# Arrow (Green Arrow show on CW)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 1, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703 "2013-03-01T05:53:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/1 "2013-03-01T05:53:16Z")
I’m really enjoying Arrow… is anyone else watching it? I mean, it’s not great TV, but it does a really good job of feeling like a comic book. Exciting, funny, but with moments of intensity and emotion, and some interesting long-term story arcs.
The actors are all decent to good… Stephen Amell seems pretty bland at first, but he has an intensity that never lets down. Not a huge emotional range, necessarily, but he fits the part well, Particularly good, I think, are the detective (Laurel’s father), Oliver’s mother, and the Australian guy on the island.
I haven’t read any of the comic books, so the DC-fan-nods are all mostly going over my head, although I keep getting hints about them while reading AV Club reviews…
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### Author:  [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/2 "2013-03-01T06:38:12Z")
I like the show, though I often find myself more interested in the flashbacks to the island than the present day. It has a pretty high body count for a prime time show. The weak points for me are anything to do with Thea, and Laurel’s dad, who looks like he’s trying to hold back a fart in every single scene.
The comic book shout-outs are… odd. Oliver’s nickname for Thea was Speedy, which is Green Arrow’s sidekick in the comics. Okay, because he doesn’t have a sidekick. But then they introduce Roy Harper (the purse snatcher), who was Speedy in the comics - how do they go there without the sister catching on? The rest of the time, they simply use familiar names, mostly from writers. Diggles is named for a writer on the comic, for instance, and a judge on the show is named for Mike Grell, who pretty much set the character’s current template back in the 80s, the way Frank Miller forever skewed Batman and Michelinie/Layton did Iron Man.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/3 "2013-03-01T07:39:17Z")
> [@epbrown01](#):
>
> I like the show, though I often find myself more interested in the flashbacks to the island than the present day.
I’m the opposite. Hopefully next season he’ll get a haircut and not have to wear the awful wig.
It’s like _Revenge_, only less soapy and more superheroic, and I have grown to enjoy it. I like the nerdy girl, Felicity Smoak, and Diggle, but I can’t tell one brunette from another.
I am surprised at the number of people who are learning his secret identity\*.
\*I thought there was an episode where he revealed himself to his ex-GF Laurel, but I must be mis-remembering.
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### Author:  [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/4 "2013-03-01T07:54:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> I am surprised at the number of people who are learning his secret identity
The bane of television - there always winds up a bunch of people figuring it out or getting told, though in this case he didn’t need to, imo. (however, my favorite scene in Smallville was when Chloe found out and was in a daze for like 12 hours). To be fair, when Grell wrote _Green Arrow_ it was a running gag that only Oliver Queen thought his identity was secret, as a hoody’s not much of a disguise.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/5 "2013-03-01T08:12:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> \*I thought there was an episode where he revealed himself to his ex-GF Laurel, but I must be mis-remembering.
I think I am confusing this with when he revealed himself to The Huntress, a character I really liked and wish was a regular.
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### Author:  [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/6 "2013-03-01T11:22:34Z")
I plan to watch it when it starts over here, but at the moment they refuse to narrow it down further than “some time this year”.
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### Author:  [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/7 "2013-03-01T11:39:29Z")
I’m watching and enjoying it. I especially like the flashbacks as well. I think they do a great job of teasing you with information about what happened on the island while continuing the present day storyline.
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### Author:  [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/8 "2013-03-01T12:39:33Z")
I like it well enough. The reveal to Felicity Smoak was intersting - she already knew something wierd was going on (I like the character)
Brian
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/9 "2013-03-01T13:07:39Z")
I’m enjoying the show. I just keep wondering why Det. Lance doesn’t have Bob help him whip up a potion to track down the vigilante. Also, will Moira succeed in getting Captain Jack killed (and will he stay dead?)
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/10 "2013-03-01T13:12:05Z")
I really, really wanted to like this show, but I couldn’t get into it. Mainly it’s because I can’t stand watching Rich People Angst, and it’s really, really bad in Arrow.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/11 "2013-03-01T13:41:12Z")
> [@epbrown01](#):
>
> The bane of television - there always winds up a bunch of people figuring it out or getting told, though in this case he didn’t need to, imo. (however, my favorite scene in Smallville was when Chloe found out and was in a daze for like 12 hours). To be fair, when Grell wrote _Green Arrow_ it was a running gag that only Oliver Queen thought his identity was secret, as a hoody’s not much of a disguise.
I thought it was the goatee that gave it away.
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### Author:  [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/12 "2013-03-01T14:39:38Z")
I really like it too - it’s one of the few shows that I make sure my DVR grabs regularly.
A little disappointed that he felt he needed to reveal his identity to Tommy yesterday. I can’t see that ending well.
