Hello, everyone! Hope your #SDCC impressions have settle cause we are ready to talk them out. This week joining the conversation are Lisa (LM), Samantha (SB), Milo (MI), Emmaline (EH), Jaz (JZ), Laura (LS), Jamie (JC), Laura B (DL), Jessica (JL) and myself (MK). As always sit back, enjoy the read and afterwards hit the comment section down below.
1. Another SDCC ended. What news/moment made the biggest impression on you?
SB:The only news that really made me jump out of my seat with delight is Wynonna Earp's renewal. Yes there are things about the show I don't like, but overall I love this show & am happy I can now watch the rest of the season without worrying about whether it's coming back. Oh and all the trailers were pretty awesome.
MI: The Justice League Movie Announcement and the DC Slate going forward, seeing the Justice League trailer was awesome and the new slate of forthcoming movies has really got me hyped up. I also dug the way Kansas showed up to sing Carry on My Wayward Son at the Supernatural panel, New Westworld and Stranger Things Season 2 trailers, as well as too many other things to name. And I'm so excited that Wynonna Earp got renewed too!
LS: Probably an unpopular pick around here, but nothing too much at Comic Con truly excited me. The one panel that would have I can’t find any news for (Rick and Morty). I will say that the only panel I really watched and had fun with was the Psych panel. The news dropped that Mary will be returning…somehow, and that was cool. Apparently there will be some singing in the movie too? That’s amazing. I really just love this cast and having them back together was worth the price of admission for me.
DL: That's tough. I don't think there really was moment this year that stood out for me, since it was much harder to watch most panels live and followed SpoilerTV Blogs and Twitter instead, but I felt like we got quite a bit of teasers, trailers, and sizzlereels that were really REALLY good this year!
JL: There wasn’t any one major announcement or moment that made that big an impression. What I love are seeing the new promos and getting teasers about the upcoming seasons. During summer the amount of spoilers can somewhat plateau, so it’s nice when viewers get a lot of scoop all at once. The little tidbits and new footage will tide me over for a while.
MK: The most heartbreaking moment for sure was Tyler Posey talking about getting his TW role and meeting Dylan O'Brien, just felt so honest and right from the heart. Too many fiale panels for my taste. Also Robert Buckley singing just a tidbit of my fav Katy Perry song was so sweet.
2. We got bunch of casting news at this SDCC. Which casting are you most excited about?
MI: There was a lot of casting news at SDCC but the main exciting things to hear was Michael Emerson from Person of Interest/Lost showing up in Arrow, making a jump from one of my favourite shows (POI) into the Arrowverse with hopefully a very big role. I also liked the announcement that Walton Goggins was joining Ant-Man and the Wasp, too.
JZ: TOM WELLING ON LUCIFER! I think a casting get like that is a testament to how amazing this show is. It’s amazing to see that Lucifer is the show that T2 choses to dust his acting cape off for. I’m so excited to have him back on my TV. Equally awesome is the news of Michael Emerson on Arrow. I suddenly have a renewed interest in this show.
SB: Calista Flockhart returning to Supergirl on a recurring basis, Michael Emerson recurring on Arrow and Crystal Reed joining Gotham. Season 2 of Supergirl had a number of problems, and one of them was a lack of Cat Grant. Returning for the 2 part finale was an absolute breath of fresh air, and made me realize just how much I'd missed her. Arrow got me back in this year with Katie, and I may not have watched a lot of Michael's time on Lost and Person Of Interest, but I still know he is a massive actor that shows like Arrow can only ever usually dream of casting, so to actually do it? That's big. Praying that he is not completely wasted/has a horribly written character. Crystal Reed I'm excited about because she was the best thing about Teen Wolf. Since she left I have been waiting for her to get a new gig, and shall enjoy adding Gotham to my already bloated watch list.
LS: Same as above, really, nothing too much excited me. I don’t watch Arrow so Michael Emerson joining is a bummer for me, although Tom Welling joining Lucifer could be dope.
DL: Very few of the shows that I watch had a lot of casting news, but out of the ones that did I would say seeing Jonathan Tucker get a role on Westworld was great--he seems like underrated talent after viewing him in small, but variegated roles in many Bryan Fuller projects (Hannibal, High Moon, American Gods) and Justified. Next to that, I am a bit excited for OUAT next incarnation of Lady Tremaine--Gabrielle Anwar gives me a nice mix of Regina and Rumple vibes and I can see myself getting behind that.
JL: I’m really excited to see Tom Welling on Lucifer. It has been way too long since Welling graced our screens as Clark Kent in Smallville. I feel like he could not have picked a better show to return to the small screen with. I love Lucifer as well as Smallville, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does on another mythology-heavy series.
