It's time for the Tuesday TV Touchbase. What, pray tell, am I watching on TV?
Stargirl
The new CW/DC Universe show is one the whole fam is watching here at the Fortress of Ineptitude, including Rosie the Dog.
Coutney's eagerness and Pat's caution have put the two at cross purposes. Both know the Injustice Society is hiding out in Blue Valley and are up to something that is not good. Both know the Injustice Society must be stopped.
But after seeing Starman and the Justice Society of America murdered by this group of villains, Pat is in no hurry to put anyone in harm's way in fighting thiem again.
Courtney, believing herself to be Starman's daughter, is ready to use the Cosmic Staff as Stargirl to bring those who killed her father and the rest of the JSA to justice.
Pat says no. Courtney is therefore doing it anyway.
Using artifacts from JSA HQ, Courtney is recruiting new members of the Justice Society. So far, she has a new Wildcat, a new Dr. Mid-Night and a Hourman.
Their first foray against Sportmaster, Tigress and the Gambler goes badly and the 4 young heroes escape with their lives thanks to the timely intervention of Pat in is STRIPE armor.
Like it or not, the 4 kids are involved and Pat is not going to be able to shut them down.
I'm surprised to see how quickly the show moved from Courtney becoming Stargirl to recruiting other costumed heroes to join her cause. I'm also astonished ny how comics accurate the costumes are.
The expectation would've been more episodes of Courtney struggling with her new role as Stargirl on her own for awhile before bringing other heroes into the mix. Inverting this expectation sets Stargirl apart from other super hero shows. Courtney has the can do spirit of a super hero but she's self aware enough to understand she needs help.
The help she's getting is not exactly perfect. Her new JSA team has their flaws. Beth is earnest and eager to a fault but perennially a social outcast; hell, even her own parents don't want to spend time with her. The idea that that the AI in Dr. Charles McNider's goggles is her best friend is sad. Although the interactions between Beth and the AI she has named Chuck provides a lot of humor.
Yolanda sees being Wildcat as a shot redemption. Months before, she was a perfect student at Blue Valley High, on her way to becoming class president. A rash act of texting a topless photo of herself to her boyfriend blows up badly, costing her reputation at school and her parents still refuse to forgive her. Her parents' absolute and unyielding condemnation of this single act is hard to watch. Yolanda is genuinely trying so hard to get forgiveness from parents who are simply unprepared to give it.
Rick Tyler is the inheritor of Hourman's power. Rick's parents died when he was very young and he's been forced to live with an uncle who resents being responsible for Rick. Rick is a boiling cauldron of anger and sees being Hourman as a chance at vengeance for those who killed his parents.
Courtney is at the core of the show represents a piece of each of her new friends' hurts. Growing up without a father, her mom marrying Pat who is trying too hard to be a loving, supportive step-dad, a move to frickin' Nebraska, it all weighs on Courtney a lot. The discovery of the Cosmic Staff and her legacy connection to it and the JSA gives her a sense of purpose and confidence she was lacking before. She still has a lot to learn, like actually mastering the Cosmic Staff for starters.
There's darkness and sinister goings on in Blue Valley. Half way through the season, a lot of people have died.
But overall, Stargirl is a fun show. Courtney's character development and her team of friends and heroes are enjoyable to watch.
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| Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. from the comics art by Lee Moder & Dan Davis |
Tomorrow's post is a some comic book history at the twin legacies of a Society and League of Justice.
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