent and be redeemed.
Superman alum actors are featured in Supergirl: Dean Cain, Helen Slater and Laura Vandervoort. Apparently Supergirl exists in the same universe as Scandal and Parks & Recreations because these TV shows feature the same news reporter.
The goal of Supergirl is telling the truth, embracing who you are even if that makes you vulnerable. Supergirl instills hope and empowers others, especially those without powers, to band together and act heroically. Supergirl may be cheesy, but I love cheese. I can’t wait to check out the second season when it is released on Netflix. Supergirl is the hero that we need in these dark times and is must see TV.