TV Review: Elseworlds

TV Review: Elseworlds

Welcome to the third annual CW crossover event, where all (or some) of the shows in the Arrow-verse (shouldn’t it be called the Berlanti-verse, sort of like Shondaland?) get to meet each other and hijinks ensue.  The firs crossover event had definite problems; they siloed each show’s episode, so it seemed like a party game where The Flash got to produce an hour of television and then Arrow had to take over and make the next hour.  The Flash episode was definitely a Flash episode, the Arrow episode was incomprehensible to those who didn’t watch Arrow, and the Supergirl contribution was literally just the last 2 minutes of a Supergirl episode.  But the whole thing was entertaining and a nice way to package shows that maybe not everyone was watching.

Last year’s crossover event, Crisis on Earth X, solved almost all of the problems that the first crossover had.  It ran like a 4-hour mini-series, with supporting characters from each show popping up in any of the four episodes, and it was magnificent.  The fight scene in episode 1, where Nazis from Earth X attacked the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West, was beautifully fight choreographed (it helped that Guest Star William Katt, from The Greatest American Hero, was the first person to get zapped by the invading horde).  The bad guys were a real threat, the episodes had both gravitas and humor, and Alex Danvers from Supergirl and Sara Lance from Legends of Tomorrow had the greatest drunken hookup in superhero TV history (punctuated by Mick Rory asking Sara Lance, “So . . . you hit that?” at the end).

This year’s crossover event, Elseworlds, is a step backwards.  It has some fun moments, but the plot never manages to make any sense what so ever, even by the loose logical standards of the Berlanti-verse.  What saves it is the acting; all of the participants seem to get a kick out of stretching their characters and interacting with different actors.  But man does this not make sense.

Let’s start with the premise: geeky psychiatrist Dr. John Deegan (played by Jeremy Davies, so you know he’s not mentally all there) is given a book by a character we subsequently learn is called The Monitor, that allows him to rewrite all of reality.  Does he use this power to sleep with any woman he wants?  Does he make himself the richest man in the world?  Does he burn off his unsightly body fat without diet or exercise?  No, he has The Flash (Grant Gustin) and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) switch places.

What?  Yeah, I don’t get it.  Since it turns out he’s from Gotham City, why would he even care about the Central City speedster and Star City’s Green Arrow?  If there was an explanation, I missed it.  That said, it never failed to be hilarious to see Steven Amell in The Flash’s bright red superhero costume; it is hard to be broody when dressed in a candy apple red onesie.  Anyway, the two heroes are upset by the arrangement (Barry Allen is Oliver’s friend, but the prospect of his wife waking up next to Oliver Queen freaks him out), so they travel to Earth 38 to consult with Supergirl (Melissa Benoist).  The investigation leads then to Gotham City where Batman is MIA but Batgirl is alive and well and kicking ass.  They go back to Central City, Deegan rewrites the universe again and this time he makes himself Superman, which makes way more sense.

Okay, let’s get to the biggest problem with Elseworlds: the ending.  In order to stop Deegan from rewriting the universe, the good guys decide they have to stop time.  How?  The Flash will one run direction at Mach 7, Supergirl will fly in the other at the same speed, and the Earth’s rotation will stop, freezing time.  Right.  The biggest sin the original Superman movie committed was that nonsense about reversing the Earth’s rotation reversing time.  Ain’t gonna happen.  Then there’s the methodology; how would two superheroes moving rapidly in opposite directions affect the Earth’s rotation?  And given their small mass compared to the Earth, how could they possibly affect the Earth’s rotational momentum, even if they weren’t cancelling out the other’s effect?

Let’s focus on the positive though.  The cast seems to be having a ball, especially Amell who gets to lighten up for a change.  Elseworlds also makes good use of Supergirl’s Superman, Tyler Hoechin, who is criminally underused on that show.  It also introduces two additions to the Berlanti-verse, Ruby Rose’s Kate Kana, aka Batgirl, and Elizabeth Tullock’s Lois Lane.  Batgirl, for whom a new show is being considered, has apparently taken up Batman’s mantle while he is missing and makes an impressive appearance.  Tulloch, who was as interesting as water on Grimm, made a good impression as Lois Lane; lively, smart, fearless and connected to Clark/Superman on an emotional level.  She was a definite improvement over Erica Durance’s overly aggressive portrayal on Smallville.  The show came up for a reason for them to be away for a while (while visiting the Kryptonian outpost Argo City Lois somehow got pregnant, so they will have to go back to Argo City lest the baby’s kicking results in Lois’ death), which takes some pressure off of Supergirl as it always struggled to explain the absence of Superman when crises occurred.  When (not if) they come back, I would welcome a new Superman series with the in the leads (although they won’t top Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in Lois and Clark).

