DC's Legends of Tomorrow (season 1)
"In 2166 an immortal tyrant named Vandal Savage conquered the world and murdered my wife and child. I have assembled an elite team to hunt him throughout time and stop his rise to power. Unfortunately my plan is opposed by the body I'd sworn my allegiance to, the Time Masters. In the future my friends may not be heroes, but if we succeed they'll be remembered as legends."
release year: 2016
genre: TV superhero action/adventure
viewing setting: home DVD 8/13/17 to 11/11/17
synopsis: A time-traveler with an agenda recruits a mix of allies to accompany him on missions throughout the timeline.
impressions: This combines characters seen in the Arrow and Flash series, some of them heroes and some of them villains. It's fairly entertaining, with all sorts of dynamics happening between the characters, and the various times they travel to make for interesting costumes/settings. There are a couple of issues, though. First, when your main bad guy is immortal so you can't kill him, but you can blast him into unconsciousness...hey, throw some cuffs on him and lock him up. It's pretty much guaranteed that he'll do less harm that way. Yet, often, the good guys would just...leave. Second, when your team includes a flying, energy-blast-firing nuclear man, there's really no reason to lose any fight. Period. Third, when you've spent a dozen episodes chasing someone knowing that you have to kill them to save countless lives, and then you get the chance...don't waste it. Fourth, any series based around time travel needs to have tangible and sensible rules ready, to deal with the issues posed by time travel. I'm not sure such a writers' bible existed when they started producing this first season. Those things aside, it was entertaining, and with the first season's plotline wrapped up, I'm curious what happens next.
acting: Arthur Darvill is the time captain, who's often less than forthcoming with his explanations and motives. Brandon Routh is the Atom, a noble and brilliant scientist with a suit that allows him to shrink. Caity Lotz is a tough, bad-ass former assassin. Victor Garber is the professor half, and Franz Drameh the young mechanic half, of the nuclear hero Firestorm. Ciara Renee and Falk Hentschel are the Hawk-people, who have some sort of reincarnation thing going on and who are tied to the main bad guy. Dominic Purcell is the big tough guy with the fire-gun, and Wentworth Miller is his cold-gun-using partner; these two are the criminals who get recruited to help. Casper Crump is the evil immortal Vandal Savage, who sees dreams of conquest across decades and centuries.
final word: Occasionally frustrating, but worth checking out for an odd group of superpowered allies.
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