The unavoidable comparison to Liam Neeson didn't help either. As far as Savage goes, I like his look, and it seems like he SHOULD be intimidating and badass, but something's missing. I think it's charisma. I should probably note that this portrayal is the only version of the character I am familiar with.

What exactly is propping up this status quo? Is it just inertia? Are there really a bunch of grandmas out there who are fine with blantanly sexual material (and violent for that matter, but that's a whole discussion on its own) as long as there is never a hint of nipple, bush or dick and no one says a cuss? I'm not…

Okay, I might be able to get behind that (so to speak). Though I like how completely asexual he has seemed up to this point. It's like his crime drive replaced his sex drive.

Fair enough. I could buy Kendra more because her skin tone is closer to typical Egyptian territory, but you're right that we really should be moving past the "close enough for Americans" territory when it comes to casting for race. Though I still think her darker complexion makes the other two look even more…

Fair enough. This is my first time knowingly listening to her. Didn't know she had an accent. I found the slurred pronunciation surprising, but I didn't like the song because this just isn't my style of music. Also, I paused "Blows Against the Empire" to listen to it (R.I.P. Paul) and that contrast didn't do it any…

I'm all for LGBT representation, but having Snart involved in relationship drama of any kind is the last thing I want to see on this show.

Seems odd that they cast white guys as Savage and Khufu. They both look pretty out of place in those Egyptian flashbacks and it makes you wonder why they're racially different than Kendra. I could understand if the actors were so good it didn't matter, but they're the two weakest performances on the show.

This is a pretty unwieldy show: Large cast, spun off from two shows, lots of special effects, confusing time-travel plot. I would expect anyone to need a little time to wrangle all those elements. I think that it works as well as it does right out of the gate is a testament to the seasoned professionals behind the…

Yeah really not the best track record there.

I decided to give it a shot, in the spirit of open-mindedness. I couldn't make it through that sample track. I know she's busy, but she should really finish chewing her food before going into the recording studio.

Maybe sometimes she remembers first and it's the other way around?

It was mostly the writing, but I couldn't buy the actor as Ra's al Ghul either. He didn't have enough gravitas or something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's very similar to the problem I'm having with Vandal Savage (I agree with the review that he just doesn't feel like a big bad).

I, and it seems most of the audience, loved Ollie and Felicity's low-key never-gonna-happen flirtation early on. How do the showrunners respond? Within a couple of episodes the relationship has become a weepy, overwrought melodrama. And then, Felicity erodes most of her goodwill by constantly grabbing the moral high…

Not only that, we've seen the same scenario play out several times on Arrow. And it's never been good! CW people: stop using the secret identity question for storyline fodder. Come up with a relatively sensible, internally consistent way to handle the secret identity, address it briefly when the story demands it, and…

I think they both came off like assholes. She tells him she's moving to pursue her dream, and expects him to insist that she stay to be with him. That's kind of manipulative. Of course, Barry is an asshole for all the usual CW secret identity reasons that we're all so sick of now. Can we please be done with this theme?

Lister… of Smeg?

I certainly prefer Capaldi over his predecessors. I even gave the show another shot when he took over. And, to the their credit, they really did step back from the magic boyfriend angle. But that's when I realized that my problem with the show was more fundamental, because I was almost as annoyed when they wouldn't…

I agree with both your points. The problem is that the Doctor as Angel-from-Buffy (that is supernatural, unattainable fantasy boyfriend) is at the core of the DNA of the revival show. The Doctor of the old series was a cool uncle/grandfather type and I find the romanticization of the character deeply distasteful.
…

I hated the Last of the Time Lords thing, and the guilt/emotional vulnerability it gave the character. Completely undermines the irreverent Doctor that I know. That's half my problem with the romance angle. And even if, textually, his feeling wouldn't be correctly characterized as romantic (arguable), that was…

Not to mention the inherent creepiness of an 800-odd year old Time Lord having romantic feelings for a human in her 20s. Am I the only one who thinks that's just insanely awful and makes the Doctor kind of gross? I still can't believe they went there.