But honestly I'm freaking excited for Danny Trejo in The Flash. He interacting with Carlos will certainly be a major win. Can't wait to see them interact.
3. The Originals season 5 was announced as its final season. It this era of television how grateful should fans be for this benefit and how do you see the show ending ?
LM: I think that it's helpful for fans to know when a series is ending, but more importantly, I think it helps the writers. For once they can plan for a story to have a beginning, middle and end. Everyone knows the most boring bit of any story is the middle! So if writers have to tease a story along for too long *coughsupernaturalcough* it is going to lose quality. 12 Monkeys is a prime example of a show with a determined end date that has really helped the story-telling be first rate. Game of Thrones is now able to move quickly and even more excitingly with the end in sight.
MI: It's very important that series get a proper finale, even if it's just a one episode special like Sense8 to tie-up things, unless of course it ends in a brilliant open-ended way like Hannibal. I think creators, especially in their first season, should treat it as though a renewal isn't going to be an absolute certainty and set the groundworks for a memorable Season 1 finale so that audiences don't feel cheated by a cliffhanger when things get wrapped up, after all, it's what Bryan Fuller and Joss Whedon did with Hannibal and Buffy to great success, and their finales were always epic. The Originals I can see ending on an optimistic note, especially as most of the seasons before have all ended on cliffhangers. Here's hoping for a happy ending - but I'm just as ready for an emotional finale.
SB: Completely grateful. I refuse to give new TV shows the time of day until I know their renewal/cancellation status, and the same goes for shows on air. Too many time seasons are left on cliffhangers, and a bunch of unresolved story lines because tptb are hoping they get another season, only to find out they've actually been cancelled. Hypothetically when you have a decision made this far in advance, you have the time to properly plot out a resolution & produce a satisfactory ending. However that doesn't always happen (Looking at you Banshee that final season was a waste).
JZ: It truly is an end of a television era for me! I was only 16 when Elijah first came onto my screen so I kind of grew up with the Original family. In terms of final seasons, it depends on the show. In general, if they’re a long running show, (3-4 seasons) I think they deserve a farewell tour. It shows respect not only to the fans but to the talent that produce these shows that the networks make so much money from.
JC: I'm both a bit relieved and sad. Relieved because I don't want it to go down the same road TVD went (should've ended sooner) but sad because I'll really miss it. It's the first show I've reviewed from start to finish. It truly is the end of an era =( But I'm glad they'll get to end things on their terms and not end it with a cliffhanger. I think once a show has more than 3 seasons, the fans deserve for it to go out on good terms.
DL: I don't watch the Originals, but being a fan of shows that almost didn't get a season five, like Fringe for instance, I think it's always important for fans to be grateful when we get something that we know is more of cult status. It shouldn't just always be expected, then it's not as special when we do.
JL: In this era of peak TV and uncertainty, any chance for a series to have a final season is a blessing. This usually happens with longer-running series, and the season 4 finale of The Originals could have served as a series finale, but a think a proper sendoff is the way to go. It would have been a shame if Klaus never got to see Hope again and Elijah forget his family for all eternity. Sure Freya, Rebekah, and Kol got happy endings, but I feel like all the Mikaelsons deserve a chance at happily ever after. However, I am weary of season 5 as Julie Plec is replacing Michael Narducci as showrunner. I hope Julie doesn’t completely mess up the final season of The Originals, much like she did during the later seasons of The Vampire Diaries. I’m also worried about the eight-year time jump and Julie trying to shove a romance with teenage Hope down our throats. I really want the final season to focus on finding a way to reunite the family and closure from our favorite characters. If Haylijah and Klaroline happen to be endgame, then that would be great too.
MK: I'm immensely grateful for announcing season 5 as the closing chapter. It gives me time to prepare for the farawell and the writers to go out with a bang, a positive hopefully. I think farawell seasos or small scenes (No Tomorrow and Frequency) should be a backdoor plan for all showrunners/execs. Also networks should be more flexible and prove some love for the fans like CW does. As for the finale itself I want it very bloody and very emotional, preferably with Klaus' death (I just don't like the dude).
4. OUAT and Riverdale announced te arrival of new LGBTQ characters and stories. Is it really necessary to "ANNOUNCE" them? And does it feel a bit like baiting?
LM: Frankly, showrunners and writers can't win. This question feels like baiting to me.
SB: It's completely unnecessary and feel like producers are trying to score brownie points after the uproar they've faced. The way bisexual characters are portrayed on TV deeply offends me and I have no faith in Riverdale to do a better job, considering that completely unnecessary Betty/Veronica scene in the pilot.
