This afternoon, as time passed slowly and boredom creeped in, I indulged in the pilot episode of The CW's Arrow. I've been anticipating this series since I saw the trailer for it back in June. As a television adaption of Mort Weisinger and George Papp's comic "Green Arrow", I expected the usual DC Comics feel: action, good acting (for the most part), and a solid story. This series — at least the first episode — has surpassed my hopes, but was a tad weak on the acting.
Bringing both action, an intriguing storyline (I didn't read the comics), fair acting, and little special effects, the Arrow pilot warrants good feedback. So far, there's nothing special about it. The ending of the first episode was good — not great — and leaves the viewer hanging, which is the right direction for this genre show. However, the acting was very much up and down. Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) delivers a strong performance, but other characters don't have time to develop and it's hard to get a feel of what their part is. Moira Queen, Oliver's mother, is played by Susanna Thompson and she's less impressive in her role than Amell in his.
Sparing the details for the sake of a spoiler-free review, the Arrow pilot is worth a watch, whether you like comic books or enjoy a good bit of action. The show airs each Wednesday at 8 p.m. Pacific on The CW. If you don't have that channel, the pilot is available for streaming free on the channel's Web site.