My current superhero TV show ranking

Ryujin · Mar 12, 2016

Morrus said:
For me it got really boring. Same every week. I stuck with it, though, for some reason, and this year is actually more interesting. I think there have been a couple of interesting years, and the rest have been pretty much the same thing over and over.

My problem is that there does not seem to be any overall plot. I haven't read the comics, but I'm aware that they are still ongoing and the no resolution of any kind is in sight, which makes it all feel a bit aimless and wandering. If it was just a random "monster of the week" episodic show like Star Trek or X Files or Doctor Who or something, that would be fine, but it's not. It has an ongoing narrative which has no direction other than "hey who's gonna die next?" which got old 3 years ago.

Yes, I'd say that it's all pretty much the same, except for the season(s) in which not a whole lot happened at all. As you say, it gets old. I'm starting to feel the same way about "Game of Thrones" in fact. Which character whose story I have invested in will die this week?

MarkB · Mar 23, 2016

Having just finished season 2 of Marvel's Daredevil, it's pushed right to the top of my list.

It was dark without being depressing or angsty. It was violent and frequently gory without ever feeling gratuitous. And it was character-focused without ever feeling like a soap opera.

The existing cast from the previous season were as good or better this time around, with everybody getting plenty to do, and the two major new characters were very well portrayed, and given a great deal of depth and character development.

Tonguez · Mar 23, 2016

MarkB said:
Having just finished season 2 of Marvel's Daredevil, it's pushed right to the top of my list.

It was dark without being depressing or angsty. It was violent and frequently gory without ever feeling gratuitous. And it was character-focused without ever feeling like a soap opera.

The existing cast from the previous season were as good or better this time around, with everybody getting plenty to do, and the two major new characters were very well portrayed, and given a great deal of depth and character development.

Season 2 was good but I'm not so sure it was better than Season 1. While you are correct that they maintained the aspects that made season 1 great and core characters were further developed, there were still some holes and things that didn't quite gel for me. My biggest issue though is that the two major storylines - Punishers revenge and Elektra vs the Hand were entirely disconnected. Indeed it would have been quite possible to run the entire Punisher story without Daredevil ever being involved by just having Foggy and Karen as the crossover link (no other spoilers).
The Elektra & the Hand story was not as well developed imho and left a whole lot of unaddressed handwaves. Bit hard to discuss more without spoilers but just to ask what was the point of the giant hole? and in the last episdoe what happened to the the 100 ninjas down stairs?

oh and I'm revising my placing of Gotham, shifting it up as co-equal to SHEILD

MarkB · Mar 24, 2016

Tonguez said:
Season 2 was good but I'm not so sure it was better than Season 1. While you are correct that they maintained the aspects that made season 1 great and core characters were further developed, there were still some holes and things that didn't quite gel for me. My biggest issue though is that the two major storylines - Punishers revenge and Elektra vs the Hand were entirely disconnected. Indeed it would have been quite possible to run the entire Punisher story without Daredevil ever being involved by just having Foggy and Karen as the crossover link (no other spoilers).

I rather liked that. Not every story in a season has to be part of the same big conspiracy. And whilst Daredevil wasn't essential to the Punisher's story, the reverse wasn't true - the Punisher represented the flipside of Daredevil's vigilante style, and challenged his no-killing morality without presenting any easy answers.

The Elektra & the Hand story was not as well developed imho and left a whole lot of unaddressed handwaves. Bit hard to discuss more without spoilers but just to ask what was the point of the giant hole? and in the last episdoe what happened to the the 100 ninjas down stairs?

I think part of that is deliberately left unanswered for future seasons, just as the seeds of this storyline were first sown in season one. And as for the ninjas downstairs, in the absence of both their leader and their objective they no longer had reason to be there - and they'd have had no trouble slipping away.

Neonchameleon · Mar 30, 2016

My current list:

Strong recommendations
1: Jessica Jones. Just awesome.
2: Lucha Underground. OK, so it's pro-wrestling with a strong supernatural element. Meaning larger than life fights, four colour plots, and just about everything else. (Best wrestling TV series ever IMO)
3: Agent Carter. I've only seen S1 but it was good and fun.

On my to-watch pile (which may or may not mean I actually watch them)
Daredevil - I've actually started this. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of watching The Wire for the first time. And I can see it's a good, but nothing even vaguely comparable should be made to go head to head with The Wire.
Supergirl - I want some optimistic supers TV show please?
The Flash - See above
Lucifer - if I dare see how they mangle the absolutely awesome comic series.
iZombie - I'm on the fence on this.

