DCTV KRYPTON Review

[Tonguez]

So Krypton was premiered and while it wasn't spectacular, the pilot managed to pack a whole lot of wroldbuilding and exposition into one episode. The syfy show has a main cast of british actors which apparently was a deliberate choice inorder to differentiate Kryptonian society from the midwestern Kansas USA of Supermans future.

The story centers on Seg-El (grandfather of Earths Superman) and his struggles to survive in the underbelly of a Kryptonian society that is divided between the elite Ranked Houses (El, Zod and Vex have been prominent so far) and the unraked masses. So far the worldbuilding has been the best aspect of the show. Krypton has a bleak landscape and the people dress in drab colours and live in a domed city (Kandor), make babies in test tubes, their lives already preordained for entry into one of the Guild Houses, all beneath the rule of the Genetic Council and the silent but menacing religious authority of the Voice of Rao. Only Seg-Els grandfather wears the brighter blue and red colours of the House of El, everything else is much more grim. (yes reminiscent of Man of Steel and a refreshing change from the other DC shows - CW-)

Add to that the menace of an Alien Villain making its way towards the planet and a timetravel plot where Earthman Adam Strange must warn Seg-El to be careful lest his future grandson Kal-El never be born!

Its intriguing and shows a lot of promise, so hopefully it is able to work the political mechanations and potential without getting caught by the Prequel curse of having to conform to an expected future (the timetravel plot might help there)

So did you see it, and what did you all think?

[video=youtube;JvSZKB2WNKg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvSZKB2WNKg[/video]

 

[Morrus]

It’s not on here (weirdly given that it was filmed in the UK and has a British cast) but I don’t get it. Who ever wanted to know the story of Superman’s grandad? Just make a new Superman show!

 

[Ryujin]

It’s not on here (weirdly given that it was filmed in the UK and has a British cast) but I don’t get it. Who ever wanted to know the story of Superman’s grandad? Just make a new Superman show!

Odds are they are trying to ride the coattails of the success of "Gotham." I watched it for a while and then got tired of watching characters almost be who they were supposed to be.

Odd that they would use Adam Strange as the link to the audience. He's a Flash Gordon style hero in his own right, on the planet Rann, in DC comics.

 

[Nutation]

I watched the first episode. I do not like dystopian Krypton. Superman is the Man of Tomorrow, and the destruction of Krypton was originally a tragedy. No one would miss this Krypton, although I assume dominion of the Voice of Rao is temporary. At some point, the Science Council will be back in charge. I would have retained the visual connection to Man of Steel, but eased up on the grimness and instead presented Krypton as a place of scientific wonder with no soul. For example, the phantom zone projector is an awesome invention, but what of its use as a tool of justice?

Sig-El is not a very engaging protagonist yet, but he does have courage and intelligence, and he can grow into a better person. He was mostly reactive, but that may just be how it is when you are spending all the airtime worldbuilding. Lyta Zod did something risky and heroic. Presumably she will influence Sig to the good.

The time travel plot doesn't seem to serve a purpose, it's not telling the audience anything we don't know. Adam Strange was a startling choice to appear, but I like it. He's hardly known, but he is a science fiction hero in the DC universe who pops in and out of places. No mention of Kara, the last daughter of Krypton, but there seldom is.

 

[Tonguez]

I watched the first episode. I do not like dystopian Krypton. Superman is the Man of Tomorrow, and the destruction of Krypton was originally a tragedy. No one would miss this Krypton, although I assume dominion of the Voice of Rao is temporary. At some point, the Science Council will be back in charge. I would have retained the visual connection to Man of Steel, but eased up on the grimness and instead presented Krypton as a place of scientific wonder with no soul. For example, the phantom zone projector is an awesome invention, but what of its use as a tool of justice?.

you're right there, I did wonder how Krypton had got so advanced when they live on such a harsh planet under a dome (the dome suprised me as I had thought the Dome tech had been invented by Zor-El it also makes me wonder how much communication they have with the other Kryptonian cities).

I also found my self wanting to know more about Seg-Els grandfather and the story of his fall from grace. Thats why I noted above that he was the only one dressed in the brighter Blue and Red colours of House El - it seems life was better back in his day, but Krypton society has taken a turn for the worse. That it then takes another 200 years to get to the point where Kal-El has to be sent to Earth did seem a bit weird to me

 

[Nutation]

Spoilers.

