Why is The CW's next superhero drama about the life of circus acrobat Dick Grayson before he became The Batman's sidekick?
Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, the show's executive producers, are looking to tell an original, untold chapter in the life of a DC Comics hero that will appeal to a young demographic like "Smallville" did, but they are working with a falty premise for the following 10 reasons.
1. Dick Grayson's age poses a problem. DC Comics canon dictates that Boss Zucco whacked Dick's family when he was eight years old, which means he will either be in diapers at the beginning of the show or late into adolescence when he finally becomes Bruce Wayne's ward.
2. Dick Grayson cannot carry an entire show. Even if Dick is portrayed as a pre-tween, swinging from ropes, going out on a first date, or taking on bullies, this should only provide at most one season worth of TV meant to appeal to parents and their toy and video game-crazy children.
3. Dick Grayson and his family are too sunny to be compelling. Keep in mind that Dick only encounters substantial tragedy when his family is murdered so far as comic book fans know, so he is no Hamlet. Even if he does deal with serious business, how much adversity a kid can realistically endure before it comes off as televised abuse is limited.
Shared family tragedy would not be so limited if one of Dick's brothers fails to catch a rope and takes a fatal fall, provided someone removed the landing nets underneath. Maybe the young acrobat is the one who forgets to put the nets up. Good luck driving the plot forward after that.
4. "The Graysons" might have to be watered down to include stories with which American families can very closely relate instead of uniquely creative accounts of what it means to be a family working in a traveling circus. The nickname "DJ" is an early indication that Dick Grayson and his family will appeal to the lowest common denominator.
5. "The Graysons" belongs on Disney programming for reasons already mentioned.
6. Comic book geeks dislike Dick Grayson, which is why director Christopher Nolan did not include the character in his Batman movies and why fans did not line up around the block to buy "Nightwing," the now-cancelled comic book series about the character's life as a crime fighter after parting ways with The Dark Knight. To them, Dick Grayson is nothing more than a pretender to the mantle of The Batman that he was never worthy of wearing on a permanent basis.
7. No one cares about Dick Grayson's fall from grace. He was introduced in "Detective Comics" to appeal to kids and ended up serving as someone off of which The Batman could bounce dialogue when he went on his nightly patrols of Gotham, so a TV show about the young acrobat is unnecessary unless it also features someone more interesting.
Expect a bunch of future Teen Titans to make cameos during sweeps week.
8. DC heroes and villains will have to carry the show because the premise on its own is weak.
9. Dick Grayson will not have many friends to talk to because he is a part of a constantly traveling circus. Any acquaintances he makes will have to be a part of the circus.
Beastboy as a misunderstood sideshow freak, Zatanna as a magician's assistant, or a young Stephanie Brown as a runaway might work.
10. Interesting villains will be hard to find. Other than Boss Zucco, Dick Grayson could conceivably combat villains that are not worth watching for very long such as The Shade, Giganta, Cheetah, a collector of animal oddities known as Professor Milo, or a young Penguin as a sideshow freak.
Killer Croc might prove to be fun to see in the flesh for the first time if the show's budget allows for convincing makeup, though that might pave the way for the "meteor freak of the week" formula that soon made the first few seasons of "Smallville" dull.
What is tricky about utilizing rogues from other heroes' galleries is finding a long-standing reason for them to pose a threat to Dick, his family, or their circus throughout the show's run.
0 comments:
Post a Comment