Poll: Arrow - The Best Show on TV Today

[gamernerdtg2]

My wife and I have become die-hard fans. If you haven't seen this show yet, wait until it comes out on DVD or some other medium.

I haven't read the comics, but the TV show is ridiculously engaging. Why? Because of the writing of course, but also the actors, the fight choreography, and the music.

I thought this was going to be a Batman knockoff or clone, but it's far from it. The relationships in the Queen family are twisted with well written depth and complexity. The line between "good" and "evil" is not always clear, but it's always resolved well.

Please do chime in with your thoughts. Otherwise, please support this show!

I guess the only thing that people are complaining about is the constant Windows 8 tablet advertising on the show (Felicity uses it all the time), but I don't think this is bad. It just means that the producers, actors, etc will be supported for their work and we'll get more than 2 seasons!

....you have failed this city!" LOVE it!

 

[Crispee]

I watched all the episodes recently. I can't say it's the best TV series I've ever seen. Lots of the dialogue doesn't seem very natural and a lot of the early plotlines seem to spiral off into nowhere.

My favorite episode was the one with The Huntress, where Oliver says she's a bad person for killing people in her vendetta when he's broken a man's neck that day alone, and the writers are trying to justify Oliver Queen to us when he's clearly a serial killer.

I like John Barrowman and his character, I think he thought the dialogue was unnatural too and decided that he'd play his chaarcter really cheesy and over the top, I always enjoyed his character and his character alone.

Also the family isn't McQueen, it's just Queen.

 

[Pandalisk]

I watched the entire series and i really enjoyed it.

the best part of the whole series was the flashbacks, seeings your man from Spartacus playing Slade Wilson was hilarious for me as i had just finished Spartacus, i adore that mans voice.

Oliver Queen himself was alright, as Crispee said, he comes of as a hypocrite and far too preachy as time goes on.

I hated Laurel Lance as the main squeeze, i just did not enjoy her as a character at all. Same with felicity smoke actually, quite annoying character. Only female character i can say i liked was John Diggles old work colleague that worked for the CIA. Thea annoyed me too.

Ms Queen was okay though, i didn't mind her too much but i really haven't thought of her much since i finished the series.

Spoiler: Spoilers on the finale ahoy

It annoyed me that Tommy died at the end, that was all far to convenient as it ties up Oliver's loose relationship tie and kind of absolved him of his dick relationship moves, course we all know that laurel probably pull away from Oliver in the second season if her frantic cries of loving Tommy come to anything or maybe she is just that much of a Hypocrite.

John Barrowman i enjoyed a lot and his character was enjoyable too. When he revealed that he had a backup earthquake generator and then died all i could think was that he was a goddamn legend.

Overall i enjoyed it, can't wait for season 2, needs more Wilson.

 

[aba1]

Pffffffffttttttttttttt hahahahahaha. I watch Arrow and enjoy it and it is even miles ahead of smallville but it is FARRRR from the best thing on television and is more mediocre but different. The acting is very poor especially during tense character development scenes the action while good is awkward at times and often feels very scripted. The over arcing plot is very solid if not a little too over the top and without explanation.

The amount of times Olly is supposed to be really tense and he looks like he about to blurt out laughing I can't count I mean the guy gets this smile on his face every time he is supposed to be upset or in deep thought. I often question whether the actors they choose were actually chosen for their acting ability or for being good looking.

And the writing is so awkward at times I mean just in the last few eps alone he tells his friend he is not interested in the girl then immediately goes and sleeps with her not even a few scenes later I mean talk about mood swing who wrote that? Then his friend of course is creeping on her outside her window at the exact right moment to see I mean common it doesn't get much more scripted than that.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy the show and watch it every week but the quality of the show is not insanely good let alone best on tv good.

 

[Diablo2000]

Just watched the Season Finale, it's alright and I will be back for season 2, but "best thing in television"? No, far from it. The over arching plot both of the Island and the present are good and they are the things that keept things going for me, the rest is baddly writen.

 

[hazabaza1]

But it isn't Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones.
But I'll give it a look, couldn't hurt I guess.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

I'm watching the Finale right now.
Yes, the writing and special effects vary in quality from time to time, but I REALLY enjoy this show.
Best on TV? Nah. A fucking good show anyway? Hell yeah.
Season 2 can't come quick enough.

 

[Launcelot111]

I've watched every episode except the newest one, and it's a fun show, but I snort derisively at the "best show" title. The entire Lance family is a little one-dimensional, and the different conspiracies going on all seem different degrees of absurd, but Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity work well together and there's plenty of solid action. I'm looking forward to seeing if they ever try to justify giving Laurel a sonic scream next season.

