The Antipodean

We seem to be in a real golden age of comics related TV shows. How would you rank the ones currently airing?

My ranks:
1. Flash - great fun so far, and I like that it's not as dark as most others. Great casting, respectful to comics roots and the s/fx so far have been great.
2. Gotham - wasn't expecting to like this much as I do. It is cheesy but "gothic campy" fun and I never thought one of the most interesting characters in tv would be The Penguin! I do wonder if the novelty of the gimmick will wear off though.
3. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - it's not as good as it could be but getting there. My 10-year-old LOVES it and I give it points just for making him so into the comics.
4. Arrow - season 3 isn't quite grabbing me so far but still a fun ride. But what's tipped the show for me is TOO MUCH FELICITY. She was fine as a supporting cast member but the moment they inexplicably decided everyone was in love with her annoyed me. And the cast in general is getting a bit too crowded.
5. Walking Dead - don't watch - saw the pilot episode but it's just not my bag.
6. Constantine - haven't seen yet, but not very interested.

DJariya

1. The Walking Dead - I don't care how much this gets shit on, It's fun and must see TV for me every Sunday night.

2. Arrow - One of the best serialized comic action shows on. I always make the effort to see this either live or on playback 1 hour later.

3. The Flash - A little early in it's run, but still fun every week and I like that it's not as dark as Arrow.

4. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D -- A Million times better than when it originally started last season. It's a good TV supplement to the Marvel movies.

5. Gotham - I don't love it, but it's growing on me. I think Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue have done good work so far.

6. Constantine - Too early in it's run. It's watchable, but isn't OMFG I have to see this right away TV.

mphtrilogy

1. Walking Dead
2. Gotham
3. Flash

That's it for me, I don't watch any others.

fumanstan

I'm not watching that many of them regularly, but for me...

Agents of SHIELD - it's turned in to one of my favorite shows right now, with some plot lines that make me want to tune in every week to see what's revealed. It's moving at a great pace, and the characters and story are FAR better then when it started. I think it's a great show.

The Walking Dead - despite some eye rolling stuff and some episodes that drag and do nothing, the good episodes can be fantastic and I care enough about the characters and storylines to keep watching and see what happens next.

Gotham - It's just kind of there for me, and basically a catch up on the DVR whenever i'm bored kind of show. Some characters and plot are too campy for me, but Penguin and Gordon are the only things that keep me tuning in.

Arrow - My fiancee and I burned through Season 1 and enjoyed it, watched a few episodes of Season 2 and for some reason just was never compelled to keep watching. The show was fun, and i've been meaning to go back and watch when I have more time.

Flash - Will tune in after catching up with Arrow or when S1 hits Netflix.

Constantine - wanted to check it out, but haven't even bothered. Given the negative reaction, probably won't bother.

madcougar

Hmm... not as easy as I would think...

1. Flash - it's been one of the better comic book based shows ever in my opinion.
2. Walking Dead - I like it. Sue me.
3. Gotham - after a slow start it's found its footing.
4. Agents of SHIELD - gotta be honest I watched most of the first season but have since dropped it.
5. Constantine - watched the pilot, but that was it. It was OK but I don't believe it's going to last.
6. Arrow - I've never watched it, but plan to binge watch the first two seasons during Christmas based on how much I love the Flash.

Goat3001

I'm in the exact same boat with Arrow. Binged through season one and enjoyed it a lot. Watched season 2 "live" and half way through it I stopped watching. Funny thing is that I enjoyed what I saw of season 2, I guess it just didn't grab me enough.

I've been meaning to go back and try it again too but I often have trouble getting back into shows that I stopped watching

Gotham is the only other one listed that I currently watch. I love it.

Gave up on Walking Dead during season 2.

PhantomStranger

1. The Flash - This show came out of the gate on fire, it has already gotten off to a better start than just about any comic book show in history. They have absolutely nailed the character of Barry Allen, I am watching the same character I've read for decades. It was thrilling to see him in costume run up that building. I also enjoy the entire cast and think the addition of a surrogate father has been great. There practically isn't a single thing I would change, the costume looks far better on screen than how it looked in pre-publicity photographs. Things should get crazy when we are introduced to the Flash's arch-enemy.

