I don’t have too much to say about the CW’s new action series Arrow, but that’s not because I didn’t like it. The character, based on the DC Comics superhero Green Arrow, was previously brought to the small screen when he was introduced in Smallville, where he was played by Justin Hartley. For this new iteration, the title character, whose real name is Oliver Queen, is played by Canadian actor Stephen Amell, who does a fine job of playing both sides of Oliver’s identity: the hard-partying millionaire playboy, and the brooding and driven vigilante.

In the pilot we learn that Oliver and his father were the victims of a shipwreck. Oliver was the only survivor, and found himself stranded on an island for five years before finally being rescued. Exactly what happened to him on said island will, I’m sure, be the subject of flashbacks in future episodes, as he comes back to Star City a changed man. He keeps up the playboy persona to hide his real plans, which involves stopping a bunch of bad guys from further corrupting his city. He secures an abandoned building which belonged to his father’s company and makes it his lair. He builds himself an arsenal of bow and arrow related weapons and works out really, really hard. And between all the training montages and crime fighting, he’s got to reintegrate himself back into the world and with his family and friends.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because this is essentially the Green Arrow version of Batman Begins, and I’m okay with that. I loved the grittier approach that Christopher Nolan’s film took with the character, and that approach works well here with Arrow. All I know about the character is what I’ve seen of him on Smallville and the animated series Justice League Unlimited, where he was recruited by Batman, Superman and seemingly every other superpowered hero in the DC Universe because he had no powers, and because he fought for “the little guy.” If the producers of Arrow stick with a similar approach to the character, I think it’ll make for a highly entertaining action series, one that doesn’t stretch disbelief by adding villains with crazy, CG-enhanced powers. I’m not particularly interested in what happened to Oliver on that island (I’d rather they just got on with the crime fighting), but if the show can maintain the level of energy it displayed in this first episode, I’m happy to tune in for a weekly dose of superhero action.

Finally, a primetime soap I can get on board with. No crazy revenge schemes, no possessed apartments, just good actors doing good work in a clear and well-established setting. And the music isn’t bad either.

Connie Britton, so terrific on Friday Night Lights (and the only reason I watched as much American Horror Story as I did), is the perfect choice for main character Rayna James, a country music superstar who isn’t quite shining as bright as she once did. Her upcoming tour isn’t selling, and her label is threatening to pull their support for her next album unless she agrees to be the opening act for Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), a young up and coming country star. Juliette is wasting no time trying to replace Rayna, first by having her songs recorded by Rayna’s producer, and by trying to get Deacon (Charles Esten), Rayna’s lead guitar player, to jump ship and join her own band. Meanwhile, the mayoral race in Nashville is heating up, and the city’s political bigshot Lamar Wyatt (Powers Boothe), who also happens to be Rayna’s father, needs the next mayor in his pocket, and decides to recruit Rayna’s loser husband (Eric Close) to run, leading to some family strife all around. Continue Reading