The product placement overload is classic CW though. My favorite was when Smallville had an episode in a warehouse full of Trident gum and Pete eats a kryptonite-flavored piece and gets stretchy superpowers.

 

[DalekJaas]

For me, no show will ever beat the Spartacus series. If you like good fights, check it out. Although it did finish this year... I have only heard good things about Arrow so I will check it out.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Maybe on cable and even then thats stretching it. Imean best over all youres still competing against shows like Game of Thrones and Homeland (TV guide's best show of 2012).

granted I didnt watch it, and I should probably give it a chance, I just dont particularly have the interest to (was always more of a lantern fan than an arrow fan). Personally my favorite show on TV right now on cable that is a drama series is either NCIS or Madmen.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I haven't even considered watching it because I kind of figured it would be something like smallville. Is it anything like smallville?

 

[ninjapenguin1414]

I haven't even considered watching it because I kind of figured it would be something like smallville. Is it anything like smallville?

It really isn't anything like Smallville other than it being an origin story about a DC character. Arrow is dark and gritty similar to Nolanverse Batman and I guess you have watched Smallville so you know what that's like. In the end if you didn't like Smallville Arrow may or may not be your thing you would have to watch it yourself to find out, I wouldn't judge it on the first episodes though it has a bit of a rocky start but starts to get better as it goes along.

OT: As for it being the best show on TV I really have to disagree. On one hand it's a really great divergence from the multitude of cop dramas and crappy sitcoms and is a breath of fresh air but compared to other shows it comes up short and I say that not really caring about the other "great" shows on TV. I do like shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones but I prefer comic books, games and anime.

 

[Odinsson]

I have trouble enjoying a series when the main character seems to be pants-on-head insane, and not in a good way. He lectures people on how many lives they've ruined after wading through the corpses of their security personnel. He choked his bodyguard into unconsciousness, and that's never brought up again. He decides to deflect attention from the possibility of him being Arrow by putting a price on his own head, ensuring that every bounty hunter, assassin and ne'er-do-well will be gunning for him, not just in the city he's so selflessly decided to save, but internationally as well.
Also, the mix of comic-book sensibilities with the 'gritty realism' they seem to be going for just doesn't work well. For instance, at one point Oliver uses a modem arrow to download information from his target's computer. This was immediately following a scene in which he murders several bodyguards and intimidates a businessman into a confession.

 

[Deacon Cole]

I watched the first two episodes and kinda lost interest. I'm not entirely certain why. Here's some stuff I wrote about it on another forum:

If I had a complaint, it would be that the super heroing was kind of extraneous to all the goings on. Much like how I could easily imagine the Iron Man movie without Iron Man. It's the flaw of super heroes that they really only make sense in their own little world and don't work or seem needless in a 'real' world. The arrow thing seems to barely relate to all the personal intrigue I had mentioned and feels kind of disconnected from it. Also, I think his choice of base is questionable, in his father's abandoned factory, having all his high-tech gear in the middle of a big, empty room with little in the way of security measures seems kind of dumb.

...

I tried watching the second episode but gave up. What I said earlier about the super hero not fitting this whole concept came back with a vengeance during the flaccid and artificial-feeling opening fight scene. The super hero just does not fit this show and everything involving the super hero is here on sufferance.

Action is hard to do, I would imagine, but the action here is already starting to repeat itself. He beats up/shoots the bad guy's flunkies and then threatens the bad guy to give a whole bunch of money (which the bad guy acquired through nefarious means so it's alright) for some noble purpose and that's it. Then we cut to him in his alter ego interacting with his family and friends and the transition occurs with an audible clunk. Or more like a click, as in you'd changed the channel to watch a completely different show. That's what it feels like. A completely different show. That kind of thing can be good if it adds variety to the proceedings, but here it just feels like the makers would rather discard the super hero trappings and just make a drama with all the insane character relationships.

Maybe it gets better later, in this very episode. But I will never know because I stopped caring.

 

[Abomination]

I find there is far too much family drama in the series and not enough guy with a bow shooting other dudes.

... isn't that what Green Arrow is supposed to be about? Shooting dudes with arrows... that are green.

 

[Loonyyy]

I started watching it a while ago, and it's not unwatchable, but it is pretty pulpy crap. The action's enjoyable enough, but the conspiracies are stupid, the characters are mostly annoying, and the philosophies are pretty unpalatable.