2. Arrow - I'll be honest and say this show has slipped in quality since season 2. I still enjoy it on a weekly basis. The loss of Sara has been huge, I am not sure Laurel will ever be able to fully replace what Sara brought to the series. The action is still better than every other show on network television, but they need to do more with the flashback scenario. I have no idea why they thought Oliver's adventures in a Japanese household would prove interesting.

3. The Walking Dead - I don't think this is as good as the ratings make it, but TWD fills that niche of plausible zombie drama. I would prefer it if they pared the cast down. I guess great zombie action papers over a lot of its writing weaknesses.

4. Gotham - This rating is almost solely due to the fantastic job they've done with the Penguin and the strangely retro production design. It's a show I am ready to drop at the slightest hint it is faltering. The theatrical division obviously blocked an older teen version of Bruce Wayne, because this would be a much easier series to project with a 17-year-old version.

5. Agents of SHIELD - I am quickly losing interest in this show after what I thought was a great second half to its first season. The more this show resembles James Bond, the less excited I get about it. Ward should have been killed off last year. Now that Mockingbird is on the show, I care less and less about Skye's mysterious background.

6. Constantine - Who really knows how this show will turn out? Nothing in its first few episodes have screamed greatness, but I could see it having a couple of decent seasons as standard genre fare. They need far more occult DC references if they want the comic book crowd to stick around. I am not asking for Superman to show up, but there are tons of obscure characters and mystical objects they could use on the show.

OldBoy

The Walking Dead by 5 country miles. Has me riveted every episode. love it so much.











The Flash

johnnysd

1. Gotham
2. Agents of Shield
3. Flash
4. Arrow

1000. Walking Dead dumbest show on TV and completely unwatchable. It's popularity is bizarre.

Hokeyboy

1. Arrow
2. The Flash
3. Walking Dead
4. Agents of SHIELD
5. Gotham

Haven't watched Constantine yet.

Michael Corvin

1. The Walking Dead by a wide margin. Must see tv.
2. Flash - a few episodes behind but the cast, production values, and potential is ahead of everything else.
3. Arrow - Solid but still hasn't become 'great' to me. (I'm in season 2)
4. Gotham - really enjoyed the first few episodes, just fallen behind.
5. Shield - started out as a turd on a stick. Gave a few later episodes a watch and while the production values improved it still had the same terrible acting, cheesy dialog and cliched characters. If this didn't have 'Marvel' in the title, it would have been cancelled a long time ago.

JasonF

Keep in mind I'm far more of a Marvel fan than a DC fan, and I absolutely love the way the MCU has developed, so take those prejudices into account:

1. Agents of SHIELD: I think this show has been firing on all cylinders since Day One. Just kidding -- but it has been firing on all cylinders since Winter Soldier. Also, I like Whedon's sensibilities in how he builds a show over the long term.

2. Flash: This is just a fun show. If I had one complaint, it would be that they need to cut the WB Teen angst.

3. Arrow: The angst fits better here, and I think the cast and concept have really gelled.

4. Walking Dead: It's really well done, but there's a sameness about the episodes that weigh this show down.

5. Constantine: I'm not sure what to say besides "It's an enjoyable hour of TV."

6. Gotham: I see what they are trying to do, but the execution has been plodding. I still enjoy it enough to keep watching, but it usually sits on my DVR for a few days before I get around to it.

robin2099

1. The Flash: This series is just done so well that I honestly think if the quality keeps up it can make a strong case for best live action series adaptation of a superhero. Grant Gustin IS Barry Allan and he's backed by a strong supporting cast. Plus it makes being a super hero fun instead of having the character brood every episode about not being normal.

2. Arrow: I admit that season three hasn't caught me as much as season 1 or 2, but I still say it's damn good and is basically the live action Batman series that everyone wishes they had.

