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<i>Powerless</i> Series Premiere – “Pilot” Review. It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s…

POWERLESS -- Pictured: "Powerless" Horizontal Key Art -- (Photo by: NBCUniversal)

Season 1, Episode 1

Air Date: Thursday, February 2, 2017, 8:30/7:30c on NBC

Rating: ★★★★★

“We can’t just copy what LexCorp does.” – Emily

Van, Emily, and Wendy 

Superheroes have become a daily way of life in Charm City as Batman, Superman, and countless other do-gooders engage in battle with supervillains on NBC’s new comedy, Powerless. As the two sides wage a seemingly endless war, regular people are left to clean up the aftermath of trains being tossed around like toys and broken glass raining down more than actual precipitation. Over the course of time, the citizens have grown accustomed to the chaos and mayhem created by the god-like heroes. But for Emily Locke (Vanessa Hudgens), who just moved to Charm City to begin a job as Director of Research & Development for Wayne Security, it’s an exhilarating sight to behold.

Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, specializes in developing products to protect ordinary humans from the results of the battles between the superheroes and supervillains. Van Wayne (Alan Tudyk), Bruce Wayne’s incompetent cousin, leads the company and has aspirations of moving to Gotham City to work alongside his cousin. Jackie (Christina Kirk) is Van’s sarcastic assistant, who begrudgingly puts up with her boss’ antics. Teddy (Danny Pudi), Ron (Ron Funches), and Wendy (Jennie Pierson) round out the cast of Powerless as the quirky scientists at Wayne Security. They invent the gadgets to protect the citizens of Charm City. Needless to say, their inventions often involve a lot of trial and error or, in their case, mostly error.

Ron and Teddy

Whoever said you only have one chance to make a first impression never met the creative team behind Powerless. Showrunner Ben Queen filmed the pilot episode, which originally had Emily employed as an insurance adjuster who specialized in coverage for the damage caused by the superheroes. The pilot was screened at the 2016 Comic-Con in San Diego and a premiere seemed inevitable. A few weeks later, Queen left the series citing creative differences, and Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker came onboard as showrunners. The Powerless setting was transformed from an insurance company to Wayne Security, along with other some major changes. Eventually, a second pilot was shot and a new trailer, with a strong emphasis on the show’s ties to the DC Comic Universe, was released.

Fully embracing the DC universe isn’t without risk, though. Several times, the “Pilot” uses Bruce Wayne and his caped alter ego as a crutch. Tossing around DC references like candy works most of the time but on occasion, it becomes unnecessary and excessive. Despite being set in the familiar setting, the series is its own show with no connection to DC films like Man of Steel or Batman vs. Superman, or the Greg Berlanti shows on The CW like Arrow, Flash, or Supergirl. Even though major DC heroes like Superman and Batman are often mentioned on Powerless, don’t expect them to appear anytime soon. Instead, Powerless showcases lesser known heroes from the comics like Crimson Fox (Atlin Mitchell), who is seen in the series premiere. Viewers don’t have to be familiar with the comics to enjoy the series although several jokes have a deeper meaning that will only resonate with comic fans.

The Wayne Dream Team

Powerless is an entertaining comedy set in a comic universe. As much as I enjoyed the “Pilot,” it’s impossible not to compare it to the 2009 ABC comedy Better off Ted. With Hudgens seemingly in the Ted role, played by Jay Harrington, each show shares a strikingly similar premise and relies on the same type of wacky humor that often involves the scientists creating something that goes amuck. Pudi and Funches are hilarious together and reminded me of how much I loved the antics between Phil (Jonathan Slavin) and Lem (Malcolm Barrett) on Better off Ted.

The comparison between Powerless and Better off Ted isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially given both are very entertaining and compelling to watch. Time will tell if Powerless is able to find its own voice by creating a work place comedy that stands on its own or succumbs to the crutches it relies on during the “Pilot.”

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about the Powerless “Pilot.”

Tune in to Powerless Thursday at 8:30/7:30c, only on NBC.

For more information on Powerless, visit the official website.

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Photos ©2017 NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.