-Oliver: Can't do emotion, whenever he narrates (Like the start of the episodes) it's grating.
-Digg's entire character arc is obvious from the get go.
-Oliver is a hypocrite regarding his sister, but she's also incredibly annoying, her depression/addiction thing is insulting to anyone who's got firsthand knowledge of either of those things, and the whole "Oliver is out of touch with his family" thing goes way too long, and too stupid.
-Oliver is obviously the Hood. To everyone.
-Considering how often they spell it out, the main story isn't that complicated.
-Laurel's annoying, and the romance plots are goddamn irritating, fucking sexual tension, drama, love triangling "Will they won't they" forced conflict crap.
-Compulsory Detective with a grudge (Who happens to hate Oliver and The Hood).
-Psuedo Martial philosophy "Guns are weapons of emotion, a bow is the weapon of an expert" or something. *vomits*. Because using the bow makes you superior? Better hope the guy who fights with a blunt paper clip doesn't come along. You'll get nailed.
-Constantly running in to beat up enemies with his wooden bow, rather than shooting them. Looks so very silly.
-Never gets hit by sprays of full auto gunfire from multiple guys (Yet when the plot demands, he'll be shot by a novice marksman with a pistol, when he was able to see them and they were unarmed (They had to get out the gun, and then shoot him. Oh god it was stupid).
-Bullshit about "Good/Evil" with the purple chick, and the nature of revenge and justice, which just makes Oliver completely incomprehensible and entirely hypocritical.
-Oliver happily murders or badly wounds henchman (Arrows are fucking dangerous), but always gives their bosses a chance.
-Slade seems to think teaching Ollie to only fight hand to hand is a good idea, and dismisses guns, gives Oliver a gun and tells him to shoot him, and demonstrates that he can take it off him. Good thing guns don't work at a distance, eh?

I know I've listed a bunch of negatives, but it's an ok show. It's just a really flawed one. It could have been excellent, but instead it's just average. The island bits are fun, Digg is awesome, Slade is cool, the action scenes are fun, the Robin Hood style vigilante stuff's fun, but it's not exactly Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. It's more in the league of Big Bang Theory or CSI.

 

[romxxii]

Excuse me, but the best show on TV right now would probably be Hannibal. It's got great writing, stellar leads, amazing cinematography, and an entirely new -- dare I say realistic -- take on our favorite face-eating, chianti-drinking psychopath with a doctorate.

Arrow started out with potential, but I just lost interest along the way. Also, having Slade be that gladiator dude who bangs Xena in Spartacus? Feels like a bad casting choice.

 

[teebeeohh]

I started watching it because I expected cape level disaster but it turns out the show is ok. It's not really green arrow and that's what made a lot of people despise it but the reason why it really works for me is because the thing is slightly above average in every regard but when the quality immediately drops to absolutely terrible and I love that.
One major thing that bugs me (aside from most female characters being written badly) is why does he use a bow? He kills pretty much everyone anyway and doesn't use non-standard arrows in combat so why just use a gun and a mini-crossbow for listening devices and such.

Tldr: Not really all that good but highly enjoyable

 

[RedDeadFred]

I almost quit watching it because the beginning of the season was pretty bad IMO. However, this show got better and better (some exceptions). The finale was really awesome. They didn't go the whole Harry Osborn route with Tommy and that made me very happy. However, when Oliver screamed "it should have been me", I cringed. That was incredibly cliche line and kind of poorly delivered. It almost ruined a very emotional scene. Also, I really dislike Laurel. I get why Oliver likes her (the whole she saw who he really was thing) but I just can't stand her.

Anyway, I do like the show quite a bit now but I would hardly call it the best thing on TV. That is reserved for Breaking Bad with Game of Thrones as a close second.

For me, no show will ever beat the Spartacus series. If you like good fights, check it out. Although it did finish this year... I have only heard good things about Arrow so I will check it out.

This show is criminally underrated. I wept like a baby in the series finale. This show got better and better as it went along. I enjoyed the final season most of all because the villains (who aren't really that villainous) weren't completely incompetent. The only thing that kind of left a sour taste in my mouth is how they

Spoiler

crucified Gannicus. He was my second favourite character and the way he died was extremely depressing even with his madness giving him happier visions. I am however very happy that Agron lived seeing as he was my favourite character.

 

[Sandernista]

Arrow is dark and gritty similar to Nolanverse Batman

Yeugh.

I always loved Green Arrow, at least what I've seen/read, but I'm not a fan of the grimdark. Give me some Captain America style superheroics over grimderp batman anyday.