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Feb 3, 2017 · Almost Cancelled give their reaction and recap to the premiere of Powerless from NBC. The show revolves around regular people in the superhero filled world o...
Warning: Spoiler alert for the pilot episode of Powerless, titled Wayne or Lose. You've been warned!In my opinion, this pilot comes off as extremely cookie ...
A DC Universe ground level, day-in-the-life sitcom sounds like a recipe for success. Why then did 2017's Powerless get canceled in 12 episodes? We're joined ...
Feb 3, 2017 · Powerless Season 1 Episode 1 sheds light on the dark world of 'superhero TV.' Read on for our full review of the series premiere!
- The new DC Comics-based NBC comedy is here... and it needs some work.
- Powerless: Series Premiere and Character Photos
- Verdict
By Jesse Schedeen
Updated: May 2, 2017 6:43 pm
Posted: Feb 2, 2017 12:57 am
Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of the first episode of Powerless, which will premiere on NBC on Thursday, February 2.
It's been quite the rocky road from conception to TV debut for Powerless, NBC's DC Universe-flavored workplace comedy. NBC actually screened the pilot episode at Comic-Con last summer, only to part ways with creator/showrunner Ben Queen a few weeks later. The pilot was then scrapped as Queen was replaced by Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker and the entire concept of the show was reworked. NBC seems unsure of what role they want Powerless to fill in the increasingly crowded landscape of live-action DC Comics shows, and that lack of confidence is abundantly clear in this lukewarm series premiere.
I haven't seen the original pilot, but based on Eric Goldman's review and the general critical response last summer, it's a little difficult to understand why NBC made such a hard turn with the series. Originally, Powerless came across as the DC version of Marvel's Damage Control - a show about ordinary, non-powered insurance agents cleaning up the messes left behind in the wake of superhero disasters. It seemed very much an attempt to mash-up the DCU and The Office, filling a workplace comedy void in NBC's lineup that's existed ever since Parks & Recreation went off the air. Now, however, the show has been rejiggered to focus on the employees of Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises charged with developing new gadgets to protect innocent bystanders from supervillain attacks. There's still the workplace comedy element, but it's neither grounded nor witty enough to the same itch as The Office or Parks & Rec.
Sadly, the show does little to actually take advantage of its strong cast. The lackluster writing is the main culprit. None of the characters feel particularly well fleshed out by the end of the episode, despite the script frequently touching on both Emily's wide-eyed love of superheroes and Van's near pathological obsession with living up to his cousin. The episode spins a very straightforward yarn about a new employee finding her footing at a new job. It plays out a little too much like the series premiere of The Office, which was framed around BJ Novak's character coming to terms with his new life as a Dunder Mifflin intern. There's a somewhat interesting angle to Emily's newcomer status in that she's the only person in Charm City who's still enthralled by superhero sightings, but that's about the closest she ever comes to feeling like a three-dimensional character.
Worse, the humor is almost aggressively generic. At one point Van refers to himself as "more of a big picture guy," with the camera immediately cutting to a giant poster of Van and his fellow executives tacked to the wall. That's a sign of the level of humor to expect. It's simplistic and wooden enough that it's a wonder Powerless doesn't come with a laugh track attached. There's no bite. None of the IT characters stand out from one another, not even Pudi's Teddy. He simply isn't given anything interesting to do. If the last season-and-a-half of Community proved anything, it's that Pudi can be a comedic tour de force even without Donald Glover by his side. But he still needs absurd situations that can take advantage of his knack for physical humor, and this episode gives him zilch.
Perhaps Powerless' most bizarre quality is the fact that the DC elements feel so inconsequential. The script could easily be modified to lose all mention of superheroes entirely and little would change. It would still be a story about a bright-eyed newbie discovering the perils of middle-management. Van is the only preexisting DC character among the main cast, and labeling Van Wayne a D-Lister would be generous. This episode includes cameos for a handful of costumed heroes and villains, but most will probably be unrecognizable to the casual DC fan. As for the setting, Powerless unfolds not in Metropolis or Gotham or Central City, but Charm City. To the best of my knowledge, that's not even an established location in DC lore.
This apparent reluctance to dive headlong into the DCU is all the more perplexing given that Powerless exists in its own universe separate from the Arrow-verse or the DC Extended Universe. Theoretically, it shouldn't be beholden to those projects. It should be free to dive right into the deep end and introduce its own versions of Batman, Superman and the rest of the gang without fear of stepping on Greg Berlanti or Zack Snyder's toes. But the producers have indicated that there are some strict limitations on which characters and locations Powerless can feature prominently, with those already appearing in other films and TV shows the toughest to include. It really becomes a "worst of both worlds" situation for the show. Powerless doesn't have the benefit of building on a previously established superhero universe, but it's also stuck playing with the least desirable toys in the toy box and the end result is disappointing.
On the other hand, the show's meager special effects are such that it probably wouldn't do justice to the Man of Steel even if he did bother to put in an appearance. Most costumed characters are shown only in the background of wide shots of the city. The one superhero action sequence of any note is very poorly realized - basically just bad cosplay set against a cheap green screen backdrop. Perhaps the best that can be said for Powerless effects is that it makes you appreciate all the more what the various Arrow-verse shows are able to accomplish on a weekly basis.
In short, this isn't a promising start for the latest live-action DC Comics series on the block. Even with the relatively novel sitcom approach, Powerless offers viewers too little incentive to add another show to their DVR on top of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham and Lucifer. But to be fair, there's no telling how much the show might improve over the course of its first season. Plenty of sitcoms take several episodes to start finding their voice, and Powerless has the added disadvantage of all the behind-the-scenes troubles that plagued production. I'd like to believe that the writers can persevere and really start to take advantage of a show built around the ordinary people dwelling in a world of gods and monsters. There's a lot of potential in that idea, but very little of its is realized here.
DC Comics fans aren't exactly starved for options when it comes to live-action TV series. NBC's latest foray into the DCU at least shakes things up by taking a more comedic approach, but that alone isn't enough to bring life to this generic workplace comedy. Powerless features a strong cast who deserve much better than the lousy script and tenuous ...
Wayne or Lose: Directed by Marc Buckland. With Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, Christina Kirk, Ron Funches. Emily begins her first day, and quickly learns that her expectations far exceed those of her new boss, Van Wayne, and her co-workers.
"Wayne or Lose" is the first episode of Powerless. It aired on February 2, 2017. Emily Locke is hired as the new R&D director at Wayne Security, but finds the staff unmotivated and her boss only looking to move up the corporate ladder.