3. Gotham: I like the Jim Gordon portrays and Penguin steals the show every week. It isn't must see TV but I do enjoy it when it's on and find it interesting.

4.Constantine: Again not must see TV and it feels like both a poor man's Supernatural and somewhat like the writers aren't sure what they want the series to be. It is however growing on me and I like the lead.

5. Agent's of Shield: Still hold's no interest for me at all and I think it's biggest weakness besides having a bunch of bad leads is how desperately it wants to "tie in" to the Marvel movies even though we know the actors from the TV show won't pop up in the movies in any significant way, and none of the A-Listers from the movie will show up on the TV series. I do love me some Adrianne Palicki though.

6. The Walking Dead: My DVR had most of season 2 tapped and died so I never got caught up. Then I tried to watch season 3 and the same thing happened so I just gave up.

hdnmickey

1. Walking Dead - Had to binge S1 and S2 on Blu-ray before the S3 premiere, but now have watched every episode as they air. Still love the show despite not liking some of the directions the show has taken.

2. Shield - Really enjoying the current direction of the show and could see this taking over my #1 if it continues.

3. Flash - So far, so good except of villain of the week stuff that has been very hit and miss. And ugh... the rule breaking and fight scenes.... have to fix those or we may lose interest.

Nothing else is worth is worth mentioning. And that includes Gotham.

majorjoe23

If they were all on the same night, I would watch them in this order:

Walking Dead
Gotham
Flash
Shield
Constantine

I need to catch up on Arrow. I've heard it gets better, but the first six episodes didn't grab me.

Original Desmond

I like all the shows mentioned, not far off equally but Arrow surges ahead purely for Emily Bett Rickards

Jackskeleton

Walking Dead
Arrow
Shield
Flash
Constantine
Gotham

Rodney2187

Loki
Jessica Jones (Netflix)
Agent Carter
Hawkeye
WandaVision
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Daredevil (Netflix)
Luke Cage (Netflix)
Watchmen (HBO series)


Invincible
The Punisher (Netflix)
The Boys
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Gifted
The Flash (CW)
Arrow (CW)
Gotham


The Walking Dead
Titans (HBO)
The Runaways
The Defenders (Netflix)
Krypton
Iron Fist (Netflix)


Lois & Clark



​​​​​​Have not seen:
Black Lightning (CW)
Batwoman (CW)
Inhumans
Legion
Smallville
Supergirl (CW)
Superman & Lois
Constantine

Michael Corvin

Most of those aren't remotely current.

Seeing how this is a bump and looking at my previous post, Walking Dead went to shit, probably not long after my post. In light of Young Justice being back (not quite as good as the first 2 seasons) but on the whole, I'd rank it over most superhero shows. Also, season one of Stargirl was a blast and quickly moving up my list.

DJariya

Lois and Clark aired from 1993 to 1997. Not even remotely a current show. And that's the worst on your list? I followed it when I was in college back then and it was actually a very well liked and reviewed show at the time. Maybe it's dated by today's standards.

Wolf359

I don't see Invincible on your list. Really enjoyed that one a lot.

PhantomStranger

Lois and Clark is pretty decent for a couple seasons and then goes bad.

dex14

Rodney really likes threads that rank stuff.

Rodney2187

I'd say "current" is relative. All those seem current to me in comparison to the old Incredible Hulk show I used to watch as a kid with Bill Bixbiy and Lou Ferrigno. The original post does say currently "airing," but with so many shows streaming now and not actually broadcast at a specific date and time, not sure airing is applicable to most of TV anymore. Why not just consider it a ranking of comic book based series. I don't like starting redundant threads and would rather revive an older one instead. I hate doing a search and finding 5 threads on the same subject and having to decide which it the main one.

It's currently airing on HBO Max.

Thanks, I like that one too. Added it.

I do. I think it's fun to make lists and compare them with everyone else.

DWilson

I noticed that "The Punisher" (on Netflix) hasn't been mentioned; of course, it was cancelled after two seasons. That was a favorite of mine.