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### Author:  [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/13 "2013-03-01T14:43:14Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#):
>
> I’m enjoying the show. I just keep wondering why Det. Lance doesn’t have Bob help him whip up a potion to track down the vigilante. Also, will Moira succeed in getting Captain Jack killed (and will he stay dead?)
I know! Maybe he can hit some bad guy with a hockey later on.
…No, I’m not bitter about Dresden being cancelled after one season.
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### Author:  [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/14 "2013-03-01T14:55:03Z")
> [@epbrown01](#):
>
> The comic book shout-outs are… odd. Oliver’s nickname for Thea was Speedy, which is Green Arrow’s sidekick in the comics. Okay, because he doesn’t have a sidekick. But then they introduce Roy Harper (the purse snatcher), who was Speedy in the comics - how do they go there without the sister catching on?
Roy was the first Speedy - Ollie dropped him when he discovered Roy had a drug problem. Ollie could be a bit of an ass. Roy changed his superhero name to Arsenal while he was with the Teen Titans and later with the Outsiders (I think). He changed it to Red Arrow when he joined the Justice League.
Mia was the second Speedy. She was an ex-prostitute Ollie rescued during the Kevin Smith run on the title.
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### Author:  [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/15 "2013-03-01T15:38:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> I really, really wanted to like this show, but I couldn’t get into it. Mainly it’s because I can’t stand watching Rich People Angst, and it’s really, really bad in Arrow.
This is my issue with Thea. She wants to be seen as this special little tragic snowflake, so she acts like every other rich brat you’ve ever heard of - parties, drug arrests, car crashes. Her insisting on throwing her trial and going to prison to _get back at her mother_ was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on televison. “Yeah, I’ll do two years in prison - that’ll show **her**!” :rolleyes: Fortunately, they don’t show her much.
> [@D\_Odds](#):
>
> I thought it was the goatee that gave it away.
Yeah, wearing a Van Dyke like the arrow-shooting vigilante **and** running a castle-shaped business named Sherwood Florist wasn’t exactly Bruce Wayne-style subterfuge. Warlord found his house in about an hour. 😉
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### Author:  [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/16 "2013-03-01T18:37:32Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#):
>
> I’m enjoying the show. I just keep wondering why Det. Lance doesn’t have Bob help him whip up a potion to track down the vigilante.
> [@smiling\_bandit](#):
>
> I know! Maybe he can hit some bad guy with a hockey later on.
>
> …No, I’m not bitter about Dresden being cancelled after one season.
THIS!
My wife and I loved Dresden and I still see and hear Paul when I read the book. (My wife hears James because she listens to the audio books.) It was the TV show that introduced us to the books! So, definitely sorry that the show is gone.
Loving Arrow! I was really worried about it but so far, only one early episode seemed “off” in the characters. Otherwise, for what it is, it’s a lot of fun!
vislor
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/17 "2013-03-02T14:03:31Z")
I’m also one who is enjoying the triple-level of each show:
- The plot of the week
- The arch about what happened on the island
- The arch about his mother, father’s death, father-in-law, etc.
I only hope they actually DO wrap up at least “what happened on the island” by the end of the first season. (We’ve been travelling, I’m about three shows behind.)
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### Author:  [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/18 "2013-03-02T14:56:23Z")
I also like the show. My only comment in regard to it is : first tier superheroes get movies, second tier, TV shows.
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### Author:  [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/19 "2013-03-02T15:30:53Z")
> [@detop](#):
>
> I also like the show. My only comment in regard to it is : first tier superheroes get movies, second tier, TV shows.
Superman got a tv show. Plenty of second and third tier superheroes have gotten movies.
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### Author:  [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrow-green-arrow-show-on-cw/651703/20 "2013-03-02T19:53:58Z")
Jokes about Dresden Files aside, I definitely enjoy Arrow. I think it stumbled a bit early on, as I didn’t much care for the Green Arrow’s bullyin’ and muderin’, nor the fact that it took a while before they started introducing antagonists who were a threat to him in any way. let’s face it - the city may need him, but Arrow was a nasty man throughout the first half of his first season. The more recent episodes show him developing into more of a true hero, although he does really _suck_ at keeping his identify secret. You’d think at least he’s try using a fake beard or something while in costume.
The only problem is that I think what happened on the island is going to get a bit too obvious. It seems pretty clear that somehow Bad Mercenary Captain Dude (BBMCD) is going to turn Slade to his side (hence he becomes Deathstroke), Yao Fei trains Oliver (possibly while playing BBMCD for time to rescue his daughter), Ollie won’t get off the island for another _6 & 3/4 years_. Then BBMCD will get run off the island but almsot certainly turn out to be part of the evil villainy in Star City in some way.
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