Tag Archives: Grant Gustin

Arrow vs. Gotham

Gotham - Another Great Image (C) CW, this one found on Facebook

Gotham – Another Great Image (C) CW, this one found on Facebook

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I want to take a moment to talk about the DC Universe currently being brought to life on the small screen.  Taking Starling City as presented in CW’s Arrow and Gotham in Fox’s Gotham as the two shows currently shining brightly and with the most episodes to date to talk about.  Yes, Flash now has two episodes out of the box, and will probably garner a few remarks, but Arrow is entering its third season, and with four very solid episodes already out Gotham has a head start on Flash in the department of world and character building.

Over the course of two seasons the CW has shown on Arrow that they can build a solid world.  Without a doubt that may be one of the show’s greatest accomplishments.  Someone who has never read the comic books (myself for instance) can come to the show, a novice when it comes to all of the characters, jump right in with the first episode, and understand virtually everything they are seeing and being exposed to.  Arrow takes the time to explain the things that need explaining, and speaks with authority about things like ARGUS so even when I am not sure what the abbreviation stands for, I am positive it holds meaning in their universe and if I needed to know, they would, in that moment at least, make sure I knew (whether or not I retain the information for the long haul).

Gotham‘s first four episodes do a wonderful job of bringing to life the complex world in which Bruce Wayne evolved from a confused boy seeing his parents brutally murdered into the man we will all come to know as Batman.  He is, right now, learning, discovering, in so many ways he is witnessing and becoming.  Directly and indirectly Bruce Wayne is being influenced by Gotham, and Gotham is helping the boy (whether it means to or not) form the foundation that will in turn create Batman.  Alfred and Detective James Gordon are solid male role models in his life.  Trying to help to understand what he is seeing, trying to explain the complexities of the world around him, and make sense of the way the adult world operates — recognizing that it is not always right, and sometimes our first instinct of what to do, what feels like an easy way to help is not necessarily the best way in which to offer aid.

Where Arrow is full of action and intensity as Oliver Queen and team Arrow take down those who have failed Starling City, Bruce Wayne feels powerless as he is forced by his age and lack of skills to sit by and watch the goings on of a corrupt Gotham.  Gotham is a show about the underside of a city, about the mob-era the inspired a boy to become so much more than it is likely anyone ever imagined he might be, and the criminals who challenged him, inspired him, and convinced him someone had to stand up for what was right, and give his city hope that Gotham could become a better place to live.

Gotham airs Mondays on FOX at 8 PM / 7 Central
Arrow airs Wednesdays on CW at 8 PM / 7 CentralArrowS03

If you haven’t already — check out our Arrow Podcasts:

 Arrow Season 2 Podcast – a spoiler filled discussion of Season 2 with John Mayo of ComicBookPage and Kay Kellam of PopArtsPlace

Arrow Season 1 Podcast – A spoiler filled discussion of Season 1 of Arrow, with John Mayo of ComicBookPage and Kay Kellam of PopArtsPlace

A Very Super(Hero) Year on Television

Gotham - Another Great Imagine (C) CW, this one found on Facebook

Gotham – Another Great Image (c) CW, this one found on Facebook

There are a LOT of potentially great shows coming out on television this season.  Part of me wants to write about each and every one of them, and in time I hope to.  Another part of me is trying to figure out the how and when to cover each.  Tonight another episode of Gotham will air, tomorrow the Flash will zip onto the air with it’s first solo episode (if you missed Barry Allen’s many appearances on Arrow last season I do not anticipate you will feel you missed anything, that being said, I do recommend them as the show did more than merely give the Flash a backdoor pilot, but rather took the time to give a sense of the man and his personality so he would be a familiar persona when his own series hit the air) and Wednesday Arrow will launch it’s third season on the CW.

One of the truly great things about Arrow, is not just that the show sparkles on the screen, with the hero taking down those who have “failed” his city, but the lead actor Stephen Amell has a passionate and good heart, and is helping his fans find a way to fight for what they believe in — helping people with Cancer and Cancer research currently being the primary beneficiary of all that good intent.

Stephen Amell wearing Represent shirt raising money for Cancer Charity.

Stephen Amell wearing Represent shirt raising money for Cancer Charity.

Many actors talk a good game, and put on a good face — but Stephen Amell, during the month leading up to the Season 3 return of Arrow, raised, with the help of his fans, roughly one quarter of a million dollars (yes, as in $250,000) for a Cancer charity by selling shirts, hoodies and other items featuring a design Amell had challenged his fans to design and vote on.    According to the site 21354 items were sold, with 100% of the funds raised going to the charity.