One other neat thing about Elseworlds is that it maintains The Flash’s almost fanboyish enthusiasm for the 1990 version of The Flash that probably few people remember.  It once again features John Wesley Shipp, the star of that show, as the Flash from an alternate universe (I think Earth 3, but I can’t keep the alternate universes straight).  Shipp has been featured as Barry Allen’s father on the modern version of The Flash, while his 1990 co-stars Amanda Pays and Mark Hamill have reprised their roles as Tina McGee and The Trickster.  Such enthusiasm and attention to detail are no doubt part of the success of the modern version of The Flash.

Elseworlds was a fun way to spend three hours (unlike the past two years, Legends of Tomorrow wasn’t included this time, something they snarkily commented on during this week’s episode), but after the spectacular success of Crisis on Earth X it has to feel like a letdown.  It is still an improvement over the first crossover event.  The final episode of this year’s event ended with a promo for next year’s crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths, so let the fanboy speculation start now!

Harold Baines isn't quite a Hall of Famer

So this is what it’s come to, Harold Baines is in the Hall of Fame.

It’s too bad there isn’t a Hall of Pretty Good, because that’s where Baines belongs.  He hit 384 home runs, which sounds like a lot (although far less than 500) until you realize he played for 21 seasons, so it adds up to about 18 per year.  Right . . . Ruth, Mantle, McGuire, Bonds and Baines; peas in a pod.  His 2,866 hits averages out to 136 per year, which isn’t Pete Rose territory.  He once finished in the top ten in homers, and twice finished in the top ten in RBIs.

If anything, there is an argument that players like Baines are traditionally undervalued by Hall of Fame voters.  What do I mean by “players like Baines”?  Basically, jacks of all trades, good average hitters with some pop, good fielders, guys who played a long time because as their skills diminished their leadership and coaching abilities still made them valuable.  Maybe Baines should have to buy a ticket to get into the Hall of Fame, but a guy with 384 home runs should also have done better than maxing out at 6.1% of the votes.

The problem comes in when you have players who played a long time and how it affects counting stats, like home runs and runs batted in.  Because of better conditioning and higher salaries, players now stay in the majors for much longer careers than in past eras.  If you get a mediocre number of some counting stat (say 18 home runs per year) and combine it with an extraordinarily long career (say 21 seasons), you get totals that look more impressive than they actually are.

I’ve made the argument before regarding Rafael Palmiero, whose 3,000+ hits and 500+ home runs would have made him a lock for the hall but for his failed steroid test.  Those were impressive markers when careers lasted 12-15 seasons but spread over 20 they aren’t that impressive.  Baines’ 384 home runs put him at 65^th all time, behind Jim Edmonds, Craig Nettles and Aramis Ramierez, all of who are NOT in the Hall (Edmonds, arguably one of the greatest fielding center fielders of all time, should be, but few players get into the Hall for fielding).  He is 34^th in RBIs, which is bordering on impressive.

I put more stock in how a player was judged by his contemporaries when he was playing.  Palmiero played for 19 seasons and started exactly ONE All-Star game, and only went to a total of five (once as a DH).  So for the bulk of his career he wasn’t considered one of the best at his position.  The same thing is true for Baines, who went to only six All-Star games in a 21-season career.  MVP voting is another key indicator of respect during a career, but Baines came in the top ten in voting only twice, and then it was 9^th once and 10^th once.

The biggest mistakes in the history of the Hall have been made by these Veterans Committees.  In the 1960’s Frankie Frisch was the chair and as a result people like his former teammate Jesse Haines got in despite being woefully unqualified.  It is absurd that Baines can get no more than 6.1% of the votes from the 400-500 or so voters in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), but then gets 12 of 16 votes from the Veterans’ Committee and he’s in.

I could also rip the other person to be voted in, Lee Smith, but my objection to him is that closers are vastly overrated, and I am not impressed by guys who only pitch one inning per game (except for Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersly and Goose Gossage).  The save is a stupid stat, but Smith did hold the record for most saves when he retired which is one more record than Harold Baines held when he called it quits.

Obviously, the HoF voting needs to be reformed.  How can a player who got 6% of the vote from over 400 voters not get in, then be admitted after getting 12 votes from a committee of 16 (several of whom were former owners and teammates of his)?  Who are we going to believe, the collected wisdom of 500 baseball writers, or a bunch of old baseball guys voting for a buddy?