Dropped like a hot rock
Agents of Shield - The first half of S1 was pure holding pattern before Winter Soldier. It then picked up a bit - and stalled somehow.
Arrow - CW show full of pretty people #94.
Gotham - Didn't click and disliked the worldbuilding/20 years older than Batman issue

Ryujin · Mar 30, 2016

Supergirl may have just moved a step up my list. The crossover episode with The Flash was just plain fun. The two actors of the main characters played off each other remarkably well. When they both pulled an awkward shrug in answer to a question I couldn't help but burst out laughing

Deuce Traveler · Mar 30, 2016

I loved the first Daredevil season, and it is my current favorite superhero series. Jessica Jones comes in at a very close second. However, I didn't like Season 2 of Daredevil. The first four episodes were fantastic, but I felt they shoved two seasons worth of stuff into the last 9 episodes. Which is a shame, because the supporting cast was great and the additions of Punisher and Elektra were better than I imagined. Towards the end they made otherwise intelligent characters make idiotic decisions in order to move the plot along, which is a pet peeve of mine.

Mallus · Mar 31, 2016

Current rankings...

1: Daredevil. I just finished season 1 and found it to be a terrific neo-noir that happened to star The Man Without Fear. D'Onforio's Fisk as a sensitive, romantic monster was amazing. Looking forward to season 2, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy it as much giving the increased number of superheroes. I'm concerned it'll lose some of the focus that made the first season so strong.

2: Agents of Shield. What can I say? I like a lot of the characters & the performances, and I find I'm interested in where the plot is going. Though I'm sad to Hunter and Bobbie go. Agents works for my because of common ground it finds between Whedon-verse stories and Marvel's; they're fundamentally stories about families, jazzed up & out with genre elements.

3: Supergirl/The Flash (tie). Despite Supergirl's general unevenness & the Flash's meandering during the beginning of this season, both shows have killer, charming casts and a refreshingly optimistic tone. And the crossover? Pure magic. "Is that a *spaceship*? It's *my* spaceship!".

4: (oops, forgot) Agent Carter. The first season was very good. I'll catch the second once it hits Netflix.

And that's it. I really need to watch Jessica Jones. Virtually everyone I know speaks highly of it, but I've only seen the first episode.

Orius · Apr 1, 2016

Here's what I watch:

Gotham - A lot of people gripe about the whole prequel nature, but I like the show. It can be pretty dark, but it's the Batverse. I liked first season better than the Galavan plot of the first half of the current season, but recent episodes have been pretty entertaining.

The Flash - This was at the bottom of my list last season. Too much reminded me of Smallville, it had the whole metahuman of the week much like the meteor freak of the week thing going on, and there were too many plot points that had either Barry or Sisco doing something stupid. It improved a lot during this season though, a much better show now.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - Been watching this regularly since nearly the beginning. It can be a bit uneven at times, but usually remains pretty solid.

Agent Carter - Another solid show, makes a good mid-season replacement for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Legends of Tomorrow - This show is not great at all, definitely at the bottom of what I watch. Last night's episode did bump things up a notch with an interesting plot twist, but the writing can get really dumb at times.

Nytmare · Apr 1, 2016

Jessica Jones is probably my top pick too. There was really nothing I didn't like about it.

I'm just finishing up the second season of Daredevil. Although I really enjoy it, I think the first season ended weakly, and the second season started off just as weak, and was incredibly sloppy on a technical level. I'm also wishing that they had spent more time shuffling the two story lines together beyond "we were expecting Matt to be here, but he's not. Again."

I'm still really enjoying Gotham, though I turn a little bit of a blind eye to too many thoughts of how the story realistically ties itself into the "modern day" characters I know.

Agents of Shield still gets watched religiously, and though I agree that it does run a bit hot and cold it still manages to hit my sweet spot for super hero soap operas.

I watched 98% of Agent Carter, but gave up during the season 1 finale. I tried to pick it up again in season 2, but only made it a couple of episodes.

I still hate The Flash, still watch it every single week, and still constantly wonder why I keep watching it.

I watched all of the new Heroes and was mostly unimpressed. All I really got from it was a new appreciation for the first season.

I've given Arrow, Lucifer, Legends of Tomorrow, Powers, and Supergirl shots, but none of them impressed me enough to watch a second episode.

My current superhero TV show ranking

Ryujin

Legend

MarkB

Legend

Tonguez

A suffusion of yellow

MarkB

Legend

Neonchameleon

Legend

Ryujin

Legend

Deuce Traveler

Adventurer

Mallus

Legend

Orius

Legend

Nytmare

David Jose

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