Arrow has hit the mark in its second season. With its likable characters, attractive and brisk pace — exciting, but not violent — the made-in-Vancouver superhero thriller has evolved into a crossover hit with mainstream audiences, here in Canada anyway, where it airs on a proper network.
In the U.S., where Arrow airs on the fly-by-night CW network, it manages to stay airborne on the strength of a small but loyal core of younger viewers — the Comic-Con crowd.
It’s here at home, though, that Arrow has struck a popular nerve. It’s landed in the Top 30 virtually every week since its since season debut in October. More than 1.2 million Canadians watched the Nov. 13 episode. That’s a remarkable feat for a glorified comic-book story that, if it stayed true to its origins, would only appeal to a select few.
Wednesday’s episode, The Scientist, features the first appearance by Dr. Barry Allen, known to followers of the Green Arrow universe as The Flash but who first appears in his day-job guise of police forensic scientist, called in as a consultant when a seemingly impossible break-in at a high-tech scientific research facility leaves the local plods scratching their heads.
Glee devotees will recognize the actor who plays Allen in a heartbeat: It’s Broadway star Grant Gustin, who plays Sebastian Smythe, former lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers and a rival for Blaine’s affections, in Glee.
Arrow has wide appeal, in part because of its slightly skewed, off-centre take on superheroes. When Allen is introduced, for example, he comes across more as a clumsy nerd than a superhero-in-waiting.
Arrow dials it back, too, on the traditional pseudo-science and super-human strengths that sink so many bigger, louder superhero dramas. While it makes little effort to be realistic, it’s at least plausible, and that appeals to casual viewers.
The real reason Arrow finds its target, though, is Stephen Amell in the make-or-break role of billionaire industrialist and reluctant hero Oliver Queen. In less steady hands, the role of a solid citizen by day and dedicated crimefighter by night might seem like a tired cliché.
Amell, a Toronto native, alum of the late, lamented Rent-a-Goalie and a 2007 Gemini winner for the tech thriller ReGenesis, doesn’t skate by on rugged good looks alone. Superheroes are often driven by dark pasts — a murdered parent, a terrible injustice, an unhappy childhood accident — and the role of superhero can be deceptively difficult for an actor. If there’s no “there” there, comic-book fans get bored in a hurry and mainstream viewers find little of interest that would make them want to watch. Movies can get by on over-the-top special effects and eye-filling action sequences, but TV dramas require a week-to-week emotional commitment on the part of the viewer. Either you like the characters, and want to spend more time with them, or you don’t.
Arrow’s success is down to Amell, and to a solid supporting cast that includes veteran character actors Susanna Thompson and Paul Blackthorne in key roles, along with horror queen Katie Cassidy, who finally appears to have landed in a series with staying power. Arrow is worthy. (8 ET/PT, 9 MT, 7 CT, CTV/The CW)
Three to See
• The parental bond — specifically, mothers and their daughters — has become a recurring theme on Survivor: Blood vs. Water in recent weeks, as in last week’s hour when previous player Laura Morett, from Survivor: Samoa, vowed to hang on for dear life during an endurance challenge to prove to her daughter, fellow castaway Ciera Eastin, that mental strength comes from within and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with age. This season of Survivor, which pits returning players against their loved ones, has its detractors. It’s also had a surprising number of life lessons, though. Wednesday’s episode features a balancing act, in more ways than one. (Global, CBS, 8 ET/PT, 9 MT, 7 CT)
• Mike (Mikey) McBryan takes lessons in Arctic survival in the high-flying Ice Pilots NWT, which is just as well. It’s a big world out there, after all, and the harsh reality is that one of those big boats can come down at any time. Being an overnight TV star is nice and all, but it don’t mean diddly if you were to find yourself down in the tundra, with just a busted plane and a pack of starving wolves for company. (History, 10 ET/7 PT, 11 MT, 8 CT)
• Yes, it’s a little early to be talking Christmas, but at least Saturday Night Live had the good grace to wait until December. With any luck, the self-explanatory clip show SNL Christmas will feature such past classic Christmas sketches as the lost ending to It’s a Wonderful Life and Paul McCartney’s show-closing piano rendition of Wonderful Christmastime — this, after Martin Short berates him for not playing a single note accurately on the triangle. (Global, NBC, 9 ET/PT, 7 MT, 8 CT)
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