JZ: I honestly get a little frustrated when shows announce queer storylines like it’s a big news announcement because it continues to make queer relationships different, like they’re an attraction to a show rather than something that is a natural progression of a relationship or a casual character attribute. When shows announce a “new queer character” they’re (whether intentionally or not) defining them by their sexuality. I would like to see strong new characters that happen to be queer rather than new queer characters.
Is it baiting? I think the definition of what is baiting (particularly queerbaiting) has changed as fandom has “evolved”. Queer issues are topical as it’s a very politicised subject in most countries today so I think PR/marketing teams do exploit the queerness of their shows for hits and it’s very successful in that department. It doesn’t matter to them if you click an article or tweet because you love it or you hate it, all press is good press. In terms of the media surrounding a show I’d say yes it does bait because that’s their jobs, to attract engagement.
The baiting surrounding the actual production and talent of these hyped storylines is also a huge issue but that’s another discussion for another roundtable.
LS: AHAHHAHAHAHAAA. Oh god. I’m seething with rage all of a sudden and I don’t know why. In short: NO. It’s completely unnecessary for shows to announce these things since no show in the history of TV would ever announce a straight character is joining the cast (since everyone is hardwired to assume every f*cking character is straight until proven otherwise). The only reason _why_ a show would feel the need to announce it is because they’re looking for someone to pat them on the back. It could easily fall into the camp of baiting since we have no idea what their intentions are with these characters, and as we mentioned on WRT before, most of these characters end up dead or suffering anyway. It is completely worthless to announce these characters. Shows should stop doing this and let us find out for ourselves about these characters. It’s better if we’re surprised and not expecting it - more often than not this will lead to us enjoying the story more anyway. Now that we know we’re going to have pre-conceived notions and ideas about these characters which will bias how we feel about them already. This can be egregious if put in the wrong hands - and since OUAT and Riverdale already have reputations for having poorly done storylines and characters of this kind it’s not going to add anything good. I’m not surprised that these shows would announce these characters like this, but I’m annoyed nonetheless. I hope the storylines are handled well, that’s about there’s left for me to say.
JC: Oh, it's totally queer baiting. And it's working, I'm already planning on catching up on OUAT before the new season starts even though the reasons that I quit are still present. But I'm not getting my hopes up. Last time OUAT announced a LGBT storyline it lasted all of one episode and they were never seen again. As for Riverdale, queerbaiting is what drew me to it in the first place but I know Madelaine mentioned wanting Cheryl to have a girlfriend so slightly higher expectations here (still a low bar, though).
DL: I can't speak for Riverdale, but for OUAT I think it was important that they did announce it, because it's a long-teased promise that had yet to be fulfilled. The timing is also appropriate, because season 7 happens to be a bit of relaunch or spin-off and so it's not a bad idea to promote things they believe the fans want, after fans have lost some of their favorite characters.
JL: For Once Upon A Time to announce the arrival of LGBTQ characters and stories really does seem like queerbaiting. Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis already hyped an LGBTQ relationship in season 5 and that was a complete bust. The writers decided to have Ruby fall in love with Dorothy, a character viewers literally just met, instead of Mulan, the already established character who once had feelings for Aurora. They completely ignored the continuity they had already established with Ruby and Mulan setting off an adventure together. Fans even came up with a ship name for the sailless relationship: MulanRouge. So when it was revealed the publicized relationship was no other than Ruby and Dorothy, fans felt cheated as the relationship fell flat. So for Adam and Eddy to pursue this avenue again, it just feels like a way to wile the fans up.
In general, it does seem like LGBTQ characters are just defined by their sexuality these days, as if their sexuality is the only thing about them. It’s not like when a show decides to introduce a straight character, people feel the need to announce that character as straight. In this day and age, characters should just be announced without the need to label their sexuality and gender. It should be so-and-so has been cast to play a particular character who is described as something other than his or her sexuality or gender. It’s of course queerbaiting, but the problem is the potential blowback when LGBTQ characters are repeatedly killed off. Is it just too much to let the characters be more than how they identify?
5. AHS season theme is CULT. How much does this surprise and/or excites you considering that it was announced season 7 would also revolve around an election?
LM: If Murphy really goes after the current fake administration, I'm SUPER excited about this season!!!!
DL: It doesn't. I'm not AHS fan, but I'm happy for people whom love it. However, the premise of centering around the election gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, I think it's important that we address some of things that happened during the election, but on the other, I'm not sure it will do anything but mock our situation and I fear that only feeds into the problem that we already have. I like the way The Good Fight deals with contemporary issues better. It can be satirical, but it also can be smart and serious too.
MK: Really intrigued by this season. Murphy loves to tell a big and important stories and I hope he will do both sides justice, the elections and the cult story.
I hope you've enjoyed the article as much as I've enjoyed putting it together. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section down below and don't forget to tune in next week.
