Tell-Tale TV Series Premiere Panels: Legends of Tomorrow

It feels like we’ve been waiting for this show for ages, and now, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is finally here. Rip Hunter, a Time Master from the future, goes back in time to assemble a group of Legends to help him stop Vandal Savage from taking over the world. Of course, we learn that Rip stretched the truth a little when he called them Legends, but who hasn’t lied to get what they want?

Our panelists are:

• Lissete Lanuza Saenz, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Caralynn Lippo, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Allison Nichols, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Kim Rogers from Head Over Feels
• Sage Young from Head Over Feels
• Taylah Gonzalez from Taylah Talks TV

Give it to me straight, did you like the premiere?

Sage: I did! Though with all the seeding that’s been happening in Arrow and The Flash this season, the Legends premiere felt less like a pilot and more like we were joining a story already in progress. No shade to either of those shows, but I’m glad that Legends is taking us to places (and eras) where Barry and Oliver can’t go. If this series progresses like I think and hope that it will, this premiere won’t stand out as one of its best episodes. It did what it was supposed to it, which is to A) introduced Rip Hunter; B) get the band together; and C) bond them all in some shared purpose. Now the real fun can start.

Kim: I’m in complete agreement with Sage, both in regards to liking it and the overall FEEL of the episode. I feel like we’ve been waiting for this show to start for decades due to a season and half’s worth of set-up on Arrow and The Flash (the former has really suffered for it, but that’s a whole different post).  So mostly, I’m relieved that it’s finally here. Anything to get Arthur Darvill and Victor Garber back on my television screen!

Lizzie: I did. I thought it did a really good job of balancing the characters, I liked Rip Hunter, I thought everyone on the team had at least one tiny moment to shine, and I just had fun watching it. And that’s more than I can say for some shows that have been on the air for ages. Not sure if it’s the kind of show someone who hasn’t seen Arrow and The Flash can watch, but since I do, I’m game.

Taylah: I really liked it as well. I no longer watch Flash or Arrow, but I do have some knowledge of these characters, so I wasn’t as lost as I initially thought I would be. I think they did well enough introducing them so a complete newcomer would be able to Google a little and find out who they are, and they were able to split time between the characters pretty decently. It also had a nice rhythm, which is good for a first episode, and it definitely has a lot of room to grow.

Caralynn: I liked it a lot more than I thought I would! I think the tone was much lighter and more fun than I was expecting as well. The bar scene with Sara, Snart, and Rory was a great example of that. Sage is definitely right in that we got so much build-up to the premiere that it felt like we were joining a show that was already in progress. Hunter bringing the band all together was surprisingly seamless as well and I really love the interplay between many of the Legends.

Allison: I enjoyed it. Like Sage and Kim said, it feels like we’ve been waiting for this show forever, so I’m glad it’s finally here. I loved all the pairings and team ups. Part of the draw of the show is seeing these characters that we’ve (hopefully) come to love/hate interact with each other. Rory’s approval of Stein’s methods of getting Jackson there (and Stein’s reaction to it) was absolutely hilarious. Those kinds of moments and eventually building new friendships are what excites me about the show.

What’s the show’s biggest problem?

Sage: Maybe I’m cheating, but the biggest problem I foresaw is one that the pilot completely sidestepped. It’s pretty crowded on the Waverider, but Legends divided the team into mini-factions as quickly as possible. Part of the fun of having this motley crew of good guys and bad-ish guys together will be shuffling them up and throwing them together in different configurations. Too many all-hands-on-deck scenes would bog down the action and probably send the production way over budget too. CW, I’m always thinking about your bottom line.

Kim: I don’t reeeeeeeallllllly care about the Hawk People? I don’t know if it is the actors or the characters or a combination of the two, but they just leave me cold. That’s pretty unfortunate as other than Rip Hunter, they have the closest ties to our big bad Vandall Savage.

Lizzie: I don’t care about anyone yet. Or, like, I care about Sara, and maybe Ray, but I don’t care care in the way that, OMG you have to keep my precious babies safe way I care about people on Arrow and The Flash. And if there are going to be stakes here, they have to make me care. Especially about Kendra and Carter.

Taylah: I thought the dialogue was too cheesy at times, which can be fun, but it’s sometimes a problem. The biggest issue to me is seeing Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell saying these lines, I had moments when I thought “would these two men ever speak like this in real life?”

Caralynn: I’m also not even a little bit into Mr. and Mrs. Hawk Persons. I had the same issue in the Flash/Arrow crossover in that so much of the action had to center around them (since, like Kim said, they’re the closes ties to Savage). Wentworth Miller’s line delivery is generally pretty funny in how over the top it is but he does have a tendency to go a little bit too hammy with it and make me cringe. That happened here a handful of times.

Allison: Like Taylah pointed out, some of the lines were a bit too cheesy. Some worked, but some were eye roll worthy. I’m mainly concerned with how we are going to drag out stopping Vandal Savage for an entire season or longer. There will need to be some variety in the mission statement. Every week it can’t just be: Okay, now we are going to stop Vandal in [insert era here]. I’ll need something new to keep my interest.

 

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