CBS has finally gotten around to letting Supergirl loose to fly.
My preseason pick as the No. 1 new series debuts at 7:30 p.m. Monday at a special time following The Big Bang Theory. Supergirl will then switch to its regular 7 p.m. starting time beginning Nov. 2.
Why preseason No. 1? We need look no further than the inspired casting of Melissa Benoist as our heroine.
Fans of Fox's Glee (2009-2015) will recognize the 27-year-old Benoist as shy transfer student Marley Rose in Seasons 4 and 5. Trivia: Benoist married her Glee co-star, Blake Jenner (he played Ryder Lynn) in March.
Benoist brings just the right amount of wide-eyed innocence, spunk and goofy geekiness to the role of Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El, known to her Earthly friends and family as Kara Danvers. It's pronounced CAR-uh, by the way.
Kara is attractive without being annoyingly cognizant of it and, thank goodness, her costume is sexy without being street-walker slutty. Unlike Lynda Carter's 1975 Wonder Woman outfit, there is no gravity defying decolletage exposed here. No sprayed-on, star-spangled hot pants or spiky dominatrix boots.
In fact, one of the funniest scenes in the pilot is where Kara is trying on a series of costumes and rejecting the more salacious. What she ends up with is a fairly modest red mini-skirt and blue long-sleeved top that keeps her midriff covered while still showing off Benoist's toned physique.
Asked at San Diego Comic-Con last summer what it felt like to slip into the costume, Benoist said, "You know, I'm putting on tights and something like I used to put on in dance class, but then I get the cape and I turn around and look in the mirror and I see the 'S' and something clicks inside.
"It's impossible not to feel empowered ... when I'm wearing it. I feel like a different person."
Another inspired casting is scene-stealing Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) as media mogul Cat Grant. She's Kara's boss from hell. Cat will remind viewers of Meryl Streep's venomous Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada.
Here's the series setup for those unfamiliar with the Supergirl tale.
Sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton by her parents, 12-year-old Kara Zor-El's mission was to protect her infant cousin Kal-El (the future Superman). The exploding planet's shock wave knocked Kara's pod into the timeless Phantom Zone and she didn't arrive on Earth for 24 years -- after Clark Kent is an adult and no longer needing her protection.
Raised by her foster family, the Danverses, Kara grew up in the shadow of her overachieving foster sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh, Grey's Anatomy), and concealed the powers she shared with Superman in order to keep her identity a secret. The ability to fly was so well concealed, Kara isn't even sure she can pull it off. She's also unsure whether she's bullet proof.
Now, at age 24, Kara decides it's finally time to embrace her super abilities and be the hero she feels she was born to be.
As the series opens, we find the frequently bumbling Kara living in National City and working as an assistant to the intimidating Cat, fetching lettuce wraps and lattes.
Also working for Cat is Kara's friend and IT technician Winn Scott (Jeremy Jordan, Smash). Also on board is world-famous photographer and Superman's pal James (not Jimmy) Olsen, just lured away from the Daily Planet in Metropolis to serve as Cat's new art director.
In a nod to casting diversity, this James Olsen is black and played by Mehcad Brooks (Necessary Roughness).
Kara's sudden "outing" as Supergirl (a name with which she's not all that pleased) comes in a thrill-packed action sequence worthy of the big screen.
Bonus: Fans of the Superman universe will recognize Helen Slater and Dean Cain as Kara's foster parents, Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers. Slater played Supergirl in the 1984 movie that co-starred Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole, and Cain was Superman in the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-97). Future desperate housewife Teri Hatcher was Lois.
CBS chief Nina Tassler told the TV critics summer press tour that their version of Supergirl will show her as "a very strong, independent young woman. She's coming into her own. She's dealing with family issues. She's dealing with work issues. It's a female-empowerment story.
"If you look at the strong female characters we have on the air, it really is resonant of that. We're big feminists. It's her intellect, it's her skill, it's her smarts. It's all of those elements. It's not just her strength."
Supergirl will need all that and more because the first season wastes no time before introducing a lineup of familiar villains that is sure to please fans of the comics.
Style on 10/25/2015