In the second episode, Seg and Lyta both take initiative. I'm happier about this episode. The story gets moving. The pilot episode was busy setting the scene and contriving fate with the main characters (particularly Seg) mostly reacting. The Zods are presented like Klingons, honorable and violent.

The worldbuilding continues. Val-El speaks about the historical accomplishments of the House of El, clearly taken from Nelson Bridewell's Krypton Chronicles. I think I heard the name Thar-El from that source, though maybe with a different bio. The show creators certainly didn't use the established names for the generations we see in the series. Jewel Mountains were mentioned, and a name I didn't recognize. We got a recitation of the gods of Krypton.

The time travel plot could be completely ripped out and thrown away with minor story corrections. Everyone knows what comes later; we don't need Adam Strange popping in to remind us.

We see up close that Kandor needs its dome because outdoors is quite inhospitable. Why? Other cities exist, so is the ecology bad locally or worldwide?

And Brainiac was first detected "millions of light-years away". Sigh. TV writers just put words on paper that sound cool. They have no idea what the words actually mean. I would be happy with "a thousand light years". I'm not going to worry yet, though, about why conventional sensors can't detect Brainiac's giant spaceship when it's close enough to launch an ersatz meteor shower.

 

[Morrus]

And Brainiac was first detected "millions of light-years away". Sigh. TV writers just put words on paper that sound cool. They have no idea what the words actually mean. I would be happy with "a thousand light years".

Well, we're talking sci-fi technology here. Millions of light years is outside the galaxy (whatever galaxy Krypton is in, unless it's a REALLY big galaxy), admittedly, but we can detect things in other galaxies even now, although at our level they have to be stars or larger.

(Actually, they detected an exoplanet in another galaxy not that long ago, so we're getting better!)

If a ship like that, able to travel faster than light, emits a massive signature, they could be bigger or more powerful than that of a planet or a star. After all, the energy needed to move at FTL speeds is... well, fictional, but massive.

OK, that's all just rationalisation, but I think it's within the realms of sci-fi. And I haven't seen it, so if they said it was close by and then said it was millions of light years away, that's obviously silly.

 

[Tonguez]

We see up close that Kandor needs its dome because outdoors is quite inhospitable. Why? Other cities exist, so is the ecology bad locally or worldwide?

When the projection of Val-EL is talking to Seg-El in the Fortress if Solitude he mentions one of their ancestors finding the cure for "the Green Death" I drew the conclusion, that Krypton had previously been a nicer place but the Green Death had caused it to become inhospitable, I assume the dome was built during the same time period.

Also first mention of the Phantom Zone, here presented as a Hyperspace 'backdoor' that can be used to explore other galaxies.

 

[Kaodi]

They are setting up this "it's complicated" triangle between Seg-El, Leta-Zod, and Nyssa-Vex and I am kind of wondering who I should be rooting for.

On the one hand it would be amazing for Zod to be Supe's grandma: she is a fierce warrior with heart and a moral compass and she would be a perfect candidate that way, not to mention it would throw in a really interesting family dimension to the Kal-El / Dru-Zod conflict and it would go there with Superman's melanin levels.

On the other hand there is a kind of uncomfortable element going on this show where the House of El is just so wonderful and it is in their blood and that makes me think having a conniving Vex for Superman's grandma would be better for the character of Superman. His blood is not the pure blood of heroes and warriors. Upbringing and choice of values made him who he is.

 

[Kaodi]

So far I am not sure if this show will last. If it was supposed to be Gotham but for Superman, well, the way they are doing things is way different. The problem is not necessarily the actors either, though I am not still not sure about Seg. Lyta is good, and her mom is a good support of her plotline. Nyssa and her father are not that compelling so far though, they do not grab you like Fish Mooney and Don Falcone. Kem is a pretty generic bar owner buddy. He needs more to work with because otherwise his job is basically being done by Adam, who kind of gets it easier because he is playing an established character. I like Barristan El-y well enough, he is portrayed by a great actor, but so far the characterization is kind of just like Jor-El on steroids. Gotham is an emotionally driven show. This so far is not, and I think it is weaker for it.