Krypton

Seg-El and Adam Strange and the Collector of worlds, Val-El, Lyta Zod all excellent. Villians are strong and story line deep - Keep it going writers. I hate spoilers so you will get none from me. Enjoy

First I'd like to burst a few bubbles here. I've noticed that some one star reviews have an issue with how some of the characters on 'Krypton' are portrayed. Screaming political correctness like every other urchin that looses his/her mind whenever they see a character that doesn't look the way they want that character to look.

Now I will reach across the aisle for a moment and say here that I dislike shows that make PC the center theme of the plot. 'DC: Legends of tomorrow' are notorious for this. I don't need to be reminded every episode that that one character is gay every time she/he hits the screen. I get it, move the plot forward. But when I see viewers beginning to complaining over what a character looks like, especially a character we've never seen or heard of before, then you just need to stfu.

I stumbled upon one such reviewer who claimed to have used "logic" in his/her analysis of 'Krypton.' This user had an issue with the Zod characters being black. "How was Zod in 'Man of Steel' Caucasian but the Zods here are black? Seems very PC to me Lolz."

Apparently this person's "logic" failed them. First off there is no such thing as a "Caucasian Kryptonian" there is no such thing as a "Black Kryptonian." Taking a step back, obvious the characters are portrayed by black and white actors and actress... but haven't you heard of suspended belief in sci-fi? Non of these characters are human. They are ALIENS from an alien society! Secondly, the Zod and El names are house names not family names. Lastly, Kryptonians are born Gatica style. There are no natural births (that we're aware of) until Superman comes around. Kryptonains are adopted into these houses so they can look like whatever they like.

"But... But you don't see no one trying to make Black Panther white though." Well Black Panther is a human being from Africa, not an alien born in a test tube from another planet.

Anyway with that aside. I'd like to say that this show is great for the DC Universe. For one, I like the fact that the same writers who were behind many of DC's animated series are also behind this show. DC animations are excellent in my books, far better than Marvel animations due to the fact that DC animations focus more so on the everyday side of superheroes and their reception to the broader public that they have sworn themselves to protect. I also like how DC villains come off more sinister and darker than Marvel villains.

I was and am intrigued by the story line but unfortunately there have been some serious errors in the casting of this series. A number of the players come across as if they had been dragged from "The Bill" or "East Enders".

It's 200 years before the birth of Superman. As a child, his grandfather Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) witnessed Seg's grandfather Val-El being sent into the Phantom Zone for opposing the new isolationist government and the House of El was stripped of its rank. He would grow up struggling with the lost of his family's standing. He is warned of impending doom from Brainiac by Earth time traveler Adam Strange. He has a secret relationship with Lyta Zod (Georgina Campbell). Her mother kills his parents for being part of the Black Zero rebellion. The big villains include Brainiac and General Zod from the future who is the child of Lyta and Seg-El.

I like the world of Krypton. I like most of the characters but I can do without Adam. I'm not familiar with this classic DC character. Quite frankly, I hope that character is much better than this. More than anything, Adam is unnecessary. He takes away agency from Seg-El. He muddies the water and diminishes the lead character. I want Seg-El to fight for his own reasons rather than some unknowable descendant or some preordained future. Adam is a tightly constricted guard rail forcing the story to its inevitable conclusion which leads to the show's main difficulty. It is a prequel and the story is obviously not allowed to have freedom of movement. It's two seasons and it runs out of steam by the second season although it does have the fun of introducing Lobo.

The bones of the superman franchise have been picked so clean it was inevitable the last and only untapped morsel left would sooner or later attract TV producers hungry for new material.

Whilst hoping to turn a profit on a well worn idea taken from a different perspective seems like a safe bet the reality, as in any business venture, is risk is where real rewards are to be found.

Kyrpton has actors with European accents, I'm guessing to try to step away from the atmosphere of leaden monoculturalism, attached to many US productions. Its hardly a new move but it has been known to work.

That said if you look beyond this not so novel ploy this is just another formulaic series that's been done a thousand times before. Dystopian society, noble family who must rise from the ashes and so on.

Truly successful series work because they offer a point of difference. The idea does not have to be new in itself (few are) but it does need to be different and imaginative enough to hold the viewer.

The other shortcoming in many many modern TV series and this is no exception, is it doesn't challenge the intellect in a meaningful way. It has some bare bones narrative but for the most part its driven by eye candy and exposition.

Until TV execs get the idea that people are not stupid, vacuous or "simply" entertained I suspect this is the future television has to offer. For me it makes the decision to re-visit my books that much easier. A disinterested five out of ten from me.