At Fan Expo in Toronto when talking about a Raffle Stephen Amell had run to raise money for a family whose young daughter is battling cancer, Amell was very clear about the fact it is his fans raising the money, his fans doing this good deed, his fans who deserve the thanks, and that he feels very fortunate to be a part of all this good work — but he is aware that without the fans none of this would be possible.

Amell’s mother went through Breast Cancer, I believe while the actor has been on Arrow, and after her experience this is clearly a very personal cause to him, but he also has a very clear understanding that people dealing with Cancer want to take back some power in their life, want to embrace their victories, and he is rapidly becoming a fierce champion and Hero to those with Cancer in their lives, or those of their loved ones.

Superheros have long been near and dear to the hearts of those who needed a champion, someone to help them fight the battles that seemed impossible, or more than they could handle alone.  With these raffles, and the Represent.com campaign Stephen Amell has embraced some of the best qualities of his hero character and brought them out into the real world.

For two seasons we have watched Amell play a publicly irresponsible playboy who was privately fighting for what was right, and along the way learning a great many lessons about what it means to be a hero, and in the process he was as an individual coming out of a dark place.

The Flash is a show that, from the beginning, looks like it will be following an idealistic man who believes in doing the right thing, in wanting to be more than he is and using it for good, which as a show may serve as a counterpoint to Gotham which seems to feature a great many villains and what, based on the behinds-the-scenes and first look materials released before the show, appears to be an almost Al Capone-ish era of Gotham City.

Don’t mistake me, I believe Gotham and The Flash will be equally entertaining shows, but with vastly different color pallets and feels to them, showing different periods and aspects of life DC Universe, and the three shows combined may well remind audiences that while Marvel is currently dominating on the big screen, the DC Characters have more to them than many recall when put on the spot and first asked to talk about them.

Gotham airs Mondays, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on Fox
The Flash airs Tuesdays 8:00-9:00 pm ET/PT on The CW
Arrow airs Wednesdays 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW

Flash CW sml

The Flash features: Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West, Rick Cosnett as Eddie Thawne, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon, with Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Wells, and Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West.

ArrowS03

Arrow features: Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Arrow, Katie Cassidy as Dinah “Laurel” Lance, David Ramsey as John Diggle, Willa Holland as Thea Queen, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak, Colton Haynes as Roy Harper, John Barrowman as Malcom Merlyn, and Paul Blackthorne as Detective Lance.

chronicle_gotham_carousel-carousel-1400x386Gotham features: Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon, Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman, Zabryna Guevara as Captain Sarah Essen, Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/the future Riddler, Victoria Cartagena as Renee Montoya, Andrew Stewart Jones as Crispus Allen, and John Doman as Carmine Falcone.

Check out the facebook page for the Cancer Charity Stephen Amell and his fans raised so much money and awareness for:

Stephen Amell raised funds, and awareness, for a Cancer Charity throughout September of 2014

Stephen Amell raised funds, and awareness, for a Cancer Charity throughout September of 2014

Make sure to give a listen to the joint PopArtsPlace.com and ComicBookPage.com podcasts for Season 1 and Season 2 of Arrow, and let us know what you think, and if you are interested in podcasts about Gotham, The Flash, or any other shows or movies.

Arrow Season 2

ArrowS02CastJohn Mayo, of ComicBookPage, and Kay Kellam, of PopArtsPlace, have a spoiler filled discuss about the second season of Arrow.

Before recording we sat down with the BluRay set of Arrow: The Complete Second Season and watched “From Vigilante to Hero” – Documentary highlighting Oliver Queen’s journey from fighting injustices to becoming Sterling City’s accepted savior, which included interviews from actors and behind the scenes producers and creators of the show.


ArrowS02Package

Links:
Arrow @ IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2193021
Arrow @ CWTV.com: http://www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow
Arrow DVD sets at WBShop: http://www.wbshop.com/category/wbshop_brands/arrow.do
Cedar Cove @ IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2871832/
Cedar Cove Clip of Jack with Dylan Neal: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cedarcove/video/OnLocation/CedarCoveSeasonTwoJack
Discount Comic Book Service: http://www.DCBService.com
Comics Podcast Network: http://www.comicspodcast.com
League of Comic Book Podcasts: http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league/

Email us at TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com

Join the discussion on our forum at: http://forum.comicbookpage.com

This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page feed and website: http://www.ComicBookPage.com